Praised by the Philadelphia Inquirer for her “crystalline sound, perfectly true intonation, glowing warmth, and total presence” and by Opera News as “remarkable, artistically mature… a singer to watch,” American soprano Sarah Shafer actively appears on the leading operatic and concert stages of the world.

In the 2023...

Praised by the Philadelphia Inquirer for her “crystalline sound, perfectly true intonation, glowing warmth, and total presence” and by Opera News as “remarkable, artistically mature… a singer to watch,” American soprano Sarah Shafer actively appears on the leading operatic and concert stages of the world.

In the 2023-2024 season, Sarah Shafer joins Pacific Opera Victoria as Nuria in Ainadamar and returns to the Spoleto Festival USA for the premiere of Ruinous Gods by Layale Chaker and Lisa Schlesinger. She returns to Quad City Symphony for the Fauré Requiem and excerpts of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, and joins the Florida Orchestra for Handel’s Messiah. In the 2022-2023 season, she joined Quad City Symphony Orchestra as Krystina in Heggie’s Two Remain (Out of Darkness)and Kalamazoo Symphony for the Brahms Requiem.

In the 2021-2022 season, Ms. Shafer joined the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society for a performance of Bach’s Cantata No. 51 and other selections. She returned to Opera Philadelphia, first in a program entitled “Larry Brownlee and Friends” and then for a concert of arias hosted at the Mann Center. She also joined frequent collaborator Opera Lafayette as Jeanette in Philidor’s Le maréchal ferrant and presented a virtual recital for Friends of Chamber Music Portland (Oregon).

In recent seasons, she made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Azema in Semiramide, returned to Opera Philadelphia as Iris in Semele, and sang Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro at San Diego Opera. Concert highlights have included Mozart’s Requiem with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Handel’s Messiah with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass with the Omaha Symphony, Schumann’s Das Paradies und die Peri with the Cincinnati Symphony, and a series of concerts entitled “Emerging Voices” with the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society. She also presented Wolf’s Mörike Lieder in recital with pianist Martin Katz, through a collaboration with the University Musical Society at the University of Michigan.

An avid recitalist and chamber musician, Ms. Shafer has enjoyed an active collaboration with legendary pianist Richard Goode, having performed Schumann and Brahms lieder with him at Carnegie Hall, Spivey Hall, Chamber Music Sedona, and Chamber Music Society of Detroit as well as other venues in Palm Beach and New York. She has performed Schubert’s Der Hirt auf dem Felsen with clarinetist Anthony McGill at the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, and Five Borough Music Festival. She has also collaborated with such musicians as guitarist Jason Vieaux, Anna Polonsky, and clarinetist Richard Stoltzman. Ms. Shafer was a resident artist at the Marlboro Music Festival for five summers, where she worked with Richard Goode, Mitsuko Uchida, Benita Valente, Sir Thomas Allen, and Martin Isepp. She actively appears with the Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Mozart and Handel Académie in Aix-en-Provence, Bard Summer Music Festival, and Liszt Academy in Budapest, Hungary.

A native of State College, PA, Ms. Shafer holds degrees in voice and opera from the Curtis Institute of Music, and is currently based outside Philadelphia.

American mezzo-soprano Alice Chung is rapidly being recognized for her “operatic tonal glamour” (parterre box) and being “a force of nature with a sound both powerful and appealing” (San Francisco Classical Voice).

Ms. Chung’s 2023-2024 season commenced with a celebrated house début at ...

American mezzo-soprano Alice Chung is rapidly being recognized for her “operatic tonal glamour” (parterre box) and being “a force of nature with a sound both powerful and appealing” (San Francisco Classical Voice).

Ms. Chung’s 2023-2024 season commenced with a celebrated house début at Boston Lyric Opera as Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, after which Opera News declared Ms. Chung “one of America’s most gifted young singers.” Other notable appearances included a return to Hawai’i Opera Theatre in An American Dream and a début with Houston Grand Opera in the world premiere of The Big Swim. She also joined Boston Modern Orchestra Project for Bernstein’s Symphony No. 1 and Out of the Box Opera to sing the Principessa in Suor Angelica. On the concert stage, Ms. Chung enjoyed a return engagement with the
U.S. Naval Academy in Handel’s Messiah, accompanied by the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra. This season, Ms. Chung sings Amneris in Aida with Boston Lyric Opera, the title role in Carmen with Hawaii Opera Theatre, and she reprises her roles of the Ox and the Pig in The Big Swim, this time with Asia Society Texas in Houston.

Previous engagements included a house and role début at Hawai’i Opera Theatre as Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, covering the role of Granny Jia in Dream of the Red Chamber in San Francisco Opera’s co- production with the Hong Kong Arts Festival, along with a return to cover the role of Suzuki, and house débuts with Arizona Opera as the Third Lady in Die Zauberflöte and La mort in Le rossignol with West Edge Opera.

A graduate of the Academy of Vocal Arts, Ms. Chung has also performed with Tulsa Opera, Central City Opera, Chautauqua Opera, and the Lyric Opera of Kansas City. Role credits include La Zia Principessa in Suor Angelica, Zita in Gianni Schicchi, Maddalena in Rigoletto, Ježibaba in Rusalka, Die Hexe in Hänsel und Gretel, Mrs. Grose in The Turn of the Screw, Larina in Eugene Onegin, and Mariana in Luisa Fernanda. On the concert stage, she has sung with the Kansas City Symphony, Bucks County Symphony, and the Naples Philharmonic at Artis-Naples. Concert credits include Duruflé’s Requiem, Saint-Saëns’s Oratorio de Noël, Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky, and Beethoven’s Fantasia and Mass in C Major.

As a two-time alum of the prestigious Merola Opera Program, Ms. Chung garnered acclaim from San Francisco audiences for her excerpted portrayals of Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana, Augusta Tabor in The Ballad of Baby Doe, and Azucena in Il trovatore, which parterre box praised for its “riveting dramatic intensity.” The San Francisco Chronicle lauded Ms. Chung’s Gertrude in Hamlet as “ringing, magisterial.” She returned for her Schwabacher Recital début, presented by the Merola Opera Program in conjunction with San Francisco Opera and has continued to perform recitals in the Bay Area since. A lover of collaboration and chamber music, Ms. Chung has premiered new works alongside standard literature.

Ms. Chung is an honored recipient of numerous grants and winner of various competitions, including the 2022 Gerda Lissner Lieder/Song Competition, the Richard F. Gold Career Grant from the Shoshana Foundation, First Prize and Audience Favorite awards at the Young Patronesses of the Opera, First Place in the Cooper-Bing Competition, District and Regional Winner in the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, and the 2021 William Matheus Sullivan Foundation Audition Awards.

As the artistic director and co-founder of the arts and advocacy initiative Wear Yellow Proudly, Ms. Chung works to raise awareness of Asian and AAPI narratives and culture by showcasing and celebrating Asian art and artists worldwide.

Matthew Goodheart is a lyric tenor from Binghamton, NY. Recent engagements include appearing as an apprentice artist at the Santa Fe Opera and covering Count Almaviva in Lyric Opera of Kansas City’s Il barbiere di Siviglia production. Matthew holds a bachelor’s degree from the Cincinnati ...

Matthew Goodheart is a lyric tenor from Binghamton, NY. Recent engagements include appearing as an apprentice artist at the Santa Fe Opera and covering Count Almaviva in Lyric Opera of Kansas City’s Il barbiere di Siviglia production. Matthew holds a bachelor’s degree from the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music and spent 2 years as a Resident Artist at the Academy of Vocal Arts. While at AVA, Matthew performed notable roles such as Percy in Anna Bolena, Count Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia, and Alfredo in La traviata. Additionally, he showcased scenes from L’elisir d’amore in conjunction with Opera Philadelphia’s festival O23. Other role credits include Tamino in Die Zauberflöte and Count Belfiore in La finta giardiniera.

In the summer of 2023, Matthew traveled to the Aspen Music Festival as a Fleming artist, where he sang the role of Ruben Iglesias in Jimmy López’s Bel Canto. His previous summer engagements include performing Gastone in La Traviata with Wolf Trap Opera, attending the Young Artist Vocal Academy at Houston Grand Opera, and studying at the Chautauqua Institution Opera Conservatory. Matthew has garnered notable accolades, including being named a district winner of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, receiving third prize from the Mario Lanza Foundation, and earning an encouragement award from Opera Index. Looking ahead, he is scheduled to perform Handel’s Messiah with The Syracuse Orchestra and will appear with the Dallas Opera in the fall of 2025.

Costa Rican baritone, Kevin Godínez has quickly established himself as a multifaceted and award-winning singer. Known for the expressive color of his sound and captivating stage presence (Parterre Box), Mr. Godínez has won awards in the Linus Lerner International Singing Competition (3rd Prize), Giargiari Bel Canto Competition (2...

Costa Rican baritone, Kevin Godínez has quickly established himself as a multifaceted and award-winning singer. Known for the expressive color of his sound and captivating stage presence (Parterre Box), Mr. Godínez has won awards in the Linus Lerner International Singing Competition (3rd Prize), Giargiari Bel Canto Competition (2nd Prize), Gerda Lissner Foundation International Vocal Competition (2nd Prize), the Cooper-Bing Competition (3rd Prize and Audience Prize), the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition 2024 (2nd Prize, at the Great Lakes Region), the Loren L. Zachary National Voice Competition (Encouragement grant award), the Meistersinger Competition in Austria 2024 (3rd Prize and Audience Favorite) and most recently in the ORFEO Concurso de Canto Lírico de América (3rd Prize and Best Interpretation of a Costa Rican song).

His roles include Figaro (in Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia), Thom (in Mazzoli’s The listeners), Ford (in Verdi’s Falstaff), Tarquinius (in Britten’s The rape of Lucretia) Silvio (in Leoncavallo’s I Pagliacci), Papageno (in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte), Peter (in Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel), Don Giovanni and Masetto (in Mozart’s Don Giovanni), Marcello and Schaunard (in Puccini’s La bohème), Gianni Schicchi (in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi), Conte d’Almaviva (in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro), Dottore Malatesta (in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale), Giorgio Germont (in Verdi’s La traviata).

Kevin joined the Merola Opera Program in the summer (2023) in San Francisco, California. In 2023 he was a finalist in the Jette Parker Young Artist Program at the Royal Opera House, in London, and most recently competed in the prestigious IX Mirjam Helin Competition, in Finland in the summer 2024.

Upcoming roles are Masetto in Don Giovanni, at Opera Philadelphia and Sharpless, in Madama Butterfly, with Opera in Williamsburg in 2025.
A recent graduate Resident Artist at The Academy of Vocal Arts (2024), Mr. Godínez was named Emerging Artist of the 24/25 season by Opera Philadelphia, where he will be featured in future productions and projects. Previous teachers include Maestro Luis Ledesma, Rafael Saborío, Massimo Pezzutti and soprano Maria Russo.

Founded in 1975, the Syracuse University Oratorio Society is a large chorus comprised of Syracuse University students and community members that regularly performs choral-orchestral masterworks with the Syracuse Orchestra. The Oratorio Society has been directed by John Warren, professor of music and director of choral activities, since 2011.

Founded in 1975, the Syracuse University Oratorio Society is a large chorus comprised of Syracuse University students and community members that regularly performs choral-orchestral masterworks with the Syracuse Orchestra. The Oratorio Society has been directed by John Warren, professor of music and director of choral activities, since 2011.

Hailed by Kurt Masur as “One of the most talented young conductors of his generations,” THOMAS HONG enjoys the privilege of being one of many successful protégés of the great Maestro. Having won titled positions with the Dallas, Pittsburgh and Seattle Symphony Orchestras as well as Orchestre ...

Hailed by Kurt Masur as “One of the most talented young conductors of his generations,” THOMAS HONG enjoys the privilege of being one of many successful protégés of the great Maestro. Having won titled positions with the Dallas, Pittsburgh and Seattle Symphony Orchestras as well as Orchestre National de France, Hong has conducted countless concerts with those orchestras, ranging from classical, community, education and pops concerts.

Presently, he is the artistic director and conductor of the University of Pennsylvania Orchestras. Recent activities include being principal conductor for the inaugural season of the DSO on the GO series with the Dallas Symphony, performing in neighboring venues of the North Texas area, and a re-engagement with the Utah Symphony, where he was the conductor for the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition in Salt Lake City.

Orchestras that Hong has conducted in the past include the Utah, Fort Worth, Virginia, Richmond, Spokane and Winnepeg Symphonies as well as the Seoul, Buffalo and Lutosławski Philharmonics. More recent invitations include the Berlin Symphony, North Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra Sinfonica di Siciliana and Cairo Symphony Orchestra. Among his operatic and vocal performances are Copland’s The Tenderland, Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde, Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress and Donizetti’s L’exisir d’Amore at the Wortham Opera Theatre in Houston. Awards that Hong has received include the Leopold Stokowski Fellowship, the Whitaker Opera Prize and a residency award by the Brahms society of Baden-Baden. His latest recording was from the show “From the Top” with pianist/host Christopher O’Riley and the DSO at the Meyerson Symphony Center.

Hong was born in Incheon, Korea and immigrated to the United States with his family. He began his musical training as a pianist with Dr. Samuel Hsu at Cairn University. Later, he went on to earn a masters degree in choral conducting at Temple University and an artist diploma in orchestral conducting from The Curtis Institute of Music, studying with Maestros Alan Harler and Otto Werner Mueller, respectively. He concluded his artistic training with Maestro Larry Rachleff at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. Currently, Hong lives in Philadelphia with his wife Rachel Ku and their daughter Esther.