2022 (Original Cast)
Charles Reid
Drums
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David Gaschen is a worldwide renowned vocalist and performer who is best known for the numerous years he devoted to performing as the Phantom in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera.
Originally from Lubbock, David graduated from Texas Tech University with a degree in Vocal Performance under John Gillas. He was first cast as a Phantom alternate in May 1995 in the original Swiss production of The Phantom of the Opera in Basel, Switzerland. At the age of 26, David was the youngest Phantom to be cast. After a few years performing in Switzerland, he joined the German production of The Phantom of the Opera in Hamburg, Germany, eventually performing the role of the Phantom well over 1,000 times.
David then returned to the United States and made his Broadway debut as the Phantom in November 1999. David now holds the distinguished honor of having performed the role of the Phantom in professional productions over 1,300 times.
Although David loves the Broadway stage, he decided to shift his career direction to the concert and recording arena. David has recorded multiple albums, including his self-titled album, David Gaschen, a solo album titled Let Me Sing and I’m Happy, and a Christmas album titled David Gaschen: A Celebration of Christmas. David also recorded with Howard McGillin, Hugh Panaro, and Michael Crawford on the album Broadway’s Fabulous Phantoms.
David has been recognized for his professional success several times. He received the Director’s Award of Excellence from the Texas Tech University School of Music in 1997, was inducted into the West Texas Walk of Fame in September 2006, and received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Texas Tech’s School of Visual and Performing Arts in 2018. In 2020, he gave a TEDx talk on Faith in the Life of the Phantom.
David currently lives in Frisco, Texas, and is the Artist-In-Residence at Stonebriar Community Church, which was founded by Charles Swindoll. He also runs the David Gaschen Voice Studio in Frisco. David is most proud of his wonderful family. He thanks God every day for his beautiful bride Jeanne and his incredible children Andrew and Molly!
Alex Bumpas is a singer, actor, multi-instrumentalist, and arranger from Dallas, Texas. Alex studied classical voice and jazz trumpet at the University of North Texas. While still in college, he began playing trumpet and singing with Bill Tillman, a Blood, Sweat, & Tears saxophonist. Upon graduation, Alex joined the national tour of the critically acclaimed original musical The 3 Redneck Tenors. In 2006, the group portrayed their characters from the musical and were finalists on NBC’s America’s Got Talent. Alex is an accomplished musical theater performer, having shared the stage with Tony Award Winning artists, including Carol Lawrence and Cathy Rigby.
In 2011, Alex was selected by Marilyn Horne to attend the prestigious Music Academy of the West as a singing fellow. He has been a soloist with numerous orchestras around the country and abroad including the Cleveland Pops, Russian National Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Knoxville Opera Orchestra, and most recently as the tenor soloist in Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem for the Durham Brass festival in Durham, England. As a professional chorister, he has performed with the Verdigris Ensemble, Vox Humana, Orpheus Chamber Singers, and the Grammy-nominated South Dakota Chorale.
Alex has been involved in a number of large-scale arena concerts with Game of Thrones Composer Ramin Djawadi and internationally acclaimed tenor Andrea Bocelli. As a trumpeter, Alex specializes in commercial music, having performed with numerous Top 40 artists in a variety of genres from pop artist Taylor Dayne to jazz singer Steve Tyrell. He is also an accomplished studio musician having recorded trumpet, piano, guitar, electric bass, drums, and vocals for various independent and commercial recording artists. In addition to music, Alex has worked as a comedic actor and has been featured on national and local television, the LA Improve, Pittsburg Improv, and on the Las Vegas strip.
Joe Caskey is a New York-based actor, singer, and instrumentalist, originally from Roanoke, Texas. He graduated from Oklahoma City University with a degree in musical theater and vocal performance. His most recent credits include Billy Bigelow in Carousel, Harry in Kinky Boots, and the Escapologist in Matilda at Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma. Joe would like to thank his family and friends for all the support they have given him. He would also like to give a special thanks to David Gaschen for his knowledge and teaching as his voice coach and is so excited to be performing alongside him in He Rules the World!
Sophia Kaiafas is thrilled to be back performing in Texas! Sophia earned her BFA in Musical Theatre from The University of Oklahoma and is currently pursing performing in New York. Her credits include CoStar in Season 21 of NBC’s Law and Order, Elle Woods in Legally Blonde The Musical at The University of Oklahoma, and Johanna in Sweeney Todd at Casa Manana. Sophia sends a big thanks to her voice teacher of almost ten years, David Gaschen. Sophia is represented by DGRW.
Savannah Koenig is a vocalist based in the DFW area. Having just graduated from the Vocal Jazz program at the University of North Texas in May 2022, she spends her time gigging, teaching lessons, and writing music.
While at the University of North Texas, Savannah was a part of the award-winning UNT Jazz Singers for two years. She has performed at the Jazz Education Network and has recorded for UNT Jazz Singers’ albums.
Savannah has a background in musical theater as well as in the choral world where she grew up in North Dakota. She is ecstatic to be a part of this wonderful production!
Peter B. Emerson is an accomplished composer, arranger, and Jazz educator. His choral compositions are published by Colla Voce and Walton Music Publishing. His orchestrations of church hymns can be found at Celebrating Grace Inc., for whom he also created a set of arrangements called Sacred Jazz, a series of familiar hymns in the jazz style. As a jazz pianist and vocalist, Peter recorded an album of originals and jazz standards with his quartet entitled It’s You I See, which is available on all major streaming platforms. The title song from the album became the inspiration for ITSUIC Music LLC.
Peter is a long-time jazz educator and has worked with jazz legends such as trombonist Bill Watrous, Yellowjackets drummer Will Kennedy, and Grammy-winning saxophonist Eric Marienthal. Peter has over 16 years of experience as the Musical Director for the Knight Club at Harker Heights High School, where he wrote transcriptions, programmed stems, created video graphics for projection, and led a professional band for 588 musical acts in connection with a fundraiser that raised $250,000+ during that period.
Peter has also served as the Musical Director for Vehicle Vision Music in the Broadway at Ridgewood series working with talent such as Jackie Burns (Wicked), Ruby Lewis (We Will Rock You), Janine DaVita (Grease), Rudy Cardenas (American Idol), Therese Curatolo (Postmodern Jukebox), and Kelley Jakle (Pitch Perfect).
Peter holds a Master of Music in Jazz Studies from the University of North Texas, a Bachelor of Music in Composition from Baylor University, and a Conservatory Diploma in Jazz Composition from Berklee College of Music. He served as a pianist in the United States Marine Band, where he had the honor of performing for Presidents Reagan, Ford, Bush (41), and Nixon. Peter is a Gulf War Veteran, having served in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain during Operations Desert Shield/Storm.
Together with Jennifer Emerson, Peter is a co-founder of ITSUIC Music LLC and serves as its Creative Director.
Matt Muehling is by far one of the hardest working, most creative, and versatile guitarists in Austin, Texas. He has spent years delighting music audiences in almost any style you can think of: from Country, Rock, and Top 40; to Jazz, Fusion, Neo-Soul/RnB, Gospel; and even Bollywood. A fulltime member of the Austinbased band Sauce, Matt brings all of his experience and energy to the table at every show, coupled with a limitless desire to have fun and make every performance more exciting than the last.
Matthew Weatherly grew up in The Live Music Capital of The World, Austin, Texas. Surrounded by music at an early age playing in church, his love for music was fueled when he picked up the guitar and French horn at the age of 10. This love took him to Houston after high school where he cut his teeth performing and recording nonstop, as well as apprenticing at Westside Recording Studio under Danny Jones. While there, he recorded artists such as The Lincoln Center Jazz ensemble, The Yellowjackets, and The Buddy Rich Big Band.
After a five-year run in Houston, Matthew moved back to Austin and began immersing himself in the local R&B scene, leading him to play with artists such as Blk Odyssy, Tameca Jones, Magna Carda, Sam Houston, Alesia Lani, Torre Blake, Tje Austin, and Joseph Reese. He has had the pleasure of performing with legends like Tom Brown, Bobby Sparks, Vashan Mitchell, Mali Music, and Bob Schneider and composing music for commercial work, including spots for FILA. He has also performed for the Simms Foundation and The Angel Foundation raising money for mental health awareness and musical education, respectively.
Based in Harker Heights, Texas, Charles Reid is an accomplished drummer with over 20 years of experience. Charles has worked on many projects, including Gospels Goes Classical 2019, John Philip’s Second Wind Album, and The Sound of Freedom by Christian David and Friends. Charles prides himself on being a student of his craft while also being available to mentor and teach other young drummers. He is currently working with several artists and producers such as Matthew Muehling, Ruby Jane and the Reckless, and Marica Chisolm on her live recording, Seeker.