Alyssa Nicole Samson is a Vancouver-based Filipino-Canadian artist passionate about advocacy through contemporary/new music. Notably, she is driven by her belief that classical music can make an impact that transcends beyond traditional performance settings. This is evidenced by her breadth of experience leveraging music to advocate for marginalized voices, share contemporary stories about pivotal societal issues, and build community between musicians and non-musicians alike. This passion for unity has brought her opportunities to perform internationally in Portugal, Italy, Spain, Austria, and the United States, in addition to working with musical communities across Canada.

On the stage, Alyssa is committed to a fiery presence to every role she brings to life. Recent highlights for the 2023-2024 season include Mrs. XE in Angels Bone and Shi Ping in Thunderstorm. Alyssa also had the pleasure to workshop the role of Medusa/Melpomene in Monster’s Made with Good Mess Opera Theatre. For the 2024-2025 season, Alyssa collaborates with Re:Naissance Opera for the world premier of Eurydice Fragments. In addition to performance, Alyssa is currently working with Re:Naissance Opera through the Convergence Cohort program to develop her own piece, Hiraya, an exploration of identity and community within the Filipino diaspora through theatre and song.

Alyssa holds a Master of Music in Opera Performance from the University of British Columbia under the tutelage of mezzo-soprano Krisztina Szabo.

Alyssa Samson was generously supported by the David Spencer Emerging Vocalists Endowment Fund.

During the Canadian premiere of Walter Braunfels’ opera The Birds, Alex Chen’s passions for classical music and zoology came together.

Alex is a collaborative pianist, baritone, 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.

Alex Chen was generously supported by the David Spencer Emerging Vocalists Endowment Fund.

Heard in a wide variety of roles, Italian-Canadian mezzo-soprano Alessia Vitali has been praised for her “dedication to character and spine-tingling freedom” (emerging artist reviews).

Alessia is in her first year of the McPhee Artist Development Program. Her 2024-25 Calgary Opera season includes a role study of Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, the title role in Nino Rota’s family-friendly production of The Witty Squirrel, and the role of La Ciesca in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi.

Recent highlights include Signora Guidotti in the Chautauqua Opera Conservatory’s production of I due Timidi by Nino Rota, participation in a Good Mess Theatre’s workshop for a new Canadian Opera titled Monsters Made by Roan Shankaruk, Mercédès in Carmen by Bizet with Southern Ontario Lyric Opera, Miles in Grand River Opera's production of The Turn of the Screw by Benjamin Britten, Old Lady with the North York Concert Orchestra in their production of Candide and Rosina in the Mississauga Symphony Orchestra's concert version of Il Barbiere di Siviglia.

Alessia received a Master of Music in Opera Performance and a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance from the University of Toronto under the tutelage of Elizabeth McDonald.

Alessia Vitali was generously supported by the Banff Centre Artists' Awards.

Aemilia Moser is a Canadian-Austrian soprano from Edmonton, Alberta. She has performed both principal and supporting roles in a diverse array of works, ranging from Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire to Massanet’s Cendrillon. Her repertoire includes roles such as Despina (Così fan tutte), Nora (Riders to the Sea), Ariel (The Tempest Songbook), La Fée (Cendrillon), La Modista and Minardi (Il capello di paglia di Firenze), Virtù (L'incoronazione di Poppea), Pierrot (Pierrot Lunaire), and Nymph (The Fairy Queen).

Equally adept in concert repertoire, Aemilia has performed as a soloist with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Edmonton, the Alberta Baroque Society, the Lavinia Ensemble, the University of Manitoba Wind Ensemble, and the River City Chamber Orchestra. In 2023, she was selected to be a young artist in Manitoba Opera's Digital Emerging Artist Program, where she created the short film Sovra il sento.

Other notable accomplishments include an Encouragement Award at the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition (North Dakota district), first place at the CFMTA National Voice Competition, and second place in the University of Manitoba Concerto Competition.

Aemilia holds a master’s degree from the University of Toronto, studying under Elizabeth McDonald. Previous teachers include Tracy Dahl, Mel Braun, Elizabeth Turnbull, and Robert Uchida (violin).

Aemilia Moser was generously supported by the Banff Centre Artists' Awards.

Parker Feenstra (she/they) is a graduate of the BFA program at the University of Victoria’s Phoenix Theatre in the design faculty. Originally from Calgary, Alberta she has made a home on the West Coast. Parker has had the privilege to have a career in all facets of theatre from on stage to behind a desk and a li tle of everything in between. She has a passion for creation and an admiration for everyone who has helped her get where she is. They have had work featured in the Prague Quadrennial Canada + Quebec Student Exhibit (2023), World Stage Design Scenofest Common Design Project (2022) and the Prague Quadrennial Common Design Project (2020). Credits include: The Wilds - Costume Designer (The Wonderheads), Dead Man’s Cellphone - Costume Designer, The Waste Land - Associate Set Designer (UVic’s Phoenix Theatre), Classic Country Roads - Assistant Costume Designer and Wardrobe Assistant (Chemainus Theatre Festival), When Was the Last Time You Said Hello? - Production Designer (The Student Alternative Theatre Company).

Lauren Peters is an aspiring costumer from Winnipeg, Manitoba. She completed her BFA at the University of Manitoba, with a minor in Backstage Theatre Production. After the first pandemic lockdown shut down her final undergrad production, her vocational progress came to an abrupt stop.

After spending the next few years honing skills on personal projects, Lauren made her multi-disciplinary debut as both a costume and set designer with her first paying gig on TV (Maria and the Mennos, YesTV, 2023 Costume Design, Head of Wardrobe)

Lauren has a long history of staging living room plays with her siblings. Years of involvement in her hometown community theatre have taught her to think on her feet and adapt to any theatre crisis. Her latest community productions include Fiddler on the Roof (Steinbach Arts Council, Set Design, Scenic Painter) and Godspell (SAC, Artistic Director, Set & Costume Design)

Looking for ways to learn more about her craft, Lauren is excited to participate in the Banff Centre's Interplay program and looks forward to meeting other emerging artists and like-minded peers.

Anne Uemura is a Japanese-Canadian theatre professional who began her early career in london, UK. She has contributed to acclaimed West End productions, including Mrs. Doubtfire, Hamilton, and Guys and Dolls. Anne also worked on the international tour of Love Never Dies in China as part of the wardrobe department, traveling extensively across the country. Her experiences abroad have deepened her love for theatre, inspiring her to continue refining her craft and contributing to storytelling through the theatrical platform. She remains passionate about costume design and bringing stories to life on stage. She is excited to join the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, where she looks forward to learning from professionals and collaborating with other artists, exchanging ideas, and further developing her skills to contribute meaningfully to the future of theatre. 

A first-generation Filipinx-Portuguese Canadian Montrealer and graduate of John Abbott College’s Fine Arts and Theatre Production (Design) programs, Rachel is a curious and creative spirit that has a passion for any medium that allows her to work with her hands, whether it be through painting, sculpture, or petting any of her 4 cats and 2 dogs.

With over 60 credits to her name, she has worked the fi eld creatively through costume, set, props, and graphic design since 2015. Through theatre, creative projects, commercials and short fi lm, she's had the good fortune to have worked with the likes of KaleidoscopeMTL, Persephone Productions, Total Events, Playback Productions, St-George’s School of Montreal, the METAs, the Montreal Clown Festival, Surreal SoReal Theatre, Côte St-Luc Drama Society, Imago Theatre, Geordie Theatre, The Segal Centre for Performing Arts, and Hudson Village Theatre.

She is absolutely beyond stoked for the opportunity this program at Banff will be nourishing for her love and passion for props.

Rachel currently works as the Head Dresser, assistant Head of Wardrobe, and Head of Props for the Academy program at The Segal Centre for Performing Arts in Montreal, and freelances as a theatre designer.

Rachel Quintero Faia was generously supported by the Banff Centre Artists' Awards.

Judy Caranto (she/they) is an emerging props builder from Richmond BC, the traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) people. She has spent the last four years at the University of Victoria pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theatre. In that time, she has worked on seven of UVic’s Phoenix Theatre productions as a builder, coordinator, and assistant head of props respectively. They have also translated their properties skills to work as an artistic director and display builder of the Gulf of Georgia Cannery’s Haunted Sea exhibit in 2023 and 2024. In her spare time, Judy enjoys drawing, writing, and beachcombing.

Judy is incredibly excited to be joining the Banff Centre’s props team as a builder! As someone who values equality and community within a work or learning environment, they believe that the Banff Centre is the perfect place to cultivate and sharpen their props skills and meet new creatives within the field, as well as spend lots of time enjoying the mountains and lakes.

Judy Caranto was generously sponsored by the Banff Centre Artists' Awards.