Joseph Stanek

Style: World; Pop; Opera; Jazz; Folk; Gospel; Rock; Classical; Musical Theatre

Title: Private Voice Teacher & Founder of Tour de Fierce

Bio:

Joseph “Seph” Stanek is a multitalented American entertainer whose career spans Broadway, opera, television, concert production, and music education. Known for his versatility as a Broadway actor, professional singer, award-winning producer, and elite vocal coach, Stanek has built a reputation as a creative force whose work bridges the worlds of classical music, musical theatre, and mainstream entertainment.

As a producer, Stanek has played key creative roles in major televised and live concert events, including ABC’s Primetime Thanksgiving Special I’m Coming Home (co-produced with Whoopi Goldberg), NBC’s A Very Wicked Halloween starring Ariana Grande and Idina Menzel, and Angels Among Us, a massive three-day concert event that became a nationally broadcast PBS television special and live album featuring the world-renowned Tabernacle Choir. His producing work has contributed to projects that reached tens of millions of viewers worldwide and helped raise millions of dollars for charitable causes.

Stanek has also performed internationally in high-profile cultural and diplomatic settings, including a concert for the United Nations at the Ancient Egyptian Temple of Dendur, where music and global advocacy intersected in a program dedicated to cross-cultural dialogue and humanitarian awareness.

Through his creative company Tour de Fierce, Stanek has helped raise millions of dollars for charitable causes across the globe, including The Andrea Bocelli Foundation, The Trevor Project, and the Kristin Chenoweth Arts and Education Fund, where he has served as a member of the Board of Directors. His groundbreaking music education initiative, Places, was formally recognized on stage by The Recording Academy with the 2019 Grammys on the Hill Award for Philanthropy, honoring his commitment to expanding access to arts education.

In parallel with his performance and production career, Stanek serves as the founder and director of Tour de Fierce Research, an arts-led, interdisciplinary research initiative examining the human voice as a site of embodied cognition, emotional regulation, and meaning-making. His work operates at the intersection of professional vocal practice, neuroaesthetics, psychology, and emerging technologies, translating decades of high-stakes artistic labor into research-adjacent inquiry grounded in lived expertise. Stanek’s research interests include performance anxiety and autonomic regulation, vocal identity and perception, psychoacoustics, and the evolving relationship between artists and algorithmic AI systems. His research profile is featured by the Renée Fleming NeuroArts Resource Center, an international hub connecting scientists, artists, and institutions advancing the NeuroArts field.

Beyond the stage and studio, Stanek has engaged deeply with the cultural systems that shape artistic labor, education, and access. He has participated in arts advocacy and policy efforts on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., including lobbying in support of the Music Modernization Act, and has contributed to national conversations at GRAMMYs on the Hill, where projects he conceived were publicly recognized during award proceedings. His advisory and governance roles include service on the Customer Advisory Board for Adobe, involvement with the Miss America Organization, and former membership on the Board of Directors of the Kristin Chenoweth Arts and Education Fund. His philanthropic work spans organizations such as Artists Striving to End Poverty (now Arts Ignite!), Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, and the Historic House Trust of New York City, reflecting a sustained commitment to the social impact of the arts.

As a performer, Stanek’s stage career includes appearances on Broadway, over a dozen Off-Broadway productions, four concerts at Carnegie Hall, performances at the Metropolitan Opera, and a seven-year residency as a principal company member of the New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players. His work spans opera, musical theatre, concert performance, and film, earning him acclaim for his stylistic range and musical intelligence.

Internationally, Stanek has appeared with Opéra Lyrique-en-Mer in Belle-Île-en-Mer, France, performing roles such as Luther in Les Contes d’Hoffmann and Commissionario/Piquillo in La Traviata, and has performed at the International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival in England, in addition to concert engagements throughout France and Italy. In concert, he has shared the stage with artists including Josh Groban, Debbie Reynolds, and Carol Channing, and appeared at Lincoln Center alongside Kristin Chenoweth and Andrew Lippa in the New York premiere of I Am Harvey Milk with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s.

A frequent presence in New York’s theatre scene, Stanek has been praised by The New York Times as “incredible,” citing his “rock-solid acting performance” and “beautiful singing voice.” He has had the honor of singing for Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush, with additional performances at the Library of Congress, San Francisco City Hall, and the Getty Center in Los Angeles. His television appearances include HBO’s Boardwalk Empire and Mildred Pierce, and the critically acclaimed documentary Carol Channing: Larger than Life.

Across performance, production, education, and research, Stanek’s work is unified by a sustained inquiry into how voice functions as both a physiological instrument and a carrier of identity, memory, and emotional meaning. What began as a career inside elite performance environments has evolved into a broader practice of leadership and investigation, where artistic expertise informs education, research, and cultural strategy. Today, his work centers on bridging professional artistic knowledge with scientific and institutional frameworks, positioning lived creative practice as a legitimate and necessary foundation for interdisciplinary research and innovation.

Voice Type: Baritone

Music Styles Taught: World; Pop; Opera; Jazz; Folk; Gospel; Rock; Classical; Musical Theatre

Availability: I am available as a performer; I am currently accepting private students; I am available as a clinician or presenter

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