Meet Nicole Leung
Born and raised in Toronto, Nicole Leung is a Chinese-Canadian soprano, currently based in Calgary, AB. As an active performer, Nicole has been engaged by organizations such as Calgary Opera, Opera on the Avalon, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Festival Napa Valley, Toronto City Opera, and Edmonton Opera. She is an alumna of the Banff Centre of the Arts and a previous laureate of Les Jeunes Ambassadeurs Lyriques in Montreal. She has received grants from both The Art Song Foundation of Canada and The Jacqueline Desmarais Foundation.
Equally passionate about teaching, Nicole has taught for six years and began her teaching journey as a Master’s student while at the Yale School of Music. She has previously worked at Leroux Studios in Calgary and has been a guest teaching artist at Havergal College in Toronto, ON and with Calgary Opera’s Creative Explorers Program.
Nicole’s goal as a teacher is to meet students where they are and to share vocal technique that will maximize each student’s artistic expression. She strives to implement vocal technique that has served her on the stage to the studio. Nicole has experience teaching students from ages 8-40+ and believes that singing lessons should be for anyone who loves to sing.
She holds degrees in Voice from The New England Conservatory (Bachelor of Music, ‘19) and Opera from The Yale School of Music (Master of Music, ‘21 and Master of Musical Arts, ‘22).
Learn more about Nicole here.
Meet Tayte Mitchell
Stage director and tenor Tayte Mitchell hails from Vulcan, AB and is the CEO and Artistic Director of award winning contemporary opera company, Ammolite Opera. Most recently, he was named a recipient of The Lieutenant Governor of the Arts as an Emerging Artist. This past Spring, he completed his stage directing residency with Vancouver Opera and Opera on the Avalon. He has served as adjunct professor at The University of British Columbia and has been an invited teaching artist at the Mount Royal University Conservatory Academy. As a stage director, he has worked with Burnaby Lyric Opera, Edmonton Opera, University of British Columbia, Vancouver Opera, and Manitoba Opera.
An equally accomplished tenor, Tayte is a proud alumni of The Music Academy of the West, Wolf Trap Opera, and Calgary Opera.
Tayte’s experience as a tenor and stage director informs his teaching style and approach to singers from all backgrounds and experiences. He believes in uniting healthy vocal technique with stagecraft in order to maximize artistic communication.
He holds degrees from The Oberlin Conservatory (Bachelor of Music in Voice and Opera Directing, ‘18) and The Cincinnati Conservatory of Music (Master of Music in Voice, ‘20).
Learn more about Tayte here.