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Queer Opera 2022
singers
scenes
songs
production team
musical ensemble
September 17 and 18 at 7pm - Opera Scenes
September 18 at 2pm - Songs
Lincoln Hall Studio Theater @ PSU
Frances Bigelow (she/they)
Frances Bigelow is a fourth-year student of voice and composition at Portland State University, where she is studying with Christine Meadows and Renée Favand-See. She is a member of Portland State University’s Thorn Choir and a grateful recipient of the Doug & Teresa Smith Opera Scholarship, the Stephen Forrester and Brenda Penner Opera Scholarship, and the Marilyn Crilley and George Rowbottom Opera Scholarship at Portland State. Her main compositional interest is in writing vocal music; ultimately, her goal is to write operas. She is delighted and honored to be participating in Queer Opera this year!
Jessie Bodell (he/they)
Jessie graduated from Portland State University in 2016 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Musicology/Ethnomusicology and went on to earn a Master of Arts & Culture degree in Musicology from the University of Amsterdam in 2018. His scholarship has focused on music and women’s, gender, and sexuality studies, with an emphasis on the performance of gender in various theatrical genres. Before discovering a passion for music history and feminist musicology, Jessie studied classical flute performance at the University of Vermont (where he is originally from), and PSU. When he isn’t swimming in a river, singing, or playing flute, he can be found spending time with his husband and their two small dogs. Jessie is thrilled to participate in Queer Opera for the second year in a row.
Andrew Egbuchiem (he/him)
Mr. Andrew Chukwuka Egbuchiem came into limelight as an artist in residence for the Singers of United Land Project between December 2013 and June 2014 touring through the east half of the United States, Kenya, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Poland, and Latvia. Andrew made his opera debut with the Brooklyn Opera Works in 2016 under the tutelage of Lina Tetriani performing as the Sorceress in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas and participated in the Amherst Early Music Festival’s Erismena by Cavalli in 2017. Andrew has been a regular soloist with the Brooklyn Philharmonia Chorus in New York City.
Amongst Andrew awards is a third prize at the New York Classical Music Artists International Voice Competition 2019. Andrew was in the Chicago Summer Opera’s production of Handel’s opera Silla (as Silla) August 2021 and most recent performance was as a soloist in The Constitution (Orchestra performance), a secular oratorio by Benjamin Yarmolinksy in May 2022 in New York.
Amongst Andrew awards is a third prize at the New York Classical Music Artists International Voice Competition 2019. Andrew was in the Chicago Summer Opera’s production of Handel’s opera Silla (as Silla) August 2021 and most recent performance was as a soloist in The Constitution (Orchestra performance), a secular oratorio by Benjamin Yarmolinksy in May 2022 in New York.
Angelica Hesse (she/her)
Angelica Hesse has devoted her life to creating beauty — as a singer, graphic designer, and teacher. She recently founded Lark Opera (larkopera.org), singing Pamina in the company’s inaugural performance of The Magic Flute and then Gretel in Hansel and Gretel. A soprano known for a sparkling clear voice and effervescent performances, Angelica has sung with the Resonance Ensemble, the Eugene Opera Chorus and is a frequent performer with Classical Revolution PDX. She is a graduate of Portland State University, where she sang in opera productions and Thorn Choir concerts, including collaborations with the Oregon Symphony. She teaches voice from her North Porltand home studio; she warmly invites people who think they “can’t sing” and eager teenagers to come explore what their voices can do. When not singing, Angelica runs Yellow Pants Studio (yellowpantsstudio.com), providing design and marketing support to small businesses, non-profits, and artists.
Taylor Hulett (she/her)
Aspiring music educator and performer, Taylor Hulett, is a cum laude graduate from Oregon State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Music in Vocal Performance and Choral Music Education. While attending Oregon State, Taylor was a featured soloist in Chamber Choir, University Chorale, Bella Voce, and Opera Workshop. Recently, Taylor performed as the soprano soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the Corvallis Repertory Singers in December. She is also a four time scholarship recipient of the Sunriver Music Festival’s Young Artist program. Taylor recently performed the role of Alice Ford in Portland State University’s spring opera production of The Merry Wives of Windsor. Taylor earned her MM in Vocal Performance from Portland State University this June and graduated with 3.94 gpa.
Wyatt Jackson (he/him)
Wyatt Jackson is a Bass-baritone and Portland area native. He received his Bachelor's Degree in Vocal Performance from University of Puget Sound and his Master's Degree in Vocal Performance from Portland State University. Wyatt previously worked with Queer Opera for their virtual production of The Old Maid and the Thief in 2021 as the role of Mr. Todd. He also recently performed in Portland State's Spring production of The Merry Wives of Windsor as Mr. Page. Wyatt is looking forward to working more with Queer Opera and hopes to work with more community and local opera productions in the near future.
Lisa Neher (she/her)
Dr. Lisa Neher (she/her, “NEER”) is an award-winning composer and new music mezzo on a mission to transform audiences through sound, story, and vulnerability. Praised as “a small woman with a very big voice” and “especially alive” (Oregon ArtsWatch), Neher’s musical-theatrical fluency and passion for contemporary music have led to recent engagements with Third Angle New Music, Really Spicy Opera, Portland Columbia Symphony Orchestra, the Beaverton Community Band, New Music Gathering, the Resonance Ensemble, Opera Theatre Oregon, and the International Saxophone Symposium.
Described as a “visionary composer” (Willamette Week) and a “maestro of beautifully wacky noises” (Oregon ArtsWatch), Neher’s compositions are inspired by the climate crisis, the tender love of family and friends, and the eerie mystery of deep ocean life. Her collaborators include the National Association of Teachers of Singing, Cincinnati Song Initiative, Third Angle New Music, FearNoMusic, Dinosaur Annex, and New Opera West. For more information, visit www.lisanehermusic.com.
Described as a “visionary composer” (Willamette Week) and a “maestro of beautifully wacky noises” (Oregon ArtsWatch), Neher’s compositions are inspired by the climate crisis, the tender love of family and friends, and the eerie mystery of deep ocean life. Her collaborators include the National Association of Teachers of Singing, Cincinnati Song Initiative, Third Angle New Music, FearNoMusic, Dinosaur Annex, and New Opera West. For more information, visit www.lisanehermusic.com.
Katya Powder (they/them)
Mezzo-soprano Katya Powder (they/them) is originally from the suburbs of our great Motor City – Detroit, Michigan. They received their Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance and Music Education from Oakland University, and graduated with a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from Manhattan School of Music. Since 2005, Katya has been teaching private voice lessons, adjudicating national competitions, hosting master classes, and working as an opera singer in both Metro-Detroit and New York City. They are a classically trained mezzo-soprano; most recent operatic roles include Zita in Gianni Schicchi and Cléone in Pénélope, both of which received praise in Opera News and The New York Times, respectively. This upcoming season, Katya looks forward to performing with Detroit Opera in their productions of La Bohème, Faust, and Aida, and is excited to be working with Queer Opera in Portland. Katya currently lives in Detroit, Michigan as a vocalist and educator.
Carolyn Quick (she/her)
Portland-based composer-soprano Carolyn Quick (she/her) “is establishing herself as one of the most important voices in our community (Makrokosmos Project 7: Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman).” As a singer and composer, Carolyn loves exploring the unique timbral and textural possibilities of the human voice, and advocates for historically excluded composers with her collective Persisting Sound.
With performances across North America and Croatia, Carolyn’s commissions include Fear No Music, composing a work for their HEARINGS concert in response to the 2018 Kavanaugh Hearings during their Justice: Just(Us) season, Eugene Opera’s Songs for Quarantine, and the Vancouver Opera’s New Works project.
As a singer, Carolyn has performed with Eugene Opera, Queer Opera, Portland Symphonic Choir, and the Oregon Bach Festival Vocal Fellows Program. She was a guest soloist for Vivaldi’s Gloria with the South Puget Sound Community College Choirs, and the Student Orchestras of Greater Olympia’s presentation of Handel’s Messiah.
Most recently, Carolyn sang with Resonance Ensemble and the Oregon Symphony to premiere Portland-based composer Damien Geter’s An African American Requiem; and was commissioned to compose a new work for the Portland Phoenix Chamber Choir to be premiered alongside the Pacific Northwest premiere of Margaret Bond’s Credo. For more information visit www.carolynquick.com.
With performances across North America and Croatia, Carolyn’s commissions include Fear No Music, composing a work for their HEARINGS concert in response to the 2018 Kavanaugh Hearings during their Justice: Just(Us) season, Eugene Opera’s Songs for Quarantine, and the Vancouver Opera’s New Works project.
As a singer, Carolyn has performed with Eugene Opera, Queer Opera, Portland Symphonic Choir, and the Oregon Bach Festival Vocal Fellows Program. She was a guest soloist for Vivaldi’s Gloria with the South Puget Sound Community College Choirs, and the Student Orchestras of Greater Olympia’s presentation of Handel’s Messiah.
Most recently, Carolyn sang with Resonance Ensemble and the Oregon Symphony to premiere Portland-based composer Damien Geter’s An African American Requiem; and was commissioned to compose a new work for the Portland Phoenix Chamber Choir to be premiered alongside the Pacific Northwest premiere of Margaret Bond’s Credo. For more information visit www.carolynquick.com.
Oliver Schulenburg (he/him)
Oliver Schulenburg (he/him) is a junior at Portland State studying vocal performance under Dr. Hannah Penn. Although currently a baritone, he is still figuring out how to use the new voice testosterone has given him. His most recent role was Dr. Cajus from The Merry Wives of Windsor, which PSU put on in the spring of 2022. This is Oliver’s second Queer Opera workshop, and definitely not his last. In his free time, you can find him trying to wrangle his cat Niamh, or playing fetch with his other cat Shrimp.
Jeremy Sivitz (he/they)
Jeremy Sivitz, tenor, is a burgeoning young artist with a particular propensity for comedy and character. A dedicated singing actor, Sivitz recently made his IU Opera role debut as Bardolpho in Verdi’s Falstaff. Other roles include: Pedrillo in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Ali in Zémire et Azor, Monostatos in Die Zauberflöte, and Don Basilio/Don Curzio in Le Nozze di Figaro. Born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska, Sivitz received his BM from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey, and his MM from IU Jacobs School of Music. Outside of music, Sivitz is an avid dancer, aerial acrobat, and painter.
Maeve Stier (they/them)
Maeve Stier is a soprano from Portland, OR. They recently premiered a 6-person queer retelling of The Music Man with Third Rail Repertory Theater and last fall, they performed the role of the Shepherd Boy in Portland Opera’s production of Tosca. Other performance experience includes roles and workshops with PSU Opera, Orpheus PDX, and Aquilon Music Festival, as well as chorus work with the Oregon Symphony, Portland Opera, and internationally acclaimed artists such as Pink Martini, Sarah Brightman, and Josh Groban. They can also be found busking at markets and festivals around the PNW with their accordion.
Madeleine Tran (she/her)
Madeleine Tran is a Portland, OR based soprano, actor, fight choreographer, and occasional street and festival performer. She was born in Tacoma, WA but obtained her degree in Vocal Performance at the University of Portland in 2018 and continues to study with Dr. Nicole Hanig. As a classical soprano, she has appeared with Portland Opera, Mock's Crest Productions, Renegade Opera, PSU's Queer Opera, and others, and has also appeared locally in the straight and musical theater scene, including performances with Artist's Repertory Theater and Third Rail Theater Company.
singers
singers
scenes
scenes
songs
click HERE for the poetry
Morning Opens by Jennifer Higdon
sung by Madeleine Tran
Prayer by Leslie Adams
sung by Andrew Egbuchiem
Sonnet: I Know My Mind by Margaret Bonds
sung by Carolyn Quick
From the Ashes She Became by Melissa Dunphy
sung by Lisa Neher
Heavenly Grass by Paul Bowles
sung by Wyatt Jackson
Open-Mouthed Gemini by Poe M. Allphin
sung by Jessie Bodell
Seascape by Benjamin Britten
sung by Jeremy Sivitz
Lift Me Into Heaven Slowly by Libby Larsen
sung by Angelica Hesse
Silhouette by Leonard Bernstein
sung by Maeve Stier
At a Dinner Party by Hope Salmonson
sung by Oliver Schulenburg
Snake by Jake Heggie
sung by Taylor Hulett
Will There Really Be a Morning? by Ricky Ian Gordon
sung by Francis Bigelow
Solitaire by Rosśa Crean
sung by Katya Powder
songs
production team
production team
Founder and Artistic Director
Stage Director
Kathleen Edwards
Stage Manager
Celine Clark
Assistant Stage Manager/Production Assistant
Ronnie Rantis
Lighting Designer
Jena Slater
Wardrobe Coordinator
Videographer
Recording Engineer
Photographer
Emmett VanVactor-Lee
Intimacy and Consent Workshop Facilitator/Choreographer
musical ensemble
Nyle Matsuoka
piano
Lou DeMartino
clarinet
Jonathan Villegas
cello
musicl ensemble
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