Stephanie Auld is a VCU Arts graduate with a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance, a minor in Italian. She was a graduate opera assistant at the Petrie School of Music at Converse College and studied at the Buck Hill-Skytop Music Festival, Atlantic Music Festival, and Harrower Summer Opera Workshop.  Miss Auld won the Presidential Arts Scholarship at George Washington University, the VCU Friends of Music Scholarship, and the VCU Friends of Opera Scholarship.

Favorite roles performed include Josephine (HMS Pinafore), Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro), Pamina (Die Zauberflote abridged), Laetitia (The Old Maid and the Thief), Sandman (Hansel and Gretel), Second Stepsister (The True Story of Cinderella), Gossip (Noye’s Fludde), and La novizia (Suor Angelica). 

Stephanie was a founding member of the choral ensemble Sanctuary, performing Renaissance polyphony and Gregorian chant. As a recording artist, she has sung on Sanctuary: Music for Compline and Matthew E. White’s Big Inner, an album from Spacebomb Records that received 5 stars from The Guardian and was included in Pitchfork Magazine’s Top 50 Albums of 2012. Miss Auld has been a recitalist with the Second Sunday South of the James Concert Series, the Gellman Concert Series, and performed Vaughan Williams’ Ten Blake Songs with the Eckhart Ensemble.  She was the soprano soloist for Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb with the Central Virginia Masterworks Chorale, Carmina Burana with Richmond Choral Society and Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream with American Ballet Theater pianist Benjamin Houghton.

Stephanie is extremely grateful for the ongoing support from the Richmond, Virginia community, her friends and family, and her many mentors and teachers, particularly Melanie Kohn Day, Michelle Harman-Gulick, Cynthia Donnell, Jim Smith-Parham, and L. Wayne Batty. A special thank you to James Taylor for the opportunity to perform the role of Zerlina in Don Giovanni with Commonwealth Concert Opera in September 2025!

Alan Chavez has been a mainstay in the Richmond classical music scene since his debut at VCU Opera in 2011. Some of his favorite past roles include both Figaro and Conte d'Almaviva in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Slook in Rossini's La Cambiale di Matrimonio, the Pirate King in Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance, Silvio in Leoncavallo’s I Pagliacci, the title role in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi, Marcello in Puccini's La bohème, and High Priest in Samson et Dalila.

Ashley Nicole Dawson, a Richmond native, is a professional soprano and the founder of Dawson Voice Studio. She graduated from Liberty University with a B.M. in Vocal Performance and earned her M.M. in Vocal Performance from Ball State University, where she received a graduate scholarship and won first place in the Graduate Vocal Competition. As a performer, Ashley has appeared in roles such as Norina (Don Pasquale), Adele (Die Fledermaus), Queen of the

Night (Die Zauberflöte), Mabel (The Pirates of Penzance), and Miss Wordsworth (Albert Herring). Additional credits include scenes as Fiordiligi, Pamina, and Lucia.

She has served as a Young Artist with the Bar Harbor Music Festival, covering Adele in Die Fledermaus, and trained internationally at the Internationale Sommerakademie Universität Mozarteum in Salzburg, where she was selected to compete as a finalist in the Michèle Crider masterclass.

She is making her concert and house debut with Commonwealth Concert Opera as Donna Anna (Don Giovanni). 

Alongside her performance career, Ashley is devoted to teaching. Through Dawson Voice Studio, she trains singers of all ages in classical and contemporary styles, focusing on sustainable technique and expressive artistry. Her students have gone on to advanced studies, performance opportunities, and professional work across genres. Ashley is passionate about sharing her love of music both onstage and in the studio, bringing artistry, discipline, and joy to every performance and lesson.

Kirkland Fenerty, baritone, is a Richmond, VA based performing artist and musician. At home and abroad, Kirkland has tackled roles including the titular character in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Marcello and Schaunard (Puccini - La Bohéme), Wagner (Gounod's Faust) Nick Shadow (Stravinsky - The Rake’s Progress). Chorus credits include Bizet's Carmen, Gounod's Faust, Heggie's Dead Man Walking, Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea, and the World Premiere production of Damien Geter's Loving v. Virginia at Virginia Opera. Kirk holds a Bachelor's degree in Music - Voice Performance from James Madison University.

Kirk recently appeared in CCO's Opera Highlight's concert, and is now returning as Don Giovanni in CCO's production of Mozart's Don Giovanni. He hopes to continue working with CCO, VA Opera, and other companies in pursuit of moving storytelling with beautiful music.

William (Bill) Hicklin, a retired attorney, has sung on and off in church choirs for most of his life, but was primarily a trombonist.  He took up studying voice essentially as a retirement hobby, and has sung major choral works with the Richmond Symphony Chorus and the Richmond Choral Society. Il Commendatore is his first solo role, to which he brings the gravitas of age and a basso profondo timbre.

Quaine Hogan, tenor, has been described as “an emerging Heldentenor of great power and beauty.” He made his professional operatic debut as Macduff in Verdi’s Macbeth with Shakespeare Opera Theatre in 2024. This summer Quaine stepped in at the last second as a guest artist for Spotlight on Opera in Tulsa, performing the role of Spoletta in Tosca with Tulsa Opera. Following his performance in Tosca, Quaine went on to cover the role of Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticanaand performed the role in concert. Other notable roles include both Froh and Mime in Wagner's Das Rheingold, Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, and the title role of Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria by Monteverdi. In the 2025-2026 season, Quaine will return to Commonwealth Concert Opera to perform the role of Canio in Pagliacci, and is returning to LAH-SOW to perform the role of "Prince" in Rusalka.

Quaine completed his master of music work at DePaul University in 2023, and is now an instructor of voice and opera at his Alma Mater, Arkansas State University. He is very involved in the northeast Arkansas community, music directing and conducting in community theatres, performing recitals and cantoring for many local churches, and collaborating with the local high schools.

James Lynn, a native of Richmond, VA, has recently been seen on stage singing the role of Sarastro in VCU Opera’s The Magic Flute and appearing in the world premiere of the new Baroque opera, Julie, Monster, produced by RVA Baroque and The Firehouse Theater in which he created the role of Dr. Bortigali. He has enjoyed operatic performance experiences from San Francisco to Lisbon, Portugal for such companies as Santa Fe Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Virginia Opera, Lyric Opera of Cleveland, and San Francisco Opera’s Western Opera Theater. He has performed a wide variety of repertoire from such beloved standards as The Marriage of Figaro, Rigoletto, and The Elixir of Love, to more modern operas, Wozzeck and the world premieres of Emmeline and Seasons in Hell.

He is exploring new musical endeavors with his talented wife, Arden, in their Old Time/Celtic band, Lyricalynn, and performing historical Americana with the Cigar Box String Band.

He holds holds a BFA in Music from Carnegie Mellon University and a Masters degree from the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music.

He cherishes the abundant musical community of the greater Richmond area. During the day, he gets to show off his professional skills as an Agent and Account Manager for McArdle & Associates Insurance Agency in Ashland, VA.

Helena Nuckols is a young artist with a passion for Opera and art song. She made her debut with Commonwealth Concert Opera as Despina in Cosi fan tutte. She earned a Bachelor's degree in Music Performance at Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Music and plans to continue pursuing a career in Classical Voice Performance and attend Graduate School. 

Helena has worked on a number of solo and collaborative performances with VCU Opera, The Defiant Requiem Foundation, The Tuckahoe Woman's Club, and now Commonwealth Concert Opera. She has also learned about the other equally important aspects of an opera production such as working with costumes, wigs, hair, and makeup.

Georgia (Gia) Qazi, DMA, is a classically trained soprano with a deep commitment to both performance and education. She earned her Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, studying under Dr. Carla LeFevre. She went on to complete her Master’s and Doctoral degrees in Voice Performance and Pedagogy at Louisiana State University under the mentorship of Dr. Loraine Sims.

Currently, Gia is expanding her understanding of the body as a Bachelor of Science in Nursing student at Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing. As a performer, she has appeared in a wide range of operatic roles, including Anne Trulove in The Rake's Progress, Elle in La Voix Humaine, Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, and Mother in David T. Little’s Dog Days.

In addition to her performance work, Gia serves as an adjunct professor of voice at the University of Richmond. Her greatest joy lies in guiding and witnessing the success of her students.

Darien Roby is a JMU graduate with a Bachelor of Music Degree in Vocal Performance. While at university, Darien sang in the top vocal ensemble, “The Madison Singers”, and made his Carnegie Hall Debut as part of the JMU Carnegie Hall Collective in March 2025. Favorite roles performed include Don Giovanni (Don Giovanni), The Pilot (The Little Prince), and Father Trulove (The Rake’s Progress).

In 2024, Darien was selected to travel overseas to Graz, Austria to participate in the American Institute of Musical Studies (AIMS) opera institute where he received instruction from world-class opera singers and professors for six weeks.

Darien is excited to continue his operatic journey, performing as Masetto in Commonwealth Concert Opera’s production of Don Giovanni.

Jessica Voutsinas is a coluratura sporano from Richmond, Virginia. She's performed with companies along the East Coast, including Opera Ithaca, Classical RVA, and Commonwealth Concert Opera in beloved roles Susanna in Mozart's Marriage of Figaro, Dorothée in Massenet's Cendrillon, and Musetta in Puccini's La bohème. Jessica has also sung in the chorus for I Pagliacci and performed in the choral works Carmina Burana by Carl Orff, Messiah by George Frideric Handel, and Prayers of Kierkegaard by Samuel Barber. She graduated from Ithaca Conservatory in 2018, and has studied with renowned singers Dawn Pierce and James Taylor.

James Taylor, M.M. (Yale University), is an internationally celebrated performer. At home in opera, concert, recital, and musical theatre, he has appeared with numerous opera companies, symphonies, and theatres, including the New York City Opera, San Francisco Opera, Opera Carolina, Göttigen Handel Festspiele, Theatre Augsburg, and the Nederlandse Reisopera. In his earlier roles as a baritone, Mr. Taylor performed the title roles in Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Le Nozze di Figaro, Marcello in La Boheme, as well as thirty-three others. As a tenor, his performances have included Siegmund in Die Walküre, the title roles in Lohengrin and Parsifal, Don Jose in Carmen, Manrico in Il Trovatore, Cavaradossi in Tosca, and Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly. 

His many concert performances include Handel's Messiah, Bach's Magnificat, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, and Mozart's Requiem. An avid recitalist, Mr. Taylor has presented programs in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht, Breda, and Groningen in the Netherlands, Munich, Augsburg, and Dusseldorf in Germany, Klagenfurt, Linz, and Vienna in Austria, and Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, as well as several universities and colleges across the United States.  He has sung Schubert's "Winterreise", "Die schöne Müllerin", and "Schwanengesang", Schumann's "Dichterliebe", "Liederkreise" Op. 24 & Op. 39, Brahms' "Vier ernste Gesange", "Ziguenerlieder" and "Die schöne Magelone", and Wagner's "Wesendonk Lieder".

A talented and sought-after educator, he has served as Director of Opera at Drake University and the University of Alabama and has been on the music faculties of VCU and the University of Virginia. His students have gone on to such prestigious schools as the New England Conservatory, Juilliard, Manhattan School of Music, Yale University, and the Royal College of Music. Several of his students perform regularly with the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, Semperoper, Glyndebourne, the Opera Comique, Utah Opera, Central City Opera, Landestheater Niederbayern, Opera Frankfurt, and the Oldenburgisches Staatsoper.

Mr. Taylor has had the pleasure to work with many of the top Artist Teachers in the business, such as Jon Fredric West, Sherrill Milnes, Richard Cross, Doris Yarick-Cross, Jackson Sheats, Andrew Gainey, and Seth Riggs. He has also participated in Master Classes with Placido Domingo, Sherrill Milnes, and Regine Crespin.

Alexander Wilkerson is a conductor, arranger and musician from Richmond, Virginia. Since 2021 he has served as director of the Virginia Commonwealth University Large Brass Ensemble.  As director he traveled with the ensemble to perform in the opening night of the Delaware Contemporary Art Museum as a part of the exhibit Through a Glass Darkly, in which musical visualizations were created with lasers and mirrors mounted on brass instruments responding to vibrations.  He also has served as assistant conductor with the Bay Youth and Richmond Youth Symphony Orchestras. Internationally he has served as Director Invitado of Fundacion Tocando Puertas’ Festival in Cartagena, Colombia.  For the last two years he has participated in this global education program where he performs and conducts in the festival.  Through the festival he also teaches underprivileged Colombian students from beginner to advanced.  An avid lover of opera, he has served as assistant conductor for the Saluzzo Opera Academy's production of Handel's Guilio Cesar in 2024.  As a performer he has performed and taught across Virginia in a wide variety of ensembles, venues, and schools.

Justin Lee enjoys an active career as both a solo and collaborative pianist. He is an in-demand accompanist across the Richmond area and is currently an adjunct music faculty member at both University of Richmond and Brightpoint Community College's Midlothian Campus.

A Richmond area native, Justin holds two degrees in piano performance: a BM from Virginia Commonwealth University (2015), and an MM from University of North Carolina School of the Arts (2018). Past teachers include Buckner Gamby, Yin Zheng, and Dmitri Shteinberg.