Home | Biographies | Program Notes | Cast List | Orchestra | Photos BIOGRAPHIES ARTISTIC STAFF BIOGRAPHIES (see Cast Biographies below) STEVEN SMITH, Conductor Steven Smith is now in his seventh season as music director of the Santa Fe Symphony & Chorus. He also serves as music director of the award-winning Cleveland Chamber Symphony, an ensemble devoted to the performance of contemporary music.  From 2002 to 2005, he served on the faculty of the Oberlin Conservatory, leading both orchestral and operatic performances. From 1997 to 2003, Smith served as the assistant conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra. Particularly interested in the role of orchestras in arts education, he assisted in the planning and conducting of the Cleveland Orchestra’s educational and family concerts and hosted the orchestra’s annual broadcast videoconference, which won an Emmy Award in 2001. For five seasons, he also served as music director of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra.  Smith’s 2005-06 guest-conducting activities include appearances with the Santa Rosa Symphony and at Indiana University, a return to New Zealand’s Auckland Philharmonia, a production of Mozart’s Abduction from the Seraglio with Lyric Opera Cleveland, and a summer at Brevard Music Festival, leading orchestral concerts and a production of Bizet’s Carmen.  He has appeared with numerous other orchestras, including the Detroit Symphony, Houston Symphony, New Mexico Symphony, Taiwan’s National Symphony Orchestra, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, and Mexico’s Orquesta Sinfónica de Xalapa. From 1996 to 1998, Smith was the associate conductor of The Kansas City Symphony. Previously, he was assistant conductor of the Colorado Springs Symphony and concertmaster of the Grand Rapids Symphony. Smith is also an active ASCAP award-winning composer. Most recently, the Cleveland Orchestra performed his La Chasse at the Blossom Festival, under the direction of Jahja Ling and his One to One A Round for educational concerts at Severance Hall.  A new work, commissioned to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, was premiered in April 2006. A native of Toledo, OH, Smith earned master’s degrees from the Eastman School of Music and the Cleveland Institute of Music. He is the recipient of the CIM Alumni Association 1999 Alumni Achievement Award. MICHAEL EHRMAN, Stage Director Michael Ehrman has staged opera productions for companies including Houston Grand Opera, Greater Miami Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Atlanta Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, and Chicago Opera Theater. Recent productions include Vanessa for Central City Opera, Noye’s Fludde for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Sound of Music and The Barber of Seville for Tulsa Opera, The Crucible and Roméo et Juliette for Indianapolis Opera, and The Tales of Hoffmann for Connecticut Opera. He directed Street Scene for Minnesota Opera, The Ballad of Baby Doe for Utah Opera and Indianapolis Opera, Carmen for Virginia Opera, and The Magic Flute for Wolf Trap. He staged the American Opera Series in Central City from 1996-1999, including the fortieth anniversary Ballad of Baby Doe (recorded by Newport Classics), Susannah , Robert Ward’s The Crucible, and Street Scene. Other works in his repertoire include La bohème, La traviata, Pagliacci, Macbeth, Così fan tutte, Le nozze di Figaro, Faust, Falstaff. Rigoletto, Madama Butterfly, Albert Herring, The Turn of the Screw, Eugene Onegin, Tosca, and The Postman Always Rings Twice. Ehrman has extensive experience as a teacher and as author/director of many educational opera programs. He was director of opera for the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and at Northwestern University, and has also directed at Yale University, University of Kentucky, and Shenandoah University. He served on the artistic staffs and was stage director/acting coach for the Young Artist Programs at Central City Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Wolf Trap, Greater Miami Opera, Virginia Opera, Lake George Opera, Berkshire Opera, Utah Opera, The Israeli Vocal Arts Institute, Intermezzo Young Artist Program, and the New National Theater, Tokyo. In 2003 at Central City he directed the world premiere of Henry Mollicone’s Gabriel’s Daughter and will stage a revival of his acclaimed 1997 Susannah there in 2008. Other recent credits include the Chicago premiere of Ronald Perera’s The Yellow Wallpaper and two seasons at the Brevard Music Center, where he staged Carmen, The Sound of Music, Camelot and La bohème. Future engagements include La bohème for Madison Opera, Otello for DuPage Opera Theater, The Magic Flute for Tulsa Opera and La bohème for Mercury Opera. For Indiana University, he has previously directed Faust, The Ballad of Baby Doe, Roméo et Juliette, and Manon. He will return to direct Le nozze di Figaro in February 2008. C. DAVID HIGGINS, Set and Costume Designer C. David Higgins has been designing scenery since 1972 when he began working at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music as a master scenic artist. Now a faculty member, he has been designing opera and ballet scenery and costumes across the globe for theaters in the United States, England, Italy, Iceland, and Korea. With over 150 productions to his credit, he has been described as one of America’s finest scenic painters by Opera News magazine and is best known for his detailed, Italianate painting style. CAST BIOGRAPHIES (see Cast Biographies below) Susannah Polk Soprano Elizabeth Ashantiva has sung many opera roles in the Northwest, most recently Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni at the Crested Butte Music Festival in Colorado. From 2002 to 2006, she was a resident company member of Opera Idaho, singing the roles of Frasquita in Carmen, Susanna and Barbarina in Le nozze di Figaro, Kate Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly, and Peep-Bo in The Mikado. Appearing with the Boise Baroque Orchestra, Ashantiva was featured in J. S. Bach’s Coffee Cantata, Handel’s Judas Maccabaeus, and Bach’s Mass in B Minor. Last season, she made her IU Opera Theater debut as Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, sang Maurice Delage’s Sept Hai-Kai with the IU Chamber Orchestra, and sang Edgard Varèse’s Offrandes with the IU New Music Ensemble. Ashantiva has a special interest in contemporary music and helped create the role of Juliet this summer in the new musical, Romeo and Juliet, by Don Freund. She has been a first-place winner in the Idaho NATS competition and a finalist in the Sun Valley Opera Competition. Presently pursuing a Master of Music in Voice at the IU Jacobs School of Music, she studies with Dale Moore. Betsy Uschkrat, soprano, is completing a Master’s degree at the Jacobs School of Music and makes her fourth appearance with IU Opera Theater under the tutelage of Costanza Cuccaro. While pursuing her master’s, she has performed the roles of Juliette in Roméo et Juliette; Manon, the title character of Massenet’s opera; and Adina in L’elisir d’amore. In May of this year, Uschkrat represented the Jacobs School of Music in recital at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. She received a Bachelor of Music with Membership in the Honors College from the University of Houston Moores School of Music in 2005. Last year, she represented the state as Miss Indiana 2006 in the Miss America Pageant. She was a finalist for the “Quality of Life Community Service Award,” commendation for her work in creating and hosting over 17 “Heart and Soul Benefit Concerts,” which have raised over $100,000 for local food banks in America. Sam Polk Mark Van Arsdale, tenor, is a new student at the Jacobs School of Music, pursuing a Master of Music. Susannah is his first IU Opera Theater production. Recent operatic roles include Ferrando in Così fan tutte and Triquet in Eugene Onegin at Northwestern University, where he graduated with his Bachelor of Music in 2006, as a student of Richard Drews. He was a young artist with Central City Opera in 2006, where he performed the Second Dandy and understudied Bushy in The Ballad of Baby Doe, and sang in Don Giovanni. As part of his extensive travels in the past year, Van Arsdale studied voice in Milan, Italy, with Giovanna Canetti. His past oratorio performances include Messiah with the Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra, as well as Handel’s Solomon, Rossini’s Stabat Mater, Haydn’s Creation, Schubert’s Mass in C Major, and Mendelssohn’s Elijah at Northwestern University. He returns to the Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra this November for J. S. Bach’s Magnificat. Van Arsdale is a student of Robert Harrison. Tenor Nicholas Nesbitt is presently working on his Master of Music in Voice and studies with Costanza Cuccaro. Nesbitt received his bachelor degree in vocal performance from DePauw University in 2006. Some of his previous roles include Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore, Arlecchino in Busoni’s Arlecchino, Tamino in W. A. Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Rinnuccio in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, and Orpheus in Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld. Nesbitt has won first place at NATS Indiana State and regional competitions. He was also a winner of Opera Columbus’s Irma M. Cooper international vocal competition in 2006. Reverend Olin Blitch Aleksey Bogdanov, baritone, is a second-year master’s student at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. He made his debut with IU Opera Theater last season as Abbate Cospicuo in Busoni’s Arlecchino. Next April, Bogdanov will appear with IU Opera Theater as the Four Villains in Offenbach’s Les contes d’Hoffmann. A native of Odessa, Ukraine, Bogdanov moved to San Francisco, CA at the age of nine. He received his Bachelor of Music degree from the University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC). With UCSC Opera Theater, Bogdanov performed the title roles in W. A. Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Le nozze di Figaro, Bottom in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Frank Maurrant in Weill’s Street Scene, and King Melchior in Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors. Other roles include Don Giovanni (Operafestival di Roma), Bonze in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly (Bayshore Lyric Opera), and Alidoro in Rossini’s La Cenerentola (BASOTI). Recent oratorio/solo engagements include Fauré’s Requiem, Poulenc’s Le Bal Masqué, J. S. Bach’s Kaffee Kantata, BWV 211, and Handel’s Jeptha. Bogdanov is a student of Andreas Poulimenos. Hailing from Beulah, CO, Cody Medina, bass-baritone, is a second-year Master of Music student. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree in voice from the University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music, where he studied with bass Kenneth Cox. While there, Medina was awarded the Frank Toth Memorial Award for outstanding service to the community of music and the Denver Lyric Opera Guild Award for outstanding student of opera studies. In March of 2007, Medina made his debut with Cleveland Opera Circle singing the role of il Prefetto in Donizetti’s Linda di Chamounix. He was a guest artist at the Maud Powell Music Festival in the Illinois Valley from 2004-2006. Making his European debut in Rome, Italy in 1999 singing the role of Antonio and understudying the role of Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro, Medina returned to Rome to perform Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte. Other operatic performances include Betto in Gianni Schicchi, the Colonel in Patience, Falstaff in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Uberto in La Serva Padrona, and Dulcamara in L’Elisir d’Amore. Medina has also been involved in the world premiers of Marylin Monroe, Maud Powell: Queen of the Violinists, and the oratorio Prophecy, creating the roles of Arthur Miller, Bram Powell, and God, respectively. Most recently, he was selected to attend the Charley Creek Vocal Workshop in Wabash, IN, where he worked with Jacobs School of Music faculty and artistic staff from Canadian Opera Company. Medina made his debut with Indiana University Opera Theater in October 2006 as Comte des Grieux in Manon, followed by performances of St. Peter in Too Many Sopranos in February 2007. Medina studies with Timothy Noble. Little Bat McLean Michael Cummings, a native of Des Moines, IA, is a first-year master’s student, who studies with Scharmal Schrock. Having completed his undergraduate studies at IU, Cummings has been featured on opera and musical theatre stages alike. Previously seen in last year’s Too Many Sopranos, as well as Patricia Stiles’ Summer Opera Workshop, this season he will be perform as Andrès, Cochenille, Pittichinaccio, and Frantz in Les contes d’Hoffmann. A former student of Carlos Montane and the late Anne Larson, Cummings also studies with Renee Root. Matthew Wells is a senior from Plainfield, IN, pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance. He currently studies with Brian Horne. During his time at IU, he has appeared as tenor soloist for W. A. Mozart’s Mass in C Major (“Coronation Mass”), Haydn’s Salve Regina, the Schnittke Requiem, the Howells Requiem, Telemann’s cantata Die Tageszeiten, and Delius’s To be sung of a summer night on the water. This summer, he premiered the role of Romeo in a workshop performance of IU professor Don Freund’s new production of Romeo and Juliet. Past operatic roles include Don Basilio and Don Curzio (Le nozze di Figaro) and No. 5 in Conrad Susa’s Transformations. This production marks his début with IU Opera Theater. Elder McLean Adam Ewing, baritone, is in his first year at IU, pursuing a Master of Music. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in vocal music education from Northwest Missouri State University. As a recitalist, he has performed a variety of works, including Les nuits d’été by Berlioz. As an undergraduate, he was a frequent NATS competitor, placing first in the state of Missouri in 2004 and second in the Midwest region in 2005. Through opera scenes workshops, Ewing has sung the roles of Colas (Bastien und Bastienne), Mike (Blue Monday), David (A Hand of Bridge), and the Wolf/Woodsman (Little Red Riding Hood), as well as Ko-Ko in a concert setting of The Mikado with the Nodaway Chorale. This is his début role with IU Opera Theater. Ewing is a student of Marietta Simpson. William Kloppenburg, bass-baritone, is a first-year master’s student who studies with Dale Moore. He recently received his undergraduate degree in music education at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. Kloppenburg made his operatic debut with the IU Opera Theater as the sergeant in Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia. He has been involved in several choirs in and around Bloomington and recently helped create the role of Friar Laurence in Don Freund’s musical adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. He will also be singing the roles of Alcindoro and Benoit in this season’s production of Puccini’s La bohème. Elder Gleaton A native of Parke County, IN, tenor Matthew Latta is in his second year of doctoral studies in voice at IU. Latta received a Master of Music degree from Indiana University and a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Evansville. His previous Indiana University Opera Theater credits include Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni) and Flute (A Midsummer Night’s Dream). Other operatic roles include Jupiter (Semele), Eisenstein (Die Fledermaus), First Bird in Richard Faith’s Beauty and the Beast (a world premiere), and the role of Martin in Bruce Trinkley and Richard Charnesky’s opera opera.com.edy (a world premiere). Master class and workshop performances incorporate collaboration with personalities such as William Dees, Shirlee Emmons, Roger Vignoles, The King’s Singers, and participation in Timothy Noble’s Charley Creek Foundation 2006 Vocal Workshop. An avid teacher, Latta is presently vice president of the student chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing at Indiana University. Latta is a student of Brian Horne. Jason Wickson, tenor, has performed throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. Recent engagements have been with the Windsor Symphony Orchestra (W. A. Mozart’s Requiem), Detroit Concert Choir (Carmina burana), Michigan Opera Theatre, and the Amadeus Opern Ensemble of Salzburg, Austria, where he performed the roles of Tamino in Die Zauberflöte and Contino Belfiore in La finta giardiniera. In addition, Wickson recently performed in the world premiere oratorio The Passion of St. John by David Briggs in Detroit, MI, and was a featured soloist with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. This fall, Wickson will be performing the role of Rodolfo (La bohème) with Indiana University Opera Theater. Wickson is currently pursuing his Master of Music in Voice at IU Jacobs School of Music, where he studies with Andreas Poulimenos. Elder Hayes Chris Lysack makes his operatic début in Susannah. This is his twelfth year at Indiana University, where he has previously received undergraduate degrees in Piano, Voice, and French, as well as a Master of Music in Piano and a Masters of Arts in French Literature. Although he is new to the operatic stage, his piano performance activities over the last few seasons have included appearances with the Vancouver Philharmonic Orchestra, solo performances throughout the East Coast, and premieres of over 15 new works ranging from solo piano with tape to orchestral. He has held teaching positions in the martial arts through the Indiana University Physical Education program, in music at Indiana University and Hampden-Sydney College, and in French at Indiana University and in Brittany, France. Future plans include completing his doctorate in piano and Ph.D. in French Literature and pursuing post-doctoral studies in Europe. He studies with Andreas Poulimenos and André Watts. Anthony Webb is in his second year of study for his Master of Music in Voice at IU. He completed his Bachelor of Music Education degree at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA, where he studied with a former member of the IU voice faculty, Marcia Baldwin. He was seen last season as Elemer in Strauss’ Arabella, his debut role for IU Opera Theater, and will return in February as Liugi in the collegiate premiere of William Bolcom’s A Wedding. Other operatic roles for this tenor from Spanaway, WA, include the Devil in The Devil and Daniel Webster, Monostatos in The Magic Flute, Giles Corey and Ezekiel Cheever in The Crucible and Pirelli in Sweeney Todd. On the concert stage, Webb has been heard as a tenor soloist in Rossini’s Messa di Gloria (in Pesaro, Italy, as a part of the Oberlin in Italy program), Handel’s Messiah, W. A. Mozart’s Vesperae Solennes de Confessore, and two works of Haydn; Mass in Time of War and Lord Nelson Mass. Webb was also the tenor soloist in Richard Nance’s Mass for a New Millennium in its premiere at Pacific Lutheran University. He is student of Robert Harrison. Elder Ott Adam Cioffari, bass-baritone, received his Bachelor of Music in Voice at IU in December 2006 and is currently pursuing a Master of Music in Voice. Previous roles at IU Opera Theater have included Masetto in Don Giovanni, Orson in Too Many Sopranos, Snug the Joiner in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the Imperial Commissioner in Madama Butterfly and the 2nd Armored Man in The Magic Flute. This past summer, he was a studio artist with the New Jersey Opera, singing the role of Paris in Roméo et Juliette and covering Papageno in The Magic Flute. As a member of the Janiec Opera Company at the Brevard Music Center in 2005 and 2006, he performed the roles of Captain von Trapp in The Sound of Music and Sir Joseph Porter in H. M. S. Pinafore. In October 2006, he received an Encouragement Award at the Metropolitan Opera National Council District Auditions in Bloomington. He is a student of Andreas Poulimenos. Carl DuPont, bass-baritone, is a master’s student originally from Daytona Beach, FL. He completed undergraduate studies at the Eastman School of Music, where he was also awarded the Performers’ Certificate. While in Rochester, DuPont was a frequent recitalist under the auspices of the William Warfield Foundation and soloist with various orchestral ensembles. In addition to bass solos by Bach, Handel, and Schubert, his final appearance was as Méphistophélès in Schumann’s Faust with the Eastman Symphony. With the Eastman Opera Theatre, he sang lead roles in Sweeney Todd, Charles Strouse’s East and West and Pandolfe in Cendrillon. Here in Bloomington, DuPont has pursued his far-reaching musical interests by singing bass solos in the oratorios by Rheinberger and Mozart, performing in a Liederabend under the guidance of Roger Vignoles, and participating with the Bloomington Early Music Festival’s production of Monterverdi’s Orfeo, as Plutone. Other engagements have taken him to Lafayette, Indianapolis, and Martinsville as a soloist, chorister, and choir director respectively. His IU Opera Theater debut was as Graf Lamoral in Arabella last spring, which he followed with Dulcamara in L’elisir d’amore. DuPont is a student of Costanza Cuccaro. Mrs. McLean Mezzo-soprano Lisa Miller is a native of Vincennes, IN, and is in her second year of course work for a Doctor of Music in Voice. She has performed in numerous concerts and recitals in Southwestern Indiana and has appeared as a soloist for numerous performances of Handel’s Messiah, Vivaldi’s Gloria, and several Mozart Masses. In February 2007, Miller was Kartenaufschlägerin in Richard Strauss’ Arabella. An adjunct professor of music at Vincennes University, she is the student of Patricia Stiles. Audrey Snyder, mezzo-soprano, is currently pursuing her master’s. This is Snyder’s debut with IU Opera Theater. In 2006, she graduated from the Eastman School of Music, where she studied with Kathryn Cowdrick and performed the roles of Madame de la Haltière in Massenet’s Cendrillon, Arnalta in The Coronation of Poppea, Jenny in Soundheim’s Company, and Mother Jeanne in Dialogues of the Carmélites. Snyder has performed as a soloist for the Mercury Opera Rochester gala events and with the Genesee Valley Chorus and Orchestra as the alto soloist in Vivaldi’s Gloria. She has also performed with the Eastman Orchestra and at Indiana University, as alto soloist in Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Haydn’s Salve Regina, Schumann’s Scenes from Faust, and W. A. Mozart’s Coronation Mass. This past summer, Snyder was a resident opera artist with the Pine Mountain Music Festival, where she covered the roles of Old Lady in Candide and Dinah in Trouble in Tahiti. She studies with Patricia Stiles. Mrs. Gleaton Soprano Jill Cheatham, originally from Seattle, WA, is currently pursuing a Master of Music in Voice at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. She earned her Bachelor of Music from Indiana University, as well. This is Cheatham’s debut with IU Opera Theater. She recently premiered the role of Tess in Michigan Opera Theatre’s world premiere of All Marriages are Like That (Summer 2006). Other previous roles include Countess Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro (2005). She is a recipient of two Music Faculty Scholarships and a Dean’s Scholarship. Cheatham is a student of Patricia Stiles. Lauren Pickett, a native of Pittsburgh, PA, is currently a second-year master’s student at the Jacobs School of Music. She is a recipient of the N. Neal music scholarship and the Ellen C. Gignilliat Fellowship. Pickett graduated with her Bachelor of Music with distinction under the tutelage of both Mary Ann Hart and Patricia Stiles. As an undergraduate student, Pickett performed in IU Opera Theater’s production of The Ballad of Baby Doe, as Mary, and as a nun of the convent in Dialogues des Carmélites. Other roles include Pamina in the undergraduate opera workshop production of Die Zauberflöte and the Sandman in Hänsel und Gretel at the Masterworks festival. Pickett continues her graduate studies with Patricia Stiles. Mrs. Hayes Caitlin Andrews, soprano, makes her IU Opera Theater debut as Mrs. Hayes. Hailing from Nashville, TN, the student of Patricia Stiles is pursuing a Master of Music in voice. Recent performances include the role of Drusilla in L’incoronazione di Poppea at the Chautauqua Institution and Handel’s Messiah in Vincennes, IN. She was the third place winner in the Junior Division of the Opera Columbus Irma Cooper competition, as well as a finalist in the Opera Dayton Collegiate competition. A graduate of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Andrews has performed the roles of Gasparina in La Canterina, Jessica in Festival of Regrets, and Barbarina in Le nozze di Figaro, among others. Rebecca Fay is a three-time award recipient in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, including a District win in 2005. In addition to numerous awards and scholarships, Fay was recently chosen to be a Seattle Opera Guild artist and has received a generous grant to further her musical studies. Originally a French horn player, she has gladly transitioned to her place in the musical world as a vocalist. She has performed extensively throughout the Northwest, including engagements with the Northwest Sinfonietta, the Olympia Symphony, the Tacoma Concert Band, and the Lake Union Civic Orchestra. She began her graduate studies at the University of Washington (UW) and is finishing her master’s degree here at Indiana. At UW, she sang the roles of Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, Marianne in Tartuffe, and was a frequent soloist with the university orchestra. During her undergraduate studies at the University of Puget Sound (UPS), she won the Concerto/Aria Competition with Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915. Her operatic roles at UPS included Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus and Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance. At IU, Fay has participated in a Schubert recital under the direction of Roger Vignoles and was asked to sing in another Schubert recital in collaboration with conductor Raymond Leppard. Last spring, she prepared the role of Musetta from La bohéme with Martina Arroyo. Fay is a student of Carol Vaness. Mrs. Ott Ursula Maria Kuhar, mezzo-soprano, is pursuing her Doctor of Music in Voice at The Jacobs School of Music, where she is a recipient of the Dean’s Scholarship. A native of Columbus, OH, she received her bachelor’s degree in Arts Administration with honors and master’s in Music Education (Voice) from Butler University. In 2004, Kuhar studied French Linguistics, Literature, and History at Université de Paris IV (La Sorbonne) in Paris, France. As a member of the Butler Lyric Theatre program, she performed the roles of Sorceress in Dido and Aeneas, Katisha in The Mikado, and various opera and musical theatre scenes. Past credits include Falstaff and Carmen with Indianapolis Opera, Candide, Brahms’ Alto Rhapsody, and the alto soloist in Handel’s Messiah and Vivaldi’s Gloria. Kuhar was the mezzo-soprano soloist for the world premiere of Frank Burch Brown’s Mary With Jesus with the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir and recorded the work on their album From East to West. A 2006 Concerto Competition Winner, she performed Bernstein’s Symphony No. 1, “Jeremiah,” with the Butler Symphony Orchestra. Kuhar is a student of Scharmal Schrock. Xan Jennings, a native of Orangeburg, SC, is a recent graduate of Southern Methodist University. She is a first-year Master of Music student, studying with Marietta Simpson. She has performed the roles of La Zia Princepessa in Suor Angelica, in Amalfi, Italy, and Katisha in The Mikado. She has also performed the role of Maria in Porgy and Bess, which she toured throughout South Africa. This past summer, she performed with Utah Festival Opera.