CREATIVE TEAM Yuval Sharon (Director) Yuval Sharon founded and serves as Artistic Director of The Industry. Named a “Face to Watch” in 2012 by The Los Angeles Times and “LA’s avantgarde opera darling” by the Hollywood Reporter , Yuval Sharon has been creating an unconventional body of work exploring the interdisciplinary potential of opera. His productions have been described as “powerful” ( New York Times) , "virtuosic" ( Opernwelt ), "dizzyingly spectacular” ( New York Magazine ), “ingenious” ( San Francisco Chronicle ) and “staggering” ( Opera News ). Yuval directed a landmark production of John Cage SONG BOOKS at the San Francisco Symphony and Carnegie Hall with Joan La Barbara, Meredith Monk, and Jessye Norman. He made his European debut with John Adams’ DOCTOR ATOMIC at the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe in a highly acclaimed production that made him the first American director to win the Götz Friedrich Prize in Germany. COMPOSERS Veronika Krausas The works of composer Veronika Krausas areperformed throughout Europe and North America, where she is recognized for her innovative use of dance, acrobatics and video. The Globe & Mail (Toronto) writes that "her works, whose organic, lyrical sense of storytelling are supported by a rigid formal elegance, give her audiences a sense that nature's frozen objects are springing to life." Mark Swed of the Los Angeles Times said “Something novel this way comes.” Of Lithuanian heritage, she was born in Australia and raised in Canada. Krausas is currently a Professor in the Composition Department and the Director of Undergraduate Theory at the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California. Marc Lowenstein Marc Lowenstein is the Music Director of The Industry. He has conducted the premieres of several new operas including THE MORTAL THOUGHTS OF LABY MACBETH, DICE THROWN, THE SCARLET LETTER, THE PEACH BLOSSOM FAN and WET, and the American premieres of Schaeffer’s LOVING and Aperghis’ SEXTOUR. For four years he conducted with the New York City Opera’s VOX new music festival and he has conducted on the Monday Evening Concert Series, with Jacaranda, with the Ear Unit, the Vinny Golia Ensemble, the Kadima Conservatory, the CalArts New Century Players, and Ensemble Green. He was the founder and music director of the Berkeley Contemporary Opera, a company that produced four seasons of contemporary operas. As a singer, he specializes in contemporary music and has performed over twentyfive opera roles including the premiere of WHAT TO WEAR by Michael Gordon and Richard Foreman. Marc has written a fulllength opera based on the screenplay to THE FISHER KING, is working on a children’s opera, and has written several shorter chamber works. He has been a professional whistler, plays klezmer clarinet, and he teaches theory, conducting, composition and history at CalArts. Andrew McIntosh Described in the Los Angeles Times as “an explorer into the cracks of intonation and the quirks of symmetry” , LAbased composer Andrew McIntosh is known for writing music with “soundscapes rich and immersive” (San Francisco Classical Voice) and has been heralded as “a shining example of the extraordinary music that the youngest generation of American experimentalists has to offer” (TEMPO). His music is regularly performed throughout the US and Europe, including several recent performances at the
Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Green Umbrella series. McIntosh is also an active performer as violinist, violist, and baroque violinist, and is a founding member of the Formalist Quartet. www.septimalcomma.com Andrew Norman Andrew Norman is a composer of chamber and orchestral music. He has been commissioned by the Berlin, Los Angeles, and New York Philharmonics, and he is the recipient of the Rome Prize and the Berlin Prize. A lifelong enthusiast for all things architectural, Andrew writes music that is often inspired by forms he encounters in the visual world. His music draws on an eclectic mix of instrumental sounds and notational practices, and it has been cited in the New York Times for its “daring juxtapositions and dazzling colors” and in the L.A. Times for its “Chaplinesque” wit. Ellen Reid Ellen Reid is a composer and sound artist whose work “brims with canny invention” (LA Weekly). She creates visceral experiences where sound and story collide. Reid’s work is largely collaborative and takes the form of opera, scores for dance, film, theater, and immersive interactive media. Reid’s score for She Gone Rogue will be featured in the 2014 Whitney Biennial, and her new opera Winter’s Child was recently workshopped at The Industry’s First Take (Hammer Museum, Los Angeles), which was hailed as “full of imagination, full of promise” by the LA Times. Reid’s music direction scoring of Prometheus Bound (Getty Villa, Malibu) was said it would “make you believe that the mythical sirens really existed” (KCRW). Reid’s work has been heard internationally at the United Nations in Thailand, Galapagos Art Space (NYC), the Ruhrtrinalle (PACT Zollverein, Germany), 104 (Paris), cˇu’m„a* (Istanbul), and with Theater Mitu in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Reid holds a BFA from Columbia University and an MFA from California Institute of the Arts. David Rosenboom Recently lauded in the New York Times as an “avatar of experimental music,” David Rosenboom is a composerperformer, interdisciplinary artist, author and educator, who over five decades has explored the spontaneous evolution of musical forms, multidisciplinary composition and performance, unique languages for improvisation, crosscultural collaborations, performance art and literature, interactive multimedia and new instrument technologies, artscience research and philosophy, and extended musical interface with the human nervous system. His wideranging work is broadly distributed and presented around the world. He holds the Richard Seaver Distinguished Chair in Music at CalArts where he is also Dean of The Herb Alpert School of Music. Rosenboom is a Yamaha Artist. Website: http://www.davidrosenboom.com WRITERS Tom Jacobson Off Broadway : The TwentiethCentury Way (Rattlestick Playwrights Theater and The Theatre @ Boston Court). Los Angeles : Sperm (Circle X Theatre Company), The Orange Grove ( Playwrights Arena), Bunbury, Tainted Blood, Ouroboros , The Friendly Hour (The Road Theatre Company), The TwentiethCentury Way (The Theatre @ Boston Court), Making Paradise: The West Hollywood Musical (Cornerstone Theater Company), The Chinese Massacre (Annotated) (Circle X), House of the Rising Son (Ensemble Studio TheatreLA), Diet of Worms (Chalk Repertory Theatre). Film: Prairie Sonata (based on The Friendly Hour ).
Mandy Kahn Mandy Kahn is a writer of poetry, prose and libretti. Kahn wrote the libretto for composer Ellen Reid's opera MODERN ODYSSEUS Modern, which the wild Up orchestraunder the direction of conductor Christopher Rountreepremiered in February of 2014 at Art Share in downtown Los Angeles. Recent collaborations include a piece with composer Daniel Corral for the LAX/Live Arts Exchange Festival, a piece with Ali Helnwein and the Traction Avenue Chamber Orchestra that premiered at the Last Bookstore, a piece with Becky Stark and the Los Angeles Ladies’ Choir that premiered at the Satellite, a piece with Matt Kivel that premiered at the Standard Hotel, and a piece with marimba soloist Ariel Campos that premiered at Perspace. She is writerinresidence for THE SERIES, a live event that pairs artists for crossgenre collaborations. She lives in Los Angeles. Sarah LaBrie Sarah LaBrie has been awarded fellowships and residencies from Writers in the Schools, New York University, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, the Nebraska Art Farm and the Tin House Summer Writer's Workshop. She has taught creative writing and composition at USC, NYU and PS111 on New York’s lower east side. She holds a degree in comparative literature and literary arts from Brown University and an MFA in fiction from NYU. Her work appears in the Literary Review, Epoch, Joyland, the EEEL, Encyclopedia Journal, the LA Weekly and the Verge. She is the editor of the California Prose Directory 2015 (Outpost19) an annual anthology featuring the best recently published prose about life in the Golden State. Erin Young Erin Young has an MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University Los Angeles. She has been published in theNY Press and Extract(s) and is working through the neverending process of finishing a novel. She currently works for a literary agency and previously for two prestigious literary magazines as an editor. Erin lives in the middle of Los Angeles and gets her inspiration from this diverse urban setting. Jane Stephens Rosenthal Jane Stephens Rosenthal is a poet and an actress living in Los Angeles. And she is proud to participate in the Industry's creative all encompassing Los Angeles discovering opera. You can find more of her work at www.janestephensrosenthal.com Janine Salinas Schoenberg Janine Salinas Schoenberg received her MFA in Dramatic Writing from the University of Southern California. Her plays have been developed and/or produced at theatres throughout Southern California. She has been nominated for the Princess Grace Award, the Wendy Wasserstein Prize, and was a Quarterfinalist for the Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting. She is the recipient of a MacDowell Fellowship and a Project Involve Fellowship through Film Independent. She was a participant in the AFI Directing Workshop for Women where she was awarded the Nancy Malone Award in directing. Last spring she attended the Sundance Institute Screenwriters Intensive with her newest screenplay, Ana Fantasia. Website: www.lunamarproductions.com Danielle Agami (Choreographer) is Artistic Director of Ate9 Dance Company in Los Angeles. She was a member of the Batsheva Dance Company from 20022010. Between 20072009, she served as the artistic director of Batsheva Dancers Create and functioned as the company's rehearsal director from 20082010, during which she received the Yair Shapira Prize for Excellence in Dance. In 2013, Agami was commissioned by Ohad Naharin to choreograph ‘Shula,’ a new work for the BatSheva Ensemble, and has been commissioned to create a work for Northwest Dance Project premiering in October.
ANIMATORS Cecilia SweetColl Cecilia SweetColl is a senior in the animation department at USC's School of Cinematic Arts. She has a strong background in music, dance, and film, and her work emphasizes the crosspollination of art forms. She works with the USC dance and multimedia company Sokamba and for the director Andrew Thomas Huang, and is working on her senior thesis project in visual music. She is a USC Trustee Scholar and Princess Grace Award recipient. Her videos can be found at vimeo.com/csweetcoll . Roxana Bentu Roxana Bentu is a Romanian Animation Director. She fell in love with animation at the age of seven when she saw a film still from the animated classic Fantastic Planet in an old almanac. Being a child in an East European communist country back in the 80’s was a unique media and visual experience, one marked by a scarcity that understandably made the rare encounter with animation truly vibrant. Fortunately and ironically enough, this was the beginning of her long term addiction to the genre. As she moved from being an Animator to working as an Animation Director, her focus shifted from mastering technique to creating plot, character and a meaningfully immersive experience. Her efforts have been acknowledged and rewarded by the prizes she won at festivals either for personal work (Filmul de Piatra in 2011 and Anonimul in 2011 with Growing ) or as part of a team (she was part of the team that created Crulic: the Path to Beyond, the first Romanian animation to win the Crystal Prize for Best Feature at Annecy International Animation Film Festival 2012). As someone who thrives in creative environments, she is currently studying for an MA in Animation at the Royal College of Art, an experience that will consolidate her development as a Director. Daniel Olivas Daniel Olivas is an artist currently attending UCLA to pursue his MFA in animation. He attained his BA's in FIlm Studies and Art Studio at UC Davis with a minor in music. He has work on display in Shield's Library, and has had paintings exhibited in public installations, films shown in several local screenings, honoring him with the "Best Experimental Film" at the Davis Short Film Festival in 2011, and the "Most Innovative Film" award at the UCLA Festival of Animation in 2015. While Olivas' emphasis is in stop motion, he constantly pushes his abilities in traditional and contemporary media. http://danielolivas.co.nr CAST Babatunde Akinboboye Nigerian American Baritone, Babatunde Akinboboye has most recently sung the roles of Drew in Opera Works’ ASAP production of “The Discord Altar,” and Zanni in the world premiere of Gloria Coats’ “Stolen Identity.” He also performed in The Industry’s 2013 production of First Take and last year’s performance of Terry Riley’s “In C.” Mr. Akinboboye’s honors include Western Regional Finalist in the 2012 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, first place winner in the 43nd Annual American Educators of Italian Origin United Opera Scholarship Competition, and finalist in the International Eisteddfod Vocal Solo Competition in Llangollen, Wales. Julia Aks
JULIA AKS, mezzosoprano, is quickly becoming known as one of the Los Angeles' most versatile singer/actresses, with work spanning Shakespeare, opera, musical theater, plays, and film. She is a member of the Independent Shakespeare Company, the Ovation Awardwinning Fugitive Kind Theater Company, the LA Opera Chorus, and the LA Opera Community Outreach Program. You can see Julia on the big screen (in three cities) this fall in the horror romcom feature film CLINGER (Official Selection: SlamDance Film Festival 2015). She is dedicated to new works, new interpretations, and multidisciplinary art. wwww.juliaaks.com Maria Elena Altany Upon her 2015 debut with LA Opera as Susana in ¡Figaro! (90210) , Opera News called soprano Maria Elena Altany "delightfully smart and quicksilver." Altany is grateful to have been featured in every one of The Industry's productions; as Nurse Anna Mae in Crescent City , the Turkish woman in Invisible Cities , and as Sophia and The Child in readings of The House is Open and Winter's Child at First Take and First Take '15. Recent appearances include the Najade in Ariadne auf Naxos with Pacific Opera Project, and soloist in Jon Luther Adams' Sila: Breath of the World for the Ojai Music Festival. https://www.presskit.to/mariaelenaaltany Justine Aronson Hailed as possessing "a deep reservoir of expressive devices" by The New York Times, soprano Justine Aronson employs artistic and technical versatility to create passionate performances. She has premiered works by David Lang, Daron Hagen, Christopher Cerrone, Nicholas Deyoe, Aaron Jay Kernis, Thomas Pasatieri, Fred Hersch, Benjamin C.S. Boyle, Curt Caccioppo, and Richard Valitutto. Specializing in baroque and contemporary repertoires, Ms. Aronson has appeared in concert as a soloist with The New York Festival of Song, The Lucerne Festival Academy, The String Orchestra of Brooklyn, The Bard Music Festival, Princeton Pro Musica, Reno Kantorei, The Choral Arts Society of Philadelphia, The Masterwork Chorale, the Westminster Summer Festival, Brightwork New Music, and the Los Angelesbased modern music collective wild Up, among others. She is equally at home with traditional repertoire, portraying roles including Oscar (Un ballo in maschera), Despina (Così fan tutte), Yum Yum (The Mikado), Monica (The Medium), Nuria in Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar, and Yniold (Pelléas et Mélisande). www.justinearonson.com Rebekah Ann Barton (Soprano): Recently returned from Verona, Italy where she participated in Opera Vivá's scene production of La Traviata. In 2015, she was the guest soloist in Midaregami (Tangled hair) by Veronika Krauses with the Penderecki String Quartet at USC's Vision & Voices, and also sang with Oakland Temple Hill's Interfaith Production of The Lamb of God as Mary Magdalene. Ms. Barton has performed the roles of Alice Ford (Falstaff), Madame Lidoine (Dialogues des carmélites), Jane Wingrave (West Coast Premeire of Owen Wingrave), Angelica (Debut with Idaho Falls Opera Theatre in Suor Angelica), Countess Almaviva (Le Nozze di Figaro). Sarah Beaty Hailed as “ the model of bel canto clarity and brilliance” b y Cleveland Classical, Sarah Beaty specializes in contemporary music. She premiered “Invisible Cities” with The Industry, “Prometheus Bound” with the Center for New Performance, and is a founding member of the contemporary chamber ensemble, Blue Streak. She has been a soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, CityMusic Cleveland Orchestra, the Camerata of LA, National Chorale, and has performed at the Hollywood Bowl, Disney Concert Hall, and Avery Fisher Hall. Sarah is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music and regularly sings with Pacific Opera Project and various choral ensembles throughout LA. www.sarahbeaty.com
Timur Bekbosunov TIMUR, “ the extravagantly transgressive tenor ” ( LA Times ), has made solo appearances with LA Philharmonic, Bang on a Can AllStars, Santa Cecilia Academy, Sarasota Opera, Budapest Palace of the Arts, The Industry LA and DeVotchKa, among many others. TIMUR collaborated with many composers, including Thomas Adès, Evan Ziporyn, Silvano Bussotti, David R. Little, Mohammed Fairouz, Anne LeBaron, the late GianCarlo Menotti and Gregory Vajda. His band Timur and the Dime Museum, described by NPR’s Here & Now as “postpunk screaming opera,” recently premiered COLLAPSE, produced by Beth Morrison Projects and performed at Redcat, Miami Light Project, Operadagen Rotterdam and BAM 2015 Next Wave Festival. His voice is featured on the film soundtrack of “Ruby Sparks”. He is a faculty member of CalArts. www.theoperaoftimur.com Paul Berkolds During his 30 year career, Paul Berkolds, baritone, has performed opera, musical theater, oratorio, and solo recitals in the United States, Europe, Australia, Canada, Taiwan, and Mexico. The breadth of his work includes classical, contemporary, folk, and avantgarde styles. Southern California concerts include performances with Green Umbrella, MicroFest Concert Series, Monday Evening Concerts, Jacaranda Concerts, as well as with Other Minds in San Francisco where he performed the world premiere of Ben Johnston’s The Tavern for baritone and microtuned guitar. Berkolds has been guest vocalist on several occasions with LA’s Ensemble “Partch” and recently collaborated with the group on the Grammywinning CD Plectra and Percussion Dances, which was voted Best Classical Compendium 2014. Quayla Bramble Quayla grew up in New York City, and at the age of 12, her love for different cultures and sponsorship by D & P LLC Worldwide took her breathtaking coloratura range on tours through Japan in 2008 and 2012, the Grand Bahamas in 2009, and France and Germany in 2008, where she performed secular, classical and gospel music. Quayla has been heard at Carnegie Hall singing spirituals and classical repertoire, and has been featured in various contemporary works, including A More Convenient Season at REDCAT in Los Angeles, where she was the soprano soloist. In May 2015, Quayla received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Vocal Performance at California Institute of the Arts. David Castillo FilipinoAmerican baritone David Castillo is a Los Angeles based singer, actor, teacher, and entrepreneur known for delivering "impassioned" (LA Times) performances "beautifully sung and confidently acted" (Opera News). The New Orleans native performed as a soloist in World Premieres for the Los Angeles Opera and the Los Angeles Master Chorale and in West Coast Premieres as the Title Role in Britten’s Owen Wingrave and Ferdinand in Hoiby’s The Tempest. This season, he makes his European debut in Paris with Schubert’s Winterreise. He also is a member of VOX, a vocal quartet recently featured on NBC’sAmerica's Got Talent. Please visit www.davidthesinger.com . Jonathan Cebreros MexicanAmerican tenor Jonathan Cebreros has performed with groups and venues such as: Tuscia Operafestival (Italy), Napa Music Festival, Chicago Cultural Center, Festival de Ópera de Oaxaca, Ópera de Tijuana, and the Tijuana Street Opera Festival. Some of his roles include: Rodolfo (Bohème), Fadinard (Il Cappello di Paglia di Firenze), Goro (M. Butterfly), Mayor Upfold (Albert Herring) and Gastone (Traviata). His concert repertoire includes tenor solo parts in Haydn’s Groβeorgelsolomesse, Mozart’s Mass in C Minor and Handel’s Messiah with the Greater San Diego Chamber Orchestra. Jonathan holds a Master of Music from the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University.
Lauren Davis Lauren Davis is a Los Angeles based vocalist hailing from Fredericksburg, Virginia. She holds a BFA in vocal performance from California Institute of the Arts. Some recent engagements include: John Luther Adams's Sila: The Breath of the World at Ojai Music Festival, Hildegard von Bingen's Ordo Virtutum, T he Industry's First Take, Ellen Reid's Modern Odysseus, Minimalist Jukebox: Maximum Minimalism at Walt Disney Concert Hall, Lewis Pesacov's The Edge of Forever a nd Yotam Haber's A More Convenient Season at REDCAT. Lauren also writes, sings, and plays keyboard in an experimental rock quartet called Blackberry Tongues, who released their first album in January 2015. www.laurendavismusic.com Victoria Fox Victoria Fox, mezzosoprano, is a native of Centerville, Pennsylvania. Victoria holds a Master’s from The University of Southern California. During her time at USC, she performed Zita in Gianni Schicchi, Arnalta in L’Incoronazione di Poppea, and Marchesa Melibea in Il Viaggio a Reims. Other roles include Dorabella in Cosi fan tutte, Carmen, Meg in Falstaff, Nicklausse in Les contes d’Hoffmann, and Ottone in Aspen Music Festival’s L’Incoronazione di Poppea. This summer, Victoria performed with Opera Theatre of Pittsburgh as Clairon in Strauss’s Capriccio and The Word in Gilda Lyons world premiere, A New Kind of Fallout. www.victoriafoxmezzo.com Suzanna Guzman “A fireeating singing actress” (TIME magazine) Suzanna Guzmán celebrates 30 years as a principal artist in opera performing internationally with companies including the Metropolitan Opera, Washington Opera, Opera de Geneve, Singapore Festival, Dallas Opera. She appeared in over 39 productions as an original Associate Artist of Los Angeles Opera. Known for her portrayal of the title role in Bizet’s Carmen, she is also a champion of new music and has created lead roles in works by: Heggie, Nyman, Catán, Menotti, Krouse, Picker, LeBaron and many more. Dedicated to Arts Education, her onewoman show, Don’t Be Afraid! It’s Just Opera has been seen by over 200,000 innercity children nationwide. A 2006 Grammy nominee, she’s the 2013 Hispanic Scholarship Fund Mentor of the Year and the 2015 recipient of the Edwin Lester Lifetime Achievement Award for Service to Arts and Community. Visit www.suzannaguzman.com for more. Delaram Kamareh As one of the "fearless" young interpreters of contemporary classical music in Los Angeles, Delaram is a favorite with The Industry, collaborating in several projects, including as a soloist in the world premiere of the acclaimed operatic adaptation of Italo Calvino's novel Invisible Cities. Her voice can be heard on several motion picture soundtracks including Romeo and Juliet and Heaven is for real in addition to Josh Groban's new single, Anthem. No stranger to performing, at age seven she was at ease in front of the camera in the conservative world of Iranian National Television, continuing her childhood acting career well into her teens. An exotic voice from the east with beautiful command over a western art form: "Delaram Kamareh. Remember that name one to keep your eyes and ears on in the coming years." Allisyar http://delaramkamareh.com Marja Liisa Kay Marja Liisa Kay, soprano, is dedicated to the performance and promotion of contemporary music, and is recognized for her fearless sense of adventure. She has premiered principle roles in a number of new operas, and international performances have taken place in Sweden, Ireland, Belgium, Germany, England and Costa Rica. Dr. Kay is known for her performances of EsaPekka Salonen’s Floof and Claude Vivier’s Lonely Child in England, and has sung with the York Symphony Orchestra and the Symphony of the Redwoods. She is especially wellversed in the vocal music of Finland’s composers and has worked as a
studio singer for James Horner and Phantom Recordings during research sessions for the feature film, Avatar. Marja Liisa Kay holds a PhD from the University of York in England, an MFA from California Institute of the Arts under the tutelage of Jacqui Bobak and a BM from Chapman University as a Presidential Scholar. www.marjaliisakay.com Jon Keenan Jon Lee Keenan, tenor, grew up exposed to a wide variety of music ranging from rocknroll and bluegrass to classical and jazz in his home town of Las Vegas, NV. After graduating from UNLV with a triple major in Music, Jon moved to Los Angeles to continue his musical studies, eventually graduating with a doctorate in Vocal Arts from USC. Since joining with the Los Angeles Master Chorale in 2007, Jon has appeared as a featured soloist in each season: recent highlights include Magnus Lindberg's Graffiti with Esa Pekka Solonen the Los Angeles Philharmonic and singing the role of Evangelist in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion. Other recent engagements include appearances with the American Bach Soloists in Bach’s Easter Oratorio and St. Matthew Passion and with the Industry Opera as George Hunter White in Anne LeBaron’s LSD the Opera. When Jon is not singing he can be found playing jazz bass with “The Disciples Trio” on YouTube. Sharon Kim Sharon Chohi Kim is thrilled to be on board for the Hopscotch ride with The Industry. Sharon is a voice artist based in Los Angeles. She has a passion for exploring all the possibilities of vocal sounds and applying them to a wide range of music such as opera, contemporary, experimental, electronic, and musical theatre. She has given solo and ensemble concerts at REDCAT, Walt Disney Hall, MOCA, and The Machine Project, and has performed with such organizations as Los Angeles Opera Company, Los Angeles; Spectrum, New York; El Paso Opera Company and Chamizal National Memorial, Texas; and Jang Chun Art Hall and Yeoungdeungpogu Theatre in Seoul, South Korea. sharonchohikim.com Jennifer Lindsay Praised for her "gorgeous tone quality" (Lauri's List), lyric soprano Jennifer Lindsay recently made her European debut as Donna Anna (Don Giovanni) at the Estates Theatre in Prague, Czech Republic, and she has been a featured soloist with the Pacific Symphony, Southeast Symphony, and Bakersfield Symphony. Jennifer has received accolades from numerous competitions, including finalist or semifinalist awards in the James Toland National Opera Competition, Center Stage Opera Competition, Loren Zachary National Opera Competition, CooperBing Opera Columbus Vocal Competition, and Classical Singer Competition. Previous roles include Violetta (La Traviata), Fiordiligi (Cosi Fan Tutte), Alice Ford (Falstaff), and Giorgetta (Il Tabarro). www.JenniferLindsayMusic.com Jessica Mirshak Los Angelesbased mezzosoprano Jessica Mirshak has performed contemporary and traditional operatic roles with many companies in Southern California and beyond. Recent appearances include , Meg Page ( Falstaff), Lyubasha (The Tsar’s Bride) , Lola ( Cavalleria Rusticana) , Cherubino ( Le nozze di Figaro) , Flora (La Traviata) , Female Doctor in the premiere of Sylvia by Julia Adolphe at BargeMusic! Brooklyn; Mother Jeanne of the Baby Jesus ( Dialogues of the Carmelites) and Third Lady ( Die Zauberflöte) . As a concert soloist in the 20142015 season, Ms. Mirshak has been seen as Alto Soloist in Vivaldi’s Gloria with Westwood United Methodist, Alto Soloist in Mendelssohn’s Elijah with combined Los Angeles choirs, and Alto Soloist in Bach: BWV Cantata 106 with Claremont Chorale. This past April Ms. Mirshak was the recipient of the Lisa & Bernie Kalvelage Award in the Maria & Henry Holt Competition. Ms. Mirshak is a graduate of USC Thornton School of Music and Loyola University New Orleans. www.jessicamirshak.com Odeya Nini
Odeya Nini is a Los Angeles based experimental vocalist and composer. At the locus of her interests are textural harmony, gesture, tonal animation, and the illumination of minute sounds, in works spanning chamber music to vocal pieces and collages of musique concrète. Her solo vocal work extends the dimension and expression of the voice and body, creating a sonic and physical panorama of silence to noise and tenderness to grandeur. Odeya's work has been presented at venues and festivals around the US and internationally from Los Angeles to Tel Aviv, Canada, Mongolia and Vietnam. Odeya holds a BFA from the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music and an MFA in composition from California Institute of the Arts. www.odeyanini.com James Onstad James Onstad is firmly establishing himself as a versatile performer at opera’s leading edge. Originally from Santa Fe, NM, James received an undergraduate degree in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology from Harvard University. He then received his master’s degree from CollegeConservatory of Music (CCM) in Cincinnati, where he performed the roles of Silvio in Bizet’s Le Docteur Miracle and Sam in Kurt Weill’s Street Scene. Most recently, James has focused on new work. He sang as a wounded soldier in Diane Paulus’s critically acclaimed worldpremiere of Crossing by Matthew Aucoin. And in August, he premiered the role of Jake in Aucoin’s chamber opera, Second Nature, with Chicago Lyric Unlimited. James is committed to broadening opera’s relevance and scope, and is thrilled to be a part of Hopscotch. Lindsay Patterson Lindsay Patterson is currently Resident Artist with theRiverside Lyric Opera Company where her roles include Zita in Gianni Schicchi. She was also part of the Los Angeles premiere of I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Saw the Sky by John Adams playing the role of Leila with Long Beach Opera. Lindsay is also a concert soloist with the San Fernando Valley Master Chorale. Also comfortable with Musical Theater, this past August Lindsay played the role of the Narrator in the world premiere musical, The Butterfly Who Became a Cocoon. For more about Lindsay, please visit www.LindsayVoice.com Ariel Pisturino Hailed as “simply exquisite,” (Fanfare Magazine), Ariel Pisturino made her debut with Long Beach Opera as Nancy T’ang in Adam’s Nixon in China . Ms. Pisturino collaborates with composers in Southern California and sings with new music ensembles including the unSUNg Concert Series, Chamber Opera Players of LA, and the Spacious Visions Concert Series. Pisturino has been a featured soloist on two albums produced by Delos Records, the newest being “Home is a Harbor,” by Mark Abel, to be released in spring 2016. Upcoming engagements: Bach in the Subway in Union Station, and Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni with Redlands Opera Theater. www.arielpisturino.com . Katarzyna Sadej PolishCanadian mezzosoprano Katarzyna Sadej performs internationally in concert, recital, opera and oratorio. She has performed numerous world premieres, including works by John Harbison, Carson Cooman, Sharbel Dalal, Elissar Hanna, Missy Mazzoli, Paula Prestini and Michael Pepa, among others. Katarzyna’s solo debuts include appearances at Festival Mozaic, the Ravinia Festival, Carnegie Hall, the Ojai International Music Festival, the Cartagena International Music Festival, the Music Biennale Zagreb, Bard Summerscape, the Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, the Banatul and Lviv Philharmonics, Saskatoon Opera, Opera Lyra Ottawa, the National Arts Center in Ottawa, and the 2012 London Olympics. For more information visit www.katarzynasadej.com Michelle Shocked
For almost 30 years, acclaimed pickerpoet Michelle Shocked has generated compelling lyrics and mnemonic melodies with a musical talent so eclectic it's difficult to categorize. Her musical career was sparked by a bootleg recording made around a Kerrville Folk Festival campfire on a Sony Walkman. Following the phenomena of the Texas Campfire Tapes, she produced a trilogy of Grammynominated albums and journeyman song cycles on her independent label. In 2009, she launched Roadworks, a 5year touring project to develop her current workinprogress, Indelible Women. An asyetunpublished book, Bootleg This, chronicles the social media firestorm she ignited in 2013. At present she is passionately focused copyfight and the Artists Rights movement. website is www.michelleshocked.com Jennifer Weiss Praised for her “expressive and contemplative” musicality ( Lauri’s List ), soprano Jennifer Weiss recently relocated to Los Angeles from New Jersey. Jennifer’s work spans new music, opera, choral works, and musical theater. In 2015, Jennifer performed four roles in Jonathan Sheffer’s Blood on the Dining Room Floor with Napa Music Festival. Traditional opera roles include Olympia ( Tales of Hoffman ), Madame Herz ( The Impresario ), Blonde ( Abduction from the Seraglio ), and Casilda ( The Gondoliers ). Musical theater credits include K.C. Downing ( My Favorite Year ) and Hodel/Chava ( Fiddler on the Roof ). Choral work includes performances under conductors Gustavo Dudamel, Daniel Barenboim, and Yannick NézetSéguin. www.jenniferweissmusic.com Kirsten Ashley Wiest Grand Prize winner of the 2015 Los Angeles Young Musician's Foundation Concerto Competition, soprano Kirsten Ashley Wiest has been praised for her "wonted skill" and "unique voice, unlike anyone else." Kirsten has sung as a soloist with the Grammy awardwinning Partch ensemble, La Jolla Symphony and Chorus, wildUp new music collective, UCLA's John Cage Symposium, kallisti chamber opera, UCSD's Palimpsest, CalArts New Century Players, and Chapman University's New Music Ensemble. She has also sung with Bang on a Can AllStars, red fish blue fish, San Diego Pro Arte Voices, and the Metroplex Opera Company in Dallas. Kirsten is currently a DMA student at UCSD under the instruction of Grammy awardwinning soprano Susan Narucki. website : www.kirstenashleywiest.com Stephanie Williams Stephanie Williams is ecstatic about her first perfomance with The Industry! She received her vocal performance degree at Chapman University studying under Opera Diva, Carol Neblett. Stage credits include 'Waiting for Callas to Sing' (Maria Callas), 'The Marriage of Figaro' (Cherubino) and 'The Magic Flute' (Third Lady). She has been the featured jazz soloist with the Ryan Cross Trio and you can find her singing in a gospel choir every Sunday at The Congregational Church of Christian Fellowship. Stephanie also enjoys writing her own music along with playing synthesizer in the postrock band Mute Swans. She currently resides in Los Angeles teaching rock stars how to better sing. l osangelesvoicestudio.com
Orson Van Gay II Tenor, Orson Van Gay II, possesses a unique voice that captivates audiences with his charisma and command of the stage. His performances showcase vocal talents bringing him constant recognition throughout Los Angeles and in productions with LA Opera. In November 2014, Orson was honored to star the title role in LA Opera's outreach touring Additionally, he made his main stage debut in early 2015 with his brilliantly crass role as Bernard Curson (Cherubino) in LA Opera’s adaptation of Figaro 90210!. Most
recently he is excited about his lead role in Todd Goodman’s Opera, Night of the Living Dead, production “Orpehus,” he’s delighted to return for the second season in 2015. Halloween weekend in Midland, PA. MUSICIANS Eric KM Clark Los Angelesbased violinist and composer Eric Kenneth Malcolm Clark is a specialist in new and experimental music. He has performed and recorded an eclectic range of music around the world, while his compositions have been noted as “an exhilarating and occasionally confounding exercise in divergence, confluence, and middlefinger merriment” (Signal to Noise). Eric is a member of the Kadima String Quartet and cofounder/codirector of the experimental music group Southland Ensemble. He was a member of the genresetting ensemble The California E.A.R. Unit for 6 years; and cofounded the experimental arts venue the wulf. in 2008, codirecting the nonprofit from 20082013. http://www.erickmclark.com http://www.southlandensemble.com Brandon Davis Brandon Davis, originally from Washington State, moved to Los Angeles, California to attend The Colburn School Conservatory of Music. Since moving to Los Angeles, Brandon has performed in the YMF Debut Orchestra, American Youth Symphony, the Santa Monica Symphony, the Downey Symphony, the San Luis Obispo Symphony, and many other ensembles throughout Los Angeles. Brandon’s most memorable musical experience so far was performing with Sir Elton John Live at the Emmy’s in 2013. Brandon holds a Masters of Music degree from The University of Southern California Thornton School of Music and is currently in his final year as a Doctorate of Musical Arts student where he studies composition and conducting as well as tuba. Nicholas Deyoe Nicholas Deyoe is a Los Angeles based composer, conductor, and guitarist, and is the Co–Founder and Artistic Director of the wasteLAnd concert series. His music has been called “intriguingly complex and excitedly lush” by the LA Times. Drawn to sounds that are inherently physical, Nicholas strives to create music that engages listeners intellectually and emotionally by appealing to their inner physicality. As a guitarist, Nicholas strives to further the already vast sound world of the electric guitar by experimenting with microtonal tunings, preparation, bows, and beer cans. Deyoe’s compositions and improvisations can be heard on Sono Luminus, Populist, Spektral, Khajila, and Eh? Records. ( www.nicholasdeyoe.com ) Ben Finley Ben Finley plays the Bass, Composes, and Writes. He is currently pursuing his Masters in the PerformerComposer program at the California Institute of the Arts. Ben’s primary compositional focus is developing an intimate relationship between literary forms within a chamber music setting and utilizing improvisation while affording meaning and philosophical insight. Ben is also interested in the lifetime pursuit of the art of bass playing. He is involved with a multitude of projects in Toronto and Los Angeles and is currently working on two new upcoming album releases of original works: an affected electric bass and voice duo and an interdisciplinary avant garde chamber music collective. Sam Gendel
With one of the most unique voices on the saxophone, Sam Gendel has performed and recorded around the world with the most recognizable names in jazz and popular music. He leads his own group, INGA, which creates multidimensional music. He aims for beauty beyond language, and is only interested in the core of things. INGA's debut album, en , is available through Sam's websites, inga.wtf and samgendel.com Logan Hone Logan Hone is a saxophonist, multiinstrumentalist, composer, and improviser based in Los Angeles. By incorporating intricate composition, folklike melodies, open structure improvisation, and nonstandard instrumentations, Logan aims to blur the boundaries between composition, improvisation, jazz, noise, and indie rock. He is a member of Bright Whistles, Logan Hone’s Similar Fashion, FunCoffin (with Christian Asplund), Ice People, and Desert Magic. Logan holds a BFA in Jazz Performance from California Institute of the Arts. loganhone.com Stefan Kac Stefan Kac is a tuba player and composer originally from Minneapolis, MN and currently based in Los Angeles. His work has been recognized with honors and awards from the Minnesota Orchestra, Kennedy Center, International Tuba Euphonium Association, American Composers Forum, and Jazz Composers Orchestra Institute. He holds a PerformerComposer MFA from CalArts and a BM in Tuba Performance from the University of Minnesota. He maintains an artist website at http://www.stefankac.com and a weblog at http://fickleears.blogspot.com . Erin McKibben Erin McKibben is flutist with wild Up, a modern music collective based in Los Angeles. She recently performed as a soloist alongside Claire Chase of the International Contemporary Ensemble in a project for 100 flutists at UCLA and has been a prize winner and soloist at multiple National Flute Association convention competitions. Erin is also a choral and flute Teaching Artist for an el Sistemainspired site based in Santa Barbara. Find out more at erinmckibben.com . Sarah Reid Sarah Belle Reid (b.1989) is a Canadian born, Los Angeles based trumpet player, improvisor, intermedia artist, and composer who is often cited as having an onstage presence that is both captivating and passionate. Actively involved in the creation and realization of new and experimental music, Sarah has premiered dozens of new works for solo trumpet across North America, as well as multiple chamber music and performance art pieces. In 2015 Sarah received a Master of Fine Arts from California Institute of the Arts, with a focus on multidisciplinary performance and music technology. website: http://sarahbellereid@gmail.com Melinda Rice Melinda Rice, whose work has been described as creating the effect of “coming out from a long walk in the woods into a sudden clearing and seeing a house” (Sequenza 21), has worked with composers on music that spans classical, experimental, and folk traditions. She plays viola with the LAbased Isaura String Quartet, and her website, which includes her work as a violinist and composer, is www.melindarice.com Mona Tian Mona is an original member of Pacifica Red Coral, appointed by Jazz composer and trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith. Mona is currently touring Smith's Pulitzer awardfinalist Ten Freedom Summers. She has performed with the Santa Barbara Symphony, Opera Santa Barbara, wild Up, Grammy Awardwinning ensemble Southwest Chamber music, the Flux Quartet, YMF debut
orchestra and Bill T. Jones Dance Company. Mona has performed widely, including the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Mostra SESC de Artes (São Paulo), Roulette Theater (NYC), Congress Center Saalfelden (Austria), Pritzker Pavilion(Chicago), Atlas Theater (Washington DC), Granada Theater (Santa Barbara). www.monatianofficial.com Sarah Wass Flutist Sarah Wass specializes in contemporary music and working with composers. This is her third project with The Industry. Recent performances include works by John Luther Adams at the Ojai Festival and a program by female composers in Pasadena. She graduated from Oberlin Conservatory and California Institute of the Arts. Damon Zick Damon Zick is a saxophonist, woodwind performer, composer and educator residing in Burbank, California. He has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Santa Barbara Symphony, the Ojai Festival Chamber Orchestra, and MUSE/IQUE among others. He was a featured performer on Los Angeles Opera’s Grammy winning recording of Kurt Weill : Rise And Fall Of The City Of Mahagonny. Damon’s jazz quintet has toured the U.S. extensively and released two CD’s of original compositions, “We Are Large” and “The Outing”. He is on faculty at CSU Fullerton and has performed clinics and master classes at colleges and universities across the U.S. www.zick.net PRODUCTION TEAM Elizabeth Cline (The Industry’s Executive Director) Elizabeth Cline has dedicated her career to supporting interdisciplinary artists and artistic communities. For the past eight years she has curated and produced performative, site responsive works across Los Angeles. Previously she was the Assistant Director at Machine Project, an arts nonprofit in Los Angeles and a Curatorial Associate at the Hammer Museum, where she organized artist’s projects in the Public Engagement program. Elizabeth has taught and lectured about contemporary art practices at Art Center College of Design, Pasadena; The School of the Art Institute of Chicago; Columbia College, Chicago; The Getty Museum, Los Angeles; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Portland Art Museum, Portland and The Rubin Center, El Paso. CASEY KRINGLEN (Assistant Director) is the Artistic Director of Queer Classics, a Los Angeles based company dedicated to reimagining classic stories through a queer lens. This year he conceived and directed a 90minute trans version of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew in which the the lead characters explored their expression of gender. Both Shrew and last year’s gay The Importance of Being Earnest enjoyed sold out runs and won the Hollywood Fringe’s Producer’s Encore Award. Other recent credits include assisting director Jessica Kubzansky on Sheila Callaghan’s new play Everything You Touch at The Boston Court Performing Arts Center. In 2014 he conceived and directed an “Equal Love” version of Romeo and Juliet. That production workshopped in New Orleans and had its LA premiere at The Well in Downtown LA, produced by Jeffery Brooks’ Inner Circle Theatre. Casey directed LA’s first production of Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol at six01 Studios in 2013. He is also a photographer, choreographer and performance art creator and he is particularly proud of The Hereafter, a movement piece exploring death, burial rites, and earthly release as seen at The Satellite and Hollywood Fringe. www.caseykringlen.com
Ash Nichols (Production Manager) Ash Nichols has been working as a theatre artist over the past decade throughout California, specializing in New Works and CommunityEngaged projects. Production and Stage Management credits include work with American Conservatory Theatre, Z Space, The Jewish Theatre, Shotgun Players, Merola, Lamplighters Music Theater, Bootleg Theatre, Ahmanson Theatre, Mark Taper Forum and Cornerstone Theater Company. Ze is currently an Ensemble member with Cornerstone Theater Company. Brett Jarvis ( Audio Advisor) Brett R. Jarvis recently designed The Ride (New York City), Baby Universe (Wakka Wakka, Drama Desk Award nomination), The Glass Menagerie (Guild Hall), and The Slug Bearers of Kayroll Island and Interviewing the Audience (Vineyard Theatre). Other selected works include Speech and Debate (Roundabout Theatre Company); Revolution (Joyce Theatre); Kiki and Herb: Alive on Broadway! ; Two Trains Running (Audelco Award nomination); The Best of Both Worlds (American Repertory Theater); People Be Heard ( Playwrights Horizons); and Landscape of the Body, The Trip to Bountiful, Bill Irwin's Mr. Fox: A Rumination, The Regard Evening, a nd Harlequin Studies (Signature Theatre). Other credits include Avenue Q (Lucille Lortel Award 2003), The Karaoke Show, Lypsinka! As I Lay LipSynching, Eli's Comin', Swimming with Watermelons and Brutal Imagination (Lucille Lortel Award nomination 2002), Music Theatre Group's Running Man, Mark Dendy's Dream Analysis, and the long running hit The Donkey Show. Jason H. Thompson (Production Design) Jason has worked on over 50 Productions as a Projection Designer around the world. His credits include the Broadway musical Baby It’s You!, Venice at the Public Theatre, Remember Me an international touring show with Parsons Dance Company, Cage Songbooks a 45 minute selection of Cage Compositions performed at Carnegie Hall, SF Symphony, and New World Symphony in Miami, Crescent City Opera and Invisible Cities new experimental operas directed by Yuval Sharon, Bad Apples a new musical about Abu Ghraib, The Great Immensity an exploratory theatrical experience based on interviews by the Civilians about Global Warming . H e has designed the video for Stars on Ice for the last six years, and has worked with the Scott Hamilton Cares Foundation for the last two years. As a video engineer, Jason was the Head Video Engineer for a multimillion dollar fundraising campaign for Stanford University called Leading Matters .; 4K resolution content was projected on 60’ curved walls surrounding the dining area for the event.