Did you ever wish you could have pursued a career in an artistic field but the responsibilities of real life made it difficult? Gina Zollman is a Baby Boomer who was Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Flame Gard, an innovative restaurant kitchen filter company. It revolutionized kitchen safety and was integral in setting innovations in that industry.
Singing has been a part of her life since she was in the 4th grade when she performed for a full house at a school PTA event. That experience sparked her enthusiasm for music, and she sang in choirs and appeared in stage shows from then on and through college.
She graduated from the University of California in San Diego with a B.A. in linguistics and a minor in music appearing in The Messiah, Carmina Burana, The Magic Flute, and Riders to the Sea. She was also featured in Guys and Dolls at ACT San Francisco directed by Sabin Epstein.
Zollman studied voice with John Large at UCSD, and opera in Gottingen, Germany with Simone Rist at the Deutsche Teater.
After she graduated from college, she landed a high-profile job as a stockbroker on Wall Street with Kidder, Peabody & Co. She became a retail registered representative with over 400 clients before moving back to Los Angeles to work for her family’s restaurant equipment consortium.
Performing as a singer was still a passion of hers and she eventually quit her job to pursue it as a career.
Her business and marketing backgrounds helped her immensely. After taking a UCLA Extension class called How to Put on Your Own Cabaret Act, she was able to sell out her one-woman show at Gardenia Restaurant and Lounge in Hollywood.
She has performed at sell-out houses in venues such as The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel’s Cinegrill, The M Bar where she produced a benefit performance for gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown, Miceli’s, The Magic Castle, The Comedy Store, The Improv, The Rose Tattoo, and The Catalina Jazz Club.
She originated roles at The NoHo London Music Hall as Aunt Greta in Heidi the Musical and as Susie in the country western musical Lake Balboa.
Zollman studied acting at The Actor’s Center and took private coaching from Second City alumna Sandy Holt. Television appearances include The New Gong Show where she earned her membership in SAG-AFTRA. She also studied vocal technique with Broadway stars Marilyn Child and Udana Power and was runner-up in the KABC Radio vocal competition for Crazy for You singing Someone to Watch Over Me.
Her CD Album Gina Zollman: Anywhere with You was produced by Steven Applegate and recorded at Capitol Records in Hollywood. It is a compilation of standards that include Someone to Watch Over Me, An Hour or So in the Dark, How are Things in Glocca Morra? and other oldies but goldies.
Gina Zollman is a wonderful example of how it is never too late to live your dream.
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