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    Sara Parkinson

    (USA)

    Sara Parkinson enjoys a varied career as conductor, vocal coach and pianist. She served on the staff and faculties at the University of Colorado at Boulder, Cornell College and Metropolitan State University of Denver. Recent and upcoming performance engagements include Boulder Chamber Orchestra, Boulder Bach Festival, Colorado Ballet Orchestra and the Colorado Symphony. Sara was Music Director of Boulder Opera Company for their 2017-2018 season where she made her operatic conducting debut with Massenet’s Cendrillon followed by Mozart’s Così fan tutte. Sara has been a member of Central City Opera Ensemble since 2012 and worked with numerous singers. Sara received degrees from the University of Iowa, New England Conservatory of Music and CU-Boulder. Principal teachers include Victor Rosenbaum, Anne Epperson and Maestro Nicholas Carthy.

    Amy Owens

    (USA)

    Amy Owens enjoys a diverse singing career in concert work, opera, new music, and alternative pop. She has appeared in concert in venues ranging from the Filene Center at Wolf Trap to Carnegie Hall. Her operatic engagements have taken her to Santa Fe Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Dallas Opera, Utah Opera, Central City Opera, and others. She appears regularly with the New York Festival of Song, and she has collaborated with many composers including Matthew Aucoin, William Bolcom, Bright Sheng, Paola Prestini, and David Hanlon. Her debut album of original music, HAETHOR, was released Spring 2018 to acclaim in the electronica world. She has received awards from the Sullivan Foundation, the George London Foundation, the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, and the Santa Fe Opera.

    Laura Guili

    (USA)

    Laura Guili is a versatile musician and freelance conductor currently based in the Midwest. She travels extensively to pursue professional opportunities and has held music director and assistant conductor positions with Midwest-based orchestras and opera companies. In addition, she conducts studio recording sessions for film and world music. A horn player and former string educator, she received her MM from Northwestern University and has studied with Kenneth Kiesler and Victor Yampolsky. Passionate about the arts, Ms. Guili furthers her involvement in artistic philanthropy as a seven-year member of the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Young Professionals board. In addition to her professional successes in music, she works as an actress and model in TV, film and print, currently represented by Modelogic and The Helen Wells Agency.

    Laurann Gilley

    (USA)

    Laurann Gilley has been on faculty with the Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago since 2005, and on faculty at Northwestern University since 2010. She has worked as coach, pianist, assistant conductor, recitative accompanist, and chorus director for companies such as Glimmerglass Opera, San Francisco Opera, Seattle Opera, San Diego Opera, and Vancouver Opera, with conductors including Sir Andrew Davis, Richard Bonynge, Edoardo Müller, Leon Botstein, and Stewart Robertson. As a recital accompanist, she has appeared at venues including Carnegie Hall’s Weill Hall, the Chicago Cultural Center, and San Francisco’s Schwabacher Series. A regular accompanist for the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions, Ms. Gilley holds degrees from The Manhattan School of Music, The Eastman School of Music, and Southern Methodist University.

    Brooke Tolley

    (USA)

    Brooke Tolley is a native of Roanoke, Virginia and was recently named Chief Operating Officer of Opera Roanoke, where she handles all aspects of daily operation including finance, marketing, special events and production management.  She is also the newly appointed Director of the opera’s innovative Apprentice Artist Program, which guides regional college students to the next step in their professional careers.  Brooke holds music degrees from Liberty University and Radford University and is an incoming member of Leadership Roanoke Valley’s 2018-19 class.  As an opera administrator and active performer, she is passionate about using her unique skill set to connect with close-knit communities, helping to build viable arts and culture programs that create lasting impact.  She has been at Opera Roanoke since 2015.

    Nicole Eubanks

    (USA)

    Nicole Eubanks is the Individual Giving Director at Lyric Opera of Kansas City where she is responsible for the annual fund and individual giving strategies that center on funding the company’s mission of producing transformational opera for the community. Prior to her time in Kansas City, Eubanks held the position of Assistant Director of Donor Services and Special Events at Lyric Opera of Chicago where she managed donor benefits, donor services, key company events, and all operations pertaining the William B. and Catherine Graham Room, the private dining space in the opera. Eubanks holds bachelor’s degrees in Music with an emphasis in Vocal Performance and Interdisciplinary Studies in Music and Business from MidAmerica Nazarene University and is a member of the Kansas City Symphony Chorus.