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The Opera Guild assists local voice students, both undergraduate and graduate, with scholarships, grants, competitive prizes, and opportunities to perform for the community.

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Quest Winners to Sing at Free Member Party

April 26, 2018 by Frank Finkenberg

This 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.

Here are the particulars:
Date: Sunday, May 6, 2018
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Place: The home of Philippe Bodin, 5631 N. Campbell Avenue, 520-603-2869

 

Meet the Performers

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.

Filed Under: News, Quest for the Best

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Please contact webmaster@azogsa.org with questions or comments on this site.

  • Home
  • Tucson Opera Calendar (large)
  • FREE Opera Previews
  • Listen to our Singers
    • See All 2017 Quest Arias in HD Video
    • 2017 Quest for the Best Graduate Arias
    • 2017 Quest for the Best Undergraduate Arias
    • 2016 Quest for the Best Arias and Awards
    • 2015 Quest for the Best Arias and Awards
    • 2014 Quest for the Best Awards
    • 2013 Quest for the Best
    • 2012 Quest for the Best
    • 2011 Quest for the Best
  • Videos about OGSA
  • Quest For the Best
  • Photo Gallery
  • About Us
    • Our Supporters
    • Board of Directors
    • Bylaws
    • President’s Message
  • For Students: Grants and Scholarships
    • About Grants and Scholarships
    • Grant Application
  • Current & Past Newsletters
  • Contact Us