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RACHEL ABRAMS, SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER & EVENTS COORDINATOR - Rachel Abrams is the Social Media Manager & Event Coordinator for Hartford Opera Theater. As a mezzo-soprano, Ms. Abrams has performed with Finger Lakes Opera, MassOpera, Connecticut Lyric Opera, Connecticut Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, Salt Marsh Opera, Opera Theater of Connecticut, Cambridge Chamber Ensemble, Winter Opera St. Louis, Union Avenue Opera, Hartford Opera Theater, Hartford Independent Chamber Orchestra (HICO) and the Nahant Music Festival. She is a dedicated music educator and teaches voice and piano lessons out of her home studio in West Hartford. Rachel holds a Master of Music degree from the University of Northern Colorado and a Bachelor of Music degree from San José State University. Additionally, she manages social media for the GMChorale, Beth David Synagoue, the Young Artist Podcast, musicians, and creatives. 

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DANA KEPHART QUEIROS, BUSINESS MANAGER - Dana Kephart is a New England-based mezzo-soprano, praised by the Boston Musical Intelligencer for her “beautifully fluid and expressive voice.” In recent years, she has performed in recital as well as with Eudaimonia ("a purposeful period band"), Hartford Opera Theater, the opera chorus of the Princeton Festival,  the Farmington Valley Chorale, the Amherst Early Music Festival opera, and the Hartford Independent Chamber Orchestra. In 2016, she was named a semi-finalist in the American Prize Competition, in the Professional Women in Art Song Division. Dana is also an experienced choral and church musician. She sings with Voce and the Schola Cantorum at the Catholic Cathedral of St. Joseph in Hartford, CT; she is also a current CONCORA fellow. Dana also performs popular music on occasion, with most of her experience being in acoustic settings with country and rock styles. 

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Dana holds a Master of Music degree in Early Music Performance from the Longy School of Music of Bard College, where she studied under Laurie Monahan, and Bachelor of Music degrees in Voice and Music Education from the Hartt School of Music, where she studied under Joanna Levy and John Feierabend. Among the roles she performed with the Hartt Opera Theater, Dana portrayed “Bluebell Pooder” in the New England premiere of Thomas Pasatieri’s The Hotel Casablanca. At Longy, she sang the title role in Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas in Longy’s Early Opera Project, working with period musical style, costume, and gesture. Dana is an active teacher of music and voice, holding positions with the Hartt School Community Division, the Foote School, and her private studio.

 

 

EMILY ROSE WALSH, CONTENT EDITOR - Emily Rose Walsh is a coloratura soprano and DMA candidate at The Hartt School.  Her lyrical voice and expansive range have enabled her to perform repertoire by composers as diverse as Couperin and Strauss, while her command of music history has inspired compelling programs for audiences largely unfamiliar with art song.  As a doctoral candidate, Emily has distinguished herself as a strong writer and historical analyst.  In addition to her vocal career, she has worked in the nonprofit sector for over a decade in operations and content management.  A West Hartford native, Emily earned her bachelor’s degree from Boston College and her master’s from the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  She studies privately with Dr. Michelle Fiertek, and is the soprano section leader at St. Peter Claver Church in West Hartford under the direction of esteemed conductor Tim Stella.

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MAVIS HSIEH, GRANT RESEARCH - Mavis received her Doctoral degree of voice performance at Hartt School, University of Hartford and her Master of Arts in Vocal Performance from Ball State University. She is the winner of several vocal competitions and has performed in Taiwan, United States, and Italy. Most recently, in October 2014, she was awarded 3rd prize and “Best Interpretation of F. P. Tosti” in Mondial National Vocal Competition, Taiwan. She has been heard as Rosalinde in Strauss’s Die Fledermaus, Susanna in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, and the first witch in Dido and Aeneas. Ms. Hsieh was a featured artist with Opera Theater of Pittsburgh in 2013. She has been a featured soloist in various operas and concerts, including Muncie Symphony Orchestra in Indiana, Los Angeles Taiwan Center, Crescendo Vocal Ensemble in Massachusetts, and Hartford Opera Theater in Connecticut. Mavis and her guitarist friend Jaclyn Jones are the founders of Luca Duo. Ever since the duo formed in spring 2019, Luca Duo has been receiving many performance requests in New England area and New York City. She is currently acting as the adjunct faculty at University of Saint Joseph and Hartt School of Music in Hartford, Connecticut. 

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