Helen Zhibing Huang is a Chinese-born soprano with a wide range

Helen Zhibing Huang is a Chinese-born soprano with a wide
range of musical interests. During the 2014-15 season, Miss
Huang was featured as a soloist in Haydn’s Creation as well as
Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn at the Bard College
Conservatory of Music. Also in 2014-15, Miss Huang
performed the role of the Corinthian Woman in Harold
Farberman’s Medea. Other opera credits include: Carolina in
Cimarosa’s Il matrimonio segreto, Amore in Gluck’s Orfeo ed
Euridice, and Flora in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw. She also
created the role of the Young Drifter in Shawn Jaeger’s Payne
Hollow. She performed Bach’s Christen, ätzet diesen Tag
(BWV 63) and selections from Handel’s Messiah with the
Albany Symphony. Other concert performances include Schubert’s Mass in G, and
Bach’s Wer da gläubet und getauft wird (BWV 37). Miss Huang graduated from the
Eastman School of Music with a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance and the
University of Rochester with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. She is currently at the
Bard Graduate Vocal Arts Program. In her spare time, Miss Huang enjoys cooking
traditional Chinese dishes, traveling and making new friends.
Laura Strickling has appeared at Avery Fisher Hall, Carnegie
Hall, the Kennedy Center, Wigmore Hall, the Ravinia Music
Festival, the Tanglewood Music Festival, Songfest, Trinity
Church on Wall Street, Dankhaus Chicago, the Washington
National Cathedral, the inaugural season of Liederfest in
Suzhou, China. and the Afghanistan National Institute of
Music. An alumna of the Berkshire Opera Company Resident
Artist Program, her operatic performances include Countess
Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro), Mimi (La Bohème), Gretel
(Hansel and Gretel), and Micaëla (Carmen). Her competition
honors include the Liszt-Garrison International Competition,
the Liederkranz competition, the Schubert Club competition,
the Positively Poulenc competition, and the American Prize for Opera. She has
appeared with SongFusion and Joy in Singing, and is on the roster of the Brooklyn
Art Song Society and Vox3 Collective.
Diane Kalinowski, soprano, recently made her international
debut as a Finalist in the Elizabeth Connell Prize for Dramatic
Sopranos through the Joan Sutherland/Richard Bonynge
Foundation. Diane won Grand Prize in Rochester Lyric
Opera’s LaDue Professional Recital Competition; 1st Place
American Opera Idol Award at Connecticut Concert Opera;
Finalist of New Jersey State Opera’s Alfredo Silipigni
Competition; Semi-Finalist of Opera Theater Pittsburgh’s
Mildred Miller International Voice Competition, and SemiFinalist of New Jersey Association of Verismo Opera’s Vocal
Competition.
Diane was an apprentice with Lyric Opera of Kansas City, awarded the Kaplan Prize
twice during an unprecedented three year term. Favorite operatic performances
include the Tosca in Tosca, Marguerite in Faust, Lady Billows in Albert Herring, and
New Prioress in Dialogues of the Carmelites. Equally comfortable on the concert
stage, Diane has performed solos from the Vivaldi Gloria, Handel’s Messiah, the
Poulenc Gloria, the Mozart Requiem and Strauss’s Vier letzte Lieder.
Hailed as having a “voice with great power and a sound that could
propel her into the Wagnerian repertoire,” Soprano Rebecca
Witty is making a name for herself in the classical music world.
Most recently she performed the role of Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte
with Buffalo Opera Unlimited. In January 2015, she proudly
represented her hometown as the third place winner of the Great
Lakes Region in the Metropolitan Opera National Council
Auditions. As an Apprentice artist with the Santa Fe Opera in
2014, she was honored to take on the role of Lu Mu-Zhen in the
American premiere of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen. She has also been a young
artist with Sarasota Opera and Des Moines Metro Opera. Equally
at home on the concert stage, she has performed in concert halls across the U.S.
including Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Eastman’s Kodak Hall and Alice Tully
Hall.
Andra Erbar is an emerging young soprano. Her most recent
performances have been with Cimarron Opera playing Casilda in
The Gondoliers, and with Tulsa Project Theater playing Marian
Paroo in The Music Man. In between these roles she performed
with Tulsa Opera in the ensemble for Elmer Gantry and Carmen. In
the 2012 through the 2013 season she was a Resident Artist at
Central Florida Lyric Opera where recently she performed both
Maria and (on alternate nights) Elsa Schraeder in the The Sound of
Music. Last season, she performed First Lady in The Magic Flute,
Liù in Turandot, and in addition she covered Lucia in Lucia di
Lammermoor. Last summer she performed the role of Musetta in La Bohème with
Ritorna all’Opera along with Verdi scenes in Liguria, Italy and at Casa Verdi in Milan.
Andra completed her MM in Voice from the University of Oklahoma under the
tutelage of Bradley Williams, also with occasional lessons with Marilyn Horne, and
performances including Adele in Die Fledermaus, Zerlina, Marzelline in Fidelio, and
numerous scenes including Juliette and Gilda. She performed the title role in Gilbert
and Sullivan’s Iolanthe with Cimarron Opera Company. She has also performed in
the ensembles of Lyric Theater of Oklahoma, Jewel Box Theater and Opera
International. She owes her most recent vocal success to Kim Josephson and Regina
Zona, her current teachers. Andra thanks her family, teachers, and coaches for their
support.
Praised for “astounding technical vocal ability, solid song
interpretation and stage presence,” soprano Annie Gill
continues to gain recognition as a promising young singer. Most
recently, Ms. Gill performed the role of Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte
with Opera NOVA. Ms. Gill appeared as the “Opera Singer” in the
Season 2 Finale of House of Cards. Ms. Gill has received awards
from the Barry Alexander International Vocal Competition,
National Federation of Music Clubs, Russell C. Wonderlic Voice
Competition, Orpheus Vocal Competition, and the Coeur d’Alene
Symphony Young Artist Competition. Past roles include the title roles in Suor
Angelica and Massenet’s Manon, Nedda (I Pagliacci), Rosalinde (Die Fledermaus),
Mimì and Musetta (La Bohème), The Mother (Amahl and the Night Visitors), Donna
Anna and Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), and Pamina (The Magic Flute) with
companies including The In Series, Baltimore Opera Theatre, Opera in the Ozarks,
and Opera AACC. www.AnnieGill.com
Carolyne DalMonte, soprano, has most recently been seen
as Second Lady in Chicago Summer Opera’s energetic
concert production of Die Zauberflöte. Other fully
performed opera roles include Giannetta in L’elisir d’amore
(OperaModo) and Dorabella in Mozart’s Così fan tutte
(Westminster Choir College Opera Theatre). As a former
mezzo-soprano, she has also performed as Octavian and
Meg in scenes from Der Rosenkavalier and Little Women. In 2012 she attended the
Opera Studio at the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria, and was a
finalist in the 2012 South Orange Symphony Competition. She also attended the
2013 OperaWorks program in Los Angeles, and was the 2013 recipient of the
Phyllis-Brynn Julson award in the Civic Morning Musicals Competition in Syracuse.
In the spring of 2014, Ms. DalMonte was a semi-finalist of the Orpheus Vocal
Competition in Tennessee as well as a finalist in the Opera at San Nicola competition
in August of 2014. After an exciting fall filled with auditions, Miss DalMonte is
excited to announce that she will be spending her summer at the prestigious Aspen
Music Festival and School, where she will be singing as a soprano with the Aspen
Opera Theatre Center. In addition to her love of opera, Miss DalMonte is an avid
lover of oratorio and song, and frequently is a soloist in concerts with Nassau
Presbyterian Church in Princeton, NJ. She will be singing as a soloist in the Duruflé
Requiem with Nassau in March 2015. Ms. DalMonte holds a Masters in Vocal
Pedagogy & Performance from Westminster Choir College, and a Bachelors in Voice
Performance from the University of Delaware. She studies with Dr. Sharon Sweet,
and currently sings and teaches in the New York metropolitan area.
Soprano Yunjin Audrey Kim is the Grand Prize winner of the
LaDue Professional Recital Competition and made her
Carnegie Hall debut in 2013. Highlighted opera roles include
Elisetta in Il Matrimonio Segreto, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte,
and Dido in Dido and Aeneas, to name a few. Her many concert
solos include a performance of Messiaen’s Poémes pour Mi with the Eastman
Philharmonia at Kodak Hall. In 2013, she was featured in the album, 'A Thousand
Burnt Offerings' released in South Korea. Ms. Kim has served as music director and
collaborative pianist for organizations including Opera Scenes at James Madison
University, Rochester Association of Performing Arts and Pittsford School District.
Kristina Bachrach is making a name for herself as an exciting and
diverse young artist. In the 2013/2014 she made role debuts as
Lucy in The Telephone and Mrs. Gobineau in The Medium with
Opera Naples; as Emily Dickinson in Eva Kendrick’s Emily with the
Thompson Street Opera Company in Louisville, KY; and most
recently as Musetta in La Bohème with the Lyric Opera of Virginia.
She sang recitals in four cities around the country under the
auspices of the Brooklyn Art Song Society and also made concert
and recital appearances with the Westchester Choral Society, the
String Orchestra of Brooklyn, the Moravian Music Foundation, the Banff Centre, the
Cecilia Chorus of New York at Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium and was one of four
finalists for the Joy in Singing Foundation’s Artist Awards. The 2013 season found
her in residence at Nashville Opera, where she performed the roles of Papagena
in Die Zauberflöte and Clorinda in La Cenerentola. In 2011 she created the role of
Lucinda in the world premiere of Nico Muhly's opera Dark Sisters with Gotham
Chamber Opera and in 2012 appeared in the same role with Opera Philadelphia.
Last summer she enjoyed residencies at SongFest at Colburn, The Berkshire Choral
Festival, and the Lake George Music Festival.
Beth Allen-Gardner’s solo experience includes Mozart's
Coronation Mass, Fauré's Requiem, Charpentier's Messe de Minuit
pour Noël, Schütz's Musikalische Exequien, Monteverdi's Gloria à
8, Handel's Messiah, Bach's Magnificat and Cantatas BWV 150 and
BWV 227, Despina in Mozart's Così fan tutte, the second sister in
Vittorio Giannini's Beauty and the Beast, and the Unknown Maiden
in the world premiere of Chuck Holdeman's opera Young Meister
Bach. Beth has been soloist for The Bach Choir of Bethlehem,
Greensboro's Bel Canto Company, UNCG Chamber Singers, UNC
Chamber Singers and Chorale, UNC Collegium Musicum, the Mebane Community
Choir, and will debut this coming May with the Greensboro Choral Society as
soprano soloist in Handel's Judas Maccabaeus. Beth was a finalist in the 2014 Bach
Vocal Competition for American Singers, first-place winner at NC NATS two years in
a row, and a UNC-Chapel Hill Concerto Competition winner. Beth has her B.M. with
distinction from UNC-Chapel Hill and is currently earning her M.M. at UNCGreensboro as a student of Dr. Robert Wells.
Mezzo-soprano Cabiria Jacobsen has been praised for her
“mezzo of richness and power” by Opera Magazine (UK).
Recent roles include The Fox in The Little Prince with Opera
Fayetteville, Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro with Salt Marsh
Opera, Julia in The Rivals with the Bronx Opera and Ernestina
in Opportunity Makes the Thief with the Little Opera Theatre
of New York. Cabiria trained at Virginia Opera, Tri-Cities
Opera and Opera North. Upcoming performances include her
Carnegie Hall debut in Mozart’s Coronation Mass and her San
Francisco debut as Cousin Hebe in H.M.S. Pinafore.
Polish born mezzo-soprano Magdalena Wór is a winner,
finalist and recipient of many prestigious national and
international competitions and awards, such as the Marcello
Giordani and Moniuszko International Vocal Competitions,
Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and Marcella
Kochanska Sembrich Vocal Competition, among others. Over
the last several seasons Ms. Wór has worked with The
Metropolitan Opera, the National Symphony Orchestra and
the National Philharmonic in Washington, DC, the
Washington National Opera, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra,
Baltic Opera, Washington Concert Opera, Atlanta Opera,
Virginia Opera, Palm Beach Opera, Memphis Symphony
Orchestra, Richmond Symphony Orchestra, and Alabama Symphony Orchestra,
among others. Magdalena is often praised by music critics and fans alike for the rich
color of her voice, vocal flexibility, which allows her to sing low and high mezzo
repertoire spanning the Baroque era through the 21st century, and for her
complete devotion to both the music and the text at hand.
Katherine Weber, mezzo-soprano, graduated last spring
from the Eastman School of Music where she studied Voice
performance with Professor Kathryn Cowdrick, and Music
Education. Katie is a 2010 graduate of Jamesville-DeWitt High
School in Syracuse NY. Katie performed the title role in
Eastman Opera's production of Handel's Orlando, Kurt Weill's
Street Scene (as Mae Jones), Handel's Xerxes (as Arsamene),
and in Poulenc's masterpiece Dialogues of the Carmelites (as
Mere Marie). Recently, Miss Weber has had the honor of
performing as Blink the little grey mouse in Ross’s Custard the
Dragon with Rochester Lyric Opera. No stranger to musical theater, Katie has played
roles such as Anita in Bernstein's West Side Story, and in the JCC's Center Stage's
upcoming production of Sondheim's Into the Woods, Katie will be performing the
role of Cinderella. Katherine is thankful for this opportunity to share her love of
singing and music with the Rochester community.
Tenor Kyuyoung Lee, a native of South Korea, earned a
Bachelor of Music degree in vocal arts at Seoul National
University, South Korea where he graduated with honors. He
received the Seoul National University Alumni development
Fund Scholarship as well as the Music Merit Scholarship for
Excellent Academic record. He currently is doing first year of
Professional study program in vocal arts at the Manhattan
School of Music and is studying under the tutelage of
Professor Marlena Kleinman Malas. He has performed with
the Korea Prime Philharmonic Orchestra and he got lots of
concerts in Korea. Also He was a grand-prize winner at the
music association of Korea. Also, he has sung at the Aspen Opera Theater Center and
had a role as Tamino in Magic Flute and Chaplain of the Monastery in Dialogues of
the Carmelites with the USC Thorton Opera.
This season, tenor Christopher Longo joins Central City
Opera as an Apprentice Artist performing as Alfredo cover
in Verdi’s La Traviata, and returns to Eastman Opera
Theatre as George cover in Rorem’s Our Town. He recently
appeared with Eastman Opera Theatre as Chevalier in
Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites. The review noted his
"unperturbed purity of tone and precise pitch placement
sharpened a strong dramatic presence." A native of Tampa,
Florida, Mr. Longo holds a Bachelor's degree in Voice
Performance from Florida State University, where he
originally pursued violin performance before switching to
vocal studies. At FSU his roles included The Prince
in Rusalka, Nemorino in L'elisir d'amore, Frederick
in Pirates of Penzance, Herr Vogelsang in Der Schauspieldirektor, and Orphée
in Orphée aux enfers. Mr. Longo is currently in the second-year of his Master's
degree at the Eastman School of Music, where he studies voice with Robert
Swensen.
American tenor Brent Reilly Turner has been
critically acclaimed across the United
States. Turner’s appearances in opera, concert
and recital have been characterized as having a
clear, brilliant timbre, energetic personality and
unique honesty. In the 2014-15 season, Mr.
Turner debuts with First Coast Opera singing the
role of Don Ottavio in Mozart's Don Giovanni.
Turner returns to Opera in the Heights to reprise
the role of the doomed solider Don Jose in Brook's La Tragedie de Carmen, an
adaptation of Bizet's masterpiece, Carmen. Turner will also be making his debut
with New York Opera Exchange performing Don Jose in Bizet's Carmen. Turner
recently received 3rd place honors at the 2015 National Opera Association Vocal
Competition. He was also awarded a coveted study grant from the Wagner Society of
New York, recognizing him as an up-and-coming heldentenor. Last year, Turner
received the Grand Prize at the 2014 Peter Elvins Vocal Competition and the Grand
Prize at the 2014 Mary Jacobs Smith Singer of the Year Competition hosted by
Shreveport Opera. Turner received 2nd place honors at the 2014 Dallas Opera Guild
Competition, and 3rd place in the 2014 Irma M. Cooper Competition hosted by
Opera Columbus. Turner also took 1st place in the 2013 Orpheus Vocal Competition
and 1st place in the 2013 Florida Suncoast Opera Guild Competition. Turner was an
encouragement award recipient in the Wagner Division of the 2014 Gerda Lissner
Vocal Competition in New York City. Mr. Turner has participated with several major
Young Artist and Apprentice Programs including Santa Fe Opera, Utah Opera, Ash
lawn Opera, Opera North, Opera Saratoga, Opera Theatre and Music Festival of
Lucca, Brevard Music Center, and V.O.I.C.Experience. Turner holds a Bachelor of
Music degree from Stetson University and a Master of Music from the CollegeConservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati. Though born in Singapore,
Turner was raised in Oviedo, FL and considers himself a native Central Floridian.
Described by critics as "tremendous," "entertaining" and
"talented," baritone James Wright is a favorite among
audiences for his charismatic presence and warm tone. His
recent operatic roles include Rev. Gruffydd in Roger Ames’ How
Green was My Valley with El Paso Opera, Angelotti in Tosca with
Nickel City Opera and Papageno in The Magic Flute with
Undercroft Opera of Pittsburgh. This season James will be
appearing as the Sacristan in Puccini’s Tosca with El Paso
Opera, Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro and Bob in The Old
Maid and the Thief with Nickel City Opera and as a festival artist with The Savannah
VOICE Festival in Savannah, GA lead by Sherrill Milnes. Other operatic roles include
The Pilot in Portman’s The Little Prince with Opera Sacra and John Sorel in The
Consul with Western New York Chamber Orchestra; Valentin in Gounod's Faust, Dr.
Malatesta in Don Pasquale, Schaunard in La Bohème and King Melchior in Menotti's
Amahl and the Night Visitors, both with Nickel City Opera of Buffalo. He has also
appeared with Chautauqua Opera in Puccini's Manon Lescaut and the Chautauqua
Symphony in Verdi’s Otello. James has served as Chorus Master for Hillman Opera
productions of Les contes d'Hoffmann and Mozart's The Magic Flute, as well as Opera
Sacra's production of Maria Stuarda. James is equally comfortable on the concert
and recital stage. He has performed in concert with the Buffalo Philharmonic
Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus, The Savannah Voice Festival,
VOICExperience, Western New York Chamber Orchestra, Buffalo Chamber players,
Olean Academy Orchestra, Vocalis Chamber, Camerata di Sant' Antonio, Nickel City
Opera, Opera Sacra, Rochester Lyric Opera, Amherst Symphony Orchestra and the
Western New York Opera Buffs. Currently, James is an adjunct professor of voice at
Canisius College. He also serves as the Artistic Adminstrator of Nickel City Opera.
Baritone Quentin Oliver Lee has most recently returned
from the First National Tour of The Gershwin’s Porgy and
Bess directed by Diana Paulas, where he performed the role
of Porgy numerous times. He has performed several roles
on stage including, Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor, and
Escamillo in Carmen with the New York Lyric Opera
Theater, the title role in Gianni Schicchi, Sid in Albert
Herring, and Belcore in L'elisir d'amore with the NAU Opera, and The Count in Le
Nozze di Figaro with ASU Opera. Mr. Lee was named a Western Regional Finalist in
both the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the National
Association of Teachers of Singers Artist Awards. This summer Quentin is engaged
to work for the Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theater as Schaunard in La Bohème,
and the Captain of the Inquisition in Man of La Mancha.
A winner of the 2014 Sun Valley International Opera
Competition and a Regional Finalist in the Metropolitan
Opera National Council Auditions, Rhys Lloyd Talbot is a
graduate of the University of Northern Iowa with a BM in
Vocal Performance. A student of John Hines, Rhys
performed the roles of Melchior (Amahl and the Night
Visitors), David (A Hand of Bridge), Papageno (Die
Zauberflöte), Frank (Die Fledermaus) and the Count (Prima
Donna) with the UNI Opera. Rhys has also appeared as a
featured soloist in major choral works at UNI including
Mozart's Requiem, Fauré's Requiem, and Vaughan William's Hodie, as well as
Brahms’s Liebeslieder Waltzes with the San Francisco Opera Center. Rhys is an
alumnus of young artist programs across the country, including Central City Opera
Company Studio (2011), Houston Grand Opera Young Artist Vocal Academy (2012),
Wolf Trap Opera Studio (2012) and San Francisco’s Merola Opera Program (2013
and 2014).
In the 2014-15 season, bass-baritone Andrew Craig Brown
makes his debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic as Dodo,
Frog-Footman and Seven in Unsuk Chin’s Alice In Wonderland,
with the Jacksonville Symphony in Beethoven’s Missa
Solemnis, and with New World Symphony in Mozart’s C Minor
Mass. Recent engagements include his debuts at San Francisco
Opera as Dr. Grenville in La Traviata, at English National
Opera as Achilla in Julius Caesar and Colline in La Bohème, and
at Opera San Antonio as Farmer Boggis in Fantastic Mr. Fox
and the First Nazarene in Salome.
Pianist Kevin Nitsch, performer, collaborator, teacher, and
composer in the Rochester area, is a member of the piano and
music theory faculty at Nazareth College of Rochester and
Music Director at the Baptist Temple in Brighton. In
collaboration with Rochester artist, Kathleen Nicastro, Kevin is
the pianist for Labyrinth of Sound and Light, a series of
concerts that offers the audience a creative way to interact
with art and music. Kevin has been composer-in-residence at
Webster Thomas High School, sponsored by The Commission
Project to compose music for the performing ensembles and to
afford the students the opportunity to observe and participate
in the composing process. Now in his fourth year as pianist for
the Rochester Oratorio Society, he has served as Music
Director for several Rochester Lyric Opera productions and as Accompanist for the
Oratorio Society’s 2014 Classical Idol vocal competition. Kevin holds a BM in Piano
Performance from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music,
and a MM and a DMA in Performance and Literature in Piano Performance from the
Eastman School of Music. Kevin recently completed Yoga Teacher Training at Open
Sky Yoga in Rochester and teaches yoga at Nazareth College and the Baptist Temple.
Pianobenchasana is his favorite pose.