Halifax Soprano, Abigail Sinclair, began her studies at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music this past year with professor Elizabeth McDonald, and is the recipient of the Ethel Berney Jackson Scholarship from the University of Toronto. In 2018, she competed in the ACNMP Contemporary Showcase, Advanced Vocalist class, singing works by Canadian Composer Mary Gardiner. She has participated in many concerts through University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music, including performances presenting original works by students from the Composition Faculty, the XXII Collective, and reprising the role of Sister Mary Amnesia from “Nunsense” for the Vocal Faculty’s “Give My Regards To Broadway” Musical Theatre Cabaret. Before that, she studied voice at the Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts with Paula Phillips from 2009-2018. Abigail was a member of the Intensive Training Program at Halifax Dance from 2011-2017. She has spent the last three summers with the Halifax Summer Opera Festival, performing in Suor Angelica in 2016 (Una Novizia), Albert Herring in 2017 (Emmie) and finally L’incoronazione di Poppea (La Fortuna/Damigella) under the baton of Dr. Vicki St. Pierre. She is the recipient of the 2016 and 2017 Ifan William Senior Trophy, and the 2017 Opera Nova Scotia Voice Scholarship. Abigail has competed in the Halifax Kiwanis Music Festival and the Nova Scotia Federation of Music Festivals, Provincials. In the 2018 Provincial Festival, she competed in both junior Classical Voice and Musical Theatre, taking home the provincial title in both, as well as third place in Musical Theatre at the National Music Festival. She is very excited to be joining HSOF again this summer, making her role debut as Morgana in Handel’s Alcina, with Conductor Markus Howard and Director Erin Bardua.
Colombian baritone Camilo Rodriguez-Cuadrado obtained a Master degree in voice performance from The University of Western Ontario in 2018. Camilo will join The Halifax Summer Opera Festival 2019, performing the role of Melisso in Händel’s “Alcina”. He also will be part of Vera Causa Opera’s season 2019 – 2020, singing in the operas “The Child and The Spells” by Maurice Ravel, “The Dino Opera / Rapunzel” (Double Bill) by Canadian composer Dylan Langan, and the Canadian Opera Fest. Camilo has performed with Vera Causa Opera, The University of Western Ontario Opera Workshop, Accademia Europea dell’Opera, Fundación Jaime Manzur, Canadian Operatic Arts Academy, Caldas Symphony Orchestra, Universidad Nacional de Colombia Symphony Orchestra and Universidad Nacional de Colombia Opera Workshop, among others.
Twenty-year-old tenor Justin Li, from Seattle, Washington, will start his third year of studies for a BM in Voice Performance at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University Bloomington in the fall of 2019. This past year, he has appeared in the choruses for the IU Opera Theatre’s productions of Dialogues des Carmélites and L’Elisir d’Amore, and participated in the school’s Undergraduate Opera Workshop’s opera scenes program, singing the Duke of Dunstable, from Patience, and Jupiter, from Orphée aux enfers. He is a student of Professor Patricia Havranek.
Hailing from Southern Manitoba, Alyssa Hildebrand is thrilled to be participating in HSOF this summer. She recently completed a Master of Music in Performance and Literature at the University of Western Ontario, studying with Jackalyn Short. She completed her Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance in Winnipeg, at Canadian Mennonite University, studying with David Klassen. Alyssa has been the finalist in several music competitions, including the Verna Mae Janzen Competition and Winnipeg’s Tudor Bowl. Alyssa has had the opportunity to learn through several summer programs including Opera NUOVA and Accademia Europea dell’Opera. She has performed several roles including: Barbarina in Le Nozze di Figaro, Josephine in HMS Pinafore, Bastienne in Bastien und Bastienne, and understudying the role of Anne Page in the Merry Wives of Windsor.
Alyssa has a passion for music performance and vocal pedagogy. She is excited to be returning to Manitoba to open up a private voice studio, and become involved in the vibrant music community present in Winnipeg. After two years teaching voice at the Ontario Mennonite Music Camp, she is exciting to be starting her own music camp for young vocalists in Manitoba, called Find Your Voice Music Camp. She hopes to spend the next several years developing artistry through the art of performance and teaching.
Born in southern California, mezzo-soprano Laurel Coddington is currently pursuing a double degree in Music Performance (Voice) and Communication Sciences & Disorders at Biola University under the tutelage of Jeanne Robison. She has continually placed in the annual Collegiate NATS competition, performed with the Biola Symphony Orchestra as a winner of the conservatory’s Honors Concerto Competition, and participated in various masterclasses. Laurel has also received numerous awards and scholarships for her contribution to the voice department and musical achievement at Biola.
A four-year member of the prestigious Biola University Chorale, Laurel has had the opportunity to perform at the Western Regional ACDA convention and national NCCO conference, as well as tour across Arizona, northern California, and Ireland.
Laurel has appeared in multiple mainstage productions during her time at Biola including Le Nozze de Figaro (Cherubino), Die Fledermaus (Prince Orlofsky), Street Scene (Mrs. Olsen), and Die Zauberflöte (Zweite Knabe), along with a variety of operatic and musical theatre excerpts.
In the fall at Biola, Laurel will perform as the Third Spirit in an excerpt from Clive Hamilton (world premiere), composed by Calgary native, Joel Balzun. Other features will include The Music Man and spring opera scenes program.
