Rayanne Dupuis
Rayanne and Roberta have enjoyed a long, fruitful and joyous collaboration, united in both their teaching and personal philosophies. Having numerous mutual friends and colleagues before they eventually made each other's acquaintance, Roberta and Rayanne often say that their eventual meeting and enduring partnership was simply 'meant to be.'
Originally from Canada, Rayanne holds a Masters in Music from Yale University and a doctorate from SUNY Stony Brook in the United States. She has performed at the opera houses of Basel (Switzerland), Toronto, Edmonton (Canada), Seattle, Miami and Austin (USA), as well as in France and Europe. She has been a guest with major symphony orchestras such as the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Deutsche Symphonie Orchester, the Ensemble Intercontemporain, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, RTE (Dublin), Helsinki, Porto, Pays de Loire, RAI (Milan), and more.
Now based in Paris where she is on faculty at the Paris College of Music, Rayanne is dedicated to passing on her infectious energy and immense passion for singing to her students at every level.
Justine Eckhaut
French pianist Justine Eckhaut is a versatile artist. Alongside her international concert career as a soloist, Lied partner and chamber musician, she is deeply committed to pedagogy and teaching as well as to interdisciplinary performance projects.
In February 2025, Justine won both First Prize and the prize for the best interpretation of the commissioned work at the Franz Schubert and Modern Music Competition in Graz in the "Lied Duo" category with soprano Katrīna Paula Felsberga. She is also a member of Trio Dara with soprano Heather Newhouse and alto Anthea Pichanick, as well as of Let me LIED you, an interdisciplinary project by soprano Amanda Becker. She has performed at the Schubert Week at the Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin, the Heidelberg Spring Festival, LiedBASEL, Lied in Würzburg, and the Hidalgo Festival in Munich.
Justine studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Lyon with Florent Boffard and David Selig, and at the Berlin University of the Arts with Björn Lehmann and Eric Schneider. She now teaches Lied interpretation at the HMDK Stuttgart and works as a vocal coach at the Berlin University of the Arts. She is also assistant to the children’s choir of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden (director: Vinzenz Weissenburger).
In 2020, Justine Eckhaut founded berlied, an independent song festival in Berlin, which will present its fifth edition in October 2026. In collaboration with Roberta, berlied held its host its first masterclass for singer-pianist duos in June 206, with select duos from the masterclass performing during the festival itself.
Susanne Pollmeier
Another long term collaborator of Roberta and MAD, Susanne is a trained actress, singer, and lecturer in acting and song interpretation for musical theatre training. In addition to her professional practice, she has also trained as a communication trainer and systemic coach.
Through her many years of teaching, Susanne has developed a passion for and holistic approach to helping people find their individual presentation style and supporting them in being able to represent their topics effectively.
Susanne's priority is to work with an artist to find their inner and outer posture that will help navigate the challenges of everyday life and work. To discover this posture, she works to explore one's physical and vocal presence, and examine which inner attitudes might be preventing one from being heard more effectively. Susanne's training sessions are designed for artists to gain more awareness of their identity, body, and confidence in their personality and presentation.
Susanne creates a nurturing and supportive environment, and imparts her knowledge in a highly practical way, enabling one to communicate constructively, authentically, and purposefully in a variety of situations.
