Magaziner Vocal Studio to Bring YOUNG VOICES FOR CHANGE to 54 Below

54 Below and the Badiene Magaziner Vocal Studio will present Young Voices for Change, a group founded by internationally acclaimed voice teacher and Juilliard alumna, Badiene Magaziner, to give singers a platform for social awareness.

Join Badiene for an evening of Broadway and pop favorites on Monday, October 12th at 7PM, with Ruobing Zhang, Music Director, to raise funds for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. 

Magaziner Vocal Studio (MVS) rising stars will be showcased among MVS Broadway and Off-Broadway stars including Michael Lee Brown (Dear Evan Hansen), Alayna Martus (Disney’s The Lion King), Olivia Edward (Annie Get Your Gun), Aerina DeBoer (“The Summer I Turned Pretty,” Ragtime), Annabelle Kempf (Billy Elliot), Clair Rachel Howell (Wicked), Raquel Nobile (Yiddish Fiddler), Savannah Austin (Annie), Luli Mitchell (A Christmas Story), Natalia Bingham (School of Rock), Daniella Castoria (West Side Story, LA Opera), Cara Impallomeni (Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas!),  and Skylar Matthews (The Sound of Music) and will raise funds for the Make-a-Wish Foundation in honor of Badiene’s son, Erik.

Badiene’s only child, Erik Emanuel Boelkow, was diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia. Erik’s best chance for survival was a bone marrow transplant with marrow from a healthy donor. No donor was found and Erik passed away at the tender age of 13. Badiene created a show called Erik’s Wish as a tribute to his short but impactful life!

Magaziner, a former faculty member of her alma mater, The Juilliard School, starred in operas in Europe before making her American debut, starring in The Consul at The Kennedy Center. Magaziner opened her studio 20+ years ago when her beloved son, Erik died.

Trying to fulfill his dying wish that, "No kid dies from leukemia," she produced "Erik's Wish," a series of benefit concerts to raise funds for children with cancer. After the first concert, parents approached Magaziner asking if she would teach their child, and the Badiene Magaziner Vocal Studio was born. 

One of her first students, Ruobing Zhang, who at 7 years old, was already a piano prodigy. 

“I am so proud of him! He has become an extraordinary singer and has graduated from The Juilliard School with a Master of Music in Collaborative Piano!”