Greta Hulterstrum will be a junior flute performance major in the fall at West Virginia University studying with Professor Assimakopoulos. Greta participates in the WVU Symphony Orchestra and is excited to play with her first opera this summer. Some of Greta’s recent accomplishments include performing at the National Flute Association Convention in Phoenix, winning 2nd prize in the Central Ohio Flute Association Collegiate Competition, and performing in masterclasses with Jasmine Choi and Carol Wincenc.

Joshua is a senior at the Cleveland Institute of Music pursuing a BM in flute performance. He currently studies with Jessica Sindell, Mary Kay Fink and Joshua Smith. He has also studied with Mark Sparks, Timothy Day, Jim Walker, Dr. Christopher Chaffee, Dr. Laura Gilbert, Jake Fridkis, Ann Choomack, Linda Toote, Amanda Blaikie, Keith Bonner and Keith Underwood. He has attended summer programs at the Brevard Music Center, the Eastern Music Festival, Boston University Tanglewood Institute, the Interlochen Center for the Arts Orchestral Program and the Eastman School of Music. He has loved opera ever since he was 10 when he was cast in a community production of Madama Butterfly. Joshua is thrilled to be a member of the Chicago Summer Opera Orchestra.

Amanda Rearden has played the oboe for 12 years and earned her B.M. in Music Performance at Temple University, where she studied under Mr. Jonathan Blumenfeld. At Temple, she participated in the Symphony Orchestra, Opera Orchestra, Wind Symphony and chamber ensembles. Notable chamber coaches include Elizabeth Masoudnia and Ernie Tovar. Prior to attending Temple, Amanda was a member of the Youth Orchestra of Bucks County (YOBC). With YOBC, Amanda had the opportunity to perform in France and Spain as well as win their concerto competition in 2020.

Amanda has played with professional orchestras including the Pennsylvania Philharmonic and Berks Sinfonietta. Additionally, she attended the Eastern Music Festival during the summers of 2021 and 2022; in 2022 she played two concert cycles with the Eastern Festival Faculty Orchestra. In 2019, she attended Brevard Music Center Summer Institute.

In 2023, Amanda was named the Presser Undergraduate Scholar for both her musical talent and high academic achievement. In addition to her performance endeavors, Amanda is passionate about arts education; she has taught oboe privately and tutored in music theory. In the fall of 2024, Amanda will attend Lynn Conservatory to earn a M.M. in Oboe Performance under the tutelage of Mr. Nathan Hughes.

As an oboist, Vincent Chang pioneers his own form of connection through his uniquely interpersonal music-making. Often seen performing with a wide breadth of ensembles, Chang is active in both Chicago, IL and Rochester, NY. He is often performing with local university ensembles and was most recently seen playing the “Dialogues des Carmelites” with Nazareth University. Chang is also a founding member of the Vintage Winds woodwind quintet, reviving lesser-known quintet works such as the Foerster quintet and the Szervansky quintet.

An individual who wears multiple hats, Chang also teaches at the Eastman Community Music School and is a passionate advocate for community engagement in the arts. He has designed outreach concerts during his time at the University of Illinois, and is closely involved with artist liaison work at the Eastman School of Music. Chang’s strong connection with community engagement is accredited to the supportive youth groups he partook in that has provided a strong foundation for his career paths today.

Chang recently graduated with his Master’s in Oboe Performance at the Eastman School of Music under the tutelage of Richard Killmer. His previous teachers include John Dee, Laura Griffiths, and Andrew Leitza. When not seen with the oboe, Vincent likes to wrestle with his cat, Oliver.

Evyn Levy is a 23-year-old clarinetist from St. Louis, MO. In May 2024 she earned her Master of Music from the Eastman School of Music, studying with Michael Wayne. As an undergraduate, she attended Oberlin Conservatory, studying with Richard Hawkins. Evyn has participated in summer programs such as the Round Top Festival Institute, Eastern Music Festival, Mostly Modern Festival, and the Maine Chamber Music Seminar. She has appeared as a soloist with the Oberlin Orchestra, the St. Louis Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Rochester Summer Opera. Recently, Evyn won the principal clarinet audition for the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, and she looks forward to joining them for their 2024-25 season. Outside of clarinet, Evyn likes to crochet, play games, and play D&D!

Clarinetist Alex Hinand is thrilled to return to the performance world with the Chicago Summer Opera Orchestra, following a tendinitis-induced hiatus. Hinand has performed with the Tallahassee Symphony, Panama City Pops, Albany Symphony, and numerous other orchestras across Florida and Georgia. An avid woodwind doubler, Hinand thrives in the fast-paced world of pit orchestras and has performed with regional and community theaters across the South. Hinand’s primary teachers include Deborah Bish and Jonathan Holden, and has participated in masterclasses with Mark Nuccio, Sean Osborne, Diane Barger, and Michael Rusinek. Hinand received a Masters of Music in Arts Administration and a Bachelors of Music in Clarinet Performance from Florida State University.

Bassoonist Christine Breeden is a passionate performer, educator, and arts administrator newly based in Chicago. Having recently graduated with her Master’s in Bassoon Performance from the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance, she is eager to return to her home state and perform with Chicago Summer Opera Orchestra.

Originally from Normal, IL, she began her bassoon studies with Michael Dicker at Illinois State University before pursuing her Bachelor of Music at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with Timothy McGovern. In 2021, she was selected as a winner of the Thomas J. Smith Solo Competition and earned the UIUC School of Music Woodwind Achievement Award.

While studying with Dr. Jeff Lyman at Michigan, Christine performed in several award-winning recordings and premieres, including works by Nkeiru Okoye, Michael Daugherty, and Ryan Lindveit. She also recently served as the Associate Librarian for the international Orchestra of the Americas residency, whose program included guest artist Yo-Yo Ma. Dedicated to serving others through the arts, Christine recently partnered with the Arts Administrators of Color Network to develop professional resources that prioritize anti-racism in the workplace.

Chamber music is a pillar of Christine’s artistic engagement. Her quartet, \newline, was awarded the 2023 Arts@Michigan Arts and Resistance Student Mini-Grant for their project titled “Our Trace,” which commissioned and presented student compositions addressing climate change. She is also an active freelance performer, regularly appearing on both bassoon and contrabassoon with regional symphonies, chamber ensembles, and pit orchestras throughout the midwest.

Rúben Campos was born in 2004, in Freamunde, Portugal. He began his musical studies at the age of 8 with Rogério Correia. In 2014, he joined the Centro de Cultura Musical in the trumpet class of Professor José Barroso and later, in 2016, he joined the ARTAVE in the trumpet class of Professor Paulo Silva, finishing in 2022 with distinction, acquiring, thus, the award of the Best Student and Best Instrumentalist.

He worked with several conductors, namely Luis Machado, Luciano Pereira, Cesário Costa, Maxime Tortelier, Peter Askim, George Jackson, Daniel Harding, Moritz Gnann, Ernst Schelle, Radu Postăvaru, Markus Huber, Henrique Constância, Pedro Carneiro, José Eduardo Gomes, Dirk Hafte, among others. In the field of chamber music, he worked with professors Paulo Silva, Ângelo Fernandes, Perry Hoogendijk and Dirk Hirthe.

He participated in masterclasses with Konradin Groth, Philipe Litzler, Pasi Pirinen, Frits Damrow, Manu Mellaerts, Hans Alting, Laura Vukobratović, Thomas Kiechle, Simon Bales, Klaus Schuhwerk, Sarah Slater, Mark O´Keefe, Klaus Bräker, Jeroen Berwaerts, David Bilger, Lukas Beno, Andre Schoch.

He was awarded in these Competitions: "CCM Contest" in 2015 (1st Prize); “X Póvoa de Varzim Trumpet Contest” in 2019 (Honorable Mention); “Rotary Brass Fellow Programm” in Germany in 2023 (2nd. Prize).

Besides that, in 2023, he won the scholarship from the Heinrich-Hertz Gesellschaft, in Germany. In 2024, he was selected as one of 15 semi-finalists at the International Trumpet Guild, in Los Angeles.

He already had the opportunity to be selected and play with the following orchestras: In 2019 and 2021 with Aproarte Symphony Orchestra; in 2020/2021 with "Royal Concertgebouworkest Young" in Amsterdam; in 2022 with "European Youth Music" in England; in 2023 with Young Portuguese Orchestra (JOP) and with the Portuguese Chamber Orchestra (OCP); and in the 2023 season with the Famalicão Youth Orchestra (JOF).

He is currently studying at Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe, in the class of Professor Reinhold Friedrich.

Native to the South Texas region, Daniel Castillon is currently working towards completion of a Doctor of Music Arts Degree at the University of North Texas. Most recently, Daniel graduated Illinois State University with a Master’s Degree in Horn Performance in 2023 and Texas A&M International University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education (all-level certification) in 2021.

Daniel is so excited to perform with the Chicago Summer Opera this summer! Some of his fondest performances have been in the pit orchestras of various productions like UNT’s production of Cendrillon and Laredo Theater Guild’s production of The Little Mermaid. He has also performed in various ensembles including the Sherman Symphony Orchestra (TX), The Conducting Institute (TX), UNT Symphony Orchestra, Illinois Valley Symphony Orchestra, Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra (IL), Illinois State University’s Wind Symphony, and has been asked to sub for the Dallas Winds on multiple occasions.

Daniel is so excited to collaborate with other stellar musicians this summer and create some spectacular music! His goal throughout this musical journey is to grow not only as a player, but as a person and inspire the next generation of musicians!

Daniel’s primary teachers include Dr. Stacie Mickens, Dr. Rachel Hockenberry, Orlando Medrano, and Dr. Nicholas Fife.

Edith Samuelsson is a violinist and composer from the greater Boston area, currently residing in Chicagoland. She has a BM in violin performance and composition from Wheaton College, Illinois, where she studied in the studios of Dr. Soh-Hyun Park Altino and Dr. Shawn Okpebholo respectively. While at Wheaton, she served as the concertmaster in the Wheaton College Symphony Orchestra for two seasons.

An avid chamber musician, Samuelsson partakes in classical, folk, baroque, and modern genres with the intent of being “literate in many different collaborative music styles” - the same goal inspires her compositions. She is a founding member of the Hawthorn Quartet, also based in the Chicagoland area. In composition, 2024 marked the premiere of Samuelsson’s latest work, String Quartet No. 2 (“For the Renewed”).

Notable festival attendances have been the Pierre Monteux Festival, Scotia Festival, Kinhaven Young Artist Seminar, and Lancaster Piano Festival.

Violinist Karen Szczech is a first-generation Polish-American from Chicago, Illinois. Receiving her Bachelor’s Degree in Violin Performance, a Minor in Psychology, and completing her Suzuki Method training at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, she continued her musical studies completing a Master’s Degree in Violin Performance from University of Wisconsin-Madison. Prior to her university studies, Karen graduated from The Chicago Academy for the Arts studying violin and composition.

As a violinist and composer, Karen has premiered and performed works in festivals internationally. Such festivals include: Darmstadt New Music Festival in Darmstadt, Germany; Omaha Under the Radar in Omaha, Nebraska; Ear Taxi Festival; Chicago Trio Workshop in Chicago, Illinois; Eastern Music Festival in Greensboro, Nebraska; and Emerald Coast Chamber Music Festival in Florida. Karen’s pieces have been premiered by the Grammy Award winning ensembles, such as, Eighth BlackBird at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, representing the Kerry James Marshall exhibit.

Throughout the year, Karen can be found teaching and performing at Magical Keys, Chicago Center for Music Education (ChiME), and at St. Fabian Church in Bridgeview as the Children’s Music Director. An active chamber and orchestral musician, Karen regularly performs with chamber ensembles and symphony orchestras in the Midwest.

Erin Bang discovered her passion for the viola at 16 years old and decided to pursue it further by acquiring a degree in music. She is attending California State University, Long Beach, where she is pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Viola Performance and will graduate with the class of 2025. Due to her outstanding musicianship, she received full tuition to attend the school. After graduating, she plans to further hone her performance skills by obtaining a graduate degree. Currently, she is studying under Jason Bonham and has also received guidance from Robert Becker and Phillip Triggs in the past.

Her musical journey has included participation in Cremona International Music Academy in 2022, and performances with the Las Vegas Philharmonic. Some master classes that she participated in during these events were instructed by renowned musicians such as Marc Sabbah, Anzel Gerber, and Sean Wang. Earlier this summer, Erin traveled to England to participate in the Hellensmusic Masterclass Program where she studied under renowned musicians such as Scott Dickinson and Máté Szücs.

Jacquelyn Su is pursuing her Bachelor’s in Music Education and Viola Performance at CSU Long Beach, under the instruction of Jason Bonham. Since the age of 9, her passion for the arts was cultivated thanks to the educators/mentors who’ve watched her grow. Aside from performing and teaching, she enjoys baking and hiking with her dog.

An up and coming cellist from Winnipeg, MB, Mason Dueck has been studying cello since the age of six with Andrea Bell. Under her tutelage, he has been the recipient of various awards and scholarships. He has currently finished his second year of his bachelor's degree, studying cello performance at the Desautels Faculty of Music at the University of Manitoba under Dr. Minna Chung. In November 2023, he was awarded the Marie Louise Young Scholarship in Music for outstanding performance in his studies. Most recently, he was anointed principle cellist of the Desautels Faculty of Music Symphony Orchestra for the end of the 2023-2024 season. Some of his other attended programs include the Rosemunde Summer Music Academy, the International Music Camp, the Tuckamore Music Festival, Cadenza Summer Music Week, and the Rushmore Music Festival Quartet-in-Residence.

Hyeon-jin Kim received a master's degree in music from Sookmyung Women's University and a bachelor's degree in music from Sejong University. She is currently a soloist, chamber musician, and teacher.

Sajdah Muhammad is a senior (class of 2024) at Rice University; majoring in cello music performance and music theory, she studies cello with her teacher Norman Fischer at the Shepherd School of Music.

When she began her musical studies at the Hyde Park Suzuki Institute at the age of eight, her life changed and new doors opened. Through pursuing music, she has had many opportunities to meet different people, travel in her hometown of Chicago, and visit several different conservatories for camps and masterclasses. She has received several awards, most notably the Rising Star Award from the City of Chicago and former Mayor Rahm Emanuel in 2018. After spending her entire freshman year online and overcoming housing difficulties, Sajdah has finally had the opportunity to enjoy a full school-year at Rice in-person. Her peers are a major source of inspiration and motivation.

When Sajdah isn’t busy with her cello, she enjoys writing her own music, reading comics, and drawing.

Eugene is a bassist from Toronto, Canada, studying with Joseph Conyers in the Columbia-Juilliard exchange program. He enjoys exploring all facets of music-making, as a fellow at the Wabass Institute, National Repertory Orchestra, and National Orchestral Institute, Principal Bass of the Columbia University Orchestra, bassist in the Louis Armstrong Jazz Performance Program, and Music Director of Columbia Pops, where he arranges and conducts soundtracks from movies and video games. He is passionate about the intersectionality of different musical traditions and strives to inspire those around him to find community, have fun, and advance their creativity with music.

Born in Kiev, Ukraine, Anatoliy Torchinskiy began his piano studies nearly forty years ago. As a small child, he won numerous competitions and eventually studied at the Central Ukrainian Music High School for Gifted Children. He studied with Olga Liforenko, Violetta Chernyshova, and Boris Archimovich. He performed as a concert pianist with both the Ukrainian Chamber Orchestra and the Ukrainian Symphony Orchestra on Soviet television.

After immigrating to the United States in 1992, Mr. Torchinskiy continued his studies at the Chicago Musical College of Roosevelt University under Pawel Checinski, earning both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Piano Performance. He began accompanying professionally in 1996 and has been heard in Italy, New York, Michigan, Wisconsin, and the Chicago area, with companies such as da Corneto Opera, Chamber Opera Company Chicago, Genesis Opera, Bellissima Opera, as well as playing live on WFMT radio.

Although known primarily as an accompanist, Mr. Torchinskiy has also developed a reputation as a versatile pianist who coaches instrumentalists and singers alike. Since 2003, he has enjoyed being a part of the opera company at the Acorn Theater as an accompanist. He has also played two solo concerts at the Acorn. Additionally, in the summer of 2008, he played under the baton of Maestro James Conlon as a rehearsal accompanist for Ravinia's production of Mozart's Abduction from the Seraglio.

Mr. Torchinskiy has also been active as the principal pianist for Chamber Opera Chicago. He has been both rehearsal and performance pianist for Vanessa by Barber, Amahl and the Night Visitors by Menotti, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, and Maria La O by Ernesto Lecuona.

In July of 2010, Mr. Torchinskiy was the rehearsal accompanist for da Corneto Opera's production of Gounod's Faust, and in August, he played a production of Carmen for mezzo soprano Isola Jones with “Opera at the Acorn”. In September, he performed as the rehearsal accompanist for the world premiere of the musical reading of Lily and from September through November, he presented two solo recitals at Byron Colby Barn in Grayslake, Illinois.</p>

In 2011, Mr. Torchinskiy (acting as principal pianist) and Chamber Opera Chicago performed the Chicago premiere of Jane Austen's Persuasion. In July of 2013, they premiered Persuasion in Great Britain, performing in Westminster and Shanklin. They also performed in Chicago and New York that year. In 2014, they returned to Great Britain, performing in Windsor, Bury St. Edmunds, Bath, Margate, and Brighton. In 2015, they toured in Scotland, performing in Aberdeen and Edinburgh. In Edinburgh, they performed at the Fringe Festival, where one reviewer wrote,

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"The dexterity of Anatoliy Torchinskiy is particularly apparent during his rendition of Haydn's Piano Sonata in D Major."

In 2016, the company toured Aberdeen, Sterling, York, London, Stratford Upon Avon, and Lyme Regis.

In 2017, Mr. Torchinskiy has been more active as an accompanist to soloists and small ensembles, both instrumental and vocal. At Northern Illinois University, he accompanied Ya Chen Jessy Lee and Kayla Steger, both cellists, and performed with a Mendelssohn sextet. At Roosevelt University, he performed with a vocal quartet at a Composers' Concert, performing a work by Patricia Morehead. He also played two solo recitals that year.

In 2018, Mr. Torchinskiy spent time both as a solo performer and with other musicians. He held solo performances in Oakbrook and Rosemont, as well as performing in Forbidden Opera with Chicago Folks Operetta. In November, he appeared with Chicago Fringe Opera in The Long Christmas Dinner by Hindemith. In 2019, in addition to a number of solo performances, he performed with Folks Operetta in Paul Abraham's jazz operetta, The Flower of Hawaii, playing piano and celeste, as well as acting as rehearsal pianist. He also released a CD recording of his January performance at Skokie Central United Methodist Church, entitled A Winter Evening of Classical Music.

Mr. Torchinskiy is currently dividing his time between teaching, accompanying, and performance.