Teresa Winner Blume
Soprano Teresa Winner Blume, originally from Raleigh, North Carolina, earned degrees in voice from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Eastman School of Music. Now based in Boston, she has performed with the Lyric Stage Company of Boston, New England Light Opera, Opera Carolina, and the North Carolina Symphony. She teaches voice privately and at Gordon College. As a devoted recitalist with an intense personal connection to art song, and as the daughter of an internationally-award-winning portrait artist, she is deeply honored to join the experience of Lee Mingwei’s Sonic Blossom.
Junhan Choi
Korean-born Baritone Junhan Choi received his master’s degree at the New England Conservatory of Music in 2014 and is currently pursuing his graduate diploma with a Presidential Scholarship under the guidance of Carole Haber. His roles for NEC include Monsu Traversen in La Gazzetta, Papageno in The Magic Flute, Der Tod in Der Kaiser von Atlantis, Liberto and Littore in L'incoronazione di Poppea, Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus, and Policeman in The Consul. He also sang the title role in Don Giovanni with the Harvard University Music Department.
James Dargan
Praised for his “clear, distinguished, and powerful” voice, American baritone James Dargan began as a violinist, and played throughout his academic career at Boston and Leeds Universities, studying chamber music with members of the Borromeo and Juilliard Quartets, as well as period performance with Judy Tarling of the Parley of Instruments. After earning a master’s degree in literature, Dargan became a choral scholar at York Minster cathedral, and thereafter decided to add his voice to his violin. Dargan has been a soloist with Cantata Singers, the Church of the Advent, Sounds of Stow, and the Boston Cecilia; he is a founding member of Tramontana; and he is in love with the songs of Schubert.
Hailey Fuqua
Idaho native and coloratura soprano Hailey Fuqua received degrees from the Boston Conservatory and Boston University. Recently hailed for her “gorgeous tone…who reached her high notes in her coloratura with enviable ease and precision,” she specializes in baroque and classical repertoire and has performed with the American Bach Soloists, the Amherst Early Music Festival, and the Spokane Symphony. Last fall she was the sole American semi-finalist in the Froville baroque competition in Luneville, France.
Beibei Guan
Soprano Beibei Guan graduated from the Boston Conservatory and China Conservatory of Music. She has sung Mimì in La Bohème, Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Nancy in Albert Herring, and Countess in Le nozze di Figaro. Her future engagements include the cover performance of Liù in Turandot, Sister Genovieffa in Sour Angelica, and Peep-bo in The Mikado. Guan is thrilled to sing in the Sonic Blossom project.
Abigail Krawson
Soprano Abigail Krawson has performed the roles of Yum-Yum in The Mikado, L’Eternità in La Calisto, Second Woman in Dido and Aeneas, Miss Havisham in Dominick Argento’s Miss Havisham’s Wedding Night, and Pamina in The Magic Flute. Krawson was a young artist at Toledo Opera in 2014 and at the Boston Early Music Festival in 2011.
Katie O'Reilly
Connecticut native Katie O’Reilly is a recent graduate of the Boston Conservatory, and performs regularly on the New England stage as a singer and actress. This season, she has appeared with Opera Brittenica as Governess cover in The Turn of the Screw; Performing Fusion Theater in Hunger, Lies & History: The Dark Comedies; the MIT Gilbert & Sullivan Players as Yum-Yum in The Mikado; and the Hillyer Festival Orchestra as a featured soloist in the 2014 Holiday Pops Concert. Other area credits include roles with Lowell House Opera, MetroWest Opera, and the MIT Gilbert & Sullivan Players. An accomplished pianist, O’Reilly also works as a coach, accompanist, music director, and voice instructor, collaborating with Mssng Lnks, Boston Backyard Opera, and the Community Music Center of Boston.
Christina Pecce
Praised for her “astounding vocal expressivity” and “soaring full voice,” American soprano Christina Pecce is a singing actress who has performed works ranging from Monteverdi, Mozart, and Strauss to Tchaikovsky, Ravel, and Susa. She is a former young artist of Seagle Music Colony, performing the roles of Tatiana in Eugene Onegin, Anita in West Side Story, and Mrs. Hayes in Susannah. She is currently the concert and outreach coordinator for Boston Opera Collaborative and one of their young artists, performing the role of Armida in their spring production of Rinaldo. Pecce obtained her master’s degree in Opera Performance from the Boston Conservatory as well as her bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Hofstra University.