Vocal Arts and Music Festival

Hawaiian tenor Jeremy Blossey sings opera, concert/oratorio, and musical theater on stages all over the United States, Europe, and the Pacific Rim. An interpreter of over 40 roles, Jeremy has appeared in leading parts with Hawaii Opera Theater, Opéra de Québec, Opera Cleveland, Shreveport Opera, New Jersey State Opera, Natchez Opera, and Washington Summer Opera Theater, among numerous others. He has also appeared as a soloist with the Honolulu Symphony, Annapolis Symphony, the United States Naval Academy, the Great Auditorium at Ocean Grove, and the Theater Chamber Players at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.  

Mezzo-soprano Helena Brown is a second-year master's degree candidate at Manhattan School of Music. Previous credits include Elijah (Angel) and Cendrillon (Madame) with Manhattan School and Suor Angelica (La Zia Principessa) with Richard Crittenden's eponymous Opera Workshop. She has premiered principal roles in opera and theater, including the actor-singer role of Mother in Bellocq's Ophelia, written by U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Tretheway, and the title role in Miss Lucy, a folk opera composed by the jazz pianist William Penn and Tom Ohmsen. 

Victoria Cannizzo, soprano, recently earned her master of music degree in opera from Binghamton University and her undergraduate degree in music from the University of Chicago. As a Visiting Artist with Tri-Cities Opera in Binghamton, NY, she recently performed the role of Leonora in Il Trovatore. Other roles with the company include the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Violetta in La Traviata, and the Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro. Recent awards include the St. Bonaventure Prize from the Liederkranz Foundation, an Outstanding Young Artist Grant from the Raina Kabaivanska Fund and the America for Bulgaria Foundation, and a Career Encouragement Grant from the Schuyler Foundation.

American baritone Thomas Cannon joined the Arizona Operaʼs 2012-13 season, where he was seen in Roméo et Juliette (Gregorio), Tosca (Sciarrone), and Le Nozze di Figaro (Antonio). Last season he sang Sharpless at Opera Roanoke and Mr. Gobineau in The Medium in Tel Aviv and was Aronte in Armide in collaboration with Opera Atelier of Toronto. He has been featured at the Dallas Opera, Chautauqua Opera, the Crested Butte Festival, and Opera North, among others. Thomas holds a master’s degree from Juilliard and a bachelor’s from Baylor University.

Twenty-year-old tenor Aaron J. Casey is a native of Fort Worth, Texas. He is currently studying vocal performance at the Moores School of Music. Aaron has received many awards from various organizations, including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Act-So Competition, Classical Singer Competition, and the NATS Competition, among others. He has been featured on two HBO episodes of season 2 of the Masterclass series and one PBS episode of the new series Arts Insight. On the operatic stage he has performed in Die Zauberflöte (Monostatos), Falstaff (Bardolfo), Amelia (Icarus/Young Boy), Der Rosenkavalier (Valzacchi), and in 2013 made debuts as Sergei in Moscow, Cheryomushki and Borsa in Rigoletto.

Soprano Carolina Castells, originally from Miami, Florida, has performed the roles of Emily Webb (Our Town), Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), Susannah (Susannah ) , Sarah Good ( The Crucible ), A ntonia (Les Contes d’Hoffmann), Cendrillon (Cendrillon), and Magda (La Rondine). She is a graduate of Indiana University and the University of Miami. Carolina has been a young artist at Sarasota Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, and the Brevard Music Center. With Sarasota Opera, she covered the roles of Desdemona (Otello) and Micaëla (Carmen). Carolina has also performed with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and worked with Opera Naples. She was a finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and was a recipient of the Richard F. Gold Career Grant.

Born in Paris, soprano Faustine de Mones made her operatic debut at the Grand Theatre of Limoges as the soprano solo in Aboulker's opera Les Fables Enchantées. In 2011 she received a first-class-honor bachelor’s degree from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. At the Guildhall Faustine performed in opera scenes as Nanetta (Falstaff), Adele (Fledermaus), and Despina (Così fan tutte). In England she sang the roles of Zerlina, Burgundy White in the world premiere of Lovely Ladies by Peter Cowdrey, and the title role in Handel's Semele. In 2012 she was Cobweb in A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Barbican Theatre and Sister Constance in Dialogues des Carmélites in IVAI - Israel. Faustine currently lives in New York, completing an Artist Diploma at the Mannes School for Music.

Australian mezzo-soprano Anna Dowsley recently graduated from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music with an Advanced Diploma of Opera. Upon graduation, she was awarded the conservatorium’s 2013 Henderson Travelling Scholarship, which gave her the opportunity for further study and training in the international arena. In 2012, Anna was the overall winner of the Australian Singing Competition and was the recipient of Opera Foundation Australia’s Lady Fairfax Scholarship. With this latter award, she traveled to New York City for six weeks of intensive vocal study with various coaches and teachers. In March 2013, Anna made her international operatic debut as Dorabella with the Tokyo Arts Foundation.

Tenor Christopher Eaglin has performed as Rodolfo in La Bohème, as Camille in The Merry Widow, Ferrando in Così fan tutte, Pelléas in Pelléas et Mélisande, and Alfredo in La Traviata. He was a fellow at the CoOPERAtive program at Westminster Choir College, a young artist for Opera Slavica, and a young artist for the Manhattan School of Music Summer Voice Festival. He is the winner of the Metropolitan International Music Festival and a semi-finalist for Joy in Singing. Eaglin has given recitals and concerts in Europe, Africa, and the U.S. He graduated as valedictorian from Morehouse College, received the Marshall Scholarship, and holds a master’s degree in economic development from the University of Oxford.

Baritone Gustavo Feulien made his operatic debut as Don Giovanni in his native Argentina, where he also performed Di Luna in Il Trovatore, Germont in La Traviata, and Figaro in Il Barbiere di Siviglia. He made his Teatro Colón debut in Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. He also performed in Monserrat Caballé's Voices Concert in Spain and in the 100th Anniversary of Teatro Colón`s celebration gala. In New York Gustavo sang Escamillo and the title role in Eugene Onegin. In IVAI in Tel Aviv he appeared as Belcore in L'Elisir d'amore and as Onegin. He returned to Teatro Colón as the Herald in Lohengrin and Alcalde in La Forza del Destino. With Dicapo Opera he sang Robert in Iolanta and Silvio in I Pagliacci.
Gustavo received the Argentinian Music Critics Association Award and recently debuted in Carnegie Hall in Fauré’s Requiem.

Dorothy Gal, a 19-year-old soprano from Cocoa Beach, Florida, is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in vocal performance at Mannes College. In 2012, she won first place in the first round of the Classical Singer competition in Miami, Florida. In 2011, she attended the Boston Conservatory Vocal/Choral intensive. This summer, Dorothy will also be joining La Lingua della Lirica in Novafeltria, Italy. 

Bass-baritone Vincent Grana is 25 years old and hails from Phillipsburg, NJ.  He received his bachelor’s degree magna cum laude in music education and a master’s in vocal performance from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. At Rutgers, Vincent received the Presser Foundation Award for academic scholarship in music and the Michael Fardink Memorial Award for outstanding performance as a singer. He has performed with the Castleton Festival, covering such roles as Alcidoro and Benoit (La Bohème), Un Arbre (L’Enfant et les sortilèges), and Simone (Gianni Schicchi).  He also performed in the Marcello Giordani Young Artist Program’s production of L’Elisir d’amore (Dulcamara). 

Born in Israel, bass Pnini Leon Grubner began his studies at the Israeli Arts and Science Academy in Jerusalem (IASA). He obtained his bachelor’s degree at the Guildhall School of Music and attended the Royal College of Music Opera Course in London. He is currently studying in the PSD program at the Mannes New School for Music. He has been supported by the Harbour Foundation, Mannes School, the IVAI Trust, and Professor C. Alexander. He was the winner of the American Israeli Foundation for flute (2000) and for voice (2007). In London his repertoire included Dr. Bartolo in Le Nozze di Figaro and le Podestat in Bizet’s Le Docteur Miracle, as well as the title role in Don Pasquale (scenes) at the Royal College of Music. He also sang Leporello for Woodhouse Festival Opera and for Longborough Festival Opera (cover), and Buxtehude’s Membra Jesu Nostri with the English Touring Opera. Future engagements include the role of Blansac in La Scala di Seta by Rossini with Mannes Opera.

Thomas Gunther, baritone, is a native of Muscatine, Iowa, and a graduate of the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Simpson College in Iowa. His most recent performances have been as the Count in Le Nozze di Figaro, Raul in Phantom of the Opera, Shaunard in La Bohème, Billy Bigelow in Carousel, and Dancaïro in Carmen with Opera Theatre of St. Louis. Thomas was a finalist in Chicago Lyric's Ryan Opera Center competition, a semifinalist in Houston Grand Opera's Eleanor McCollum competition, and a winner of the Metropolitan Opera Auditions in state districts twice in Nebraska and Kentucky, with an Encouragement Award at the Upper Midwest Region. Other roles include Dandini in Cenerentola, Figaro in Il Barbierie di Siviglia, Escamillo in Carmen, the title role in Don Giovanni, Silvio in I Pagliacci, Marcello in La Bohème, Falke in Die Fledermaus, and Joseph DeRocher in Dead Man Walking.  Upcoming performances include the baritone soloist for Britten's War Requiem at the University of Kentucky and Shaunard with the Dominican National Symphony.

French-American soprano Sandra Hamaoui is currently a second-year undergraduate student at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Previously, she attended the Eastman School of Music and the Juilliard School's pre-college division. Sandra has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre, and Morse Hall, among other venues.

A native of New Rochelle, NY, soprano Jennifer Hoffmann appears this season as Nella in Gianni Schicchi with the New Jersey Association of Verismo Opera and Suor Angelica (cover) with New York Lyric Opera Theater.  Previous stage credits include Mimì, Countess (Le Nozze di Figaro), Matilde Neruda (Il Postino, East Coast premiere), Tammy (Slaying the Dragon, world premiere), all with Center City Opera Theater; Countess with Amore Opera, Opera in the Ozarks and the Intermezzo Foundation; Rusalka (cover) with the Diva Day Foundation; Tosca, Gertrude (Hänsel und Gretel) with Longwood Opera; and Donna Elvira with the New England Conservatory. She is a graduate of George Washington University and the New England Conservatory.

American soprano Bryn Holdsworth resides in New York City and is studying at the Manhattan School of Music. She is the recipient of the ASCAP Foundation Fran Morgenstern Davis Scholarship. She was a national finalist in the New York Lyric Opera competition and has been a national semifinalist in the Palm Beach Opera vocal competition and in the Classical Singer competition. She is a three-time first-place winner in the National Association of Teachers of Singing of the Lehigh Valley area. Bryn is also the recipient of the Pennsylvania Music Teachers Association Highest Achievement Award for four consecutive years. She has performed numerous recitals at Manhattan, including solo as well as choir performances at Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center under conductor Alan Gilbert. She was also the soprano soloist for the Joseph Jongen Mass with the Manhattan School Symphonic Choir. Roles in operatic scenes  include  Norina in Don Pasquale, Papagena, Servilia in La Clemenza di Tito, and Mrs. Fiorentino in Street Scene.

A native of Beijing, bass-baritone Zhiguang Hong is a first-year master-of-music degree full scholarship candidate at the Mannes School. He covered the role of Sharpless for the New York Lyric Opera at Carnegie Hall. He has also sung the title role in Don Pasquale at the Hong Kong Cultural Center, Beijing Concert Hall, and Shanghai Concert Hall. Awards include second-prize winner at Concorso Internazionale di Canto Citta di Santa Angela in Italy, first prize at the first International opera competition in Hong Kong, and a full scholarship award from the Universitat fur Musik (Graz).

Mary-Hollis Hundley, a soprano from Louisville, Kentucky, is a graduate student at the Mannes School. Most recently she appeared in their scenes program as the title role in Barber’s Vanessa and Marguerite in Faust. She recently made her European debut as Donna Elvira at the Lyric Opera Studio in Weimar, Germany, and has also been seen as Fiordiligi, Mimì, Pamina, and Nancy Hanks and Nancy Miller in the world premiere of River of Time. She was the soprano soloist in Mozart’s Coronation Mass with the University of Kentucky Chorale and Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy with the Lexington Singers and Lexington Philharmonic. She studied at Opera Breve, Lyric Opera Studio Weimar, Intermezzo Opera Theater, and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute.

Originally from Perth, Western Australia, soprano Naomi Johns completed a year of Music Theatre at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts before commencing a bachelor of music in Sydney. Naomi has toured with Opera Australia, debuted as a principal soloist for the Australian Ballet at the Walsh Bay Theatre, and made her film debut in the opera-film Eternity Man for the Sydney Film Festival. Naomi sang the role of Anne Page in Sir John in Love in the Australian Shakespearean Festival and was invited back to perform Richard Strauss's Vier Letze lieder while continuing to work with Opera Australia. For the past two years she has been a finalist for the Sydney Eisteddfod McDonalds Operatic Aria award, the Joan Sutherland-Richard Bonynge Bel Canto Award, and the Opera Foundation Australia Lady Fairfax New York Vocal Scholarship.



DANIEL KAMALIĆ

Soprano Ashley Kerr recently performed the role of Myrrhine in Fort Worth Opera’s production of Lysistrata. During the summer of 2012, she participated in the Crested Butte Music Fesitval, where she covered Pamina in Die Zauberflõte, as well as scene performances in Susannah and as Blanche in Dialogues of the Carmélites. In October 2012, Ashley made her European debut as Sally Follett in A Death in the Family in an award-winning joint production with the Center for Contemporary Opera and the Armel Festival in Szeged, Hungary. Equally at home on the musical theater stage, Ashley will perform the role of Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar in August 2013.

French-Dutch soprano Barbara Kits (1989) was 16 years old when she entered the singing class of the Conservatoire de Caen (France). Two years later she moved to the Netherlands to continue her studies at the Conservatory of Amsterdam. She sang Marcellina in Le Nozze di Figaro at the conservatory and Donna Anna and Soeur Mathilde in Dialogues des Carmélites by Poulenc with the Accademia Europea Dell'Opera. Barbara often works together with young composers and created several works. Recent engagements include recitals in the Festivals Operadagen in Rotterdam and Opera aan Zee (Netherlands). 

Korean-born mezzo-soprano Yoojin Lee has performed a wide range of roles in works ranging from Handel and Mozart to Stravinsky. She attended Sook Myung Women's University in Korea, and Mannes College to obtain her master’s in music and her professional studies diploma. Recent performances include Charlotte (Werther), Tisbe (La Cenerentola), Melibea (Il Viaggio a Reims,) Alisa (Lucia di Lammermoor), Dorabella (Così fan tutte), and Second Wood Sprite (Rusalka). She recently performed as the Neighbor in Mavra by Stravinsky.

Soprano Clarissa Lyons, a California native, holds degrees from the University of California Berkeley, the Manhattan School of Music, and Bard College. She is the recipient of the 2010 Marc & Eva Stern fellowship at SongFest, the 2011 Thelma Fisher Memorial Fellowship, and the 2012 Shmerler Fellowship at Tanglewood, 2012 Carmel Music Society Award, and the 2011 Henry & Maria Holt scholarship. Clarissa has performed alongside Graham Johnson, John Musto, Martin Katz, Stephanie Blythe, Dawn Upshaw, and Susan Graham. She has performed at Carnegie Hall, Davies Symphony Hall, Lincoln Center, and Seiji Ozawa Hall and the Koussevitsky Music Shed at the Tanglewood Music Center.

Puerto Rican soprano Meechot Marrero holds a degree in biology from the University of Puerto Rico. She began her musical studies with the San Juan Children’s Choir and is currently studying at the Puerto Rico Music Conservatory. Meechot has performed Haydn’s The Creation, Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Villa-Lobos’s Bachianas Brasileiras No.5 with the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra. She has attended programs such as the International Institute of Vocal Arts in Puerto Rico, the International Vocal Arts Institute in Israel, VOICExperience in Florida, and Opera as Drama in New York. Her roles include Susanna in  Le Nozze di Figaro and Concepción in Ravel’s L’Heure Espagnole.

Emily Misch, a soprano from Santa Monica, CA, is a graduate student at the Mannes College of Music. Recent performances include the role of Lucia in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia with Mannes Opera and in Schöenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire with the Mannes Festival. As a Studio Artist with the Wolf Trap Opera Company in the summer of 2012, she covered the role of Zerlina and performed scenes from The Rake’s Progress as Anne Trulove, Le Nozze di Figaro as Susanna, and L’Incoronazione di Poppea in the title role. Other roles include Giulia (La Scala di seta), Pamina, Giunone (La Finta pazza), and Barbarina (Le Nozze di Figaro). Emily is a graduate of Yale College, where she performed principal roles with the Yale Baroque Opera Project, Yale Opera, and Opera Theatre of Yale College, and where she was the recipient of the Susan J. Smith Arts Prize and the Bach Society Prize for musical achievement.

Soprano Sara Papini, the 2011 R.A.V.E. Award winner for “Rising Star in the Performing Arts,” holds a bachelor of music in performance degree from the University of Toronto. Her production experience includes Venus in Venus and Adonis, Musetta in La Bohème with Opera York, Lola in Cavalleria Rusticana, scenes as Nedda in I Pagliacci with the Ermanno Mauro Young Artist Concert Series, Norina in Don Pasquale and Gilda in Rigoletto with Opera by Request, and the Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro and Donna Anna with the Toronto School of Music.  

Italian-American mezzo-soprano Gina Perregrino won the Marta and Arthur King Scholarship at Manhattan School of Music, where she is currently pursuing her undergraduate degree. She has performed as a featured soloist throughout Switzerland and Tuscany. Previous credits include the title role in La Dolorosa, Die Zauberflöte (Third Spirit), Carmen (Mercédès), and Rigoletto (Maddalena).  Gina was a soloist at the General Polish Consulate in New York City, premiering an original work by Jan Roszkowski (The Aquarian Age) in the XIV Chopin & Friends Festival Gala.  She also sang Pergolesi's Stabat Mater with the Toscanini Symphony Orchestra at the centennial celebration of Casa Italiana in Washington, D.C. 

Michael Preacely, baritone from Chicago, is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music (BM) and the University of Kentucky (MM).  His most recent operatic roles include Scarpia, Ford in Falstaff, the High Priest of Dagon in Samson et Dalila, Mercutio in Romeo et Juliette, Porgy in Porgy and Bess, and Marcello in La Bohème.  Michael has performed with Opera Company Philadelphia, Cleveland Opera, Lyric Opera Cleveland, Bohème Opera of New Jersey, Oakland East Bay Symphony, and the Cleveland Orchestra. He recently debuted with the Cincinnati Opera, Kentucky Opera, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, and the Memphis Symphony.  Michael has several upcoming debuts, including Opera Memphis (Marullo in Rigoletto) and Opéra de Montréal (Jake in Porgy and Bess).  He will also be returning to Kentucky Opera as Marcello.

Tenor Sidney Ragland is currently studying at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. In March 2012, he performed the role of Ferrando in Così fan tutte with the San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s Opera Theatre. In the summer of 2012, he sang Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni with the Bay Area Summer Opera Theatre Institute (BASOTI). He also performed the role of Arpad Laszlo in She Loves Me with the San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s Musical Theater Department. In addition to studying at the conservatory, Sidney is a member of the St. Columba Church Gospel Choir in Oakland, California.

Born in Israel, mezzo-soprano Shira Raz graduated cum laude from the Mannes College in 2002. As a graduate of the Israeli Opera's Opera Studio, her repertoire there included Hänsel, Tisbe in La Cenerentola, and other roles. At the Israeli Opera she sang Giovanna in Rigoletto, Flora in La Traviata, Second Lady in Die Zauberflöte , and Dido. She also performed Giovanna in a special open-air production of the Israeli Opera. She was Cherubino with the Haifa Symphony Orchestra, Bastien in Bastien and Bastienne with the Ramat Gan Chamber Orchestra, and Tamiri in Il Re pastore with the Israel Chamber Orchestra. She sang in Bach's St. John Passion and Mozart's Requiem with the Jerusalem Symphony. At the Israeli Opera she also sang the roles of  Dryade in Ariadne auf Naxos, Modestina in Il Viaggio a Reims, Hen in The Cunning Little Vixen, the Crippled Youth in the world premiere of The Child Dreams, Siebel/Martha in Faust, and Sesto in La Clemenza di Tito, among others. This season’s engagements include Flora and Second Lady in Die Zauberflöte. In 2012 Shira sang Dido with the Semperoper in Dresden. Shira was awarded scholarships from the AICF, the Chazen Foundation, the Basser Scholarship for young opera singers, the Grabov Scholarship, the Commercial and Industrial Club, and others.

In 2010 Mexican tenor Benito Rodriguez debuted in New York City in the Mexico Revealing the Opera concert.  That same year he was awarded SIVAM’s Plácido Domingo scholarship.  Benito has sung in various parts of the world and recently made his debut as Rodolfo in La Bohème. He has also sung roles in Les Contes d'Hoffmann, Faust, L'Enfant et les sortilèges, L’Amico Fritz, and Carmen, as well as  other operas and concerts.

Scott Russell, bass, grew up and began his training as a singer in nearby Roanoke, Va. Currently, he is performing and training in New York City. This year, Scott joined New York City Opera's production of La Périchole, as well as making his Carnegie Hall debut in the world premieres of several Opera Shorts. He also debuted with Nevada Opera as Masetto and as the Giant in the world premiere of Daniel Bøhler's Jack and the Beanstalk, recorded on green screen in New York and projected 19 feet high in Reno. In 2011, Scott completed his bachelor of music degree in vocal performance from Shenandoah Conservatory in Winchester, Va.

Marissa Simmons is a mezzo-soprano from Chicago. She currently studies at the University of Miami Frost School of Music, where she recently performed the roles of Hänsel, Tisbe (La Cenerentola), and the Third Spirit (Die Zauberflöte). She has also performed Lucretia (The Rape of Lucretia), Cenerentola, La Maestra delle Novizie (Suor Angelica), and La Natura (La Calisto). Marissa premiered the Soap Opera Director in the new opera Entanglements. She is also an emerging young composer whose compositions have been heard in the United States as well as overseas. 

American tenor Brandon Snook most recently premiered the roles of Robert Johnson and Agent Healy in Phil Kline's opera Tesla in New York, with performances at Dartmouth College. In 2013, he played Tony in the Off-Off Broadway production of Master Class, at the Gallery Players in New York City.  Last season he was the resident artist at American Opera Projects in New York City, premiering many new works for their Composers & the Voice Series. Additional mainstage credits include Cincinnati Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, Des Moines Metro Opera, Sarasota Opera, and Lyric Opera of Kansas City. This summer Brandon will perform Frederic in The Pirates of Penznace at Greenville Light Opera.  A native of Dallas, Texas, Brandon has voice degrees from the University of Kansas and the University of Michigan.

American baritone Brendan Stone’s roles include Morales in Carmen, Bob in The Old Maid and the Thief, Henry Davis in Street Scene, Melchior in Amahl and the Night Visitors, and Papageno. He has appeared with the dell’Arte Opera Ensemble, the Mannes Opera Studio, Western Connecticut State University’s Opera Theatre, the New York Opera Orchestra, as well as with the AIMS Festival Orchestra. He has also participated in young artist programs at Young Artists’ Houston Grand Opera, the University of Miami Frost School of Music, OperaWorks’ Summer Intensive Program, and the American Institute of Musical  Studies. He is currently a master of music student at the Mannes School.

Soprano Kaixin Teo, a native of Malaysia, is currently pursuing a master’s degree at the Manhattan School of Music. She received her bachelor of arts in music from the University of Wales in Singapore. She has appeared as a soloist at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore Lyric Opera, and the First Baptist Church of Flushing. Teo has won top prizes at the Tan Ngiang Kaw Memorial Vocal Competition and Trinity Vocal Competition.

In 2011 Jonathan Tetelman  graduated from the Manhattan School of Music with a bachelor of music in vocal performance, studying there as a baritone. Now he is in the graduate professional performance studies program at the Mannes College of Music, studying as a tenor. Tetelman performed the role of the Count in Paisiello's Nina in 2011, as well as Falke in Die Fledermaus in 2010, the Drunken Poet in The Fairy Queen in 2009, and Tireno in Il Pastor Fido in 2009.  He was a finalist in 2010 in the Meistersinger competition at the AIMS Festival in Graz, Austria.

Bass Matt Turner performed Dr. Bartolo in Le Nozze di Figaro with the University of Kentucky Opera Theatre. Audiences also saw him in The Phantom of the Opera as Joseph Buquet with the UKOT in the fall of 2012. He placed second in the 2011 Bellarmine Chorale’s Spiritual Competition, first in the Transfer Category of the 2011 Alltech Vocal Scholarship Competition, and first in the 2012 Peterson Vocal Competition. In Italy, with La Musica Lirica, he sang Sparafucile in Rigoletto, Colline in La Bohème, and Don Basilio in Il Barbiere di Siviglia. Other performances include the Old Hebrew in Samson et Dalila with the Kentucky Symphony and Frère Laurent in Roméo et Juliette (UKOT).

Born in Haerbin, in the north of China, soprano Boya Wei is currently pursuing a master of music at Mannes College. She graduated from Central Conservatory of Music in China with a bachelor of music. She appeared in the opera festival at the National Center for the Performing Arts and trained at L'Art du chant Français last summer. Boya's recent roles and partial roles include Giulia in Rossini's La Scala di Seta, Norina in Don Pasquale, Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier, La Marchesa in Piccini's La Buona figliuola, Giulietta in I Capuleti et i Montecchi, and Sandrina in La Finta giardiniera.

Soprano Patricia Westley, a native of Santa Barbara, California, received her bachelor of fine arts in 2013 from Carnegie Mellon University, where she performed the role of Laurie in Copland’s The Tender Land, La Chouette in Ravel’s L’Enfant et les sortilèges, Mistress of Novices in Puccini’s Suor Angelica, Susanna in scenes from Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, and the soprano soloist in Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater. During that time, Patricia was awarded the Derdeyn Award in Voice and the School of Music scholarship for four consecutive years, graduating with high honors. She spent the summer of 2012 as part of the Tyrolean Opera Program in Austria and participated as a young artist at Songfest in Malibu, California, in 2011. In 2009, Patricia was awarded first prize in the Tri-State Chapter of National Association of Teachers of Singing. This August, she will perform in the Monadnock Music Festival’s production of Rorem’s Our Town.

Soprano Sara Womble is a master’s student at Boston University, where, as a member of their Opera Theatre, she sang the role of Mag in Wargo's Ballymore. Sara graduated Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude from Duke University, with a degree in music performance and English.  At Duke, she served as president of the Duke Chorale and president and founder of the Duke Music Union, and wrote and performed an honors thesis and recital on Liszt’s French songs, for which she was awarded Highest Distinction. Sara has performed principal roles with the Duke Opera Workshop, soloed with the Duke Chorale, Chamber Players, New Music Ensemble, and the Choral Society of Durham, as well as various churches in the area. She has also premiered several works by North Carolina composers.