Announcing the 2017 Opera in the 21st Century Participants

Soprano Jennifer Taverner has been described as "resplendent and captivating" (Ottawa Life) and is in high demand as a soloist with orchestras and opera companies across Canada. In 2016 she received the Lyndon Woodside Encouragement Award at the New York Oratorio Solo Competition Finals at Carnegie Hall. Her 2016/2017 season began with an engagement at the Canadian Opera Company covering the role of Ginevra in Handel’s Ariodante. Other recent engagements include The Chocolate Soldier (Toronto Operetta Theatre), Mozart’s Requiem (Bach Elgar Choir), and Messiah (Thirteen Strings Orchestra). Next season she debuts with Pacific Opera Victoria as Armida in Handel's Rinaldo.

Baritone Adam Harris has been described as an intuitively musical and distinctively dramatic young performer. He completed his BMus at Western University in his hometown London, ON and has recently finished a Master’s Degree in Operatic Performance from the University of Toronto. Past credits include Moralès in Carmen (Mississauga Symphony), Argenio in Imeneo (UofT Opera), Pluto in Orphée aux Enfers (UofT Opera) and Marcello in La Bohème (Opera NUOVA). Concert performances include Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs (Lyrica Chamber Choir), Carmina Burana (Indian River Festival) and George Butterworth’s Six Songs from a Shropshire Lad (University of Toronto Orchestra).

Edmonton born soprano Ana Toumine is currently based in Montreal, studying with Dominique Labelle. Recent roles include Rosalinde, Alcina, Mimí, and Anna Glawari.

In past years, Toumine was a recipient of the North Dakota district Metropolitan Opera National Council Encouragement Award, and of a 2015 Alberta Foundation of the Arts Training and Career Development Grant. 

Toumine is a recent graduate of McGill University, the University of British Columbia, and the University of Manitoba. She continues to coach with Michael McMahon, Stephen Hargreaves, and Tracy Dahl. 

Upcoming, Toumine can be seen performing in Opera Kelowna’s La Bohème as Mimí.

@anatoumine

Anne-Marie MacIntosh, soprano, has been praised by Opera Canada for her “effervescent coloratura,” “stratospheric notes” and “dramatic vivacity.” A native of Langley, BC, she was one of Calgary Opera’s 2016-2017 Emerging Artists and will also be a returning member of the program next year. MacIntosh made her Calgary Opera debut this past fall as Sally in Die Fledermaus, followed by Laurette in Doctor Miracle. In 2015, she was a Rebanks Family Fellow at the prestigious Glenn Gould School and made her professional debut as Barbarina in Le nozze di Figaro at Manitoba Opera. 

CAEA member

@am_macintosh

Latest news: won third prize in the COC Ensemble Centre Stage competition; will be a member in the 2016-17 Ensemble

A native of the Montreal area, baritone Bruno Roy undertook a Bachelor of Music at McGill University. In 2013, he was invited to Texas to sing the role of Raoul de Gardefeu in the Opera Without Borders production of La Vie Parisienne. That summer, he also participated in the Franco American Vocal Academy’s Salzburg workshop where he performed as Masetto in Don Giovanni. During 2013-14, he participated in McGill’s Song Interpretation class under the guidance of distinguished professor Michael McMahon and performed the role of Papageno in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte at a workshop in Indiana. January 2015 marked his Opera McGill debut as Il Conte Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro. In summer 2015, as well as participating in the Open Space program at The Banff Centre, he will also perform as The Clock/The Cat in L’enfant et les sortilèges at Opera on Avalon.

Soprano Danika Lorèn is known for her dramatic sensitivity and instinctive musicality. She is a current member of the Canadian Opera Company's Ensemble, and has completed both bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of Toronto under the instruction of J. Patrick Raftery, and Wendy Nielsen. Lorèn’s past roles include: Dalinda in Ariodante, Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Monica in The Medium, Lady with a Hand Mirror in Postcard from Morocco, Mimì in La Bohème, Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi and Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro. In 2017, Lorèn made her Canadian Opera Company debut as Woglinde in Götterdämmerung.

CEAE member

@danikaloren

Ottawa-born soprano Gwenna Fairchild-Taylor holds an M. Mus. Opera (University of Toronto) and a B. Mus. Voice Performance (Western University). Recent performance highlights include Tapestry Opera’s Songbook VII, Berta in The Barber of Seville (Indian River Festival, Stratford Summer Music), and Soprano Soloist in Beethoven Symphony No. 9 (London Symphonia). An accomplished educator, Fairchild-Taylor is a three-time recipient of Government of Nunavut Culture & Heritage Grants in support of her music and drama programs in Nunavut communities. Other credits include Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder (North York Concert Orchestra), Lady Billows, Donna Anna, and the title role in The Merry Widow.

Twitter: @gwennaft

Haitham Haidar is an emerging Lebanese-­Canadian tenor currently based in Montreal, Canada. He has recently completed his Master’s degree in Voice and Opera Performance at McGill under the tutelage of Dominique Labelle, Michael McMahon, and Stephen Hargreaves. Haitham’s most recent involvements include the title role of the children’s opera Sid the Serpent Who Wanted to Sing (Opera McGill), Alfred in Die Fledermaus (Opera Mcgill), Oronte in Alcina (Opera McGill), Leo Frank in Parade (Opera NUOVA). Next Fall, Haitham will be starting his Masters of Musical Arts at Yale University’s Institute of Sacred Music. Haitham is very excited to be attending the Banff’s Centre esteemed Opera Program.

Jeanine Williams is a Canadian soprano currently based in Ottawa, Ontario where she studies with Christiane Riel for her masters of music (2018). Some of Williams’ operatic highlights include Dido (Dido and Aeneas), Mother (Hansel und Gretel) and Angelica (Suor Angelica). Williams’ recent performances include Mimi in La Boheme with Opera Nuova, and Micäela in Carmen at the University of Ottawa. She is delighted to be selected as a participant for Opera in the 21st Century at the Banff Centre. Williams aspires to pursue a performance career and assist in wider Canadian exposure to operatic culture.

@jninewill

Katie Miller graduated with a masters in opera performance from the University of British Columbia in 2015, having performed the roles of Dorabella in Mozart's Cosi fan tutte, Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro, Nicklausse in Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann, and Dawn in Chatman's Choir Practice. Post-graduation roles include La Zia Principessa in Puccini´s Suor Angelica, with Opera Guadalajara, Mexico, Adalgisa from Bellini's Norma, with Vancouver Island Opera, and alto solo in Mozart's Coronation Mass, with the Kamloops Symphony Orchestra. Miller begins her second year with the Atelier Lyrique de l'opéra de Montréal September 2017.

Facebook artist page: www.facebook.com/katiemillermezzo 

@katiemillermezzo 

Website: https://katiemiller520.wix.com/opera

Micah Schroeder, baritone, holds Bachelor and Masters Degrees from the University of British Columbia and an Opera Diploma from the University of Toronto. Roles this season include Pluton in Offenbach’s Orphée aux enfers, and Argenio in Handel’s Imeneo with UofT Opera and Schaunard in La Bohème with Against the Grain Theatre. As a fellow of the Aspen Opera Centre in 2015 and 2016 Mr. Schroeder sang Schaunard in Puccini’s La Bohème and Tonic/Don Giovanni/Participant 2 in The Classical Style. Other highlights include the title role in Rossini’s Barber of Seville with Saskatoon Opera in Schools as well as the cover for Vancouver Opera in Schools.

Canadian bass Michael Uloth is a graduate of the Canadian Opera Company's Ensemble Studio, Seattle Opera's Young Artists Program, and Glimmerglass Opera's Young American Artist’s Program. Uloth’s opera credits include the title role in Don Pasquale, Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte, Sparafucile in Rigoletto, Leporello and Il Commendatore in Don Giovanni, Enrico VIII in Anna Bolena, Il Re di Scozia in Ariodante, Collatinus in The Rape of Lucretia, and Theseus in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He has been the recipient of numerous awards and scholarships and also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature. For more information, visit michaeluloth.com. 

@ooloth

CAEA member

Georgia Burashko, mezzo soprano, is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Opera Performance from the University of Toronto under the tutelage of Laura Tucker. Most recently she was heard as Tirinto in Handel's Imeneo, UofT Opera. Georgia received her BMus of vocal performance at McGill University's Schulich School of Music. She previously studied with celebrated Canadian soprano Mary Morrison and has participated in summer workshops such as The International Vocal Arts Institute (IVAI), The Canadian Vocal Arts Institute (ICAV), St. Andrews by the Sea Opera Workshop, and Tafelmusik Baroque Institute. Georgia is thrilled to be spending the summer in Banff!

Toronto native Danielle MacMillan holds a BFA, with honours, in classical vocal performance from York University, with additional training at Istituzione Teatro Lirico Sperimentale di Spoleto, Italy and The Glenn Gould School. Ms. MacMillan was a member of the Canadian Opera Company’s Ensemble Studio and Palm Beach Opera’s Benenson Young Artist Program. Her credits include, Second Niece, Britten’s Peter Grimes; Dorabella, Cosi fan tutte (COC); Diana, La Calisto, Cavalli (GGS); Cherubino, Le nozze di Figaro, Mozart; Siebel, Faust, Gounod (HOS); Contessa Ceprano, Rigoletto, Verdi; Edith, Pirates of Penzance, Gilbert & Sullivan. Ms. MacMillan is a recent winner of the St. Andrews Arts Council Aria Competition. Ms. MacMillan will be returning to PBO as Cherubino in March 2018.

CAEA member

@mezzosopranodan

Violinist-violist Brenna Hardy-Kavanagh’s passion for chamber music has taken her across the globe, with performances in Canada, the United States, Brazil, Ireland, England, Wales, Germany, Italy, Poland, and Romania. Two-time prizewinner in the Glenn Gould School Chamber Music Competition, Ms. Hardy-Kavanagh recently made her Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival debut, as violinist of the Amarok Ensemble. A long-time business owner, she has managed the Canadian music agency Cadenza Strings with finesse and imagination for 13 years. Currently based in Toronto, Canada, Ms. Hardy-Kavanagh performs on a violin by Ottawa luthier Guy Harrison and a viola by Toronto luthier John Newton.

@ravensara2

brenna.hardykavanagh.com

Member of the American Federation of Musicians (via the Toronto Musician’s Association)

Oboist Carly Gordon holds a Master’s degree in Oboe Performance from McGill University, studying under Jacqueline Leclair, and completed her undergraduate work under Richard Killmer at the Eastman School of Music. Gordon co-founded the Montreal-based Downwind Quintet, dedicated to composer collaboration and honoured as “The Next Generation of Chamber Musicians” in a special concert at Musée McCord. As a writer, Gordon completed a Public Relations internship at the John F. Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., in 2015, and is passionate about blending research, storytelling, and new media with creative performance. Find her online at cjgordon.com.

@CCMusicBlog

Originally from Glenville, New York, Christopher Paul holds a bachelor’s degree and Graduate Diploma in Trombone Performance from the Schulich School of Music of McGill University, where he studied with James Box. During his time at McGill, Paul was a member of the McGill Symphony Orchestra, and the McGill Contemporary Music Ensemble, participating in tours with both ensembles. An enthusiast of new music, Paul was a featured soloist with the McGill CME, performing Franck Bedrossians’s, Division, as well as commissioning a new piece for solo trombone by Oren Boneh, titled Behind the Forget-Me-Nots, and studied free improvisation with Guillaume Bourgogne.

Pollack loves collaborating with artists of all backgrounds. She founded the non-profit Chamber Music with Friends, Inc. in her home state, Florida, to facilitate projects between visual artists, actors, dancers, and more. Most recently, she worked with composer Chelsea Komschlies to adapt her Fear a Bhata to a solo for dancing clarinet. Pollack graduated Northwestern University cum laude in 2013, with a Bachelor of Music in clarinet performance and Bachelor of Arts in psychology. She begins her Master of Music degree at Bowling Green State University this fall and pursues interests in the psychology of good performance practice.

Liam Hockley is a versatile clarinetist and passionate advocate for new music. In addition to the classical canon, Hockley’s repertoire encompasses major works from the twentieth and twenty- first centuries, and he regularly collaborates with Canadian and international composers on innovative new works. Hockley has been the recipient of numerous prizes and awards including an interpretation prize at the 2015 Stockhausen-Konzert und -Kurse Kürten. Hockley is currently a candidate for the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in clarinet performance at the University of British Columbia and maintains an active freelance schedule in Vancouver.

Michael Calderone is a freelance trumpeter based in Chicago, Illinois. Calderone has appeared with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Evanston Symphony (IL), Bar Harbor Brass Week, and performed under conductors James Ross, Alondra de la Parre, Marin Alsop, Christoph Eschenbach, and others. Previously, he performed in the U.S. premiere of Helmut Lachenmann's opera Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern with the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra. Calderone studied with Channing Philbrick at Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts and with Chris Gekker the University of Maryland School of Music, where he was the recipient of the Lenore Hungerford Gallagher Endowed Scholarship.

Brad Cherwin is a Toronto-based clarinettist. His performances have been called “astounding,” and are noted for their “technical prowess [and] perfect conveyance of … wit, humor, and effect” by the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. The Calgary Herald has hailed his playing as “a total success ... as flexible in tone as possible.”

Cherwin is also the is the co-director of a new chamber music series in Toronto, which just finished its first season to rave reviews. The concerts have been lauded as “superbly planned, with a rich banquet of textures and colours … Next time these people throw a recital, run don’t walk.” (Lydia Perovic, Definitely the Opera).

Dominica Greene was born and raised in Upland, California. She attended the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts and during her senior year, received an Honorable Mention in Modern Dance from the National Young Arts Foundation. She graduated from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in 2016, and attended Springboard Danse Montreal shortly after. She has performed works by many notable choreographers, and is the current company apprentice for Helen Simoneau Danse. She is thrilled to be joining Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity this summer for their Open Space program!

Instagram: @draminica

Graham Kaplan grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia, and is an alum of the Arts Umbrella Graduate Program. Upon completion, he joined Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal, where he performed works by Barak Marshall, Andonis Foniadakis, Wen Wei Wang, and Cayetano Soto. Kaplan was invited to join the Nederlands Dans Theater 2 in 2015, and performed works by Alexander Ekman, Paul Lightfoot/Sol Leon, Johan Inger, Sharon Eyal, among others. Kaplan is currently based in Vancouver as a freelance performing artist and choreographer. He is very excited to be a part of the Banff Centre's Opera. 

A native from Brazil, Dr. Rafael Luz is currently the Music Director of the North York Concert Orchestra, and also a faculty member at the Festival Eleazar de Carvalho in Brazil. He appeared as guest conductor in several orchestras in Canada, Brazil, and the US, and served as Music Director for the Jericoacoara Symphony Orchestra in Brazil, and assistant conductor for the opera division at the University of Toronto. Luz holds a Doctoral degree from UofT, and a Masters degree from the Aaron Copland School of Music in New York.

Luz is excited to be joining the creative team at the Banff Centre for this exciting project.

Andrea Van Pelt is a collaborative pianist and vocal coach from Toronto, Ontario. She holds a Master’s degree in Collaborative Piano and a Bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance from the University of Toronto, and a Master’s degree in Piano Performance from McGill University. She is an alumna of the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, the Franz-Schubert-Institut, the Toronto Summer Music Festival, the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival, Opera NUOVA, and the Accademia Europea dell'Opera. Ms. Van Pelt has performed as a soloist and collaborator in Canada and internationally. She is currently the music director at Oak Hill Academy in Hamilton, Ontario, and works as a vocal coach and accompanist at the University of Toronto.

@vanpeltandrea

Since graduating from the National Theatre School of Canada (Production, 2011), Émilie Martel has worked as an assistant director in opera with Oriol Tomas on the North American and European scene: The Consul (2011), Le 4e enfant-lune (2012), Don Pasquale (2014), Les Caprices de Marianne (France, 2014-2016), and Leonore ou l’amour conjugal (Washington, New York 2017). In parallel with her work in opera, she collaborates as a production manager and assistant director with many theatre and dance companies. Moreover, she pursue her own creative process; she presented her first dance piece in 2014, Devant la chose. 

Francesca is an arts administrator based in Toronto. She is the General Manager of Liederwölfe Productions Inc., which specializes in audience-centric experiences. It began 12 years ago as an experimental opera group founded in Francesca’s hometown of Montreal. She is also the Community Investment Manager at Toronto Arts Foundation, managing the sponsorship and marketing portfolios. Francesca holds a Master’s in Performing Arts Administration from New York University, during which she interned at the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera and Performance Space 122. She also holds a Bachelor of Music from McGill University, where she studied voice with Lucile Evans. 

@PerezFrancesca