A singer and actor who has appeared in numerous clubs, films, on television programmes and theatre sets is the the voice teacher at the Institute for Talented Students.

Burton Mazzone?s belief is that ?if you can talk then you can most certainly learn the art of singing well?.

His career in the arts has been long and varied, but through it all he just wants to give something back.

He has been a member of the Screen Actors Union since he was ten, has performed in about 300 films, theatre productions and television shows such as ?Law and Order?.

Although he is not a household name as such, he is one of the eight percent in the Screen Actors Union who earn enough to live comfortably and provide for a suitable retirement.

Last year, he was a cast member in the Gilbert and Sullivan production ?Into the Woods?, his first time performing in non-professional theatre.

?I have performed all around the North East and East Coast like New York and Connecticut,? he said.

?I have been a member of the Screen Actors Union since I was a teenager because I started so young. I got a lot of experience as a young man.

?My parents were set designers and unlike a lot of parents who have reservations about their children going into the arts they knew it was right for me and sure enough I have been able to forge out a career in it.

?So I think that is the thing that I have to offer Bermudians and there aren?t a lot of professional full time singer/actors here except for Michael Douglas and I don?t think there is teaching a class.?

Mr. Mazzone said with his experience he could offer much more than just voice training.

?I can give them a lot of background information of not just how to sing and perform, which I can do very well, but also how to forge out a career in the arts,? he said.

?It is a special skill that I wish that they taught me in the colleges that I went to.?

He attended the Hartt College of Music in Connecticut, which he referred to as a beautiful university for voice, and he then attended the Manhattan School of Music because of its acting department.

?I studied with a director who was wonderful, along with different coaches who worked for some big directors like Woody Allen, Steven Spielberg and Dustin Hoffman,? he said.

As a student Mr. Mazzone found finding the ?right? singing instructor a little difficult.

?When I began I used to just belt out a song and then I kind of hedged when I started studying with a legitimate voice school,? he said.

?I thought that I didn?t want to change my style. Then I realised that they weren?t out to get me and change me ? they were trying to help me do what I wanted to do better and in a more consistent way. But I was stubborn too and I went through two or three voice teachers before I got the one I liked

?I thought ?how are they going too teach me to sing when I don?t like the sound they are making ? if they are going to teach me to sing like that I might as well become a spot welder and I don?t want to do that?.

?Finally I found a teacher who was the top of the whole department and he was fantastic, had wonderful technique and had a beautiful voice. His name was William Diard and he was the founder of the department.?

He was also surprised by Mr. Diard?s voice.

?He had a beautiful voice even in his 70s and 80s,? said Mr. Mazzone.

?Getting older is not easy, but older women and men are able to maintain with good technique and really the best part about it is that your voice gets better and better.?

He is also finding new students from an unexpected source.

?Nowadays businesses in New York and all over are sending their businessmen/women to acting classes because it helps any person to get from A to Z and not be overwhelmed ? it helps them accomplish what they want. So developing those skills is useful to anyone ? you don?t have to make a career out of it.?

As far as the small screen is concerned Mr. Mazzone, although not a household name, has been on many popular television series.

?I have been on ?Law and Order? for years and years,? he said.

?When I am there I play a detective and other small parts in the precinct. I have had a couple of one-liners here and there. They do use me on almost every episode.?

The overwhelming majority of performing artists do not make enough to live on, but he said: ?I am in a small pool of people in the Screen Actors Union because out of all their members about eight percent actually make their health coverage and pension.

?I work regularly enough, but it is not name recognition kind of stuff and every so often you might see my name in the credits for something, but I am not in the top household name people. But casting directors will put me on and I don?t have to earn money as a waiter.?

Mr. Mazzone finds it quite easy to share his talents.

?When I went into the arts it was not an ego thing at all,? he said. ?I just liked what I did and what it did to me when I watched it and I wanted to do it for other people.?

But he said there is a flip side to this. ?You have to market yourself if you want to get a good part and all that stuff, so it is all very competitive even though I am a none competitive person. I just have to do my personal best, but you can?t help but be dragged into it.?

After such an exciting life, one of his students asked if he was bored of just teaching.

?Not at all because every person is so totally different,? he said. ?It is just like the excitement of doing theatre and stage.

?Whether they are beginners or at any level, you can fan the flames and you have a different thing that you have to work with. One may have a fantastic high range, but doesn?t know how to sing the lows, and one may have a natural voice, but doesn?t read music. Every single one is different. You build a rapport and you try to bring out the performer.?

He has taught voice for many years, but this is his first full time teaching job.

?It is a nice opportunity,? said Mr. Mazzone, ?and like I said I don?t get the least bit bored. Some kids here are so talented and even a couple of boys and girls, teenagers and also people in their 30s and 40s. Some are just amazing and they have grown so much and I can?t throw songs at them fast enough.It makes me happy when I walk out the door at the end of the day and I think ? ?wow!?

?I thought that teaching voice is a great thing because at least I am leaving some sort of legacy behind. I know how much my voice teacher meant is always with me. I always think how he would have done this or that.

?It is a special skill because everyone can sing and anyone who wants to learn can certainly learn ? at least that is what I have been taught to believe ? especially if they are willing to put their mind to it.?