Martha Wade | founder & President

Ms. Wade’s musical background uniquely suits her to artist management. Raised in a musical environment, she attended the Cleveland Institute of Music as a young girl, studying viola, piano, and music theory. Martha graduated cum laude from Ohio University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in piano performance. She began her professional career as an accompanist at the Cleveland Orchestra Blossom Festival, working closely with conductors Robert Page and Joseph Flummerfelt. At the Cleveland Music School Settlement, she was part of the studio of the eminent teacher Pauline Thesmacher and played for master classes with such artists as Ned Rorem, Sir Michael Tippett, and Judith Blegen. 

After moving to New York City, Ms. Wade became known as an outstanding vocal accompanist, appearing in recital at venues such as the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC; the Bruno Walter Auditorium at Lincoln Center; Weill and CAMI Halls in New York; and the Cleveland Museum of Art. She has held faculty positions at the Cleveland Institute of Music, the Cleveland Music School Settlement, and the Actors' Studio of the New School for Social Research in New York, where she taught voice. 

Ms. Wade is committed to educating emerging singers on career development and music business issues and has taught master classes on these topics at institutions across the country including Baylor University, New Jersey City University, New World School of the Arts, Opera Noire of New York, the University of Akron, the University of Alabama, the University of Texas (Austin), and Utah Festival Opera. 

Ms. Wade’s keen ear for vocal artistry and technique make her sought after as a competition judge, most recently for the Rochester Oratorio Society International Vocal Competition and the Kyrenia Opera Vocal Competition. She is currently on the board of the River Cities Symphony Orchestra.

Rodney Nolan | Artistic Consultant

Rodney Nolan, Artistic Consultant, has established an exceptional reputation for exciting operatic and concert performances in America and Europe. He has performed in Germany, Holland, France, Italy, and Switzerland at venues including the Munich Philharmonic, the Teatro Comunale in Florence, and the Holland Festival in Amsterdam.

Mr. Nolan has sung 45 leading operatic roles and more than 50 concert parts. He has performed such unusual works as Penderecki’s Polish Requiem (with Penderecki conducting), Berio’s La Vera Storia (with Berio conducting), Janacek’s Osud, Musgrave’s Mary Queen of Scots, Floyd’s Willie Stark (directed by Floyd), and Britten’s Rape of Lucretia. Standard works in his repertoire include Beethoven’s Ninth, Andrea Chenier, Carmen, Fidelio, and Lohengrin.

Recordings include Shostakovich’s Songs from Jewish Poetry with I Musici de Montreal on Chandos Records, Con Flor y Canto by Rodriquez, and Wagner’s Lohengrin, for which reviewers have acclaimed Mr. Nolan as "as truly a ‘heldentenor,’ the likes of which one does not encounter these days, even at Bayreuth."

Mr. Nolan has more than 25 years of teaching experience, during which he has provided vocal advice and guidance to hundreds of young professional singers, many of whom have gone on to perform with major arts organizations worldwide.

Beth Wladis | VP of Operations 

Beth Wladis has been with Wade Artist Management for over ten years. She was previously a senior manager at The New York Public Library where she held positions in both the Research and Branch libraries, retiring as Chief Librarian of the Mid-Manhattan Library, NYPL’s main circulating branch. While at NYPL, she taught public speaking, communications, and public service in the promotional seminar for library supervisors. Beth’s professional activities also included leadership roles in the American Library Association’s Community Information Section (president) and the New York Library Association’s Reference and Adult Services Section (president). 

As a singer, Beth has presented song recitals in such New York City venues as the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace, the Andrew Heiskell Library, Greenwich House Music School, and Christ and St. Stephen’s Church. She was a member and featured soprano soloist of the Oxford University Press Choir and composer Jonathan David’s chamber chorus “Howl!”. In 2011, she presented the world premiere of composer David’s song “Azrael,” a commission for The Sylvia Townsend Warner Society. In Cleveland, Beth was a member of the University Circle Chorale. A particular highlight in Cleveland was singing in the chorus of Verdi’s Don Carlo in a concert performance at Severance Hall conducted by James Levine and starring Richard Tucker, Cornell MacNeil, and Ezio Flagello. Beth’s early musical education included piano and music theory studies with composer Myron Fink. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.

Fran Althaus | Artistic Coordinator and Media Director

Fran Althaus has been with Wade Artist Management for nearly four years, managing the agency’s Facebook page, evaluating singers and recommending new repertoire. She previously held editorial and management positions at the Guttmacher Institute in New York, retiring as executive editor of International Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, a research journal focused on women in developing countries. While at the Institute, her responsibilities included managing the translation into French of articles and reports for distribution in Francophone Africa, and the presentation of panels of journal editors at conferences throughout the United States and the developing world designed to help emerging researchers publish their work. Before joining the Institute, she held editing and managerial positions at book and journal publishers such as the Council on Foundations, Longman Publishing and the American Journal of Nursing Company.

As a singer, Fran appeared at the Amato Opera in such roles as Meg in Falstaff, Nicklausse and the Mother in The Tales of Hoffmann, the Third Lady in The Magic Flute, and Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus, a role she reprised with the Opera Cooperative. At the Richmond Theatre Collection, she sang the role of Mrs. Partlet in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Sorcerer. Her performances included scenes from Carmen and Werther with the Singers Theatre of New York and arias from La Clemenza di Tito and Werther in the TOMI Opera in Concert Recital Series. In addition, Fran sang in a cappella vocal groups, such as I Cantori di New York (under Bart Folse), and in vocal recitals at venues including the Symphony Space, the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace, the Andrew Heiskell Library, Harlem School of the Arts, the Montauk Club (Brooklyn), Christ and St. Stephen's Church, and St. Michael's Episcopal Church. She participated in Betty Allen’s master singers’ classes at the Harlem School of the Arts and in the Western Wind Summer Workshops in Ensemble Singing. Fran studied piano and voice from an early age. She holds a B.A. in French from DePauw University, Greencastle, Indiana.