Mahsa Vahdat is an internationally acclaimed and celebrated Iranian singer, musician and cultural advocate whose voice has become a powerful symbol of artistic freedom. Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, women have been prohibited from singing solo in public. For more than three decades, Vahdat has challenged these restrictions through her artistic work, carrying the silenced voice of Iranian women onto the world stage. Deeply rooted in the rich tradition of Persian classical music, her artistry transcends borders through an innovative blend of classical and regional Iranian music, poetic lyricism, and contemporary expression. Over the years, she has cultivated a distinctive vocal style that both honors tradition and explores new musical landscapes. Widely recognized as one of the leading voices in world music, Mahsa Vahdat continues to create work that connects cultures, preserves heritage, and gives voice to the enduring human longing for freedom, beauty, and belonging.

Stephanie Fleischmann is a librettist and playwright whose writing serves as a blueprint for intricate three-dimensional sonic and visual worlds. Her “lyrical monologues” (New York Times) and “prescient” (Whole Note), “finely tuned” (Opera News) libretti, plays, and music-theater works have been seen/heard across the U.S. and internationally.
A 2026 Guggenheim Fellow and a recipient of Opera America’s Campbell Librettist Prize, she has been commissioned by Santa Fe Opera, Chicago Lyric, Houston Grand Opera, Wien Modern, Ensemble MusikFabrik, LA Opera, Chicago Opera Theater, West Edge Opera, among others. Notable works: In a Grove (Christopher Cerrone; NY Times “Best Classical Music Performances of 2025”),Medea (Michael Hersch), Remedios Varios (Carlos Carrillo), The Pigeon Keeper (David Hanlon). 
Selected grants/residencies/fellowships: National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, New York Foundation for the Arts, Venturous Theater Fund, Map Fund, New Dramatists, Macdowell, American Lyric Theater, Tennessee Williams and Howard Foundation Fellowships.

Christine Bae is a Toronto-based collaborative pianist and vocal coach specializing in opera and new music. She currently serves as Faculty Pianist at the University of Toronto Opera School. Christine holds degrees and diplomas in piano performance, collaborative piano, and operatic performance (répétiteur) from Chugye University for the Arts, Ewha Womans University, and the University of Toronto.
As a répétiteur and coach, she has collaborated on productions including Madama Butterfly, Pagliacci, and numerous University of Toronto Opera productions, including A Tale of Two Cities, Così fan tutte, Cendrillon, Viva la Mamma, and The Rape of Lucretia. Passionate about contemporary opera, she has participated in workshops and development programs with Tapestry Opera, Highlands Opera Studio, the St. Andrews Opera Répétiteur Workshop, and the Orford Music Academy, contributing to new works such as Melancholia, Indians on Vacation, and Fall River. Her work reflects a commitment to collaborative artistry, vocal coaching, and the creation of new operatic repertoire.

Alexandra Baird is a mezzo-soprano from Chilliwack, British Columbia. A graduate of the University of British Columbia Opera Program, she has performed in opera scenes, recitals, and concert productions throughout British Columbia. Passionate about both performance and education, Alexandra currently teaches voice. In addition to her teaching career, she remains an active performer and is committed to developing her artistry through continued training and collaboration. Alexandra is particularly interested in storytelling and exploring innovative approaches to opera performance. Alexandra is excited to continue growing as a performer, educator, and artist.

Hailing from Chilliwack, BC, soprano Sarah Caulfield has been lauded by Opera Canada as “a singer to watch.” An alumna of the University of British Columbia, she looks forward to joining the Ensemble Studio of Canadian Opera Company in the 2026-27 season. Her operatic roles include the title role of Rusalka, Frau Fluth (Die Lustigen Weiber von Windsor), Donna Anna (Don Giovanni), Corinna (Il viaggio a Reims),  Giulietta (Les contes d'Hoffmann), Casilda (The Gondoliers), Fiordiligi (Cosi fan tutte,) and the Madame (Shadow Catch). She's appeared in concert with the Vancouver Symphony (Traditional Christmas tour), Richmond Orchestra (Fauré Requiem), Bach on the Rock (Handel Messiah), and the UBC Early Music Ensemble. 
Sarah made her Banff Centre debut last year in the ensemble of The Handmaid's Tale. Other highlights of 2025 include portraying Suzy in La Rondine (Good Mess Opera Theatre),  a residency at the Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance, and a solo appearance with the Vancouver Island Symphony in Bella Italia, a program of Italian arias. In 2026, she was a winner of the Northwest District in the Metropolitan Opera Laffont competition, and enjoyed a return to the Vancouver Island Symphony as a guest in their Cuban Vibes festival.
 

During the Canadian premiere of Walter Braunfels’ opera The Birds, Alex Chen’s passions for classical music and zoology came together. 
Alex is a baritone, collaborative pianist, and vocal coach. Yet he began his professional life studying zoology and working with birds – entertaining crows, flying kestrels, and trading glances with owls on his gloved hand.
Alex grew up in Cambridge, ON beginning piano lessons at 9 and voice at 12. While studying science at the University of Guelph he pursued a minor in music. Unable to resist the allure of a juicy melody, a rich story, or a misty musical passage, he pursued the Master’s in Collaborative Piano program at Western University.
Alex moved West to study with Baroque soprano Nancy Argenta. Now, he is a key member of the Victoria musical community, frequently performing as an art song collaborator, solo singer, and opera chorus member.
His projects with Gay4Nature Collective (co-founder), BC Culture Days, and Ocean Wise provide outlets for Alex to share the crossover between human music and the natural world.

James Coole-Stevenson, baritone, has impressed audiences in a number of operatic roles thanks to his “sensitivity and nuance”. Currently living and working as a musician in Toronto, he strives for authenticity in each performance. 
In 2024, James had his professional debut as Ping and the Mandarin in Puccini’s Turandot, through the Gate City Bank Fargo-Moorhead Young Artist Program. There he fostered a love for Puccini, and developed serious interest in the role of outreach as a tool to educate and introduce people to opera. With his newfound desire to broaden Opera’s reach, James had the honor of participating in Manitoba Opera’s Digital Emerging Artist’s Program, where he worked with several industry talents to create a video project tracing his Newfoundland heritage through the lens of traditional folk songs collected by Maud Carpeles and Ralph Vaughan-Williams. James is currently a Rebanks Fellow at the Royal Conservatory of Music. Performing as Gianni Schicchi and Slook in the Glenn Gould School's production of Gianni Schicchi and La cambiale di matrimonio, James showed “an honest and engaging performance in even the most outrageous scenes”. 
 

Soprano Leandra Dahm is currently based in Toronto. This season, she completes her Artist Diploma at the Glenn Gould School where she studies with Stephanie Bogle.
2025/26 entails exciting debuts for Leandra. In February, she performs in recital with colleagues from the GGS at the Richard Bradshaw Ampitheatre (COC). In March, she makes her anticipated Koerner Hall and role debut as Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi (GGS). In April, she performs Golijov’s Three Songs for Soprano with string orchestra (21C Music Festival). This past November, she sang the role of Rita in the staged premiere of Dean Burry’s radio opera Baby Kintyre (GGS). 
An avid concert singer, she has performed with Stratford Summer Music, Toronto Summer Music, Tapestry Opera, Ottawa Chamberfest and the Thirteen Strings Orchestra. She was a finalist in the Corcoran Concerto Competition (GGS), performing Berg’s Sieben frühe Lieder. She is a former Sidgwick Scholar with the Orpheus Choir of Toronto, where she was a soloist in Coleridge-Taylor’s The Atonement, in its first orchestral performance in over 100 years, as well as at Roy Thompson Hall in Poulenc’s Gloria. She is a graduate of the University of Toronto and has further trained as a fellowship recipient at SongFest and Toronto Summer Music.

Mexican tenor Alberto Galicia was born in Cuautla, Morelos, and studied at the National Conservatory of Music in Mexico under Arturo Nieto Olmedo. He has worked with Francisco Araiza, Ramón Vargas, Teresa Rodríguez, Huberto Velázquez, and Michael Sylvester, and was a member of the Bellas Artes Opera Studio Young Artist Program (2022– 2023).
He has participated in the Francisco Araiza Intensive Workshop (2016–2018), the Bel Canto Institute in San Miguel de Allende (2018, 2024, 2025), and the Zarzuela International Studio in Valleseco, Spain (2023). 
His awards include the Youth Revelation Prize at the Sinaloa International Singing Competition and the Carlo Morelli Singing Competition (2019). In 2026, he was awarded Third Prize at the San Miguel de Allende International Competition, where he also received a scholarship from The Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity (Canada). 
Operatic roles include Count Almaviva (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni), Alfred (Die Fledermaus), Goro (Madama Butterfly), and Delli (Giovanna d’Arco). 
He has performed at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, including Rossini’s Stabat Mater, and has appeared as a soloist in Mozart’s Requiem. He has collaborated with leading Mexican orchestras and conductors including Iván López Reynoso, Ludwig Carrasco, Enrique Patrón de Rueda, Jorge Parodi, and Mark Kadin.

Canadian soprano Olivia Haramis holds degrees in Voice Performance from both McGill University and Wilfrid Laurier University. Recent performance highlights include Zora in Ana Sokolović’s chamber opera, Svadba (Opera McGill), Musetta in Puccini’s La Bohème (Festival Ljubljana), Fauré’s Requiem (Les Muses Chorale), Jesse Maker’s Devolving Songs (McGill University), Handel’s Messiah (Menno Singers), Daniel Regnier’s Évangéline (Opera from Scratch), Poulenc’s Gloria (Laurier Choirs), Anne in Livingston’s Singing Only Softly (Opera Laurier), Baby Doe from Moore’s The Ballad of Baby Doe (Opera Laurier), Blanche from Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites (Opera Laurier), Ophélie from Thomas’ Hamlet (Opera Laurier), and Christina Campbell in the world premiere of Canadian composer Stephanie Martin’s The Llandovery Castle (Opera Laurier). A dedicated and versatile artist, Olivia is a recipient of numerous awards and scholarships, including a McCall MacBain Regional Award and an RCM National Gold Medal. In addition to her work as a performer, Olivia maintains an active private studio in Cornwall, Ontario, where she teaches voice, violin, and piano to students of all ages. She also serves as the Director of Music at St. John’s Presbyterian Church.