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Sirens Support Team

Tarita Carbo – Director/Owner

Tarita Carbo is an opera singer, recitalist, actress, musical theatre and operetta singer and sole director and owner of the exciting new music company Sirens of Song.

Tarita made her professional operatic debut in Australia at the tender age of 22 years of age in the role of Papagena in The Magic Flute for Opera Queensland. Operatic roles she has performed for opera companies in Australia, the UK and in Germany include Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Adina in L’Elisir d’Amore, Despina in Cosi fan tutte, Susanna/Barbarina in Le Nozze di Figaro, Melantho in Penelope, Frasquita in Carmen, Clorinda in La Cenerentola, Musetta in La Boheme, Adele in Die Fledermaus, Gretel and The Dew Fairy in Hansel und Gretel, Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi, Oksana in Tcherevichki, The Governess in The Turn of the Screw, Annchen in Der Freischutz and Pamina in The Magic Flute.

She is a graduate of the prestigious opera course of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London in the UK and the Queensland Conservatorium of Music in Brisbane in Australia where she obtained her degree and her postgraduate qualifications.

Tarita has also studied in Rome privately on various prestigious overseas scholarships such as the Queen’s Trust Award from the UK, the Monash University Italian Studies Grant from Melbourne in Australia and the Ian Potter Cultural Grant. Tarita studied in Rome under the tuition of world renowned teacher Margaret Baker Genovesi. She was also invited to work as a part of the Young Artist’s Course at the Munich State Opera in Germany in 2000. Tarita was a winner of the Young Australian of the Year in 1998 and Young Queenslander of the Year awards for her enthusiastic energy and contribution to opera in Australia.

Her concert and oratorio repertoire performed in the UK, Germany and Australia has included Handel’s Messiah, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Vivaldi’s Gloria, Bach’s St Mathew Passion, Mozart’s Reqiuem, Faure’s Requiem and Mendelssohn’s Elijah. Tarita has performed as a soloist with many of Australia’s major orchestras and many orchestras in the UK. She has been invited and performed in solo recitals in the UK, Italy, Pacific Islands, Japan, United Arab Emirates and Morocco.

Tarita first began her life as a singer in choirs and musicals and as a back up singer to major Australian popular artists from the age of 13. Musical theatre was always of great interest to her however opera took over as her voice was recognised as having cross over potential whilst at the Queensland Conservatorium. Leading musical theatre roles to date have included Maria in Westside Story, Christine in The Phantom of the Opera, Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, Sandy in Grease and Desiree Armfeldt in A Little Night Music. Tarita also created the acting role of a young opera singer called Sophie de Palma in the Australian premiere of Terence McNally’s play Masterclass, the life story of Maria Callas for the Sydney Theatre Company at the Sydney Opera House. This role brought invitations to perform the same role with all the major state theatre companies in Australia.

In 2004 Tarita set up a music business called Sirens of Song. Tarita now employs classical artists from all over Australia who perform at corporate functions throughout Australia and South East Asia. Tarita’s business is expanding into the concert sector with her own show, “Sirens of Song - Comic Popera, ” making opera more accessible to all through the use of stunning costumes, hilarious characters and well known music. Her aim in setting up this business was to continue performing whilst also giving other talented singers opportunities to perform, to support young opera mums and to support singers who choose to stay in Australia to pursue their careers. Tarita currently employs nine singers in Sydney and Brisbane and a pianist on a free lance basis who perform as a part of the corporate and concert act Sirens of Song.

Her most major and recent production is her five year old son Zachary and in her spare time she manages the logistics of the career of her baritone husband, Jose Carbo, www.josecarbo.com - one of Australia’s most successful operatic exports.

Glenn Amer – Musical Director

Glenn Amer was born in Sydney in 1974. He is a pianist, singer, operatic and choral conductor, and organist. He studied at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music between 1986 and 1993, his studies also including composition, clarinet and horn. At the age of thirteen, he was invited to London to study with, and participate in the studios of the late Geoffrey Parsons (piano), and Erich Vietheer (voice).

From 1997 to 2004 he was on the staff at the Australian Institute of Music in Sydney as both a voice teacher and vocal coach/accompanist, and he is a guest coach/accompanist for the National Academy of Music (based in Melbourne). In the recent series of classes for the National Academy, held in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, Glenn worked with Marilyn Richardson and Daniel Ferro (Head of the Vocal Doctoral Programme at the Julliard School in New York), to give a detailed, intense, short course of study to Australia's most talented young vocalists.

Glenn is the Director of Music and Organist and Choral Master to St. Andrew's Congregational Church, Balmain (1853). St. Andrew's possesses a fine 1867 J. W. Walker pipe organ that was recently restored to original condition. Glenn acted as the consultant to the work on behalf of the church, and gave the re-dedication recital on the newly restored instrument. From 2000-2002, he was also the Organist to St. Paul's Anglican Church, Burwood, NSW. This magnificent church houses the largest Australian built nineteenth century pipe organ.

Glenn's repertoire encompasses a wide-ranging variety of styles, and he is equally at home playing a major Bach organ or a popular work by Burt Bacharach! For many years, Glenn was the exclusive accompanist to soprano Rita Hunter, CBE and dramatic tenor Horst Hoffmann. Glenn also regularly appears in concert with Yvonne Kenny, soprano and David Hobson, tenor at the magnificent Sydney Town Hall.

In 1997, with soprano Tarita Botsman, he performed in concert for the Australian Prime Minister, the Hon. John Howard, at the Wrest Point Casino in Hobart, Tasmania.

In 1999 he was invited to perform at the Westpac Master Musician's Series held at Somerset College, Surfer's Paradise, and in September 2000 he returned for a repeat performance.

Glenn recently recorded his fourth CD for EMI with the Three Irish Tenors, and has made other recordings at the Sony Music Studios, as well as two Japanese music albums. Glenn has just released his latest solo album “A Personal Collection”.

Glenn appears as a headline entertainer on the Radisson, Royal Caribbean, Silver, Celebrity, Crystal, Norwegian, Orient, Holland America, NHK, Saga and Seabourne cruise lines. Touring with these lines has taken him to Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Noumea, Hawaii, Samoa, Fiji, Japan, Hong Kong, China, Tahiti, The Cook Islands, Kiribati, New Zealand, Norfolk Island, and all over Australia.

Glenn has toured Australia extensively as both a soloist and accompanist. His popular, Liberace style of piano playing is always extremely popular with his audiences who are also impressed with his Robert Goulet/Mario Lanza style singing! He has also appeared in the jazz world with renowned Diva, Su Cruickshank and popular violinist Ian Cooper.

In October 2001 Glenn performed at Parliament House, Canberra. This was a busy month which also saw him performing at the opening of the National Wine Centre in Adelaide. Glenn recently returned from a month long tour of New Zealand, which saw him performing for over 5000 people in a single day at Christchurch Town Hall. A recent highlight was “Opera on the Beach” at Cronulla in Sydney in front of an audience of over 20,000 people.

Glenn is constant demand for recitals, shows and recordings, as well as coaching and teaching. He recently added eisteddfod adjudication to his list of credits and enjoys this challenging work tremendously.

He has recorded extensively over the years for 2MBS-FM. He broadcasts weekly on 2RPH. Glenn performed live to air on the Kerri-Ann Kennerly programme (TV TCN9) in October with baritone Jose Carbo, and has been seen on all the free to air television stations, as well as major appearances on TV Suisse, Tokyo TV and various NZ television stations. Glenn was recently interviewed by John Kerr on his midnight to dawn programme on 2UE and this was syndicated to over forty stations around Australia.

Richard de Chazal - Designer

Richard de Chazal is one of Australia's most respected haute-couture designers, make-up artists, stylists and photographers.

Alison Coady, Administrative Assistant

Alison has spent a lifetime in the performing arts for both work and personal enjoyment.  She is the latest edition to the Sirens support team. After having received a Bachelor of Arts in Stage anagement she has spent the majority of her career in wardrobe departments around Brisbane including 7 years as the Head of Wardrobe for Opera Queensland.

Having grown up in a musical family Alison has always sung in choirs and musical productions. She has sung with Qld Youth Choir, Griffith Uni Collegiate Singers and Brisbane Chorale and studied classical singing with Raymond Connell for 8 years. Having left Opera Queensland to bring up her 2 beautiful boys Alison is excited by the opportunity to use her knowledge to assist in the administration of Sirens of Song Management.

Linda Barcan - Sirens Team Leader (Sydney)
Jacqueline Mabardi – Sirens Team Leader (Brisbane)

In addition to being veteran Sirens of Song performers, having their own shows and active careers, Linda and Jacqueline both have very important jobs working with Sirens of Song. Linda and Jacqui organise logistics, check availability of girls, train new Sirens recruits and act as spokespersons for Sirens of Song when Tarita is on business overseas. (This also means they both have extremely good taste, good manners and are impeccably presented!)