The Opera Guild assists local voice students, both undergraduate and graduate, with scholarships, grants, competitive prizes, and opportunities to perform for the community.
Left to right: Kristen Lucas, Brian McNiff, Jamey Wright, Mark Hockenberry, Chunghee Lee, Kaitlin Bertenshaw, Shainy Manuel, Octavio Moreno.
Left to right: Emma Petersen, Annalisse Sauceda Garcia, Stephanie Swift, Powel Brumm, Sara Lashbrook, Frannie Barrows, Athena Beebe, Bridget Marlowe, Brianna Barnhart, Emily Garcia.
The Fred Fox School of Music technical staff captured all the arias on video. The top undergraduate student prize winners are:
| Rank | Amount | Donor | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | $1000 | Tolbert Family, in honor of Stokes Tolbert | Emily Garcia |
| Second | $750 | Susan & Frank Finkenberg and Patricia & Patrick Schifano | Frannie Barrows |
| Third | $600 | Carolyn & Russell Russo | Emma Petersen |
To download any aria in a choice of video resolutions,click on its title. This takes you to the Vimeo website; then simply click on the Download button. Depending on the resolution chosen, these files may be 50MB or larger. Audio files are also available upon request to the webmaster.)
Go to Graduate Arias Go to Graduate AriasThis year’s free member party will feature the first prize winners of last month’s Quest for the Best. Baritone Octavio Moreno (graduate division) and soprano Emily Garcia (undergraduate) will be accompanied by pianist Kyungsun Choi. Refreshments will be served, courtesy of our Board and Hospitality Committee.
Soprano Emily Garcia is a 21- year-old junior at the University of Arizona studying vocal performance with Prof. Andrew Stuckey. She hopes to one day make a career singing on stages throughout the world. Emily placed as the second alternate in the 2018 President’s Competition which allowed her the honor of a solo performance with the Arizona Symphony in the Presidents Concert this past February. Last year she won first place at NATS, and this year she won both the Amelia Reiman Competition and Quest for the Best. She has also placed first in the Schmidt Youth Vocal Competition, placed in the top 3 of at the Classical Singer Vocal Competition and placed as a finalist in the Hal Leonard Vocal Competition. Emily has also appeared in several operas with the U of A Opera including, Dialogues of the Carmelites, L’enfant et les sortileges, and The Elixir of Love. She has also performed many other times throughout the Tucson community with groups such as Sons of Orpheus as their soprano soloist.
Baritone Octavio Moreno participated in the Artist Program at the Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA) in Philadelphia. He is currently working on his doctorate of music at the University of Arizona. His repertoire includes Figaro in The Barber of Seville, Zurga in The Pearl Fishers, Don Alfonso in Cosi fan tutte, Lopez Ibanez in Arizona Lady, Laurentino in Cruzar la cara de la luna, Germont in La Traviata, Malatesta in Don Pasquale, Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor, the title role in Rigoletto, Belcore in The Elixir of Love, and more. He has performed with Chicago Lyric Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Théâtre du Châtelet (Paris), Palacio de Bellas Artes (Mexico City), and Arizona Opera, among others. Future engagements include Laurentino in Cruzar la cara de la luna with both Houston Grand Opera and Ecuador Opera.
Pianist Kyungsun Choi, a native of Seoul, South Korea, graduated from Yonsei University in Seoul, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance. He attended the University of Northern Iowa on a full tuition scholarship, receiving a Masters of Music degree under Professor Sean Botkin and serving as a graduate teaching assistant. He received a doctoral degree (D.M.A) in Piano Performance at the University of Arizona, studying under Dr. Paula Fan and again serving as a graduate teaching assistant. Dr. Choi has enjoyed a varied career as a soloist, chamber musician, accompanist and teacher, and has given many solo and chamber recitals locally and internationally. He has appeared twice as a soloist with Tucson Repertory Orchestra, playing the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 and Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 “Emperor”. He has served as a rehearsal pianist/coach for many operas, including works of Mozart, Puccini, Verdi, Bizet, Mascagni, Offenbach, Sondheim, Mechem, Menotti, Argento, Britten and Bernstein.
Stokes M. Tolbert
A sunny afternoon at the home of member Carmen Dolny provided the setting for great singing by Asleif Willmer and delicious Spanish cuisine by Maria Teresa Limón, as OGSA threw a pre-Valentine’s Day party. Thanks also to Leslie Clark, who produced a slide show of the festivities. (When you’re on the page, click the right-pointing arrow to the right of the headline to start the show.)
Asleif, who won the Guild’s Quest for the Best in 2011 as an undergraduate, enchanted the gathering with two arias from Don Giovanni, in the role of Zerlina, and two from The Marriage of Figaro, as Susanna. Her lyric coloratura soared as she brought these characters to life. Then, audience members bid to hear two additional arias, the Silver Song from The Ballad of Baby Doe, and “Je veux vivre” from Romeo and Juliet.
With her DMA at Arizona State University completed, Asleif has already been hired by Saratoga Opera for this summer. She will also be Juliette in a cabaret production of Romeo and Juliet in Manhattan. Asleif is marked for stardom, and those at Quest in 2011 saw and heard her here first! Discover more future stars and enjoy a reception at this year’s Quest for the Best, on March 24 at Holsclaw Hall.
