Soprano Isabella Josephine Bernal is a recent graduate of New York University Steinhardt where she received her Masters of Music in Classical Voice. Recent credits include Idomeneo (Elettra), Dido & Aeneas (Dido), Cavalleria Rusticana + Pagliacci (Lola), L’enfant et les sortilèges (Une pastourelle) and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Chorus works include Bach’s Easter Oratorio, Mozart’s Requiem, and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra and Carmina Burana with the Houston Symphony. She was most recently in Hudson River Opera’s Lucia di Lammermoor as a member of the chorus and the cover for Lucia. Ms. Bernal currently studies with Jamilyn Manning White. 

Seth Herbst is an accomplished pianist, author, and Associate Professor at United States Military Academy West Point, where he teaches in the Department of English & Philosophy. Seth is currently at work on several book-length projects, all connected by his interest in the interaction between literature and music. His primary book project, tentatively titled Milton and Music explores both the powerful influence music exerted on the poet John Milton as well as later musical adaptations of Milton's work. Another book project, Shakespeare Without Words: Romeo and Juliet from Play to Ballet, inquires how Sergei Prokofiev's iconic ballet can so successfully translate Shakespeare's play into music and dance "when the defining dimension of Shakespeare's art-his language- is wholly absent from the drama." Seth has also been invited to write a chapter on Milton and music for a new book on Milton and adaptation from Oxford University Press. Seth is a summa cum laude graduate of Harvard University where he received his Ph.D. and A.M. in English and A.B. in English and Music. 

https://www.westpoint.edu/english-and-philosophy/profile/seth_herbst

William Lewis, pianist/accompanist, vocal coach, arranger, and performer is beginning his fiftieth year as a professional musician. In 2014, he earned two nominations in the Charleston Theater Awards for his performances in “The Piano Man and the Diva” (Best Musical Director and Best Actor in a Musical) for the 2013-2014 season. In Savannah, Georgia, he won the People’s Choice Award during the American Traditions Competition.

Mr. Lewis regularly appears with Irish tenor Ronan Tynan in concert and also plays for Marcello Giordano and violinist Gregory Harrington.

He has served as vocal coach for the Santa Fe Opera, Lake George Opera Festival, Opera Omaha, Texas Opera, Opera Music Theater International with Jerome Hines, Central City Opera House Festival and Natchez Opera Festival. As a teacher, Mr. Lewis has served on the faculties of both the Boston and New England Conservatories and at Rutgers University. He has taught master classes across the U.S. and is presently an Artist in Residence at the University of Kentucky with Dr. Tynan.

Gigi Lin, soprano, is a native of Bucks County, PA and currently based in New York City. In the 2022-2023 season, she made her debut on the Taconic Opera main stage as Poussette in Jules Massenet’s Manon, as part of Taconic Opera’s 25th anniversary season. This past fall, she returned to Taconic Opera in their production of Richard Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos as Naiad. Previously, she has been seen with New York Opera Conservatory (NYOC) as Giannetta in Gaetano Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore, as well as Suor Osmina and Lay Sister in Giacomo Puccini’s Suor Angelica. In the upcoming 2024-2025 season, she will portray Frasquita in Bizet’s Carmen at the historic Tarrytown Music Hall alongside Taconic Opera, in addition to making her role debut as Norina in Don Pasquale with NYOC. Gigi received her Bachelor’s in Integrative Arts from the Pennsylvania State University, where she completed her studies in the School of Music and the School of Visual Arts. During her time at Penn State, she was involved in the productions of Bizet’s Carmen and Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, numerous solo and choral performances, and was a three time THON stage performer. She is an incoming first-year Master of Music in Vocal Performance candidate at New York University this fall. 

www.gigilin.com

Mezzo-soprano Deirdre Lahiff is a recent graduate of New York University Steinhardt where she earned her Masters of Music in Classical Voice in the studio of Rosa Vento. She recently joined Cedar Rapids as a Smith Young Artist in their winter production of Tosca, where she was also featured in concert. Recent credits include Idomeneo (Idamante), Tosca (Tosca), Suor Angelica (Suor Angelica), Norma (Adalgisa), La Traviata (Flora), Dido & Aeneas (First Witch), Le nozze di Figaro (Marcellina), and Batboy: The Musical (Meredith Parker). Sacred works include Fauré's Requiem, Rheinberger’s Stabat Mater, and Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb. Upcoming engagements include Too Many Sopranos (Dame Doleful) with Cedar Rapids Opera and Ravel's Trois Chansons as a featured soloist in concert and on recording. She is a proud graduate of Providence College where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance in the studio of Sarah Dunn. She has studied voice with Dan Montez, Sophia Bayno, and Mark Gargiulo. She currently studies with Travis Bloom.