Carl DuPont, DMA is a vocalist equally engaged in performing, teaching, and research, whom The South Florida Classical Review has celebrated for his “dramatic, dark tones.” Major operatic credits include productions at The Glimmerglass Festival, Columbus Opera, Opera Carolina, First Coast Opera, Toledo Opera, Opera Saratoga, Sarasota Opera, Cedar Rapids Opera, El Palacio de Bellas Artes, Opera Company of Brooklyn, and Leipzig Opera. His world premieres include the title character in Dennis Rodman in North Korea, as well as Why Peace is Always a Good Idea at Carnegie Hall, under the baton of composer Jacqueline Hairston. In the role of Murray on the world premiere recording of Death of Webern, Fanfare Magazine noted his “lyricism that underpins every statement.”DuPont has performed with many of the world’s leading orchestras in performances across the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, under the batons of Riccardo Muti, Kurt Masur, and Zubin Mehta. His talents have placed him on the German small screen as Fred, der Tanzlehrer, on Unter Uns. However, the intimacy of the solo recital is his preferred métier, and his particular passion is sharing the wealth of songs by Black composers. His solo debut album of these works, entitled The Reaction was recently released on Albany Records. The American Record Guide called it “a special album that brings deserved attention to these fine composers. If you enjoy art song, this is not something to miss.” He has presented a version of this recital at the Sapienza Università di Roma, Salzburger Kammermusik Konzerte, and The University of Portland among others.

DuPont is the recipient of numerous fellowships and awards from The University of Miami, Indiana University, Eastman School of Music, Classical Singer Magazine and Diverse Magazine. Previously, he served as an assistant professor and chair of the voice area at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. There, his students won local and regional competitions and benefitted from his implementation of a multicultural guest artist series and advocacy for diverse composers in the curriculum. Recently appointed at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, he has developed and now teaches a course on African American Art Song Composers.

This course aligns with DuPont’s research in Transformative Inclusion in higher music education and care of the professional voice. His publications include “Make the Door Open: Groundbreaking African American Teachers of Singing” in Voice and Speech Review, and a co-authored article, “The Economic Impact of Vocal Attrition in Public School Teachers in Miami-Dade County” for The Laryngoscope with colleagues from the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine. He has presented original research in conferences in Europe and North America.

Future engagements include a return to Carnegie Hall as the bass soloist in Mozart’s Solemn Vespers and the title character in Mendelssohn’s Elijah with Bach in Baltimore. In addition to recitals at St. Peter’s University and the Peabody Institute, he will add the role of Schaunard in La Boheme with the InSeries to his repertoire and return to his favorite role opera as Leporello in Don Giovanni with Opera Columbus.

Soprano Meghan Kasanders has been hailed by Opera News as “a wonderfully promising, rich dramatic soprano”. She begins the 2019-2020 season making her Dallas Symphony debut singing the soprano solos in Schmidt’s Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln, Fabio Luisi conducting, followed by the title role in Anna Bolena with Baltimore Concert Opera. Last season, Ms. Kasanders made her Carnegie Hall debut singing in Bernstein’s Songfest with the Juilliard Orchestra under the direction of Marin Alsop and the role of Magda Sorel in Opera Saratoga’s critically acclaimed production of The Consul. She also performed Sibelius’ Luonnotar, Barbara Hannigan conducting, in Alice Tully Hall (NYC) and Donna Anna in Don Giovanni at The Juilliard School. Ms. Kasanders is a 2019 Grand Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and both the First Prize and Audience Choice Winner in the 2019 Dallas Opera Guild Vocal Competition. She has also been recognized by the Gerda Lissner Foundation, the Opera Birmingham Vocal Competition (Second Prize and Audience Choice), and the Mildred Miller International Voice Competition, where she won first prize in 2017 as the youngest competitor. Meghan’s training has included past resident artist apprenticeships with International Meistersinger Akademie (Neumarkt, Germany), Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Des Moines Metro Opera, Opera Saratoga, and Dolora Zajick’s Institute for Young Dramatic Voices. Ms. Kasanders holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Simpson College, a Master of Music degree from Rice University, and an Artist Dipolma in Opera Studies from The Juilliard School, where she was the recipient of The Richard F. Gold Career Grant.

A native of Youngstown, Ohio, Amber R. Monroe has been recognized as “a crystalline lyric soprano and a superb singing actress.” She has recently made her company and role debuts as Nedda (Pagliacci) with El Paso Opera and appeared as Countess Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro) with Kentucky Opera. She has participated as a young artist in both The Glimmerglass Festival and the Merola Opera Program. Her professional credits include appearances as Clara in Porgy and Bess (Opera Western Reserve), the title role in Suor Angelica (Oberlin in Italy), and the title role in Harriet Tubman: When I Crossed that Line to Freedom (Cleveland Opera Theater). Ms. Monroe is a second-year Artist Diploma student at The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), where she performed the Governess (Turn of the Screw) and was scheduled to sing First Lady (Die Zauberflöte) prior to its cancellation due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Praised for his bright voice and perfect tone quality, Victor Cardamone has garnered much attention and critical acclaim over the last few years, and continues to do so. His “sweet tenor” is equally known for its “power and ringing high notes.” In response to his diverse acting skillset, he has been described as “a perfect foil,” “hilarious,” “ideal in the romantic moments,” and “the stuff of nightmares.” Victor earned his Bachelor of Music in Music Education degree from Youngstown State University, receiving a double major in applied voice and French horn. He took additional coursework at Ball State University, where he served as a graduate teaching assistant in the voice department, before transferring to the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music and earning his Master of Music in Vocal Performance degree. He is currently pursuing the Artist Diploma in Opera Studies at CCM.

Victor has bowed with Opera Western Reserve, the Warren Philharmonic, New Castle Lyric Opera, Asheville Lyric Opera, Brevard Music Center, Cincinnati Opera, the Charleston Symphony Orchestra (Charleston, South Carolina), Wolf Trap Opera, and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. He has portrayed both leading and supporting roles, performed in several scenes programs and for various community outreach events, and sung in his fair share of choruses. As an advocate and champion of new music, he has lent his voice to a number of significant projects. He was involved with Westminster College’s (New Wilmington, Pennsylvania) production of Katharina von Bora, which was one of only twenty-six operas premiered in 2015 worldwide. As a member of Opera Fusion: New Works, he was part of the first workshops/studio recordings for Eurydice (co-sponsored by The Metropolitan Opera and Los Angeles Opera) and Blind Injustice.

Victor is a two-time Central Region Finalist at the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, and was sole recipient of the Encouragement Award in 2017. He was a finalist last year for Washington National Opera’s Cafritz Resident Artist Program. This upcoming summer, he will be returning to San Francisco Opera’s Merolini Apprentice Artist Program. When not singing, he can be found cuddling his favorite feline, a black cat named Bill.

Venezuelan bass-baritone Miguel Pedroza recently graduated with a Master’s degree in Vocal Performance from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, studying under professor William McGraw and coaches Donna Loewy, Kathleen Kelly, and Marie-France Lefebvre. His engagements at the conservatory included Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte (Sarastro), Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro (Figaro), and Cavalli’s La Calisto (Sylvano). Prior to his time at the conservatory, Miguel received a Bachelor’s in Vocal Performance from the University of Houston. Miguel has been contracted with Cincinnati May Festival, Opera in the Ozarks, and Opera in the Heights, with appearances in Milhaud’s Le Pauvre Matelot (Son Beau-Père), Cimarosa’s Il Matrimonio Segreto (Geronimo), and Bizet’s Carmen (Zuniga). He has performed as a chorus member with Cincinnati Opera and Houston Grand Opera and as a soloist in concerts across the US, including Bach’s Magnificat and St. Matthew Passion, Schubert’s Mass in G minor, and Mozart’s Spatzenmesse.

Aryssa Leigh Burrs, mezzo-soprano, originally hails from the Philadelphia area and is thrilled to be a Resident Artist with Opera Columbus-Capitol University this year. Ms. Burrs recently completed a Master of Music in Voice and Opera degree from Northwestern University, studying under Nancy Gustafson and Sunny Joy Langton. In the Summer 2019 season, Ms. Burrs performed with the Grant Park Music Festival Chorus and appeared as Woman in Sleeve’s in Elvis Costello’s Juliet Letters with UrbanArias. Ms. Burrs’ additional role credits include Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus), Captain (Dog Days), Ursule (Béatrice et Bénédict), Baba the Turk (The Rake’s Progress) with NU Opera Theatre, and Mame Dennis (Mame), Nireno (Giulio Cesare), and Third Spirit (Die Zauberflöte) as an emerging artist with Seagle Music Colony. Notable solo performances include Am I Born (David T. Little), Terra Nostra (Stacy Garrop), and the incredible experience as soloist with Thorgy and the Thorchestra with the Charlotte Symphony. Ms. Burrs is a 2017 Bachelor of Music/Bachelor of Music Education graduate of The University of Maryland-College Park, where she appeared as Kate (Lippa’s The Wild Party). Postponed from Summer 2020 to Summer 2021 due to Covid-19, Ms. Burrs can be seen as a Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Studio Artist with Central City Opera.