Sherrill Milnes
Sherrill Milnes is universally acclaimed as the foremost operatic baritone of his generation. With his powerful voice, commanding stage presence and rugged handsomeness, he received the kind of adulation that is usually reserved for tenors. He sang over 650 performances at the Met, where he was honored with sixteen new productions, seven opening nights, and ten national telecasts. As a leading artist in all of the world’s great opera houses, Mr. Milnes performed and recorded with the likes of Domingo, Pavarotti, Sutherland, Sills, Horne, Price, and Tebaldi. He is the winner of three Grammy Awards, and the most recorded American singer of his time. In 2008 he received the Opera News Award for Distinguished Achievement.
Maria Zouves
Maria Zouves is an educator, director, producer and writer. She is President of the Sherrill Milnes VOICE Programs − VOICExperience Foundation and the Savannah VOICE Festival – which she co-founded with her husband, Sherrill Milnes, to provide training for aspiring young artists and foster new audiences for the vocal arts. The Greek-American soprano has sung leading roles in the regional U.S., made her Carnegie Hall debut in 1997, and has recorded under the VAI label. While Maria directs most of the concerts in the VOICE Programs and co-directed the new SVF opera commission, Ching’s Alice Ryley: A Savannah Ghost Story, she most recently directed Mozart’s Don Giovanni at the Estates Theatre in Prague, where the work first premiered and co-directed Le nozze de Figaro with Sherrill Milnes in Prague and Salzburg with Prague Summer Nights. She was recently seen in the title role of the premiere of Ching’s Anna Hunter: The Spirit of Savannah.
Ms. Zouves has directed, taught, and produced events all around the world, having worked with the International Vocal Arts Institute (IVAI) in Montreal and Puerto Rico, the International Institute of Vocal Arts (IIVA) in Chiari, Italy, and at the Savonlinna Opera Festival in Finland. From 2007 to 2011, she served as Vice President and Associate General Director of Opera Tampa, the resident opera company of the Straz Center for the Performing Arts. She has taught workshops at Southern Illinois University, Drake University and served as interim opera director at Northwestern University. A sought after clinician, particularly in career development, she has also aided young singers as a career liaison through her former feature, “A Conversation with…” in Classical Singer magazine.
Ms. Zouves has sung leading roles with the Baltimore Opera, Florentine Opera, Memphis Opera, New Jersey State Opera, Orlando Opera, and the Pittsburgh Opera. The Stuttgarter Zeitung praised her “beautiful, lyric voice” and “a not to be surpassed ‘piano’ in the high register.” Opera News has described her voice as “creamy.” This Greek-American soprano shows great versatility in opera, on concert stages, and in crossover repertoire, with a specialty in classical and popular Greek music.
Andrew Bisantz
Conductor Andrew Bisantz has received accolades from Opera News, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Miami Herald, The Toronto Globe and Mail, The Boston Globe, and The Buffalo News. This is his 15th summer as part of VE/SVF, in the past having led productions of Alice and Anna, La Bohème, and Dialogues of the Carmelites, among others. He is Artistic Director and Conductor of Eugene Opera; in his fifteen seasons there he has led twenty-seven productions exploring a wide range of repertoire, including both the beloved operatic canon and the company premiers of Nixon in China, Dead Man Walking, La fanciulla del West, Eugene Onegin, Little Women, María de Buenos Aires, As One, little match girl passion, and Lucy. He has conducted more than eighty-five productions for opera companies throughout the U.S., including appearances with Boston Lyric Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Virginia Opera, Opera Omaha, Opera San José, Shreveport Opera, the Savannah Music Festival, Wolf Trap Opera, and the Brevard Festival. He has led ten productions for Florida Grand Opera, including the world orchestral premiere of Daron Hagen’s New York Stories in February 2021, which was hailed by the South Florida Classical Review as one of its Top 10 Musical Performances of the Year. He has been appointed Associate Professor of Music and Principal Opera Conductor of Boston Conservatory at Berklee starting this fall and will continue in his role in Eugene.
Torlef Borsting
A native of Hawaii, singing performer Torlef A. Borsting has enjoyed many stages of a varied musical career. While a resident of the San Francisco Bay Area, Torlef worked with San Francisco Opera, Opera San Jose, Sacramento Opera, Opera Parallele, Berkeley Opera, West Bay Opera, and Livermore Valley Opera. His favorite roles include Scarpia, Marcello, Jack Rance, Horace Tabor, Sharpless, Giorgio Germont, and Prince Yeletsky. He has also been an active concert performer working with Mendocino Music Festival, Pacific Chamber symphony, Oakland Symphony, Symphony Parnassus, Cantare Con Vivo, Orlando Sings, and the BelCanto Singers of Daytona Beach.
Now based in DeLand, Florida, Torlef has been thrilled to make debuts with Opera and Musical theater companies alike. Since his move to the east coast, he has worked with New York City Opera, Opera Orlando, Indianapolis Opera, Gulf Shore Opera, First Coast Opera, Citrus Alliance for the Arts, Jefferson Performing Arts Society (NOLA), Halifax Repertory Theatre, and of course the Savannah VOICE Festival. Torlef is so pleased to be returning as Major General Stanley in The Pirates of Penzance after participating in a beautiful production of Madama Butterfly as Sharpless in 2023, and as Jeff Douglas in Brigadoon during the summer of 2022.
Peiwen Chen
Born in Taipei, Taiwan, Ms. Chen graduated from the National Academy of Art with highest honors in 1990, where she performed Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4. In 1992, she entered Mannes College of Music, where in 1994 she performed Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on the theme of Paganini under the baton of Maestro Michael Charry. Shortly after her graduation from Mannes with a special piano award, Ms. Chen made her Carnegie Hall debut at Weill Recital Hall as a winner of the 1995 New York Concert Artists Competition. Frequently performing as a piano due with her husband Alexander Paley, Ms. Chen performs annually as part of the Alexander Paley Music Festival in Richmond, Virginia, as well as Moulin d’Ande, France.
In December 2001, Ms. Chen made her Paris debut playing Liszt’s Concerto Pathetique for two pianos in Salle O. Messiaen, Maison de Radio France. Following in 2003, she performed Rimsky-Korsakov’s Sheherazade in the composer’s own one piano, four hands version, which was broadcast live worldwide from Seattle, USA on kings.org. In March 2004, Ms. Chen performed both Mozart and Mendelssohn Piano Concertos for two pianos with the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra in Vilnius, Lithuania.In the summer of 2009, Ms. Chen returned to Taiwan and gave a gala concert in the National Concert Hall in Taipei to benefit young musicians there. In 2011, she performed Mozart Concertos for two and three pianos in Klaipeda, Lithuania.
As a collaborative artist, Ms. Chen has worked with artists including Licia Abanese, Elly Ameling, Regina Resnik, Jon Vickers, Evelyn Lear, Diane Soviero, Deborah Voigt, Ruth Falcon, Mignon Dunn, Sherril Milnes, and Olga Peretyako, among others. In 1998, she joined the production of Fedora for Washington Opera. In addition, Ms. Chen served as a pianist for the Metropolitan Opera Guild as well as Amato Opera, New York Lyric Opera Theatre, Regina Opera in NYC for many seasons. She has been a member of the music faculty for IVAI in both Virginia and NYC, CVAI in Canada, as well as a faculty member for VOICExperience in Florida, CoOperative at Rider University and Savannah Voice Festival .
Highlights of Ms. Chen’s past engagements include concerts in Washington, D.C. as well as in Virginia and Maine, piano duo concerts in France, and Bach Concerti in Lithuania. Additionally, she has served as coach and conductor for operas including Der Schauspieldirektor by Mozart, The Telephone by Menotti, Incoronazione di Poppea by Monteverdi, and Alcina and Ariodante by Handel in concert version with New York Lyric Opera ;Czerny piano Concerto for one piano, four hands in Modolva and complete Rachmaninoff music for two pianos in France. In the spring of 2017, Ms. Chen was the official pianist of the Classical Singers Magazine Competition in Shanghai.In 2020,Ms Chen served as a jury member for many international online voice competitions in Russia,China and US.
Since 2021,Ms.Chen has joined New Camerata Opera in New York City for their productions both in operas and concerts.In spring,2022,Ms Chen played a series of concerts in the project of complete Brahms chamber music for piano duets, including Brahms liebeslieder waltzs and Neue liebeslieder walzes with the soloists from the Lithuanian State Opera in Vilnius.In April 2022,Ms Chen premiered “Hommage a Rachmaninoff für 2 Klaviere“ with husband Alexander Paley by reknown German composer Thomas Böttger in France.In August 2022,Ms Chen joined the Savannah Voice Festival in the production of Menotti’s Medium.
Ms Chen has recorded complete Saint-Saens symphonies in the version for piano duo in season 2022-23 which will be soon released.In addition,she has served as a rehearsal pianist for productions like Ravel’s “L’Heure Espangnole” ,Lili Boulanger’s” Faust et Helene” ,Mozart’s “Don Giovanni “ during the season.
In season 2024-25,Ms Chen will perform the complete works for piano duet by Mozart and well as complete Beethoven Sonatas for Piano and Violin.In October ,2024,she will perform Schoenberg Pierrot Lunaire with City Light Opera in New York City as well as in productions of R.Strauss’s Salome ,Puccini’S Madama Butterfly .Ms Chen will be the music director for numerous of scenes concerts and vocal recitals in the universities this season.
Ms Chen is a member of faculty at Mannes college of Music and Cali School at Montclair State University.
Victoria Erickson
Praised for her “beautifully ruby-throated quality” (Classical Voice North Carolina) and her “pointed wit and sparkling tone wielded with comedic potency” (Voix des Arts), Minnesota native Victoria Erickson is a uniquely promising and vibrant soprano. Recent roles include Nella in Gianni Schicchi (Hometown Opera), Zerlina in Don Giovanni (Off-Brand Opera), Quinn in Alice Tierney (Opera Reading Project), and Juliette in the world premiere of The Eleanors (Savannah VOICE Festival.) As a champion of new works, Erickson sang the title role in the world premiere of The Miller’s Daughter, a new opera reframing Schubert’s classic Die schöne Müllerin (Iowa State University, Opera Athena) and Du, Meine Welt!, a new semi-staged recital that tells the story of Clara and Robert Schumann’s marriage with Frauenliebe und —leben as the centerpiece. Selected performances include the title role in the world premiere of Harmony (Seagle Festival), Blanche in Dialogues des Carmélites (Saltworks Opera), Liù in Turandot (North Carolina Summer Opera), Alice Ford in Falstaf and Pamina in Die Zauberflöte (UNCG Opera Theatre), Hedy LaRue in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and Rapunzel in Into the Woods (College Light Opera Company). She also toured Madagascar and France as a featured artist with Really Spicy Opera. In addition to her stage capabilities, Ms. Erickson received a Respekt und Wertschätzung Grant from the DAAD-Stiftung to perform and research as a Visiting Fellow at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hamburg, Hermany, after which she served as an artist-in-residence in the collaboration between the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich and Really Spicy Opera. For more information, visit victoriaericksonsoprano.com.
Brent Douglas
Brent Douglas is the Founder and Artistic Director of Venice Opera and Music Director of The Venice Chorale. He also serves as Assistant Conductor with Opera Tampa and Chorus Master for Gulfshore Opera. In addition to his conducting work, he performs regularly as a keyboardist with leading Florida ensembles including The Florida Orchestra, Sarasota Orchestra, the Naples Philharmonic, and St. Pete Baroque. This summer he will conduct concerts at the Savannah Voice Festival and with La Filharmonie, Philharmonic Orchestra of Florence.
His career spans symphonic, operatic, and choral repertoire, with performances and collaborations throughout the United States and internationally, including work with the Vidin Symphony, Mediterranean Opera Studio and Festival, London Classical Players, Berlin Sinfonietta, and the National Women’s Chorus of Cuba. Brent previously served for nine years as Director of Orchestra and Chorus at Eckerd College and for two seasons as Assistant Conductor of the Tampa Bay Symphony. He has conducted at distinguished festivals and training programs including the Vienna Summer Music Festival, the Eastern Music Festival, and the MusicaRiva Festival. A notable career highlight was his visually innovative blacklight production of The Magic Flute with the Düsseldorf Lyric Opera.
Beyond the podium, Brent is an accomplished opera pianist and vocal coach, with artistic partnerships including St. Petersburg Opera, Opera Tampa, and the Savannah Voice Festival. His original improv-opera The Carnival of the Animals premiered at the Vienna Summer Music Festival in 2019, and he founded an annual opera recital series in Sicily, where he spends part of each summer.
An advocate for contemporary music and emerging artists, Brent composes and arranges music for chorus and orchestra, and premiered four new works during the 2025–2026 season. He is currently writing a music for a new opera, The Nun’s Cross, for Dusseldorf Lyric Opera (Germany). His music is published by Boosey & Hawkes, and he has launched two composition initiatives supporting young composers. A graduate of Missouri State University and University of South Florida, he holds degrees in Piano Performance and Conducting. His conducting studies include work with Markus Stenz at the Hanns Eisler School of Music, Gerard Schwarz at the Frost School of Music, James Bass at University of California, Los Angeles, Kenneth Kiesler at the University of Michigan, and Leonardo Catalanotto at the Scarlatti Conservatory.
Victoria Erickson
Praised for her “beautifully ruby-throated quality” (Classical Voice North Carolina) and her “pointed wit and sparkling tone wielded with comedic potency” (Voix des Arts), Minnesota native Victoria Erickson is a uniquely promising and vibrant soprano. Recent roles include Nella in Gianni Schicchi (Hometown Opera), Zerlina in Don Giovanni (Off-Brand Opera), Quinn in Alice Tierney (Opera Reading Project), and Juliette in the world premiere of The Eleanors (Savannah VOICE Festival.) As a champion of new works, Erickson sang the title role in the world premiere of The Miller’s Daughter, a new opera reframing Schubert’s classic Die schöne Müllerin (Iowa State University, Opera Athena) and Du, Meine Welt!, a new semi-staged recital that tells the story of Clara and Robert Schumann’s marriage with Frauenliebe und —leben as the centerpiece.
Selected performances include the title role in the world premiere of Harmony (Seagle Festival), Blanche in Dialogues des Carmélites (Saltworks Opera), Liù in Turandot (North Carolina Summer Opera), Alice Ford in Falstaf and Pamina in Die Zauberflöte (UNCG Opera Theatre), Hedy LaRue in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and Rapunzel in Into the Woods (College Light Opera Company). She also toured Madagascar and France as a featured artist with Really Spicy Opera.
In addition to her stage capabilities, Ms. Erickson received a Respekt und Wertschätzung Grant from the DAAD-Stiftung to perform and research as a Visiting Fellow at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hamburg, Germany, after which she served as an artist-in-residence in the collaboration between the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich and Really Spicy Opera. For more information, visit victoriaericksonsoprano.com.
Assaf Gleizner
Born and raised in Israel, Assaf Gleizner is a Grammy nominated composer, Music Director, orchestrator, and arranger both in NYC and around the world for the past 10 years. Assaf‘s favorite credits include:
Broadway: Arts For Autism – Featuring Kelly O’Hara, Julia Murney (Gershwin Theater). Orchestrator, Arranger. Off-Broadway/Tour: The Office! A Musical Parody (The Theater Center, North America Tour), Friends! The Musical (The Theater Center, North America Tour, International Tour) 90210! The Musical (Theater 80, Chicago) Composer, Orchestrator.
Regional: The Swingaroos (Florida Studio Theater)
Composer, MD. Other: Move On, A Sondheim Adventure – Grammy nominated album featuring Cyrille Aimee (NYC, FRANCE) Arranger, Orchestrator, Producer. Show Choir! The Musical – Featuring Christiane Noll (NYC) Orchestrator. The Wolf, (NC & NYC) Orchestrator.
Assaf is also a member of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop.
Caleb Yanez Glickman
Praised for his “masterful aplomb” (Stage and Cinema), Caleb Yanez Glickman was recently appointed as the new Music Director of Opera Modesto, where he works as an integral part of the music staff bringing opera to California’s Central Valley. His conducting of their Le Nozze di Figaro was acclaimed by North Bay Stage and Screen as sounding “as fresh as the day it premiered.”
Since 2023, he has conducted several productions with Pacific Opera Project in Los Angeles, quickly becoming one of their mainstay conductors. He recently conducted the LA premiere of Zorro, acclaimed as “one POP’s finest achievements.” by San Francisco Classical Voice. In addition to POP and Opera Modesto, Caleb has also recently worked with Washington National Opera, Spoleto Festival USA, Opera Southwest, Fargo Moorhead Opera, Lyric Opera of Orange County, Opera in the Ozarks, and Opera Saratoga, in addition to Savannah Opera.
Caleb is a zealous advocate for bringing classical music to new audiences. His recent conception of a gender-bent production of The Mighty Casey, William Schuman’s baseball opera, was hailed as “nothing short of brilliant.” In 2023, he was the music director for Opera Modesto’s world premiere production of Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Fallen Giant, an American Lyric Theater Co-commission. In February, Caleb conducted for Opera Southwest’s world premiere production of Llantos 1492: A Flamenco Opera. He also collaborated in the creation and performance of Enchanted Melodies: An Interactive Fairytale Opera which has seen over 15 productions since 2024, and will be making its way to San Francisco Opera this fall.
Jodi Goble
Savannah VOICE Festival Composer in Residence
Composer Jodi Goble writes text-based, character-driven music fueled by her extensive background as a vocal coach and song-specialist collaborative pianist. Her compositions have been performed across the United States and internationally and featured on National Public Radio. She won the Iowa Music Teachers Association Commission Competition in 2013 and took first prize in the National Association of Teachers of Singing Art Song Competition in 2024 for her song cycle Sea Creatures. She also placed as a NATS ASCA finalist in 2008, 2017, 2020, and 2021, as the honorable mention winner in 2015, and won second prize in 2016. The American Prize named her a 2025 national finalist for the Charles Ives Vocal Chamber Music Composition Award for Sea Creatures and the Thomas Putsche Memorial Award in Opera/Film/Dance Composition for Meow and Forever. Her art songs are published in anthologies by New Music Shelf and North Star Music.
Ms. Goble’s recent commissions include works for Seaglass Theater, Really Spicy Opera, I, the Siren, Voices of the Pearl, the Durward Ensemble, and Laura Strickling’s GRAMMY-nominated 40×40 Project. Her works have recently been performed at the Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago’s Spring Lieder Lounge, the ASEAN Festival of Contemporary Music, Calliope’s Call, Songfest, the National Opera Center in New York City, the Fondation des États-Unis in Paris, San Francisco Opera’s Atrium Sessions, Jordan Hall, Ames Town and Gown, Omaha Under the Radar, the Art Song Preservation Society of New York, and the Savannah VOICE Festival, for which she is Composer-In-Residence.
Ms. Goble is Full Teaching Professor in Voice at Iowa State University, the official pianist for the Simon Estes Roots and Wings Community Concert Series, and the official accompanist for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Guild Auditions in Iowa.
Timothy L. Hall
After three decades in Savannah, Timothy Hall purchased his dream house in southern Virginia and has returned to the city of his childhood. He currently serves as Organist and Choirmaster at Christ and Grace Episcopal Church and is Staff Accompanist for the Concert Choir and applied voice students at Virginia State University. In Savannah, he served as Director of Music for two historic congregations, Wesley Monumental United Methodist Church and Christ Church Episcopal, The Mother Church of Georgia. He was also Chorus Master for Savannah Symphony Orchestra, Artistic Director and Conductor of Savannah Choral Society and Conductor/Accompanist for Savannah Children’s Choir. He served on the Board of Directors and was an adjudicator and accompanist for The American Traditions Vocal Competition for Singers. He has been a part of Savannah VOICE Festival’s steering committee and has been a faculty member and producer of the Sacred Concert since its inception.
Justin Havard
Justin Havard is an accomplished director, pianist, singer and educator in Monroe, Louisiana. Originally from Mobile, Alabama, he received his Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Choral Music Education from Florida State University with an emphasis on Piano. He was the collaborative pianist for the Florida All-State Men’s Choir in 2017 and 2018, and he has played for many national tours including The Book of Mormon, Wicked, and Spamalot. He also regularly performs as a pianist with the St. Petersburg Opera and the VOICExperience program, led by Sherrill Milnes. During his 13 years as the choral director at Palm Harbor University High School, they gained recognition and honors both statewide and nationally. Mr. Havard is particularly known for his work with Acapella Groups and Musical Theatre, and he has presented at the American Choral Directors Association, Florida Music Educators’ Association Conference, and the Florida State Thespian Conference. He has worked as a music director for theatrical productions both equity and amateur. Mr. Havard joined the faculty at the University of Louisiana Monroe in 2018, where he conducts The Warhawk Singers, teaches voice, music directs the Spring musical, and accompanies many of the other ensembles, faculty, and students within the department.
Peter Lake
Praised by the Houston Press for how he, “…amazes with a clarion tenor that has the reedy projection of superstar-from-yore Jan Peerce,” Peter Lake is an internationally performing crossover artist who recently returned from a tour of the Mediterranean aboard Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas as Old Deuteronomy in Andrew Lloydd Webber’s musical CATS. Peter also joined Pacific Opera Project to perform in their ground-breaking interpretation and production of Madama Butterfly as the leading tenor, B.F. Pinkerton. In the fall of 2024 he released his debut, full-length album, Still Standing, which went on to chart in the top ten of Billboard’s Classical Crossover Top Ten! In the Spring of 2024 Peter made his role debut as Roberto in Puccini’s rarely performed Le Villi with a return to Mobile Opera in collaboration with Classical Ballet Mobile. In the Spring of 2025 Peter will make a featured appearance with Opera Idaho in his first collaboration with the company for their Broadway Pops concert presented by the Boise Philharmonic.
Liz Lang
Hailed by Opera News for her “comedic timing and clear resonant tone,” soprano Liz Lang is a crossover artist whose work moves fluidly between opera, concert music, musical theater, jazz, and projects that require saying “Yes, and.” Highlights of the 2025/26 season include a company debut with St. John’s Ensemble in Chicago for Telemann’s rarely heard Die Tageszeiten cantata, performances with Voices of Ascension (Monteverdi Vespers; a world premiere by Nico Muhly), concerts with Modus Operandi Orchestra, the finals concert of the Winter Park Oratorio Society Competition, and a featured appearance on the Grammy-nominated album Requiem of Light with the Clarion Society. Unapologetically switching between melismas and riffing, Liz also continues to develop multi-genre concert projects, including Rooted, inspired by her Lebanese heritage, and This silent music, a newly commissioned work for the James Turrell Skyspace in Philadelphia. Known for her stylistic fluidity, Liz has appeared as a soloist with MasterVoices, New York Choral Society, Voices of Ascension, Riverside Orchestra, and at venues including Carnegie Hall and the Salzburg Festival. Operatic highlights include Iris in Opera Omaha’s Semele, Mimì in La bohème at Savannah Voice Festival, and leading roles in La Traviata, Dialogues of the Carmelites, and Die Zauberflöte. She has also appeared Off-Broadway, in new musical development, and with her jazz-fusion band. Liz is the winner of the Sherrill Milnes American Opera Award and is based in New York City. For more, visit lizlangsoprano.com.
Matt Marco
Matt Marco is a conductor, coach, and collaborative pianist in Buffalo, NY, where he serves as Artistic Director of Buffalo Opera Unlimited. He is also a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance at the University at Buffalo, teaching courses in musicianship, coaching, and music directing all curricular productions and concerts. His repertoire spans fifty operas and musicals, reflecting a commitment to classical and contemporary works across genres. Among these are multiple world premieres, including Susan Kander and Roberta Gumbel’s Carry My Own Suitcase to be performed by BOU in Spring 2027.
In addition to opera and musical theater, Mr. Marco enjoys regular performances with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, including the 2022 Carnegie Hall tour, 2019 Florida tour, Grammy-nominated and -winning recordings, and concerts on both the classics and pops series. He has also performed with Amarillo Opera (TX), the Center for Contemporary Opera (NY), Civic Morning Musicals (Syracuse, NY), GALA Choruses (Minneapolis, MN), the National Choral Festival (Carnegie Hall, NY), Opera Tampa (FL), and the Savannah VOICE Festival (GA). Locally, he has held conducting and coaching positions with Nickel City Opera, Starring Buffalo, the Orchard Park Symphony Orchestra, the Western New York Chamber Orchestra, the Hillman Opera Company, and Opera-Lytes. For eleven years, he was the accompanist of the Buffalo Master Chorale, and has performed with the Buffalo Gay Men’s Chorus, the Buffalo Chamber Players, Friends of Vienna, and the Western New York Chamber Orchestra.
Mr. Marco studied piano with Anne Kissel and François Germain and conducting with Paul Ferington and Brian Doyle.
Fabrizio Melano
Fabrizio Melano, stage director, is an established figure on the international opera scene, having worked in leading opera houses throughout the world for more than 40 years. He began a long-standing relationship with the Metropolitan Opera in 1969 and has directed 21 operas there, among them seven new or revised productions. He directed Tony Randall in his last play, Pirandello’s Right You Are, with the National Actors Theater and staged a new musical, Asylum, at the York Theater Company. In April 2010, Juilliard presented his production of Dialogues des Carmélites, and the Met and Juilliard his staging of Armide in February 2012. He is a member of the Milnes VOICE Programs faculty, participating annually in Opera as Drama and the Milnes VOICE Studio. He has recently directed opera productions in Croatia and Finland.
Laura Melano-Flanagan
Laura Melano Flanagan is a psychotherapist in private practice with offices in Manhattan and Brooklyn. She received her Masters in Social Work from Hunter College and a Certificate from the Advanced Institute for Psychoanalysis. She has taught in the Post Masters Programs at both Hunter and NYU and is a long-standing adjunct faculty professor at the Smith College School for Social Work. She is also a Field Faculty Advisor for the Smith interns who are placed in various agencies in New York. She is the co-author of the psychodynamic theory textbook Inside Out and Outside In, the fifth edition of which will be released in 2020.
Laura’s involvement in working with young opera singers began over a decade ago when she started working with her brother, Fabrizio Melano, in the Sherrill Milnes VOICExperience “Opera as Drama” program in New York City. Since then she has become part of the VE faculty, continuing to coach, work on productions, and give Master Classes both in New York and Savannah. She has also worked with Fabrizio in the Juilliard productions of Dialogue of the Carmelites (in which, to her great delight, she got to play a nun for two days) and Armide. Recently Laura has provided psychological consultation to OperaRox for the company’s newly commissioned opera Ghost Variations, which will be produced in 2020.
Ashley Nuñez
After debuting the role of Lilian in the world premiere of The Eleanors by Jodi Goble and co-librettist Michael Ching at the National Opera Association Conference in January 2025 representing the Savannah VOICE Festival, Cuban-American soprano Ashley Nuñez went on to perform the role of Liù in Puccini’s Turandot with First Coast Opera at the Romanza Festivale. She also sang Pamina in Die Zauberflöte and the Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro with the Miami Music Festival.
Her diverse repertoire includes another world premiere: Ourland by Davies with the San José Chamber Orchestra. Additional credits include Gretel in Hansel and Gretel with Painted Sky Opera and Opera Amici, Manon in Massenet’s Manon with the Turner-Fischer Center for Opera at LSU, and Frasquita in Bizet’s Carmen with Vero Beach Opera. Since her last visit to Savannah, Ashley made her Carnegie Hall debut, was the featured soprano soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with Stetson University’s Choral Union, and performed as soprano soloist in Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra.
Ms. Nuñez has garnered recognition in numerous competitions, including the St. Petersburg Opera Guild Voice Competition, Music International Grand Prix in New York, Mobile Opera Rose Competition, the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Houston Vocal Competition, the Giffin Vocal Competition, the Wednesday Morning Music Club Voice Competition, and the Daytona Beach Choral Society Vocal Competition. Ashley holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Stetson University and a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Louisiana State University.
Jorge Parodi
Reviewed as having “the most expressive conducting hands since Stokowski” by the New York Daily News, Maestro Parodi has worked extensively in North America, Latin America and Asia. Some of Maestro Jorge Parodi credits include New York City Opera, The Atlanta Opera, Opera Tampa, Chautauqua Opera, Opera Orlando, the Castleton Festival, The Juilliard School, The Banff Centre, and Buenos Aires Lírica. He led the World Premiéres of Anton Coppola’s Lady Swanwhite for Opera Tampa, Michael Ching’s The Birthday Clown for Savannah OPERA; and John Musto’s Rhoda and the Fossil Hunt in a coproduction of On Site Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Pittsburgh Opera. In the last three seasons he made his debut at Amarillo Opera; Gulfshore Opera with Tosca; the Merola Program for their Schwabacher Summer Concert; New Orleans Opera with Charlie Parker’s Yardbird; El Paso Opera with La Traviata; Knoxville Opera with Fastaff; and Opera San José with Rigoletto.
Jorge Parodi has worked with a wide range of ensembles, as the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfónica de Michoacán (Mexico), the NHK Symphony (Japan), and the Orquesta del Conservatorio Nacional (Argentina) among others. He has worked with such companies as the Teatro Colón in Argentina, the Volgograd Opera in Russia, and the International Vocal Arts Institute in Israel. He has collaborated with such artists as Isabel Leonard, Nancy Herrera, Tito Capobianco, Sherrill Milnes, and Verónica Villarroel; and has assisted conductors Lorin Maazel and Julius Rudel, among others.
Mr. Parodi in the new Music Director of the Moores Opera Center and Assistant Director of Orchestras at the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston.
Primary responsibilities include collaborating with the Artistic Director of the Opera Center and the Director of Orchestral Studies, to serve the myriad orchestras at the Moores School of Music and the Moores Opera Center, and to teach conducting to undergraduate and graduate students.
Maestro Parodi is the General and Artistic Director of Opera Hispánica, the premier company in the United Sates focused on the Hispanic vocal repertoire and on the Latin perspective; and the Music Director of Gulfshore Opera and Opera in Williamsburg.
Mr. Parodi has been a faculty member at The Juilliard School for over two decades and he is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Tokyo International Vocal Arts Academy. Maestro Parodi has been Artistic Director of the Savannah VOICE Festival, and he was the Music Director of the Senior Opera Theatre at the Manhattan School of Music. His work with Manhattan was showcased in a feature interview in Opera News.
He has offered master classes at the Instituto Superior de Arte del Teatro Colón (Buenos Aires), Manhattan School of Music, the Escuela Superior de Canto (Madrid), the Kunitachi Music College (Tokyo), and Senzoku Gakuen Music College (Tokyo).
Mr. Parodi completed studies in Conducting and Piano Performance at the Conservatorio Nacional de Música of Buenos Aires, and he holds a Master’s degree from the University of Michigan. He recorded with Denon Essentials, Albany Records and MSR Classics.
Jestin Pieper
Jestin Pieper is a nationally recognized and multifaceted New York City-based pianist, vocal coach, organist, conductor, and NCTM-certified educator whose dynamic career spans performances at Carnegie Hall, Symphony Space, WNYC and other major venues. Jestin is a founding member of the award-winning ensemble, Luminae Trio. They will release their debut album, “American Luminaries,” in August 2026 under the MSR Classics label. Jestin is also an active conductor, music director, and vocal coach, and has been affiliated with institutions such as the Manhattan School of Music, the Brevard Music Festival, the New Jersey Opera Theater, the Savannah VOICE Festival, and the Mediterranean Opera Studio in Italy. He is a professor on the faculty at Long Island University – Brooklyn, Five Towns College, serves as associate organist at First Presbyterian Church in Greenwich, CT, and is completing his doctoral studies.
Grant Preisser
Grant Preisser is a stage director and scenic designer whose unique background in both music and interior design brings distinctive spatial sophistication to his operatic work. His dual expertise allows him to craft cohesive theatrical visions that seamlessly integrate all elements of production design.
Recent and upcoming directing credits include The Flying Dutchman, L’elisir d’amore, Maria de Buenos Aires, The Merry Widow, the Orlando premiere of Kevin Puts’s Silent Night, and La bohème set in 1930s Shanghai, all for Opera Orlando. Last season he made his Opera Tampa debut directing Britten’s The Turn of the Screw, and this season he will return to Wichita Grand Opera to direct Tosca and the Savannah Voice Festival to direct The Magic Flute. Other 2024-25 season highlights included his direction of Massenet’s Werther and directing and designing a double bill of Beatrice + Benedict—featuring a new English translation he developed with Alan Olejniczak—paired with Cavalleria Rusticana.
As a scenic designer, Mr. Preisser has created over 100 production designs for opera companies nationwide. Recent designs include Madame Butterfly, Show Boat, Treemonisha, Macbeth, Cendrillon, Lucia di Lammermoor, and Frida. He has designed world premieres including Four Lost Santas (Spicer Carr/Rose Freeman), The Secret River (Stella Sung/Mark Campbell), and The Death of Ivan Ilych (John Young/Alan Olejniczak). His work has been praised by critics, with BroadwayWorld calling his production of Shining Brow “a rare treat where every nuance was thought through” and the Washington Post highlighting his “dramatically taut direction” of The Last American Hammer.
Currently serving as Artistic Director of Opera Orlando since 2016, Preisser’s work has also been seen at St. Pete Opera, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Helena Symphony Orchestra, Chautauqua Opera, University of Michigan, and UrbanArias. He holds degrees in music and interior design from Florida State University.
Kyaunnee Richardson
This season, Kyaunnee Richardson debuts as the Soprano Soloist in the ensemble of Porgy and Bess at the Metropolitan Opera, as Frasquita in Carmen with New York City Opera at Bryant Park and as the Soprano Soloist in Mozart’s Vesperae solennes de Dominica at Carnegie Hall. She also debuted as Maxie in the world premiere of The Eleanors with the Savannah VOICE Festival, Sister 2 in Why I Live at the PO with UrbanArias and Calpurnia in The Secret River with Opera Orlando.
Highlights from previous seasons include Johanna in Sweeney Todd with the American Gothic Performing Arts Festival; Lucy in The Telephone, Gretel in Hansel and Gretel with Amelia Island Opera; Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni and Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly with the Savannah VOICE Festival; Adele in Die Fledermaus, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni and Despina in Così fan tutte with Opera in Williamsburg; Monica in The Medium with First Coast Opera; Juliette in Roméo et Juliette and Maria in West Side Story with Gulfshore Opera’s Gala Concert; Gretel in Hansel and Gretel and Frasquita in Carmen with Opera Orlando; Alice Allegretto/Dr. Marigold in Bruce Adolphe’s The Amazing Adventure of Alvin Allegretto and Pamina in The Magic Flute with Orchestra Miami; Monica in The Medium, Nella in Gianni Schicchi and Najade in Ariadne auf Naxos with Opera Fusion and Papagena in The Magic Flute with the Festival of the Arts Boca. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic she has performed virtually, including Opera Fusion’s #SongStrong and Music to Eat Chocolate By e-concerts, Hued Songs in Make Music Miami, and Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s International Online Cadenza Competition.
Kyaunnee also participated in Opera Fusion’s Emerging Artist Project series and the Savannah VOICE Festival where she sang various roles and concerts. She’s also performed musical theatre roles such as Glinda in Stage Door’s production of The Wiz, Yema in Utah Festival’s regional premiere of Smith’s Amazing Grace and Esther in Ginsberg’s Esther, Sweet Esther at the National Press Club in Washington DC. While completing her masters at Florida State University, Kyaunnee performed the roles of Rose Maurrant in Street Scene and Despina in Così fan tutte.
Other performances as a soloist in concert include Schubert’s Mass in G and Handel’s Messiah with the Civic Chorale of Greater Miami and the Alhambra Orchestra, Bach’s Coffee Cantanta with Opera Orlando and Vivaldi’s Gloria with the Delray Orchestra. She also has been a featured soloist with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Alabama Symphony, New World Symphony, Brevard Symphony, Symphony of the Americas, Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, South Florida Symphony Orchestra, Hallandale Symphonic Pops Orchestra, Sugar Pops Orchestra, Opera Fusion Orchestra, Coral Gables Chamber Orchestra and Sunrise Symphonic Pops Orchestra.
Kyaunnee placed first in the 2023 Opera Ebony’s Benjamin Matthews Vocal Competition and was a semi-finalist in the 2023 American Traditions Vocal Competition where she was awarded the Sherrill Milnes American Opera Award.
Other awards include being one of the top four finalists in Orchestra Noir’s International Medallion Competition, a finalist in the 2025 and 2020 SAS Performing Arts Vocal Competition, the Michael Ballam Concorso Lirico Opera Competition, third place in the New York Lyric Opera Theatre and Opera Ebony’s Benjamin Matthews Vocal Competition, the Audience Favorite Award in the Harlem Opera Theatre Competition, the Encouragement Award from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and Stuart Smith Audience Favorite Award from Opera Ebony. Kyaunnee counts among her highest honors singing for President Barack Obama.
Eric Šebek
Eric Šebek has always been surrounded by the performing arts with a family of opera singers and Broadway performers. He is proud to a part of The Šebek Tenors comprised of his brother Zach, and his father Christian. He made his start in Nutley High school playing Pippin and Jack Kelly in Newsies. Eric has also played Patrick professionally in the The Radio City Christmas Spectacular starring the Rockettes in their 2016-2017 and 2019-2020 seasons. He attended Montclair State University for 4 years where he played Fleet in Titanic, Cigar in the New Musical: The Names We Gave Him, Musidorus in Head Over Heels, and Cat in the Hat in Seussical. He has also crossed over to Opera. Eric took part in a role study for the Marriage of Figarowhere he played Basilio and Don Curzio with MSU’s Opera program. Eric also sang the role of Rinuccio in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi and Michael Ching’s hilarious continuation: Buoso’s Ghost. Additionally in 2023 he played Le Chevalier in Dialogues des Carmelitesat MSU. Eric played the roles of Tamino in Magic Flute and Gastone in La Traviata at the Quisisana Resort as well as Alfred in Die Fledermaus the following summers. Eric has also performed the Jazz Trio in Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti SAS Performing Arts Company. Recently Eric was in a production of the new Opera “Blind Injustice” at Lincoln Center written by Scott Richards and conducted by Ted Sperling. Recently Eric sang the role of Don Ramiro in La Cenerentola at Opera Vermont. Eric is looking forward to playing Tamino in Die Zauberflöte with Savannah Voice Festival. Eric continues to perform and audition! He is represented by Jason Bercy Talent.
Benjamin Sokol
Benjamin R. Sokol, bass-baritone, is a member of the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago, one of the world’s leading artist-development programs for emerging operatic talent. Benjamin currently studies voice with Deborah Birnbaum and Julia Faulkner. Originally from the Boston area, Sokol earned his Bachelor of Music, Master of Music, and Professional Studies degrees from Manhattan School of Music, where he studied with legendary bass-baritone James Morris.
Recognized for the depth, resonance, and dramatic authority of his voice, Sokol has quickly established himself as one of the most promising young bass-baritones of his generation. Reviewing the 2024 Merola Grand Finale concert at San Francisco’s War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco Classical Voice noted that Sokol “brought some brawny heft to the occasion,” highlighting the vocal presence that has become a hallmark of his performances.
His growing list of honors includes the Stan Sesser Career Award, Alexandra Hunt Endowed Vocal Scholarship, Grand Prize in the 2021 Milnes Opera Idol Competition, finalist in the 2022 Opera Index Competition, semifinalist in the 2023 and 2024 Premiere Opera Foundation Competitions, Third Prize in the 2024 Mario Lanza Scholarship Competition, winner of the 2024 Opera Index Competition, winner of the 2024 Philadelphia District Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, First Prize in the 2025 Eisenberg-Fried Concerto Competition, a grant from the 2025 Gerda Lissner Foundation Vocal Competition, semifinalist in the 2025 George and Nora London Foundation Competition, First Prize at Opera Tampa’s 2026 D’Angelo Young Artist Vocal Competition, recipient of the 2026 Luminarts Cultural Foundation Classical Voice Fellowship, and recipient of the 2026 Carlisle Floyd Centennial Prize.
Sokol’s artistic development has included training with many of North America’s most prestigious young artist programs. During the summers of 2022–2024, he was a Young Artist with the Taos Opera Institute, Chautauqua Opera Company and Conservatory, and the Merola Opera Program, while also participating in the Milnes VOICE Programs and the Savannah VOICE Festival. He returns this summer to the Savannah VOICE Festival to reprise one of his signature roles, Sarastro in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte.
Recent engagements include appearances with Lyric Opera of Chicago in Gabriela Lena Frank’s El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego and Strauss’s Salome. In El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego, critics praised the Ryan Opera Center trio that included Sokol, writing that they were “in great voice” and brought “good comic moments” to the production.
His repertoire encompasses a wide range of dramatic, lyric, and character roles, including Sarastro, Sprecher, and the Zweiter Geharnischer Mann (Die Zauberflöte), Sparafucile and Monterone (Rigoletto), Vodnik (Rusalka), Frère Laurent (Roméo et Juliette), Der Tod (Der Kaiser von Atlantis), Nick Bottom (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Betto di Signa (Gianni Schicchi), L’Arbre (L’Enfant et les Sortilèges), Badger and Parson (The Cunning Little Vixen), Orest (Elektra), Wagner (Faust), Il Commendatore (Don Giovanni), L’Américain (Angélique), Bartender (Speed Dating Tonight!), and both Don Magnifico and Seagull #2 in Michael Ching’s A Royal Feast.
Beyond performance, Sokol is deeply committed to preserving and sharing operatic history. Having worked with artists, coaches, and pedagogues connected to many of the most influential singing traditions of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, he has developed a particular interest in operatic lineage, vocal pedagogy, and artistic legacy. His work in this area has led to appearances on classical radio and media outlets including WFMT and WQXR, where he has discussed opera, performance practice, and the transmission of operatic tradition across generations.
Combining a powerful and distinctive bass-baritone voice, major competition success, elite training, and a deep commitment to the art form’s history and future, Benjamin R. Sokol is rapidly emerging as an important young artist on the American operatic stage.
Chad Sonka
Chad Sonka is establishing himself as a versatile American baritone, teacher, and director. He was consistently singing and teaching throughout the country for Savannah VOICE Festival and Iowa State University, where he serves on the voice faculty. Recently, he performed the role of Marcello in La bohème with Quad Cities Opera and will be performing the role of Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus with Cedar Rapids Opera. Previous performing credits: Tosca (Scarpia – cover) with Central City Opera; Gianni Schicchi (Marco) with Savannah Music Festival; Man of La Mancha (Don Quixote) and Carmen (Dancaïro) with Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre; The Mother of Us All (Virgil T.), The Rape of Lucretia (Junius), Faust (Wagner), Elijah (Elijah) with Manhattan School of Music; and Amahl and the Night Visitors (King Melchior) with Nevada Opera. He was the first-place winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions – Iowa District in 2017. He is also the Education and Outreach Director the Milnes VOICE Programs. Directing credits include specializing in outreach theatre, Cendrillon (Viardot), Hansel and Gretel (Humperdinck), The Little Prince (Portman), and Die Fledermaus (Strauss II).
Melanie Spector
Praised for her “sparkling coloratura” (Classical Voice North America), Melanie Spector is a soprano who was born and raised in New York City. Recognized for her interpretations of the virtuosic works of Mozart, her most frequently performed roles include Queen of the Night in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte (Eugene Opera, Stuttgart Philharmonic/Internationale Opernwerkstatt Waiblingen, and the Metropolitan Opera’s Education Program); Donna Anna in Mozart’s Don Giovanni (Savannah Opera and Opera Tampa) and Fiordiligi in Mozart’s Così fan tutte (Detroit Opera Orchestra and The Opera Next Door). Most recently, Melanie has been recognized for her vocal prowess in the competition circuit, taking home Third Prize in Opera Tampa’s D’Angelo Competition, and the Leopold O. Damrosch Prize from the Oratorio Society of New York’s Lyndon Woodside Competition, in which she made her Carnegie Hall debut. Upcoming performances include a Stoop Concert with The Opera Next Door in June, and Queen of the Night (Die Zauberflöte) at the Savannah VOICE Festival in August. In January 2027, she begins her tenure as a Studio Artist at Sarasota Opera, where she sings Naiad and covers Zerbinetta in Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos.
In her tenure as a Resident Artist at Detroit Opera, she appeared as Chocholka and Mrs. Pásek in Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen; Soloist in John Cage’s Europeras 3 & 4; Atalanta (cover) in Handel’s Xerxes; Margarita Xirgu (cover) in Golijov’s Ainadamar; and the High Priestess in Verdi’s Aida. Other roll credits include Musetta (La Bohème), Bubikopf (Der Kaiser von Atlantis), Woglinde (Das Rheingold), Sister Constance (Dialogues of the Carmelites), Nannetta (Falstaff), La Fée (Cendrillon), Gilda (Rigoletto), and Miss Wordsworth (Albert Herring). On the concert stage, Melanie has appeared as soprano soloist in a wide range of orchestral and chamber repertoire. With the Midland Symphony Orchestra, she performed Mozart’s “Vorrei spiegarvi, o dio,” and Requiem. She was also featured as soprano soloist in Orff’s Carmina Burana at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Fisher Music Center with the Wayne State University Wind Symphony and Chorus.
An avid fan of new music, Melanie’s contemporary work includes the world premieres of Theofanidis’ Siddhartha, She, in which she covered the title role as a Fleming Artist at the Aspen Music Festival, Samuel Adams’ First Work with the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble, and Luke Baron’s “Kun joulu on” and “Joulupuu on rakennettu”: Two Finnish Christmas carols arranged for soprano, piano and violin. Additional chamber music highlights include Schubert’s Der Hirt auf dem Felsen in collaboration with clarinetist David Shifrin and pianist Gilles Vonsattel at the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival and Brahms’ Liebeslieder Walzer at Detroit Opera.
A three-time District Winner/Region Finalist of the Metropolitan Opera’s Laffont Competition, Melanie has been recognized by several organizations for her vocal achievements. In addition to the Met, she has won accolades from the Gerda Lissner Foundation, Tuesday Musicale of Detroit, the Camille Coloratura Awards, and the National Society of Arts and Letters. She has been a Finalist in the Lewisville Lake Symphony, Rochester International, and Dorothy Lincoln-Smith Vocal Competitions, as well as a Semi-Finalist in the Loren L. Zachary, Annapolis Opera, and James Toland Vocal Arts Competitions.
In addition to her training in the Detroit Opera Resident Artist Program and the Aspen Music Festival, she is a proud alumna of the Internationale Opernwerkstatt Waiblingen, the Miami Music Festival Wagner Institute, Martina Arroyo’s Prelude to Performance, and Manhattan School of Music (BM ’19, MM ’21). Aside from singing, Melanie has been heard as a regular panelist on the Metropolitan Opera Quiz during Saturday matinées, and she works as a Social Media Manager for Lenny’s Studio, handling channels for several of the opera industry’s top stars.
Melanie is represented by Encompass Arts for general management.
Samantha Talora
Samantha Talora is a versatile vocalist, concert and cabaret artist whose dynamic repertoire spans the Great American Songbook, Broadway, Blues and Classical music. She brings an eclectic and expressive range to her performances, blending storytelling and effortless musicality. Cabaret Scenes describes Talora’s voice as “…gorgeous mature soprano and powerful gospel ferocity.”
She has been selected by film and theater composer and songwriter, David Friedman, as the principal singer and interpreter of his vast songbook. In December 2024, she made her NYC solo debut at Don’t Tell Mama in NYC, with Trust the Wind – The Music of David Friedman, with encore performances in May and December 2025. BroadwayWorld raves, “…a stunning voice—crystal clear, every note clean and intentional, soaring effortlessly through the highs and resonating with rich depth in the lows. Her stage presence is joyful and poised, her banter both charming and incisive…infusing every song with truth and vulnerability.”
Based in the Berkshires of Western, MA, she has performed at various venues, including Whitney Center for the Arts, Studio9, The Colonial Theater and Barrington Stage Company and has been paired with singer and pianist, Ron Ramsay since Spring of 2014. The pair has blended their voices and delivered countless curated concerts throughout New England and beyond including A Night at the Oscars, A Sondheim Trilogy and Mistletoe & Music Cabaret Trains with Berkshire Scenic Railway. Their duo show at Don’t Tell Mama in Oct. 2025, “Friends in Harmony” was met with rave reviews. They return to Don’t Tell Mama NYC on May 21st and June 25th with “In Good Company.”
Jonathan Walker-VanKuren
Jonathan Walker-VanKuren is a versatile educator, stage director, and performer specializing in voice, with an emphasis on classical techniques. As a Professor of Music at Lebanon Valley College, he directs the Opera & Music Theatre Program and teaches Studio Voice, where he fosters cross-genre vocal training while maintaining a strong classical foundation. With a performance career rooted in opera, Jonathan combines his experience in the classical voice world with his passion for musical theatre and Contemporary Commercial Music (CCM), preparing students for diverse vocal demands.
Jonathan’s teaching approach centers on evidence-based voice practices, prioritizing vocal health and psychological safety in the studio. His students have gone on to study at institutions at schools like Belmont, Michigan State, and University of Arizona. He has also had students move on to careers in opera and musical theatre in community, regional theatres, as well as Broadway National tours.
Howard Watkins
American pianist Howard Watkins is a frequent associate of some of the world’s leading musicians on the concert stage and as an assistant conductor at the Metropolitan Opera. His appearances throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia, Russia, and Israel have included collaborations with Renée Fleming, Joyce DiDonato, Lawrence Brownlee, Diana Damrau, Thomas Hampson, Kathleen Battle, Grace Bumbry, Mariusz Kwiecien, Anna Netrebko, and Matthew Polenzani at such venues as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Spivey Hall, Kennedy Center, the United States Supreme Court, Alice Tully Hall, the three stages of Carnegie Hall, the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, and the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow.
His current and former faculty affiliations include The Juilliard School, the Bard College Conservatory of Music, the Merola Opera Program, the Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Program, the Yale School of Music as a Visiting Presidential Fellow, the Tanglewood Music Center, the Aspen Music Festival, the Mannes School of Music, the North Carolina School of the Arts, the International Vocal Arts Institute (Israel, Japan, and China), IIVA in Italy, the Brancaleoni Music Festival in Piobbico, Italy, the Tokyo International Vocal Arts Academy (TIVAA) as a founding member, and VOICExperience in Orlando, Tampa, and Savannah.
A native of Dayton, Ohio, Mr. Watkins completed the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Accompanying and Chamber Music at the University of Michigan. Honored as the recipient of both the Paul C. Boylan award from the University of Michigan for his outstanding contributions to the field of music and a Special Achievement Award from the National Alumni Association of the University of Dayton, he is also the 2019 recipient of the Lift Every Voice Legacy Award from the National Opera Association.
Mr. Watkins appears courtesy of the Metropolitan Opera.