Stephanie Childress, a Franco-British conductor, now in her early twenties, is making her mark as a musician of remarkable skill who has been likened to “other notable young conductors of the past such as Sir John Eliot Gardiner and Sir Simon Rattle” (Varsity). Her musicianship and command of the symphonic and operatic repertoire have already led her to establish herself on both sides of the Atlantic. In the 2022/23 season she will conclude her time as Assistant Conductor of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and Music Director of the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra. She will also return to conduct the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, North Carolina Symphony, Orchestre National de Montpellier, as well as make debuts with the Orchestre National d’ Île-de-France, New World Symphony and Konzerthausorchester Berlin. Following her success as the 2nd prize-winner of ‘La Maestra’ in 2020, she enjoyed a number of engagements with orchestras in France, including l’Orchestre de Paris, Paris Mozart Orchestra, l’Orchestre de Chambre de Paris and l’Orchestre National de Montpellier, as well as being invited to take part in the Conducting Académie of the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence. That same season, Childress made several exciting debuts in the UK with the London Symphony Orchestra (including a concert broadcast on Medici), the Philharmonia, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and London Mozart Players. Having been inspired to start conducting due to her love of opera, Stephanie most recently made her Glyndebourne Tour debut in autumn 2022 conducting Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, and will return for a production of Don Giovanni in autumn 2023. Previously, she conducted Jeremy Sams’s The Enchanted Island with British Youth Opera, Benjamin Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia at St John’s College (Cambridge), Lennox Berkeley’s A Dinner Engagement for the Cambridge University Opera Society and the world premiere of Anna Semple’s The Next Station is Green Park at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. She is currently one of two conductors in the Académie of the Opéra de Paris. Stephanie studied music at St. John’s College Cambridge, starting aged 16 after deciding to leave secondary school. Previously a violinist, she rose to prominence as a string finalist in BBC Young Musician of the Year 2016 and 2018, and made her Proms debut in 2019 at the Royal Albert Hall with the Southbank Sinfonia and Jessica Cottis. Stephanie is passionate about furthering the reach of classical music on both sides of the Atlantic and in 2022 undertook an artistic residency with the Villa Albertine, a network for arts and ideas designed to link France and the United States. A write-up of her experiences will be published in 2023. As of 2022, she is also a participant in the Franco-British Young Leaders’ Program, a scheme created by the Franco-British Council to further cooperation across both sides of the Channel. She is an active supporter of the Tri-borough Music Hub, an award-winning organisation for music education and has taken part in a number of programmes with the association, including leading the junior string ensemble at an ‘Artists for Inclusivity’ event and speaking at the Youth Music Conference 2020 held at the Royal College of Music. She was on adjudicating panels for the 2019 RPS Awards (Storytelling Category) and the Ivor Novello Awards (Orchestral Category).

Coloratura soprano Sharleen Joynt has been praised for her “silvery, sparkling, substantial and resonant soprano” (Die Deutsche Bühne), her “scintillating high range, reminiscent of the most beautiful moments of Mady Mesplé” (Opernwelt), and “an artistic command that leaves the listener breathless” (Deutschland Radio). Sharleen recently reprised the role of the Controller in Jonathan Dove’s Flight for Seattle Opera, which was filmed and released for streaming in April of 2021, critics exclaiming, “We know we’re in for an acting treat when we see Sharleen Joynt’s overpoweringly supercilious, impeccably turned out Controller, prowling her control tower and pulling the strings; we see her arched eyebrows and penetrating stare in close-up as she delivers stratospheric coloratura.” (Bachtrack). Highlights for the 2022-2023 season included a return to Seattle Opera as Amore in Gluck’s Orfeo and Gilda in Rigoletto for both Florida Grand Opera and Colorado Opera. Recent and future engagements include Euridice in Orfeo ed Euridice with Edmonton Opera, a wildly successful last-minute jump-in as Cunégonde with Opéra National de Lyon, and a role debut as Morgana in Handel’s Alcina with Seattle Opera. Honors include nominations for Nachwunschsängerin (Singer of the Year), awarded by Opernwelt magazine, and the prestigious “Der Faust” prize, awarded by the German Stage Association. Sharleen has been a prizewinner in the Liederkranz Foundation Competition, the George London Foundation Competition, the Young Concert Artists International Auditions, the Licia Albanese Foundation Competition, the Canadian Music Competition’s International Stepping Stone, and the Palm Beach Opera Vocal Competition.

Last season he debuted at Boston Lyric Opera in La bohème (Schaunard) followed by debuts with Bayerische Staatsoper for La fanciulla del West (Bello), OperaDelaware/Opera Baltimore for La traviata (Germont), and Opera Philadelphia for La bohème (Schaunard). He returned to The Metropolitan Opera for The Magic Flute (Papageno) and Dialogues des Carmélites and Berkshire Opera Festival for La bohème (Marcello). On the concert stage he will made his debut with The Cleveland Orchestra in La fanciulla del West (Bello).     Recent engagements include his debut at The Metropolitan Opera in Fire Shut Up in My Bones (Chester) followed by debuts with Michigan Opera Theatre and Spoleto Festival USA in La bohème (Schaunard), Cincinnati Opera for the world premiere of Castor and Patience (West), North Carolina Opera for Sanctuary Road (William Still), Baltimore Concert Opera for Adriana Lecouvreur (Michonnet), and a return to Pittsburgh Opera for The Magic Flute (Papageno). Additionally, he workshopped Factotum (Garby) at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.     Past highlights include a visit to Opera Theatre of Saint Louis for Opera on the Go – Digital followed by debuts with Fargo-Moorhead Opera for Il barbiere di Siviglia (Figaro), Opera Orlando for The Secret River (Augustus), and Des Moines Metro Opera for Pique Dame (Tomsky), Platée (Satyre), and Fellow Travelers (Tommy McIntyre).     Mr. Taylor is a graduate of the Pittsburgh Opera Resident Artist Program where some of his assignments included La bohème (Schaunard), Glory Denied (Older Thompson), and Tosca (Sciarrone). He debuted at Madison Opera in I pagliacci (Silvio) and was an Apprentice Artist at The Santa Fe Opera where his assignments included covering in Les pêcheurs de perles (Zurga). As a Gerdine Young Artist and Richard Gaddes Festival Artist at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis where he seen in The Barber of Seville (Fiorello), Shalimar the Clown (Cowardly Giant), and Madam Butterfly (Prince Yamadori) and covered in The Barber of Seville (Figaro), La bohème (Marcello), Ariadne auf Naxos (Music Teacher), Madam Butterfly (Sharpless), and The Trial (Lawyer Huld). Additional performances include La bohème (Marcello) with Crested Butte Festival and Madama Butterfly (Prince Yamadori) for Berkshire Opera’s inaugural season.    Benjamin received his Master of Music from Boston University and his Performer’s Certificate with Boston University’s Opera Institute. While at BU, he performed in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Demetrius), Così fan tutte (Guglielmo), La Tragédie de Carmen (Escamillo), Angels in America (Prior Walter), Florencia en el Amazonas (Alvaro), Owen Wingrave (Coyle), and Le Portrait de Manon (Des Grieux). He received his Bachelor of the Arts at Morgan State University where he sang in Blue Monday (Tom) with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. 

Elizabeth Van Os is a highly accomplished soprano known for her dynamic stage presence, flexible technique, and impressive vocal range. Originally from the Mountain West, she is based in New York City, where she has been an active part of the music scene since 2012. Her opera credits include Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi, Second Lady in Die Zauberflöte, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, Mimì in La Bohème, and Marguerite in Faust. She has been a member of the Bard Opera Chorus since 2015, performing in productions including Ethel Smyth’s The Wreckers, Mascagni’s Iris, Dvorák’s Dimitrij, Rubenstein’s Demon, Richard Strauss’s Die schweigsame Frau, and as a featured soloist in Chausson’s Le roi Arthus. In 2019, she sang the title role in Martinu’s Juliette in a concert performance with the American Symphony Orchestra. As a concert soloist, Elizabeth has appeared with the Collegiate Chorale in Song of Norway, Battle Hymns, and Chichester Psalms. She has also appeared with the Ars Musica Chorale of New Jersey as a soloist in Carmina Burana, Verdi’s Requiem, and Hariu L’Adonai: Jewish Composers Through the Centuries. She performed in the world premiere of Matthew Brown’s The Beautiful America with the Astoria Choir and has appeared as a featured soloist with the Berkshire Bach Society, the Brearley Singers, Saint George Choral Society, and Artek Early Music Ensemble. In 2022, she was a featured soloist in Trinity Wall Street’s staged production of Craig Hella Johnson’s Considering Matthew Shepard. Elizabeth’s other highlights include a concert performance of Ligeti’s Mysteries of the Macabre with pianist Joseph Yungen. Elizabeth is also an active concert chorister and has appeared with Musica Sacra, the New York Virtuoso Singers, MasterVoices, St. George’s Choral Society, the New York Philharmonic Chorus, and the Bard Festival Chorale. She frequently works with emerging conductors as a member of the Conductors Chorus under the direction of James Bagwell. Her small-ensemble work includes the Salvatones from 2015 to 2017, under the direction of Daniel Brondel, and The Western Wind from 2020 to 2022, under the direction of William Zukof. In 2022, she appeared on Saturday Night Live with the Buck McDaniel Singers, singing backup for Sam Smith.

Gabrielle Barkidjija, hailed by the Boston Musical Intelligencer as "riveting on stage and [singing] with damnable commitment and satisfying vocal chops," is an avid performer of new music and rarely-performed works, and has sung many world and regional premieres. In the 2022-2023 season, Ms. Barkidjija was a Detroit Opera Resident Artist where she covered the roles of Siebel (Faust), Arsamene (Xerxes), and Federico Garcia Lorca (Ainadamar), and performed as a Voice of the Fountain (Ainadamar). She is elated to return to Detroit Opera to sing the role of Dodo (Breaking the Waves) and cover the role of Fox (Cunning Little Vixen). Previous notable roles performed include Zosia (Two Remain), Dorabella (Cosi fan tutte), Brittomara (If I were You), Ada Lovelace (The Infinite Energy of Ada Lovelace), Fanny Price (Mansfield Park), Captain (Dog Days), Beatrice (Beatrice et Benedict), and Zerlina (Don Giovanni). Gabrielle has earned top awards from the Rochester Oratorio Society International Vocal Competition, the Metropolitan Opera National Competition, the Premiere Opera Foundation, the Gerda Lissner Foundation, the Young Patronesses of the Opera Competition, and the Orpheus Vocal Competition. She has been a young artist with the Merola Opera Program, Aspen Opera Theater, Central City Opera, and the Tanglewood Music Center, and completed her education at Northwestern University (Bachelor's of Music and Masters of Music), and Boston University (Opera Institute). She was awarded a full merit scholarship from Northwestern University to complete her Masters degree, and was the recipient of Boston University's Phyllis Curtin award.

American tenor David Portillo, winner of the 2024 Sphinx Medal of Excellence by the Sphinx Organization, has established himself as a leading classical singer of his generation. Recent and upcoming performance highlights include Tamino in The Magic Flute at the Metropolitan Opera, Septimius in a new production of Handel’s Theodora with Theater an der Wien, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, the Italian Singer in Der Rosenkavalier with Santa Fe Opera, Ferrando in Così fan tutte with the Dallas Opera, Pirro in Rossini’s Ermione opposite Angela Meade and Lawrence Brownlee with Washington Concert Opera, Nadir in Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers with Austin Opera, Tonio in La fille du régiment with Minnesota Opera, Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore with Calgary Opera, Hades in Matthew Aucoin’s Eurydice with Boston Lyric Opera, Henry in Richard Strauss’s Die schweigsame Frau with Bard Festival, and Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni in Osaka, Japan. He joins the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel for a world tour of Beethoven’s Fidelio as Jacquino; St. Paul Chamber Orchestra for the Messiah and Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings and select Mozart arias; and Jane Glover and Music of the Baroque as the title role in Handel’s Jephtha. In June, David was one of three artists named to receive a 2024 Sphinx Medal of Excellence, the highest honor bestowed by the Detroit-based Sphinx Organization, recognizing extraordinary classical Black and Latinx musicians. In the 2021–22 season, David performed as Lurcanio in Handel’s Ariodante with the Palau des les Arts Reina Sofia in Valencia, Spain; Lysander in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Opéra de Lille; and Tamino in Die Zauberflöte with Pittsburgh Opera. An accomplished recitalist, David collaborated with pianist Craig Terry for appearances with Vocal Arts DC, Harris Theater, and the Cleveland Art Song Festival. He is an alumnus of the Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago, Merola Opera Program at San Francisco Opera, and Wolf Trap Opera in Vienna, Virginia. David grew up in San Antonio, Texas, and resides in northern New Jersey.

Award-winning bass-baritone Nathan Stark has been praised by The Washington Post for his voice of “unearthly power,” the Houston Press as a “blow-away singer,” and the Mercury News as a “natural comic actor.” He has performed on opera, concert and recital stages throughout the United States as well as in Europe and China.   Nathan has performed more than 50 professional roles with opera houses in North America, including the Metropolitan Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Arizona Opera, Atlanta Opera, Virginia Opera, and Opera San José. Some of his noted operatic roles include Don Basilio and Don Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Mustafà in L’Italiana in Algeri, Leporello and the Commendatore in Don Giovanni, Monterone and Sparafucile in Rigoletto, Colline in La Bohème, Banco in Verdi’s Macbeth, and Nick Bottom in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Nathan has performed as a concert soloist with the symphony orchestras of Boston, Detroit, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Holland (Michigan), and San Diego, as well as with the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, Long Beach Symphony, and Chicago Philharmonic.   As a recitalist, Nathan has performed throughout the United States and Germany, at the Great Wall of China, at the Washington National Cathedral, and at the Embassies of Colombia, France, and Austria in Washington, DC. In 2005, he was chosen to be the featured soloist for the nationally televised opening ceremonies of the Air Force One exhibit at the Ronald Reagan Library; attending the event were President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush, former First Lady Nancy Reagan, and members of the United States Senate and Congress.

American, Robert Mellon, is an award winning baritone that has been acclaimed by Opera News for having "excellent comic timing" and a "domineering baritone, gleaming like polished copper." In the 2023-2024 season Mr. Mellon will return to Livermore Valley Opera to debut the role of George Milton in Of Mice and Men. Later in the season, he will make his debut with Detroit Opera as Terry in Breaking the Waves. Mr. Mellon will also return to Opera Tampa as Leporello in Don Giovanni and to In Series Opera as Ulysses in a reimagined production of Monteverdi's The Return of Ulysses. During the 2022-2023 season he made his house debuts at Lyric Opera of Kansas City as Escamillo in Carmen, Tulsa Opera in L'italiana in Algeri as Taddeo, and Opera Tampa as Tonio in Pagliacci. Mr. Mellon returned to Pensacola Opera to reprise the role of Marcello in La bohème and to Syracuse Opera and Tri-Cities Opera for Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro. Returning to Opera Maine, Mr. Mellon made another role debut as Dandini in La Cenerentola. In the 2021-2022 season, Mr. Mellon debuted the roles of Marcello in La bohéme and Gubetta in Lucrezia Borgia with Opera de Oviedo and made his Pensacola Opera debut reprising the role of Papageno in Die Zauberflöte. He also debuted the role of Iago in a reimagined production of Verdi's Otello with In Series Opera in Washington, D.C. For his house debut with Opera Philadelphia, Mr. Mellon reprised the role of Marullo in Rigoletto.