ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM BEHIND AMAHL AND A CHRISTMAS CAROL

the San Francisco Symphony, and lastly, competing in the Golden State Choral Competition. LONG WANG, international DMA student from China, baritone. Long has a BM & MM degree from Shandong Normal University and MM voice performance degree from SUNY Buffalo. LILY WINSETT is a music lover who has been listening to classical music since she was in the womb. She plays a lot of instruments and loves to sing. Lily is a freshman at the U. Lily has been going to operas since she was about 9 years old where she caught the opera bug and now will never leave.

ROBERT BALDWIN (Conductor: C. Carol) is the Director of Orchestras and Professor of Conducting at the University of Utah, and Music Director and Conductor for the Salt Lake Symphony. He is also the founding conductor for the Sinfonia Salt Lake, a professional chamber orchestra that made its critically acclaimed debut in 2016. In 2019, he was appointed to an adjunct position at the Wuhan University Center for the Arts in Wuhan, China. Dr. Baldwin has been working with the U opera for the last 20 years. JAMES BOBICK (Stage Director: C. Carol) has had a versatile career, from leading operatic roles in the works of Donizetti, Verdi, Bizet, and Mozart to those in the operas of contemporary composers including Heggie, Adamo, Eaton, and David T. Little. Mr. Bobick performed over twenty roles at New York City Opera, including an Emmy-winning broadcast of La Bohème. He has also appeared with companies including Los Angeles Opera, Seattle Opera, Portland Opera, Opera Colorado, Connecticut Opera, Opera Mississippi, Opera Omaha, Opera Pacific, and many more. At Carnegie Hall, Mr. Bobick was heard in Orff’s Carmina Burana, Mendelssohn’s Die Erste Walpurgisnacht, Mozart’s Coronation Mass, and Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, and at David Geffen Hall in Carmina Burana, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Haydn’s Creation and Paukenmesse, Bach’s Mass in B minor, and Handel’s Messiah. Among his international credits are solo performances in the Czech Republic, Costa Rica, France, and at Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris. Mr. Bobick has enjoyed numerous concert appearances around the US performing Orff, Brahms, Mozart, Bach, Handel, Haydn, Vaughan Williams, Prokofiev, and Paul McCartney. James Bobick can be heard on the original cast recording of David T. Little’s Dog Days. MELISSA BOBICK (Choreographer) is originally from Birmingham, AL and received her MFA degree in choreography from Purchase College Conservatory of Dance in New York. Melissa is also an ABT® Certified Teacher and earned the status of Affiliate Teacher. As a performer, Melissa was a featured dancer with The Eugene Ballet Company and Ballet Idaho. After moving to NYC, Melissa performed for the National Choreographers Initiative and was one of four dancers engaged by New York City Opera for their new production of Massenet’s Cendrillon. As a choreographer, Melissa was commissioned to choreograph three new works for Ballet Idaho and was named a Choreographic Development Resident at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. She has also choreographed several original works for the Utah Ballet. Melissa was twice named a finalist for McCallum Theatre’s Choreography Festival. Recently, she has shown work at the Detroit Dance City Festival and the Breaking Ground Festival presented by Conder Dance. Melissa is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Utah School of Dance, where she also serves as the Director of the newly created Utah Ballet Choreographic Institute. ROBERT BREAULT (Stage Director: Amahl) has served as Director of Opera at the University of Utah since 1992. As a tenor, Robert has

CREATIVE TEAM

enjoyed an international career that features an extraordinary breadth of repertoire. His warm, flexible voice and superb artistic sensibilities combine to make him a consummate singing actor. Breault’s concert career highlights include performances with major orchestras such as the Philadelphia Orchestra, Cleveland Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, London Philharmonia Orchestra, National Symphony of Taiwan, Jerusalem Symphony, to name but a few. Robert’s opera career features a wide array of repertoire and companies. With over 90 roles to his credit, highlights of his career include appearances with New York City Opera in Carmen, La Traviata, and Semele, for which he was awarded the company’s “Kolozsvar Award.” He has performed numerous times with Utah Opera, Opera Orchestra of New York, Atlanta Opera, and Arizona Opera. Robert was awarded the College of Fine Arts distinguished teaching award in 2003. He serves as Governor of the National Opera Association’s Cal/Western region and is extremely proud that the University of Utah was awarded 1st place two years ago in the National Opera Production competition. ANTHONY T. BUCK (Lyricist, C. Carol) has over a hundred credits to his name as stage director, music director, actor, singer, stage manager and composer on stages in Utah, Ohio, New York and Italy. Favorite credits include Cosí fan tutte, The Magic Flute, Rigoletto, Faust, Don Giovanni, L’Elisir d’amore, Amahl and the Night Visitors, The Cabaret Girl, The Mikado, Ruddigore, The Pirates of Penzance, HMS Pinafore, Princess Ida, My Big Fat Utah Wedding, Not the Messiah, A Christmas Carol, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Into the Woods, Forever Plaid, Father of the Bride, and It’s a Wonderful Life. He sits on the board of Next Stage Productions and has been a contributing writer to their original pieces Epic: An Audience Participation Fantasy Adventure and Arabian Nights. ROBIN FARNSLEY-BECKER (Costumes) is widely known for her meticulous attention to detail. Her costume creations are well-researched with accurate historical or modern creations. They are made with breath-taking opulence when called for or heart-breaking poverty or simplicity that mirrors a composer or director’s vision. Being a singer and performer herself, she knows how to accomplish all of this with no-detail-too-small quality and the knowledge that comfort is “key” to singing that supports that adage, “You are (can be) what you wear”! MICHAEL G. LEAVITT (Composer, C. Carol) is a doctoral student in Orchestral Conducting and graduate of the Collaborative Piano Masters at the University of Utah. He is a vocal coach, accompanist as well as musical director for opera, choral, and musical theater. Recently, Michael composed a new one-act opera setting of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol which premiered at the Grand Theatre performed by the University of Utah Lyric Opera Ensemble and Sinfonia Salt Lake. As associate conductor, Michael worked with Tony award winning soprano Audra McDonald for the Hale Center Theater Orem’s production of 110 In The Shade. In addition, Michael has been the pianist, music director, and/or conductor for many musical theater and opera productions including: Saturday’s Voyeur, First Date, Spamalot, Perdita, Candide, L’elisir D’amore, Trouble In Tahiti, Die Fledermaus, Amahl And The Night Visitors, and many more. MATTHEW J. MAKEEVER (Conductor, Amahl) is gaining a reputation for his thoughtful programming and sensitivity in performance. Matthew is the Founding Music Director and Conductor of the Milwaukee Philharmonic and Assistant Conductor of the Salt Lake Symphony. He also serves as Adjunct Faculty Conducting Teacher at Salt Lake Community College and the Music Director and Conductor of the Taylorsville-SLCC Symphony Orchestra. Matthew is also a finalist for the Music Director position at the Menomonee Falls Symphony Orchestra in Wisconsin. Matthew is expected to graduate in December 2022 with a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Orchestral Conducting from the University of

Utah. He is a student of Dr. Robert Baldwin and serves as the Principal Conductor of the University of Utah Campus Symphony and Assistant Conductor of the Utah Philharmonia. SETH MILLER (Lighting Design) started out working in the Local 99 stagehands union, after which he attended the University of Utah for a degree in theatrical design. In 1997 he began working at Lagoon Amusement Park in the Entertainment Department as the Staff Lighting Designer, before moving on to be the Technical Director at The Egyptian Theatre in Park City. He has worked as a freelance Lighting Designer for several local theatre companies and many events around the country, including Walt Disney World, Harley Davidson’s Annual National Dealer’s Convention, W5 Creative, and many others. For the past ten seasons, Seth has been the Artistic/Executive Director for the Grand Theatre in Salt Lake City. HALEE RASMUSSEN (Set Design) received her BFA from the University of Utah’s Performing Arts and Design Program with a double emphasis in technical direction and set design. She is currently the Assistant Technical Director and Scenic Charge Artist for the UofU Department of Theatre, and a resident set designer for The Grand Theatre. Other design credits include UofU Opera Ensemble, Plan B Theatre Company, Salt Lake Acting Company, Salt Lake Shakespeare Company, Alligator Press Productions, and Lagoon Entertainment; with assistant design credits from Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Great Lakes Theatre Company, and Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival. ARIKA SCKOCKMEL (Props) has worked extensively in props and costume crafts for theatre, television and film, notably creating Props and blood work for the horror film, Hereditary. She is the resident Prop Manager for Plan B Theatre and the University of Utah Department of Theatre, where she teaches Prop Design and Construction. Over the last two decades, Arika has propped, crafted and designed regionally for Pioneer Theatre Co., Egyptian Theatre, Utah Festival Opera, Grand Teton Theatre, Dark Horse Company, Salt Lake Acting Company, Utah Contemporary, Lyric Repertory Co. and many more. Proud member of S.P.A.M., the Society of Prop Managers. Other projects include AEA stage management, emceeing, and the occasional acting gig. BFA Utah State. MICHAEL SHOAF (Assist. Director) is currently a DMA student for Vocal Performance & Opera/Theatre Production from Donora, PA studying at the U. His concert credits include Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms Movement II, and Handel’s Messiah. He has also performed in concerts in Austria, Germany, Italy and in the premiere of Tim Ribchester’s new orchestration of L’Incoronazione di Poppea as Ottone at the Trentino Music Festival. Additionally, he has been an Asst. Stage Manager, Asst. Chorus Master, Asst. Conductor, and helped with the concept design for Sweeney Todd. He also was Asst. Director and Asst. Conductor for Don Giovanni and Asst. Music Director for Schwartz’s Pippin. Last spring at the U, Michael was the Asst. Director for Sweeney Todd. He also directed and co-produced his first production, Siegmeister’s The Mermaid in Lock No.7, just months ago. LAUREN ADJA TIAN (Pianist) has enjoyed an eclectic career of performance, teaching, and administrative leadership in the SLC and NYC Metro areas. She is currently a doctoral student in conducting at the U of U, where she assists the orchestra, choirs, and opera programs. Previous to this, she served as the Arts Department Chair and Director of Ensembles for the robust arts programs at the Westover School, in Middlebury Connecticut. She also held a post as Director of Ensembles for the Knox School in Long Island, New York. Simultaneously to this, she served as an assistant for the Manhattan Girls Chorus, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, and the Singing City Choir. She co-founded and conducts the contemporary music ensemble Ensemble Id, which regularly performs music written by living composers alongside seminal 20th-century masterpieces. Lauren has been a frequent guest conductor with numerous orchestras and choirs throughout the world.