Having recently been appointed Assistant Professor of Voice at The University of South Carolina, tenor Dominic Armstrong has been celebrated for his musicality, characterization, and beauty of tone on stages both nationally and internationally.  In the 2019-20 season, Mr. Armstrong was hailed by Opera News for ‘truly a classic, memorable performance on all levels’ of Janacek’s The Diary of One Who Vanished for the Brooklyn Art Song Society, and by Parterre Box for being ‘an absolute star...able to pull from a wide expressive palette in his utterly unflappable, fluid tenor...’ in his performance as Prologue/Peter Quint in OnSite Opera’s production of Benjamin Britten’s Turn of the Screw.  He was also seen as Don José in Kentucky Opera’s production of Carmen, and debuted the role of John and understudied the role of Mr. Marks in Ricky Ian Gordon and Lynn Nottage’s new work Intimate Apparel with Lincoln Center Theatre, under the direction of Bartlett Sher. Read More

As an internationally recognized leading interpreter of contemporary and modern music, mezzo-soprano Rachel Calloway brings versatility and compelling insight to stages worldwide. Her work has been praised by the New York Times for “penetrating clarity” and “considerable depth of expression” and by Opera News for her “adept musicianship and dramatic flair.”

Last season’s highlights included a debut with the California Symphony in works by Gabriela Lena Frank and Mahler, continued collaborations with John Zorn in Katowice, Poland, alto soloist in The Messiah with the Aiken Symphony and others, and performances and residencies with Duo Cortona, Calloway’s duo alongside violinist Ari Streisfeld, in Rochester and Pittsburgh. Read More

Kurdish-American artist Michelle Moslemi-Haché has been an award-winning vocal instructor for over 16 years, specializing in crossover, contemporary musical theatre, and classical voice. Currently, Haché is the Instructor of Musical Theatre at the University of South Carolina School of Music, and she is the Artistic Director of the UofSC Musical Theatre Summer Intensive college preparatory program. Haché also serves as Artistic Director of Gilbert & Sullivan Austin and ASMC Austin.

Previously, she was the Director of Opera and Musical Theatre and Assistant Professor of Voice at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, as well as a Lecturer of Applied Voice at Texas State University. Haché received seven B. Iden Payne award nominations for both performance and directing, winning in 2010 and 2013 for leading roles, and again in 2016 for Best Director of a Musical Production. Haché’s voice can be heard on recordings featuring Broadway, classical and classical fusion. Ms. Haché regularly offers lectures in crossover pedagogy and musical theatre industry trends at regional and national conferences. She is an active member of The Juilliard Teacher Directory, The National Association of Teachers of Singing, OPERA America, The American Alliance for Theatre and Education, SCTA and SETC. Ms. Haché has been a national adjudicator for the NATS and Hal Leonard Vocal Competitions, and has reviewed for The Austin Chronicle and Broadway World. Studio members continue to earn placement in leading conservatories and young artist programs, top placement in national vocal competitions, and casting in Broadway productions and tours.

Ms. Haché holds a Graduate Diploma in Voice from The Juilliard School, an MM in Musical Theatre from Oklahoma City University, and a BFA in Musical Theatre from Jacksonville University.

Serena Hill-LaRoche, DMA, is an active concert artist having recently been featured in works such as Samuel Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Herbert Howells’s Hymnus Paradisi, Poulenc’s Gloria, Handel’s Messiah, Haydn’s Creation and Seasons, Brahm’s Requiem, Charpentier’s Te Deum, Vaughan William’s Dona Nobis Pacem and Handel’s Samson. Hill-LaRoche’s recent locations for performance and/or master class engagements include East Tennessee State University, Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra, Greenville Light Opera Works, East Carolina University, University of North Carolina at Pembroke, South Carolina Philharmonic, Coker College, Bechtler Museaum of Art, Virginia Commonwealth University, Palmetto Opera, University of Maryland, Central Florida Lyric Opera, Firenze Lirico, Columbia Museum of Art, and Abadía Benedictina de la Santa Cruz del Valle de los Caídos as well as other performances in both Spain and Italy. Her opera credits include Micaela (Carmen), Lady with the Cake Box (Postcard from Morocco), Rosalinde (Die Fledermaus), Fiordiligi (Cosi fan tutte), Countess (Le Nozze di Figaro), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte) and the title role in Dominick Argento’s Miss Havisham’s Wedding Night.  Read More

Janet Hopkins joined the University of South Carolina School of Music in the fall 2008 semester, as Associate Professor of Voice, mezzo-soprano. Ms. Hopkins holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education, cum laude, and a Masters Degree in Vocal Performance, cum laude, from the State University of New York, Potsdam, NY.

Ms. Hopkins debuted as a soprano and at The Metropolitan Opera during the 1991-1992 season in The Ghost of Versailles, returning during the next seasons for Siegrune in Die Walküre, Parsifal and the Overseer in Elektra. While on tour with The Met in Japan, she sang a series of solo recitals in Tokyo, garnering extensive critical acclaim. As a mezzo soprano, Hopkins sang Cosi fan Tutte with the Eugene Opera and served apprenticeships with the Michigan Opera Theatre and Des Moines Metro Opera. While making her vocal change, Miss Hopkins was awarded grants and prizes from The Luciano Pavarotti International Voice Competition, the American Opera Auditions and the Wagner Society Grant along with a study grant from the Singers Development Fund of The Metropolitan Opera.

In addition to touring extensively with The Met, Ms. Hopkins has performed in Japan and throughout Europe, as well as all over the United States. She has appeared at Carnegie Hall and at the opening ceremonies of the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, NY.  Read More

Vocal coach and collaborative pianist, Lynn Kompass provides musical preparation for all Opera at USC productions and teaches courses in song literature and diction for singers.   She also coaches both graduate and undergraduate voice majors in preparation for degree recitals and auditions.

Active as a collaborative pianist and chamber musician, Lynn Kompass has performed in Italy, Spain, Bulgaria, Brazil, China, South Korea, and Thailand and has appeared in venues across the United States, including Weill Recital Hall and the Nicholas Roerich Museum (NYC), the Strings in the Mountain Festival (Colorado), Harold Washington Library (Chicago), and the North Carolina Museum of Art (Raleigh).  She has also given recitals at numerous colleges and conservatories nationwide, including the Conservatorio de Musica de Puerto Rico, Eastman School of Music, University of Tennessee, Western Michigan University, University of Florida and James Madison University.  For many summers she was also engaged as a pianist for the prestigious Steans Vocal Institute in residence at the Ravinia Music Festival.  While in residence, she played for many voice recitals as well as master classes led by Christoph Eschenbach, Christa Ludwig, Thomas Hampson, Thomas Allen, Barbara Bonney, among others. Read More

Since her appointment in 2004, Ellen Douglas Schlaefer has staged over 50 productions for Opera at USC and established the Carolina Opera Experience, a summer day camp for children. She received her BA from Davidson College and MFA (stage directing) from The Catholic University of America.

Early in her career, Schlaefer assisted directors Francesca Zambello, Gian Carlo Menotti, Julius Rudel, Sonja Frissell, Ann-Margret Pettersson, Ted Pappas, Michael Ehrman, Baayork Lee and Roman Terleckyj on productions with The Washington Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Dallas Opera, Opera Colorado, Central City Opera, Charleston Symphony, The Israel Festival (Jerusalem, Israel), Teatro Comunale di Modena (Italy), Spoleto Festival (Melbourne, Australia) and New York Harlem Productions (Munich, Germany).

Schlaefer is the Founder and General Director of FBN Productions, Inc., Opera for Kids, a professional touring company established in 1994 performing operas in schools, libraries and other venues throughout the Southeast. Read More

Active as a concert artist, soprano Tina Milhorn Stallard has performed solos in works such as Brahms’ “Ein Deutsches Requiem,” Haydn’s “The Creation,” Bach’s “St. John Passion,” Poulenc’s “Gloria” and Handel’s “Messiah.” In June 2011, she made her Lincoln Center debut as soprano soloist in Timothy Powell’s “Incarnation Mysteria.” As part of the cultural prelude to the 2008 Summer Olympics, Stallard performed the soprano solos in Vivaldi’s “Gloria” with the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra and members of the Beijing National Ballet Orchestra. She has also performed with the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra, Johnson City Symphony, Louisville Orchestra, South Carolina Philharmonic Orchestra, Bowling Green Western Symphony and the University of Arkansas Orchestra. 

A frequent recitalist, Stallard has presented programs in Bulgaria, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, New York, Indiana, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and throughout South Carolina. Stallard premiered Lori Laitman’s song cycle “The Perfected Life”at the 2008 College Music Society National Conference. Later that year, she premiered “Songs of Time and Tide,”a cycle of songs written for her by composer John Fitz Rogers. Stallard may be heard singing the role of Principal in the recording of Robert Bradshaw’s new opera, “Gabriel” (Beauport Classical). Other opera credits include roles in “Cosi fan tutte,” “Die Fledermaus,” “Little Women,” “Hansel and Gretel,” “The Crucible”and the Italian premiere of “Casanova’s Homecoming.” She has sung with Opera Omaha, Central City Opera, Opera Theatre of Lucca (Italy), Cincinnati Opera, Kentucky Opera and The Palmetto Opera. Read More

Bass-baritone Jacob Will made his New York Philharmonic debut as soloist in the American premiere of the “Messa per Rossini,” a performance televised live nationwide.

An experienced concert artist, Mr. Will has appeared with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Vladamir Ashkenazy and with the Cabrillo Festival under the baton of Dennis Russell Davies. He has sung with the San Francisco Symphony in the “St. Matthew Passion,” with the International Bach Festival of Schaffhausen, Switzerland, in the “St. John Passion” and with the Vienna Symphonic Orchestra in Frank Martin's “Le mystère de la Nativité.” He has also recorded Cherubini’s “Messe solennelle” under Helmuth Rilling and Zemlinsky’s “Kleider Machen Leute” under Ralf Weikert.

Mr. Will has sung for many years with the Zürich Opera appearing in roles such as Raimondo in “Lucia di Lammermoor,” Mustafa in “L'Italiana in Algeri,” and Colline in “La Boheme.” Other companies with which Mr. Will has appeared include the New York City Opera as Figaro in “Le Nozze di Figaro,” Vancouver Opera as Oroveso in “Norma,” the Bavarian State Opera as Samuel in “Un Ballo in Maschera” and the San Francisco Opera as Masetto in “Don Giovanni.” Read More