STUDIO ACCOMPANIST

Joy Bauman (she/her/hers) has been with the Nichols Studio since its first recital in 2014. She enjoys playing for the students, especially watching them grow in their talent and confidence from recital to recital. And she also gets to learn some new music herself along the way! Joy has been involved in accompanying local theater productions since 1995 and has played for several local high school musicals as well. Some of her favorite productions include Ragtime, Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, and Les Misérables. She is the Director of Pastoral Care at Queen of Apostles Parish.

VOCAL COACH, AUDITION & REPERTOIRE SPECIALIST, TAP TEACHER

Mari (she/her) is thrilled to be a part of the Nichols Voice Studio! Mari is a self-proclaimed theater nerd who will win any round of musical theater trivia or "Name That Musical Theater Song/ Show". Mari has been a director, choreographer, and performer in the Madison area since moving here in 2010 to attend UW-Madison. Mari has directed and choreographed for Middleton Players Theater, Four Seasons Theater, Verona Area High School, UW-Madison University Theatre, and Children’s Theater of Madison.

Mari also has many years of experience as a teaching artist for CTM summer stage and academic-year classes, and enjoys working with many different age groups and abilities. She has taught classes for tap, jazz, and musical theater dance, and has worked 1:1 with students to create choreography for college and performance audition self-tapes. Mari also serves as the artistic director for Verona Area High School Theater. Some of Mari's favorite performances include the UW-Madison Band Show and an ensemble member in Overture's Cabaret Series with KO. 

Mari believes that the best way to grow as an artist is through joy, play, trying something new, and being true to your authentic self! Mari has trained in voice for musical theater, classical music, choir, and pop music. 

Mari is a proud mom of two amazing and dramatic daughters and lives on the west side with them, her husband, Trevor, and their two dogs, Winnie and Watson.

VOICE TEACHER, ASSISTANT STUDIO ACCOMPANIST

Rachael Brolin (she/her/hers) is a Madison-based singer, pianist, and teacher. A graduate of Luther College, she studied accounting and music, with a focus on collaborative piano, classical singing, and choral performance. At Luther, she sang with the Nordic Choir and the student-led acapella group Beautiful Mess, and she received the Rosholt Distinction in Accompanying award for her achievements in collaborative piano.

Rachael has worked as a music director with Music Theatre of Madison and UW-Milwaukee Peck School of the Arts and frequently performs with Madison-based musical theatre companies. She sings and plays for the LunART choir and enjoys diverse performing opportunities as a collaborative pianist and singer. She also teaches piano and voice at Monroe Street Arts Center and serves as Finance Manager at Capital City Theatre.

With a strong musical background spanning multiple genres, Rachael’s training provides a well-rounded foundation for her students. She is passionate about creating a supportive, inspiring environment where students can develop their skills, grow in confidence, and have fun singing!

VOICE TEACHER

Dr. Isabel Celata is a performer, teacher, and scholar based in Madison, Wisconsin. 

Isabel performs in a wide variety of styles, from musical theatre to opera, art song, and concert work. Favorite musical theatre roles include Jenny (Company, FST), Beth (Merrily We Roll…, MPT), Cinderella (Into the Woods, MPT), Clara (Light in the Piazza, UW Opera), and Sophie (Mamma Mia!, Theatre Memphis). Other memorable performance experiences include operatic roles like Miss Wordsworth (Albert Herring, UW Opera), Elva, (Everlasting Faint reading, UW-Madison), and Krysia (Two Remain…, UW Opera) and concert performances like Yeston’s December Songs with the Middleton Community Orchestra and Haydn’s Missa in tempore belli with the Ripon College choir. Isabel also produced her own one-woman cabaret, Wildbird, at the Play Circle in the Wisconsin Union Theatre. 

In addition to performing, Isabel loves to teach! She is ecstatic to be a part of the Nichols Voice Studio team. She is also currently an Instructor of Voice at Ripon College and maintains her own private voice studio in Madison. She has previously taught at Beloit College and Lausanne Collegiate School, and served as a Voice and Opera Teaching Assistant at UW-Madison, teaching voice lessons and class voice. She has guest lectured at Ripon College and UW-Madison, presented a Voice Masterclass at Edgewood College, and adjudicated Fort Atkinson High School’s annual Performing Arts Festival in 2025. In summer 2026, Isabel joined Children’s Theatre of Madison as a teaching artist for their Summer Stage “Wish Upon A Star” Disney cabaret.

Isabel is passionate about and loves to research vocal pedagogy. Her doctoral dissertation entitled, “The Pedagogical Advantages of Crosstraining the Voice: Using Musical Theatre to Advance the Technique of Classical Singers,” pushed against the idea that classical vocal pedagogy is paramount and encouraged a deeper exploration of other training methodologies. As a vocal cross-training specialist, she utilizes a variety of techniques and styles to help students understand and balance their whole voice. 

Isabel holds a Bachelor of Art in Music and Political Science from Rhodes College, a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Memphis, and a Doctorate of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

In her free time, Isabel enjoys spending time with her fiance Zak, their dog Cream Cheese, and their two cats, Lox and Nala.

OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR

Jen Connelly (she/her) is a Madison-based early childhood music educator and administrative professional. Throughout her career, Jen has focused on helping mission-driven organizations achieve sustainable growth by streamlining systems, improving internal processes, and developing practices that support long-term success. She is dedicated to creating welcoming, efficient, and supportive environments where both staff and families can thrive.

Jen has personally enjoyed singing in choirs and participating in musical theater productions, and she believes deeply in the lifelong social and emotional benefits of music and theater education. As an early childhood educator, she values building confidence, encouraging self-expression, and nurturing creativity through music, movement, and dramatic play within a relaxed and supportive environment. Jen currently teaches early-childhood music and movement classes at Monroe Street Arts Center, including partnership programs at Bayview Community Center and Attic Angel.

Jen holds a B.A. in Communicative Disorders from UW–Madison, an educational background that continues to inform her commitment to creating inclusive and supportive spaces for children and their caregivers.

Jen lives on Madison’s near-west side with her husband, Alex, and their two daughters, Maisie and Lola.

VIRTUAL ASSISTANT

Clarinetist Adella May Snyder is a performer and entrepreneur passionate about increasing the social relevance and accessibility of classical music while improving the working lives of contemporary musicians. Adella is the founder of The Musician’s Assistant, the first virtual assistant agency uniquely designed to support classical musicians and small businesses in the field.

The Musician’s Assistant partners with entrepreneurial musicians who are building unique, cutting edge careers in the classical music industry. TMA virtual assistants work with coaches, composers, conductors, performers, studio owners and other musical entrepreneurs to build sustainable, profitable businesses with more ease.

As a performer, Adella is equally at home in solo, chamber, and large ensemble contexts. She is a member of the Chaos Incarné Clarinet Trio and the Piedmont Wind Symphony, and plays regularly with orchestras throughout North Carolina. Adella has been invited to play at the American Single Reed Summit, the inaugural HERo Conference, and numerous ICA Clarinetfest and Low Clarinet conferences. Chaos Incarné was one of the first two ensembles to receive the ICA's Loren Kitt Memorial Award, which is given to emerging ensembles demonstrating excellence in chamber music. Adella has spent summers studying with Steve Cohen and Ricardo Morales at Brevard Music Center and the Philadelphia International Music Festival, and her primary clarinet teachers include Christopher Howard, Andy Hudson, and Anthony Taylor.

Adella earned her MM in Clarinet Performance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and her BA in Music Performance from Eastern Connecticut State University. At UNCG, Adella was principal clarinetist of the University Symphony Orchestra and Wind Ensemble, a Student Manager in the Harold Schiffman Music Library, and the Ensemble Manager for the School of Music. During her time at Eastern, Adella won the New England Intercollegiate Band Festival Solo Competition, received the 2019 Undergraduate Creative Activity Fellowship, and was awarded the 2020 Outstanding Honors Thesis Award for her project, “Leonard Bernstein and the Twentieth Century Crisis of Faith.” 

Adella has interned for the Raleigh-based ensemble earspace, the Hartford Symphony Orchestra’s Talcott Mountain Music Festival, and the International Clarinet Association. She has previously held positions as Administrative Assistant at the UNCG School of Music and Ensemble Manager of the Greensboro Symphony Youth Orchestras.