Mezzo soprano Leah Giselle Field is a past winner of the Western Canada District of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, a finalist for the Jeunesse Musicales Maureen Forrester Award Tour, and a semifinalist in the Marcello Giordani Foundation International Vocal Competition. She is a recent graduate of the DMA program in Voice and Opera from the University of British Columbia, and holds a MMus in Literature and Performance- Voice from the University of Western Ontario and a BMus in Opera from UBC. Leah is looking forward to singing with Vancouver Opera as a 2016/17 member of the the Yulanda M. Faris Young Artists Program.
An active performer, Leah has sung in North America, Europe, and China. She has performed with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the Vancouver Opera Orchestra, the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Toronto, the West Coast Symphony, and the UBC Symphony Orchestra, and as a recitalist throughout British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario.
Leah has a background in the RCM curricula for voice, piano, speech arts and drama, speech theory, music history, counterpoint, and harmony. As a teacher, she has guided students through RCM voice and music theory exams, post-secondary and professional auditions, adjudicated the Junior Voice Division of the Fraser Valley Kiwanis Festival, and won a universitywide award for teaching and curriculum design at the undergraduate level.
Vancouver-based soprano Kallie Clayton began her musical education in her hometown of Red Deer, Alberta, earning a Music Diploma in Voice from Red Deer College. Originally pursuing a career as a singer-songwriter, Kallie was introduced to opera and decided to dedicate further studies to classical vocal music. She then went on to receive her undergraduate degree in music from the University of Alberta under the tutelage of mezzo-soprano Elizabeth Turnbull and vocal coach Shannon Hiebert. Ms. Clayton is a recent graduate of the University of British Columbia’s Master of Music in Opera where she studied with tenor J. Patrick Raftery and was mentored by director Nancy Hermiston. During her studies, Kallie also had the privilege of participating in masterclasses with singers such as Russell Braun, Sondra Radvanovsky, Simone Osborne, and Ben Heppner.
Ms. Clayton has performed the title role of Massenet’s Manon, Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), and Mimí (La Bohème), all with the UBC Opera Ensemble. Kallie also performed the role of Pamina in the Czech Republic with the European Music Academy and in Vancouver at Bard on the Beach. Her other roles include Noémie (Cendrillon) with the Halifax Summer Opera Festival, Cupidon (Orphée aux Enfers) with the University of Alberta Opera Workshop, and Linfea (La Calisto) with the Centre for Opera Studies in Italy where she was also the soprano soloist for Mozart’s Litaniae de venerabili altaris sacramento. Kallie has also been featured as a soloist with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra for their Tea and Trumpets concert series and Traditional Christmas Concerts. Most recently, Kallie performed in concert with Opera Kelowna for Opera Under the Stars and Opera in the Park and was a recipient of a Rotary Scholarship from the Rotary Club of Kelowna Sunrise. Kallie’s most recent engagements include chorus in Turandot with Vancouver Opera and Oscar in Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera with Opera Mariposa and the Heroic Opera Company.
Allyson Hop
Allyson fell in love with opera at the age of three when she saw her first opera while her Mom was doing a school tour of Hansel and Gretel. Her passion for music continued to grow throughout her childhood and she soon began playing the cello. As she entered her teenage years she was drawn to the stage and started acting, dancing and performing musical theatre. In high school, Allyson wanted to explore the world of classical singing and began taking voice lessons and competing in local festivals. Allyson went on to receive her Bachelor of Music from University of Victoria and her Master’s of Music from UBC. Allyson currently performs and teaches in the metro Vancouver area.
Josue Martinez Lara
Originally from El Salvador, and as part of a musical family, Josue performed alongside his dad and sister and trained in voice since the age of 6. In Canada he trained in voice performance as a tenor at the Royal Conservatory of Music and Dance, University of Regina. He has performed with companies such as Opera Saskatchewan, Regina Lyric Light Opera, and in many classic and new musical theatre productions all over Canada. For the last 8 years Josue has been teaching full time in the Lower Mainland and has had the great opportunity to work as a performance consultant with “Brisas de Titicaca” Dance Company and the National Children’s Choir in Lima, Peru. Most recently assessed the teaching staff and worked as a vocal coach with some of the principal vocalist and scholarship students at Opera El Salvador.
Peggy Hua is a Vancouver-based conductor and an advocate for the arts. As a frequent sought-after clinician, Peggy has directed performances in Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Chan Centre, and Roundhouse Theatre. Graduated from UBC with B.Mus in Piano and M.Mus in Choral Conducting, Peggy has studied voice with Geordie Roberts, Heather Pawsey, Paula Kremer, and conducting under Lars Kaario, Dr. John van Duersen, Dr. Rob Taylor, Maestro Dwight Bennett, Dr. Graeme Langager, and Maestro Vance George.
Currently, Peggy works with a wide range of singers and instrumentalists from the age of six to ninety, directing Downton Singers, Left Coast Labour Chorus, Elgar Strings, various Buddhist choirs, and serving as the associate conductor of Cor Flammae.
Outside the music world, Peggy serves as Citizen Rep on the Environment Committee Board of Burnaby City Hall, Board Member of Egret Music Centre, Member-At-Large of the Vancouver Women’s Musical Society, Executive Director of Vancouver Taiwanese Film Festival, and co-owns Once Upon a Time: Macarons.
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