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Christina Lynn Skleros is often remembered as the New York Yankees ‘Good Luck Charm’ as she braved the media before the series clinching Game Six of the 1996 World Series; sang the national anthem proudly for President Clinton the day before the ’96 election; performed at NFL ‘Opening Day’ or emotionally opened the TWA Flight 800 Memorial Service for Gov. Pataki on CNN. She looks and dresses like your average eighteen-year-old, but when Christina Skleros takes the stage she sounds and performs like a seasoned veteran! Christina is a senior attending William Paterson University's prestigious Jazz Program as a vocalist. Her first two years were spent attending Manhattan School of Music as a 'Vocal Perfomance Major' where she was awarded the distinguished ‘President’s Award’ Scholarship. In addition, she received the 2006 Hellenic Times ‘Melina Kanakaredes Scholarship for the Arts’ at the Marriott Marquis in New York City and was a finalist in the Dianne Reeves Carnegie Hall Workshop for Jazz Singers. Recently, she appeared on National Public Radio’s award winning program ‘From the Top’ with Pulitzer Prize and Oscar Winner, John Corigliano in New York’s Florence Gould Recital Hall. She was honored when recently selected to perform at the ‘From the Top’ Gala at New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall and to open New York’s Bryant Park Young Artists Concert Series. Her High School farewell concert, "Christina and Friends" earned rave reviews and played to over 700 at the OceanFirst Theater in New Jersey. She was accompanied by French Horn Virtuoso Sharon Moe and National Trumpet Competition Winner, Charles Porter along with current and former NJ All-State Jazz Musicians. Her vocal duets with Tenor, Wayne Hobbs and Broadway Actor, Carl Anthony Tramon along with the amazing musical accompaniment wowed the audience. Last November, she was selected to close the Manhattan School of Music Precollege 'Capitol Campaign Concert' Stephen Schwartz's ‘Defying Gravity’ and will be forever grateful to Dr. Joanne Polk and the Precollege staff for their love and guidance. In addition to her recent work: -- studied with Tony Award Winner, Betty Buckley As a two year member (2005/06) of the NJ All-State Honors Jazz Choir (Soprano), Christina Skleros is no stranger to the spotlight. Christina has wowed audiences in Madison Square Garden while opening recent games for the New York Knickerbockers and the New York Rangers; performing on NJ 101.5's top-rated ‘Jersey Guys’ radio program; opening for Christopher Reeve at the NJ Expo (11 days before his passing); sharing the stage with NJ's own, Southside Johnny on the ‘Big Joe Henry’ radio program, and as a featured guest on NJ Channel 12's ‘Defying Age’. During the summer of 2004, she was accepted as a private vocal student of Maitland Peters. Mr. Peters is the ‘Chairman of the Vocal Department’ at New York's renowned 'Manhattan School of Music'. He works with some of the finest stars of the Metropolitan and New York Opera companies and on Broadway, as well. He has the remarkable distinction of having nine of his students perform the role of Christine in Broadway's ‘Phantom of the Opera.’ Her vocal coach is Composer/Conductor David Friedman. After spending several years conducting musicals on Broadway, David went to Hollywood where he was the conductor and vocal arranger on such Disney classics as ‘Beauty & the Beast’, ‘Aladdin,’ ‘Pocahontas’, ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’. These teachers along with renown acting teacher, Elizabeth Kemp (The Actor's Studio), Joan Stiles (piano - Jazz Theory etc.), Maurice Finnell (sight-singing, Tony Bennett), David Brunetti (musical director) and Timothy Cotov (Music Theory) make up Christina's ‘Dream Team’ of teachers, that she enjoys studying with but more importantly loves to be with. During 2003 and 2004, she performed as a vocalist with the All-Shore Choir winning the All-Shore Scholarship this year; as a flautist, with the award winning Southern Regional High School Wind Ensemble at the New Jersey Gala; as a solo vocalist in St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna (Mozart’s baptism, wedding and funeral there) while touring Europe with an Honors Choir and Orchestra. She is a 2 year member of the Tri-M Music Honors Society, The Manhattan Association of Cabaret, The Songwriters Hall of Fame and The Actors Fund. After the World Series, she entertained at countless corporate events and went on to appear at The White House, at the Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting, on television's Good Morning America, Extra and Regis and Kathy Lee and on the front page of the New York Times with President Clinton, the day before the '96 election to name a few. This talented young lady has entertained at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington-DC, for Vice-President Gore and a host of political figures; for the Baseball Hall of Fame 'Induction Ceremony'; at Avery Fischer Hall with the NYC Opera Children's Chorus and as a featured guest in the N.Y. Yankee's Ticker Tape Parade. Christina has appeared with Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Placido Domingo, Jay Leno, Gladys Knight, Michael Bolton, Whoopi Goldberg and Bruce Hornsby, to name a few. She has been seen on the cover of the New York Times with President Clinton, in Life Magazine as one of 1996's most exceptional children, in Newsweek, New York Magazine, MS., Time for Kids, Scholastic Magazine, and every major New York newspaper. Television credits include Good Morning America, Extra! Nickelodeon, Regis and Kathy Lee. Since that time, she has performed on the Sally Jesse Raphael Show, at the Grand Opening of the PNC Bank Arts Center, at Danny's Skylight Room on Broadway's ‘Restaurant Row’ and the Waldorf-Astoria. In addition to the Hunter's Hope Foundation, Christina has performed for the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism, the United Way, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the American Diabetes Association, the Boys Club of New York City, the American Red Cross, the March of Dimes and many other charities to give back to those who are not as fortunate as she. Christina recorded her first demo-CD at SONY Music Studios in New York City thanks to Mr. Tommy Mottola. One of her recordings is the theme song for the ‘Hunter's Hope Foundation’, entitled ‘One Child Can Change the World’. Hunter, the infant son of Buffalo Bills QB quarterback Jim Kelly, has an incurable form of Leukodystrophy. A clip of the song is contained in the ‘Hunter's Hope’ bear sold nationwide in KB Toys. She also recorded ‘We Rise from Ashes’, to benefit the victims of 9-11 (performed on WOR's ‘Joey Reynolds Show’) and many original pieces, over the past year. At sixteen, Christina originated the role of Annie Sullivan in the new musical, ‘Lil' Miss Spitfire’, at the Jersey Shore Arts Center in Ocean Grove, NJ. The musical chronicles the untold story of Annie Sullivan, America's Greatest Teacher. (Helen Keller) Christina and her fifteen-year-old brother, Tom (Chip in Disney's Beauty and the Beast and singer to Drew Barrymore and Natalie Portman, in Woody Allen's ‘Everyone Say's, I love you’) performed a ‘Musical Revue’ in Toms River to a packed house. Christina has previously performed in Florida with the Art Sares Orchestra (Sinatra) at Palm Beach College and the Lou Colombo Orchestra at the Boca Raton Marriott. The brother/sister duo recently played to rave reviews at an audience of 300 in Florida's Jensen Beach. They have been hired as a 'brother/sister cabaret act' where they sing both duets and solos. They are proud to have provided holiday entertainment in the ‘East Room’ of The White House for Christmas. |
