Katy Sumrow (mezzo-soprano) Katy was born in Gdansk, Poland. At an early age, she received a full music scholarship to the Chopin School of Music. Upon graduating she signed a contract with the Warsaw Philharmonic Choir and toured through Spain and Germany. Ms. Sumrow performed in the Polish Requiem with Leonard Bernstein and Liv Ullman at the Teatr Wielki in Warsaw on International television. Her repertoires as a Soloist include Baroque, Opera, Jazz, Spiritual and Broadway.

Ms. Sumrow is a founding member of the "Baroque Ensemble Buccina Cantorum" and has recorded a CD "Music of the Italian Baroque". Over the last four years, she's been a member of the State Repertory Opera of New Jersey and performed in productions of "Lucia di Lammermoor", "Il Trovatore", "Elisir D'Amore" and "Don Pasquale". For more information and to hear some of her songs please visit Katy's website.   [ back ]

Yeonjune Suh  (soprano) began her voice studies at the age of 14 in her native city of Seoul, Korea. Following graduation from the prestigious Sunwha Art Middle and High School, whose alumni include Sumi Jo and Young Ok Shin, she was awarded a scholarship to the Chicago College of Music of Roosevelt University where she studied with Carmen Mehta. Following her dream to study in Italy, she was then accepted to the esteemed Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi in Milano, where she studied with admired teachers such as Maria Luisa Cioni, Katia Angeloni, and Stefano Gibellato, earned a Diploma, and was granted a Voice Fellowship. After graduating, she was invited to participate in the Conservatorio's selective Post-Graduate teaching program.

She has appeared in concerts and opera productions throughout the Italian cities of Milano, Bergamo, Bari, Tocco dei Casauria and Taranto, Sicilia, and in January 2001, performed a principal role in Die Zauberflote at the Art Center in Seoul. Ms. Suh recently graduated from Mannes The New School for Music in New York City where she was accepted in the Opera Program under the direction of Joseph Colaneri, Susan Caldwell, and Ted Taylor and studied privately with Ruth Falcon. While in New York, she has appeared on stage as Norina in Donizetti's Don Pasquale, as Barena in the Vertical Players Repetoire production of Janacek's Jenufa, as Musetta in the Amato Opera Company's productions of Puccinni's La Bohème, and as Sandrina in Mozart's La Finta Giardiniera with The Little Opera Company. In March 2006, performed the lead role of Adina in the New Jersey State Repertory Opera's production of L'elisir d'amore.

Ms. Suh recently returned from Texas, where she participated in the El Paso Young Artist Program as Papagena in Mozart's The Magic Flute. She has also been a finalist in the Harold Haugh Light Opera Competition and Camillo de Nardis Competition, and has received third prize in the Mario Lanza Competition as well as an encouragement grant from from the Gerda Lisner Foundation. Her current teachers are Patricia McCaffrey and Kevin Murphy of the Metropolitan Opera.

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Alan Gordon Smulen (baritone) is from Bayonne, New Jersey and has been seen performing in the New York Metro area for many years. He is very happy to be singing once again with New Jersey State Repertory Opera with whom he has performed over many seasons. Locally, he has performed with Amato Opera Theater, Verismo Opera of Northern Jersey, Hudson Opera Theater, and The Little Opera Company of New Jersey. In Europe, Alan has performed in France, Austria, and Italy. This season, he has appeared as Doctor Bartolo in The Barber of Seville, and both as Marcello and Schaunard in La Bohème, the title role in Don Pasquale, and Papageno in The Magic Flute. He will also be seen later this season as Don Alfonso in Così fan Tutte all at Amato Opera Theater. Alan also appeared in concert this Christmas at Peddie Memorial Baptist Church in Newark. Other roles include Figaro in The Marriage of Figaro, Dr. Dulcamara in L'Elisir D'Amore, Fra Melitone in La Forza Del Destino, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly and Falstaff in Falstaff.

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Clara Bystrand  (soprano) is a lyric-dramatic soprano with a long list of successful performances across all opera houses in Sweden as well as a few theatres in Europe. Singing and music has always been a part of her life. During her school years she sang with choirs and as a soloist and played the violin in the local symphony orchestra. While working on her thesis in English language history, she studied at Kulturama Opera studio 67 1990 - 92. Clara was admitted at Operahögskolan in Stockholm and graduated in January 1996. During her education she performed in several concerts and productions, for example as Tatjana in “Eugen Onegin”, Rosalinda in excerpts from “The Bat” and the title role of “Suor Angelica”. She also had a small part in “Elektra” at The Royal Opera. Clara has received a number of awards, for example from The Sigvard and Marianne Bernadotte Culture Foundation and The Royal Musical Academy. Besides the opera, she is very frequently engaged in concerts and has also formed a small chamber music group.

Visit Clara's webpage.   [ back ]

Jessica Renfro  (mezzo-soprano) Has been described as “alert and quick in her acting and superb as a singer” with “deliciously playful comic timing” and a “sparkling voice”. “At times Renfro left her audience almost breathless with admiration as she breathed life into her character and spun melodies into charismatic suggestion” (Stephen Neal Dennis www.allartsreview4u.com, Mark J. Estren The Washington Post, T.L. Ponick The Washington Times). She holds a Master's Degree and Graduate Performance Diploma in Opera from the Peabody Conservatory, and has studied with world renowned singers such as François Loup and Phyllis Bryn-Julson. A few of her opera credits include Romeo in I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Cenerentola in La Cenerentola, Der Komponist in Ariadne auf Naxos, Dorabella in Così fan tutte, Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro, and Concepcion in L'heure Espagnole with such companies as Baltimore Opera Center, Opera Vivente, Bel Cantanti Opera, and many more. She has also enjoyed a busy schedule of concert work with Baltimore Symphony, Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, Southern Delaware Choral Society, Chesapeake Youth Orchestra and others.

Ms. Renfro looks forward to playing the role of Lola in Cavalleria Rusticana for Baltimore Concert Opera and Dido in Anne Arundel Opera's upcoming production of Dido and Aeneas this season. In June she looks forward to her Carnegie Hall debut with Pacific Encore Performances.

Visit Jessica's webpage.   [ back ]

Guillermo Lagundino  (tenor) made his Opera Orchestra of New York debut at Carnegie Hall as Hervey in Donizetti's Anna Bolena, December 2003. He is a graduate of OONY's Young Artist Program and has appeared in other OONY performances, including Verdi's Il Corsaro, Puccini's La Fanciulla del West, and Montemezzi's L'amore dei tre Re. He has shared the stage with James Morris, Aprile Millo, Jennifer Larmore, Samuel Ramey, Francisco Cassanova, Maria Bravo, and Fernando de la Mora.

A native of Takoma Park, Maryland, he was first trained in accounting, but then transferred to Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore to study voice. He went on to earn his undergraduate degree at University of South Carolina and his masters' degree at SUNY Binghamton. While in South Carolina, he performed Ferrando in Mozart's Così fan tutte, Ernesto in Donizetti's Don Pasquale, and Ottavio in Mozart's Don Giovanni. He made his New York City Opera debut as a soloist in Sweeney Todd. He has also appeared as Tamino in Mozart's Magic Flute with Coro Lirico. He has appeared with Pacific Opera in their Weill Recital Hall concerts and as Rodolfo in excerpts of Puccini's La Bohème with the Delaware Valley County Orchestra. He has also appeared as Tamino, as Nemorino in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore, and as Alfredo in Verdi's La Traviata with the Amato Opera.

Last June, Mr. Lagundino debuted with New Rochelle Opera as Rodolfo and in July was a full tuition scholarship recipient at the prestigious International Vocal Arts Academy in Tel Aviv, Israel where he performed in the Act III quartet of La Bohème under the baton of Maestro Paul Nadler and the New Israeli Chamber Orchestra. This July, he will return to Israel 200PPICO.PSD – as a scholarship recipient of IVAI and to perform as Ernesto in Donizetti's Don Pasquale.

Visit Guillermo's MySpace page.   [ back ]

Gideon Dabi  (baritone), a Highland Park NJ, native has been a featured soloist with Keith Lockhart and The Boston Pops, Opera NY, New Jersey Concert Opera, Boston University Opera Institute, as well as Manhattan School of Music Opera. Some roles include Figaro (Mozart and Rossini), Papageno, Falke, Ceprano, and Marcello. This fall he will reprise his role as The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat by Michael Nyman being presented by the Kennedy Center for the Arts. Gideon received his Masters from the Manhattan School of Music where he studied with Mark Oswald.

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Nathan Baer  (bass) has sung the roles of Crespel in Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann, Ptolemy in Handel's Julius Caesar, Eric in Sandstrom's Jeppe, Sparafucile in Verdi's Rigoletto, Barabbas in Robert Samel's Pilatus, Cassander in Matthew Pittsinger's Alexander, and Quince in Britten's Midsummer Night's Dream. Other roles include Sondheim's Into the Woods as Narrator/Mysterious Man, Gilbert and Sullivan's Mikado as Mikado, Hugo Distler's Toten Tanz as Death, Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass, Verdi's Requiem, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, and Berlioz's Romeo and Juliette as Friar Laurence. Mr. Baer appeared in the National Tour of Jesus Christ Superstar as Caiaphas and sang the role of Sparafucile in Gateway's 2007 Rigoletto production.

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Deborah Greenberg  (mezzo), a Philadelphia native, was most recently featured in Don Pasquale with State Repertory Opera of New Jersey and Ballad of Baby Doe with Chelsea Opera. She has performed with the Masterwork Chorus and the Waits Madrigal Ensemble. Favorite roles include Ruth (Pirates of Penzance) and Polly Nichols in Jack the Ripper-the Musical. Since moving to New York, Ms. Greenberg has sung in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Pagliacci, L'Elisir d'Amore, Il Trovatore, Lucia di Lammermoor, Madama Butterfly, Le Nozze di Figaro, Faust, and La Bohème.

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Mary Pinto (accompanist) received her Masters in Accompanying with John Wustman at the University of Illinois. She worked for the Lyric Opera Center for American Artists in Chicago, and from there she went to work on the staff of the Dallas Opera, San Antonio Opera, and various other regional operas. She is currently thrilled to be back in her home state of NJ working on the staff of William Paterson University and Montclair State University, and appreciates the support of her wonderful husband Mitchell and her two beautiful children Brittany and Sam. [ back ]

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