MUSE • Musicians United for Social Equity

Biography

Emmanuel ‘Manny’ Vidales was born in South Florida, and grew up in Homestead playing piano since the age of six. He attended music magnet schools all the way to high school (Southwood Middle, Coral Reef Senior High), and later attended Florida State University for a Bachelor of Music in Music Theory & Composition. There he accompanied classical and theatre voice lessons, and studied both piano and music composition with faculty.

While living in the Tallahassee area he played for FSU’s School of Theatre productions (Addams Family, Beauty and the Beast, Spamalot, Hairspray, All Shook Up), he has music directed and played in local community theatre (Hair, Avenue Q, Rocky Horror Show, Murder Ballad, Assassins, A Christmas Story, White Christmas, See What I Wanna See, The Drowsy Chaperone, Debbie Does Dallas, The Last Five Years, 9-5!) as well as led productions at the Tallahassee Community College (Spring Awakening, Pippin, Young Frankenstein, Schoolhouse Rock Live!) . He returned to FSU in 2018 for a Master’s in Choral Conducting where he studied choral methods, voice, instrumental and choral conducting in addition to being a Graduate Teaching Assistant and pianist for the Choral Department- accompanying; Chamber Choir, Collegiate Men, Choral Union, Vocal Jazz and Graduate Conducting classes.

Since departing his collegiate studies, he has served as accompanist for Middle School All State, High School All State, and Thespian competitions, as well as a clinician and accompanist for schools in the Orlando area. In addition to playing, he has taken voice lessons with former NATS president Kimberly Randall Saunders to better coach his students.

He has worked in Miami for the New World School of the Arts College as an opera coach and pianist, as well as a pianist for The Miami Children’s Voice Choir.

He currently resides in NYC  with the goals of orchestrating, arranging, and music directing on Broadway and dreams of creating his own Musical in the future.