Noel Smith
New England NATS Region Governor

Noel Smith is a highly skilled singer, voice teacher, producer, pianist, and coach. She has studios in both Boston and New York and many of her students have made it to Broadway: Wicked (Elphaba), Mrs. Doubtfire (Christopher Hillard), Sing Street (Gary), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Charlie) and tours: Rent (Maureen), Jesus Christ Superstar (Mary), Janis Joplin the Musical (Janis), Waitress (Jenna), Hadestown (Euridice US, Ensemble), Sister Act, Elf, Baby Shark the Musical, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (swing).
Noel works with professional child actors, and prepares high school students for entry into the top undergraduate and graduate musical theater and pop programs across the country. She has taught at New England Conservatory’s Prep Program (guest teaching artist) and Walnut Hill School for the Arts (voice instructor and vocal coach).
Noel is a vocal habilitator and collaborates with Speech Language Pathologists from Brigham and Women's Voice and Speech Lab, Beth Israel Hospital in Boston and Cornell University Hospital in NY. She retrains injured singers and supports them in their careers. She is a presenter on vocal health and healthy belting for the young singer, and was a featured presenter for the NATS National Convention in Las Vegas and The Voice Foundation.
Noel's students are attending top tier schools such as: U of Michigan, NYU/Tisch, NYU/Steinhart, Syracuse, Ithaca, Boston Conservatory, Emerson, Northwestern, Manhattan School of Music, Berklee, AMDA, U of Arts, Pace, and Elon. She prepares singers for television shows The Voice and American Idol, where her students have moved on to the final audition rounds.
Noel graduated summa cum laude from the Boston Conservatory in Voice Performance and Piano. She has further training in Estill Voice (Level 1, 2, 3); CCM training at Shenandoah Conservatory with Matt Edwards, Level 2& 3; Yoga For Singers; Feldenkrais; Teacher Training with Sheri Sanders of Rock the Audition and the Pedagogy Workshop at Boston Conservatory.
As a Vocal Producer, Noel has produced many pop, Christian Contemporary, and choral recording projects. She is the Past President of NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing), Boston Chapter. She is a member of ASCAP and The Voice Foundation, NE Chapter. Noel is a voting member of The Recording Academy (Grammy Awards).
Noel is a Grammy balloted recording artist and songwriter who has released two solo albums. She has had songs on the charts and licensed her own music for films and video games. As a session singer, Noel's voice has been featured in numerous Hollywood films and internationally released video games. She works with iconic film composers Mark Isham, Brian Transeau (BT), Brian Tyler, Go Shina, Kiyoshi Yoshikowa, Kareem Roustom, and Olivier Deriviere. Most recently you can hear her vocals featured in Amazon Prime's "Electric Dreams" episode “AutoFac” where she was the featured singer on the episode and the ending credits. Noel has recorded for the last two albums of internationally touring acapella group Naturally 7. She is co-founder, president, producer and director at Vox Futura, New England's premier recording choir, bringing paid jobs to our professional singers.
Noel works with professional child actors, and prepares high school students for entry into the top undergraduate and graduate musical theater and pop programs across the country. She has taught at New England Conservatory’s Prep Program (guest teaching artist) and Walnut Hill School for the Arts (voice instructor and vocal coach).
Noel is a vocal habilitator and collaborates with Speech Language Pathologists from Brigham and Women's Voice and Speech Lab, Beth Israel Hospital in Boston and Cornell University Hospital in NY. She retrains injured singers and supports them in their careers. She is a presenter on vocal health and healthy belting for the young singer, and was a featured presenter for the NATS National Convention in Las Vegas and The Voice Foundation.
Noel's students are attending top tier schools such as: U of Michigan, NYU/Tisch, NYU/Steinhart, Syracuse, Ithaca, Boston Conservatory, Emerson, Northwestern, Manhattan School of Music, Berklee, AMDA, U of Arts, Pace, and Elon. She prepares singers for television shows The Voice and American Idol, where her students have moved on to the final audition rounds.
Noel graduated summa cum laude from the Boston Conservatory in Voice Performance and Piano. She has further training in Estill Voice (Level 1, 2, 3); CCM training at Shenandoah Conservatory with Matt Edwards, Level 2& 3; Yoga For Singers; Feldenkrais; Teacher Training with Sheri Sanders of Rock the Audition and the Pedagogy Workshop at Boston Conservatory.
As a Vocal Producer, Noel has produced many pop, Christian Contemporary, and choral recording projects. She is the Past President of NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing), Boston Chapter. She is a member of ASCAP and The Voice Foundation, NE Chapter. Noel is a voting member of The Recording Academy (Grammy Awards).
Noel is a Grammy balloted recording artist and songwriter who has released two solo albums. She has had songs on the charts and licensed her own music for films and video games. As a session singer, Noel's voice has been featured in numerous Hollywood films and internationally released video games. She works with iconic film composers Mark Isham, Brian Transeau (BT), Brian Tyler, Go Shina, Kiyoshi Yoshikowa, Kareem Roustom, and Olivier Deriviere. Most recently you can hear her vocals featured in Amazon Prime's "Electric Dreams" episode “AutoFac” where she was the featured singer on the episode and the ending credits. Noel has recorded for the last two albums of internationally touring acapella group Naturally 7. She is co-founder, president, producer and director at Vox Futura, New England's premier recording choir, bringing paid jobs to our professional singers.
Julie Krugman
New England NATS Region Auditions Chair

Julie Krugman is a Mezzo-Soprano located in the Boston Metro-West area. She has performed professionally throughout the United States during her 25-year career.
Julie graduated with a degree in Vocal Performance from the Indiana University School of Music and went on to receive her Master of Vocal Performance from the Northwestern University School of Music in Evanston, Illinois. Upon completion of her degrees, Ms. Krugman performed around the Chicago area, most notably with the Chicago Symphony Chorus and the Chicago Lyric Opera Chorus.
Ms. Krugman served on the Board for the Boston Chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) since 2014 where she served as both Auditions Chair & Vice-President. As Chair, she has led all aspects of Student Auditions; from registration, venue management, scheduling and web site creation to acquiring top talent to judge the finalist concerts.
Ms. Krugman has been featured soloist in many Oratorio performances, most notably as the Alto soloist in Handel’s Messiah and the Mezzo-Soprano soloist in both Rutter’s Feel The Spirit and Ray’s Gospel Mass. Since her move to the Boston area, Ms. Krugman has been a featured soloist and ensemble member with the Worcester Chorus and the Back Bay Chorale. She has been a featured soloist in the Worcester Schubertiad series and with the Worcester State University Chorale.
Ms. Krugman is new to the Voice faculty at Salve Regina University Music Department for the Fall of 2022. Julie also joined the Voice Faculty in the Department of Music at Anna Maria College In the fall of 2019 after 8 years as a member of the Visual and Performing Arts faculty at Worcester State University. She is also an Adjunct Faculty member teaching Opera Appreciation and the freshman seminar course, “Theater Rocks”, which teaches about the rock musical genre. She has also taught her rock musical class at Dean College in Franklin, MA.
Since opening the Julie Krugman Voice Studio in 2009, she has developed a business that has included over 30 middle and high school students. As a voice instructor, she has coached many of her students in successful auditions for Central District Choir, All-State and All-National Choir, NATS Regional & National Competitions, Classical Singer/Auditions Plus National Competitions, and roles in school and community musical productions. Her students have won National recognition through competitions in Musical Theatre and she has aided many others into top classical music and musical theatre performance Colleges and Universities. Julie has also been trained in teaching Contemporary Commercial Music (CCM) and she has aided many students with proper mic technique, pop & jazz vocal styling and working in a recording studio.
Julie lives with her husband Josh and her sons Jack and Ben in Providence, RI.
juliekrugmanstudio.com
Julie graduated with a degree in Vocal Performance from the Indiana University School of Music and went on to receive her Master of Vocal Performance from the Northwestern University School of Music in Evanston, Illinois. Upon completion of her degrees, Ms. Krugman performed around the Chicago area, most notably with the Chicago Symphony Chorus and the Chicago Lyric Opera Chorus.
Ms. Krugman served on the Board for the Boston Chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) since 2014 where she served as both Auditions Chair & Vice-President. As Chair, she has led all aspects of Student Auditions; from registration, venue management, scheduling and web site creation to acquiring top talent to judge the finalist concerts.
Ms. Krugman has been featured soloist in many Oratorio performances, most notably as the Alto soloist in Handel’s Messiah and the Mezzo-Soprano soloist in both Rutter’s Feel The Spirit and Ray’s Gospel Mass. Since her move to the Boston area, Ms. Krugman has been a featured soloist and ensemble member with the Worcester Chorus and the Back Bay Chorale. She has been a featured soloist in the Worcester Schubertiad series and with the Worcester State University Chorale.
Ms. Krugman is new to the Voice faculty at Salve Regina University Music Department for the Fall of 2022. Julie also joined the Voice Faculty in the Department of Music at Anna Maria College In the fall of 2019 after 8 years as a member of the Visual and Performing Arts faculty at Worcester State University. She is also an Adjunct Faculty member teaching Opera Appreciation and the freshman seminar course, “Theater Rocks”, which teaches about the rock musical genre. She has also taught her rock musical class at Dean College in Franklin, MA.
Since opening the Julie Krugman Voice Studio in 2009, she has developed a business that has included over 30 middle and high school students. As a voice instructor, she has coached many of her students in successful auditions for Central District Choir, All-State and All-National Choir, NATS Regional & National Competitions, Classical Singer/Auditions Plus National Competitions, and roles in school and community musical productions. Her students have won National recognition through competitions in Musical Theatre and she has aided many others into top classical music and musical theatre performance Colleges and Universities. Julie has also been trained in teaching Contemporary Commercial Music (CCM) and she has aided many students with proper mic technique, pop & jazz vocal styling and working in a recording studio.
Julie lives with her husband Josh and her sons Jack and Ben in Providence, RI.
juliekrugmanstudio.com
Eric Balboni
New England NATS Technology & Social Media Chair

Tenor Eric Balboni currently teaches in the Greater Worcester Area in Massachusetts. Eric is a Professor of Practice in Music and the Voice Department Coordinator at Anna Maria College in Paxton, Massachusetts where he teaches voice lessons and vocal performance classes in addition to directing cabarets and opera scenes productions. At Anna Maria, Eric developed and implemented the Vocal Performance and Musical Theater minor programs. He holds a Master’s Degree in Vocal Performance (Opera) and an Advanced Certificate in Vocal Pedagogy from New York University. Eric’s teaching method is strongly based in an understanding of the science of the voice and its application to the individual voices in his studio. Eric helps his students to form good vocal habits and technique that will grow as their voices develop.
Students in his private studio have gone on to participate in District and All State festival choirs and have been accepted at music programs of major colleges and universities.
Eric enjoys teaching all styles of singing including classical, musical theater, and contemporary commercial music. He believes in a comprehensive approach to technique using various genres of repertoire to help his students grow as singers and musicians. In addition to his role in the New England NATS Region, he currently serves the board of the Massachusetts chapter Pan-American Vocology Association as Director of Programming.
Music directing credits include Drowsy Chaperone, Children of Eden, Firebringer, Little Women, High School Musical Jr. & Willy Wonka Jr. (Enter Stage Left Theater), Avenue Q, The Wedding Singer, Beauty and the Beast & The Addams Family (Clark University), Little Shop of Horrors, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Firebringer & The Addams Family (Anna Maria College).
ericbalboni.com
Students in his private studio have gone on to participate in District and All State festival choirs and have been accepted at music programs of major colleges and universities.
Eric enjoys teaching all styles of singing including classical, musical theater, and contemporary commercial music. He believes in a comprehensive approach to technique using various genres of repertoire to help his students grow as singers and musicians. In addition to his role in the New England NATS Region, he currently serves the board of the Massachusetts chapter Pan-American Vocology Association as Director of Programming.
Music directing credits include Drowsy Chaperone, Children of Eden, Firebringer, Little Women, High School Musical Jr. & Willy Wonka Jr. (Enter Stage Left Theater), Avenue Q, The Wedding Singer, Beauty and the Beast & The Addams Family (Clark University), Little Shop of Horrors, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Firebringer & The Addams Family (Anna Maria College).
ericbalboni.com
Jennifer Sgroe
New England NATS Regional Development Liaison

Praised for her “patrician ease and polished vocal refinement" by the Boston Music Intelligencer, soprano and voice teacher, Jennifer Sgroe began her career in dance and musical theater before moving into the operatic repertoire. She has performed across the US and at festivals in Finland, England and Austria in opera, recitals and on the concert stage, singing and recording in venues such as Jordan Hall, Mechanics Hall, Symphony Space, Radio City Music Hall, Carnegie Hall, The Society for Ethical Culture and the United Nations. She specializes in contemporary American opera and repertoire of the Baroque and Classical eras and holds the Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Kentucky, the Master of Music in Opera from The Boston Conservatory and the Doctorate of Musical Arts, also from the University of Kentucky and was an Apprentice Artist with Utah Opera following her graduate studies. She is a seasoned performer, teacher, administrative leader and producer, having put her talents to use in various sides of the performing arts and within academia. Her primary voice teachers include Everett McCorvey, Sara Goldstein and Arthur Levy. Dr. Sgroe has been teaching voice for over twenty years at the university level, in private studio and community music schools.
Past university teaching positions include New York University, the University of Kentucky, Transylvania University, Dean College and Emerson College.For the past ten years she has been a member of the Voice Faculty of New England Conservatory’s Preparatory & Continuing Education Division and held the role of Chair of NEC’s Preparatory Voice Department from 2011-2015. In addition to working with high school age singers, she also works with adults of all ages and levels, including recent college graduates preparing for next-level training, former Preparatory School alumni, members of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, actors, and professionals from all walks of life who choose to continue to develop their voices and musical gifts. Her voice students have gone on to study at leading college and summer programs across the country. From 2014-2017, Dr. Sgroe also served as Assistant Professor of Theater and Head of Vocal Studies & Musical Theater at Dean College where she led the Musical Theater concentration. At Dean College she developed the Musical Theater concentration, overseeing the complete voice training curriculum.
Dr. Sgroe’s experience as an academic, pedagogue and administrator, is further enhanced by her experience as producer and musical entrepreneur for the past sixteen years, producing a variety of successful musical programs and events across genres and in collaboration with varied musical ensembles and performers. In addition, she has held administrative leadership positions within corporate and startup environments, including biotech, private equity and commercial music technology, serving as the go-to person for all major administration including development and execution of standard operating procedures, and most recently, legal contract administration and corporate communications. She is currently developing several additional projects as a performer and teacher including the PROJECT 2020 Recital Series, a recital series with pianist Eric Sedgwick, representing the viewpoint of contemporary women through the songs of 20 women composers of the 21st Century in works written within the past 20 years. In Winter 2021, while undertaking the #100DaysofPractice Challenge on Instagram, she developed the Passion for Practice Masterclass which re-defines the purpose and intention of practice, offering concrete tools and inspiration to empower singers in their practice. This masterclass will be presented at institutions in New England and across the country in 2021-2022. Additionally, she is in the planning stages of working with the voice teaching and voice care community in Boston to spearhead and develop the Respiration & Recovery Initiative: Post-Covid Aftercare Through Singing program. http://www.jennifersgroe.com/post-covid-rr-initiative Originally from New York, Jennifer Sgroe resides in Westborough, Massachusetts and maintains a small private studio in addition to teaching for New England Conservatory. She is thrilled to join NATS New England Region in this new role and assist in building opportunities for the singing and voice training community, advancing the view of the personal and public value of singing in our lives and communities-at-large.
www.jennifersgroe.com
Past university teaching positions include New York University, the University of Kentucky, Transylvania University, Dean College and Emerson College.For the past ten years she has been a member of the Voice Faculty of New England Conservatory’s Preparatory & Continuing Education Division and held the role of Chair of NEC’s Preparatory Voice Department from 2011-2015. In addition to working with high school age singers, she also works with adults of all ages and levels, including recent college graduates preparing for next-level training, former Preparatory School alumni, members of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, actors, and professionals from all walks of life who choose to continue to develop their voices and musical gifts. Her voice students have gone on to study at leading college and summer programs across the country. From 2014-2017, Dr. Sgroe also served as Assistant Professor of Theater and Head of Vocal Studies & Musical Theater at Dean College where she led the Musical Theater concentration. At Dean College she developed the Musical Theater concentration, overseeing the complete voice training curriculum.
Dr. Sgroe’s experience as an academic, pedagogue and administrator, is further enhanced by her experience as producer and musical entrepreneur for the past sixteen years, producing a variety of successful musical programs and events across genres and in collaboration with varied musical ensembles and performers. In addition, she has held administrative leadership positions within corporate and startup environments, including biotech, private equity and commercial music technology, serving as the go-to person for all major administration including development and execution of standard operating procedures, and most recently, legal contract administration and corporate communications. She is currently developing several additional projects as a performer and teacher including the PROJECT 2020 Recital Series, a recital series with pianist Eric Sedgwick, representing the viewpoint of contemporary women through the songs of 20 women composers of the 21st Century in works written within the past 20 years. In Winter 2021, while undertaking the #100DaysofPractice Challenge on Instagram, she developed the Passion for Practice Masterclass which re-defines the purpose and intention of practice, offering concrete tools and inspiration to empower singers in their practice. This masterclass will be presented at institutions in New England and across the country in 2021-2022. Additionally, she is in the planning stages of working with the voice teaching and voice care community in Boston to spearhead and develop the Respiration & Recovery Initiative: Post-Covid Aftercare Through Singing program. http://www.jennifersgroe.com/post-covid-rr-initiative Originally from New York, Jennifer Sgroe resides in Westborough, Massachusetts and maintains a small private studio in addition to teaching for New England Conservatory. She is thrilled to join NATS New England Region in this new role and assist in building opportunities for the singing and voice training community, advancing the view of the personal and public value of singing in our lives and communities-at-large.
www.jennifersgroe.com