ALBANY, NY, August 05, 2026 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Gene Marie Callahan has been selected for inclusion in Marquis Who's Who. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.

Earning recognition for six decades of expertise, exemplary leadership and dedication to supporting countless students in their musical education, Ms. Callahan has led an impactful career in singing and vocal performance with a focus on opera and oratorio. Since 2022, she has served as the artistic director of Battenkill Chorale in Cambridge, New York, where she plans programs and prepares unauditioned singers, mentors young singers and introduces both seasoned and emerging vocalists to a diverse repertoire. She is also responsible for conducting the chorus at Siena University and performing professionally as a soprano, while serving as a substitute organist.

In 2021-2022, Ms. Callahan additionally contributed as a guest conductor for the Bennington County Choral Society, further expanding her influence in regional choral music. Her enduring commitment to education is evident through her ongoing role as a lecturer in creative arts at Siena University, where she teaches basics of singing to students at various levels of experience.

Ms. Callahan's musical leadership extends to her tenure as an organist and choir director at The Old First Church of Bennington in Bennington, Vermont, a position she has held from 2018 to 2025, guiding congregational music programs and fostering community engagement through sacred music.

Since 1965, Ms. Callahan has served as organist, choir director, soloist, and cantor in churches of many denominations in New York, Michigan, New Jersey, Illinois, and Vermont.

From 2007 to 2014, she was an adjunct voice professor at Skidmore College, providing individualized instruction and contributing to the development of aspiring vocalists. In 2003 she was an adjunct professor at Castle State College, where she taught music theory, introduction to music, and had a full studio of private voice students. Her academic contributions also include roles as a lecturer, chorus director and voice instructor at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, where she taught Introduction to Music and chorus classes during the 2004 to 2005 academic year.

She began teaching at Siena University in 2019 and continues to conduct the chorus and teach Basics of Singing.

To make ends meet during her extensive career in music education and performance, Ms. Callahan gained valuable experience working as a paralegal, legal assistant and proofreader for law firms — including proofreading at Isham, Lincoln, and Beale in Chicago, which was founded by Robert Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln's son.

During college, her attention to detail and commitment to excellence were further demonstrated through her work as an accompanist in voice studios, where she learned repertoire and performance techniques from multiple vocal perspectives. After graduating, she studied voice with Ellen Rulau (Curtiss Institute of Music) at her Manhattan studio. It was Ms. Rulau who prepared Ms. Callahan for a career in opera. Her big break came when she was hired to cover the roles of Amelia ("Ballo in Maschera"), Odabella ("Attila"), and Donna Anna ("Don Giovanni") at Chicago Lyric Opera.

She has performed under the batons of James Levine, Adam Fischer, Bruno Bartoletti, and Zdenek Macal among others. It was Sir Georg who coached her privately during her time in Chicago.

Ms. Callahan's musical career is marked by notable achievements such as being selected a Regional Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera competition, and as one of Opera America's finalist, a distinction that underscores her prominence within the community. Also a widely renowned vocalist and artist herself, she has performed more than 70 operatic and oratorio roles and takes particular pride in maintaining a professional singing career into her mid-70s and beyond.

Ms. Callahan's artistry was further highlighted through her inclusion on a tribute album honoring the famed conductor and pianist James Levine for a role she sang with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Ravinia. Additionally, her participation in the Lyric Opera Center for American Artists was acknowledged in the book "Bravo," and she has performed at major music venues including Chicago Opera Theater ("The Turn of the Screw" - Mrs. Gross, "Barber of Seville" - Bertha, "The Mother of us All" - Getrude Stein), Chicago Lyric Opera ("Il Barbieri di Siviglia" - Bertha, "Macbeth" - Lady in Waiting), the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts ("Ariadne auf Naxos" title role), Opera Columbus ("Tales of Hoffmann" - Antonia and "Pagliacci" - Nedda), Graz Austria ("Suor Angelica" - title role) and at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.

Long recognized for her abilities and contributions to music, she was named an Outstanding Young Woman in America in 1980 for a self-maintaining arts program she developed at The Bergen School.

Hailing from an equally accomplished academic background, Ms. Callahan earned a Bachelor of Music in vocal performance from Hope College in 1973, learned and performed roles the Lyric Opera Center for American Artists (now the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center) in Chicago and native speaker designation from the Goethe Institute in Chicago. Her scholastic pursuits were shaped by an early introduction to music through piano lessons that began at age 6 after she demonstrated her natural ability by playing "radio shows" without formal training. Following this foundation, she studied voice with an instructor from Skidmore College while still in high school and paid for her organ lessons through bartered services such as babysitting.

Ms. Callahan's longstanding drive for excellence is rooted in overcoming adversity; although she grew up without running water or immediate access to robust educational opportunities, she did not allow her ambitions to be deterred. Despite facing discouragement from a guidance counselor regarding her ability to take advanced classes and foreign languages during sixth grade, she defied expectations by achieving fluency in four different languages — French, Italian, German and English — while also excelling professionally.

Throughout every stage of her life and career, Ms. Callahan has demonstrated significant resilience and resourcefulness — qualities she exemplified during crisis intervention efforts in response to the tragic events of September 11, 2001, when she coordinated with United States Marshals and Kentucky authorities to ensure that legal obligations were met for a client at an Albany law firm under extraordinary circumstances.

Seeking to help others through all she does in music and beyond, Ms. Callahan has served on the board of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, reflecting her tireless commitment to public service. She is also recognized as a donor to various charitable organizations, giving back to individuals and families in need. As Ms. Callahan was so fortunate to have studied acting with Uta Hagen. Having been given so many opportunities, she desires to keep sharing what she has been given.

To balance her teaching and mentorship efforts, Ms. Callahan enjoys personal hobbies such as reading, writing ("The Man Who Made the Night Owl Giggle," "The Bird Cages" and a collection of short stories "The End of the Story," editing books ("Grateful Breathing" by Daniel Smith), knitting, photography, and pinochle. As the matriarch of her family with close relationships among her niece, nephews, great nieces and nephews and their children, and family friends who supported her throughout pivotal moments of her life, she continues to inspire those around her through perseverance and dedication.

Looking toward the future, Ms. Callahan remains committed to exposing both young singers and experienced performers to choral works that have stood the test of time alongside new compositions that are yet to be performed locally. She is dedicated to encouraging young people to engage with fine arts and create music themselves while continuing her own lifelong passion for singing, teaching, and sharing music with audiences across the world.

About Marquis Who's Who®:
Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America®, Marquis Who's Who® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. The suite of Marquis® publications, including Who's Who in America® and Who's Who in the World®, remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the globe. Marquis® publications can be viewed at the official Marquis Who's Who® website, www.marquiswhoswho.com.

# # #