As a Master Voice Teacher…

Mary prepared Nicole Kidman for her Golden Globe Award winning and Oscar nominated performance in Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge. She has been the Master Voice Teacher to Grammy Award-winners Michael Bolton and Mary J. Blige, Oscar winners Forest Whitaker and Kate Winslet, Emmy Award-winner Kerry Washington, as well as the stars of John Turturro's musical movie Romance & Cigarettes, including James Gandolfini, Mandy Moore and Bobby Cannavale. Mary prepared Bella Thorne for her appearance as the Swan on The Masked Singer (season 3) and her feature film singing debut in Midnight Sun. Mary was the Master Voice Teacher to Ben Daniels for his performance as Pontius Pilate in JC Superstar Live on NBC starring John Legend, and has been Broadway star Sierra Boggess’ teacher since Sierra was 17 years old.

SEPTEMBER NYC 2024!

Mary’s new book,
SING - Find Your True Voice
#1 BEST SELLER on Amazon in voice

Mary prepared Nicole Kidman, James Gandolfini, Bella Thorne, & Sierra Boggess in their performances below.

Mary is also called upon by Disney to teach the leading players for the Broadway and touring companies of Elton John's Billy Elliot, Aida and The Lion King, Phil Collins' Tarzan, and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Bombay Dreams.

Other students include Juliette Binoche, Milla Jovovich, Eric Anthony Lopez, Trudie Styler, Aida Turturro, Debra Cox, Annabella Sciorra, Keri Russell, Tate Donovan, Micky Dolenz, Josh Strickland, Simone, Patrick Cassidy, Charles Osgood, Danish pop star Tim Schou, and Italian stars Serena Autieri, Filippo Timi, Gala, Andrea Osvart, Denny Mendez, Roberta Gambarini, Marco Ligabue, Violante Placido, the a cappella group SeiOttavi, rapper Baby K, and singers on the Italian TV shows X Factor, Sanremo, and The Voice Italia.

Internationally, Mary has been teaching a variety of intensives and masterclasses in Rome, Milan, Naples, Venice, Palermo, San Remo, Ravenna, Manchester, Lisbon, Moscow, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Yerevan since 2005. Mary has been the Master Voice Teacher/Guest Artist at the Roma Film Academy as well as at the Pop/Rock School of Italian guitar legend Franco Mussida in Milan at CPM (Centro Professione Musica).

Mary is proud to be the Master Voice Teacher/Guest Artist at The Susan Batson Studio, LLC in New York City since 1999.

About Mary

Mary Setrakian is a native of San Francisco, California. She has been a resident of New York City for over 30 years performing professionally, in conjunction with teaching master voice to a variety of artists in New York, Los Angeles and internationally in Italy, Australia, England, Portugal, Russia, and Armenia.

Mary has been seen on Broadway in Hello, Dolly! starring Carol Channing (cast recording). She toured with the Broadway companies of Phantom of the Opera (Madame Giry), Les Miserables, Hello, Dolly! (seen in several performances as Irene Molloy across from Carol Channing), and the World Tour of Evita (Eva Peron in Duisburg, Germany). Mary was featured at Carnegie Hall in Jubilee directed by Herbert Ross.

Recently, Mary made her directorial debut and wrote the book for Manuel Cossu’s pop-opera, Il Templare, making its world premiere in Cagliari, Sardinia. Mary traveled for three months with her Let the Sunshine Tour of Singing Masterclasses throughout Australia - Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. In addition, Mary made her Sydney Opera House debut with her one-woman concert, Let the Sun Shine. She performed the same concert to sold out audiences off-Broadway at the Triad Theater NYC.

Mary starred as The Beggar Woman in Scott Logsdon’s production of Sweeney Todd. She sings with orchestras in the US and internationally – from an evening with the SSO at her alma mater, Stanford University, to her solo concerts in Milan, Italy with the Avant Orchestra, a concert of Big Band meets Broadway garnering rave reviews.

Mary’s Off-Broadway credits include the Duchess in Dorian Gray, and featured roles in Jones & Schmidt’s Colette Collage (cast recording), and Bob Merrill’s Hannah ...1939 starring Julie Wilson (cast recording). At the beginning of her career, Mary starred off-Broadway in over 20 productions with the Light Opera of Manhattan in title roles such as Naughty Marietta, The Merry Widow, and Gilbert & Sullivan classics like HMS Pinafore (Josephine), and Iolanthe (Phyllis).

Mary’s award winning “Best Actress” regional roles include Fanny Brice in Funny Girl, Trina in Falsettos, the Narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and her critically acclaimed one-woman show, A New York Romance: The LA Times exclaimed "Chanteuse Setrakian is ... dazzling!"

Mary holds a Masters in Voice Performance with Distinction from the New England Conservatory, and is a graduate of Stanford University in Music/Voice with Honors. She studied at the Tanglewood Music Festival with Phyllis Curtain, and was a voice student of Joan Heller, Mark Pearson, Marie Gibson, and Corinne Swall. She has studied acting with her mentor, Susan Batson, for over 30 years.

Mary’s Interview with BBC NEWS