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Richard Lissemore
Dr. Richard Lissemore is a well-known performer, educator, and researcher of the singing voice. Educated at two of America’s finest conservatories, he holds an Artist Diploma from the Juilliard Opera Center and a Master of Music from Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music. Additionally, he is a Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude graduate of Rutgers University with a degree in microbiology and music. After a long career in show business, Dr. Lissemore returned to school to train as a research scientist. Accepted into the doctoral program in Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences at the graduate Center of The City University of New York, he earned a Master of Philosophy (M. Phil.) in 2016 and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in 2024. His award-winning research focuses on the intersection of articulation and acoustics in professional sopranos.
Presently, he serves as Adjunct Assistant Professor of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences at Lehman College of CUNY, where he teaches in both the undergraduate and graduate programs. His professional affiliations include Actors’ Equity Association (AEA), the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS), The Voice Foundation, The Acoustical Society of America (ASA), and The American Speech & Hearing Association (ASHA). From 1999 to 2020, he owned Lissemore Music Studios in New York City.
As a Singing Teacher
As a singing teacher, Richard is equally adept at technique and performance for both classical and popular vocal styles. His myriad students have performed on Broadway, at Carnegie Hall, at New York’s Radio City Music Hall, in both American and International touring productions, and in theaters throughout the world. Most recently, he has been a staff voice coach for the Broadway production of Dear Evan Hansen. He is also known for his extensive work with recording artists from many of the top record labels in the United States, including Atlantic records, Mercury Records, and Walt Disney Records. In addition, he has taught on the faculties of CAP 21, the musical theater conservatory of New York University, at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, at Rutgers University, and at Music Theatre International, an opera training program founded by famed Metropolitan Opera singers, Jerome Hines and Marilyn Horne.
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Richard is especially well known for his innovative and entertaining master classes in vocal technique and performance, which have been presented regularly in New York, Canada, Korea, Mexico, and Germany. As a guest lecturer and practitioner, he has taught workshops and masterclasses in singing voice pedagogy and science for The Voice Foundation, the National Association of Teachers of Singing, Columbia University, the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music, SUNY Cortland, and The British Voice Association at London’s Royal Academy of Music. Additionally, he is the co-founder and director of Donald Gray Miller's Singing Voice Science Workshop, an annual gathering of voice researchers, singing teachers, and speech-language pathologists at Teachers College Columbia University. More information at www.singingvoicescience.com.
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After 32 years in New York City, Richard now lives in Fredonia, NY, just south of Buffalo, with his husband, concert pianist Eliran Avni. He teaches in an online studio using Zoom, which is highly effective for both technique and performance work. To schedule a session or ask any questions, please send an email to richard@richardlissemore.com.
As a Performer
As a versatile performing artist, Dr. Lissemore has been equally at home performing opera, musical theatre, and concert repertoire. He has appeared with Cincinnati Opera, Central City Opera, National Grand Opera, Opera Festival of New Jersey, the Juilliard Opera Center, and as a guest artist for Opera at Rutgers in roles such as Mozart’s Papageno, Figaro and Masetto, Morales in Carmen, Thomas Putnam in The Crucible, Albert in Werther, Valentin in Faust, Sid in Albert Herring, Owen in Britten’s Owen Wingrave, and Dr. Blind in Die Fledermaus.
Professional musical theatre credits include the title roles in Phantom (Kopit/Yeston) at the Jupiter Theatre, the National Tour of Phantom of the Opera (Hochman/Madden) and The Stephen Foster Story in Bardstown, KY. Other performances include the international tour of The King and I in Japan with Stacey Keach, Fred Graham in Kiss Me Kate at Miami’s Ring Theatre, Ramon Novarro in Lover, The Valentino Musical at the Westport Country Playhouse, and the Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance with the Masterworks Chorale and Orchestra.
Concert and Oratorio appearances include Messiah, Faure’s Requiem, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms and Mendelssohn’s Elijah at churches and synagogues throughout the New York City area. Dr. Lissemore has performed the solos in Puccini’s Messa di Gloria at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, where he was the resident baritone soloist for two years, and where he recorded two CDs, O Come Let Us Sing and The Famine Remembrance. His solo debut recorded on CD is the role of the Count de Courville in John Philip Sousa’s Desiree, which was released on Albany Records. Released in 1998 was Soon and Very Soon…The Cabrini Singers, for which Dr. Lissemore served as soloist and producer.
Additionally, his speaking voice has been heard in many television and radio commercials throughout the United States.