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Performing Artist Bios | |||
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This is a partial list of artists who have performed with us. | |||
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Mezzo-Soprano Marana Avant received her
Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the University of Arizona. She
sang Dorothea in Massenet’s Cendrillon, Cousin Hebe in Gilbert
and Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore, Octavian from Strauss’s Der
Rosencavalier and Giove in Cavalli’s La Calisto with the U of
A Opera Theater and Opera Scenes Programs. Seattle area performances
include previews for Seattle Opera's Bellini’s Norma, Peep-bo in
Bellevue Opera’s The Mikado, and as a chorister in Seattle Opera’s
Parsifal. She covered the role of the Mother in the Seattle
Symphony's Amahl and the Night Visitors. She also sang in the
chorus of Seattle Opera’s Carmen in January 2004.
Messiah (Alto Soloist) |
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Soprano Amanda Brown was most recently seen with Opera Pacifica as Countess Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro. In May and June of 2003 she also appeared with Opera Pacifica as Frasquita in Carmen. She has performed with Seattle Village Theatre, Civic Light Opera, Bellevue Opera and Eastside Musical Theatre, among other venues. Amanda's roles have included Margot Bonvalet in the Desert Song, both Casilda and Gianetta in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Gondoliers, Lilli Vanessi/Katherine in Kiss Me, Kate, Tzeitel in Fiddler on the Roof, Mrs. Potifar in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Mimi in Guys and Dolls, and Lulu in Cabaret. She was awarded first place in Seattle Civic Opera's 2002 competition, and before coming to the Northwest she spent three seasons with the College Light Opera Company in Falmouth, MA. Amanda will next be seen May 2nd with with Skagit Opera, and will return to the Seattle Gilbert and Sullivan Society as Josephine in HMS Pinafore this summer. | |||
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Soprano
Ina Chang performs frequently in recital and has sung in several
concerts sponsored by VocalArts Northwest, including last year’s
“Stars for a Summer Night” gala at Benaroya Hall an American
song recital at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. She sang the role of
The Queen of the Night in Mozart’s The Magic Flute with
Northwest Opera in Schools Etc. (NOISE), and she is the soprano soloist
on a CD of works by composer Stephen Louis Bayne, called River.
Last month, she and mezzo-soprano Jenny Knapp were winners in the opera
duet division of the Performing Arts Festival of the Eastside (PAFE)
competition. She has studied voice with Karen Oleson and is currently a
student of Elizabeth Moore. She is a graduate of Brown University, where
she studied violin with Chihiro Kudo and earned a degree in history. She
lives in Seattle.
American Anthem and Mostly Italian |
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Bass-Baritone
Matthew Curran was born in Princeton, NJ. He earned his Master of
Music degree from Indiana University and apprenticed with Central City
Opera before joining the Seattle Opera Young Artists Program for the
2001/02 season.
He appeared as Don Magnifico in Rossini’s Cenerentola and
will return to the program this year to sing Colline in Puccini’s La
Boheme.
In Washington, he has also sung with Seattle Symphony as King
Balthazar in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Pacific Northwest
Ballet in Seven Deadly Sins, and the Skagit Valley Symphony in
Rossini’s Stabat Mater. He has performed numerous roles at Indiana
University and appeared with New Orleans Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Aspen
Opera Theater, and the Opera Theater of Loyola University New Orleans.
Last Autumn marked Curran’s
debut on Seattle Opera’s mainstage as Zaretsky and the Captain in
Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin. He is currently in
Switzerland on a year contract with the Zurich Opera Studio. American Anthem
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Mezzo-Soprano
LuAnne
Hargis began singing later in life, yet has established a varied
career in the Northwest as a soloist with the Seattle Opera, the Tacoma
Opera, and the Seattle Chamber Singers. She has also performed with
various local and regional music theatre groups, and has sung in many
concerts and churches in the area, including a solo recital here at St.
Paul’s in 2001. She is a member of the Seattle Opera's Supplemental
Chorus.
American Anthem, First Sunday at the Opera, Messiah Soloist 2004
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Soprano
Diane Johnson holds a BA and an MA in Music from the University of California
Riverside and a Doctor of Musical Arts from Claremont Graduate
University. She has sung with the Whatcom, Skagit and Everett
Symphonies, the Whatcom, Everett and Skagit Valley Chorales, and with
various church choirs throughout Western Washington and in Europe. While
she has performed in operas such as Mozart's Magic Flute and The
Marriage of Figaro and the Gilbert and Sullivan operettas Iolanthe,
Yeoman of the Guard and the Gondoliers, her first musical loves are art songs,
oratorios and musical theatre. She is the Head of the Music Department
at Skagit Valley College, where she has directed many musical theatre and
choral productions. She lives in Sedro-Woolley with her husband Mark, daughter Clara and son Andrew.
American Anthem and Mostly Italian |
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Mezzo Soprano Sharon
Karsner is a native Washingtonian.
She has appeared in performances ranging from musical theater to
concert and opera. Sharon was
last heard as Marcellina in Le Nozze
di Figaro with Opera Pacifica. She also performed this role with
Rainier Lyric Opera. Prior
experience includes the role of Miss Todd in Menotti’s The
Old Maid and the Thief. She
has been heard with Seattle Opera in Phillip Glass’s Satyagraha,
Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer
and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg,
and Poulenc’s Dialogues of the
Carmelites. On the concert
stage, Sharon has appeared as the alto soloist in Handel’s Messiah,
Mozart’s Coronation Mass and Requiem,
and Vivaldi’s Gloria.
She made her musical theater debut singing the role of Marie in
Loesser’s The Most Happy Fella.
Sharon is a performing member of the Ladies Musical Club of Seattle.
She had her debut recital with them, December 2003, at the Frye Art
Museum. She will be heard
again in recital at the Seattle Asian Art Museum in October 2004.
First Sunday at the Opera
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Harpsichordist Robert Kechley is a Seattle-born composer, arranger, performer and accompanist. His compositions, including two symphonies, choral works, and chamber pieces, have been commissioned and performed by Orchestra Seattle, Seattle Chamber Singers, The George Shangrow Chorale, Masterworks Choral Ensemble, the Northwest Chamber Orchestra and the Northwest Boy Choir. He is a graduate of the University of Washington, where he studied harpsichord with Silvia Kind and composition with Ken Benshoof, Robert Suderberg, William O. Smith and others. He is currently director of music at East Shore Unitarian Church and accompanist for the Seattle Bach Choir. | |||
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Mezzo Soprano Jenny
Knapp was born and raised in First Sunday at the Opera |
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Conductor
and Tenor Bernard Kwiram has conducted with a number of northwest
organizations including the Satori Men’s Chorus, the Concord Choir and
the Civic Light Opera Company. He
is currently the music director of the Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan
Society.
As a performer, Mr. Kwiram has appeared with organizations such as
the Kitsap Opera, the Civic Light Opera, Northwest Opera in Schools, Etc.,
Mock’s Crest Productions and the Leavenworth Summer Theatre. Favorite
roles include Colonel Fairfax in Yeoman
of the Guard, the title role of The
Student Prince and the Young Gypsy in Rachmaninov’s Aleko.
Mr. Kwiram recently made his Seattle Opera solo debut in the role
of the First Prisoner in Fidelio.
Concert performances have included The
Messiah, Elijah, the Mozart Requiem
and Vaughan Williams’ Serenade
to Music.
Mr. Kwiram is also a vocal instructor and is on the music faculty
at First
Sunday at the Opera |
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Pianist
Elizabeth Moore is well known to Seattle audiences for her work with Seattle Opera as
Music Coordinator/Accompanist. Her early training as a
coach/accompanist was under Natalie Limonick at the University of
Southern California. As a member of the Seattle Opera Music Staff
she has been a rehearsal accompanist for more than thirty operas
including Wagner's "Der Ring des Nibelungen". In that
capacity she has worked with many well-known singers and conductors
among whom are Ben Heppner, Jane Eaglen, and Maestro Edoardo Mueller and
Maestro Hermann Michael. Ms. Moore has trained all the youth
needed for Seattle Opera productions, particularly those required for
solo roles and she is frequently called upon to participate in Seattle
Opera Education programs. She is in high demand as a voice teacher
and maintains a full-time vocal studio. Along with her colleague
Erich Parce, she founded VocalArts Northwest, a non-profit educational institution designed to bring high level professional
training to those seeking advanced classical training in pursuit of the
profession.
American Anthem & Mostly Italian |
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Baritone
Daniel Oakden was last seen as John Utterson in CLO's production of
Jekyll and Hyde. Other recent roles include
Papageno in Kitsap Opera's 2002 performance
of The Magic Flute and Figaro in Rainier Lyrics Opera's production
of The Marriage of Figaro. Daniel was also a member of the Northwest
opera in schools 2002 run of The Barber of Seville in which he played
the role of Dr. Bartolo. Daniel is scheduled to perform this October as Germont in Kitsap Opera's production of La
Traviata. He will also performed with the Seattle Opera Chorus in their
August 2003 production of Parsifal.
Mostly Italian & First Sunday at the Opera
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Baritone
Erich Parce has been a frequent guest of opera companies throughout
North America and Europe, including the Metropolitan Opera, San
Francisco Opera, San Diego Opera, Seattle Opera, Greater Miami Opera,
L’Opera d’Nice, and L’Opera de Montreal. His roles include Figaro
in “Il Barbiere di Siviglia”, the Count in “Le Nozze di Figaro”,
Guglielmo in “Cosi fan Tutte”, Jonathan Wade in “The Passion of
Jonathan Wade” by Carlisle Floyd, Zurga in “Les Pecheurs des Perles”,
Valentin in “Faust”, and the Father in “Hansel and Gretel”.
He has sung with Alfredo Kraus, Carol Vaness, and Placido Domingo among
others, and worked with such conductors as Carlos Kleiber and Trevor
Pinnock. Mr. Parce maintains an active teaching studio when not performing and directing. American Anthem and Messiah (bass soloist). |
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Conductor
Malcolm Peterson has
expertise developed in a variety of groups, including high school and
college choirs and ensembles, large church choirs and orchestras, high
school, middle school, beginning bands, and notably, the Cascade
Cantabile Choir for 3 years, which performed masterworks of the choral
literature, including, Te Deum, a cantata written specifically for
Malcolm (trumpet), and his wife Sharyn (violin) and their Seattle Choir;
then known as the Musical Offering Chorale.
Mr. Peterson has studied conducting with the acclaimed Dr. Bonner of Azusa Pacific College, and is committed to the growth of musical experience among the youth and adults of Skagit Valley. For several years, he served as a brass coach and an assistant conductor of the Fidalgo Youth Symphony (Skagit Valley) and the Mt. Baker Youth Symphony (Whatcom County). He also worked professionally as Orchestra Manager & Brass Coach for the Cascade Youth Symphony in the North Seattle area.
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Music Director and Concert Master Sharyn Peterson holds a B.A. in Fine Arts (music emphasis), and studied voice, viola, and violin. She also holds an M.A. in Violin Performance/Pedagogy from the University of Washington. She studied conducting with Vilem Sokol and Gary Bonner, and is currently in her 11th year of conducting the Mt. Baker Youth Symphony, her 8th year of conducting the Fidalgo Youth Symphony, and recently conducted the Fidalgo Youth Symphony for the Northwest Children’s Theater. She also conducts the Moviehouse Sinfonia and is the Artistic Director and Violin Soloist for the Starry Night Chamber Concerts in the historic Lincoln Theater in Mt. Vernon where she has a private studio and teaches voice and violin. | |||
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Soprano Terri Richter was a member of the
first graduating class of Seattle Opera’s Young Artists Program in 1998
for which she portrayed Despina in Mozart’s Così fan tutte. She
made her Seattle Opera debut as Barbarina in Mozart’s Nozze di Figaro
in 1997 and returned to the company as Papagena in Mozart’s Zauberflöte
in 1999, as Xenia in Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov in 2000, as the
First Wood Nymph in Dvorak’s Rusalka in 2001, and as Oscar in
Verdi’s Ballo in maschera in 2002. Other performances in the
Northwest include Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro with Opera Idaho
and concert appearances with Seattle Symphony. In the 2003/04 Seattle
Opera season, Richter sings an Esquire and a Flower Maiden in Wagner’s Parsifal
and the Naiad in Ariadne auf Naxos. Visit Terri's
website at www.terririchter.com
Ms. Richter was the soprano soloist in Skagit Opera's December 2003 Messiah production. |
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Tenor
Scott Rittenhouse graduated from Western Washington University with
both a Bachelors and Masters Degree in Vocal Performance. He has
sung roles in a variety of community and university productions
including, "The Pirates of Penzance," "The
Gondoliers," "Carmen" and "The Magic Flute."
He has sung with the Seattle Opera in productions of Verdi's "Don
Carlo" and Wagner's "Lohengrin." He has appeared as
guest soloist with the Skagit Symphony in Rossini's "Stabat
Mater," and most recently, in their performance of Bach's "Magnificat."
He is the band and general music teacher at Jefferson Elementary School
in Mount Vernon, and is the choir director at Salem Lutheran Church.
He lives in Mount Vernon with his wife Lynne, and their two children.
American Anthem, Mostly Italian, tenor soloist in The Messiah & First Sunday at the Opera
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Mezzo-Soprano
Susan Salas,
graduated with a BA in Vocal Performance from Gonzaga University in
1996. She moved to the Seattle area in 1997 and has since appeared
with such groups as the Bellevue Opera, Lake Union Civic Orchestra,
Vocal Arts Northwest, The Jane Austen Society of North America, the
Seattle Gilbert and Sullivan Society and the Seattle Symphony
Soundbridge lecture series. She
has performed the roles of the Wife of Bath in The Canterbury
Tales, Rosine in Signor Deluso, Fiametta in The
Gondoliers, twice has played Phoebe Merryl in The Yeomen of the
Guard and, most recently, appeared as Constance Partlett in The
Sorcerer. She was
recently invited to be a member of the Seattle Opera’s Supplementary
chorus and, this summer, she will perform the role of Tessa in the
Seattle Gilbert and Sullivan Society’s production of The Gondoliers.
She currently studies voice with Elizabeth Moore.
Mostly Italian &First Sunday at the Opera |
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Baritone
Frederick Sederholm performs
in opera, musical theater and recital. His most recent performances
include King Melchior in Seattle Symphony's Amahl & the
Night Visitors - Schaunard in Washington East Opera's La Boheme,
The Red Shadow in Civic Light Opera's, Desert Song and Don
Quixote in Leavenworth Summer Theatre's Man of La Mancha. He was
the Baritone soloist for the premier of Three Poems of Sam Hamill
at Centrum Arts, and played Carl-Magnus in Second Story Rep's A
Little Night Music
Mostly Italian |
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Mezzo-Soprano
Betsy Carney Senff has been active as a soloist in the Pacific
Northwest. Her repertoire
in classical choral music is extensive. She has performed works by many
composers ranging from Bach and Handel to Stravinsky and Bernstein.
Ms. Senff is a chorister in the Whatcom Chorale and has served as
soloist there on many occasions. She
was also the soloist in the west coast premier of a work by Russian
composer, Sergei Taneyev, Upon Reading A Psalm, Op. 36, with the
Portland Chorale. She has
been heard in performances with the Skagit Choral and the Skagit
Symphony and many groups in the Seattle area.
She has traveled in performance with choirs to New York, Germany,
Czech Republic, and Austria. In addition to oratorio, Ms. Senff has been heard in solo
recital and duet performances. She
has sung in many churches and serves as a soloist and cantor in the
Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church, where she is a member.
Ms. Senff studied voice with Richard Asher, of Seattle.
She lives in Mount Vernon with her husband and three children.
American Anthem and Mostly Italian |
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Soprano Cristina Villareale
A Seattle native and graduate of the University of Washington Schools of
Music and Drama, Cristina has performed all over the northwest with
organizations such as Seattle Opera, ACT Theatre, Skagit Opera, The
Northwest Symphony, Vocal Arts Northwest, The Ladies Musical Club of
Seattle, Village Theatre and Arts West. She was most recently seen as
Gilda in the Seattle Opera Guild Previews of Rigoletto. Other
preview credits include Lavinia Manon and Helen Niles in Mourning
Becomes Electra and Rosalba in the 2005 previews of Florencia en el
Amazonas. Cristina spent the past summer at the Astoria Music
Festival in Oregon where she sang the role of Pamina in The Magic Flute
and performed as a principal artist in several Discovery Series
concerts. Other credits include The Old Maid and the Thief (Latitia),
Signor Deluso (Célie), West Side Story (Maria), Fiddler on the Roof (Chava),
L'enfant e les sortilèges (La chatte), Werther (Gretel and Sophie),
HappyPants! (Melody Hillshire) and the soprano soloist in the Brahms
Requiem at Beneroya Hall. Cristina is the recipient of the Seattle
Opera Guild Singer Training Grant for 2004 and 2005. Other
recent awards include the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions
(regional finalist), the Ladies Musical Club of Seattle Solo
Competition Finals (honorable mention), and the Performing Arts Festival
of the Eastside (Kimie Burleson Memorial Scholarship). Cristina is
performing member of the Seattle Early Music Guild’s Continuo Ensemble
and the Ladies Musical Club of Seattle, a founding member of the
Olympic Baroque Ensemble, and holds an ongoing engagement as the prima
donna at Seattle's Ponte Vecchio Italian Bistro. For more
information, please visit Cristina on the web at www.belsogno.com.
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Tenor James M. Walters performs
frequently in opera and recital, and was most recently seen as Remendado
in Opera
Pacifica's "Carmen", and in a recital of Operetta duets and
Art Songs with Soprano Song Kim. In September 2002 he was acclaimed for
his comedic performance in Kitsap
Opera's "The Magic Flute", and sang Monsieur Vogelsang from
"The Impresario" at Benaroya Hall with VocalArts
Northwest in August 2002. He has also bee seen in Oratorio as the
tenor soloist in Händel’s Messiah at Auburn
Performing Arts. In September James was seen at the San
Juan Community Theatre in Friday Harbour with West Sound Lyric Theatre
Ensemble in staged scenes from Gilbert and Sullivan Operas, other recent
and upcoming engagements include creating the role of the First Roman
Soldier in the new opera "Calvary" based on Yeats' play in
October, a return to Opera
Pacifica as Basilio in "The Marriage of Figaro" in January,
and Feburary through May he will tour with NOISE
as Hoffmann in "The Tales of Hoffmann; Doll Act". James proudly
studies with William Eddy of Tacoma. Click
Here to visit James' webpage. |
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Bass-Baritone
Ron Wohl recently sang with the Seattle Opera Chorus in
their production of Wagner's Parsifal. He will perform the roles
of Gorgibus and The Magistrate in the VocalArts Northwest Production of
Pasatieri's Signor Deluso at Benaroya Hall in October. Previously, has been a soloist with the Skagit Symphony and in
several concerts at St. Paul’s. He has also
sung principal roles on stage with Theater Arts Guild, Anacortes
Community Theatre, The North West Children’s Theatre and The Bellevue
Opera, as well as performing in the chorus with the Skagit Valley
Chorale, the Skagit Symphony and the Fidalgo Youth Symphony. He currently
studies voice with Erich Parce. In addition to producing SKAGIT OPERA concerts, he has produced many large and small community theatre projects, and has emceed benefits for arts, educational and service organizations in Skagit County. He is on the boards of directors of the Theater Arts Guild, the Lincoln Theatre Center Foundation, and the Skagit Performing Arts Council in Mount Vernon. He is the Skagit County Arts Volunteer of the Year for 2003. He resides locally with his wife and two daughters. |
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