NATS-LA is proud to present

Two master classes with International Opera Star

SUSAN GRAHAM

This event is partially funded by a NATS Discretionary Fund Grant.

NATS-LA Welcomes Susan Graham

February 26, 2022

Catherine Miller - Collaborative Pianist

Catherine Miller is the Artistic Director of Southern California’s newest elite opera competition, the Pasadena Vocal Competition. A native Californian, Ms. Miller is also a member of the music staff at San Diego Opera and an in-demand collaborative pianist and coach. Appearances in recital with renowned soprano, Angel Blue have included iconic venues such as The Kennedy Center, Wigmore Hall and The Ravinia Festival. Recent collaborations with tenor Nathan Granner and soprano Jamie Chamberlin have included Opera Orlando’s Opera on Park Concert Series, LA Made at the LA Public Library with Long Beach Opera, and the Community Concert Series in El Dorado, CA. Most recently, Catherine served as principal pianist for San Diego Opera’s innovative drive-in production of Il Barbiere di Siviglia and will serve as principal pianist for their 2022 production of Romeo et Juliette.

Ms. Miller has worked extensively in Southern California with LA Opera, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Opera Santa Barbara, and Opera Pacific. 

For Maestro Gustavo Dudamel, she served as the principal pianist on productions of Aida, Rigoletto, and Turandot as part of several Hollywood Bowl summer seasons. For the LA Phil, she was principal pianist on productions of The Tempest and Meredith Monk’s Atlas, both performed at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Catherine has served on the music staff of the Teatro Municipal in Santiago, Chile, and in Italy at the Lucca Opera Theater and the Spoleto Festival. She has also worked with the Santa Fe Opera, the San Diego Opera Ensemble, and is a graduate of the Merola Opera Program at San Francisco Opera. 

A sought-after vocal competition pianist, Ms. Miller is the official accompanist for the Loren L. Zachary Society Vocal Competition, the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (Los Angeles District), and was recently appointed as accompanist for the Palm Springs Opera Guild Vocal Competition. She has also played for the West Coast Auditions and Irene Dalis Vocal Competition, the Classical Singer Convention, the Jose Iturbi International Music Competition and the Operalia World Voice Competition.

As an educator, Ms. Miller has worked with Maestro Vladimir Chernov at the International Vocal Arts Academy in Payerbach, Austria, and at the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival. She has also served as a lecturer at the Herb Alpert School of Music at UCLA.  Catherine holds degrees from both USC and The Juilliard School, and was also honored to be a Fulbright Scholar at the Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, Hungary.

PROGRAM of SINGERS

High School Students

Ryan Liddy

Ryan Liddy, a Baritone, has been studying classical voice at the Pasadena Conservatory of Music with Mariné Ter-Kazaryan for almost 5 years. In his junior year at Loyola High School, He is a 7 year member of the Los Angeles Children's chorus which has given him the opportunities of performing in Carmen and Tosca with the LA opera and performing with the LA philharmonic at the Disney Hall and The Hollywood Bowl in several performances including Carmina Burana, Missa Solemnis, A Trip to the Moon, and numerous others. Through Ms. Ter-Kazaryan and PCM, he has participated in masterclasses with Kathleen Roland-Silverstein and Rene Barbera. Ryan has also performed in 8 musicals with Theatre 360 including the pilot pre-broadway production of Moana Jr.

Viveka Saravanan

Viveka Saravanan is a sophomore in the Classical Voice conservatory at the Orange County School of Arts (OCSA). A soprano, she studies voice under the expertise of Kathleen Martin of the Voice Classics studio at Laguna Niguel and has won several competitions including the Mount Saint Mary's University (MSMU) competition for solo voice, Southern California Philharmonic Young Artist Concerto Competition and NATS Cal-Western. Viveka was recently a part of the production of Magic Flute at OCSA and is extremely passionate about performing on stage. She aims to attend a four-year university for classical voice and aspires to pursue a career in classical voice performance.

Evan Richards

Evan Richards is an operatic tenor studying in the Classical Voice Conservatory at the Orange County School of the Arts. His vocation as a musician has presented him with numerous opportunities including his LA Opera Connects debut in 2021 as well as OCSA's biannual Opera "The Magic Flute" as Tamino; his seventh full-scale production to date. His hundreds of performances and several concert tours to nine countries and half of the United States have given him world-class training in his craft. Recently, He was honored as a Finalist for the 2021 OC Artist of the Year, as well as a first-place singer for the NATS LA - SEP. In addition to his musical background, he works for the All-American Boys Chorus as a member of their Production Staff and Faculty.

Undergraduates

Gem Stacy Acabal

Gem Stacy Acabal is a senior at California State University: Long Beach. Her passion burns for both performance and education. She will play as Susanna in her university's production of "Le Nozze di Figaro." Additionally, she is the proud president of the American Choral Director's Association chapter at CSULB. After graduation, Gem will fulfill her teaching credential while continuing to sing and create music for fun.

Sara Holmes

In December 2021, Sara Holmes sang the title role in Pauline Viardot’s Cendrillon at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica with Santa Monica College Opera Theatre. Praised for her light and flexible soprano voice, Sara has been studying with Dr. Janelle DeStefano at Santa Monica College for a year and is about to receive her Associates Degree in music. During her short tenure at Santa Monica College, Sara worked with many young composers and sang with the Santa Monica College choirs under the direction of Dr. Jeremiah Selvey. She has been a soloist on choir concerts. Prior to her classical training, Sara has played leading roles in numerous community musical productions including Maria in The Sound of Music (2019), Rosie in Mamma Mia (2018), Belle in Beauty and the Beast (2016), Mary Poppins in Mary Poppins (2015), and Cosette in Les Miserables (2010). In 2021, she was awarded second place in the musical category for the Southern California Vo-Cal Arts Competition. In the fall, Sara hopes to be studying for her MM in vocal performance.

Christopher Bang

Christopher Eunjin Bang was born in Los Angeles, California, began singing at the age of 17. He debuted his singing career by singing the baritone solo of Carmina Burana with the Chamber Choir of Ramon C. Cortines School of Visual and Performing Arts, which he then followed up by being the bass soloist for Hadyn’s Missa in Angustiis and an original oratorio he composed in partnership with the LA Master Chorale, Woman at the Window, where he sang the role of Harris, one of the bosses of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. Christopher has sung across the Pacific coastline, with some of his most notable performances including Dr. Falke of Strauss’ Die Fledermaus with Biola University, Antonio from Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, and his most recent role of Mercurio of Cavalli’s La Calisto, which was regrettably indefinitely postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Christopher has also taken his performances internationally, singing as the baritone soloist for Biola's University Chorale across multiple cities in Ireland. He also actively sings with multiple private choirs across Southern California as a soloist on-demand, hoping to be able to be part of the bridge that connects the Korean-American community. Christopher is currently pursuing his baccalaureate at the Thornton School of Music of the University of Southern California with renowned vocologist Lynn Helding.

Graduate Students and Young Artists 

Veronica Robinson

Soprano and Los Angeles native Veronica Robinson earned her Bachelor of Arts in Vocal Performance from Loyola Marymount University in 2015, and is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Vocal Performance from the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at California State University, Long Beach. Veronica has been a member of several choral organizations, including Los Robles Master Chorale under the direction of Lesley Leighton, where she has sung with LA Philharmonic and New West Symphony. She has also sung abroad as a chorister and soloist in Munich, Vienna, and Paris with the LMU Choirs. While earning her vocal performance degree, Veronica was involved in the Sinatra Opera Workshop where she performed multiple roles including Miss Pinkerton in The Old Maid and the Thief, Contessa Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro, and Second Lady in Die Zauberflöte. In 2019, Veronica was chosen to sing in the opera chorus of Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress, conducted by Barbara Hannigan at the Ojai Music Festival. She has recorded as a Soprano for several liturgical albums, and is heard in the chorus of the soundtrack for the film, Dark Encounter, which was featured at the Cannes Film Festival in 2019. Veronica currently studies with Dr. Katharin Rundus at CSULB, where she has sung the role of Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor for the Fall 2021 Opera Scenes, and will be singing the full role of Contessa Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro this Spring. Veronica looks forward to building a career as a soloist and ensemble member both onstage and in the studio. 

Jessica Gonzales-Rodriguez

Ms. Gonzalez-Rodriguez is a multiple Opera Buffs grant recipient and most recently made her Opera Santa Barbara mainstage debut as Renata in Cruzar la cara de la Luna. Highlight engagements include the role of Marcellina in Le Nozze di Figaro with the 2021 International Summer Opera Festival of Morelia, where she studied with superstar Soprano, Jennifer Rowley, Eufemia in Bizet’s Don Procopio with Pacific Opera Project, Frida Kahlo in Frida with the 2019 Opera Steamboat Summer Intensive, Prince Orlofsky in Vienna, Austria with the 2019 Vienna Summer Music Festival and as Marcellina with the 2018 Prague Summer Nights Festival, in collaboration with world-renowned tenor, Lawrence Brownlee and contralto, Rosalind Plowright. Ms. Gonzalez-Rodriguez is currently a member of the 2021-2022 Chrisman Studio Artist program with Opera Santa Barbara. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Mount Saint Mary’s College and a Master of Music degree from California State University, Los Angeles. She coaches with Douglas Sumi and studies voice under Reid Bruton.

Sarabeth Belon 

Sarabeth Belón, a Southern California native is a UCLA alumna and a current USC graduate student. She is a mezzo-soprano and has sung with San Diego Opera, Pacific Opera Project, and other local companies and ensembles. She has performed such roles as Komponist in Ariadne auf Naxos, Olga in Eugene Onegin, L’écureuil in L’enfant et les sortilèges, and more. This Spring, you will see Sarabeth sing with the Los Angeles Opera chorus in St. Matthew’s Passion and Aida.

Agnese Gallenzi

Agnese Gallenzi is an Italian Soprano. She graduated in 2016 at Conservatorio G. B Pergolesi di Fermo (ITA) with top grades. In 2016 she won the “I Solisti e l’Orchestra” Competition at Conservatorio Pergolesi di Fermo, distinguishing herself as one of the most promising and talented young artist of the conservatory. She was selected as finalist at the Voce d’Angelo International Competition (Parma, Italy) in 2017 and as semifinalist of the IX Anita Cerquetti International Competition (Montecosaro, Italy) in 2019. She performed a variety of operatic female roles including Susanna in Nozze di Figaro by W. A. Mozart, Berta in Il Barbiere di Siviglia by G. Rossini, Zerlina in Don Giovanni by W. A Mozart, Micaela in Carmen by George Bizet, Pamina in Die Zauberflote by W. A Mozart, Clarina in La cambiale di matrimonio by G. Rossini, Lesbina in Il Filosofo di Campagna, and Musetta in Boheme by Giacomo Puccini. She recently performed the role of Giulietta in Giulietta e Romeo by Nicola Vaccaj and the role of Virginia in the first representation ever of the eponymous opera by Nicola Vaccaj at the prestigious Teatro Vaccaj in Tolentino, gaining exceptionally favorable responses from music critics for her warm and floating voice and particularly for her dramatic interpretation of Virginia’s character. Among the theaters in which she performed, it is worth remembering some of the most renowned theaters in central Italy, such as, Teatro dell’Aquila di Fermo, Teatro Giacomo Leopardi di San Ginesio, Teatro Concordia in San Benedetto, Teatro Alaleona in Montegiorgio, and Teatro Vaccaj in Tolentino, Teatro Torlonia in Rome. In 2017 she performed at the Arena Sferisterio di Macerata within the Macerata Opera Festival Sferisterio as a choir artist, performing in Madama Butterfly, Turandot and Aida and had the opportunity to work with famous conductors such as Riccardo Frizza, Piergiorgio Morandi, and Massimo Zanetti, and directors such as Ricci/Forte, Nicola Berloffa and Francesco Micheli. She also worked with conductor Giovanni Battista Rigon and director Cesare Scarton, within the project “RossiniLab” promulgated by the Accademia Filarmonica Romana and sponsored by Fondazione Rossini, with the collaboration of the Accademia Nazionale Santa Cecilia, Rome, Italy, 2019. She attended master classes and workshops with international renowned sopranos Elizabeth Norberg-Schulz in the years 2017, Foggia (ITA), and 2018, Mola di Bari (ITA) and Stefania Donzelli, 2018. She is currently enrolled in the Master in Operatic Performance at California State University Northridge, studying under the guide of Dr. Diane Ketchie. At CSUN she performed the roles of Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni by Gazzaniga, Nella in Gianni Schicchi by G. Puccini, La Princesse in Maurice Ravel’s l’Enfant et les Sortileges with conductor Mercedes Juan Musotto and director Maurice Godin. Lately she performer the role of Anna Maurrant in the opera Street Scene by Kurt Weill in Fall 2020 and she has been selected to perform the role of Fiordiligi in the opera Cosi Fan Tutte by W.A. Mozart, April 2022. She got accepted in the Bologna Opera Academy 2020, directed by baritone Guenko Guenchev. In that environment she had the opportunity to work with Guenko Guenchev, Luis Ledesma baritone, M Danielle Orlando, M Nicoletta Conti, famous International soprano Svetla Vassileva, director Stefano Vizioli and Pavarrotti&Freni’s coach Leone Magiera. Lately she is one of the district competitor of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition and she has been selected to perform the role of Adina in Elisir d’Amore in Stara Zagora, Bulgaria, May 2022.

Erin Theodorakis

American mezzo-soprano Erin Theodorakis enjoys an active career on the stage and in the concert hall. Most recently, Ms. Theodorakis made her debut with Pacific Opera Project in their production of Hansel and Gretel, singing the role of Gertrud (the Mother). In the past she has joined the Aspen Opera Center as a fellowship singer, where she sang the role of Countess Charlotte Malcolm in Sondheim’s A Little Night Music. With the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, she performed the roles of Jo March in Adamo's Little Women, Mrs. McLean in Carlisle Floyd's Susannah, and La Natura in Cavalli's La Calisto. With Opera Chapman, her other roles include Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus and La Vecchia Zita in Gianni Schicchi. This past month, she was named one of the winners of the San Diego district of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. Ms. Theodorakis holds a Master’s degree in Voice Performance from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, where she was a recipient of the Shepherd School’s Provost Award. 

The master classes will be held live at San Marino Community Church, and will also be broadcast online for those who cannot attend in person.

Proof of COVID-19 vaccination & booster shots will be required to attend in person, and masks must be worn by all audience members.

Boxed lunches will be available at the live venue for an additional $12.

ADMISSION

• NATS-LA Members - $30

• Non-Members - $40

• Students - $10

Registration form - Susan Graham master classes

IMPORTANT! After paying, be sure to click “RETURN TO MERCHANT” for Livestream access! The links will NOT be emailed to you. You MUST click “Return to Merchant” to gain access.

Top of page