Kristen Batson, a Chesterfield native, is the Chorus director at Thomas Dale high school. She graduated as the Valedictorian of L.C. Bird high school where she was highly involved in the choral music program as a member of the concert choirs and show choirs. Mrs. Batson attended Liberty University and graduated Suma Cum Laude from the University Honor’s Program with a B.M. in Music Education and a B.M. in Vocal Performance. While at Liberty, she sang in the university’s top vocal ensemble, Chamber Singers, performed the lead roles of Fiordiligi, Rosalinde, Nedda, and Susanna in university opera productions, choreographed for local musical productions, and sung as an ensemble member and featured soloist for various productions with Opera on the James. Upon graduation, Mrs. Batson taught at Douglas Freeman High School in Henrico County for 3 years. Then, wanting to return to Chesterfield,  taught at L.C. Bird and Manchester high schools for 2 years. She is now in her fourth year leading the chorus department at Thomas Dale High School and is thrilled to be in the community she admired in her youth. Mrs. Batson’s choirs and show choirs have received many superior ratings, placement awards, and caption awards, as well as many Grand Champion and Best Vocal Quality titles. Mrs. Batson has a passion for helping students discover their potential in all facets of education and performance and is excited to be joining Commonwealth Concert Opera’s performance roster. 

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.

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.

Current and future engagements include an appearance in CCO's Opera Highlight's concert, and a return as Don Giovanni in CCO's production of Mozart's Don Giovanni in September 2025. Kirk hopes to continue working with CCO, VA Opera, and other companies in pursuit of moving storytelling with beautiful music.

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. Other notable roles prior include Froh and Mime in Das Rheingold, Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, Ferrando in Cosí fan tutte, the title role in Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria, and Der Vater in Hänsel und Gretel. In the 2025-2026 season, Quaine will make his debut as Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni and Canio in Pagliacci with Commonwealth Concert Opera, and present a solo recital titled “Heroic” in Jonesboro, Arkansas.

Beyond the Opera Repertoire, Quaine has been a soloist for concert repertoire such as Mozart’s Requiem, the Nunez Garcia Requiem, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, and The Seven Last Words of Christ by Dubois.

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

Fredrick Newhouse is a native of Richmond, Virginia. He has studied vocal performance at VCU and is currently a student of James Taylor. After a long hiatus, he is making his return to opera to debut his first lead role as Rodolfo. Fredrick has performed in the chorus with VCU Opera in Lehár’s The Merry Widow and Mozart’s The Magic Flute. He has also performed the joyous role of Lippo Fiorentino in the “Ice Cream Sextet” from Kurt Weill’s Street Scene. In May, Fredrick participated in a workshop for Damien Geter's Loving vs. Virginia with Virginia Opera and recently performed as Rodolfo in La Boheme. He is extremely excited to be performing opera again and eagerly anticipates the future.

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.

Catherine Pelletier studied as a vocal performance major at Virginia Commonwealth University and is a former member of the production staff for VCU’s award-winning opera department. Catherine has performed in a variety of genres at a variety of venues, but her favorite has always been opera. Favorite past performances include Dalila in Samson et Dalila, Azucena in Verdi’s Il Trovatore, Ms. Todd in Menotti’s The Old Maid and the Thief, Third Lady in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Princess Ida in Gilbert & Sullivan's Princess Ida, Maria Rainer in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music, and Nick Bottom in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Catherine recently appeared in the chorus for the world premiere of Loving v. Virginia i with Virginia Opera.

Elizabeth Robideau studied vocal performance at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She has performed in oratorio, opera, operetta and recital. Her oratorio performances as soloist include Handel’s "Messiah", Mozart's "Requiem", Bach's "Magnificat" and "Mass in B minor" and Vivaldi's "Gloria". Operatic roles include Maura in Riders to the Sea by Vaughan Williams, Lucilla in Rossini's La scala di seta, Orfeo in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice and the title role in Benjamin Lees’ Medea. She has also appeared in many Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, such as The Yeomen of the Guard" (Phoebe) and The Pirates of Penzance (Edith). She participated in the workshop for Geter's Loving v. Virginia with Virginia Opera.

A native of England, Ms. Robideau has also performed as Mad Margaret in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Ruddigore at Gawsworth Hall in the UK. She is currently studying with James Taylor.

Gia Sweitzer, 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.

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.

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.

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.