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Sam Harris is a British tenor studying with Peter Savidge. He is supported by the Dr Martin Schwartz scholarship. Born in Edinburgh, Sam began his musical career as a boy chorister at Winchester Cathedral, and, as a treble soloist, premiered James Macmillan’s Mouth of the Dumb for the NMC record label. He was subsequently a choral scholar at New College, Oxford. Sam’s operatic highlights include Pluto in Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld at Royal College of Music (London), Fenton in Sir John In Love with British Youth Opera, and Cecco in Il Mondo Della Luna with Bampton Classical Opera. On the concert stage, highlights have included Stravinsky’s Mass with the London Symphony Orchestra, and Pärt’s Passio with Ensemble Pro Victoria. A prolific vocal arranger, his work has been featured on national television, in major national ad campaigns, and included on worldwide best-of compilations.
South Korean mezzo-soprano Hyejun Melania Kwon joined the Opera Studio NRW Germany in 2022. She is currently performing Valencienne (Merry Widow), Flora (La Traviata), Fortuna, Valletto and Famigliare 1 (L’incoronazione di poppea) at Theater Wuppertal, and Mara (Kirsas Musik) at Theater Dortmund. She has performed in the Konzerthaus Berlin’s opera gala and has won top prizes in competition, including First prizes at the International Competition Nouvelles Étoiles in 2021, and the King’s Peak International Music Competition in 2022. Hyejun received her bachelor’s degree at Ewha Womans University in Korea. During her studies, she was alto soloist for a tour of the United States with the Ewha Chamber Choir, which made a stop at Los Angeles Disney Hall. She went on to study with Ewa Wolak at the Hanns Eisler Musikhochschule Berlin, where she received her master’s degree and where she performed Dorabella (Cosi fan Tutte), Ruggiero (Alcina) and Ljubica (Svadba). Hyejun has been awarded a scholarship from the Mozart Gesellschaft (Dortmund) for the upcoming year.
English mezzo-soprano Siân Griffiths has recently graduated from the National Opera Studio’s Young Artists programme (London), studying with John Evans and generously supported by the Nicholas John Trust. Recent performance highlights include Fanny Price in Waterperry Opera’s Touring and Festival production of Jonathan Dove’s Mansfield Park, Riccardi in Opera Rara’s concert performance of Offenbach’s La Princesse de Trébizonde, and Guest Singer in the Royal Ballet’s production of Like Water for Chocolate by Joby Talbot at the Royal Opera House, London. Recent concerts performances include alto soloist in Saint-Saëns Messe de Requiem for the Sussex House School and alto soloist in Michael Haydn’s Requiem in C minor and Mozart’s Vesperae solennes de confessore for the Wooburn Singers. In 2023, Siân will perform the roles of Cherubino in Spira Mirabilis’ upcoming production of Le nozze di Figaro and Dryad in Garsington Opera’s production of Ariadne auf Naxos.
Soprano Erin O’Rourke is a second year Master’ degree student in the Vocal Arts Department at The Juilliard School, where she studies with Amy Burton. Erin recently won the Laffont Metropolitan Opera Competition New York District and is preparing for her roles as Nella in Gianni Schicchi and Philidel in King Arthur at Juilliard. In 2022, she made her Raylynmor Opera debut as Nannetta in Falstaff, joined New Amsterdam Opera covering the lead role of Anna in Boïeldieu’s La dame blanche, and performed the title role in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea with the Chicago Summer Opera Company. She also performed concert works with Juilliard’s Focus Festival, which The New York Times dubbed “Broadway Meets the Avant-garde”, and made her Lincoln Center debut in the CPE Bach Concert Festival at the Bruno Walter Theater. Erin has been enjoys singing both early music and contemporary styles of music and is a champion of music by female composers and composers of colour.
American soprano Sarah Fleiss is in her fourth year at the Curtis Institute of Music. In the 2022/23 season, she sings Ginevra in Handel’s Ariodante with the Tempesta di Mare Orchestra and the Curtis Opera Theater. She recently went on a North American tour with Eric Owens and sang the world premiere of Tania Léon’s In the Fields. A lover of song, she also performed in a recital with Warren Jones and looks forward to singing the Pergolesi Stabat Mater. Past seasons include Despina in Così fan tutte, Monica in The Medium, Annio in La Clemenza di Tito, and Pamina in Die Zauberflöte. Prior to Curtis, she attended Columbia University and participated in the Juilliard-Exchange program where she narrated Stravinsky’s L’Histoire du soldat and performed around New York in musical theatre and cabaret-style performances. Sarah has received awards from the George London and Gerda Lissner Foundations, and is generously supported by the Jack Wolgin Fellowship and the Shirley Winston Rabb Scholarship.
Australian cellist Benett Tsai made his debut at the age 13 and has since performed as a soloist with orchestras including the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Kammerphilharmonie Metamorphosen Berlin, Canberra Symphony Orchestra and the Australian Chamber Orchestra Academy. He has also appeared at venues including the Berlin Philharmonie, Shanghai Oriental Arts Center and City Recital Hall in Sydney. In 2020, he collaborated with Jean-Yves Thibaudet in the film, The Way Forward. A winner of numerous awards, he most recently received Third Prize and the Special Prize for the Best Haydn Cello Concerto at the 2022 Grand Prix Emanuel Feuermann, where he was the youngest participant. Benett started cello studies at age five with his uncle, Thomas Tsai. He is currently an undergraduate student of Clive Greensmith at the Colburn School in Los Angeles. His previous teachers are Susan Blake and Li-Wei Qin.
Petar Pejčić studies at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy in Leipzig with Peter Bruns. Winner of Fifth Prize at the 2022 Queen Elisabeth Competition, Petar also won the AENA Special Prize at the Pablo Casals Competition in Spain in 2020, Second Prize at the Anna Kull Competition the same year, and Third Prize at the Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy University Competition in 2019. He has performed with orchestras including the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, the Graz Philharmonic, the Serbian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and Camerata Balcanica. Keen to broaden his musical horizons, he collaborated with the choreographer Jacopo Godani and the Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company on the project BACH OFF! Petar plays an instrument by David Tecchler (ca. 1707, Rome.
Korean cellist Claire Deokyong Kim earned her Bachelor of Music degree at New England Conservatory (NEC) and is now pursuing her master’s in the studio of Laurence Lesser. She previously studied with Myungwha Chung. In her first year of Bachelor of Music, Claire won the NEC Lower String Competition and was subsequently selected to perform with the NEC Philharmonia Orchestra under Hugh Wolff at Jordan Hall (Boston). She has won numerous competitions in Korea, including Third Prize at the ISANGYUN Competition (2022). She has also performed with orchestras including the Suwon, Gangnam, Prime, Gwangju, and Korean Symphony Orchestras. In addition to her appearances as a soloist, Claire has been a member of string quartets that have been selected as Honors Ensembles at NEC two years consecutively, the Nico String Quartet and the Tavola String Quartet.
Korean cellist Jaemin Han came to international attention in 2021 when he was awarded the Grand Prix of the George Enescu International Competition as the youngest prizewinner in the competition’s history. He won Third Prize at the Concours de Genève the same year and, in 2022, was awarded First Prize at the ISANGYUN Competition (Korea). Performance highlights in 2022/23 season include a recital at the Tongyeong International Festival, his New Zealand debut with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Shi-Yeon Sung, and a tour of Korea with Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg and its chief conductor Gustavo Gimeno. Jaemin has studied with Myung-Wha Chung and now attends the Korea National Institute for the Gifted in Arts, where he works with Kangho Lee and Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi. He was recipient of the 2020 Shinhan Music Award and currently holds a scholarship from the Hyundai Motor Chung Mong-Koo foundation. Jaemin plays a J. B. Vuillaume cello generously on loan from ‘the auditorium’.