Dr. phillip harris

co-vice president of Student Auditions

Phillip Harris is a diverse musician with a unique background in vocal music. He has sung as a soloist at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. He has appeared with the San Francisco Symphony, Aspen Music Festival, Aspen Wind Ensemble, Reno Chamber Orchestra, San Francisco Opera (Chorus), Opera Las Vegas, Pocket Opera, San Mateo Masterworks Chorale and Orchestra, Mountain Play, Island City Opera, and the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival. Having sung over twenty roles in opera, operetta, and musical theater, favorite roles include King Arthur (Camelot), Don Giovanni (Don Giovanni), Marius (Les Misérables), Dr. Falke (Die Fledermaus), and  Marcello and Schaunard (La Bohème).

 An avid researcher on the classical songs of Black composers, he has presented lectures, masterclasses, and or recitals on the topic at Peabody Institute, Westminster Choir College, Alabama State University, University of California, Santa Cruz, and San Francisco City College. He has also written a book on Black American composer and arranger Jacqueline Hairston, Songs and Spirituals The Life and Music of Jacqueline Hairston. He recorded an album Phillip Harris in Recital with acclaimed conductor and composer, Damien Sneed. As a singer-songwriter, his EP , In My Philz, is available on all streaming platforms. 

 Dr. Harris has music or vocal directed musicals with Mountain Play, Young Musical Theater Company, MoonSchool at 42nd Street Moon, Head-Royce School, and The Nueva School that include Camelot, Bring it On, Legally Blonde, Shrek, A Chorus Line, Annie Jr, Wonderland: Alice’s Rock & Roll Adventure, Head Over Heels, The Addams Family, and Fiddler on the Roof. He teaches at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music as a voice faculty member of the Pre-College division as well as the music history and literature department. Additional teaching positions include high school vocal music director at Menlo School and an adjunct instructor at West Valley College. He was previously performing arts chair and vocal music director at Head-Royce and a music teacher at Stuart Hall for Boys.  He holds voice degrees from University of Nevada Las Vegas (Doctor of Musical Arts), University of Michigan (Master of Music), and the University of California, Irvine (Bachelor of Music).

More information is available at www.philliplnharris.com.

dr. erin mcomber, co-vice president of auditions

Dr. Erin McOmber earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in voice perfromance from the University of Utah, a Master of Music degree in voice performance and pedagogy from Brigham Young University, and a Bachelor of Arts degree, also in voice performance, from UC San Diego. She has maintained a private voice studio for over twenty years and has been an active member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing since 2001. As a singer, Erin has performed numerous operatic roles such as Mimì (La bohème), Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte), and Blanche de la Force (Dialogues des Carmélites), and has been the soprano soloist for Mendelssohn's Elijah, Mozart's Requiem, Handel's Messiah, Mahler's Symphony No. 4, and more. She spent three years as a member of the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square (formerly the Mormon Tabernacle Choir) and is a founding member and conductor of Mayfield Singers, a small mixed chamber choir based in Palo Alto. She has loved her affiliation with iSing, which began in 2015. Erin grew up in Palo Alto and loves being back here, where she lives with her daughter, HD singer Lily Lochhead.

Jonathan smucker

membership director

Ohio-born tenor Jonathan Smucker maintains a diverse career as a singer and teacher. He has sung more than fifty roles in opera, oratorio, operetta and musical theater, including solo appearances with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, American Bach Soloists, Fresno Symphony, Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera, Opera Parallèle, West Edge Opera, Ars Minerva, Pasadena Opera and Left Coast Chamber Ensemble. Notable roles include Ferrando in Così fan tutte, Miles in Missy Mazzoli’s Proving Up, The Witch of Endor in Handel’s Saul, and the title role in Candide.  He is a regular member of the Philharmonia Baroque Chorale, and sings frequently with American Bach Choir and San Francisco Opera Chorus. 
Jonathan serves on the voice faculty at San José State University, as Membership Secretary of San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of NATS, and is the voice department chair at San Francisco Community Music Center, where he recently co-conceived and coordinated Trans and Singing: A Symposium for Voice Teachers and Singers of All Genders. His students have earned scholarships at Oberlin Conservatory, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Lawrence University, University of Puget Sound, and the Peabody Institute, and have taken top prizes at the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter NATS Student Auditions.