Drama Director
BRAD FRIEDMAN is celebrating his twentieth year as the Drama director at San Mateo High School. He has directed over forty productions for the school. Among his favorites are Rent, The Laramie Project, The Philadelphia Story, The Secret Garden, Lucky Stiff, Fiddler on the Roof, The Mousetrap, Sweeney Todd, 42nd Street, Into the Woods, and The Miracle Worker. Brad is a graduate of UC Berkeley and has acted and/or directed for a number of theatre companies, including Actors Ensemble of Berkeley, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Berkeley Shakespeare Festival, The Eureka Theatre, Peninsula Center Stage and Broadway by the Bay, where he has appeared in many shows, including Beauty and the Beast (Cogsworth), Ragtime, Peter Pan (Smee), Joseph/Dreamcoat (Potiphar/Jacob) and The Music Man. Brad was the 2005 recipient of the ArtShare Diamond Award as the year's outstanding Arts Educator, and in 2007 he shared the Hillbarn Theatre's Bravo Award with his good friend, Virginia Musante. And for the past ten years, he has hosted Quiz Kids, a weekly television game show, which can be seen on KRON-TV (Channel 4) every Saturday at 2:00pm and on Peninsula TV (Channel 26).
Musical Conductor
ATTILIO TRIBUZI has been teaching music since 1986. For the last twenty years he has been at San Mateo High School conducting Jazz Band, Marching Band, Symphonic Band, Orchestra and Chorus classes. He has been the musical director for the Drama Department's winter productions for the past twenty years as well. He is currently Chair of the SMHS Visual and Performing Arts Department, SMUHSD Coordinator for Music Standards, and Master of Ceremonies for the SMUHSD's In Concert series. Mr. Tribuzi studied music at San Francisco State University as an undergraduate and earned his Master's degree at CSU Hayward. You can find out more about the SMHS music program by going to the music website www.BearcatBands.org.
Choreographer
ROBYN TRIBUZI has taught dance at the high school and college level for the past 25 years. She has received the Mason-McDuffie "Teacher of the Year" award for teaching dance in public high school. As a performer, she has worked with Evan Pappas, Barbra Streisand, and Gregory Hines and as a certified Jazzercise instructor, she taught and performed at International Jazzercise Conventions. She is currently the Director of Dance for the award winning San Mateo High School Performing Arts Department. She teaches and creates curriculum for five dance classes (beginning through advanced), as well as choreographing SMHS's two yearly school musicals.
Along with teaching at San Mateo High School, Robyn is also on the faculty of Notre Dame de Namur University's Music Theatre Conservatory. She teaches the Jazz/Theatre Dance portion of the program. For 8 seasons she worked as Assistant Choreographer to Mr. Berle Davis at Broadway by the Bay and has been a part of over 25 productions at BBBay and American Musical Theatre of San Jose. In 2006 she won a Bay Area Theatre Critic's Award for her choreography in "Miss Saigon". Since then, Robyn has choreographed many Broadway by the Bay productions such as "Thouroughly Modern Millie", "Crazy for You" and "Full Monty".
Vocal Director
SHAWN REIFSCHNEIDER (Vocal Director) has been directing choral ensembles since 1994. He comes to San Mateo and Burlingame High Schools this year from Hillsdale High School where he has been teaching since 2000. Though predominately teaching choral ensemble classes, he has also taught string orchestra, musical theater, and computer applications courses. He can be found directing vocals for local high school musicals, including Hillsdale, San Mateo, and Burlingame High Schools. Mr. Reifschneider has taught private voice lessons and directed church and community ensembles in California and Oregon. He currently holds the Music Director position for the Unitarian Universalists of San Mateo. Mr. Reifschneider has also been a guest conductor and festival adjudicator for San Francisco Bay Area middle school festivals and regional summer music camps.
Mr. Reifschneider earned his Bachelor of Science degree from California State University in Hayward, double majoring in Vocal Performance and Business Administration. He went on to pursue further study in Music and Worship, earning his Master of Divinity degree at Oregon’s Western Seminary.
Vocal Director
LARRY RICE started playing the piano in 4th grade and hasn't stopped. While not a classical pianist, he can provide a great background for anyone either singing or dancing. Most recently he has played for and musically directed the 2003 San Carlos Kiwanis Show. He has played for the San Carlos Chicken's Ball and the Belmont Community Players Melodrama. He has also provided accompaniment and/or vocal direction for Notre Dame's Christmas Carol, Palo Alto Community Players, Bowditch Middle School, San Mateo High School, Carlmont High School, Tierra Linda Middle School as well as a number of grade schools. He has also been on stage with Notre Dame, San Carlos Children's Theater, Solano Community College, and the Davis Community Theater.
Whether playing in a large production, or in a small sing-along session, Larry is most comfortable when sitting at the keyboard.
