Vocal Performance Alumni

Mezzo-soprano Linsey Coppens won several prizes at national and international competitions such as 1st prize at the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions Florida District, 3rd prize at the Concours des nouveaux talents de l'art lyrique. 

Her opera roles include Cendrillon in Cendrillon, Dido in Dido and Aeneas, Baba the Turk in The Rake's progress, Bianca in The  Rape of Lucretia, Sandmännchen in Hänsel und Gretel and Mrs.Nolan in The Medium.  As a soloist, Ms. Coppens performed the mezzo-soprano part in Duruflé's Requiem, the alto part in the Cantata BWV 182, BWV 151, Mahler’s Um Mitternacht, Vivaldi's Gloria and Mendelssohn's Magnificat. Ms. Coppens received her Bachelor degree at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp. Her Master's degree in vocal performance she received at the Frost school of music. She was a student of famed mezzo-soprano Robynne Redmon. Ms. Coppens is currently part of the Dutch National Opera Academy in the Netherlands, where she will perform Zenobia in their upcoming production of Händel's Radamisto. 

Most recently, Ana Collado performed the role of Rosina in Corigliano’s The Ghosts of Versailles with Miami Music Festival.  She has participated in several competitions and festivals, most notably Opernfest Prague in the Czech Republic and the 2017 Judy Drucker Vocal Competition where she won First Place and the Artist of the Year award. This past Spring, she also won First Place at the VOICExperience Foundation’s Opera Idol competition in Chicago, which awarded her a full scholarship to attend the Sherrill Milnes Voice Studio Summer Program in Savannah, Georgia.

Dr. Vindhya Khare, D.M.A '16, Vocal Pedagogy and Performance, is the Director of Vocal Studies at Florida International University in Miami. Dr. Khare received her DMA in Vocal Pedagogy and Performance from the University of Miami, and her MM in Vocal Performance from FIU. She has presented research on the Lifecycle of the Female Voice, and the Influence of Sex Hormones on the Female Singing Voice both at international conferences and at major institutions, including the International Congress of Voice Teachers in Stockholm, and Carnegie Mellon University. Khare is the current President of the Gold Coast chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS), has served as Artistic Director of the University Center for the Performing Arts in Ft. Lauderdale, and is past President of the Paul L. Rodensky Foundation for the Arts. As an accomplished pianist and voice coach, she was Principal Pianist/Voice Coach and Associate Chorus Master at Palm Beach Opera.

Highly accomplished bass-baritone Carl DuPont is a vocalist equally engaged in performing, teaching, and research.  The South Florida Classical review celebrated his “dramatic, dark tones.” Major operatic credits include productions at The Glimmerglass Festival, Opera Carolina, El Palacio de Bellas Artes, Opera Company of Brooklyn, and Leipzig Opera. His world premieres include the title character in Dennis Rodman in North Korea as well as Why Peace is Always a Good Idea at Carnegie Hall under the baton of composer Jacqueline Hairston. In the role of Murray on the world premiere recording of Death of Webern Fanfare Magazine noted his “lyricism that underpins every statement.”  He has been seen on German television with the reoccurring character of Fred, der Tanzlehrer on Unter Uns. Dr. DuPont has also performed with many of the worlds leading orchestras in performances across the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. However, the intimacy of the solo recital is his preferred métier, and sharing the wealth of songs by black composers, a particular passion. His solo debut album of these works, entitled The Reaction was released on Albany Records earlier this year and included many works never performed or recorded before.

Dr. DuPont’s scholarly interest focuses on transformative inclusion in higher music education, specifically the contributions of black musicians, composers, and educators to the discipline. He instructs undergraduate students in applied voice, diction, and vocal pedagogy in his duties as an Assistant Professor and the Coordinator of Vocal Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. His young students have won local and regional competitions and have benefitted from his implementation of a multicultural guest artist series and advocacy for diverse composers in the curriculum. These efforts have garnered him recognition as one of Diverse Magazine’s 2018 Emerging Scholars. His own studies began at the prestigious Eastman School of Music, and Indiana University, where he earned the distinctive Performers’ Certificate at both institutions coupled with his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He was then awarded the highly sought-after University of Miami Fellowship and completed a doctorate in Vocal Pedagogy and Performance at the Frost School of Music. He has presented original research in conferences in Stockholm, Vancouver, and Indianapolis and co-authored “The Economic Impact of Vocal Attrition in Public School Teachers in Miami-Dade County” for The Laryngoscope with colleagues from the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine.

Highlights from this season include Hortensius in La Fille du Regiment and Zuniga in Carmen with Opera Carolina and a debut with Opera Toledo. This season he will also present recitals at UC San Diego, University of Miami, East Carolina University as well as masterclasses at the University of South Carolina and Winthrop University.

Amy is fulfilling a multi-release recording contract with indie label, Blue Élan Records.  For the past two years, she has been writing, recording, and performing original music in Los Angeles, CA as one third of alternative pop project, Mint Trip.  Mint Trip released it’s debut EP “Books” in 2016 and a full-length studio album is slated for release in 2019.  With the band, she has appeared at Whisky-A-Go-Go, The Viper Room, The Hi-Hat, House of Blue Anaheim and El Cid.  In 2016, Amy was guest soloist with Fifth House Ensemble’s Journey LIVE Concert Tour at Florida Atlantic University.

After graduation, Hillary A. Trumpler went on to pursue teaching and performing, first in New York City, and then felt the call to move to Asheville, North Carolina. In Asheville, Hillary performed as a Young Artist with Asheville Lyric Opera, worked as a Church Director of Music, and became a Vocal Instructor at Asheville Music School and Academy for the Arts. She became the Scholarship Manager for the non-profit Asheville Music School, aiding and managing underprivileged families to afford private music lessons through the support of the community and fundraising efforts. She also taught Young Music group classes for preschool-aged children and ran an A Capella Club for High Schoolers. Ms. Trumpler has cultivated her own business over the years, Integrative Voice and Piano Lessons, and currently offers local and online sessions, specializing in Voice Instruction, healing and rehab methods, as well as piano.

Dr. Moniz currently serves as Coordinator of Vocal Studies at Millikin University and Executive Director of Hawaii Performing Arts Festival. Prior to his appointment at Millikin, he was a member of the faculty at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. A two-time winner of The American Prize in Vocal Performance, his "superb high tenor" (South Florida Classical Review) and "commanding stage presence" (TalkinBroadway.com) has been thrilling audiences in opera houses, theaters, and concert halls across the nation, among them Opera Grand Rapids, Utah Festival Opera & Musical Theatre, Sarasota Opera, Florida Grand Opera, the Opera Company of Middlebury, Opera New Jersey, DreamCatcher Theatre/Adrienne Arsht Center, Orchestra Miami, Gulfshore Opera, Palm Beach Dramaworks, the Orchestra of Northern New York, and Chicago Symphony Center. His unique style and versatility have afforded him an active career in opera, concert and musical theatre, having sung over 80 roles to date. Most recently, Moniz’s star turn as Prince Karl Franz in The Student Prince with Opera Grand Rapids received high praise and great acclaim, the press hailing his performance as "simply outstanding…glorious" (Encore Michigan). His performance also earned him the prestigious BroadwayWorld Award for Best Actor in a Musical. Moniz holds degrees from Florida State University, University of Miami, and SUNY Potsdam, as well as certificates from Harvard Business School and Duke University. 

A noted expert on Scandinavian vocal literature and diction, Dr. Anna Hersey was a Fulbright Scholar at the Kungliga Musikhögskolan (Royal College of Music) in Stockholm, where she collaborated with pianist Matti Hirvonen. Dr. Hersey also conducted research at Det Kongelige Danske Musikkonservatorium (Royal Danish Academy of Music) and Københavns Universitet (University of Copenhagen), thanks to a post-doctoral fellowship from the American Scandinavian Foundation.
 
Dr. Hersey’s articles have been published in the Journal of Singing, VOICEPrints, and The Opera Journal, and her translations have been published by Carnegie Hall. Her first book, Scandinavian Song: A Guide to Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish Diction and Repertoire was released by Rowman & Littlefield in September 2016. Recent performances have been sponsored by Finlandia Foundation, American Scandinavian Foundation, Sons of Norway, The Lief Eriksson International Festival, and The Grieg Society.
 
Dr. Hersey holds master’s degrees in performance and musicology from the University of Minnesota, and pursued advanced studies at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Italy. She is Assistant Professor of Voice at University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.

Tenor David Tayloe has been an active performer both nationally, and internationally both operatically and as a featured recitalist. Recital venues include the Aldeburgh Festival, Cleveland Art Song Festival, SongFest, and the National Opera Center. Mr. Tayloe has performed with the Grammy-nominated ensemble Seraphic Fire and the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, and Voices, among other professional ensembles.  He is currently on faculty at the University of Alabama where he teaches Voice and Song Literature. David is the creator of the Capstone Song Initiative, which champions the art song literature of living American composers. David is also a music editor for the Moravian Music Archives, publishing modern editions of manuscripts of Johannes Herbst and Johann Agricola.

Rachelle Fleming, DMA in Vocal Pedagogy and Performance 2011 has dual voice faculty positions for 2018-19 as a full-time Assistant Professor at Temple University’s Boyer College of Music and Dance, and as Visiting Assistant Professor at the Eastman School of Music.

Research has led to co-authoring articles published in the Journal of Voice and the Journal of Singing, and presentations of research at NATS, PAVA and Voice Foundation conferences. Masterclasses and guest teaching include those she has taught and given masterclasses and presentations for include:  the national tour of Billy Elliot, The Aspen Music Festival, NYU Steinhardt’s Contemporary Vocal Music summer program, The Eastman School of Music, The National Association of Teachers of Singing, and Polyphony Foundation in Israel. Recent performances include a sold-out jazz concert with Tony Caramia at Eastman’s Hatch Concert Hall and cabaret performances at Annapolis Shakespeare Theater and other venues. Most recently Rachelle was a full-time faculty member of the Benjamin T. Rome School of Music at The Catholic University of America where she developed and headed a master of music in vocal pedagogy degree with a musical theater and pop/rock emphasis.

A native of Miami, Florida, Dr. Martin Shalita began his professional career with Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf, Germany in the Winter of 2008. Highlights from his seasons there include Don Ramiro in Rossini’s La cenerentola as well as roles in Lady Macbeth von Mzensk, Don Carlos, Moses und Aron, Fidelio, and Il tabarro. Subsequently, he was engaged with Theater Koblenz for four seasons, where he debuted Don Ottavio in Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, the title role in Offenbach’s Orpheus in der Unterwelt, Andres in Berg’s Wozzeck, Araquil in La Navarraise by Massenet, Steuermann in Der fliegende Holländer by R. Wagner, Paolino in Il matrimonio segreto by Cimarosa, Ivan in Shostakovich’s Nos, and Admeto in Gluck’s Alceste. In 2015 after transitioning into the lirico-spinto repertoire, he performed Des Grieux in Massenet’s Manon with Theater Nordhausen and Dr. Siedler in Bantzky’s Im Weissen Rössl with the Schlossfestspiele Zwingenberg, as well as Ismaele in Nabucco by Verdi with Opera Classica in Buc, France.  In 2016, Dr. Shalita returned to Buc, France to make his debut as Lt. Pinkerton in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly and in 2017 made his debut as Calaf in Puccini’s Turandot as well as his debut as Edwin in Kálmán’s Die Csárdásfürstin with Staatstheater Cottbus. As of August 2018, he is a fixed ensemble member of Staatstheater Cottbus where is scheduled to debut Erik in Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer. 

Joshua Henry, B.M. ’06, named the Frost School of Music's Distinguished Alumnus of 2017, has earned his third Tony Award nomination for best leading actor as the role of Aaron Burr in the musical Hamilton. His second Tony nomination was obtained for Best Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical for his performance as “Flick” in the Roundabout Theatre Company’s production of Violet opposite Sutton Foster. The role also earned him nominations for Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards. His turn as Haywood Patterson in The Scottsboro Boys earned Henry his first Tony Award nomination in 2011.  Henry first played the role of “Flick” in a production of Violet at the University of Miami at the Jerry Herman Ring Theatre, directed by the original Off-Broadway “Flick,” Michael McElroy.

Henry began his career in Godspell, and quickly moved on to a role in the ensemble and understudied the role of Benny, in an off-Broadway Tony Award-winning premiere run of In the Heights . He followed up his Broadway debut starring as “Favorite Son” in the original Broadway cast of the Green Day musical American Idiot, and more recently starring as “Jake” in the Tony Award winning revival of The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess. He also appeared as Jennifer Hudson’s boyfriend in the first Sex and the City movie. A singer, actor, musician, and composer, he has also co-written a new children’s musical, Amigo Duende; and held a concert at 54 Below, Broadway’s Supper Club, in New York City entitled “This is the Love,” as a follow-up to his sold out debut “Soul Weakness,” featuring Broadway classics and original songs.

While attending the University of Miami Frost School of Music, Joshua Henry appeared in many musical theatre productions at the Jerry Herman Ring Theatre. He majored in vocal performance.

Bonnie Lander is a multifaceted professional musician whose career encompasses performance, curation, composition, and improvisation, complimented by a strong teaching and community work portfolio. Immersed in the eclectic world of new and experimental music Bonnie has performed in a great variety of concert programs, with a wide selection of collaborators in improvised music, new opera, new chamber music, and composition. Versatile, dramatic, with a "signature ability to embody a seemingly endless supply of vocal timbres and personalities," Bonnie combines an intuitive, spontaneous use of the voice with resonant operatic technique, in order to create a performance experience that is virtuosic, intimate, and sonically overpowering. She has worked closely with many collaborative musicians and artists including Anthony Davis, Judith Hamann, Wojtek Blecharz, Clint McCallum, Paul Pinto, Kayleigh Butcher, and Ruby Fulton.

Themes in Lander's composed works involve abstracted representation of repression and anxiety, highlighting the conflict between internal, abstracted mental processes and the struggle to externalize them through the persona of the voice. Bonnie draws inspiration from a variety of works utilizing feminine madness, such as Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, Amy Beth Kirsten's Ophelia Forever, or Ligeti's Aventures/Nouvelles Aventures. She has created a series of works called "Inside Voices" dedicated to drawing attention the inner experience of the performer as separate from their outer experience through electronics, staging, lighting, and dramatic narrative. Bonnie's compositions rely primarily on various forms of structured improvisation including graphic scores, text pieces, and collaborative works inspired by improvisatory practice.

Most recently Bonnie completed a collaborative music residency at Art Omi in Ghent, NY,  toured the US alongside thing NY members Paul Pinto and Jeff Young performing solo works by Giacinto Scelsi and György Kurtág, and toured Australia at leading improvisation festivals The Now Now, Sound Out, and Melbourne's The Make It Up Club series. Last year, Bonnie completed a year-long post as guest curator of the Experimental Music Series at Community Arts Phoenixville in coordination with her Artist In Residence post at Camphill Soltane.

Bonnie graduated with a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Contemporary Vocal Performance at UC San Diego and studied at the Peabody Institute with Phyllis Bryn-Julson for her Masters of Music degree.  She is the co-founder of NYC chamber ensemble Rhymes with Opera, now in its 11th year of programming and serves on the board of directors, as well as a performer and composer. Rhymes with Opera commissioned her improvised opera Coping Mechanisms for their 2017 main stage performance. She was the Director of Education and Outreach for San Diego New Music for two years, leading the refugee Music Mondays Outreach program in coordination with San Diego Refugee Tutoring, a wonderful organization devoted to helping displaced children and their families from across the globe adjust to life and education in City Heights, San Diego. Further, Bonnie has offered workshops at various festivals involving graphics score creation and performance for children and adults, as well as led groups in original sonic meditations involving the voice.

Omar Lopez-Cepero has been seen on Broadway in the original casts of American Idiot by Green Day and in On Your Feet the Story of Emilio and Gloria Estefan. Recently this year he was seen as Juan Peron opposite his real-life wife Arianna Rosario at The Bay Street Theater and as Sky Masterson in a reimagined Latin version of Guys And Dolls at T.U.T.S. in Houston. Other NYC/Off-Broadway credits include the Central Park concert of The Capeman by Paul Simon, and Foreverman at the NY Music Theater Festival. National Tours include Evita as Che, American Idiot, and On Your Feet. TV credits include guest starring roles on Blue Bloods, Vegas, and The Detour as well as performances on The Grammys, The Tonys, America’s Got Talent, The Today Show, Good Morning America, The Tonight Show With David Letterman, The Harry Show, and The View.

Cuban American soprano Elizabeth Caballero, B.M. ’99, recipient of the Frost School of Music 2013 Distinguished Alumna award, has performed in many of the great opera houses of North America. Her compelling interpretation of Violetta in La Traviata led to national engagements performing the role for Florentine Opera, Madison Opera, Pacific Symphony, and the Orlando Philharmonic. She performed Musetta in Puccini’s La Bohème for the Metropolitan Opera after garnering attention in the role at New York City Opera. She returned to The Met as Frasquita in their new production of Carmen as part of The Met: Live in HD series.

Caballero’s European début was as Magda in Puccini’s La rondine at Teatro Giuseppe Verdi in Trieste, Italy. She performed at the Staatsoper Berlin as Cio-Cio San in Madama Butterfly, with the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra as Anne Trulove in The Rake’s Progress, and the title role in The Merry Widow at Teatro Nacional Santo Domingo.

A house favorite at Florida Grand Opera, Caballero has dazzled audiences as the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro, Liù in Turandot, Mimì in La Bohème, Micaëla in Carmen, and Magda in La rondine. Other notable engagements include a return to New York City Opera in I Pagliacci and La Bohème, the Lyric Opera of Kansas City in the title role of Madama Butterfly, San Antonio Opera as Adina in L’elisir d’amore and Micaëla in Carmen, Central City Opera as Mimì in La Bohème, and the title role in Daniel Catán’s Spanish opera Florencia en el Amazonas with Nashville Opera. Recently, she appeared in concert as soprano soloist with The Florida Orchestra on Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana.

Caballero is the recipient of numerous vocal competition awards including a National Grand Finalist for The Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, and awards from the Licia Albanese Puccini Foundation and Gerda Lissner Foundation.

Sandra Lopez, B.M. ’96, Frost School of Music’s 2010 Distinguished Alumna, has captivated audiences around the world with her critically acclaimed performances in a wide variety of roles. Her performances include the title roles of Tosca and Suor Angelica, Cio-Cio San in Madama Butterfly, Nedda in I Pagliacci, Catherine in A View from the Bridge, Liu in Turandot, Micaela in Carmen, Mimi in La Boheme, Tatiana in Eugene Onegin, Marguerite in Faust, Violetta in La Traviata, and Aida in concert in Spain.

She has performed with such renowned companies as the Metropolitan Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Opera de Oviedo, Palm Beach Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Opera på Skäret, Fort Worth Opera, Virginia Opera, Opera Carolina, Nashville Opera, Berkshire Opera, Connecticut Grand Opera, PORT Opera, and Opera North (USA).

In concert, Lopez has toured with Andrea Bocelli, and performed the Verdi Requiem, Strauss’ Four Last Songs, Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony and Missa Solemnis, Gounod’s Saint Cecilia Mass, and Villa-Lobos’ Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5. She has appeared in opera galas and recitals with various Festivals and Symphonies including The Fort Worth Symphony, Madison Symphony, Opera Pacific, Greensboro Symphony, Las Vegas Philharmonic, Puerto Rico Symphony, Queens Symphony Orchestra, Miami Chamber Society, Manchester Music Festival, and the New Choral Society.

A graduate of the University of Miami Frost School of Music and the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, Lopez is the recipient of numerous vocal competition awards including the Metropolitan Opera Competition, the Florida Grand Opera Young Patroness Association, and the Luciano Pavarotti Competition. She is also a Career Grant Recipient from the George London Foundation and the Beau Bogan Foundation.

Lewis Cleale, B.M. ’89, named FROST School of Music 2002 Distinguished Alumnus, is one of the most gifted musical actors on the stage today. He majored in finance at the University of Miami until he picked up a double major in music at FROST where he was encouraged to pursue a career in singing. His first big break came when he was cast in a European tour of Oklahoma! He made his Broadway debut in the 1995 Johnny Burke revue Swinging on a Star, for which he received a Drama Desk Award nomination as Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical.

More recently, Cleale delighted and offended Broadway theatre-goers as Joseph Smith, the Mission President, and Jesus in The Book of Mormon. He was also heard as the voice of Cliff the Troll in Disney’s motion picture hit Frozen.

Broadway audiences applauded Cleale in Spamalot as Sir Galahad, The Black Knight and other zany characters. His many roles on the stages include Michael in I DO! I DO!, James Lapine’s original Sondheim On Sondheim, Bick Benedict in the world premiere of Michael John LaChiusa’s Giant, Lancelot in Camelot, and El Gallo in the New York production of The Fantasticks. Cleale also appeared in Amour and Once Upon A Mattress.

Lewis Cleale has played leading roles in more that thirty regional productions, winning the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actor as Giorgio in Passion. He performed John Adams in the acclaimed production of 1776 at the Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. and Alfie in the Burt Bacharach musical What The World Needs Now.

Cleale’s collection of recordings and albums include William Finn’s Infinite Joy, Adam Guettel’s Myths and Hymns, the RCA Victor anthology Great Musicals, and the original cast albums of Once Upon a Mattress, Swinging on a Star, Call Me Madam, and Amour.

John Easterlin, B.M. ’84, was named the 2015 University of Miami Phillip and Patricia Frost School of Music Distinguished Alumnus. Easterlin was honored during his Festival Miami concert, “What a Character! The Many Faces of John Easterlin.” He is one of international opera’s most compelling performers. He makes regular appearances with America’s leading opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, and more. He performs at top festivals, including Ravinia, Tanglewood, Spoleto USA, and Saito Kinen Festival in Japan.He has worked with famous conductors including Daniel Barenboim, Seiji Ozawa, Sir Andrew Davis, Antonio Pappano, James Conlon, Valery Gergiev, and Dennis Russell Davies, and eminent stage directors like Diane Paulus, Richard Jones, Phelim McDermott, Francesca Zambello, and Robert Wilson. Most recently, he performed Andres in Wozzeck at Covent Garden, Monostatos in Julie Taymor’s The Magic Flute at the Met, Nick the Bartender in Fanciulla del West with the Indianapolis Opera, Shuisky in Boris Godunov in Madrid, and Lenia for the North American premiere of Cavalli’s Eliogabalo with the Gotham Chamber Opera. He has also created numerous new roles, including talk show host Larry King in Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Anna Nicole, The Neurologist in Michael Nyman’s The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, directed by Bill T. Jones, and Andy Warhol for Philip Glass’ The Perfect American, released on DVD on the Opus Arte label.

Soprano Rosa Vento, B.M. ’83, named University of Miami School of Music 2001 Distinguished Alumna, has performed to popular acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic. Her most notable appearances include the Vienna State Opera as Ilia in Idomeneo conducted by Sir Colin Davis, Silvana in the world premiere of Schnittke’s Gesualdo conducted by Mstislav Rostropovich, Hèléne in Verdi’s Jerusalem conducted by Zubin Mehta, Violetta in La Traviata, Adina in L’Elisir d’Amore, Donna Anna and Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Giulietta in Les Contes d’Hoffman, Mimi and Musetta in La Boheme, Saffi in Der Zigeunerbaron, Celestial Voice in Don Carlo, and Micaela in Carmen. Elsewhere in Europe, she has appeared in Dusseldorf as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni and Leonora in Il Trovatore; in Basel, Amsterdam, Innsbruck, and Tokyo as Violetta; and in Nice as Mimi.

Vento’s noteworthy U.S. appearances include the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Austin Lyric Opera as Elvira and Mimi, Palm Beach Opera as Musetta, Florida Grand Opera as Micaela, and Long Beach Opera as Magda in La rondine.

As a concert artist, Vento has performed as soprano soloist for the Opera de Nice, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, and the Chicago Symphony. She has presented recitals in New York, Miami, Washington, D.C., and at the Teatro Naçional de Santo Domingo. She has recorded Violetta in La Traviata with Marcelo Alvarez and Leo Nucci, and her latest solo CD entitled Perlas Cubanas.

Vento has won a number of prestigious vocal awards, including the Loren L. Zachary Society competition, Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions, Rosa Ponselle International competition, Friday Morning Music Club, Palm Beach Opera auditions, and Liederkranz Foundation competition. She has a private voice studio in New York City and serves as faculty for NYU’s Steinhardt School and AMDA.

University of Miami School of Music 1994 Distinguished Alumna Dawnn Lewis, B.M. ’82 is a triple-threat performer who has more than a hundred theater, film, and television credits.

The Los Angeles-based actress is best known for her television role as Jaleesa in the hit TV sitcom A Different World, for which she also penned the theme music. In addition, she starred in Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper, performing its Season 1 ensemble theme song. Lewis is a Grammy Award-winning singer, a multiple ASCAP and BMI Award-winning songwriter, and an actress who has appeared in such feature films as I’m Gonna Get You Sucka, Dreamgirls, The Preacher’s Kid, and Futurama: Into The Wild Green Yonder. Lewis has enjoyed recurring roles on the TV series One Tree Hill, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, Strange Frame, and as Dr. Knapp on Days of our Lives.

Lewis’ stage credits include appearances as Addapearle in the 2009 NYC City Center “Encore’s” presentation of The Wiz, and as Deloris Van Cartier in Peter Schneider’s 2006 Sister Act: The Musical at the Pasadena Playhouse. She starred in world premieres of Norman’s Ark at the Ford Theatre and Burt Bacharach/Hal David’s musical Love Sweet Love. She received the Best Actress: Fred Award (Los Angeles), the 2008 Intergrity Award from the Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival, a nomination for 2007 Best Actress: Suzi Award for Sister Act (Atlanta, Alliance Theatre), and the 2000 Best Actress; NAACP Image Award for The Marriage.

The title song for Lewis’ successful solo CD Worth Waiting For is featured on the Disney movie The Poof Point soundtrack, in which she also starred.

Marvis Martin, B.M. ‘77, named University of Miami Frost School of Music 1987 Distinguished Alumna, is an African-American operatic soprano best known for her concert performances and recitals, including her renditions of Joseph Canteloube’s Chants d’Auvergne, and of Bess in Bobby McFerrin’s touring concert version of Porgy and Bess. Martin is acclaimed for her beauty of voice and sensitive communication, receiving awards, medals and glowing reviews as a song recitalist, concert singer, and opera performer.

The Florida native was hailed internationally in 1982 when she debuted with The Metropolitan Opera as Pamina in a touring production of The Magic Flute, a role she later reprised for The Greater Miami Opera. During her first season with The Metropolitan Opera, she performed Zenia in Boris Godunov, the Princess in Ravel’s L’Enfant et les Sortileges, and the Celestial Voice in Don Carlo. Seasons 1983-84 brought major debuts with Netherlands Opera as Ilia in Mozart’s Idomeneo, and a performance with the New York Philharmonic in Brahm’s Requiem.

As her career matured, Martin spent more time focusing on recitals and concert performances, including eight of Joseph Canteloube’s Chants d’Auvergne with the Allentown Symphony Orchestra, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, Gustav Mahler’s Second Symphony with The Florida Orchestra, Brahms’s German Requiem with the New York Philharmonic, and on the stages of Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and the Cabaret Corner of New York’s Russian Tea Room, to name a few.

The career of University of Miami Frost School of Music 1997 Distinguished Alumnus Curtis Rayam, B.M. ’73 has taken him through some of Europe’s most venerable opera houses. The American tenor rose to international prominence in 1984 when he substituted for the ailing Luciano Pavarotti and sang the title role of Mozart’s Idomeneo to critical acclaim.

Rayam made his professional debut with the Miami Opera in Puccini’s Manon Lescaut. He established a national reputation with the Houston Grand Opera in the role of Remus in Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha, which was recorded on Deutsche Grammophon. He went on to perform in ten HGO productions, including the award-winning tours of Porgy and Bess and Showboat. Rayam made his European debut at the Wexford Festival in Giovanna d’Arco by Verdi, returning as the Sultan in Mozart’s Zaide and as Wilhelm Meister in Thomas’ Mignon.

Rayam had further engagements at Salzburg, Paris, Frankfurt and Venice. In a 1986 PBS broadcast, he performed in Berlioz’ La damnation de Faust with the Philadelphia Opera.  In 1992, celebrating the fall of the Berlin Wall, the German Consulate invited Mr. Rayam as a guest soloist in Handel’s Messiah at the John F. Kennedy Center.  For three decades, Mr. Rayam performed extensively in the United States, Germany, Austria, France, Israel, Vienna, and South Africa with major opera companies and symphony orchestras.

Ryam is currently on the faculty of Bethune-Cookman University as a voice lecturer. He is a member of the National Opera Association, completing two consecutive terms on their Board of Directors.

Johanna Meier, 1956-1958, received the first ever University of Miami School of Music Distinguished Alumni award in 1984. Recognized as one of the foremost Wagnerian sopranos of her era, Meier made her debut with the New York City Opera in 1969, followed by a major international career as a fourteen-year member of the Metropolitan Opera.

Meier performed with most of the major symphony orchestras in the United States and abroad, including the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and l’Orchestre de Paris, among many others. Her European appearances included performances at the Vienna Staatsoper, the English National Opera, and with the opera companies of Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, Paris, Rome, Venice, Madrid, Barcelona, Zurich, and the Netherlands.

Meier was the first American ever to sing the role of Isolde in Tristan and Isolde for the Bayreuth Festival in Germany. She also appeared with the Canadian Opera, and at the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, as well as in Japan, Mexico City, Israel, and at the Casals Festival in Puerto Rico. Her major roles encompassed the entire range of opera repertory from the Countess in the Marriage of Figaro to Brünnhilde in Wagner’s Ring Cycle.

Meier founded the Johanna Meier Opera Theatre Institute in South Dakota in 1998, serving as Artistic Director. She also taught at the Juilliard School, the Manhattan School of Music, Mannes College of Music, and Ithaca College, as well as privately. She regularly judged the Metropolitan Opera Regional Auditions and the Liederkranz Competitions. Meier received the 2014 National Opera Association Lifetime Achievement Award.