ILVR ADVISORY COUNCIL

The ILVR Advisory Council is comprised of individuals committed to furthering the goals and objectives of the organization, but who are not able to serve on the ILVR Board of Directors.

Denyce Graves

Recognized worldwide as one of today's most exciting vocal stars, Denyce Graves continues to gather unparalleled popular and critical acclaim in performances on four continents. Her career has taken her to the world's great opera houses and concert halls. The combination of her expressive, rich vocalism, elegant stage presence and exciting theatrical abilities allows her to pursue a wide breadth of operatic portrayals as well as delight audiences in concert and recital appearances. Ms. Graves has become particularly well-known to operatic audiences for her portrayals of the title roles in Carmen and Samson et Dalila. These signature roles have brought Ms. Graves to the Metropolitan Opera, Vienna Staatsoper, Royal Opera - Covent Garden, San Francisco Opera, Opéra National de Paris, Lyric Opera of Chicago, The Washington Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper, Arena di Verona, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Opernhaus Zürich, Houston Grand Opera, Dallas Opera, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Los Angeles Music Center Opera, and the Festival Maggio Musicale in Florence.

One of the music world's most sought after recitalists, Ms. Graves combines her expressive vocalism and exceptional gifts for communication with her dynamic stage presence, enriching audiences around the world. She is an exclusive recording artist with BMG Classics, and appears often on television. She was named one of the "50 Leaders of Tomorrow" by Ebony Magazine and was one of Glamour Magazine's 1997 "Women of the Year." In 1999 WQXR Radio in New York named her as one of classical music's "Standard Bearers for the 21st Century." Ms. Graves has been invited on several occasions to perform in recital at The White House, and she provides many benefit performances for various causes special to her throughout each season.

Steven Tyler

Steven Tyler is the singer and co-songwriter in the band Aerosmith. Many would agree that one of rock's all-time charismatic and entertaining frontman Tyler began playing drums at an early age, but eventually switched to vocals after discovering the Beatles, as well as the tougher blues rock of the Rolling Stones and the Yardbirds. After moving to Boston in the late '60s, Tyler hooked up with two members of an up-and-coming outfit called the Jam Band and renamed themselves Aerosmith. The band became a regional sensation, combining the blues sleaze of the Stones/Yardbirds, as well as the power of such hard rock acts as Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, as Tyler proved to have a flair for the outrageous -- his stage outfits resembled a rock & roll gypsy look, while long scarves dangled from his microphone stand.

By 1973, Aerosmith was signed to Columbia Records and as soon as the quintet issued their self-titled debut that year, the band was besieged with comparisons to their idols, the Rolling Stones. Although the debut didn't set the world on fire, word of mouth and constant touring built the band a hardcore following and due to such all-time hard rock classics as 1974's "Get Your Wings," 1975's "Toys in the Attic," and 1976's "Rocks," Aerosmith became a sensation, selling out arenas and scoring big-time hit albums and singles (the power ballad "Dream On" and the funky rocker "Walk This Way").

All the details are recounted first hand by Tyler in Aerosmith's 1999 autobiography, "Walk This Way". Tyler is one of the most influential frontmen in rock & roll history, as a plethora of singers in '80s hard rock bands (Guns N' Roses' Axl Rose, Cinderella's Tom Keifer, Motley Crue's Vince Neil, the Black Crowes' Chris Robinson, etc.) all resembled Tyler circa 1976 with their look and vocal delivery. By the '90s, Tyler and Aerosmith had reinvented themselves as an MTV band, focusing on more pop-oriented material such as one hit ballad "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" from the movie Armageddon.

Tyler has made numerous film and television appearances. In 2003 Tyler received an honorary degree from Berklee College of Music, and, in 2005, received an honorary doctorate from the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Frederica von Stade

Recognized as one of the most beloved musical figures of our time, Frederica von Stade has enriched the world of classical music for three decades with her appearances in opera, concert, and recital. The mezzo-soprano is well known to audiences around the world through her numerous featured appearances on television including several PBS specials and "Live from Lincoln Center" telecasts. She has made over sixty recordings with every major label, including complete operas, aria albums, symphonic works, solo recital programs, and popular crossover albums. Her recordings have garnered six Grammy nominations, two Grand Prix du Disc awards, the Deutsche Schallplattenpreis, Italy's Premio della Critica Discografica, and "Best of the Year" citations by Stereo Review and Opera News. Miss von Stade was awarded France's highest honor in the Arts when she was appointed as an officer of L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and in 1983 she was honored with an award given at The White House by President Reagan in recognition of her significant contribution to the arts.

Sam Wyche

Sam Wyche was a successful NFL head football coach for 12 years. In 1996 he was a sports analyst with Marv Albert on a weekly NFL game for NBC. In 1997, he joined Joe Gibbs, Cris Collinsworth, Ahmad Rashad and Greg Gumbel on NBC’s weekly pre-game and half-time shows. When NBC lost the contract for NFL games to CBS, Wyche partnered with Kevin Harlan on weekly NFL games on that network. In 2004, Coach Wyche joined the Buffalo Bills as their quarterback coach and has served them in the 2004 and 2005 seasons coaching quarterbacks Drew Bledsoe and JP Losman. Wyche was considered one of the most innovative coaches in the NFL as well as a master of motivational techniques. Wyche’s inspiration was the key to one of the biggest turnarounds in NFL history when the Cincinnati Bengals went from 4-11 in 1987 to the Super Bowl the next year. Wyche was Head Coach of the Bengals for eight years followed by four years as Head Coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Wyche was born and raised in Atlanta. He earned a Bachelors degree in Business Administration from Furman University and an MBA from the Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina. Wyche is also an accomplished public speaker and magician.