2021 Music On Site Artists
Carlee Abschneider
Featured Artist, Opera Scenes Showcase
Ensemble, Amahl and the Night Visitors
Carlee Abschneider, soprano, is currently pursuing a Performer’s Certificate in Vocal
Performance at Texas State University.
Carlee graduated with a MM in Vocal Performance from Texas A&M University- Commerce. During her time at TAMUC, Carlee appeared as Hannah in TAMUC Opera Ensemble’s production of The Path to Heaven, as Lola in Gallantry and as Geraldine in A Hand of Bridge. Carlee also holds a BM in Vocal Performance from Houston Baptist University. While at HBU,
she was a finalist in HBU’s Inaugural Concerto/Aria Contest in 2018, received the “Most Improved Vocalist” Award for 2017-2018, and played Arline in Micheal Balfe’s The Bohemian Girl. Carlee is actively performing and learning new music. She has participated in Young Artist Programs at Vox Opera, LAH-SOW, Spotlight on Opera, Varna International Music Academy,
and Resonance Opera; all of which have helped her grow as an artist and given her more stage experience. Carlee has been both a finalist and winner at the Greater Houston NATS competition several times. In 2019, she was named the Vocal Division Winner of the New Texas Symphony Orchestra’s Community Concerto & Area competition.
Baylee Almos
First Spirit, Die Zauberflöte
Pamina (cover), Die Zauberflöte
Baylee Almos, soprano, is a Kansas native from Garden City. Ms. Almos recently completed her Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance and is continuing her studies at Wichita State University pursuing a Professional Performance Certificate. Throughout the entirety of her time at Wichita State, Baylee has studied with Dr. Cristina Castaldi.
Baylee is a proud member of Wichita State University’s Opera Theater program. Her previous roles at Wichita State include Lauretta from Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, Laetitia from Menotti’s The Old Maid and the Thief, and most recently, Serpetta in Mozart’s La Finta Giardiniera. Baylee was also a soprano finalist in the Barbara Rondelli Vocal Competition in 2020. Additionally, Baylee’s love for singing has been fueled by her performances with the National Honor Choir at Carnegie Hall and touring Europe with the Kansas Ambassadors of Music.
Baylee is thrilled to be making her debut with Music On Site, Inc.
Aaron Ames
Assistant Music Director and Pianist/Coach
Amahl and the Night Visitors
Raised in Ukiah, CA, Aaron Ames has been a pianist and musician since the age of seven. Throughout his school years, he was an active member of wind ensemble and jazz bands in middle school and high school. Upon graduation from Ukiah High, he was accepted to the University of the Pacific in Stockton, CA, where he studied with Prof. Frank Wiens and Dr. Rex Cooper, and received his bachelor’s degree in Music Performance in 2008. After receiving his degree, Mr. Ames applied and was accepted to the graduate music program at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC., where he studied under Dr. Rodney Reynerson and received his master’s degree in Music Performance in 2010.
After receiving his master’s degree, he continued his association with the University as a staff accompanist and Opera Workshop accompanist, where he contributed to the musical growth and maturation of its students. He was also involved with several opera and musical theatre productions through the Appalachian State departments of Music, Theater and Dance, and also throughout the surrounding community. Between 2014 and 2019, he was the principal pianist for the Western Piedmont Symphony in Hickory, NC, and a piano/voice instructor at the James C. Harper School of Performing Arts in Lenoir, NC.
Currently, Mr. Ames and his wife Jenna live in Urbana, IL. He is pursuing a Doctoral of Musical Arts degree in Vocal Coaching and Accompanying at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Charles Anderson
Kaspar, Amahl and the Night Visitors
Charles M. Anderson has sung a variety of roles in opera, most notably Rodolfo in La Bohème, Roméo in Roméo & Juliette, and The Witch in Hansel & Gretel.. He has appeared in several musical theatre roles as well. In concert, he was featured as the tenor soloist for the Shoals Symphony Orchestra's performances of Bach's Magnificat and Saint-Saëns' Christmas Oratorio. Charles made his professional debut with Mobile Opera in a production of Verdi's Il Trovatore. This was followed by a second appearance in their production of Giordano's Andrea Chénier. In 2010, he was part of the inaugural Young Artists with The Druid City Opera Workshop at The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. In 2013, he spent the summer at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp. In 2016, he returned to Michigan to work alongside the faculty and staff again.
The 2017-2018 season was quite exciting. Mr. Anderson spent the summer singing with Des Moines Metro Opera Company. There, he performed in Puccini's Turandot and Britten's Billy Budd. After completing an internship with Indianapolis Opera,, Charles relocated to Nashville. Surprisingly, the 2020-2021 season was busy for Mr. Anderson. He began his Masters degree at Austin-Peay State University. In April, he recorded an original composition by Jeremy Smith and made his debut with Opera Huntsville. After spending four weeks in Illinois singing with Chicago Summer Opera, Charles returned to Clarksville to complete his studies. Charles is delighted to be here in Wichita singing with Music On Site, Inc
Amaan Atkins
Featured Artist, Opera Scenes Showcase
Ensemble, Amahl and the Night Visitors
Kaspar (cover), Amahl and the Night Visitors
Tenor Amaan Atkins is a high-energy singer known for his charisma on stage. Originally, From Atlanta, Georgia, he is currently a third-year student studying at Columbus State University and pursuing a degree in Music Performance. Amaan most recently was the winner of the Southeastern Regional NATS music theatre division for Second Year TBB and was selected as a semifinalist on the national level. Amaan was also named the First Prize winner of the Georgia NATS first-year classical division (2019) and Second Place winner of the Georgia NATS first and second-year TTB, musical theatre divisions (2019-2020). He has also received numerous accolades including being a semi-finalist in the Classical Singers Music Competition and a semi-finalist in Next Generation Competition with the American Pop Orchestra. Since then, he has enjoyed training for upcoming competitions and summer programs. Amaan has also received many roles in both musical theatre and Opera. His most recent roles include Vogelsang and Frank in Der Schauspieldirektor, Ernesto in Billy Goats Gruff, and he is preparing a role as the Prince in Rusalka. His Notable Masterclasses include Mary Saunders Barton, Melissa Givens, and Justin John Moniz.
Pablo Sebastian Aun
Featured Artist, Opera Scenes Showcase
Ensemble, Amahl and the Night Visitors
Melchior (cover), Amahl and the Night Visitors
Pablo Aun, Baritone, from El Paso, Texas, is a Sophomore Vocal Music Performance Major at Baylor University, where he studies with Mark Diamond. He has upcoming performances at Baylor Opera Theater as Guccio in Gianni Schicchi and Top in The Tender Land. In his freshman year, he was a finalist at the Texoma NATS Competition. He is excited to be joining the talented roster at Music On Site.
Charlotte Bagwell
Pamina, Die Zauberflöte
Charlotte Bagwell is an American soprano based in New York City. She recently graduated from the Mannes School of Music with her Masters in vocal performance. A native of Dallas, Texas, Charlotte entered her musical career on the violin at the age of four and continued to play for twelve years. Her most recent operatic roles include Pamina in Die Zauberflöte (Classical Movements) and Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro (Mannes Virtual Opera). She attended the Aspen Summer Music Festival as a Voice Fellow; there she portrayed the role of Mrs. Nordstrom in Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music at the Wheeler Opera House and performed in scenes from Rigoletto and A Rake’s Progress. While pursuing her Bachelor of Music at the Peabody Institute, Charlotte sang Gretel in Peabody Outreach Opera's production of Hansel and Gretel. She was also a principal role in Peabody's Etudes, a unique program featuring new operas written by composition students. The following year, she appeared as a featured Street Singer in Leonard Bernstein's MASS under the baton of Marin Alsop, celebrated conductor and music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Charlotte studies with esteemed soprano Diana Soviero.
Kate Bishop
Assistant Stage Director, Amahl and the Night Visitors
Kate Bishop, mezzo-soprano, is not only recognized for the brilliance of her instrument, but also for her natural leadership abilities and thoughtful artistic vision. Bishop is originally from Denton, Texas where she grew up in a musical household and began her studies as a classical musician. She earned her Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance and minor in History from Baylor University, where she was involved with the Baylor Opera Theater. During her time at Baylor, she had the pleasure of working alongside Dr. Jen Stephenson as assistant director of Samuel Barber’s A Hand of Bridge as well as their 2021 Opera Scenes program. Bishop has performed various opera roles, including her favorite as Madame Kirsten (Captain Lovelock) as well as Amori and Famigliari (L’incoronazione di Poppea) and most recently, Quilter (R.S.B.E.) with the Taos Opera Institute in New Mexico. She has also performed scenes as 3rd Lady (Die Zauberflöte,) Mercédès (Carmen,) Hansel (Hansel and Gretel,) and Old Lady (Candide.) Bishop participated in the NATS Student Auditions while enrolled at Baylor, in which she was a semi-finalist three times, and third runner up in 2018. She currently teaches voice and music theory at the Prosper Dance Arts Conservatory and is seeking to continue education in Opera Directing.
Jessica Bloch
Featured Artist, Opera Scenes Showcase
Ensemble, Amahl and the Night Visitors
Amahl (cover), Amahl and the Night Visitors
Jessica Arielle Bloch, is a versatile soprano singing music from the Baroque period through the 21st century. She is currently a Sparrow Live Resident Artist and a Young Artist with Dell’Arte Opera Ensemble in New York City. Jessica has also been seen performing with the Christman Opera Company, NEMPAC Opera, Opera Fusion, Hartford Opera Theater, Vienna Summer Music Festival, SICPP (Voice Fellow), and more. Some of her recent fall highlights include singing Blonde (Die Entführung aus dem Serail) with Dell’Arte Opera Ensemble, and her Sparrow Live debut recital, Maids and Maidens which explored several characters throughout the operatic canon with works by Mozart, Donzetti, Strauss, Puccini, and Stravinsky. Jessica’s other recent performance highlights include performing in NEMPAC Opera’s Opera from the Balcony series, premiering the piano-vocal rendition of Three Beasts by Dana Kaufman, the Hearts on Sleeves recital program with the Songs from Hibernation Recital Series, Zerlina (Don
Giovanni), Suor Genovieffa (Suor Angelica), Nella *cover* (Gianni Schicchi), Miss Johnson (Bessie and Ma), Titania (The Loathly Lady), Belinda *cover* (Dido and Aenaes), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), and Noémie (Cendrillon). In addition to performing, Jessica is the founder of The Bloch Voice Studio at Bloch Performing Arts Inc. where she takes great pride in seeing the progress of her students as they advance in their vocal
arts journeys. Jessica holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theater and Music with a minor in Italian from the Florida State University, and a Master of Music in Voice Performance from the University of Connecticut.
Gordon Blodgett
Sarastro, Die Zauberflöte
Originally from Lawrence, Kansas, Gordon Blodgett is a Master of Music in Vocal Performance studying under Dr. Kathryn Leemhuis at Boyer College of Music and Dance. As a student, he has performed the lead role of Dr. Falke in their production of Die Fledermaus, as well as covering Arkel in Pelleas et Melisande. As a singing actor, he has performed roles throughout the Midwest, including Heartland Opera Theatre in Joplin, MO, Springfield Regional Opera in Springfield, MO, and Pittsburg State Opera in Pittsburg, Kansas. Gordon participated as Young Artist with the Chicago Summer Opera in 2021 and Young Artist with Springfield Regional Opera in 2017, as well as performing with the Tulsa Opera Chorus for their 2019 production of Carmen.
Sophie Bougeois is described as “a delightful performer with a ravishing voice.” A soprano from Memphis, TN, she is pursuing a Master of Music in Vocal Performance at Texas Christian University under the tutelage of Dr. James Rodriguez. She was last seen as Flora in The Turn of the Screw, as Prince Alexis in Offenbach’s L’île de Tulipatan, and as Susanna in selections from Le Nozze di Figaro in TCU Opera Studio’s virtual Opera Scenes Program. She has also been seen in TCU’s productions of Falstaff, as Avery in 75 Miles, and the world premiere of Evan Mack and Joshua McGuire’s Yeltsin in Texas! Her upcoming engagements include La Modista in Nino Rota’s Il cappello di paglia di Firenze.
Maria Bozich
Erste Dame, Die Zauberflöte
Award-winning soprano Maria Bozich brings dynamic and engaging performances to audiences in her home city of Boston and across the United States. Recent roles include Elettra (Idomeneo), Gerhilde (Die Walküre), Suor Angelica (Suor Angelica), Marie Antoinette (The Ghosts of Versailles), Antonia (Les Contes d’Hoffmann), and numerous opera scenes including Blanche (Dialogues des Carmélites), Adalgisa (Norma), Marguerite (Faust), Ortrud (Lohengrin) and Fiordiligi (Cosí fan tutte). In 2019, Ms. Bozich joined Pittsburgh Festival Opera as a Studio Artist, where she where she sang the role of Gerhilde in the Jonathan Dove arrangement of Wagner’s Die Walküre and the role of Iginia in the world premiere of Scandals, a one-act dramatization of Puccini’s life. She was also a participant in the festival’s Mastersingers Project for Young Dramatic Voices, where she performed opera scenes as Senta (Der Fliegende Holländer) and Isolde (Tristan und Isolde). In 2018, Ms. Bozich received an encouragement award from the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions in the Seattle district. Ms. Bozich spent three summers as an Apprentice Artist at the Miami Music Festival, where she sang the roles of Marie Antoinette (The Ghosts of Versailles), Antonia (Les Contes d’Hoffmann), and Second Lady (The Magic Flute). Her appearance as Antonia touched audience members, and she “knew how to win the applause with her moving role” (El Nuevo Herald). Ms. Bozich holds a master’s degree and Graduate Diploma in Vocal Performance from the New England Conservatory of Music, where she studied with internationally renowned soprano and pedagogue Jane Eaglen.
Sophie Bougeois
Second Spirit, Die Zauberflöte
Featured Artist, Opera Scenes Showcase
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Powell Brumm
Melchior, Amahl and the Night Visitors
Baritone Powell Brumm has been lauded for his "lovely timbre and good presence" (Parterre Box) for his presentation of Lionel in Tchaikovsky's Maid of Orleans with Russian Opera Workshop. A native Arizonan, Mr. Brumm recently started an artist’s diploma with the University of Missouri Kansas City after he completed his Master's degree at the University of Southern California. He has brought his natural flair for drama to roles such as Figaro in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro and Peter Quince in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream with the University of Southern California, and Jupiter (Orphée aux enfers) and Collatinus (The Rape of Lucretia) with the University of Arizona. Mr. Brumm is excited to be making his company debut with Music On Site, Inc.
Mezzo-soprano Madelin Cain is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Voice Performance at the UMKC Conservatory under the instruction of Dr. Maria Kanyova. She recently graduated from Georgia Southern University with her Bachelor’s in Music. In her days at GSU, she spent time on the stage as Olga Olsen in Kurt Weill’s Street Scene, La messaggera in L’Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi, and Amy in the U.S. premiere of Choir Practice, a Canadian opera by Stephen Chatman. During times of restricted performance due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she sang the role of Terentia in a radio production of John Duke’s Captain Lovelock, a production which was aired on Georgia Public Broadcasting. Outside of her undergraduate studies, she also enjoyed teaching voice and beginning piano to K-12 students at local music shops for over two years. In November 2021, Madelin is excited to make her opera debut at UMKC as Damon in Handel’s Acis and Galatea, and the following December she will also have the privilege of singing with Music on Site!
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Bora Cho
Assistant Music Director and Pianist/Coach
Die Zauberflöte
Bora Cho is working on Master of Music in Collaborative Piano at Stephen F. Austin State University. She is a first graduate teaching assistant who received a super assistantship from SFASU. As a collaborative pianist, she has played many degree and studio recitals, recordings, UIL, NATS, and NOA competitions, faculty interview recital, opera workshop, orchestra, wind ensemble, choirs, etc. In spring 2020, she played the secco recitative part from the first act of Cosi fan Tutte on harpsichord, in addition to the rehearsal pianist role. In summer 2021, she was hired as a pianist intern and backstage manager from Franco American Vocal Academy.
While Ms. Cho was working on her associated degree at Del Mar College, she got Edna Ocker Endowed Scholarship, Corpus Christi Music Club Scholarship, Department of Music scholarships, and 63rd and 64th Outstanding Student Awards. She was a winner of the Del Mar Honor Competition for consecutive years. As a guest pianist, she performed at Del Mar College Master Chorus’s Schubert Concert.
Cho graduated summa cum laude from Texas A&M Kingsville with a Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance emphasis on piano pedagogy and a Master of Music in piano performance. She received many scholarships, including Presidential Transfer Scholarship, Music scholarships, Kleberg bank-Clyde M. Allen Jr. Fund for Excellence, C.J. Davidson Jr. College Transfer Scholarship, Chorale Scholarships, and College of Arts and Sciences Graduate Scholarship. She was a graduate teaching assistant at TAUMK. Instructors include David Sutanto, Joachim Reinhuber, Sehee Lee, Andrew Parr, and Ronald Petti.
Madelin Cain
Featured Artist, Opera Scenes Showcase
Ensemble, Amahl and the Night Visitors
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Migeun Chung
Music Director and Pianist/Coach, Scenes Showcase
A collaborative pianist, Migeun Chung, was named as a répétiteur/pianist for A Midsummer Night's Dream to Opera NUOVA in summer 2019 and coach/pianist at the Opera Ozarks in 2018. Currently based in Pittsburgh, she is currently pursuing her second master’s degree in Collaborative Piano specializing in vocal accompanying under Jocelyn Dueck at Carnegie Mellon University. Prior to that, she received her B.M. in Piano Performance from the Sookmyung Women’s University in Seoul, South Korea, and graduated with degrees (D.M.A. and M.M.) in piano performance with related studies in Vocal Accompanying. Recently, she joined Interlochen Arts Camp as a collaborative artist/coach in the summer of 2021 and in the
past years, she was trained in the New York Dramatic Voices in January 2020 as a collaborative pianist. She has continued to engage in opera and musical theatre production at Bayview Music Festival and Opera in the Ozarks. Her works include by Antonio Sartorio’s Giulio Cesare in Egitto, George Frideric Handel’s Rinaldo, Johann Strauss Jr.’s Die Fledermaus, Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Douglas Moore’s The Ballad of Baby Doe, Cinderella (a Pastiche) of Rossini and Massenet, Bizet’s Carmen, Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Gréty’s zémire et Azor, Kurt Weill’s Berlin to Broadway, Stephen Schwartz’s Pippin, and Dunean Sheik’s Spring Awakening. Continuously, she has collaborated with internationally renowned music directors and coaches at NUOVA and at the CoOperative program and Classic Lyric Arts through masterclasses and opera. She is looking forward to joining to engage in Opera Lucca and Opera Steamboat as a collaborative Coach/Pianist in summer of 2022.
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Elizabeth Cohen, an Albany New York native, began her musical career at 9 as part of Celine Dion's children's chorus for the Let's Talk About Love tour. Elizabeth began formal training at 15 when she auditioned and was selected for the Juilliard School's Pre-College program on a dare from her Mom. Elizabeth has performed several roles including (Countess Rosina Almaviva) Le Nozze di Figaro, (Donna Anna) Don Giovanni, (Antonia) Les Cantes d’Hoffmann, and (Magda) La Rondine. Concert experience includes: soprano soloist in the Schubert Mass in E-flat, Bard’s Winter Song Fest, Dawn Upshaw and Friends, and First Songs a concert world premiere. Enjoying a rich art song background, Elizabeth spent several summers in France studying with Dalton Baldwin and has performed the complete Clairières dans le ciel by Lili Boulanger with Javier Arrebola. Elizabeth holds degrees in Vocal Performance and Political Science from Oberlin College and Conservatory and a Master’s from Bard College’s Vocal Arts Program. For more information, please visit http://www.elizabethcohensoprano.com/
Amira Coleman
Papagena, Die Zauberflöte
The stage is a second home to singing actor Amira Coleman, and she is constantly working to cultivate her musical knowledge and education. She began studying piano at the age of 3, and plans for her music education to be a lifelong journey. Coleman's pre-collegiate musical pursuits ranged from string and piano lessons to jazz band, community theatre, youth orchestra and gospel choir. Her varied studies led Amira to Wichita State University where she pursued training in vocal performance and music education. She graduated magna cum laude from WSU with a Bachelor's Degree in Vocal Performance in 2021. Amira is currently pursuing a certificate in Professional Studies in Music Performance with a Voice concentration at Wichita State University, where she studies privately with accomplished soprano and professor Dr. Cristina Castaldi. Amira has most recently done chorus work at the Wichita Grand Opera in its star-studded production of Mozart's Don Giovanni. She teaches voice, piano, cello and percussion at The Wichita Music Academy, is a scholarship singer in the University Congregational Church Chancel Choir, works as a collaborative pianist with fellow WSU music students, and is a seasoned stage and sound technician for WSU's performance facilities.
Elizabeth Cohen
Erste Dame, Die Zauberflöte
Kiara Colón
Third Spirit, Die Zauberflöte
Mezzo-soprano, Kiara Colon, is a graduate of Wichita State University with her MM in Vocal Performance. She received her Bachelors in Music degree from Millikin University located in Decatur, IL in 2015 but she is originally from Chicago. While attending WSU, she had the opportunity to perform many diverse roles such as Sesto from Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito, Ursula in Berlioz’s Beatrice et Benedict, and Phani in Rameau's Les Indes Galantes all under the direction of Dr. Marie King.
She has had multiple opportunities to perform which include traveling to Washington, D.C. for the Serenade! Music Festival in honor of John F. Kennedy’s 100th birthday and performing in Carbondale for the Southern Illinois Music Festival Young Artist Program where she played the part of the Third Spirit in The Magic Flute with a 1990s video game twist to the original story. More locally, she has sung with Wichita Baroque as the alto soloist for a Spanish Baroque choral piece under the direction of Carter Tholl, as Agnes from Dahl’s Fantastic Mr. Fox with Opera Kansas directed by Ashley Winters, the Wichita Chamber Choral as the alto soloist for Bach’s Reformation Cantata, Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott, directed by Dr. Mark Bartel and as the soloist for Handel’s Messiah with the Wichita Choral Society.
She is excited to continue on her musical journey this year as a choir member with the Wichita Chamber Chorale and as the Third Spirit for Music On Site’s production of Die Zauberflöte.
Mezzo- Soprano Charity Cooper, grew up in Layton, Utah. She recently completed her Master’s degree in vocal performance at Baylor University. She also graduated with a bachelor's degree in music, with additional emphasis in commercial music and music education from Snow College. Known for her vibrant singing and committed acting, Charity has played a variety of roles including Mercedes in Bizet’s Carmen, Dorabella in Mozart’s Cosi fan Tutte, and most recently, Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro.This year Charity will be singing with the Utah Opera Chorus, as well as with Music On Site Inc. as Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors.
Kathleen Crandall
Zweite Dame, Die Zauberflöte
Kathleen Crandall is an Oklahoma-based singer who has been praised for her “rich and exciting” soprano. Most recently, she appeared as Gertrud in Chicago Summer Opera’s production of Hansel und Gretel, as well as Marguerite in scenes from Gounod’s Faust. Kathleen has experience in multiple facets of the arts as a director, administrator, and theatre technician. In 2020, she was part of a collaborative effort to form a new virtual opera company, Opera NexGen, where she currently serves as Director of Production and Operations. Past credits include: Chicago Summer Opera: Gertrud, Hansel und Gretel; OU University Theatre: Leila, Les pêcheurs de perles; Fiordiligi, Così fan tutte; Madame Pompous, Too Many Sopranos; Antonia, Les Contes d’Hoffmann; Stafford Opera Troupe: Beatrice, Much Ado About Nothing (premiere). Wichita State University: Le Feu/La Princess/Le Rossignol, L'enfant et les sortilèges; Nella, Gianni Schicchi; Greta Fiorentino, Street Scene; Barbarina, Le Nozze di Figaro; Giannetta, L’elisir d’amore. Kathleen holds a master’s degree in opera from the University of Oklahoma and a bachelor’s degree from Wichita State University.
Charity Cooper
Mother, Amahl and the Night Visitors
Benjamin Croen
Assistant Stage Director, Die Zauberflöte
A native New Yorker, Benjamin Croen (he/him) is an emerging theatre director, acting coach, baritone, and performing artist.
Benjamin began his career on the stage at age seven as a child soloist with the Metropolitan Opera, continuing on to receive conservatory training in opera performance and direction. As an opera director, he has run the gamut from baroque to contemporary, working at both conservatories and music festivals.
Directing credits include: The Telephone (Oberlin Conservatory), At the Statue of Venus (Oberlin), The Escape Artist (NTI Theatermakers), and the Miami Classical Music Festival's Opera Scenes Program.
Assistant Directing credits include: Some Light Emerges (Utopia Opera, NYC Premiere), The Story of Harriet Tubman (Utopia, NYC Premiere), La Rondine (MCMF), and Ariadne auf Naxos (MCMF).
Benjamin is a proud graduate of the National Theatre Institute's Advanced Directing Program. He received his Bachelor's of Music in Vocal Performance from Oberlin Conservatory.
Carly Cummings is a versatile performer who has sung roles in a variety of
productions throughout the country. Roles include Magda in La Rondine, Cendrillon in
Cendrillon, I. Lesní žínka in Rusalka, and Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel with companies
including Peabody Conservatory, Chicago Summer Opera and Manhattan Opera Studio
(NY). She was most recently featured as Juliet in Gounod’s Romeo et Juliette for
MIOpera’s virtual role study in 2020. Also during the 2020 crisis Cummings became a
part of Angel Joy Blue’s “Opera Training Program,” performing online with singers from
all over the world under Blue’s tutelage. Previously Cummings has worked with San
Diego Opera as a part of their Opera Exposed training program from 2015-2018,
performing numerous times for their outreach efforts. Cummings received her Masters
degree in operatic performance from Peabody Conservatory in 2020 while working with
Ah Young Hong. Cummings is currently studying with Danielle Talamantes while living
and working in San Diego California.
Julia Damore
Second Spirit, Die Zauberflöte
Papagena (cover), Die Zauberflöte
Julia Damore was born and raised in Nashville, TN. She has always had a heart for singing. When she was a freshman in college, Julia achieved 3rd place in a NATS competition. In 2014 she recorded an original song, "Time Waits", as a demo artist for Susan Boyle. She later included this song on her first EP, An Evening with Julia Damore. Julia graduated from Belmont University in 2016 with a Bachelor of Music degree, commercial voice. She continued to pursue education by attending Austin Peay State University to earn a Master of Music degree in vocal performance. Julia worked with world-renowned voice teacher Dr. Sharon Mabry during her time at APSU. She also worked with pianist and vocal coach Warren Jones, who selected her to perform with him in concert.
In 2019 Julia attended an intensive summer program at Middlebury College in Vermont. The program, known as German for Singers, was an intensive language program. While there, Julia studied under professional German opera singer Stephan Boving, world-class director and pianist Stefan Ruetter. In that same year, Julia competed in the Orpheus Vocal Competition as a semi-finalist. Because of her background in German, Julia was asked to teach a German diction master class at Cumberland University in April of 2021. Julia currently works for Tennessee State University and Lipscomb University as a voice teacher.
Julia has performed in many staged productions during her career including musicals, operas, and recitals. She has performed roles such as Belle in Beauty and the Beast, Edith in The Pirates of Penzance, Lucia in Gasparone, The Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire, and Angelica in Puccini's Suor Angelica.
Carly Cummings
Pamina Die Zauberflöte
Ellen Denham
Stage Director, Amahl and the Night Visitors
Ellen Denham is a singer, voice teacher, writer, and director who teaches voice and directs the Opera Workshop at Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi. She received a doctorate in Vocal Performance and Literature with a Cognate in Theatre from the University of Illinois after receiving her B.M. from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and M.M. from the New England Conservatory of Music.
Dr. Denham began her directing work in experimental theatre pieces at the Indy Convergence arts residency. She has since been recognized as a finalist for the American Prize for Stage Directors (Charles Nelson Reilly Prize). In 2013, she was invited to direct the Umbrella Project of the Indy Convergence residency, an exploration of the subject of Otherness based on her concepts and created collaboratively by the performers using dialogue, dance, and an improvised soundscape of voices and instruments. Other directing projects have included a comic soundscape based on internet memes and an exploration of different ways to utilize improvisation in opera. She has received two grants from the Indiana Arts Commission for her collaborative work and has presented on “Challenges and Solutions for the Developing Collegiate Opera Program” at the National Opera Association National Conference.
Works directed at TAMU-CC include Hansel and Gretel, Pinocchio, and her original Shakespeare adaptation, Midsummer Night’s Music. She recently served as librettist and director of the children’s opera Olivia’s Ocean, with music by Ross C. Bernhardt, commissioned by the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies.
James Diaz is a Music Educator and Performer out of Phoenix, Arizona. He found his love and passion a long time ago from an array of childhood memories with family, as well as joining choir when younger. He is now a versatile lyric baritone that sings a wide variety of styles including Jazz, Classical, and Contemporary works. James Diaz is currently a student at Arizona State University getting a two degrees in Music Education and Vocal performance. Outside of music and performance, he enjoys hiking, nature, playing billiards and cooking different dishes for friends and family.
Megan Dobbs
Die Königin der Nacht, Die Zauberflöte
Megan Dobbs, Soprano, is thrilled to be returning to Music On Site, Inc. this
season! She grew up in Texas, where she was active in several choral ensembles
as well as the local community theater scene. These experiences led her to pursue
music further. She holds a Bachelors degree in Music from Hardin-Simmons
University in Abilene, Texas where she studied with Dr. Lynnette Chambers. While
there, she fell in love with opera. Megan was seen in the university’s productions
of Mozart’s The Impressario and Menotti’s The Medium, as well as in several
scenes programs and an abridged educational outreach production of Mozart’s
Die Zauberflöte. She received additional training with Red River Lyric Opera and
the Opera Viva! summer intensive.
After completing her Bachelors, Megan moved to Kansas City where she earned a
Masters of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Missouri-Kansas
City Conservatory, where she studied with Dr. Raymond Feener. During her time
at the Conservatory, she was seen in productions of Mozart’s La finta giardinera
and Ravel’s L’enfent et les Sortilèges. Since completing her Masters, Megan has
been seen in Music on Site, Inc.’s production of Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi and
Landlocked Opera’s production of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte.
Megan is a student of Jennifer Rowley. She is currently based in the Texas
panhandle where she resides with her husband and their dog Marcy.
James Diaz
Sprecher, Die Zauberflöte
Papageno (cover), Die Zauberflöte
Kyle Felkins
Kaspar, Amahl and the Night Visitors
Known for his rich, powerful voice, American tenor Kyle Felkins breathes life into his
performances on both the concert and operatic stage. Felkins was recently seen as Don Basillio
(Le nozze di Figaro), Bill (A Hand of Bridge), Guillot (Le mariage aux lanternes), Marco (The
Gondoliers), Ferrando (Cosi fan tutte), and Monostatos (Die Zauberflöte), Hal/Marquis de
Saint-Cyr (The Scarlet Pimpernel) and Kaspar (Amahl and the Night Visitors). He has performed as a principal artist with Utah Vocal Arts Academy, a featured soloist with St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, a featured artist at Baylor University’s Countdown to Christmas 2020, and a featured soloist for the Utah chapter of the American Choral Directors Association. The ‘20-’21 season will see Mr. Felkins in the roles of Kaspar (Amahl and the Night Visitors), Martin (The Tender Land) and Rinuccio (Gianni Schicchi), as well as continued performances with St. Alban’s
Episcopal. Kyle received a Bachelor of Music from Snow College in Utah, where he studied with Brian Stucki. Currently, he is pursuing a Master of Music at Baylor University where he studies with Dr. Jamie Van Eyck.
Passionate about the ever-evolving, creative process of performing, soprano Bethany
Filer uses her soprano voice to delve into the stories of art song, opera, and other musical
genres. In summer 2021, Bethany delved into the character Blanche Noyes, performing in Opera Kansas’ world premiere production of Staggerwing. At Friends University, she has been featured in roles such as Servilia in Le Clemenza di Tito, Morgana in Alcina, Miss Silverpeal in The Impresario, and Susanna in selections from Le nozze di Figaro. She also had the opportunity to work with the Santa Fe Opera Guild, playing roles in several abbreviated productions: Blonde in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, First Spirit in The Magic Flute, and various characters in a
Zarzuela production. Bethany has trained in various genres, making semifinals in NATS for music theater and art song performances and soloing in Friends University’s Jazz Vocal Ensemble. She also writes music and has performed original contemporary compositions in recitals, conferences, and churches. In the Singing Quakers, Bethany was featured as a soprano soloist in Mozart’s Coronation Mass, and as Eastminster Presbyterian Church’s soprano section leader, she has sung
other sacred solos. Bethany finds people fascinating and loves to ask good questions, attempting to catch a glimpse of who they are and what makes them tick. In both conversation and music, she explores the beauty of life and invites others to discover it for themselves.
Jenna Grissom
Zweite Dame, Die Zauberflöte
Described as a “stage animal”, soprano Jenna Grissom began her career at Opera Memphis at the early age of 11. Presently, she is pursuing her Masters of Music at Louisiana State University under the guidance of the acclaimed soprano Sandra Moon. She has previously studied with applauded teachers Dr. Loraine Sims, Dr. Sandra Franks, and Dennis Whitehead-Darling. An award-winning soprano, Jenna has received multiple honors from the National Association of Teachers of Singing, the Mozart Society, and has been awarded the AADGT International Young Musicians Festival Silver Medal Winner. Jenna is also making her Carnegie Hall debut in the Spring. Some of her more recent engagements include Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte with The Turner-Fischer Center for Opera, a studio artist with the Russian Opera Workshop, Javotte in Manon with The Turner- Fischer Center for Opera, Fox in Příhody lišky Bystroušky with LSU Opera, Suor Angelica in Suor Angelica with Opera Festival di Roma, Alice Ford in Falstaff with LSU Opera, and the Sandman in Hansel and Gretel with Opéra Louisiane. She is incredibly excited to be making her role debut with Music on Site!
Bethany Filer
Featured Artist, Opera Scenes Showcase
Ensemble, Die Zauberflöte
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Jie Fang Goh
Assistant Music Director and Pianist/Coach
Die Zauberflöte
Born in Malaysia, Jie Fang Goh charts a versatile career in music as a pianist, collaborator, scholar, and teacher. This year, he served as the Collaborative Piano Fellow at the Wintergreen Music Festival and the Classic Lyric Arts French vocal music program. In previous summers, he was a scholarship recipient of the Aspen Music Festival and the Collaborative Piano Institute. During his
time in Texas, he collaborated with the Baylor Opera, Baylor Department of Theater Arts, and
Waco Civic Theater on multiple productions including Signor Deluso, Godspell, and Mamma Mia. Committed to bringing the beauty and wonder of classical music to the wider community, he co-founded the LexGoh Piano Duo with Alexander Kostadinov and performed extensively in the United States, Hong Kong, and Malaysia. Besides maintaining a performing career, he also teaches piano at the Soulfege Music Studio.
Fang obtained a bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance from Baylor University where he studied with Krassimira Jordan. He received the Gladys Calder Stinson Award for the Outstanding Undergraduate Performer in Piano, was a finalist in the 2017 Baylor Concerto Competition, and won second prize at the 2014 Josef Dichler Piano Competition in Vienna, Austria. While earning a master’s degree in Musicology at Baylor, he made his mark in music scholarship through his thesis, Fantasies and Delusions: Billy Joel’s Turn and Return to Classical Music. He is currently
pursuing a master’s degree in Collaborative Piano at the University of Maryland under the tutelage of Rita Sloan and works with the Maryland Opera Studio.
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Robert Hartfield is an American tenor coming from the farmlands of Kansas and Missouri. He possesses a highly personal singing style, carefully developed under the mentorship of his father, former opera singer Paul Hartfield Sr., and the teachings of legendary baritone, professor Kim Josephson. Robert earned numerous prestigious awards early on in his singing career, including winning six National Association of Teacher of Singing (NATS) competitions. Soon after, he was performing leading roles with opera companies such as Opera in the Ozarks, Cimarron Opera, and the University of Oklahoma Theater. A firm believer in music versatility, Robert’s performances range from Mozart’s Abduction from the Seraglio to Adamo’s Little Women. In addition, he pursued an undergraduate degree in organ performance. Robert recently completed his master’s degree in opera performance from the University of Oklahoma. Upcoming engagements include performances with the Central City Opera, Abilene Philharmonic Orchestra, and Pensacola Opera.
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Heather Hawk
Mother, Amahl and the Night Visitors
Soprano Heather Hawk’s musical honors include winning First Prize at the AIMS Meistersinger Vocal Competition in Graz, Austria and fourth place as National Finalist in the NATS Artist Award Competition in Chicago. She also won First Prize in the Dallas Opera Guild Vocal Competition. Hawk won First Place in the Texoma National Association of Teachers in Singing “Singer of the Year” Young Artist vocal competition. She was also a National Semi-finalist in the Classical Singer Vocal Competition and named a national semi-finalist in the Opera Birmingham Vocal Competition. She performed the song cycle, “Try Me, Good King,” by noted American composer, Libby Larsen, in 2016 for the Leschetizky Association Annual Living Composers Concert in New York City. Of her performance, with pianist Leslie Spotz, Larsen said, “Gorgeous voice! ~And a great collaboration with your pianist!”
Recent operatic roles include the title role in Handel’s Alcina, Katisha in The Mikado, and Suor Genovieffa in Suor Angelica. She made her Carnegie Hall solo debut in 2014 with the New York International Music Festival and returned in 2016 for a second solo performance in Carnegie Hall. Other notable solo appearances include Rutter’s Magnificat and Handel’s Messiah with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.
She earned her DMA in Vocal Performance from University of North Texas, her Masters in Vocal performance from Baylor University, and BA in Music from Tarleton State University.
Robert Hartfield
Tamino, Die Zauberflöte
Paul Leland Hill
Sarastro, Die Zauberflöte
Paul Leland Hill is a bass from Salt Lake City, Utah. In 2019, Paul began pursuing a Masters of Music degree in Vocal Performance at the University of Michigan, studying with Professor Stanford Olsen and will be graduating in Fall 2021. He took a leave of absence from school to apprentice at Sarasota Opera, covering the sergeant in La bohême. Paul returned to Michigan to sing the Sodbuster in their socially distanced production of Missy Mazzoli’s Proving Up and Don Pasquale in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale and will be singing Pandolphe in their upcoming production of Cendrillon. This summer Paul attended the Taos Opera Institute and singing Figaro in Utah Valley Arts Academy’s production of Le nozze di Figaro.
Paul received an undergraduate degree in Piano Performance from the University of Utah. Paul sang with the Utah Opera Chorus for four seasons, and portrayed Buoso Donati in Gianni Schicchi in 2018, portraying Buoso’s dead body to enthusiastic applause.
Baritone Jared Hiscock has returned to Opera Omaha for a third year as a Holland Community Opera Fellow after a thrilling 2021 summer season performing the title role in Mozart’s Don Giovanni with the Vocal Academy of Opera in Bodrum, Turkey. In December of 2020, he received his DMA from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Glenn Korff School of Music after successfully defending his dissertation, Transcendentalist Sympathies: A Contextual Study of The Wound-Dresser. During the 2019 summer season, Jared performed Guglielmo in Così fan tutte with Vocal Academy of Orvieto in Città della Pieve, Italy, and Marquis de la Force in Dialogues of the Carmelites with Saltworks Opera in Cape Charles, VA. Jared spent two seasons doing educational outreach with the professional opera touring company Opera for the Young, performing Power House in the world premiere of Super Storm! by Scott Gendel and the Sea-King in Rusalka. Recent credits include Dr. Malatesta in Don Pasquale, Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte, Friedrich Bhaer in Little Women, Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro, Leporello in Don Giovanni, and Melchior in Amahl and the Night Visitors; and as the baritone soloist in works such as Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Mankato Symphony Orchestra, Vaughan Williams’s Five Mystical Songs with conductor Ernest Richardson, and the Nebraska premiere of Adams’s The Wound-Dresser. Jared lives in Lincoln, NE with his freakishly talented wife, Damie, and their three adorable boys, Clifton, Walden, and Desmond, goldador puppy Charlie, and six broody hens.
Hannah Howard
Third Spirit, Die Zauberflöte
Featured Artist, Opera Scenes Showcase
Hannah Howard is a mezzo-soprano from Wichita, KS. Currently a student of Charleen Ayers and part of the Singing Quakers at Friends University, Hannah will graduate in 2023 with a Bachelor of Arts in Music and Bachelor of Science in Accounting. She made her debut on the stage in spring 2020 as Ida in Johann Strauss II’s Die Fledermaus. She played her first major role in fall 2020 as Ruggiero in Handel’s Alcina. Most recently, Hannah played Sesto in Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito. Hannah has competed in several regional competitions including NATS, Tabor Voice Festival, and the NOA Collegiate Opera Scenes Competition. Hannah was a finalist at Tabor in 2018 and 2019, and a
finalist in the NOA Collegiate Opera Scenes Competition in 2020. In 2019 she placed 3rd at NATS in the West Central Region,and 5th in 2020. She has been accepted to Opera Seme, a young artist program that
will take place in Arezzo, Italy in the summer of 2022. Though Hannah did not start out her college career with the expectation of getting a degree in music, her exposure to and experience with performing have helped her develop a passion for music.
Jared Hiscock
Melchior, Amahl and the Night Visitors
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Kelsey Huxman
Featured Artist, Opera Scenes Showcase
Second Spirit, Die Zauberflöte
Hailing from Wichita, Kansas, soprano Kelsey Huxman is no stranger to the stage, having sung the lead roles of Hansel (Hansel and Gretel), La Messagiera (La Favola d'Orfeo), Terentia (Captain Lovelock), and Lady Jane (Patience) with Tabor College Opera. Ms. Huxman also appeared with Wichita-based opera company Music on Site in 2019 in Suor Angelica and Amahl and the Night Visitors, in addition to being selected to the artist roster of Wichita’s Opera Kansas. During her undergraduate studies, Ms. Huxman was a featured soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the Tabor College Oratorio Chorus and Orchestra, served as the president of both Tabor’s Concert Choir and Symphonic Band, and was appointed Choir Director at Zion Mennonite Church in Elbing, Kansas. Ms. Huxman was named a finalist in the Barbara Rondelli
Voice Competition in 2020 and was accepted into the highly selective Red River Lyric Opera
and Harrower Summer Opera programs, which were unfortunately cancelled due to Covid-19.
Ms. Huxman was a two-time recipient of the coveted Jonah C. Kliewer Choral Music Award
from Tabor College and received the Robert and Myrabel Hollowell Scholarship through the
Kansas Music Educators Association in 2018. Ms. Huxman recently graduated from Tabor
College, where she studied voice with Dr. Jen Stephenson and earned degrees in Vocal
Performance and PreK-12 Music Education, and is now pursuing her Master’s degree in Vocal Performance from the University of South Dakota, where she studies voice with Dr. Tracelyn Gesteland.
Baritone Jay Jones made their operatic debut in 2018 as Masetto in Georgia Southern Opera’s
production of Don Giovanni. They have continued to be active with Georgia Southern Opera, appearing as Mr. Jones in Kurt Weill’s Street Scene (2019), Plutone and Caronte in Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo (2019), Death in Holst’s Savitri (2021), and Bartley in Vaughan Williams’s Riders to the Sea (2021). Recent performances include the roles of L’Ambasciatore and Mr. Dollar in
Respighi’s La bella doremente nel bosco in October. Jay currently sings as a member of Moon River Opera Company, a nonprofit opera company based in Savannah, Georgia. Featured performances with Moon River Opera Company include the annual Improv Opera concert, and Doctor Spinelloccio and Sir Amantio di Nicolao in an English-language film production of Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi. Jay is currently a member of Southern Chorale, the Gretsch School’s premier vocal ensemble, and studies voice with Dr. Arikka Gregory as a senior vocal performance major at the Fred and Dinah Gretsch School of Music at Georgia Southern University. Jay maintains a private studio, plays organ, and is an alumnus of ΦΜΑ Sinfonia. Jay’s performance and expansive repertory of sacred music earned them the ‘Sacred Singer Award’ from GSU’s Voice Area. Jay holds a passion and avid love for sacred music and Anglican Hymnody. They feed that love by attending Christ Church Episcopal in Savannah, Georgia, where they are a chorister.
Darrell J. Jordan
Papageno, Die Zauberflöte
Seattle-based lyric baritone Darrell J. Jordan has been praised for his “shining, beautiful voice” (Broadway World), his "expressive baritone and facial expressions" (The SunBreak), and has been called “the star of the show” (Columbia Heart Beat). He holds a B.A. in both Psychology and Music and a M.M. in Voice Performance from the University of Missouri, and a D.M.A. in Voice Performance from the University of Washington. His recent engagements have been with Amherst Early Music Festival, Odyssey Chamber Music Series, Rolla Choral Arts Society, Choral Arts Alliance of Missouri, Missouri Symphony, Southside Philharmonic Orchestra, Toledo Symphony, Thalia Symphony, Olympia Chamber Orchestra, and the Seattle Art Song Society. Opera credits include STL Opera Collective, Haymarket Opera, Gateway Opera, Baroque Opera Workshop, the Show-Me Opera, Lawrence Opera Theatre, Puget Sound Concert Opera, Operamuse, Seattle Modern Opera Company, PNW Opera, the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Seattle, Opera on Tap, OperaBend, and Seattle Opera (outreach cast). In 2021, he will be making his main stage debut as Prince Yamadori in Opera West’s production of Madama Butterfly, and as Bob/Ben in a double bill of The Old Maid and the Thief/The Telephone with Puget Sound Concert Opera. In early 2022, he will present a recital for Wilmington Concert Opera, and will sing the title role in Tartuffe with Landlocked Opera. He is a member of the nationally recognized, award-winning professional vocal chamber ensemble, Vox Nova. For more information, please visit: www.DarrellJJordan.com
Jay Jones
Featured Artist, Opera Scenes Showcase
Priest and Armored Man, Die Zauberflöte
Katie Kelley
Stage Director, Opera Scenes Showcase
Seattle-based opera director Katie Kelley hails from Houston, Texas, and relocated to Seattle in 2015 to pursue an MM in Voice Performance at the University of Washington. While at UW, she performed the titular role of La Calisto and appeared as Orphée in Orphée et Eurydice. Other notable roles include Judith in Deseret Experimental Opera Company’s 2016 premier of Red Lake and Genovieffa in Seattle Modern Opera Company’s 2019 Suor Angelica. In 2018, Katie co-founded Lowbrow Opera Collective, a non-profit arts organization, for the purpose of providing out-of-the-ordinary performance opportunities to other emerging artists while furthering her personal mission to be a catalyst for new works and fresh perspectives in opera. Katie was tasked with directing their inaugural production (the West-Coast premier of #adulting, a new opera) and immediately fell in love with directing. Since then, she has had the privilege to direct a revival run of #adulting and a double cast of Lowbrow’s 2021 virtual production of WINDOWS, a set of six monodramas. This season, Katie will assistant direct Lowbrow’s production of Diary of a Madman and will direct their productions of MARThA and of #adulting2, here we go again. She is also Vice President of Lowbrow’s Board of Directors and serves on the New Works Search Committee and the Production Committees for each show in their 2021-2022 season. She is ecstatic to be joining Music on Site as stage director of the Opera Scenes Showcase, which represents a long-anticipated first opportunity to direct works from the standard repertoire.
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Kelsey Korman, mezzo-soprano, is a versatile artist, having performed in operas, musicals, and jazz ensembles throughout her career. Known for her pants roles, Kelsey brings her unique and comedic perspective to each and every character she portrays. Her previous operatic roles include the title role in The Little Prince, Zita (Gianni Schicchi), Fredrika Armfeldt (A Little Night Music), and Kate Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly). Her regional theatre credits include Gabrielle (Cinderella), Maggie Saunders (Lend Me a Tenor), and Harriet Smith (Jane Austen’s Emma). Kelsey made her directing debut in 2019, working under the tutelage of Jonathan Eaton as assistant director for UNT Opera’s production of Don Giovanni. Kelsey holds a Master of Music and a Bachelor of Music in vocal performance from The University of North Texas.
Lauren Koszyk
Music Director and Pianist/Coach,
Amahl and the Night Visitors
Lauren Koszyk currently maintains a versatile career as a collaborative pianist and educator in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. As a pianist and coach she has worked with the Midwest Institute of Opera, Illinois Festival Opera, and Musiktheater Bavaria and has accompanied masterclasses given by renowned Metropolitan Opera soprani Angela Brown and Yvonne Redman. Ms. Koszyk currently serves as Adjunct Faculty at Tarrant County College Northwest. She will also serve as pianist for the McKinney Philharmonic Orchestra’s upcoming season. She has received numerous grants to perform or present at conferences including the Puerto Rico Center for Collaborative Piano, Manitoba Music Out of Bounds Conference, Music Teachers National Association Conference, National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy, Illinois State Music Teachers Association Conference, among others. At the University of North Texas Ms. Koszyk earned her Master of Music in Collaborative Piano with a related field in Early Music and was awarded a Teaching Assistantship and Graduate Assistantship. From Illinois State University she earned her Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance and Bachelor of Arts in German, both summa cum laude. Ms. Koszyk has been presented with top honors by the Governor of Illinois and President of Illinois State University and has been invited by Steinway Hall Dallas to tour the Steinway & Sons Factory in Astoria, New York.
Kelsey Korman
Amahl, Amahl and the Night Visitors
Caroline Lee
Dritte Dame, Die Zauberflöte
Mezzo-soprano Caroline Lee is currently pursuing a Master of Music in Vocal Performance at Baylor University under the direction of Dr. Jamie Van-Eyck. She is excited to return to the stage as the Third Lady with Music On Site after the impacts of COVID-19. Some past roles include the Sorceress (Dido and Aeneas), the Mother, Shepherd and Squirrel (The Child and the Spells), and Truman Capote (The Scarlet Professor). This year she will also be performing the roles of Ma Moss (The Tender Land) and Zita (Gianni Schicchi) with Baylor Opera Theatre. Lee holds a BM in Vocal Performance and Music Education from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Brian is a senior at Austin College in Sherman, Texas, where he is a music education major and studies with Sylvia Rivers. He got his start in the local community theater singing roles such as Caiaphas, Jesus Christ Superstar, Gaston, Beauty and the Beast, and Bernardo, West Side Story. Brian has also performed in various opera workshop scenes singing roles such as Papageno, Figaro, and Don Giovanni. In the fall of 2019 he was cast as a main role (Bartender) in the Austin College production of Michael Ching’s Speed Dating Tonight. He has also done the role of Don Alfonso from Mozart’s Così fan tutte. He is a local soloist and a frequent NATS finalist as well as a first place winner. Upon graduation, Brian plans to pursue a career in opera performance.
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Christina Liu
Répétiteur
Dr. Christina Liu has given numerous performances as a soloist, collaborative pianist, and chamber musician in the United States and internationally. As a soloist and chamber musician, she was the prize winner in numerous competitions, including MusicFest Northwest and Michigan State MTNA Chamber Music Performance competition. She made her first orchestral debut at the age of 17. Her appearances include broadcast performances on Spokane Public Radio and Kansas Public Radio. Dr. Liu is active as a local collaborative pianist, playing for various musical theater and opera productions.
In addition to her performance career, Dr. Liu is a passionate educator. She currently serves as the Assistant Professor of Music at Bethel College, teaching courses in music theory, aural skills, music history, class piano, piano pedagogy, and applied piano instruction. Dr. Liu is also the Director of the Bethel College Summer Music Day Camp. She is in demand as an adjudicator and has presented her research at various local, state, and national conferences. She has previously served on faculty at the University of Saint Mary and the University of Kansas Community Music School, where she was also program coordinator.
Dr. Liu received her Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) degree from the University of Kansas. She received her dual-Master's degree in Solo Piano Performance and Chamber Music Performance from the University of Michigan, and her undergraduate degree in Piano Performance with Pedagogy emphasis from Washington State University. Her teachers include Gerald Berthiaume, John Ellis, Christopher Harding, and Stephen Spooner.
Brian Linares
King Balthazar, Amahl and the Night Visitors
Nini Marchese
Die Königin der Nacht, Die Zauberflöte
Making her debut as Queen of the Night with Central Florida Lyric Opera, coloratura soprano Nini Marchese was praised for her “riveting vocals that captured the Queen’s black-hearted wickedness” (Villages News). In the 2020/21 season, she appeared in recital as well as the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor with UNT Opera Theatre, a reimagined production of Donizetti’s tragedy in the time of COVID. Other recent engagements include Valentina Scarcella in Later the Same Evening, Despina in Così fan tutte, Lisette in La Rondine, Almirena in Rinaldo, and the title role in Rameau’s Zéphyre with UNT Opera Theatre, Chicago Summer Opera, and Concerto Urbano Baroque Ensemble, among others. In concert, Nini has performed as a soloist in a number of works by J.S. Bach including Johannes-Passion, Magnificat, BWV 150, BWV 96, and BWV 80. In 2018, she portrayed Glaubige Seele in Handel’s Brockes Passion with Bach Society Houston. The troupe toured Germany as part of the Leipzig Bachfest that same year. Ms. Marchese has received 1st place in the Soirée Lyrique Vocal Competition, was winner of the Thomas J. Smith Scholarship Competition, and a national finalist at the New York Lyric Opera Theatre Competition. An Illinois native, Nini attended the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign for her Bachelor of Music degree, and earned a Master of Music degree at the University of North Texas.
Dr. Joshua May, tenor, is an Assistant Professor of Voice and Director of Opera Activities at
the Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University in Columbus, Georgia. He has
performed and premiered works throughout Europe, Canada, and the United States. He is an avid recitalist and oratorio singer, performing recently as a soloist in Bach’s Magnificat, Mozart's Requiem, and Handel's Messiah. He has performed over thirty diverse operatic roles that range from the Baroque repertoire to premiers of new works. He has performed such recent roles as Tamino in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Male Chorus in Britten's Rape of Lucretia, Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi, and Ferrando in Mozart's Così fan tutte. As an opera director, his recent directing credits include mainstage and outreach productions of Der Schauspieldirecktor, A Hand of Bridge, A Game of Chance, Amahl and the Night Visitors, Cendrillon, Speed Dating Tonight! Hansel and Gretel, Alcina, and The Light in the Piazza. He will be directing upcoming productions of Die Zauberflöte and Rusalka. He was selected as a
national finalist for the Charles Nelson Reilly Prize for Stage Directors in both opera and musical theatre by the American Prize. He was a resident artist with Pittsburgh Festival Opera, where served as an assistant director for their production of Wagner’s Die Walküre and as an associate director for a world premiere of an opera set to the life story and music of Puccini, Scandals. Dr. May has served as a faculty artist with the Druid City Opera Workshop at the University of Alabama and as an opera directing fellow at the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival. He has presented his research with the National Opera Association, Collegiate Music Society, National Association of Teachers of Singing, New Voice Educators Symposium, and the Lilly Conference. Dr. May holds a D.M.A. in Voice Performance from the University of Connecticut, an M.M. in Vocal Performance from the New England Conservatory of Music, an M.M. in Vocal Pedagogy from the New England Conservatory of Music, and a B.M. in Voice Performance from the University of Florida. For more information, please visit www.joshuamaytenor.com
Troy McDonald
Featured Artist, Opera Scenes Showcase
Ensemble, Die Zauberflöte
Sarastro (cover), Die Zauberflöte
Troy McDonald has his bachelor’s degree in Church Music from Baylor University. He is
currently pursuing a graduate degree in Vocal Performance from Baylor University. He has held roles in the operas La Canterina and a Game of Chance with the Baylor Opera Theatre Program. Troy will have future performances in The Tender Land as Grandpa Moss, and Gianni Schicchi as Betto di Signa this upcoming spring.
Joshua May
Stage Director, Die Zauberflöte
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Spencer McIntire
King Melchior, Amahl and the Night Visitors
Mario Vincent Melone
Tamino, Die Zauberflöte
Lyric tenor Mario Melone is a recent graduate of the Oakland University school of music, and is currently pursuing his Masters degree in Vocal Performance under the tutelage of Professor Freda Herseth at the University of Michigan.This past summer, Mario appeared as Tamino as a young artist in the Franco-American Vocal Academy production of W.A. Mozart’s The Magic Flute. In the 2020-21 season, Mario was featured as Narcissus Olivios in American composer Christopher Cerrone’s one act opera All Wounds Bleed, and was also a runner up for the University's Friends of Opera competition. Mario performed several operatic roles while at
Oakland University, including the Sheriff of Richmond (Martha), Sam Kaplan (Street Scene) Chevalier de la Force (Dialogues des Carmélites), and has been featured as Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni), Gérald (Lakmé), Fenton (Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor), and Paco (La vida breve) in the University’s scenes program. In addition to his classical appearances, Mario is also active in the pop punk and metal music scenes, appearing as the lead singer of the bands Swayt and Today’s Year. In his spare time, he enjoys playing guitar, spending time with his friends and family, and writing music.
Stephania Mikužis
Third Spirit, Die Zauberflöte
Dritte Dame (cover), Die Zauberflöte
Known for her “warm, amber mezzo”, Stephania Mikuzis is an emerging singer lauded for her varied repertoire in both opera and concert.
Ms. Mikuzis’ was most recently seen as Dritte Dame in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte with the William Lewis School of Opera, and The Witch in Sondheim’s Into the Woods with Center Stage Productions, Chicago. Previous roles also include Bertarido (Rodelinda), Gianetta (L'elisir d'amore), Pistache (Bagatelle), Denise (Le mariage aux lanternes), Amorini ( L' Incoronazione di Poppea), and Stéphano (Roméo et Juliette). She made her debut as a young artist with The Kenosha Opera Festival in the 2020 season. Ms. Mikuzis received her training at The University of Texas at Austin, and Mannes College of Music.
Catherine Moss
Die Königin der Nacht, Die Zauberflöte
Catherine Moss is a young coloratura soprano heralded for her agile comedy and vocal elan (San Diego Story). A recent graduate of the University of Michigan, she has appeared on the Lydia Mendelssohn and Power Center stages as Norina (Don Pasquale), Oberto (Alcina), and Claudia (The Daughters of the Bloody Duke). Catherine also performed the role of Mother of Trees in the world premier of Michigan Trees: A Guide to the Trees of Michigan and the Great Lakes Region, Number 14 in Michael Ching’s Remove Shoes Before Entering, and on Opera NEO’s greenscreen as Old Woman/Papagena in their virtual production of Die Zauberflöte. This coming December, Catherine will appear as The Queen of the Night in Music On Site’s production of Die Zauberflöte. At home with musical theater, she has also frequently appeared in comedic roles such as Carlotta (Phantom of the Opera), Polly (Apple Blossoms), and Aunt Tilly (It’s a Wonderful Life).
In junction with her stage work, Catherine has appeared as the soprano soloist in works such as Faure’s Requiem, Handel’s Dixit Dominus, and Purcell’s Come Ye Sons of Art. An avid chamber performer, Catherine has premiered works ranging from the modern (Small-Town Folklore, Porter) to the rediscovered (Serenata e canto, Scarlatti). In 2020/2021, Catherine was the winner of the Friends of Opera competition (John Knapp Award), a finalist for the University of Michigan Concerto Competition (Knoxville: Summer of 1915), and a semi-finalist for the Camille Coloratura Competition.
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Liza Moss, soprano, holds a Bachelor of Music in vocal performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music where she studied with Dr. Mary Schiller and performed under David Bamberger. At CIM, Liza sang the roles of La chatte in Maurice Ravel's L' enfant et les sortilèges and Œnone in Jean Philippe Rameau's Hippolyte et Aricie, as well as performing in several scenes and choruses. Currently, Liza lives in Kansas with her fiancée and two cats, and studies voice with Andrea Garritano. Liza is thrilled to be performing with Music on Site this year.
Whitney Myers
Erste Dame, Die Zauberflöte
Whitney Myers, Soprano, has performed with numerous opera companies such as the Tulsa Opera, Dallas Opera, Roanoke Opera, Mississippi Opera, Music on Site, Marble City Opera, Millennium Opera, UNC-G Opera, Schmidt Opera Outreach, UK Opera Theatre, Utah Vocal Arts Festival, Opera Programs Berlin, and Greensboro Opera. Her roles include: Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro, Chrysothemis in Elektra, Frankie in Royal Flush, Elle in La Voix humaine, the Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Giulietta in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Violetta in La Traviata, Tsarevna in Kashchei the Immortal, Ludmila in The Bartered Bride, Vendedora in La Vida Breve, Octet Member in Barnum’s Bird, Suor Genovieffa and Zelatrice in Suor Angelica, Olympia in Pinnochio, Clorinda from La Cenerentola, and has covered the title role in Suor Angelica. Currently, Myers is singing as a Filstrup Resident Artist with Tulsa Opera. Myers has been seen in concert singing scenes from Otello, MacBeth, La Wally, Die tote Stadt, Le Nozze di Figaro, and A Little Night Music. Myers is a winner of numerous competitions and awards such as the John Alexander Vocal Competition, Kentucky District National Metropolitan Opera Council. Myers was also a finalist in the 2021 Opera Ithaca Edward M. Murray International Voice Competition and the 2021 Lyra New York International Vocal Competition.
Liza Moss
Featured Artist, Opera Scenes Showcase
Ensemble, Amahl and the Night Visitors
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Evangeline Ng
Pamina, Die Zauberflöte
Hailed by The Straits Times Newspaper for her “impressive voice”, Evangeline Ng is a promising young Singaporean-Taiwanese soprano “destined for great things.” A recent graduate of the Manhattan School of Music, she most recently won First Prize and the Olly Kukepuu Award in the New York Young Performers Prize Competition 2021. Other accolades include: First Prize at the inaugural Singapore Lyric Opera ASEAN Vocal Competition, Gold Award at the 4th Asia Arts Festival, and Second Prize at NAFA Vocal Competition.
Her operatic credits include: Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro with Chicago Summer Opera, title role in The Coronation of Poppea with Manhattan School of Music, Sandman in Hansel and Gretel with the Orchestra of the Music Makers and New York Lyric Opera. Other roles/scenes include: Governess, Manon, Micaëla, Cleopatra, Juliette, Eurydice, Servilia, Adina and Norina.
Evangeline is a recent alumna of the Houston Grand Opera Young Artist Vocal Academy 2021. She was slated to join the Grant Park Music Festival as a Project Inclusion Fellow and was also scheduled to make her operatic debut with Singapore Lyric Opera as Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, but these engagements have been postponed due to COVID-19. She had been kindly sponsored by The Trailblazer Foundation. Currently based in New York City, she studies with Joan Patenaude-Yarnell.
www.evangelineng.com
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Marcos Ochoa is a Choral Music Education student at University of North Texas, studying voice with Richard Croft. Recently he performed the role of Ferrando in a concert version of Cosi fan tutte at Southern Illinois Music Festival, and covered the same role for the mainstage production. In the 2020-21 season Marcos performed the roles of Arturo (Lucia di Lammermoor) and Jimmy O'Keefe (Later the Same Evening) with UNT Opera. His other past roles include Gherardo (Gianni Schicchi) with Music On Site, and Monostatos (Die Zauberflöte) with UNT Opera. In concert, he has performed as the Tenor Soloist in Missa Criolla as well as Handel's Messiah. In 2019, he performed at the Boston Early Music Festival with the UNT Collegium Singers, and was the tenor soloist in their presentation of Telemann's Magnificat. He has also performed "Maria" from West Side Story with the UNT Symphony Orchestra as part of the biennial UNT College of Music Gala. Marcos is an active chorister in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, performing with the Verdigris Ensemble, Dallas Chamber Choir, and Orpheus Chamber Choir.
Julia Pace
Featured Artist, Opera Scenes Showcase
Ensemble, Die Zauberflöte
Julia Pace is a Soprano from Fort Worth, TX. She is a Senior Vocal Performance Major at Tarleton State University, where she is a student of the Honors College, a Choir Scholar, and President of the Delta Pi chapter of Mu Phi Epsilon. After graduation, Julia plans to attend Graduate School and pursue a career in Vocal Performance.
Julia Pace’s recent musical performances include Mezzo soloist in Handel’s Messiah at the 2018 and 2019 Tarleton State University Masterworks Concert with the Fort Worth Symphony, as well as Joanne in Godspell. Julia is set to perform as Suor Pazienza in Opera Seme’s summer 2022 production of Umberto Giordano’s Mese Mariano.
Julia Pace’s musical honors include Tarleton State University’s “Outstanding First Year Vocalist” in 2019, “Outstanding Vocalist” in 2020, and “Outstanding Music Major” in 2021. She was also the 2021 “Center Stage'' Recipient. Pace received Honorable Mention at the Tarleton State University Concerto Competition in 2020 and Second-Place in 2021.
Marcos Ochoa
Tamino, Die Zauberflöte
Sophia Parker
Featured Artist, Opera Scenes Showcase
Ensemble, Amahl and the Night Visitors
Sophia Parker is very excited to be making her debut with Music On Site, Inc! She has
studied classical voice for six years and is majoring in Vocal Performance at the University of Washington. She hopes to continue studying voice in graduate school, and to perform
professionally wherever her career will take her. She has worked as a music director for non-profit educational theatre companies in the Seattle area, teaching high school students music and organizing part separations, and is currently an Artist in Residence at the Lake Washington United Methodist Church.
Sophia has performed in musical theatre productions with professional and educational theatre companies throughout high school and college. Her favorite past roles include Belle (Beauty and the Beast), The Witch (Into the Woods) and US Cosette (Les Miserables). She will be making her opera debut with Music On Site’s Opera Scene Showcase and Amal and the Night Visitors, and is excited to continue developing her professional opera career. She is grateful for the opportunity to return to live performance in the midst of a pandemic, and to share the experience of live music with you.
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Gilda Parlatto Lire is a Mexican mezzo-soprano from Brownsville, Texas, currently residing in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Her notable roles include Armelinde (Cendrillon), La Maestra delle Novizie (Suor Angelica), Mrs. Nolan (The Medium), and the Witch (Hansel and Gretel). Ms. Parlatto Lire was recently set to debut the roles of Ms. Todd (The Old Maid and the Thief) and Augusta Tabor (The Ballad of Baby Doe). However, due to unfortunate circumstances, both performances were cancelled. Ms. Parlatto Lire received her BA in Vocal Music Education from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 2018. She is currently a Graduate student in Vocal Performance at the University of Central Oklahoma.
Jacqueline Parson
First Spirit, Die Zauberflöte
Erste Dame (cover), Die Zauberflöte
Jacqueline Parson is a soprano from the Dallas, Texas area. She is currently in the second year of her Master’s Degree at Texas Tech University studying Vocal Performance. Jacqueline received her Bachelor’s Degree from William Jewell College, near Kansas City, MO, with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychological Science, Music, and Mathematics. While in her undergrad, Jacqueline was able to travel to England and Scotland to perform a concert tour with her choir. She also had the privilege of conducting research in the Middle East on the role of music in recovering from psychological trauma. She is fascinated by the interaction between music and mental health and is interested in a potential career in Music Therapy.
Jacqueline is passionate about performing and loves to share the beauty of music with all those able to share in it as well. Her passion for the stage began at an early age where she grew up dancing and singing. Previously, Jacqueline has performed the roles Madame Lidoine in Dialogues des Carmélites, Miss Silverpeal in The Impresario, and Just Jeanette in Too Many Sopranos. Her next performance will be as Vitellia in Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito this upcoming April 2022. In the future, Jacqueline hopes to perform internationally and start music schools in underprivileged countries.
Jacqueline is excited to perform with Music on Site in their 2021 season and hopes that these performances will only continue to be possible as the world recovers from COVID-19. The world needs music now more than ever.
Gilda Parlatto Lire
Dritte Dame, Die Zauberflöte
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Margarita Parsamyan
Papagena, Die Zauberflöte
Margarita Parsamyan is a native of Armenia, currently living in Miami, Florida. Ms. Parsamyan holds her Bachelor of Music Degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Oklahoma (OU). In the Fall, Ms. Parsamyan joined Frost School of Music at University of Miami for her Master's Degree where she will continue her studies with legendary baritone Kim Josephson. Ms. Parsamyan is very excited for her 2021-2022 performing season. She will be performing the roles of Manon in Massenet’s Manon and Concetta in the World Premiere of Michael Dellaira’s The Leopard with Frost Opera Theater. Ms. Parsamyan will make her debut at Music on Site as Papagena in Die Zauberflöte by Mozart. Ms. Parsamyan has performed in various opera productions at OU Opera Theater, most notably as La chauve-souris in Ravel’s L'enfant et les sortilèges. She performed the role of Fleta in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Iolanthe at Cimarron Opera. In summer 2021, she sang the role of the Sandmann in Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel at Chicago Summer Opera.
Ms. Parsamyan has been constantly selected to perform in various opera scenes at OU Opera Scenes Program, where she has appeared as Juliette in Gounod’s Romeo et Juliette, Cendrillon in Viardot’s Cendrillon, Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro and Second Lady in Die Zauberflöte by Mozart. Margarita is an internationally award-winning soprano. Her most recent achievements include the First Prize at Great Composers Competition, the Semi-finalist in CS International Vocal Competition and the Second Prize at TEXOMA NATS Competition.
Micah is in his first year at Baylor University pursuing a Master of Music in Voice Performance. He has experience winning competitions across the United States and Europe. His accomplishments include advancing to the National NATS competition in 2020 and performing with the Austrian American Mozart Academy in 2019. Additionally, he was a performer in the 2019 Baylor ICCM. Micah is originally from Brookings, South Dakota, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in Music Education from South Dakota State University. At SDSU, he performed in a wide range of ensembles including prestigious choirs, madrigal head tables and opera casts. He also was a featured soloist for multiple extraneous events such as cantoring for a bishop’s ordination mass, soloing for SDSU Foundation events, and singing in a Governor’s Inauguration Ceremony. Currently, Micah is preparing the role of Martin from Copland’s The Tenderland, and Gherardo from Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi. He is also a staff singer at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church.
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Kevin James Phillips
Featured Artist, Opera Scenes Showcase
Ensemble, Die Zauberflöte
Kevin James Phillips, Baritone, strives for musical excellence on the stage. Performing with the University of South Dakota's Opera and Choral programs, Phillips has sung in numerous main-stage operas. Their recent roles include The Secret Police Agent in Menotti's The Consul, Frank in Die Fledermaus, Count Almaviva from Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, Mr. Jenks in The Tender Land by Aaron Copland, and The Stepmother in Massenet's Cendrillon (Cinderella). Phillips has performed regionally and throughout the US and has travelled internationally performing in choral ensembles. Phillips completed their Bachelors in Music Education from USD in 2020 and has returned to work on their Masters of Music in Vocal Performance under the direction and guidance of Dr. Tracelyn Gesteland.
When Phillips isn’t performing you can find them teaching voice lessons with Outlook Studios, a private online performing arts studio developed by Kevin James Phillips to enrich the lives of others by helping them Find Their Voice.
Micah Perry
Kaspar, Amahl and the Night Visitors
Davian Raggio
Featured Artist, Opera Scenes Showcase
Priest and Armored Man, Die Zauberflöte
Monostatos (cover), Die Zauberflöte
Tenor Davian Raggio is a sophomore at Baylor University where he is working on his BM in Voice Performance. Davian hails from Houston, TX, where the bulk of his performance experience took place. Some highlights include Jack in Into the Woods and Kodaly in She Loves Me with Operativo Houston, Man 1 in Edges with BOOM! Theater and Ship’s Captain in Anything Goes with Pearland High School, a performance in which he was nominated for a Tommy Tune Award for Best Featured Actor by Theater Under the Stars. Recently, Mr. Raggio made his operatic debut singing the featured role of Piccolo in Goldie B. Locks and the Three Singing Bears with Baylor Opera Theater as a part of their outreach program and looks forward to returning to Baylor’s stage as Gherardo in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi and Mr. Splinters in Copland’s The Tender Land.
A Florida native now based in Philadelphia, Ramsey Reyes is an active opera coach and collaborative pianist. Fluent in English, Spanish, French, Italian, and Russian, Ramsey has rapidly gained traction in the vocal arts world after finishing graduate school in 2021. Ramsey is pianist for Opera Orlando, Opera NexGen, and the Vienna Summer Music Festival. He is mentored by David Lofton of the Academy of Vocal Arts, and performs with sopranos Renée Richardson and Sarah Joyce Cooper. At Temple University, Ramsey accompanied voice students and coached the opera workshop classes. He was selected as a vocal collaborative fellow for the Miami Classical Music Festival in 2020, and has also participated in the Collaborative Piano Institute, Lee University International Piano Festival, Music Academy International Festival, and Curtis Young Artists Summer Program. Ramsey is also assistant director of the Neumann University Choir, a piano teacher in the Blutt College House Music Program of the University of Pennsylvania, a college advisor for Berton College, and the founder of the Virtú Institute, an academic camp for middle and high school students. He holds degrees from Temple University, where he studied Piano Performance and Collaborative Piano with Charles Abramovic and Lambert Orkis, as well as the University of Pennsylvania.
Jordan Roth
Balthazar, Amahl and the Night Visitors
Jordan Roth, bass-baritone, has performed roles with community theater establishments,
academic opera programs, and professional companies. Roth's 2017-2018 season included participation in the highly selective Druid City Opera Workshop held at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Shortly after, Roth was honored to be selected to participate in the West Central National Opera Association Opera Scenes Showcase. Roth took the stage as a collegiate performer for the first time with his performance of Bunthorne in Tabor College Opera's production of Patience, followed by his performance of the Father from Hansel and
Gretel under the same program. This season also saw his professional opera debut as a
Shepherd in Music On Site's acclaimed production of Amahl and the Night Visitors.
In 2019 he took the role of Orfeo from La Favola D'Orfeo with Tabor College Opera, and returned to the stage with Music On Site as Balthazar from Amahl and the Night Visitors. Roth also appeared as a finalist in the Barbara Rondelli Statewide Classical Voice Competition. A versatile musician, Roth is a founding member of TFX, a contemporary a cappella group that has performed throughout Central Kansas. Roth is also an active recitalist in the region, presenting programs with repertoire ranging from art song to musical theatre. Recently, he made his debut as a jazz vocalist with Tabor College's 'Jazz at the Atrium,' a series with the Tabor College Jazz Program. He is also proud to be the featured baritone soloist for the Eastminster Baptist Church Choir in Wichita, Kansas.
Ramsey Reyes
Music Director and Pianist/Coach, Scenes Showcase
Lauren Salazar
Amahl, Amahl and the Night Visitors
Lauren Salazar, Soprano, is a first year masters student in voice performance at the University of North Texas. She is the Annual Giving and Event Production Graduate Assistant for the College of Music Development Office at UNT and is studying voice under Dr. Carol Wilson. Lauren holds a B.M. in Voice Performance and a B.S. in Public Relations from The University of Texas at Austin, as well as a M.S. in Hospitality Management from UNT. She has participated in summer festivals as both a performer and administrator, including the Miami Summer Music Festival, TAOS Opera Institute, Wintergreen Music Festival, and the Brevard Music Center. Lauren's past roles include Annio (La Clemenza di Tito) with the Butler Opera Center, Papagena (Die Zauberflöte) with the Butler Opera Center, and Laurey (Oklahoma!) with the New Braunfels Theatre Company. This season she will perform as Amahl (Amahl and the Night Visitors) with Music on Site and Lucia (Rape of Lucretia) with UNT Opera.
Will Schlott is a senior at the University of Washington in Seattle where he is finishing up a BA in Voice and a BA in Psychology. Most recently, he performed with Lawrence Opera Theater singing Benvolio and covering Mercutio in Romeo et Juliette. Later this season, he will sing chorus in Tacoma Opera's productions of L'enfant prodigue and Don Pasquale. He is thrilled to be making music in Kansas once again!
Esteban Senzig
Monostatos, Die Zauberflöte
Esteban Senzig is making his debut with Music on Site. He has sung with many opera companies in Utah, Las Vegas, and Argentina, and is a a regional Metropolitan Opera winner. He is very excited to be singing with Music on site inc, and having the chance to sing again after the past years. He is a lyric tenor based in Provo, Utah and always loves performing Mozart because of its beautiful score.
Will Schlott
Page, Amahl and the Night Visitors
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Krista Sizemore
Ensemble, Die Zauberflöte
Krista Sizemore is an elementary music teacher in Derby, KS. She has been teaching for five years and loves inspiring her students to find a love of music that will last their whole lives. In College, Krista enjoyed singing in the Tabor College Concert Choir where she performed a Messiah Solo. She is currently singing in the Wichita Symphony Chorus. She has performed as a pianist and actress in the Boothill Museum Variety Show for three years and played Rapunzel in the Dodge City Depot Theater’s production of Into the Woods. Krista is thrilled to be singing in her first opera with many talented musicians.
Katherine June Smith is a soprano based in Richardson, Texas, and is very excited to be joining MOSI for their December season. She holds an M.M in Vocal Performance from the University of Central Oklahoma, and a B.M. in Vocal Performance from Texas Tech University. She has studied and performed throughout the United States and internationally in opera programs such as Opera in the Ozarks, Taos Opera Institute, Red River Lyric Opera, Haymarket Opera Summer Course, and Music in the Marche. Recently, she sung as a member of the Fort Worth Opera Chorus in their 2020 virtual performance of Moses Hogan’s His Light Still Shines. Past favorite opera roles include Despina (Così fan tutte), Linfea (La calisto), Billie (Speed Dating
Tonight), Cat (Starbird) and Flora (The Turn of the Screw).
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Angel JJ Sneed
Featured Artist, Opera Scenes Showcase
Ensemble, Amahl and the Night Visitors
Mother (cover), Amahl and the Night Visitors
Angel Jaunita Joyce Sneed is a first year graduate student at the University of
Mobile. She has previously performed the roles of the Waitress in “Speed Dating
Tonight!”, Emmie in “Albert Herring”, Mrs. Herring (cover) in “Albert Herring,
Cinderella in "Cendrillon", Dara in "An Embarrassing Position", Francis (who is
originally known as Frank) in "Die Fledermaus", as Dr. Blind in "Die Fledermaus", Woman 1 (cover) in "Songs for a New World" and as Evangelist Antigone in "The Gospel at Colonus". She has also participated in the Chicago Summer Opera Program in 2021 and the Druid City Opera Workshop program in 2019. She is currently preparing for the role of one of the Lay Sisters in “Suor Angelica” by
Puccini and covering the role of the Mother and performing as a Shepherdess in
“Amahl and the Night Visitors” by Menotti.
Katherine Smith
Papagena, Die Zauberflöte
Erin Sura
Zweite Dame, Die Zauberflöte
Mezzo-Soprano Erin Sura has been praised for her “vocal warmth and depth, emotional heart” and for her “powerful polished vocal work” by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and for singing “with formidable power” by Milwaukee Magazine. Clevelandclassical.com said her “role was memorably sung and acted” and described her as “indefatigable.” Ms. Sura’s ampleness of voice and range have made her desirable in a wide variety of roles. Recent performances include Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly with Opera West, the Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors with Belle Ensemble and Opera On Site, the title role in Carmen with Brew City Opera; Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus with Master Singers of Milwaukee; Donna Elvira in The Sopranos (Don Giovanni) with Fresco Opera Theatre, Betty in Passion in Pigskin by Lydon and Mandel with Wisconsin Opera on Tap, and the Second Lady in the world premiere of Jordan Jenkins’s Queen of the Night with Fresco Opera Theatre. Additional roles include Jo March (Little Women), Fatme (Zemire et Azor), Dido and the second witch (Dido and Aeneas), Gertrude (Hansel and Gretel), Mother Marie (Dialogues of the Carmelites), and Second Lady (Die Zauberflote). Active in concert work as well Ms. Sura has appeared as a soloist in Handel’s Messiah, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, Vivaldi’s Gloria, and the Verdi Requiem.
Described as a “very expressive singer”
(Matthew Hoch, Georgia MTNA) with a voice that has "marvelous clarity and a bell-like quality" (Roger Pines, Classical Singer Competition), Yunona Tabala is a Russian lyric coloratura, currently based in Boston, Massachusetts. In the past season, she has been featured in the role of Mademoiselle Silberklang (Der Schauspieldirektor) with Schwob Opera, under the direction of Dr.
Joshua May. Other favorite roles include Laetitia (The Old Maid and the Thief), Cleopatra (Giulio Cesare) and Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro). In the past year, Ms. Tabla was a First Prize recipient at Charleston International Music Competition, as well as a semifinalist at Camerata Bardi Vocal Competition. Additionally, she has been a Second Prize recipient of the 2021 National Opera Association Scenes Competition
performing excerpts of Rosalinde (Die Fledermaus) and a First Prize recipient at Utah Vocal Arts Academy Aria Competition wherein the finals she sang Rosina's aria (Il Barbiere di Siviglia). Ms. Tabala is currently pursuing a Masters in Vocal Performance program at Longy School of Music of Bard College, as part of the vocal studio of Dr. Dana Lynne Varga. She is also an Artist in Training with Boston Opera Collaborative where she is working with Dr. Brian Mall and Mr. Greg Smucker.
Jacob Tabatowski-Bush
Featured Artist, Opera Scenes Showcase
Ensemble, Die Zauberflöte
Sprecher (cover), Die Zauberflöte
Jacob Tabatowski-Bush, baritone, is from Ann Arbor, Michigan. His recent opera roles include David (Hand of Bridge) and the Bully Goat (Billy Goats Gruff) with Schwob Opera Theatre. He will be performing the upcoming roles of Melchior (Amahl and the Night Visitors) and the Sea King (Rusalka), and Sprecher (Die Zauberflöte) this season. He has been featured in opera scenes as Giasone (Giasone), Papageno (Die Zauberflöte), and Billy (The Family Reunion). Jacob was selected as national semi-finalist at the Classical Singer Competition (2019, 2020, & 2021) in both the classical and musical theatre categories. He was also a selected semi-finalist at
SERNATS (2021). He is currently an undergraduate vocal performance major studying with Dr. Joshua May at the Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University in Columbus, GA.
Yunona Tabala
Amahl, Amahl and the Night Visitors
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Juan Tello
Monostatos, Die Zauberflöte
Tamino (cover), Die Zauberflöte
Juan Tello is a Mexico City native tenor. Before training as an opera singer, he did several
musical theatre productions. When doing Les Miserables at age 17, he was discovered by
an operatic voice teacher who quickly picked an interest in him and convinced him to
train as an opera singer. A couple of years later, Juan was auditioning to major
conservatories around the world, but due to too little or no scholarships provided, he had
to remain in Mexico. He went to college to study marketing, but by his second year, he
decided he still wanted to pursue an operatic career. He auditioned and got admitted to
the Conservatorio Nacional de Música in Mexico City where he started training as a tenor.
Soon after, he started traveling to the USA to be part of summer programs like Chicago
Summer Opera, where he has sing Mozart's "Le Nozze di Figaro", Offenbach's "Le
Marriage aux Lanternes " and Händel's "Alcina".
This year he's very happy to sing his first 2 main roles, Nemorino in "L'elisir d'Amore" with
the opera company Teatrópera in Mexico City and covering Tamino in "The Magic Flute"
where he will also be singing Monostatos.
Brandon Tharp is a 4th year tenor voice student of Dr. Michelle DeBryun at Columbus State University, The Schwob School of Music. Growing up in the suburbs of Minneapolis and Atlanta, Brandon graduated high school in Griffin, GA, before pursuing a B.M. in Music Education with Dr. Michelle Folta. He is a student assistant with the Voices of the Valley Children's Choir and active Xi Gamma chapter president of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. Since coming to The Schwob School of Music, Brandon has been heavily involved with the opera/musical theater scene, performing roles under Dr Joshua May such as Gusseppie Naccarelli (The Light in the Piazza), King Kaspar (Amahl and the Night Visitors), and Prince Charmant (Cendrillon, Viardot) to name a few. Brandon has also had success in the Georgia, Southeastern Regional, and National NATS competition placing 1st in the 10A Third Year College Musical Theatre TTB until finishing in the top 14 on the National level. Brandon looks forward to teaching and singing after completing his undergrad and eventually completing a Masters in Vocal Performance.
Peter Wesolowski
Papageno, Die Zauberflöte
Peter Wesoloski has firmly established himself in the Chicago music world as a soloist and choral singer. Operatic credits include the titular role of Yevgeny Onegin, Count Almaviva (Le Nozze di Figaro), Alfio (Cavalleria Rusticana), and Sam (Trouble in Tahiti) as well as less serious "character" roles such as Benoit/Alcindoro (La Bohème) and Pistola (Falstaff). No stranger to the concert stage, Peter has also been featured as the soloist in the Fauré Requiem and Schubert Mass in G and as Peter/Pilate (Johannes-Passion). Additionally, Peter is dedicated to the art of song and sings regularly at the Liederstube with pianist Eugenia Cheng, as well as performances for the annual Schubertiade at PianoForte since 2016. He has performed in salons and recitals in London, Amsterdam, Auckland and Sydney, as well as Minneapolis and Chicago. Peter most recently sang the role of Ivan in the new work “Death of Ivan Ilych” with the Thompson Street Opera Company as part of the work’s premier performances in partnership with Opera Orlando.
Brandon Tharp
Monostatos, Die Zauberflöte
Liza Moss
Zita (Cover), Gianni Schicchi
La cercatrice II, Suor Angelica
Micah Perry
Suor Genovieffa, Suor Angelica
Margarita Parsamyan
Suor Genovieffa, Suor Angelica
Brandon Tharp
Suor Genovieffa, Suor Angelica
Hannah Wheeler, a native of the Hoosier State, has performed a wide range of solo, choral and operatic material throughout the years, which has given her the opportunity to cultivate her passion for performing classical and modern works. Her operatic roles include Miss Todd in The Old Maid and the Thief with Chicago Summer Opera, La Cercatrice II in Puccini’s Suor Angelica and Zita (cover) in Gianni Schicchi with Music on Site, and Ramiro in La finta giardiniera by Mozart and Alma in Adamo’s Little Women with Chicago Vocal Arts Consortium. She appeared in the world premiere of ...for the sake of a narrative closure as the Critic in Chicago College of Performing Arts’ Opera Fest and Lapák, Mrs. Páskova, and Grasshopper in the CCPA production of The Cunning Little Vixen. She has also performed several solo recitals in collaboration with multiple pianists throughout Indiana and the Chicago area. She is currently playing the role of Madame and the Fairy Godmother in Opera for the Young’s Cinderella and is very excited to be a part of Music on Site's production Die Zauberflote as the Third Lady this December. Ms. Wheeler completed her master’s degree from Roosevelt University where she continues to study with Allan Glassman.