Meet Natalie
Natalie Gray embraces her inner conglomerate rock as a Teaching Artist, Singer, Pianist, and Composer/Arranger. Well-versed in the genres of Musical Theatre, Jazz, Classical, Pop, and Singer-Songwriter/Folk, her flexibility to weave in and out of musical styles is a testament to her rich and diverse musical background.
Natalie is a recent graduate of Columbia University, receiving her Master of Arts in Music & Music Education. At Columbia, she served as a Choir Manager and Composer/Arranger for the Teachers College Community Choir, a Graduate Voice Instructor for Columbia students, a Composer-in-Residence and Graduate Instructor for the Singers' Workshops @ TC, and the Director of the Every Voice Youth Choir, part of the not-for-profit organization, Every Voice Choirs (EVC) hosted at TC. Her choral arrangements and original compositions premiered at Merkin Hall at Lincoln Center, Broadway Presbyterian Church, the Miller Theatre at Columbia University, and Milbank Chapel at Columbia University. During the transition to remote learning at Columbia, Natalie composed an original piece for comfort and healing in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, Make The Silence Loud With Love. This piece was featured in the Teachers College Community Choir's first virtual concert with over 50 choir singers and a full band. To culminate her time at Columbia, Natalie performed as a featured musical soloist for the 2020 Teachers College Columbia University Virtual Convocation, singing and playing What The World Needs Now Is Love, among special guests like Pulitzer Prize Winner Nikole Hannah-Jones and former U.S. senator and Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Natalie holds a B.S. in Music Education with a specialization in Vocal Performance from Hofstra University. At Hofstra, she was awarded for her performance excellence as the winner of the William Rosencrans Endowed Music Scholarship, a solo honors recital in classical voice. She was also the recipient of the Herbert A. Deutsch Award for Excellence in Music Education and a member of Pi Kappa Lambda’s National Music Honor Society. Natalie was active in Hofstra’s performing arts opportunities. A highlight was singing the role of Zerlina in Mozart’s Don Giovanni on the Adams Playhouse stage. She was a four-year member of the Hofstra Chamber Singers, a select choral ensemble. The Chamber Singers embarked on a professional tour of the New England states and was featured on the web series, Great Performances at Hofstra. In addition, she is the proud co-founder of the Hofstra Vocal Jazz Quartet (HVJQ), in which she sang Soprano and arranged for. The members of the HVJQ were National Anthem soloists at Nassau Coliseum.
Natalie continued her career as a Jazz/Cabaret soloist and Singer/Songwriter performing at prominent New York venues such as Rockwood Music Hall, The Living Room, Cornelia Street Café, the Metropolitan Room, Don’t Tell Mama’s, Cleopatra's Needle, and the Solar1 Stage. This includes singing with world-renowned pianist Lee Musiker and the prestigious big band, New York City Swing. Natalie also performed in Jim Caruso’s Cast Party at Birdland in NYC, where she was reviewed in their newsletter as a “thrilling singer who set the bar high.” Most recently, Natalie performed a show for Sofar Sounds Long Island, singing and playing her original music to a warm, intimate audience. Her original song, The Fight, is featured on Sofar Sounds' Spotify Playlist. In the Musical Theatre industry, past performance credits include: The Zimmer Girls (Zena) at The Actor’s Temple in NYC; Tess, a new rock opera (Nancy) at the Planet Connections Theatre Festivity in NYC; Cabaret (Fräulein Kost) at Adams Playhouse; Grease! (Sandy), Gypsy (June), and Big (Cynthia Benson). Television credits include: Long Island Medium on TLC (Featured Singing Caroler) and Live In Hollywood on FOX (Featured Voice Contestant).
Natalie is equally as passionate about performance as she is about music education. On the college level, she is currently an adjunct instructor at Hofstra University, directing the music department's vocal jazz ensemble, Jazz 20 Choir. Natalie is also on the Voice Faculty at Molloy College, teaching private lessons in Music Theatre Voice for the Molloy/CAP 21 Theatre Arts program. Her educational journey took her to Five Towns College, where she served as a Voice Instructor for undergraduates and the Musical Director, Arranger, and Accompanist for Broadway Bound, a course in cabaret performance. She served as the Director of Musical Theatre Studies and a Voice/Piano Instructor at the Music Academy of Garden City, teaching a breadth of students ranging from ages 7 to 18. As a Masterclass Artist, Natalie teaches Acting The Song, a Pre-College Musical Theatre Summer Workshop at Adelphi University. She also teaches masterclasses in Vocal Jazz Improvisation at high schools across Long Island. Natalie continues her passion for elementary and secondary choral education, currently directing the Every Voice Youth Choir in Manhattan and teaching courses in Vocal Technique, Vocal Jazz, and Songwriting for Every Voice Choirs.
