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2022 Music On Site Artists
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Carlee Abschneider
Stage Director & Featured Artist,
Opera Scenes Showcase

 

Carlee Abschneider holds a BM in Vocal Performance from Houston Baptist University,
MM in Vocal Performance from Texas A&M University- Commerce, and a Graduate
Performer’s Certificate form Texas State University. She enjoys working on and off the stage. As a singer, Ms. Abschneider was named the 2019 Vocal Division Winner of the New Texas Symphony Orchestra’s Community Concerto & Aria competition. She has performed with Gilbert & Sullivan Austin, Music On Site, Inc., Texas State Opera, Spotlight on Opera, Varna International Music Academy, Resonance Opera, TAMUC Opera Ensemble, and HBU Opera Workshop. Ms. Abschneider appeared as Hanna in the Texas premiere of The Path to Heaven with TAMUC Opera Ensemble. She particularly enjoys comedic roles and some of her favorite shows to have been a part of were Gallantry and Gianni Schicchi.
Off stage, Carlee has also done different work behind the scenes. She has worked with props, costuming, and a part of directorial and stage management teams. Most recently she was Assistant Stage Manager for LOLA’s award nominated production of Lardo Weeping. Additionally, she enjoys teaching students of all ages and has an active voice studio in Austin,
TX. Carlee has also worked as an Assistant Director before and has directed a few scenes for her students. Carlee is excited to get the opportunity to direct more and to perform again with MOSI!

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Alexander Adams
King Balthazar, Amahl and the Night Visitors

 

Alexander R Adams, bass-baritone, originally from Seattle, Washington, is excited to perform the role of King Balthazar in Amahl and the Night Visitors. He currently studies with baritone Anton Belov. Alexander received his Master of Music from the University of Southern California where he studied with Rod Gilfry. Prior to this he received his Bachelor of Music from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington. Most recently, Alexander reprised the role of Churchman in the San Jose premiere of a new opera, OURLAND: A Dystopian State by director/librettist Daniel Helfgot and composer Paul Davies, which he had previously performed at the Aquilon Music Festival in McMinnville, Oregon. Alexander's other opera roles include Truffaldino in Ariadne auf Naxos, Publio in La clemenza di Tito, Minister in Iphigénie en Tauride, Mr. Plunkett/Judge in The English Cat, Sprecher/Armored Man in Die Zauberflöte, and Sergeant of the Police in Pirates of Penzance. In 2018 Alexander started his own private voice studio where he currently teaches online lessons to students of a variety of ages and skill levels. Alexander is also a composer. His most recent project is a collection of art songs based on poems by Edgar Allan Poe, including “A Dream Within a Dream”, “Annabel Lee”, and “The Conqueror Worm”. Recordings of the songs, performed by tenor John Riesen, have been released on streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music.

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Lisa Algozzini
Fiordligi, Così fan tutte

 

LISA ALGOZZINI is an Italian-American soprano who was born & raised in California & an alumna of The Juilliard School. She is experienced in the repertoire of Mozart including SUSANNA (Le nozze di Figaro), DESPINA (Così fan tutte) partnered with La Scala baritone Bruno Praticò as Don Alfonso at Teatro del Pavone in Italy, DONNA ANNA (Don Giovanni), MADEMOISELLE SILBERKLANG (Der Schauspieldirektor) with National Theatre of Malta & ZERLINA (Don Giovanni). She has become especially known for her portrayal as DONNA ELVIRA (Don Giovanni) performing the role with the Apollon Theater in Greece described as "astonishing" -Efsyn, Rhodes International Festival & State Opera of Liberec in Czechia which earned her a nomination for the Best Singer of 2020 praised for her "remarkable performance" -OperaPlus. Also well suited for verismo repertoire, she has performed NEDDA (Pagliacci), MUSETTA (La bohème) praised for "setting the perfect scene & the audience's favorite" -Schaffhauser Nachrichten, LAURETTA (Gianni Schicchi) at the State Opera Plovdiv & Stara Zagora in Bulgaria, the title role of SUOR ANGELICA & covering MIMI (La bohème) in Vienna. Other repertoire includes the title role of Handel's ALCINA in Germany described as "powerful & rich in substance" -Der Tagesspiegel, MICAELA (Carmen) noted for her "dramatic intensity" -La Vanguardia in Spain, GRETEL (Hänsel und Gretel), POPPEA (L'incoronazione di Poppea), ADINA (L'elisir d'amore), Mahler's Symphony No. 4 with the Tonkünstler Ensemble in Vienna & has made her Carnegie Hall Debut as the 2nd Place Winner in the Nico Castel International Master Singer Competition. www.lisaalgozzini.com

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Pablo Sebastian Aun
La Dancaïre, Carmen

 

Pablo Aun, Baritone, from El Paso, Texas, is a Junior Vocal Music Performance Major at Baylor University, where he studies with Mark Diamond. In December of 2021, he participated in the Music On Site Inc. program in which he was ensemble and King Melchior cover for a production of Amahl and the Night Visitors and performed in the Opera Scenes Showcase in scenes from Carmen and Don Giovanni. Last spring, he performed as Top in The Tender Land and Guccio in Gianni Schicchi with Baylor Opera Theatre. Over the summer, he was in Vienna and performed the role of Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro with the Vienna Summer Music Festival. He will be performing roles in Patience and Prima la musica e poi le parole with Baylor Opera Theatre in this upcoming spring.

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J. Bradley Baker
Music Director, Così fan tutte
Co-founding Executive Director, Music On Site

 

J. Bradley Baker, pianist and coach, has served as pianist/coach for Wichita Grand Opera (KS), Natchez Festival (MS), Opera Birmingham (AL), Opera Naples (FL), Chicago Summer Opera (IL), Lyric Opera of Orange County (CA), Opera Seme (Italy), and Glimmerglass Festival (NY), among others. Baker's performance on Navona Records have been broadcast throughout Great Britain and the United States. He has presented performances in the U.S., Canada, France, and Italy. For more information, please see www.jbradleybaker.com

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Giselle Bautista
Mother (Cover) and Ensemble, 
Amahl and the Night Visitors
Featured Artist, Opera Scenes Sho
wcase

 

Giselle Bautista is a Mexican-American mezzo-soprano from Houston, TX. In her time with Baylor Opera Theatre, she has performed many leading roles, most recently as Zita in Gianni Schicchi, Ma Moss in The Tender Land, and Sally in A Hand of Bridge. Next season, she will perform as Lady Jane in Patience and Gaston in Monsieur et Madame Denis. This past summer, she performed as Eustazio in Handel’s Rinaldo at Red River Lyric Opera’s Summer Festival with the American Baroque Opera Company. Giselle frequently competes in the National Association of Teachers of Singing’s national student auditions in which she was named a finalist in her region and a quarterfinalist in the nation. She has succeeded in many other competitions including the Schmidt Undergraduate Vocal Competition and the Semper Pro Musica Competition at Baylor University. Currently, Giselle is pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance at Baylor University and is a student of Dr. Jamie Van Eyck.

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Rebecca Beck
Micaëla (Cover) & Ensemble, Carmen
Featured Artist, Opera Scenes Showcase

 

Rebecca Beck, a California native, received her Bachelor of Music degree from California State University, Northridge (2014) and her Master of Music degree from Boston University (2018). While in school, she had numerous performing opportunities; her favorites include Miss Wordsworth (Albert Herring), Damigella (L’incoronazione di Poppea), Denise (Sweet’s by Kate)
and Amelia (Amelia al Ballo). Rebecca is excited to be making her Music On Site, Inc. debut as Micaëla (cover) as well as singing in the ensemble for Carmen. Her 2022 season has included Lauretta in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi with Greater Worcester Opera, Countess in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro with LAH-SOW, and Frasquita in Bizet's Carmen with MIOpera. She has also had the opportunity to perform with Red River Lyric Opera, New England Opera Intensive, and
Opera on Tap (Rhode Island). Other notable roles include Musetta in Puccini's La Boheme,
Juliette in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, and Queen of the Night in Mozart’s Die Zauberflote.

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Érico Freire Bezerra
Music Director, Suor Angelica

 

Brazilian pianist Érico Freire Bezerra is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Accompanying and Chamber Music at the Eastman School of Music, under the guidance of Dr. Andrew Harley. He received his Bachelor’s degree from Rio Grande do Sul Federal University in Brazil and his Master’s degree from Illinois State University, where he held a Piano Accompanying Assistantship and
received the Lela Winegarner Scholarship for international graduate students. His previous mentors were Dr. Tuyen Tonnu and Dr. Ney Fialkow. Érico has been a prizewinner in numerous piano competitions including at the Orquestra Sinfônica de Goiânia Young Soloist Competition where he performed Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major with orchestra.
As a collaborative pianist, Érico is actively engaged in both instrumental and vocal repertoire, holding staff pianist positions in many festivals and competitions in Brazil and the United States. Since 2015, he has served as staff collaborative pianist at Rio Grande do Sul Federal University in Porto Alegre,
Brazil.


Érico is a recipient of the Fulbright Scholarship and currently holds Graduate assistantships in
Studio Accompanying and Orchestral Keyboard at Eastman. In 2022, he was accepted as fellow pianist at Classic Lyric Arts in Italy, and the Toronto Summer Music Festival, where he joined the Art of Song program. In December, Érico will be working as Music Director and Pianist-Coach at Music on Site, Inc. (MOSI) at the production Suor Angelica by Puccini during the 2022 Season.

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Kate Bishop
Stage Director, Opera Scenes Showcase
La suora infermiera, Suor Angelica

 

Kate Bishop, singer and stage director, is increasingly recognized for her thoughtful artistic vision and interpretation of classical music. A graduate from Baylor University, Bishop found her love for directing during her undergraduate education after serving as Assistant Director in a production of Samuel Barber’s A Hand of Bridge under the direction of MOSI’s own Dr. Jen Stephenson. Since then, Bishop has served as Assistant Director with Baylor Opera Theatre’s Spring Opera Scenes Showcase in 2021 as well as with Music On Site, Inc.’s Amahl and the Night Visitors under the direction of Ellen Denham in 2021. She has also worked with the University of North Texas Opera Theatre as Stage Manager for a production of The Bartered Bride in 2022. Bishop has returned to Baylor University, where she is earning her Master of Music in Vocal Performance and continuing work with the Baylor Opera Theatre, including serving as Assistant Director for the educational outreach program of The Three Little Pigs in the Fall 2022 semester. She is excited to return to Music On Site, Inc. this season and looks forward to working with the incredible talent in the Opera Scenes Showcase.

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Payton Boldt
Featured Artist, Opera Scenes Showcase
Ensemble, Amahl and the Night Visitors

 

Payton Boldt recently received her bachelor’s degree from Kansas State University, majoring in Vocal Performance and minoring in French. She graduated Summa Cum Laude in the top 5% of her graduating class. She was also awarded a membership in Pi Kappa Lambda, awarded to musicians of the highest level of musical achievement and academic scholarship. At the University, she studied with Dr. Reginald Pittman, Head of the Voice Division and Director of Opera Activities. She was able to perform as Kate in Pirates of Penzance and Susan Atkins in Working directed by Jerry Jay Cranford, along with Susannah in Susannah and Adina in Elixir of
Love
directed by Dr. Reginald Pittman. She was also in Kansas State’s University Concert Choir
under the direction of Dr. Joshua Oppenheim, which lead her to being a featured soloist at both the National Collegiate Choral Organization Conference in Spring 2019, and the Southwestern America Choral Directors Association Conference in Spring 2022. Outside of the University, she performed as Cinderella in Roger and Hammerstein’s Cinderella at the Junction City Opera
House. In Summer 2022, she attended the Trentino Music Festival in Fieri di Primiero, Italy,
where she performed the role of Pamina in Die Zauberflote conducted by Arthur Fagen,
professor of orchestral conducting at the Jacobs School of Music and Music Director of the
Atlanta Opera, and directed by Robin Guarino, Opera Director at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music.

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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 Leonora (Il Trovatore),  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.

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Logan Briscoe
King Kaspar, Amahl and the Night Visitors

 

Logan Briscoe is a tenor, an active performer and teacher, and a native of Saratoga
Springs, New York. In May of 2022 Logan graduated from the University of Wisconsin -
Milwaukee with a M.M. in Vocal Performance, having taught voice as a graduate assistant while there. Previous to this, he earned a B.A. in Music and Theological Languages from Concordia University in 2020.

 

Most recently Logan has sung as Il Conte in Le nozze di Figaro, both with UWM Opera
Theatre (2021) and with Utah Vocal Arts Academy (2021), and as Il Podestà in Mozart’s La finta giardiniera with Opera Seme (2022). Logan is very excited to be taking on the role of King Kaspar in Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors for performance with Music On Site this December (2022).

Maria Bozich
Micaëla, Carmen

 

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Jacob Bullock
King Melchior, Amahl and the Night Visitors

 

Born and raised in Rocky Top, TN, Bass-Baritone Jacob Bullock has been performing for as long as he can remember. Throughout his years in school, he was an active member of his high school's show choir and advanced concert choir. Upon graduating from Anderson County High School, Mr. Bullock accepted scholarships to attend East Tennessee State University, TN, where he studied with Dr. Alan Stevens and Karen Smith and received his degree in Music Education. While attending ETSU, Mr. Bullock was a part of all he could be, including the award-winning groups ETSU Chorale and Greyscale. He even stretched out to be a part of a professional performing group in North Carolina called the Lake Junaluska Singers. While with the singers, he performed in various musical styles, including opera, recital, sacred, and music theater. In 2019 he was a Bass soloist for Handel’s Messiah. Recently he served as a soloist in Dubois's The last seven words of Christ and as a soloist in Saint-Saens Christmas Oratorio at Central United Methodist Church of Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Currently, Mr. Bullock teaches Elementary music in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where he is the director of the Mayo Singers and the CSF singers. He is thrilled to be making his debut with Music On Site, Inc and thanks this current teacher Dr. Susan Lyle. 

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Autumn Capocci is a mezzo-soprano originally from Buffalo, New York. Based in Dallas, Texas, she has performed across the country in a variety of productions. Most recently, she appeared with Fort Worth Opera in their innovative production of La Traviata.  She has also performed as a member of Fort Worth Opera’s Studio Artist program, portraying Frida Kahlo in the world-premiere of Frida Kahlo and the Bravest Girl in the World. Prior to that, she was a member of the Hans and Leslie Fleischner Young Artist program with Pittsburgh Festival Opera, where she performed Kleonike in Mark Adamo’s Lysistrata in the first feature-length film of the opera. She graduated in May 2020 with a Masters in Vocal Performance from the University of North Texas, where she studied under William H. Joyner. While there, she performed with the UNT Opera as Zita in Gianni Schicchi and Lapák the dog in The Cunning Little Vixen. Autumn Capocci has appeared as a soloist in concert across the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, performing works such as Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater and Handel’s Messiah, in addition to concerts of art song such as Home Away From Home: Songs of Alan Smith. 

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Lauren Carlton
Stage Director, Suor Angelica

 

Lauren Carlton (she/her) is a stage director, educator, singing actor, and intimacy director. She is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Theatre at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, Arkansas. Prior to her time at UCA, she taught at Lawrence University’s Conservatory of Music in Appleton, Wisconsin as a Visiting Lecturer and was the Director of Theatre and an Assistant Professor of Theatre at Tabor College in Hillsboro, Kansas. She holds an MFA in Theatre Performance and Pedagogy with a focus in directing from Texas Tech University and a BA from The University of Alabama where she studied voice with Dr. Paul Houghtaling. She has directed for the Druid City Opera Workshop, Red River Lyric Opera, Wichita Shakespeare Company, the American Shakespeare Center Theatre Camp, and others. Her research and practice as an intimacy director have taken her across the United States as a presenter, educator, and choreographer. Several highlights include intimacy directing the world premiere of the DnD-inspired musical, “Here There Be Dragons,” off-Broadway at the Players Theatre and workshops at the National Opera Association’s National Conferences, Baylor University, University of Alabama Opera Theatre, Minnesota State University - Mankato, and University of the Pacific.

Autumn Capocci
Carmen, Carmen

 

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Kyle Chassells
Assistant Stage Director, Suor Angelica

 

Kyle Chassells (assistant director) is very excited to be joining MOSI this season! Kyle is freelance director/actor based out of Arkansas. As a recent graduate of the University of Central Arkansas, he obtained a B.S. in Theatre with a special interest in musical theatre direction. During his undergraduate time, he was given the opportunity to work with different companies located around the US, including Arkansas, Maine, and Florida. His more recent directing/assistant directing projects include James and the Giant Peach (Red Curtain Theatre), Little Shop of Horrors (UCA), and Sled Ride (UCA). While he is still looking for new projects to work on, he hopes to pursue an advanced degree in directing in the near future. Working on Suor Angelica will be his operatic debut, but hopes this will be the first of many operas in his career.

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Born in Hong Kong, Carmen Ching currently studies with Dr. Scott McBride Smith for her DMA degree in the University of Kansas, where she also serves as a piano instructor. She has also studied with Ms. Eteri Andjaparidze in Mannes and Dr. Yoojung Kim at NYU Steinhardt for her professional studies diploma and master’s degree. She is a recipient of the President Scholarship and Steinhardt Music Talent scholarship. Ching earned her bachelor’s degree in piano performance from the Royal Academy of Music in London, where she studied with Tessa Nicholson.

Ching was a prize winner of the 2021 Americas Music competition (Second place), 2021 Music Teachers National Association (Kansas State division, alternate winner) and 2021 Aloha International Piano Festival (honorable mention). She has appeared in numerous solo recitals and chamber music concerts at venues such as the Steinway Hall (New York), Black Box Theatre (New York), World Trade Centre, Century II Performing Arts Centre (Kansas), Hong Kong Cultural Center, Hong Kong City Hall, and the Queen Elizabeth Stadium (Hong Kong), etc. She has received scholarships to participate in the Internationale Klavierakademie Murrhardt, Inside Out Festival, and Aspen Music Festival, and was featured in recitals and master classes with Christina McMaster, Pascal Devoyon, Felix Gottlieb, John Perry, and Hung-Kuan Chen.


Ching performs her own composition as well. She performed her own work, “Dream”, at the Dream Stage competition in Hong Kong. Her original cadenza for Mozart Concerto K. 453 was acclaimed at the Royal Academy of Music Piano Concerto Competition.

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Jung-an Chou
Despina, Co
sì fan tutte
 

Carmen Ching
Pianist-Coach, Co
sì fan tutte
 

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Migeun Chung
Music Director, Opera Scenes Showcase
Pia
nist-Coach, Co
sì fan tutte
 

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 currently Resident Pianist-Coach with Indianapolis Opera.

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Julia Damore is an active performer and voice teacher in the Nashville area. She has competed and placed in several voice competitions including 1st and 3rd place in the National Association of Teachers of Singing competition and a semifinalist in the Orpheus Vocal competition. Julia has performed roles in several operas and musical theater productions including Belle in Beauty and the Beast, Edith in The Pirates of Penzance, Lucia in Gasparone, Angelica in Puccini's Suor Angelica, and Papagena (cover) in Die Zauberflöte. She is also an accomplished concert vocalist who has performed in venues across the United States. Julia has studied under teachers and directors such as vocal pedagogue Dr. Sharon Mabry, professional German opera singer Stephan Boving, director and pianist Stefan Ruetter, Manhattan School of Music’s collaborative pianist Warren Jones, and opera director Joshua May. Julia also sings locally with the Nashville Symphony Chorus, Opera on Tap Nashville, and churches in the area. She has a Bachelor of Music degree from Belmont University in Nashville, TN and a Master of Music degree from Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, TN. Julia currently teaches private voice at Lipscomb University in Nashville, TN. Julia has taught voice lessons and master classes at several institutions during her teaching career including Cumberland University, Tennessee State University, Austin Peay State University, and Melody Music Inc. She is passionate about teaching and encouraging the next generation of singers to reach their full potential.

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Gwendolyn DeLaney
Dorabella (Cover)Co
sì fan tutte
Featured Artist, Opera Scenes Showcase

 

Gwendolyn DeLaney is a mezzo-soprano with a passion for art song and American opera. She is currently studying with Dr. Aidan Soder at the University of Missouri Kansas City. This fall she will appear as La Baronne in UMKC’s production of Chérubin by Massenet. Some of her favorite opera roles include Petunia in Petunia, Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus, and Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel.
In addition to her operatic credits, Gwendolyn is an active chorister. She sang for several seasons with the Cleveland Chamber choir and now can be seen performing with ensembles around the Kansas City area. When she is not singing, she can usually be found with her nose in a book, playing games on her Nintendo Switch, or hanging out with her cat Bones.

Julia Damore
Frasquita, Carmen

 

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Marcie Ellen Duplantis
Suor Angelica, Suor Angelica

 

Marcie Ellen Duplantis’ operatic roles include Ellen Orford of Britten’s Peter Grimes and Miss Jessell in The Turn of the Screw, Marcellina and Countess in Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro, The Witch and Gertrude (Mother) in Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel, The Mother in Menotti’s Amahl and The Night Visitors, Erste and Zweite Dame in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Sorella Dolcina in Puccini’s Suor Angelica and Nella in Gianni Schicchi, Dinah in Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti, Fantine in Les Miserables, and Desiree in Sondheim’s A Little Night Music with The Boston Conservatory at Berklee. Duplantis made her United Kingdom debut as a soloist at Great St. Mary’s Cathedral in Cambridge, England, and Salisbury Cathedral's Lunchtime Concerts of the Liturgical Year. Duplantis has been staged in regional productions with Shreveport Opera, including Puccini’s Turandot and Madame Butterfly, and Donizetti’s, L’elisir d’amor, as well as performed in various capacities at Yale University, The Boston Conservatory, Interlochen Academy for the Arts, Chicago, and Atlanta. Upon the release of her Nashville-produced and debut EP “Walls”, Marcie Ellen charted at #14 on iTunes Christian & Gospel charts. She completed a song-writing mentorship with a former publisher to Lauren Daigle, of Centricity Records. She records with Nashville producer, Ryan Corn, and former artist with Curb Records (which label represents artists such as Tim McGraw, LeAnn Rimes, and Hank Williams Jr.) of Nashville, Tennessee.


Marcie Ellen holds two Master’s degrees (M.M., M.A.T.) and is a graduate of Texas
Christian University with a Master of Music in Voice Pedagogy and Centenary College of
Louisiana with a Master of Arts in Teaching: Choral Music. She is a student of Twyla Robinson.

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KADIN ELEADORA is a puertorican tenor with a driven passion of growing the art of
music and the human mind. Eleadora moved from San Juan, Puerto Rico to Dallas, Texas in
2012 where a degree in Vocal Performance at the University of North Texas is being obtained
under the wing of Jeffrey Snider. Eleadora finds the joys and wonders in crafting, listening, and
performing music and takes these cherishable and grateful opportunities to share them with
others. As Eleadora blossoms into the art of vocal music, Eleadora has landed many roles such as Don Curzio in Le Nozze Di Figaro and Peter Pan in Shrek the musical. Eleadora has had a debut into the world of technical theater by joining Dale Morehouse and Greg Buchalter in being a Stage Manager in Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi at Varna International Music Academy.


Future opportunities include future roles at UNT Opera that include Don Curzio in Le Nozze Di
Figaro in which it will be performed in November 2022, and Remendado in Carmen in April 2023. With the gained knowledge from these wonderful learning experiences, Eleadora is able to swiftly and efficiently move from backstage works to on stage works.

 

Eleadora’s free time consists of supporting and celebrating peers and colleagues at UNT music concerts and festivals, cooking foods and crafting drinks from different cultures in the world, and fiddling around a piano with friends and or family and creating art.

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André Ferguson is currently a senior at Mississippi State University (MSU) studying Music Education with a concentration in voice. His love for music was cultivated by his high school's choral program and through singing at church in his hometown, Pensacola, FL. Throughout his time at MSU, André has been a member and featured soloist of the following gospel, choral, and opera ensembles: Black Voices, Vessels of Worship (V.O.W), Men of State, Chamber Singers, State Singers, and Opera Production. His most recent performance was with MSU’s Opera Production where he held the roles of Kaspar
and Shepherd in Amahl and the Night Visitors. He has also performed with the Golden Triangle Theatre where he held the role of Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance, and the role of Page in Amahl and the Night Visitors. André has competed at the Mississippi Chapter of Southern National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) where he placed third in the Junior TBB Classical Category. Utilizing his experience and aspiration to further his career in Opera, André plans to attend graduate school to continue his studies in Opera Performance.

Kadin Eleadora
Assistant Stage Director & Ensemble,
C
osì fan tutte
 

André Ferguson
Page, Amahl and the Night Visitors
Featured Artist, Opera Scenes Showcase
 

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Chris Drago Fistonich
Escamillo, Carmen

 

Baritone CHRIS FISTONICH, currently residing in Princeton, New Jersey, is a PhD Immunologist and cybersecurity researcher turned opera singer. Chris has been hailed as a "voluminous, beefy baritone" with "supple variation of dynamics" (South Florida Classical Review), and as "simply great" (Art Burst Miami).


Upcoming engagements include Escamillo (Carmen) with Music on Site, and Ben Upthegrove (The Telephone) and Mr. Gobineau (The Medium) with Regina Opera.
Recent engagements include Count Danilo Danilovitsch (The Merry Widow) with Delaware Valley Opera Company, Vodník (Rusalka) with the Utah Vocal Arts Academy, Marcello (La Bohème) with Moon River Opera, Peter (Hänsel und Gretel) with Westminster Opera Theatre, Pandolfe (Cendrillon) with Miami Music Festival, and Chorus (The Hours - World Premiere) with The Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Chris received an Encouragement Award from the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition in 2022.


Originally hailing from Los Angeles, California, Chris received his Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics from UCLA in 2012. After graduating from UCLA, Chris attended Yale University, earning a Ph.D. in Immunobiology in 2018.
While at Yale, Chris sang with the Yale Schola Cantorum, Yale's touring professional chamber choir, performing under David Hill, Simon Carrington, and Masaaki Suzuki. Notable past non-opera vocal engagements include Christus (Bach St. John Passion) with Princeton University, as well as countless major choral works with the nation's top orchestras, including Mahler's Symphony No.8 with Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and The Philadelphia Orchestra.

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Filipino-American Soprano, Lauren Florek brings honesty and authenticity to everything she performs. She has performed in a wide variety of styles. Recent roles include Carrie Mae in The Silver fox and Deb in the musical Ordinary Days. Last season, she performed the “Watch Duet” from Die Fledermaus with Longy’s Orchestra Flex, was a soloist in the contemporary musical 35mm and performed with Voices of Zion, a new ensemble that specializes in African American Spirituals. Last fall, Lauren was accepted into Boston Opera Collaborative’s Young Artist Training Program and understudied the role of the “First Witch” in the Boston Camerata’s production of Dido and Aneas. Lauren is also passionate about the study of Filipino classical music and has performed in several recitals highlighting the genera. Lauren was a Semifinalist in the Perfect day Competition in 2021. She was also the second-place winner of the 2019 Kleinman Competition. Lauren holds a bachelor’s degree in Vocal performance from DePaul University and recently graduated from the Longy School of Music with a master’s degree in Vocal Performance.

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Paula F. Gelpi
Assistant Music Director & Pianist-Coach, 
Amahl
and the Night Visitors

 

Raised in Argentina, Paula Gelpi began her professional career by graduating from the Gilardo Gilardi Music Conservatory with a specialization in transverse flute, piano performing, and piano teaching.
She also graduated from the National University of Arts (Buenos Aires, Argentina), with a specialization in piano performance and harpsichord, and from the Colon Theater Art Institute as a Vocal Coach.


She has studied with recognized Argentinian professors such as Gabriela Martínez, Mercedes Pomilio, Elsa Carranza. She’s also studied chamber music with Pierre Blanchard, José Bondar, Guillermo Opitz, Rafael Gíntoli, Stanimir Todorov, Jordi Mora-Griso, among others. She has performed at the main Argentina’s concert halls and theatres, such as the Kirchner Cultural Center, the Colon Theater, Theater Usina del Arte, Teatro Argentino, and the Nation’s Senate. In Mexico, she performed at the concert hall of the “Universidad de Aguascalientes” and at the concert hall in Monterrey’s music conservatory “Escuela Superior de música y danza”.


She has received several important awards as a chamber music performer, such as the First prize at the Chamber music contest organized by the UNA University; winner of JIMA scholarship (Mexico) and was selected as a finalist in the Chamber music contest Lumen Artist for voice and piano. She also has participated in international Music Festivals such as Shlomo Mintz Music Festival, in
Tucuman, Argentina; FEMUSC, in Santa Catarina, Brazil; Oregon Piano Festival, in Oregon, USA.


Currently, she is pursuing a master’s degree in collaborative piano at North Park University in
Chicago, working under Professor Dr. Terre Shofner Emrich supervising.

Lauren Florek
Frasquita, Carmen

 

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Jenna Grissom
Micaëla, Carmen

 

Described as a “stage animal”, soprano Jenna Grissom began her career at Opera Memphis at the early age of 11.  Presently, she is receiving her Graduate Performance Diploma at Peabody Conservatory under the guidance of the acclaimed soprano Elizabeth Futral and earned her preceding degrees at Louisiana State University.  She has previously studied with applauded teachers Sandra Moon, 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, Classical Singer, and has been awarded the AADGT International Young Musicians Festival Silver Medal Winner. At the Sewanee Summer Music Festival, Jenna was the winner of the Jacqueline Avent Concerto Competition. She recently won the Encouragement award from The Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition in the New Orleans District.  Jenna made her Carnegie Hall debut in April of 2022. Some of her more recent engagements include Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, Javotte in Manon, Fox in Příhody lišky Bystroušky, and Alice Ford in Falstaff, with The Turner-Fischer Center for Opera at Louisiana State University. She was a studio artist with the Russian Opera Workshop based in Philadelphia, the Sandman in Hansel and Gretel with Opéra Louisiane, and Suor Angelica in Suor Angelica with Opera Festival di Roma.

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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 both the Texoma National Association of Teachers in Singing “Singer of the Year” Young Artist vocal competition and the Texoma NATS Regional NATSAA competition.  She performed the song cycle, “Try Me, Good King,” by noted American composer, Libby Larsen, for the Leschetizky Association Annual Living Composers Concert in New York City.  Of her performance, Larsen said, “Gorgeous voice! ~And a great collaboration with your pianist!”
 
Heather is excited to return to MOSI for the second year after performing the role of Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors in December 2021.  Other 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 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. 

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Paul Houghtaling
Stage Director, Carmen

 

Stage director, choreographer, and bass-baritone Paul Houghtaling has performed and directed a wide variety of repertoire through the U.S. and abroad. Of his new production of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte for Hubbard Hall Opera Theater, The New York Times wrote, “It was an exhilarating event. You couldn’t monetize it. You couldn’t commodify it. You could only experience it.” He has directed for Opera Mississippi, Mobile Opera, Opera on the James, Natchez Festival of Music, Red River Lyric Opera, Tuscaloosa Symphony, Abilene Philharmonic, Ars Nova in Huntsville, Alabama, Chamber Opera of Boston, and the Anchorage Opera Second Stage Series. He is Professor of Music and Director of Opera the University of Alabama . The 2019-2020 season with Alabama included two world premieres, produced and directed by Paul: Joseph Landers’ Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, with the Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra, and Michael Ching’s RSBE: Remove Shoes Before Entering, the latest in the composer’s “New Works” genre. The Landers was recorded for Alabama Public Television and was broadcast in September of 2020. This past season, Paul directed Handel’s Alcina and Tobias Picker’s Thérèse Raquin at Alabama, and he returned to Mobile Opera to direct Tosca.  He directed Tosca again in May of 2022 for the first production of the newly-formed Druid City Opera, a professional company now in residence at UA.  The company will present Lucia di Lammermoor in May of 2023.  www.paulhoughtaling.com

Heather Hawk
Fiordiligi, C
osì fan tutte
 

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Hannah Howard
Featured Artist, Opera Scenes Showcase
Ensemble, Carmen

 

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 played her first major role in fall 2020 as Ruggiero in Handel’s Alcina. Most recently, Hannah played Miss Todd in Friends University’s The Old Maid and the Thief Ramiro in Mozart’s La finta giardiniera this summer in Italy with Opera Seme. This fall, Hannah is looking forward to performing with Opera Kansas in a concert version of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte as Third Lady/Third Spirit, as well as the role of Duchess in Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Gondoliers.

 

Hannah won the Barbara Rondelli Classical Voice Competition this year and also was a national finalist for the National Opera Association’s opera scenes competition. She has competed in the NATS competition since 2019 and has advanced as semifinalist or finalist every year. In addition to vocal competitions and opera roles, Hannah is excited to present her senior recital in October in fulfillment of the requirements for a Bachelor of Arts in Music.

 

Outside of performing and academic studies, Hannah is a proud Kansas native and dog owner. She loves to be involved in the community and works as a bookkeeper for local nonprofit ICT SOS.

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A native of Boca Raton, Florida, soprano Shayna Isaac's most recent roles include Lucy in The Billy Goats Gruff and Adele (cover) in Die Fledermaus with Amarillo Opera, Papagena in Die Zauberflöte, Monica in The Medium, Valencienne in The Merry Widow, Marian Paroo in The Music Man, Yum-Yum in The Mikado, Flora in The Turn of the Screw, and Gretel in Hansel and Gretel. She has recently appeared as a soloist with the Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra and with the Cornish-American Song Institute (CASI) as a Vocal Fellow. With CASI, she appeared in recital at Oxford University in Oxford, England and was the soprano soloist in Mozart’s Regina Coeli in Falmouth, Cornwall. She has appeared as an artist in the Concert Studio at the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria and was an artist at the Tallis Scholars Summer Institute in Seattle, WA., where she performed under the baton of Peter Phillips. Shayna appears on the 2011 Grammy Nominated recording of Brahms'  Ein Deutsches Requiem as a member of the Professional Choral Institute ensemble, a collaboration with Seraphic Fire.

Dr. Isaacs co-presented the session “Write it Down: An Opera Singers’ Guide to Character Paperwork” at the National Opera Association Texoma Regional convention in September 2019, and presented her research, “Analysis of Fluctuations in Vibrato Rate and Extent Using Affect in Operatic Repertoire” in January 2019 at the National Opera Association Convention Poster Session in Salt Lake City, Utah. She has participated in masterclasses with distinguished artists such as Susan Graham, Barbara Bonney, Silvia McNair, and Sherrill Milnes. Dr. Tayloe received her Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Alabama and her Doctor of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance and Graduate Certificate in Opera Studies from Texas Tech University. Dr. Isaacs currently serves as Lecturer of Voice and Lyric Diction at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

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Jay Jones
King Melchior, Amahl and the Night Visitors

 

Baritone Jay Jones made their operatic debut in 2018 as Masetto in Georgia Southern Opera’s production of Don Giovanni. They are an alumnus of Georgia Southern Opera having appeared as 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). They most recently appeared as the Pirate King in Pirates of Penzance with Georgia Southern Opera in April of 2022; this was their final performance at Georgia Southern. Jay has sung with Moon River Opera Company, a nonprofit opera company based in Savannah, Georgia, appearing as Colline in the company’s 2022 production of Puccini’s La bohéme. They also were a 2021 artist with Music On Site, Inc. in Wichita, KS, where they sang in the scenes showcase and had the roles of First Priest and Second Armored Man in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. Jay is a student of the Fred and Dinah Gretsch School of Music at Georgia Southern University, where they are completing coursework for a B.M. Performance, Voice. They are an alumnus of Dr. Arikka Gregory’s voice studio. 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 staff singer.

Shayna Isaacs
Amahl, Amahl and the Night Visitors

 

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Madison Kavanaugh
Featured Artist, Opera Scenes Showcase
Ensemble, Carmen

 

Mezzo-Soprano, Madison Kavanaugh, is currently a Junior at Louisiana State University pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance while studying under Sandra Moon. In the Fall she was seen singing the Mother in a scene from Menotti’s Maria Golovin, covering Madame de la Haltière in Massenet’s Cendrillon, and singing La Zia Principessa in Puccini’s Suor Angelica. She has also been seen as the Spirit in Dido and Aeneas, Grimgerde in a concert of Die Walküre, and in the chorus of Orson Rehearsed and The Magic Flute. She attended Operafest! Sewanee during the Summer of 2022 at the Sewanee Summer Music Festival as a Studio Artist. At LSU she is a member of the A Capella choir and also the Assistant Director of “Joyful Noise,” a children’s choir at First Presbyterian Church Baton Rouge. She is thrilled to be joining MOSI this Winter!   

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Seattle-based opera director, producer, and performer Katie Kelley holds a BM in Applied Voice (Baylor University, 2015) and an MM in Voice Performance (the University of Washington, 2017). She serves as Vice President of the Board of Directors for Lowbrow Opera Collective, a non-profit arts organization that she co-founded in 2018 with the goal of bringing modern works from diverse perspectives to the forefront of opera. Notable performance credits include the titular role of La Calisto (UW, 2015), Orphée in Orphée et Eurydice (UW and Pacific MusicWorks, 2016), Judith in Red Lake (Deseret Experimental Opera Company, 2016), Genovieffa in Suor Angelica (Seattle Modern Opera Company, 2019), Siri in #adulting, a new opera (LOC, 2019 & 2020), and Gretta in Breakfast (LOC, 2020). Katie’s directing credits include #adulting, a new opera (LOC, 2019 & 2020), WINDOWS (LOC 2021), Music On Site, Inc.’s 2021 Opera Scenes Showcase,  MARThA (LOC 2022) and #adulting2, here we go again (LOC 2022), a commissioned work proudly billed as ‘the gayest opera in existence’. This season, she will assistant-direct Lowbrow’s production of three one-act chamber operas, collectively titled MORE THAN FRIENDS: a triptych on queer love through the ages. Katie is thrilled and honored to be stage directing MOSI’s 2022 production of Amahl and the Night Visitors.

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Jacob King
Featured Artist, Opera Scenes Showcase
Ensemble, 
C
osì fan tutte
 

Jacob King is incredibly excited to be making his debut with Music On Site. Jacob is currently a junior Music BA Voice major at Mississippi State University. He is incredibly grateful for the opportunity he has been given since this will be another step for his career in music. Jacob is a former student of Christopher Withrow and a current student of Garret Torbert. He was most recently seen at NYU Steinhart where he attended their classical voice intensive over the summer. He was also in SCT community theatre’s production of 9 to 5 the musical as Dwayne and before that in Golden Triangle Theater’s Amahl and the Night Visitors. Jacob has a passion for musical theater along with opera and hopes to make that his profession. He would like to thank his parents for always believing in him and the many years of driving him to his voice lessons. He also would like to thank Garret Torbert and Christopher Withrow for everything they have done in helping with getting his voice in top shape and couldn’t do it without them.

Katie Kelley
Stage Director, Amahl and the Night Visitors

 

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Lauren Koszyk
Music Director, Opera Scenes Showcase

 

Lauren Koszyk currently maintains a versatile career as a collaborative pianist, educator, and arts administrator in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Ms. Koszyk has given performances and presentations across the United States including Puerto Rico, Austria, Canada, Germany, and Italy.


A passionate and dedicated educator, she currently serves on the piano faculty at Tarrant County College Northwest. Her students have been accepted into prestigious programs at the Interlochen Center for the Arts, Manhattan School of Music, and Southern Methodist University. She is honored to work for leading arts organizations including the Cliburn, Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy, and International Keyboard Collaborative Arts Society.
 

In demand as an opera pianist and coach, she has worked with Illinois Festival Opera, Midwest Institute of Opera, Music On Site Inc., Musiktheater Bavaria, and Opera Seme. Ms. Koszyk has accompanied masterclasses given by renowned Metropolitan Opera soprani Angela Brown and Yvonne Redman. As an orchestral pianist, she has performed with the McKinney Philharmonic Orchestra, New Texas Symphony Orchestra, and Orchestra Instabile di Arezzo.

 

Ms. Koszyk earned her Master of Music in Collaborative Piano with a related field in Early Music from the University of North Texas and her Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance and Bachelor of Arts in German from Illinois State University. 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. 

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Benjamin Krutsch, tenor, is a native of Springville, Utah. 

Last season Mr. Krutsch returned to his alma mater Utah State University to originate the role of Levi in Lori Laitman’s new chamber opera Uncovered which is based on the memoir of Librettist Leah Lax. He also recently completed a season at Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre where he was a finalist in the Michael Ballam Vocal Competition.

 

In 2020 He engaged with Opera Saratoga Connect Daily which virtually provided music and opera worldwide during the peak COVID-19 Pandemic. Mr. Krutsch has also engaged in past seasons with Arizona Opera (Silent Night) and Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre (Carmen, The Magic Flute, The Tender Land, The Barber of Seville, and The Secret Garden). Mr. Krutsch has been seen in numerous mainstage roles and scenes, notably Lennie (Floyd’s Of Mice and Men), Lippo (Street Scene), Aeneas (Dido and Aeneas), Il Podestà (La finta giardiniera), Eisenstein (Die Fledermaus), and The Defendant (Trial by Jury).

 

Mr. Krutsch has also been featured as a concert soloist, participating in large works such as The Messiah, Sancta Civitas (Ralph Vaughn Williams), and Arizona State University’s award-winning production of Leonard Bernstein’s Mass.

Mr. Krutsch is a Doctoral Candidate at the Eastman School of Music and holds a Master of Music in Opera Performance from Arizona State University where he studied with world-renowned baritone Gordon Hawkins. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance from Utah State University where he studied with Cindy Dewey.

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Mara Lane
La cercatrice II, La maestra delle novizie (Cover),
& La suora infermiera (Cover), Suor Angelica

 

Mara is a graduate student in music history at the University of California, Berkeley, where she focuses on opera staging and theories of acting. She co-founded Opera Studies & Praxis, a student organization which brings together scholars and artists to engage in the creative possibilities of opera performance, and co-convened the conference Contemporary Opera on Stage, which featured opera historians alongside members of the SF Opera creative team and John Adams. Mara studies voice with Margaret Izard and recently performed the roles of Inez in Il Trovatore (Vallejo Verismo Opera), Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance (San Jose Light Opera
Festival), Miles in The Turn of the Screw (Chicago Summer Opera), and Bianca in La Rondine (Chicago Summer Opera).

Benjamin Krutsch
Don José, Carmen

 

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Caroline Lee
La maestra delle novizie & La zia principessa (Cover), Suor Angelica

 

Mezzo-soprano Caroline Lee is a Texas-based singer who is recognized for her “unique and rich” sound.  She is thrilled to be returning to Music On Site, Inc. after her 2021 debut as Dritte Dame in Die Zauberflöte. Other recent roles include Zita (Gianni Schicchi), Ma Moss (The Tender Land), Sorceress (Dido and Aeneas), and Truman Capote (The Scarlet Professor). This past year, Caroline was a finalist in the Texoma NATS competition. In addition to performing La maestra della novizie and covering La Principessa in MOSI’s production of Suor Angelica, Caroline will be singing the roles of Lady Jane in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Patience and Gaston in Offenbach’s Monsieur et Madame Denis with Baylor Opera Theatre this season. 
 
Lee received her Bachelor of Music Education and Vocal Performance Degrees from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 2019. She is currently pursuing her Master of Music at Baylor University under the guidance of acclaimed mezzo-soprano Dr. Jamie Van-Eyck.

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Whittaker received both their B.A. in Music Education and M.A. in orchestral conducting at Georgia Southern University. During their studies at GSU, they were the pianist, director, and founder of the Rio Chamber Project, a touring ensemble that premiered new compositions for Pierrot Ensemble. Currently, Whittaker held the position of associate conductor of the Columbus Community Orchestra for 4 years and currently is in their 2nd year as associate conductor of the Atlanta Philharmonic Orchestra. Whittaker served as Orchestra Director of G.W. Carver High School and Baker Middle School in Columbus, GA for 5 years before pursuing the Artist's Diploma program in Piano Performance at Columbus State University under the tutelage of Dr. Henry Kramer and Dr. Esther Park. They are also the music director and pianist for the Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbus. When they aren’t practicing piano, Whittaker likes to make sushi, play with their cats, and watch Rupaul’s Drag Race.

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Yu-Hsuan Lu
Pianist-Coach, Carmen

 

Yu-Hsuan Lu, a native of Taiwan, is currently pursuing her doctoral degree in collaborative piano at University of North Taxes under the guidance of Steven Harlos and Elvia Puccinelli. Also, served as Teaching Assistant at UNT. She earned her Master degrees in piano performance and collaborative piano at Cleveland Institute of Music with Daniel Shapiro and Anita Pontremoli. Yu-Hsuan has held associate professor of piano in Huaiyin Normal University, China in 2017. She performs regularly with her colleagues and musicians in China and participated the vocal accompany recording project for Jiangsu Education Examination Institute. Yu-Hsuan has been performing as a collaborative pianist through USA, Taiwan and China. She also played for numerous master classes, including Daniel Ferro, Joel Krosnick, Eric Larsen and Raminta Lampsatis.

Whittaker Locke
Pianist-Coach, Amahl and the Night Visitors

 

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Juyoung Ma
Despina, C
osì fan tutte
 

Juyoung Ma is a coloratura soprano from South Korea. She most recently performed in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte as Pamina, and covered the role of Laurie in Copland’s The Tender Land with Chicago Summer Opera. Earlier this year, she was the featured soloist in ‘Gather: Islands in the sea’ at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. She made her operatic debut as Adina from Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore with Arte Opera in 2020. At the Mannes School of Music, she sang the role of Oscar in a scene from Un ballo in Maschera and will be singing the role, Giove in Diana from La Calisto for Mannes’ main opera production this Fall.

 

Recently, she received first place in the Chicago International Music Competition as a Concert Artist. She was also a finalist at the Century Opera Competition, and semi-finalist at the Premiere Opera Foundation International Vocal Competition, and in the NYIOP Professional Casting Audition in 2021. She participated in masterclasses at the Century Opera Program(2022), Canto Vocal Program(2021), and at the Astoria Apprentice Program(2021) in New York. She received her Bachelor of Music degree from Seoul National University, and is now currently studying at the Mannes School of Music in their Master’s Program under Diana Soviero and Chelsea Bonagura in New York.

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Director Diane Machin has worked with theaters, universities, and festivals throughout America. Her piece “Young Gods” that she wrote and directed premiered at the Performing Garage, home of the Wooster Group in November 2019, and her script received a Story Summit Founder’s Award. Opera credits include her modern adaptation of Jacques Offenbach's Bagatelle, a Christmas themed Gianni Schicchi for Music on Site Inc., and the new climate change opera “A Storm We Call Progress.” In May of 2020 Machin was awarded a 2020 JoElyn Wakefield-Wright Stage Director Fellowship from the National Opera Association. The short film she directed and edited while in quarantine “The Product” is now an official selection at the Indie Short Fest, Dumbo Film Festival and Female Filmmakers Fuse Film Festival. Summer 2022 at Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Machin acted a Resident Assistant Director for their productions of The Magic Flute and the re-imagined World Premiere of Harvey Milk. She then assistant directed for Chautauqua Opera’s productions of Tosca and The Mother of Us All.
You can now find Machin as a Visiting Professor and Director at Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She will direct Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins Gloria and Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Ernest for the 2022-2023 season.

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Sergey Martsenyuk
Escamillo (Cover) & Ensemble, Carmen

 

Sergey Martsenyuk is a Canadian Baritone of Russian descent. He started his opera career with the role of Monterrone in a 2012 production of Verdi’s Rigoletto in Toronto Academy for Performing Arts. Since then, he sang many roles including Tonio from I Pagliacci; Bartolo from le nozze di Figaro; Yeletsky from the queen of spades; and many more.  He is always passionate about singing and is always grateful for a good opportunity.

Diane Machin
Stage Director Mentor, Opera Scenes Showcase

 

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Evangeline Mason
Featured Artist, Opera Scenes Showcase
Ensemble, Carmen

 

Evangeline Mason, a third year undergraduate student, is excited to debut in Music On Site’s 2022 season! Double majoring in Vocal Performance and French at Augustana University in Sioux Falls, SD, she’s had roles as the Sandman and the Dew Fairy in scenes from Hansel and Gretel, and sings in the Augustana Choir. Recently, she received the Augustana University Music Endowed Scholarship from the Augustana School of Music. Over the summer, she spent a month in Arezzo, Italy, participating in Opera Seme, performing as Suor Agnese and a child in Mese Mariano, and Fiordiligi in scenes from Cosi Fan Tutti. She is also regularly involved in Augustana University’s theatrical productions as Sarah Brown in Guys and Dolls and Nancy Jane Harlan and Mrs. Alma MacNeil in Radium Girls. She is ready to grow in her artistry this December!

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Alexis McGowan, mezzo-soprano, has been praised for “the richness of her timbre,” as well
as the “clarity and directness of her singing.” She currently studies voice with Dr. Pina
Mozzani at Wichita State University, and is expected to receive her Bachelor’s in Vocal
Performance in the spring of 2023. During her time at WSU, Alexis has been an active
member of Wichita State’s Opera Theater program, with recent credits including Mrs. Ott
(Susannah), Mistress Hibbons (The Scarlet Letter), Ramiro (La Finta Giardiniera), and Miss
Todd (The Old Maid and the Thief). She has also been seen as an oratorio soloist with the
Wichita State choirs and orchestra, performing iDan Forrest’s Requiem for the Living, and
selections from Mendelssohn’s Elijah. Alexis also finished as a mezzo-soprano finalist in the
2022 Barbara Rondelli Vocal Competition. Alexis is thrilled to make her debut with Music
on Site, Inc this season!

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Spencer McIntire
Guglielmo, C
o fan tutte
 

Baritone Spencer McIntire was last seen with Music on Site in during their 2021 season, where he sang the role of King Melchior in their production of Amahl and the Night Visitors.  Originally from Wichita, Kansas, he recently completed both his Master of Music as well as his Performer’s Diploma in Solo Performance at the Indiana University-Jacobs School of Music. A student of Peter Volpe, McIntire performed the roles of Dashwood in Mark Adamo’s Little Women and Dick Deadeye in Gilbert and Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore with IU Opera Theater. While at IU, McIntire was also in four choruses with IU Opera Theater, including La Traviata and Falstaff. Mr. McIntire completed his Bachelor of Music at Kansas State University. During his time there, he performed a number of times on the KSU Mainstage, including as the Pirate King in KSU Opera’s production of The Pirates of Penzance. He has also performed with Angels Vocal Art in their production of Candide in the role of Don Issacar.

Alexis McGowan
Mother, Amahl and the Night Visitors

 

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Mikeila McQueston
Suor Osmina, Suor Angelica
Featured Artist, Opera Scenes Showcase

 

Knoxville-based soprano and composer Mikeila McQueston delights in storytelling and the capacity of the human voice. An active performer with “impressive lyrical vocal strength” (Arts Knoxville), Mikeila enjoys performing a variety of genres including opera, concert and choral works, art songs, and new music. Recent engagements include Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro with FIO Italia and Pamina in Die Zauberflöte with the University of Tennessee Opera Theatre. Mikeila can be found on RMN Classical’s album In Focus 3, singing in composer Leah Reid’s vocal trio Single Fish. She is also a soloist on the St. Alban’s Chapel Choir CD, Be Still My Soul.
 
In the 2022/2023 season, Mikeila will perform the roles of Sylviane in The Merry Widow with Knoxville Opera and Suor Osmina in Suor Angelica with Music On Site, Inc. Mikeila is currently pursuing dual master’s degrees in voice and composition at the University of Tennessee and received her bachelor’s in voice and composition at Louisiana State University. In her free time, she enjoys playing the harp. 

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Stephania Mikužis
La suora zelatrice & La badessa (Cover), 
Suor Angelica

 

Known for her “warm, amber mezzo”, Stephania Mikuzis is an emerging singer lauded for her varied repertoire in both opera and concert. Ms. Mikuzis recently had her professional debut with Cincinnati Opera during their 2022 season. Other recent engagements include Suzanne in Offenbach’s Un mari à la porte, Dritte Dame in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, and The Witch in Sondheim’s Into the Woods. 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). Choral engagements include Mahler’s Symphony no.2 at Carnegie Hall with the New York Choral Society, Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil, as well as the 2017-2019 Richard Tucker Galas.  Additionally, she was featured as a guest artist with The Angel Band Project and performed at the United Nations for the opening of the UN’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women in 2018. 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 (B.A.), and Mannes College of Music (M.M.).

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Eleisha Anne Miller
Ensemble, Amahl and the Night Visitors
Featured Artist, Opera Scenes Showcase

 

Eleisha Miller is a singer, actor, and pianist recently graduated from West Texas A & M University with a Bachelor in Music, Vocal Performance. She has been involved in the arts since a very young age, and made her opera debut at age 11. She has studied in Germany, where she worked with opera artists such as Jennifer Larmore and Kirstin Chávez. She currently studies under Matthew Oglesby and has been trained in both classical and contemporary styles. She plans to attend her Master's in Vocal Pedagogy. Her recent performances include Suor Angelica, Gallantry – A Soap Opera, and The Gondoliers. Eleisha leads worship for her church on piano, guitar, and voice, and is expanding her repertoire in pipe organ. She currently resides in Amarillo with her three cats.

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Carah Mollerup
Ensemble, Suor Angelica
Featured Artist, Opera Scenes Showcase

 

Carah Mollerup graduated from Grand Canyon University in 2018 with a Bachelor of Arts in Music with an Emphasis in Voice Performance. Since then, she has been teaching and performing around the valley in Phoenix, AZ. After graduating, she spent three years at Valley Christian Elementary, where she taught choir, worship, theatre, and art. Recently, she made the transition from working at a school during the day to opening her home studio, where she enjoys teaching private voice and piano lessons. Carah enjoys performing around the valley in both musical theatre and opera. She looks forward to performing the role of Sarah Brown in Guys and Dolls with Zao Theatre in this Fall and
returning for her fifth year as a Goode Time Caroler this holiday season, along with joining
Music on Site this December. Recent favorite credits include Johanna in Sweeney Todd and
Kate in Pirates of Penzance.

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Diana Monacelli, soprano, is an Italian-American Chicago native currently completing her Masters in Vocal Performance at North Park University in Chicago studying under David
Govertsen. In 2019, Diana completed her Bachelors of Music Education at North Park
University studying both classical voice and classical guitar. She made her opera debut in
summer 2021 as Lepido (pants role), in Handel’s Silla with Chicago Summer Opera. In Fall 2021 she performed as Adolfo (pants role) in Handel’s Faramondo with North Park University’s opera program. In April 2022 Diana premiered as the first female Jumper in the contemporary opera, The Falling and The Rising, at The Edge Theatre in Chicago. She recently won second place in the North Park University Performance Awards Competition Graduate Division 2022. In her undergraduate studies she won first place in the North Park University’s Chamber Music Competition as a guitarist. She studied the role of Susanna as a virtual artist with the Vincero Academy and will be performing scenes from this opera at Carnegie Hall in January of 2023. This Fall 2022 she will sing the role of Bastienne in Mozart’s opera, Bastien und Bastienne.


When she is not performing she enjoys sharing her passions through teaching, spending time
with family and friends, and cooking!

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Michelle Monroe
Dorabella, C
o fan tutte
 

American Mezzo Soprano Michelle Monroe most recently appeared as Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance with Cedar Rapids Opera in June 2022 after spending two seasons as an Apprentice Artist with Central City Opera. With CCO, Michelle made her role debut as Maddalena in Verdi’s Rigoletto, Second Woman in Dido and Aeneas, Une Récitante in Debussy’s La damoiselle élue, and covered the spunky role of Carrie in Carousel.

Michelle is sought after by regional orchestras and universities as a concert soloist and recitalist. Most recently, she performed as the alto soloist in the Magnificat by Imant Raminsh and Elijah by Felix Mendelssohn with Northwestern College and the Sioux County Oratorio Society. Other concert credits include Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Northern Iowa Symphony Orchestra; Christmas on the Prairie with the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra; and Mozart’s Requiem in D Minor, Handel’s Messiah, Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem, and Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass with the Grinnell Oratorio Society. 

Having an affinity for American vocal music, Michelle gave the world premiere of Four Songs by award winning composer Jeremy Beck. Michelle has performed a number of his works including the monodrama Black Water, of which the composer commented saying her voice was “just glorious...its range, nuance, and beauty - [her] command of dramatic shape and musical details… all just marvelous.” Michelle lives in Cedar Falls, Iowa where she is an adjunct voice instructor at the University of Northern Iowa. When she’s not singing, she loves to spend time outside with her two dogs.

Diana Monacelli
Suor Dolcina & La cercatrice I (Cover), Suor Angelica

 

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José Montañez
Ensemble, Carmen
Featured Artist, Opera Scenes Showcase

 

Born and raised in Mexico City, he started studying music at the National Conservatory of Music in 2012 with baritone Arturo Nieto Olmedo and later with soprano Alicia Cascante. He also took lessons with the world-famous Polish soprano Halina Nadí. He has devoted almost all his career to singing opera, lied, french song, mexican music and lieder. He has sung in different recitals in both national and international venues, such as: Museo de San Carlos, Sala Vasconcelos, Palacio Nacional and Alcázar-Castillo de Chapultepec. In 2011 he traveled to Spain (Madrid and Torrevieja) to sing Mexican music with the National Ballet. In 2016 he sang his debut role as Nadir in Bizet’s “Les pêcheurs de perles” and he made his professional debut as Felipe, in a 2018 staging of Aura, Mexican opera by Mario Lavista. He sang it again in the same year with the Marine Philharmonic
Orchestra. He has taken part in several programs from different states in Mexico, such as “Opera Festival in Oaxaca” in 2015, “Opera Studio - Querétaro” in 2017, and in 2019 “Opera Festival- Linus Lerner”. He has collaborated with such eminent conductors as
Carlos Miguel Prieto, Linus Lerner and Germán Tort, and opera teachers and coaches as Rogelio Riojas, Carlos Aransay, Charles Oppenheim, Jorge Cózatl, Andrés Sarre and Alejandra Sandoval. Finally, in 2018 he was one of the finalists of the “International Singing Competition - Olivia Gorra”. Currently, he is studying a Master’s Degree - Voice Performance at Georgia State University.

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Cuban-American mezzo-soprano Madelin Morales is thrilled to be making her Music on Site and role debut as "Mercédès" in Carmen. A senior at the Eastman School of Music, Morales studies voice with Kathryn Cowdrick, and is pursuing a business minor and Arts Leadership Certificate. Recent roles include "Taller Daughter" (Proving Up), "Snow White/Sleeping Beauty/Rapunzel Cover"(Into the Woods), "Third Lady" (Die Zauberflöte), and "Sandy" (Grease). Morales will be singing "Oberto" in Eastman Opera Theater's production of Alcina this January. Morales is the 2021 first place winner of the National NATS Competition (Lower College), and winner of the Dorothy Sawatski Prize. She is also a 2019 U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts, and YoungArts Winner. An advocate for promoting music by underrepresented composers, Morales has been an active member of Representation Matters since 2020. An outreach program created by Eastman alumnus, Travon Walker, RM educates primary and secondary school students about classical music through a POC and BIPOC lens, with the goal of raising awareness for the lack of representation in classical music.

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Hannah Moreno
Micaëla, Carmen

American soprano Hannah Moreno is a distinctive performer establishing her presence in both concert and operatic repertoire. Hannah was the recipient of the Encouragement Award of the Lyra New York International Art Song Competition (2021), the top prize winner of the South Texas NATS Chapter Auditions (2019), and a semi-finalist in the Pasadena Vocal Competition (2022), Young Texas Artists Music Competition (2022), and the Classical Singer Vocal Competition (2022). This season sees her debut with Rochester Summer Opera as Mabel’s cover
in The Pirates of Penzance and Music On Site, Inc. as Micaëla in Carmen.

 

In the 2021-22 season, Hannah performed the role of Baker’s Wife in Into the Woods
and Linfea in La Calisto with the Eastman Opera Theater, and was the Schumann’s Requiem für Mignon soprano soloist with the Eastman-Rochester Chorus and Orchestra. In the summer 2021, she performed her solo concert based on French art songs and arias in the International Museum of Art and Science in McAllen, TX.

 

Hannah is currently studying her Master’s of Music at the Eastman School of Music
under the tutelage of Nicole Cabell. She completed her Bachelor of Music and Biology degrees at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, where she originated the role as Lupita and Princess Altamira 2 in the world premier of The Ugly Princess by Lelia Sadlier, and performed as Spirit I in The Magic Flute, and role studied Despina from Così fan tutte. She has received accolades from the South Texas NATS Chapter Auditions.

Madelin Morales
Mercédès, Carmen

 

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Liza Moss
Ensemble, Così fan tutte
Featured Artist, Opera Scenes Showcase

 

Liza 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. This summer, she sang the role of Dido in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas with the Utah Vocal Arts Academy. 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. Last December, she performed scenes from Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Verdi’s Falstaff with Music on Site, Inc. Currently, Liza lives in Kansas with her wife and two cats, and studies voice with Dr. Andrea Garritano. Liza is thrilled to be performing with MOSI again this year. 

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Mary Elizabeth Nerren of Johnson City, Tennessee is studying Collaborative Piano at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music with Kenneth Griffiths. She holds a Bachelor of
Music degree in Piano Performance from Lee University. Her previous solo piano teachers
include Dr. Jonathan Jung, Dr. Cahill Smith, and Dr. Esther Park. Mary was named the 2021-22
Presser Undergraduate Scholar of Lee University, winner of the 2021 Charleston International Music Competition, winner of the 2019 Blair Academy for the Arts Grand Virtuoso Piano Competition, and second prize winner of the 2019 Nashville Steinway Artist Junior Piano Competition. In 2017, she participated in winning the MTNA Nationals Piano Duet competition as a result of winning the 2017 Regionals and 2016 State MTNA piano duet competitions. Her performance of the Grøndahl Trombone Concerto with trombonist William Dalton Hurst was
featured at the 2021 International Keyboard Collaborative Arts Society festival.

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Whitney Myers
Carmen, Carmen

 

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.

Mary Nerren
Pianist-Coach, Suor Angelica
Music Director, Opera Scenes Showcase

 

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Ryne Olson
King Kaspar, Amahl and the Night Visitors

 

Olympia, WA based tenor, Ryne Olson is overjoyed to make his debut with Music On Site. Ryne’s opera/operetta credits include Don Curzio in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro (Austrian American Mozart Academy), Mr. Foster in the company premier of Timothy Peterson’s The Séance (Lawrence Opera Theater), Gregorio in Gounod’s Romeo et Juliette (Lawrence Opera Theater), and Sir Ruthven Murgatroyd in Ruddigore (SMU Theater). As a concert soloist, recent performances include Tendre Amour from Rameau’s Les Indes Galantes (Olympia Chamber Orchestra), Dvorak’s Biblical Songs (Tacoma Opera), and Beethoven’s Choral Fantasia (Olympia Chamber Orchestra). Ryne currently holds a Bachelor of Arts in music from Saint Martin’s University and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in vocal arts at California State University Northridge. Notable awards include first place in the NATS regional auditions (2022) and first place in the American Prize in Voice (2021). When Ryne is outside of the opera world, he plays bass guitar in his national touring rock band The Home Team.

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Julia Pace is a soprano from Fort Worth, Texas. She graduated from Tarleton State University with her Bachelor of Performance degree and is currently attending the University of Oklahoma for her Master's in Opera.
 
Julia Pace’s recent musical performances include Mezzo soloist in Handel’s Messiah at the 2018, 2019, and 2021 with the Fort Worth Symphony, she was a featured artist in the Opera Scenes program with Music On Site Inc., she performed with the Tarleton Wind Ensemble as the winner of the Tarleton Concerto Competition, and sang the role of “Micaëla” from Carmen in the Tarleton Opera Scenes Showcase. Judges say that Julia has a “large and powerful voice [with a] stage presence that keeps you always drawn to her”.

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Zoe Rose Pallas
Suor Genovieffa, Suor Angelica

 

Soprano Zoe Rose Pallas has been described as “a full package: vulnerable, engaging and immediately noteworthy” and “possessing a gorgeous tone, full command of her instrument and visual expression” (Amanda Johnston, Lucas Meachem). Under the tutelage of Dr. Paul Houghtaling, she received her Master’s degree in May of 2022 from the University of Alabama, and was most recently seen with the UA Opera Theatre as the title character in Tobias Picker’s Thérèse Raquin, Alcina in Alcina, and Pamina in Die Zauberflöte. Other recent performances include the James Toland Vocal Arts competition in San Francisco, in which she won the Bell Encouragement Award, and a young artist residency at Red River Lyric Opera, where she sang Armida in Handel’s Rinaldo in tandem with the American Baroque Opera Company.
Zoe Rose is excited to join Music on Site, and looks forward to the rest of her spring performance season which includes engagements with the Vann Vocal Institute/Montgomery Symphony, as well as Druid City Opera, where she will cover Lucia in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor.
Other awards include second place at the national level of the Music Teachers National Association competition in the Young Artist division, the first-place performance prize at the University of Mississippi’s Living Music Institute, and finalist in the Mobile Opera Rose Aria competition. She received her undergraduate degree at Florida State University in 2020, where she studied with Dr. Wanda Brister, and was last cast as Young Alyce in Cipullo's Glory Denied.

Julia Pace
La conversa II & La conversa I (Cover), Suor Angelica

 

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Ga-Young Park
Pianist-Coach, Carmen

 

Ga-Young Park is currently pursuing a doctoral program in collaborative piano at New England Conservatory, studying with Cameron Stowe and Jonathan Feldman. She spent three summers as vocal piano fellow at the Music Academy of the West for 2020-2022. In summer 2022 Music Academy of the West, she played Eugene Onegin by Tchaikovsky as rehearsal pianist with conductor Daniela Candillari.
In Spring 2022, she played Henry Purcell Dido and Aeneas on harpsichord with Conductor Robert Tweten, in addition to being the reheasal pianist. Coming fall, she will work Hansel and Gretel for Touring Children's Opera, leaded by the Community performances and Partnerships and Opera Departments throught Boston area. She received her Master and Graduated Dipoloma in collaborative piano at the New England Conservatory and Master in Piano solo performance at the Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University.

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Hannah Park, mezzo-soprano, recently completed her B.M. in Vocal Performance at The University of Alabama, studying under Dr. David Tayloe. During her time with the UA Opera Theatre, she was seen in the roles of Ruggiero in Alcina, the Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors, and the Second Lady in Die Zauberflöte, as well as #7 (Student) in the world premiere of Michael Ching’s Remove Shoes Before Entering. Outside of performing, Hannah also served as the Social Media Coordinator for the UA Opera Theatre, and as Choir Director at Northport First United Methodist Church. Hannah is currently applying and auditioning for graduate
programs in vocal performance, and plans to begin her Master’s degree in Fall of 2023.

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Sophia Parker
Amahl, Amahl and the Night Visitors

 

Sophia Parker, 21, is very excited to return for her second year with Music On Site, Inc! She has studied classical voice for seven years and is majoring in Vocal Performance at the University of Washington, Seattle. She hopes to continue studying voice in graduate school, and to perform professionally wherever her career will take her. 
With a deep love for many styles of music, Sophia has performed in operas and musical theatre productions with professional and educational theatre companies throughout high school and college. Past productions include Philemon und Baucis (Mercury), La Finta Giardiniera (Serpetta), Beauty and the Beast (Belle), Into the Woods (The Witch), and Les Miserables (US Cosette). In addition to performing in stage productions, Sophia has worked as a music director for nonprofit educational theatre companies in the Seattle area, teaching high school students music and organizing part separations. She is currently working with NM Entertainment, singing as an Artist in Residence at the Lake Washington United Methodist Church, and DJing for her university’s student-run radio station. Special thanks to her loving family, her teachers, and her peers for inspiring her, and to Music On Site for their wonderful work. 

Hannah Park
Ensemble, Suor Angelica
Featured Artist, Opera Scenes Showcase

 

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Gilda Parlatto Lire
Mother, Amahl and the Night Visitors

 

Mexican-American mezzo-soprano Gilda Parlatto Lire is a Brownsville, Texas native, currently residing in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Her notable operatic roles include the Mezzo in Anna Young’s The Enchanted Forest, Mercédès cover (Carmen), Magda Sorel in Menotti’s The Consul, Third Lady (Die Zauberflöte), Suzuki cover (Madama Butterfly), Armelinde (Cendrillon), La Maestra delle Novizie (Suor Angelica), Mrs. Nolan (The Medium), and the Witch (Hansel and Gretel). Ms. Parlatto Lire received her BA in Vocal Music Education from the University of Louisiana - Lafayette in 2018 and her MM in Vocal Performance from the University of Central Oklahoma in 2021. For more info, follow @gparlattolire or visit www.gparlattolire.com

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Texan-born soprano, Jacqueline Parson, sang with MOSI in their 2021 season as a part of Die Zauberflöte. She received her Master of Music in Vocal Performance from Texas Tech University this past May, where she sang the roles of Vitellia in Mozart's La clemenza di Tito and Madame Lidoine in Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmélites. In the summer of 2022, Jacqueline sang with the Taos Opera Institute in New Mexico and the Aquilon Music Festival in Oregon. With the latter, she was able to be part of the July premiere of Ourland: A Dystopian State, a brand new opera by Paul Davies, where she covered the role of Foreign Woman. 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.
Jacqueline grew up on the stage dancing and singing and enjoys sharing her passion for music with everyone. Jacqueline currently lives in Tulsa, OK where she teaches Kindergarten for Tulsa Public Schools. In the future, she hopes to continue performing, perhaps even taking the international stage one day. Jacqueline is excited to perform with MOSI once again in their 2022 season.

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Kaitlin Pearson
Ensemble, Carmen
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eatured Artist, Opera Scenes Showcase

 

Mezzo-soprano Kaitlin Pearson (she/her) is an emerging performer and voice instructor based
in Omaha. Originally from Gretna, Nebraska, she is passionate about collaboration, inclusion, and outreach through opera and art song performance. Earlier this year, she performed selections by Manuel de Falla at pop-up concerts during the Salt Creek Song Festival’s inaugural season in Ashland, NE. In 2021, Pearson joined the University of South Dakota Opera as an alumnus artist in Michael Ching’s Zoom Speed Dating Tonight, performing “#41. Overthinker.” She appeared as the title role in USD’s production of Massenet’s Cendrillon in 2019. That same
year, she received third prize at the National level in the Music Teachers National Association Young Artist Competition and first prize in the Advanced College Women Division of the North Central Regional NATS Classical Competition. Pearson is a young artist alumnus of Red River Lyric Opera in Wichita Falls, Texas and the Druid  City Opera Workshop in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and holds a Master of Music in Vocal Performance
from the University of South Dakota (2019) and a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (2015). Most recently, she can be found performing in the Omaha metro area with the vocal ensemble Résonance. Previous operatic roles include: Tisbe, La Cenerentola; Hansel, Hansel and Gretel; Mother, The Consul; Costanza, L’isola disabitata; Nettie, A Wedding; Veronica, Sunday Excursion; Amahl, Amahl and the Night Visitors; Cherubino, The Marriage of Figaro.

Jacqueline Parson
Fiordiligi (Cover) & Ensemble, Così fan tutte
Featured Artist, Opera Scenes Showcas
e

 

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Salma Peña
Ensemble, Suor Angelica
Featured Artist, Opera Scenes Showcase

 

Salma Peña is a senior at Friends University studying Vocal Music Education with a minor in Music Theatre. She is currently the Student Conductor for the Singing Quakers. During her time at Friends, she has participated in Concert Choir, Chamber Choir, Singing Quakers, Jazz Vocal Ensemble, and Concert Band. Salma has performed in the following Friends’ productions: Die Fledermaus, Alcina, Fables (Lion) and Working the Musical as Theresa Liu. She has served as President for Friends’ collegiate chapter of KCDA and has also worked as the Student Assistant for Wichita Community Children’s Choir. Salma is currently a section leader at Chapel Hill United Methodist Church. She is looking forward to working with new artists from all around the world!

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Emily Perry, soprano, is pursuing a master’s degree in voice performance at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Previously, Perry graduated from South Dakota State University where she earned a degree in Music Education. At Baylor, she is preparing the roles of Lady Ella in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Patience, and Eleonora in Prima La musica e poi le parole by Antonio Salieri. Emily is stoked to be at MOSI for the first time!

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Micah is in his second 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 and 2022 Baylor ICCM. Micah is originally from Brookings, South Dakota, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in Music Education from South Dakota State University.

 

In his first year at Baylor, Micah performed the roles of Martin from Copland’s, The Tender Land, and Gherardo from Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi. He also performed the role of King Kaspar in Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors with Music On Site Inc.’s 2021 season. Most recently, he was the Nemorino cover for Festival Napa Valley’s production of Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’amore. Currently, Micah is preparing the roles of Duke of Dunstable in Gilbert & Sullivan’s Patience and Bellerose from Offenbach’s Monseir et Madame Denis for Baylor Opera Theatre’s 2022-23 season.

Micah Perry
Ferrando, Così fan tutte

 

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Davian Raggio
Le Remendado, Carmen

 

Davian Raggio, a Houston-area native, is a Junior at Baylor University working towards a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance. Davian is returning to MOSI for the second year, having sung Erster Geharnischter in Die Zauberflöte and multiple roles in the scenes program.  Davian recently performed roles with Baylor Opera Theatre, playing Gherardo in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi and Mr. Splinters in Aaron Copland’s The Tender Land. Davian recently made his European debut with Opera Seme, performing the role of Il Contino Belfiore in Mozart’s La finta giardiniera in Arezzo, Italy. This Fall, Davian performed the role of Fabrizio Naccarelli in Light in the Piazza with the Waco Civic Theatre. Davian’s upcoming engagements for 2023 include The Duke of Dunstable in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Patience and Bellerose in Offenbach’s one act opera Monsieur et Madame Denis.

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David Rambo Serrano is currently studying for his Artist’s Diploma at the Schwob School of Music under the direction of Dr. Joshua May. He graduated in 2022 from Schwob with a Bachelor of Arts in Music, with a focus in voice. He has been an active participant of the opera program, having a role in productions such as Rusalka, Amahl and the Night Visitors, Der Schauspieldirektor, and The Light in the Piazza. Currently he is studying the role of the father for Columbus State University's performance of Hänsel und Gretel. In Cosi fan tutte, David is the cover for Don Alfonso and will be performing in the ensemble.

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Lauren Randolph
La zia principessa, Suor Angelica

 

Chicago based mezzo-soprano Lauren Randolph recently graduated from Northwestern University’s Bienen school of Music under the mentorship of Theresa Brancaccio. During her time at Northwestern she was a finalist in the Bienen School of Music Concerto/Aria competition in the spring of 2021, and was awarded 1st place in the NATS National Student Auditions that same year. Recently, she has performed the roles of Mrs. Nolan in Gian Carlo Menotti’s The Medium and Rachel in Jake Heggie’s If I Were You with Northwestern Opera Theater, and  Florence Pike in Benjamin Britten’s Albert Herring, and Amastre in Handel’s Xerxes with Chicago Summer Opera. Randolph has also performed as a soloist in many major concert works, such as the mezzo-soprano soloist in the Duruflé Requiem with Northwestern Choirs and the Alto Soloist in the Mozart Requiem with Northwestern Summer Chorus. Randolph regularly performs as a soloist with the Rockefeller Memorial Chapel Choir at the University of Chicago as their Alto Artist in Residence, and later this season can be seen performing as the Alto soloist in their performance of Handel’s Messiah. 

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Don Alfonso (Cover) & Ensemble, Così fan tutte

 

Emily Perry
Ensemble, Così fan tutte
Featured Artist, Opera Scenes Showcase

 

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Dylan Rausch, tenor, is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in music at Northern State University in Aberdeen South Dakota. In 2022 Rausch graduated from Northern with a Bachelor of Arts in Vocal Performance. Rausch was the winner of the 2021-22 Concerto/Aria Competition and Runner up in the South Dakota NATS Competition. Rasch’s previous roles include a variety of musical theater and opera appearances. Some of the musical theater roles include the productions of Man of La Mancha as the Barber, Lawrence in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and the waiter/Christian father/friendly therapist in First Date. Rausch has also appeared in Northern Opera Theater as the Busboy/ Marrying Guy in the production of Speed Dating Tonight, a pirate in The Pirates of Penzance, and finally he performed Refrain Audacious Tar from H.M.S. Pinafore, O sole Mio in the production of A Night at the Opera, and finally in November performed the role of King Kaspar in Amahl and the Night Visitors. This summer Rausch made his European opera debut in Salzburg Austria playing the role of Basilio in Le Nozze di Figaro.   

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Christina Casey Ray
Mercédès, Carmen

 

Praised for her "velvety mezzo" (OperaWire), Christina Casey Ray is equally at home on the operatic, concert, and musical theatre stages. Recent roles include Mrs. Splinters in Aaron Copland's The Tender Land and Ms. Lark in Mary Poppins with Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre, Béatrice in Béatrice et Bénédict, with Landlocked Opera, Celeste #1 in Sunday in the Park with George, Ramiro in Mozart's La finta giardiniera, and Hänsel from Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel.  As an active choral singer, Ms. Ray is a member of two professional choral ensembles Vox Nova and Kantorei KC. 

Ms. Ray made her professional debut with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City as a chorister in their 2018 season. She has also sung professionally with the Overland Park Orchestra, Missouri Symphony Orchestra, and Manhattan Concert Productions. In 2016 she was a recipient of an Encouragement Award at the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, in the Little Rock, AR district.

Ms. Ray is the Founding General Director of boutique opera company, Landlocked Opera. Landlocked Opera is committed to serving the Missouri community with quality performances and serving area artists with quality opportunities. Believing strongly in breaking down barriers and opera stereotypes, Landlocked Opera’s motto is "Opera for All."

Ms. Ray completed an Artist Certificate in Vocal Performance at the UMKC Conservatory, her Master of Music in Vocal Performance with Dr. Lori Bade at Louisiana State University, and her Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Missouri with Ann Harrell.

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Jonathan Ray
Ferrando, Così fan tutte

 

Hailed for his "very rich, full tenor" (Broadway World), Jonathan Ray has performed with such companies as Utah Festival Opera & Musical Theatre, Heartland Opera Theatre, The Lyric Opera of Kansas City, The Missouri Symphony, Opera in the Rock, The Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, St. Petersburg Opera, Lawrence Opera Theatre, Opera in the Ozarks, and Greensboro Light Opera and Song.

  

Some of Dr. Ray’s operatic highlights include the principal roles in Roméo et Juliette, La Traviata, La finta giardiniera, Die Fledermaus, Il barbiere di Siviglia, L’Italiana in Algeri, La Cenerentola, Béatrice et Bénédict, Don Giovanni, The Magic Flute, L’elisir d’amore, Albert Herring and Candide. Musical theater credits include She Loves Me, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Hairspray, Sweeney Todd, Assassins, You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, South Pacific, and A Little Night Music. Recent concert work includes the tenor solos in Carmina Burana, Stravinsky’s Cantata, Bach BWV 148, and Mozart’s Requiem in D minor.

Dr. Ray received his DMA in Vocal Performance from Louisiana State University, his MM in Vocal Performance from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro and his BME from Arkansas Tech University. From 2017-2019, he served as the tenor Apprentice Artist with The Lyric Opera of Kansas City. He serves as Assistant Professor of Music at Central Methodist University and Music Director of Traditional Worship at First Baptist Church in Columbia. In 2018, he and his wife founded Landlocked Opera, Inc. where he serves as Artistic Director.

 

https://jonathanray2000.wixsite.com/tenor

https://landlockedopera.org/  

Dylan Rausch
Ensemble, Carmen

 

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Micaela Rebb
Ensemble, Amahl and the Night Visitors
Featured Artist, Opera Scenes Showcase

 

Micaela Rebb (She/Her/Hers) is excited to be performing with the MOSI this season! This past spring Micaela earned her Masters of Music Degree in Vocal Performance from Arizona State University, where she also received two Bachelor of Arts Degrees in Vocal Performance and Music Education in 2019. A few of her favorite opera roles she’s performed include The Dew Fairy in Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel, Geraldine in Barber’s A Hand of Bridge, and Pemphredo in Okoye’s We’ve Got Our Eye on You. Since graduating Micaela has moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan where she is currently the Faculty Event Operations Coordinator for the University of Michigan school of music, theatre and dance within the office of Concerts and Events.

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Brianna Reilly
Ensemble, Così fan tutte
Featured Artist, Opera Scenes Showcase

 

Brianna Reilly is a mezzo-soprano based in Tallahassee, FL and Memphis, TN where she is pursuing both a Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Vocal Performance at the University of Memphis. 
   Her past operatic engagements include Dido (Dido & Aeneas) with Utah Vocal Arts Academy; Cherubino (Le Nozze di Figaro) at the University of Memphis, Erda and Flosshilde (Das Rheingold) with Luke A. Housner Summer Opera Workshop; Carmen (Carmen) at the University of Memphis; Ježibaba (Rusalka) and Hänsel (Hänsel und Gretel) with Luke A. Housner Summer Opera Workshop; and Mrs. Nolan (The Medium) at Florida State University. 
   Brianna has been selected as a finalist in competitions such as the Nuevas Canciones Competition with Opera Memphis, Savell Voice Competition in Memphis, TN (3rd place), Music International Grand Prix U.S. Central Region (3rd place), and the National Association of Teachers of Singing Southeast Regionals (2nd place).
   This season, she will compete in the Idaho-Montana District of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition and appear as Dinah (Trouble in Tahiti) at the University of Memphis.
   As an up-and-coming singer, Brianna’s mission is to use her vibrant, energetic, and authentic performances to instill her love of classical music into anyone and everyone that she can. She is a strong advocate of performing different types of works and has found much success in being a flexible and diverse singer. 

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Meghan Rhoades is a student at Louisiana State University where they are currently pursuing a Master of Music in Collaborative Piano with Professor Ana Maria Otamendi. As a Graduate Assistant at LSU, they have worked with vocalists and instrumentalists in weekly lessons, studio classes, recitals, and recordings throughout each semester. They also serve as the pianist for LSU’s Contemporary New Music Ensemble (CNME), which performed at Carnegie Hall in April 2022. Outside of their assistantship, Meghan maintains a rigorous freelance schedule, including performing and recording new compositions as well as playing for students’ classes and juries. 
As an aspiring vocal coach, Meghan recently served as a rehearsal pianist and vocal coach for Die Zauberflöte at the 2022 Trentino Music Festival in Fiera di Primiero, Italy. This past spring, they also worked as Music Director/Coach for the LSU SNATS’ (Students of NATS Teachers) production of Dido and Aeneas. Meghan additionally attended the Collaborative Piano Institute in June of 2022, where they performed in masterclasses with renowned collaborative pianists such as Professor Martin Katz and Kathy Kelly. In their undergraduate studies, they also worked as a studio pianist in Professor Emeritus Jean del Santo’s voice studio and Professor Immanuel Davis’ flute studio. Meghan holds a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, where they studied with Dr. Kyung Kim. 

Meghan Rhoades
Music Director, Amahl and the Night Visitors

 

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Casey Robards
Music Director, Carmen

 

Korean adoptee, Casey Robards is a music director, pianist and vocal coach known for her sensitive musicality, stylistic versatility, and expert collaborative skill. She has concertized throughout the United States, Europe, Central and South America and Asia. 
 
Recent music directing projects include Three Decembers, The Gift (South Bend Lyric Opera), Die Zauberflöte,  La Boheme, La Traviata (Bay View Music Festival), and the Afro-surrealist Water Riot in Beta: A Cyberpunk Rock Opera created by Derek McPhatter for the Museum of Contemporary Art “Chicago Performs” Festival.  Robards was a conducting participant in Opera in the 21st Century at the Banff Centre and will be guest conductor for Ensemble Concert 21 in “New Voices in Michiana” featuring new young composers. 
 
As pianist, Robards performs with Ollie Watts Davis, LaToya Lain and Karen Slack in recital programs promoting justice and truth telling through the spirituals and art song of Black composers. A sought after recital partner, Robards maintains an active recital schedule with many singers and instrumentalists. Recent CDs with Sara Fraker, John Dee, Bernard Scully, and Fangye Sun celebrate ecomusicology and newly composed music. Robards also recorded concerts with the National Chorale for release in 2022-2023 and played the workshop premiere of This Little Light of Mine (Santa Fe/Kentucky Opera). 
 
Dr. Robards is Asst. Professor at the University of Illinois. Professional memberships include IKCAS, NATS, Maestra, MUSE, and NOA (Chair, Sacred in Opera Initiative). Robards often lectures on topics in Black American art song and spirituals.
www.caseyrobards.com

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Noah B. Rogers
Le Dancaïre, Carmen

 

Rising baritone Noah B. Rogers is a current master’s student in voice performance at the
University of Michigan. The Missouri native completed his Bachelor of Arts degree in
Music (Trombone) at Truman State University in 2021. During his tenure there, he
performed numerous roles with the TSU Opera Theatre, including Doctor Gregg in
Douglas Moore’s Gallantry, King Balthazar in Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors,
and Quinn in Michael Ching’s Speed Dating Tonight! At the University of Michigan, Mr.
Rogers recently revived the lead role of Bob in William Grant Still’s one-act opera
Highway 1, USA as well as the Forester in UM Opera Theatre’s Czech production of
Janáček’s the Cunning Little Vixen. He has also been featured as a frequent soloist with
the university’s premier choral ensembles. Equally comfortable on the musical theatre
stage as he is in the opera hall, Mr. Rogers starred as David Koresh in the world
premiere of Charles Gran’s 2019 musical End Times as well as The Beast in the
University of Missouri Summer Repertory Theatre’s 2020 production of Beauty and the
Beast. In addition, as a 2022 young artist with the Ohio Light Opera, Mr. Rogers
performed the role of Hubert in the company’s production of the Student Prince and
covered El Gallo in the Fantasticks. Other recent credits include Papageno in the Magic
Flute (Opera in the Ozarks) and Le Surintendant des plaisirs in Massenet’s Cendrillon
(UM Opera Theatre).

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Jordan Roth
King 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.

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Ashley Ruckman
Despina (Cover) & Ensemble, Così fan tutte
Featured Artist, Opera Scenes Showcase

 

Ashley Ruckman, the 2022 soprano winner of the Rondelli Vocal Competition, has most recently performed the role of Hester in Laitman’s “The Scarlet Letter.” Her other recent roles include Arminda in “La Finta Giardiniera,” Esther in “The Path to Heaven,” as well as chorus work at the Wichita Grand Opera in their star-studded cast of Don Giovanni. Ashley recently graduated from Wichita State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Vocal Performance, and currently studies with Dr. Cristina Castaldi.

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JoAna Rusche
Carmen, Carmen

 

JoAna Rusche, mezzo-soprano, has been praised by Opera News for being “notably sweet-voiced.”  She is an alumna of the Academy of Vocal Arts, where she performed the roles of Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Fiora in L'amore dei tre re, Tamara in The Demon, and the Second Lady in Die Zauberflöte. With Opera North, she performed the title role in La Cenerentola, where she was hailed as “an effervescent Cinderella” and was praised for managing “Rossini's florid lines with flair and warmth” (Rutland Herald). As a young artist with Palm Beach Opera, she premiered the role of Sheva Haddas in the world premiere of Enemies, A Love Story and sang the role of Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia as an understudy. Ms. Rusche spent three summers at the Caramoor International Music Festival, now Teatro Nuovo, where she was seen as Soeur Mathilde in Dialogues des Carmélites. She is a two-time District Winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and has received second place in the Birmingham Opera Competition and the Heafner-Williams Vocal Competition, first place in the Long Leaf Opera National Vocal Competition. This March, she will be performing with the Messiah Festival of the Arts as the alto soloist for Handel’s Messiah and Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion.

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Spencer Ruwe
King Kaspar, Amahl and the Night Visitors

 

Spencer Ruwe

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Courtney San Martin
Ensemble, Carmen
Feat
ured Artist, Opera Scenes Showcase

 

Soprano Courtney San Martin, from Charlottesville, Virginia, enjoys performing a versatile range of musical styles and repertoire from Baroque to 21st Century. In the 2021-2022 season, Ms. San Martin made her debut as Diana in Jake Heggie’s If I Were You with Nightingale Opera Theatre. Earlier that season, Ms. San Martin performed as the title role in Massenet’s Manon and as Almirena in Handel’s Rinaldo at Montclair State University. 
Ms. San Martin’s other roles include: Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro), Rose (At the Statue of Venus), Miss Jessel (The Turn of the Screw), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Fox (The Cunning Little Vixen), Venere (Cavalli's Didone), Miss Pinkerton (The Old Maid and the Thief), Adelanta (Cavalli's Xerse), Erismena (Cavalli's Erismena), and Sandman (Hänsel und Gretel). 
Ms. San Martin is equally comfortable on the concert stage. Most recently she made her Merkin Hall debut performing works by contemporary composer Kamala Sankaram. She has also worked with composer Rachel J. Peters, performing her music in the Mannes Sounds Festival. Ms. San Martin was a soloist in Beethoven’s Mass in C with the Yale Symphony Orchestra. 
While completing her Bachelor of Arts at Yale University, she was an active member of the Yale Glee Club, as well as a winner of the Sledge Performing Arts Prize. Ms. San Martin received her Master of Music from the Mannes School of Music and her Artist Diploma at Montclair State University. She currently resides in New York City.

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Isabel Schmitz
Ensemble, Suor Angelica
Featured Artist, Opera Scenes Showcase

 

Isabel Schmitz, soprano, is a fourth-year undergraduate student at the University of Chicago, majoring in Music and Comparative Human Development. She sang Barbarina at AAMA Salzburg’s Le nozze di Figaro in the summer of 2022, and participated in Berlin Opera Academy’s 2021 Summer Opera Festival in Switzerland, singing chorus in Hӓnsel und Gretel. She is a member of and the soprano section leader for the UChicago Motet Choir under the direction of Dr. James Kallembach. She teaches voice with and is the Communications Director for UChicago’s South Side Free Music Program. 

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Alex Paul Sheerin
Stage Director, Così fan tutte

 

Alex Paul Sheerin is the director of Opera at Queens College (Aaron Copland School of Music) where he will stage The Turn of the Screw as well as an evening of one act opera. Sheerin was a young artist director at Brevard Music Center and Opera North, and is the resident 
director at North Shore Music Festival (Long Island), where he directed Don Pasquale and Amahl and the Night Visitors. Alex was also young artist director in residence at Indianapolis Opera where he directed 
Puccini's Madama Butterfly as well as several virtual programs including The Three little Hoosier Pigs, an opera for children. Credits include 
A Little Night Music, Cosi Fan Tutte (Queens College, Quisisana, Queens Summer Vocal Institute), The Medium (Chicago Summer Opera), Cosi Fan Tutte (abridged, Florida State Opera), Patience (Long Island Light Opera), and The Very Best of Gilbert and Sullivan (Brevard Music Center). Alex was scheduled to direct Glory Denied and L'Enfant et Les Sortiléges at Florida State University, as well as Carmen at the North Shore Music Festival. Assistant directing credits include: The Merry Widow 
(Dorothy Danner, Director), Cosi Fan Tutte (Jennifer Williams, Director), La Traviata (Andreas Hager, Director), Don Giovanni (Scott Skiba, Director), Of Mice and Men (Matthew Lata, Director). Street Scene (Dean Anthony, Director), Don Pasquale (David Gately, Director), The Fairy Queen (Isabel Milenski, Director), and Romeo et Juliette (Buck Ross, Director)

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Stephanie Shelden
Mercédès, Carmen

 

Stephanie Shelden has a unique background of training, earning both a vocal performance degree and cello performance degree from her alma mater Wichita State University. In 2020, Stephanie completed her MM in Cello Performance from the University of North Texas where she served as principal cellist of the Baroque Orchestra with whom she performed at the Boston Early Music Festival in 2019. Stephanie graduated in 2022 with her MM in Vocal Performance from Florida State University where she received the highly competitive Latzer Performance Scholarship as well as a Teaching Assistantship. She taught FSU Musical Theatre Performance majors for the past two years, a top 10 represented program on Broadway. In 2022, Stephanie performed as a Bonfils-Stanton Young Artist with Central City Opera in Colorado. Other recent performances include the Alto Soloist for Pergolesi's Stabat Mater on WFSU TV, PBS, Third Lady in FSU Opera's Die Zauberflöte, Cherubino in WSU's Le Nozze di Figaro, and Annio in WSU's La Clemenza di Tito. Stephanie is currently teaching applied voice at Butler Community College and applied cello at Friends University. She has also been a private voice and cello instructor for the past six years and has been called “inspiring,” “motivating,” “demanding,” and “an excellent communicator” by her many students.  

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Mark Shelton
King Kaspar (Cover) & Ensemble, 
Amahl and the Night Visitors
Featured Artist, Opera Scenes Showcase

 

Mark Shelton, a native of Mount Carmel, TN, is an Upstate South Carolina-based tenor vocalist. Mark is the Tenor Soloist and Section Lea