Today Alexa is joined by Robert ‘Bob’ Marks, a voice teacher, coach, conductor, arranger, author, and director. His extensive career has seen him act as musical director for over 200 productions, and his clients have included Ariana Grande, Ricky Lake, Sarah Jessica Parker, Natalie Portman, Britney Spears, and Ashley Tisdale. His writings have appeared in the Journal of Singing and he has recently published the book, 88 Keys to Successful Singing Performances with co-author Dr. Elizabeth Gerbi.
KEY TAKEAWAYS

Bob saw his first musical theatre performance on Broadway when he was five years old. It was Jerry Herman's first show called Milk and Honey. Bob was much more enthralled with the conductor and the orchestra players than he was with what was happening on stage.
For the most part, Bob’s clients were not celebrities when they first started working together. At the time when Natalie Portman saw him, she hadn't won an Oscar. Britney Spears was sent to Bob by her agent because she had an audition coming up for Les Misérables. Ariana Grande was the younger sister of Frankie Grande who was Bob’s student and he had just gotten his first Broadway show called Mama Mia.
It's a wonderful thing to be in control of your own audition with self tapes. You don't have to deal with a stranger at the piano. You don't have to try to prepare your music properly so that they can read it at site. You don't have to worry about tempo. You know what you're singing with. You have a track and you can do it again. But don’t do it too many times, try to stay in the moment. 
88 Keys to Successful Singing Performances is called that because Bob personally doesn't like to read long chapters. He likes to read small chapters. So with 88, he figured those would be small chapters. People can just read a chapter or two at a time and get what they need. 
In the book there's knowledge of vocal health, dealing with voice teachers, finding a voice teacher, finding a coach, preparing music for the accompanist, just all the things that you need to know.

BEST MOMENTS‘I learned a lot. I learned from my mistakes. I learned by my successes’‘Now we know that the idea that if you sing opera, you can sing everything is not necessarily true’‘Once people know who you are, they start calling’ 
EPISODE RESOURCES 
Guest Website:

www.BobMarks.com

Social Media: 

Handle: @bobmarks

Book Link: 

https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1945586311/robertmarksprofe

Relevant Links & Mentions: 

Sheet Music: www.musicnotes.com
Dr Elizabeth Gerbi: https://www.elizabethgerbi.com/
The Voice Foundation: https://voicefoundation.org/

ABOUT THE GUEST Robert (“Bob") Marks is a voice teacher, coach, conductor, arranger, author, and director. He holds a degree in speech and voice pathology and has taught at the American Musical & Dramatic Academy and the Weist-Barron School in New York. He has given workshops, Master Classes, and seminars internationally. His articles have appeared in several publications, including the internationally recognized “Journal of Singing.” He has been the musical director of over 200 productions across the country, including every style of music, from Kismet to The Rocky Horror Show. He has coached cast members of almost every current Broadway musical, and former students have included Laura Bell Bundy, Kerry Butler, Debbie Gibson, Ariana Grande, Nikki M. James, Ricki Lake, Constantine Maroulis, Lea Michele, Sarah Jessica Parker, Natalie Portman, Christy Carlson Romano, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Britney Spears, and Ashley Tisdale. He was a pianist with the Broadway and national companies of the hit musical Annie, and spent two seasons as the Associate Conductor of the St. Louis Muny Opera, working with such stars as Shirley Jones, Paul Williams, Carol Lawrence, and Vincent Price. Recently, he published a book with co-author Dr. Elizabeth Gerbi, 88 Keys to Successful Singing Performances which is available on amazon.com.
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