Corey Arnold, tenor

Corey Arnold is an operatic tenor who is inspired by the great tenors of the past (Corelli, Del Monaco, Lauri Volpi) and steeped in our contemporary appreciation for individual expression. Like many of today’s great works of art, his singing is the synthesis of the beauty of the past with the immediacy and honesty of today’s music. Recent Performances include: The Duke in Rigoletto (Southern Ontario Lyric Opera), Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly (Pellegrini Opera), and Don Jose in Carmen (University of Ottawa). He has also worked as a collaborative pianist including Tosca (Pellegrini Opera) and Into the Woods (Opera NUOVA), and as a composer, with 3 musicals under his belt and a first opera in development. Corey has also spent much time working as a Feldenkrais Practitioner, exploring the realms of possibility for singers, actors, and dancers. He currently resides in Toronto and works with Ermanno Mauro and Maureen Stark.  Visit http://coreyarnold.ca/

Lauren Bryant-Monk, soprano

Soprano Lauren Bryant-Monk holds a Master’s in Music Performance and Literature at the Western University, where she studied with John MacMaster.  A graduate of the University of King’s College and Dalhousie University, Lauren received a BA Combined Honours in Music and Early Modern Studies while studying with Lucy Hayes Davis.

Her interest in early music led Lauren to write her undergraduate honours thesis on the humanism of the Florentine Camerata and the origins of opera in the Renaissance under the Supervision of Dr. Jennifer Bain. Her studies led her to see the similarities between early music and contemporary music, and so she discovered her passion for performing new compositions. This led to partnerships with young composers in Halifax, where she premiered Michael Robson’s Delirium Amoris for Soprano and Viola in 2012. In August 2014, she created the role of Adèle Hugo in La Belle Adèle by Sophie Dupius with Vocalypse Production’s Opera from Scratch.  Other recent performances include First Witch in Dido and Aeneas with Little London Community Opera, Frasquita in Carmen with Summer Opera Lyric Theatre, and Tigrane in Radamisto at the Accademia Europea dell’Opera in Lucca, Italy.

Lauren was born in Toronto, but she spent five years living in Halifax, Nova Scotia where she fell in love with the city, its friendly people, and the vibrant community of artists.  Because of all this, Lauren now considers Halifax to be her home.  When she is not singing, she can be found playing too many video games, hanging out with her cat, or playing Tabletop RPGs streamed live on Twitch. Find her schedule on www.starvingsoubrette.com

Lauren Halász, mezzo soprano

Ottawa native Lauren Halász is a mezzo soprano and multi-disciplinary artist based in Toronto. She enjoys performing both the traditional and the contemporary, with a particular interest in Canadian repertoire. She was featured as an emerging artist with both Tapestry Opera in Songbook IX, and Against the Grain Theatre in This is Prophetic!. She was also seen as Cherubino in Long Reach Opera Workshop’s Le Nozze di Figaro and as herself in Profile, an original work featured at Nuit Blanche Toronto 2018 through Expect Theatre. Lauren holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Voice Performance from Western University. 

Chelsea Kolić, soprano

Canadian soprano Chelsea Kolić has been performing publicly since the age of seven. In 2016, she completed her Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance at McGill University (Montréal, Canada) under the supervision of soprano Joanne Kolomyjec. Chelsea performed her first role with the University Mozarteum in December 2018 in their production of Philippe Boesmans’ Reigen. Chelsea has spent two summers as part of the Accademia Europa dell’Opera (Lucca, Italy) singing the role of Oberto in Händel’s Alcina (2017) and Susanna in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro (2018). Her operatic scenes work includes the role of Carolina (Cimarosa’s Il Matrimonio Segreto), Beth (Adamo’s Little Women) and Dater #16 (in the Canadian premiere of Micheal Ching’s Speed Dating Tonight!). She has worked extensively on the roles of Pamina (Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte), Äanchen (von Weber’s Der Freischütz), and Morgana (Händel’s Alcina).   Her chorus experience includes engagements with the Salzburg Festival (Austria), Theater Osnabrück (Germany), Opera McGill (Canada), and Opera Hamilton (Canada). Chelsea’s choral and cantor experience began in 2002 and she has performed often throughout North America and Europe. She has also participated in many solo and studio recitals in Canada, Italy, Spain, and Austria. Upon graduating from her bachelor degree, Chelsea received special distinction and excellence in voice performance. She has been awarded many voice and academic scholarships from both McGill University and the University Mozarteum. Chelsea is currently enrolled at the University Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. She has recently completed a Master of Music (Lied and Oratorio) under the direction of Barbara Bonney and Wolfgang Holzmair and is currently completing a Master of Music (Opera) under the direction of Gernot Sahler and Alexander von Pfeil.

Lucas Kuipers, tenor

Tenor Lucas Kuipers hails from Toronto. He completed his Bachelor of Music at Wilfrid Laurier University and is currently studying privately with Marianne Bindig. He performed with Opera Laurier for three years, first as Arithmétique/La Rainette in L’Enfant et les Sortilèges, then as Pasek in The Cunning Little Vixen, and in his final year as Andreas/Cochenille in The Tales of Hoffman. In the summer of 2016 he took part in Opera From Scratch, a new composition program in Halifax. There he sang the role of Tremaine in a premiere of the chamber opera Farewell to Nova Scotia, by Calgary-based composer Tristan Zaba. In 2017 he performed with the Long Reach Opera Workshop as The Magician in The Consul. That same summer he sang the role of Mayor Upfold in Albert Herring with the Halifax Summer Opera Festival. In 2018 he sang the role of Ferrando in Così fan tutte with the Long Reach Opera Workshop before returning to the Halifax Summer Opera Festival to sing the role of Flute/Thisbe in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This past summer he sang the role of Snout in A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Opera NUOVA.

Colin McMahon, composer

Composer Colin McMahon is focused on crafting relevant stories through music. His style is distinctly modern, but approachable and emotive. Currently pursuing a DMA in composition under Gary Kulesha at the University of Toronto, McMahon has participated in Opera from Scratch, Vancouver Art Song Lab, and Accademia Europea Dell’Opera. McMahon has been commissioned by the Toronto Winds, The Canadian Choral Summit, and international tuba soloist Jarrett McCourt.