Emily Damasco, from Glen Mills, PA, began studying voice at the age of 6. She entered the Curtis Institute of Music in 2018 and is currently a student of Dolora Zajick. With the Curtis Opera Theatre, Emily has appeared as Sorceress from Dido and Aeneas, Maurya in Riders to the Sea, Berta in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Fiordiligi in Mozart’s Così fan Tutte, and Mrs. Grose in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw. She performed in a concert with Yannick Nezet-Seguin as Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte’s Act 1 No. 18 Finale and with Curtis Opera Theatre’s Opera OnDemand as Adina. Emily collaborated with SoundLAB and the Institute on Disabilities at Temple University on a musical project called “Lost Time.” Emily was awarded Gold Prize at National YoungArts Competition and Max Mara Visionary Award in January 2018.

 

Emily was awarded 1st place in Opera Grand Rapids 2023 Vanderlaan Prize Collegiate Vocal Competition. Emily has participated in programs including Houston Grand Opera’s Young Artists’ Vocal Academy, Dolora Zajick’s Institute for Young Dramatic Voices, the Curtis Institute Summerfest Program, and the Sherrill Milnes Teen Voice Program at the Savannah Voice Festival. Emily will continue her studies with Curtis Institute of Music for her Masters degree this fall.

Chinese-Australian soprano Yvette Keong is a unique performer who is passionate about the ability of classical music to enliven modern society by centralizing voices that need to be heard. 
Hailed as a “soaring soprano” of “clarity and promise” (Opera News) and as “one of the most exciting songstresses in the world” (Cut Common Magazine), Ms. Keong is a dynamic artist of opera, art song, concert, and contemporary repertoire. She recently made her solo recital debuts with the Carnegie Hall Citywide series and Opera Maine. This season sees her company debut leading as La Virgen del Cobre in Paola Prestini’s The Old Man and the Sea with Beth Morrison Projects at ASU Gammage and Carolina Performing Arts, and her recital debut at Merkin Hall with Classic Lyric Arts. This summer, she was a voice fellow at the Ravinia Steans Music Institute, performing in recitals curated by Kevin Murphy and Graham Johnson and in masterclass with Ailyn Perez. 

Other recent highlights include Third Prize at The Gerda Lissner Foundation Lieder & Song Competition, First Place winner at the John Alexander Opera Mississippi Vocal Competition, the Opera Australia Prize and Merenda Legacy Prize at the IFAC Handa Australian Singing Competition, and her debut with Annapolis Opera as Clorinda in La Cenerentola. She was previously a resident artist at the Marlboro Music Festival, alongside Mitsuko Uchida, Jennifer Johnson Cano, and Jonathan Biss.

Her deep passion for bringing forth necessary voices in opera have seen her leading in several premieres of new works, including as Iris Chang in Shuying Li’s opera When the Purple Mountains Burn in workshop at the Houston Grand Opera, La Virgen del Cobre in Paola Prestini’s The Old Man and the Sea with Beth Morrison Projects, and Hideko in Bora Yoon’s opera Handmaiden at Princeton University. She made her National Sawdust debut with Beth Morrison Projects in 21c Liederabend: Op. Senses, an interactive recital of living women composers. Ms. Keong led the creation of And Is Renewed, a recital program of all living female composers centred upon feminine creation and resilience, which premiered as part of the Women Now Festival with EXTENSITY Concert Series.

She is a recipient of The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship, the only musician of her year to be awarded the prize and the first singer in a decade. Ms. Keong was an inaugural Renée Fleming Artist at the Aspen Music Festival, where she made her festival debut as the soprano soloist of Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 and sang as Papagena in Die Zauberflöte under the baton of Patrick Summers. She participated in SongStudio at Carnegie Hall led by Renée Fleming. She was the recipient of The Rohatyn Great Promise Award at the Eastern Region of the Metropolitan Opera Competition, and has won accolades from the James Toland Vocal Arts Competition and Opera Index Competition. 

During her time at The Juilliard School, Ms. Keong performed as Adina in L’elisir d’amore, under the baton of Joseph Colaneri. She also performed as Henrietta M. in Virgil Thomson’s The Mother of Us All, in a co-production by the New York Philharmonic, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and The Juilliard School. Previous role credits with Juilliard Opera include Musetta in La bohème and Despina in Così fan tutte. She made her Alice Tully Hall debut performing Rachmaninoff’s 6 Romances, Op. 38. Ms. Keong was a voice fellow at Music Academy of the West, where her roles included Katie and Ada in the West Coast premiere of Jennifer Higdon’s Cold Mountain. She also sang as the soprano soloist of Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 at Hahn Hall.

Ms. Keong made her Carnegie Hall concert debut as a soprano soloist of Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music at Stern Auditorium under the baton of Leonard Slatkin. Previous operatic roles include Miss Wordsworth in Albert Herring, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, and Phoebe in Scott Eyerly’s The House of Seven Gables at the Manhattan School of Music. Ms. Keong has been featured in Warren Jones’ Singers and Pianists recitals, and performed as the soprano soloist of Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 2 Lobgesang under the baton of Kent Tritle. She is an alumna of the Houston Grand Opera Young Artist Vocal Academy.

Ms. Keong completed her Master of Music at The Juilliard School, where she is the proud recipient of the Novick Career Advancement Grant. She completed her Bachelor of Music at the Manhattan School of Music, where she received the honorary Hugh Ross Commencement Award upon graduation, awarded to an outstanding singer of unusual promise. Ms. Keong is also a committed educator and arts advocate, joining the Operation Opera Festival at Gonzaga University as an artist-in-residence, leading in the Gluck Community Service Fellowship during her time at Juilliard, and maintaining an avid teaching studio across the USA and Australia.

Beyond her accomplishments as a singer within the operatic and concert realms, Ms. Keong also trained for over a decade as a ballerina with the Royal Academy of Dance, and as a pianist with the Australian Music Examination Board. In her spare time, she enjoys painting and drawing for loved ones (Love from Yvette), eating sushi, reading romantic fiction, and tarot reading.

AWARDS

·2nd Prize Winner of the Vienna International Mozart Competition (2022)
·Won the Certified Artist in CS Vocal Competition(2021)
·Top Three Major Award in the Music Annual Final Examination Reporting Concert of Middle School Attached to China Conservatory (2014.6, 2015.6, 2016.6)
·Received the Excellent Major Award for Graduating Student at the Middle School Attached to China Conservatory of Music 2016 School Year Graduation (2016)
· The 7th National High-Level Conservatory Voice Competition of China Excellence Award (2015)
·The 7th National High-Level Conservatory Voice Competition of China Opera Performance Division (2015)

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PROJECT EXPERIENCE

·Performed in the opera of La Calisto as the L'Eternità (2022) ·Solo voice performance at the Beijing Contemporary Music Academy Demonstration
Reporting Concert (2015.6)
·Opera performance for the US Embassy Music Foundation at the US Embassy in Beijing China (2015.6)

 ·Solo voice performance for the 7th National High-Level Conservatory Voice Competition of China Opening Ceremony (2015.1)
·Voice performance for the 2014 Beijing Winter Olympics Theme Art Festival at the Beijing Olympic Stadium (2014.12)
·Solo voice performance for the 50th Anniversary of Middle School Attached to China Conservatory of Music Art Festival at the Forbidden City Concert Hall (2014.10)
·Solo voice performance for the Beijing International Travel Festival at Beijing Ditan Park (2014.9)
·Middle School Attached to China Conservatory of Music Choir, Lead Soprano (2014.9-2016.6)

A soprano thrilled by the magic of art and storytelling, Kylie Kreucher is a first year Resident Artist at Minnesota Opera where she will make her debut as Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte. Kylie recently completed her master’s degree at Curtis Institute of Music. Last season at Curtis, Kylie sang the role of Julia in the east coast premiere of George Lewis’s The Comet/Poppea, as well as La Contessa in Le Nozze di Figaro.

 

Other highlights include singing Marianne in the Act 2 Opening of Der Rosenkavalier with the Curtis Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Lišak in The Cunning Little Vixen at Curtis, and Musetta at Music Academy of the West. In 2024, Kylie attended Wolf Trap Opera as a studio artist to cover Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte. Kylie is thrilled to be joining the Ryan Opera Ensemble at the Lyric Opera of Chicago for their 2026-2027 season, and is a proud recipient of the Audience Favorite Award at the Final Auditions.

Formed at the University of Michigan in 2021, Trio Matisse is a collaboration of
clarinetist Nickolas Hamblin, violist Benjamin Penzner, and pianist Ariya Laothitipong.
Named after the eclectic French artist Henri Matisse, Trio Matisse is known across the nation
for their evocative performances of the vast clarinet, viola, piano trio repertoire. In their first
year as an ensemble, they received grand prizes in the Dale and Nancy Briggs, New York
International Young Musician’s, and Charleston Chamber Music Competitions. Additional
awards and appearances include Second Prize at the 2023 MTNA Chamber Music
Competition, finalists at the Coltman Competition and quarterfinalists at the Fischoff
Chamber Music Competition.

Clarinetist Nickolas Hamblin serves as principal clarinet with the Dearborn Symphony
Orchestra, 2nd clarinet with the Adrian Symphony Orchestra, and regularly performs as
principal clarinet with the Michigan Philharmonic and Orchestra Sono. He has received first
prize in multiple competitions, including the Detroit Symphony Orchestra Bradlin
Scholarship Competition, Detroit Federation of Musicians Solo Competition and Dearborn
Symphony Young Artist Competition. Mr. Hamblin has appeared as a soloist with the
National Repertory Orchestra—in collaboration with Teddy Abrams—the Oak Ridge
Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Sono, and the Dearborn Symphony Orchestra.

Violist Benjamin Penzner was named the winner of the University of Michigan’s Concerto
Competition, a year after placing first at the MASTA solo competition in Grand Rapids. Most
recently, Benjamin won first prize in both the collegiate solo and orchestral excerpt divisions
of the American Viola Society Competition. He was a member of the Lansing Symphony
Orchestra in 2019 and has performed with groups such as the Colburn Conservatory on tour
in Edinburgh and Dublin, the Pasadena Symphony, and the American Youth Symphony in
which he was principal violist.

Pianist Ariya Laothitipong became one of the most acknowledged young Thai pianists after
winning First Prize at the 5th International Franz Liszt Competition for Young Pianists in
Weimar, Germany in 2017. She was the first-ever Thai pianist to win this prestigious
competition. Following her international success in Germany, Ariya won Second Prize (no
first prize awarded) along with the Press Prize and the Audience Prize from the International
Piano Competition 2018 in Enschede, Netherlands. In the same year, she won First Prize in
the 4th Thailand Steinway Youth Piano Competition. Her achievements include being chosen
as a participant at the Hilton Head International Piano Competition 2020 and the 2019 Van
Cliburn Junior International Piano Competition in Dallas, Texas. She has won numerous

awards from national and international competitions including First Prize at Trinity College
London National Youth Piano Competition, the 1st Hongkong International Music
Competition for Young Pianists, First Prize at Yamaha Thailand Music Festival, 2nd Prize at
the 15th Osaka International Music Competition, 2nd Prize at the 6th ASEAN International
Chopin Piano Competition in Malaysia, 2nd Prize at the Princess Galyani Vadhana
International Ensemble Competition, 2nd Prize at the Euregio Piano Award 2021, Audience
prize at the Canada International Piano Competition, Gold Medal at the Asia International
Piano Academy & Festival in Korea, and 2nd Prize at the Final Beethoven Competition for
young string players and pianists.

A native of South Korea, HaEunYang, is renowned for her exceptional musical talent and dedication to the art of piano performance. HaEun commenced her music studies at the age of five, embarking on a journey that would lead her to become a top prize winner at numerous prestigious competitions, such as the American Protégé Student Teacherational Piano and String Competition, the Kuleshov Student Teacherational Piano Competition, where she not only secured the second prize, but also received the esteemed Kuleshov Award for Musicianship. Additionally, HaEun’s outstanding performances earned her top honors at the Music Teachers National Association Young Artist Competition (MTNA), Southern Illinois Young Artist Organization (SIYAO), Missouri Music Teachers Association state honors audition (MMTA), St. Louis Young Artist Piano Competition, Fite Young Artist Piano Competition, and she was the finalist of the Coeur d’Alene National Young Artist Competition in Washington.

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As a performer, HaEun had her solo piano debut at Carnegie Hall, a remarkable achievement resulting as a top prize winner. Her talent has also graced the stage as a winner of the Missouri State University Concerto Competition, where she had the privilege of performing with the MSU Symphony Orchestra. HaEun’s artistry led her to be invited as a guest performer at the Steinway Circle Event, where she showcased her mastery on the personal piano of the legendary pianist, Vladimir Horowitz. Furthermore, HaEun was specially chosen to perform at the World Piano Teachers Association, further cementing her status as an accomplished pianist.

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In addition to her remarkable accomplishments as a performer, Ms.Yang is a passionate and dedicated teacher, imparting her knowledge and expertise to students of all levels. She has conducted master classes at the Northwest Houston Music Teachers Association, sharing her insights and nurturing the talents of aspiring young musicians. As an instructor, HaEun taught piano lessons at River Oak Elementary School, Let’s Play Music Academy, and Vivo Music & Art Academy in Texas. During her graduate studies, she served as a full-time Teaching Assistant of Class Piano (group piano class), instructing both music and non-music major students. Currently, Ms.Yang holds the position of full-time Secondary Piano Teaching Assistant at Eastman School of Music / University of Rochester and also assists Professor Alan Chow’s studio as his teaching assistant. In recognition of her excellence in teaching, HaEun was honored with the 2022-2023 Teaching Assistant Prize for Excellence in Teaching for Applied Instruction at the Eastman School of Music.

 

HaEun received her B.M. and M.M. in piano performance from Missouri State University as a recipient of a full-tuition scholarship, studying under the guidance of Professor Hye-Jung Hong. She had her graduate studies at the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston, with Professor Nancy Weems. Currently, HaEun is pursuing her Doctoral of Musical Art in Piano Performance and Literature at the Eastman School of Music, studying under the tutelage of Professor Alan Chow.

Jonathon Nickell is an avid educator and performer of saxophone and multiple woodwinds. He holds bachelor’s degrees in music education and music performance from the University of Kentucky. There, he studied saxophone in classical and jazz mediums with Miles and Lisa Osland. He also studied clarinet with Dr. Scott Wright, and bassoon with Professor Peter Simpson. During his time in Kentucky, he performed with several orchestras on established repertoire including pieces such as Henri Tomasi’s Saxophone Concerto, George Bizet’s L’Arlésienne Suite No. 2, and others. He also performed with big bands, mega sax groups, and pit orchestras around the Bluegrass. During this time, Jonathon held a full-time studio, directing quartets and saxophone choirs, and teaching at several schools across Kentucky.

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He then attended the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music to study with Dr. James Bunte and Professor Emeritus Rick VanMatre. Here, he was performing often in pit orchestras and was teaching around southern Ohio and served as the Woodwind Instructor at Milford High School. He then graduated from CCM with a master’s degree in music performance. While there, he was a featured soloist with both the CCM Saxophone Ensemble and CCM Wind Symphony, conducted by the esteemed Dr. Holzman.

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Afterward, he shifted attention to recording and preparing for continuing graduate studies. He has since moved to Kansas City where he currently resides. Here, he studies with Professor Zach Shemon, continuing studies in saxophone and multiple woodwinds. He also works as a shop assistant with Peak Performance Woodwinds, and is the alto chair of the Corvus Quartet, a recent finalist in the Coltman Chamber . Jonathon has performed with multiple groups across Kansas City in multiple genres and recently performed Andre Waignein’s Rhapsody for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra with the UMKC Conservatory Orchestra.