Lara Bolton is a dynamic and multi-faceted keyboardist, vocal coach, conductor, arranger, and recording artist. Ms. Bolton is passionate about fostering deep artistic connection and exploration through the lens of vocal music. Her work focuses on and implements knowledge from traditional classical singing practices and repertoire, modern aesthetics and creation, and a devoted belief in the importance of fostering the concept of wholeness and health in order to serve the artistry. Ms. Bolton enjoys numerous and varied collaborations that serve a wide array of people. In addition to conducting several productions and leading special events for Opera Reading Project each season as their Artistic Director, Ms. Bolton maintains a regular schedule of engagements at various opera houses in the United States. She also served as Vocal Coach and Interim Professor of Collaborative Piano and Coaching at the University of Minnesota. In addition to performing traditional classical styles, she is also a rock keyboardist. She enjoys playing keys and singing in rock bands and creating fusion projects that combine popular and classical vocal styles.

Hailed by Opera News as “a natural comedian and a fine singer,” Andrew Wilkowske is known on the opera and theater stage for his dynamic performances and masterful stage presence. He has performed at Minnesota Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Komische Oper Berlin, Cincinnati Opera, Atlanta Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Chicago Opera Theater, and Carnegie Hall among others. His rock recital Guns N’ Rosenkavalier has played across the country, and he and librettist Kelley Rourke were commissioned by Theater Latte Da in Minneapolis to re-imagine the Verdi/Piave opera Macbeth for rock instrumentation. Wilkowske lives in St. Paul, MN.

Erik Schee plays drum set with a wide range of Minneapolis-based bands including multiple genres; jazz, folk, pop, funk, R&B and soul. His own jazz group, Mill City Jazz, plays regularly in the Twin Cities, and you can see him playing as far away as Thunder Bay, Ontario with local brass band McNasty Brass Band. He has the privilege of working with Minnesota music legend, Mick Sterling as the percussionist in his Andy Williams and Bing Crosby holiday show, an ‘Andy/Bing Christmas’. He also has the honor of playing drums for the former Super Bowl winning NFL player Ben Utecht in his Andy Williams tribute show, ‘Moon River’.

Further showcasing his diversity as a performer, Erik is the drummer and percussionist in the popular Minnesota kid’s band the Jolly Pops, which caters to very young audiences. In addition, he also frequently performs with Copper Street Brass, an education-focused brass quintet that tours the Midwest extensively, bringing musical opportunities to low arts access communities.

In the folk-rock genre, Erik performed for 5 years with the Twin Cities-based band, The Paper Days. Their debut full-length record, Falling is Easy (2015), saw airplay on local Minneapolis radio stations The Current and Go 96.3. Falling is Easy effectively illustrates Erik’s versatility as a musician. On the record he can be heard playing everything from drum set, vibraphone, cabasa, udu, and congas as well as singing vocal harmonies. In 2011, Erik shared the stage with pop star Willow Smith at the Target Center as a featured drummer in a performance of her hit single, “Whip My Hair.”

In the classical realm, Erik has been involved in collaborations with groups such as the Joffrey Ballet for their performance of The Rite of Spring at the Orpheum Theater as well as several performances with the Minneapolis-based choral group VocalEssence, most recently a concert of PDQ Bach’s music under the direction of Peter Schickele. He also works with many professional theater companies in the area including The History Theatre, The Old Log Theatre, Theatre Elision and Impossible Salt.

Erik received his bachelor’s degree in Music Performance at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities and studied with Fernando Meza, Phil Hey and Peter Kogan.

Renowned for her “luminous tones” and “opulent voice,” and celebrated by Opera News for her “plush soprano bloom,” GRAMMY Award-winning soprano Brittany Renee is enchanting audiences with her exquisite artistry and radiant stage presence. Her performance is a masterclass in sophistication and finesse, affirming her status as a rising star destined for a luminous future.

In the past season, Ms. Renee captivated audiences with her role and house début at the San Francisco Opera as Julie in the groundbreaking opera Omar, a collaboration between Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels. She also made a striking return to The Metropolitan Opera, where she portrayed Destiny, Loneliness, and Greta in Terence Blanchard and Kasi Lemmons’ Fire Shut Up in My Bones and covered Micaëla in Carmen. The season concluded with a stunning house début at Opera Theatre of St. Louis as Musetta in La Bohème. Additionally, she had the honor of performing in a special benefit concert at The Metropolitan Opera, celebrating Stephen Schwartz's 75th birthday alongside illustrious stars from Broadway, Hollywood, and the operatic world.

This season, Ms. Renee continues to shine, bringing her critically acclaimed portrayal of Musetta in La Bohème to The Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, and Houston Grand Opera in her house début. She will also grace the Kennedy Center stage with Washington National Opera as Bess in Porgy & Bess and will be featured at National Sawdust as Esther in the world premiere of Paula Prestini’s Silent Light. Looking ahead, Brittany Renee is poised to continue dazzling the operatic world with anticipated returns to The Metropolitan Opera and San Francisco Opera in leading roles, solidifying her position as one of the most compelling voices of her generation.

Ms. Renee made her Lyric Opera of Chicago début in the leading roles of Destiny, Loneliness, and Greta in Terence Blanchard and Kasi Lemmons’ Fire Shut Up in My Bones, earning praise from Chicago Classical Review, which described her performance as “uniformly excellent from top to bottom.” This followed her Metropolitan Opera début as Evelyn in their acclaimed production of the opera. Critics lauded her portrayal of Evelyn, with Gabrielle Ferrari of Parterre Box noting it “offered an uplifting lightness, a lovely, crystalline soprano that was all youthful excitement—more from her, please!” and David Salazar of OperaWire acclaiming her performance as having “masterfully oozed vocal and physical sensuality.”

Renee also portrayed Annie in The Met’s historic production of Porgy & Bess, which won Best Opera Recording at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards. In the summer of 2022, she performed in The Metropolitan Opera’s Summer Stage Recital Series in Central Park and gave a solo recital with The Florentine Opera as part of their Al Fresco Recital Series. Her other notable appearances at The Met include Sadie Griffith in a new production of Terence Blanchard’s Champion, Giannetta in L’elisir d’amore, and Ancella in David McVicar’s new production of Cherubini’s rarely performed Medea. She also participated in their new production of Don Giovanni and revivals of Rigoletto and Peter Grimes.

Highlights of previous seasons include her role début as Micaëla in Carmen with Opera Orlando, the role of Bess in Porgy & Bess at the Teatro Regio Torino, and the soprano soloist in Handel's Messiah at Lincoln Center under the auspices of the National Chorale.

Despite myriad cancellations due to COVID-19, Brittany welcomed new and innovative virtual performances. Described by the Wall Street Journal as “an ingenious project,” Ms. Renee was blessed to stretch her contemporary wings in the award-winning world premiere opera series Tales from a Safe Distance with Decameron Opera. Through her voice she brought to life the illustrated role of BOSS in Resonance Works SourDough: Rise Up. In addition, in a new partnership with Thomas Hampson, The Hampsong Foundation, Courtney's Stars of Tomorrow, and the streaming platform IDAGIO, she headlined the concert series Feel the Spirit, dedicated to the study, preservation, and performance of the Negro Spiritual. She also had the pleasure to add vocals to Terence Blanchard's original film score for The Woman King starring Viola Davis and directed by Gina Prince Bythewood.

International débuts have included performances at the Semperoper Dresden, The Charles Bronfman Auditorium in Tel Aviv, Israel, the Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari, Italy, The Magnetic Opera Festival in Elba, Italy, and Opera on the Avalon in Canada. US appearances have included performances with Opera San Jose, Knoxville Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Opera Theatre of the Rockies, Crested Butte Music Festival, The Handel Choir of Baltimore, and the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra.

Concert engagements include performances as a guest artist and model representing the designer PYER MOSS at the CFDA Vogue Fashion Gala, collaborator and jazz soloist with the Minneapolis based group VOXSPEX, a featured artist with the Wynton Marsalis’ U.S. Tour of the Abyssinian Mass with Chorale Le Chateau and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, appearances with the critically acclaimed American Spiritual Ensemble, guest artist with the American Pops Orchestra, and a tour with the Siena Chamber Orchestra in Italy. A frequent recitalist, Ms. Renee has performed in her hometown at the University of Minnesota’s Monday Guest Artist Recital Series at the Lloyd Ultan Recital Hall where she also had the privilege to conduct her own masterclass with the students. 

I'm Phe, a grown-up yet new to this planet, moving through life with open eyes, a full heart, courage, and deep self-awareness. My career has spanned writing for stage plays, commercials, and cross-collaborations, but music is the fiber of my being. It is my vessel for love, joy, and connection, proving that rhythm has no barriers.

My influences come from everywhere—from my travels to Mexico to the stories of strangers I was intuitively drawn to. I trust those moments of connection, embracing the beauty of human experience. Music is more than sound; it is energy, movement, and unity.

I create music that invites people to heal, dance, learn, and share. We are everything and nothing at the same time, and that truth frees me to explore any genre that speaks to my soul. Expression on all levels is my purpose.

Lyric coloratura soprano Madison Holtze is known for her “liquid, silvery” and “dulcet” voice and for “imbuing [her] characters with great flair.” In the summer of 2025, she’ll be a resident artist with Teatro Nuovo in New York where she will cover the role of Amina in La sonnambula. She recently completed her second season as a resident artist with Opera on the James in Virginia. Favorite past roles include Little Red (Little Red Riding Hood; Opera on the James), Mabel (Pirates of Penzance; Madison Savoyards), Zina (Dark Sisters; Journey North Opera), Ex-Girlfriend/Violin 1 (Once; Theater L’Homme Dieu), Serpina (La Serva Padrona; Mill City Opera), and Cinderella (Cendrillon, English Tour; Lyric Opera of the North). Holtze has won the St. Croix Opera Competition, Schubert Club scholarship competition, Thursday Musical scholarship competition, Voices of Vienna scholarship competition, was a semi-finalist in the Camille Coloratura competition, and is a four time winner of the MN NATS scholarship competition. She is an active member of the Minnesota Opera Chorus and is an alumnus of the University of Minnesota. Holtze is also a proud teacher to voice and violin students across the Twin Cities and is passionate about making opera accessible and entertaining for people of all ages and backgrounds. She is excited to be joining ORP for the third time this year after singing the role of "The Princess" in Transformations and Pina in Ofrenda.

Mezzo-soprano and St. Paul native Miranda Kettlewell received her undergraduate degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2020. Since moving back to the Twin Cities, she has sung several projects with Minnesota Opera and Opera Reading Project while working in various administrative positions at both The Schubert Club and Minnesota Orchestra. She won the Minnesota District of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition in October 2024 and took First Prize at the Schubert Club’s Bruce P. Carlson Student Scholarship Competition in March 2023. She will be starting her Master's degree this fall..

Nathan Romportl is a versatile tenor known for his solo and ensemble work across a wide repertoire ranging from early music to new works. He has been featured as a soloist and ensemble member with The Mirandola Ensemble, Exultate, Consortium Carissimi, and Sonomento. As a soloist, he has performed at The Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in LaCrosse, WI and Holy Family Catholic Church in St. Louis Park, MN, where he serves as a Cantor and member of the Holy Family Schola Cantorum. He also has had frequent collaborations with Minnesota Opera, where he recently held roles in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, the world premiere of The Song Poet, among other staged productions. Additionally, he has participated in multiple new work workshops as part of Minnesota Opera’s New Works Initiative, contributing to the development of contemporary operatic repertoire.