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.

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. This summer, he debuts as Canio in I Pagliacci with Commonwealth Concert Opera, and Loge in Wagner’s Das Rheingold in Minneapolis.

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

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) and Nick Shadow (Stravinksy - The Rake’s Progress). Chorus credits include Bizet's Carmen, Gounod's Faust, Heggie's Dead Man Walking, and Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea. Kirk holds a Bachelor's degree in Music - Voice Performance from James Madison University.

Current and future engagements include a role in Damien Geter’s Loving V. Virginia (World Premiere) with the VA Opera Chorus, the role of Silvio in Commonwealth Concert Opera's production of Leoncavallo’s I Pagliacci, and a return as Don Giovanni in CCO's Don Giovanni in September 2025.

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.

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.