2023 vocal competition semifinals judges
Juan Castaneda
Juan Castaneda is a seasoned musician with over a decade of experience as a voice teacher, conductor, and worship leader. He currently serves as a Voice Teacher and Conductor at Riverside City College and California Baptist University, where he conducts multiple ensembles and maintains a private studio of singers majoring in Music Education, Commercial Voice Performance, and Musical Theater performance. Juan Castaneda holds a Bachelor's degree in Vocal Performance from California State University, Long Beach and a Master's degree in Choral Conducting from Portland State University. Juan is an accomplished musician with a passion for teaching and leading others in the art of Singing.
Carl Halvorson
Carl Halvorson is known internationally as a concert, opera and recital artist. Described as “magnetic, his high-ranging tenor never losing depth or substance” (Boston Herald), “magnificent” (New York Times), “outstanding, a tenor who commands Britten’s expressive idiom (Boston Globe), “…emphatic - a singer of unquestioned dramatic gifts and vocal polish” (Seattle Post-Intelligencer), “Halvorson’s clearly articulated tenor was a pleasure to hear” (London Times), and “the extravagant gifts of tenor Carl Halvorson… warrant extended comment, but suffice it to say that (he) sang with rare tonal beauty and passionate commitment… a pinnacle of achievement” (Washington Post), he has performed as soloist with such orchestras as the New York Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Houston Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Ensemble, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Oregon Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and the Orpheus Chamber Ensemble under such conductors as Masur, Dutoit, Ozawa, Rilling, Leppard, Kitayenko, DePriest, Llewellyn, Rozhdestvensky, Delfs, Nelson, Flor, and Wolff. He has given over 80 recitals at such venues as Carnegie Hall, Carnegie Recital Hall, London’s Wigmore Hall, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, New York's 92nd Street Y, and the Kennedy Center and National Gallery in Washington D.C. Operatic performances include roles with the Opera Theater of St. Louis, the Washington Opera, Minnesota Opera, Fort Worth Opera, Boston Opera, Arizona Opera, Tokyo Opera Nomori, Portland Opera, London’s Barbican Centre and Berkshire Opera. Following training at Yale and Juilliard, he won numerous competitions including the Young Concert Artists International Competition. He received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Bagby and Sullivan Foundations, and has recorded for numerous labels. He has taught at Portland State University and Lewis & Clark College.
Jean Kellogg
Jean Kellogg, arts administrator, professional singer, coach accompanist and opera lecturer holds a Bachelor’s degree in piano performance from Florida State University and a Master’s degree from Westminster Choir College in Piano Accompaniment. Ms. Kellogg currently serves as executive director of the Merola Opera Program which is closely associated with San Francisco Opera. Ms. Kellogg supervises the administration, development, finance, operations, marketing and public relations for Merola, one of the world’s most renowned young artist training programs, which is led artistically by the San Francisco Opera Center. Ms. Kellogg previously served as executive director for the Hylton Performing Arts Center at George Mason University in Virginia, Director of Education for Lyric Opera of Chicago, Dean of the Levine School of Music in Washington, D.C., and Artistic Administrator for Greater Miami Opera (now Florida Grand Opera).
Michael Nutter
Michael made his directing debut with Eugene Opera on a semi-staged production of Cavalleria Rusticana. Since then he has directed over 40 operas highlights including The Crucible, Wuthering Heights, The Saint of Bleecker Street, Susannah, Così fan tutte, The Medium, Andre Previn’s A Streetcar Named Desire, PDQ Bach’s A Little Nightmare Music, The Stoned Guest, Jake Heggie’s At the Statue of Venus, Dido & Æneas, Don Pasquale, Riders to the Sea, Kirke Mechem's Tartuffe, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Puccini’s Il Trittico, La Bohème, Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd; The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, The Mikado, The Merry Widow, La Traviata, Man of La Mancha, Buoso’s Ghost, Romeo et Juliette, and the world premiere of Curtis Bryant’s, The Secret Agent. He has directed Gianni Schicchi for Eugene Opera’s Artist Mentor Program. In 2012, he directed for the Atlanta Opera’s 24-Hour Project where his team won both audience and judges’ favorite for the farcical 10-minute opera about Paula Deen; Krispy Kremes and Butter Queens, composed by Jennifer Jolley. He has also directed Two From Seuss for the Oregon Bach Festival, a production of The Telephone in Binghamton, N.Y., and the world premiere of Where Music Comes From in Eugene. Michael has worked in opera, classical music and theatre professionally for 30 years, including staff positions for The Atlanta Opera, Tri-Cities Opera in Binghamton, NY, Central City Opera in Colorado, Eugene Opera, Theatrical Outfit in Atlanta, and served for 15 seasons as Technical Director for the Grammy®-award-winning Oregon Bach Festival in Eugene, Oregon. He works full-time in the Human Resource department at the law firm of Alston & Bird LLP in Atlanta and is the Artistic Director and Stage Director for the Capitol City Opera Company in Atlanta, Georgia.
Kirsten Kunkle
A voting citizen of the Muscogee (Mvskoke) Nation, Dr. Kirsten C. Kunkle has been lauded as the leading Native American soprano in today’s classical music world. Kunkle is the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Wilmington Concert Opera, a women and minority run opera company based in Wilmington, Delaware. Favorite roles include creating the role of Charlotte Corday in “Girondines,” Dido in ‘Dido and Aeneas,” Magda in “The Consul,” Mimì in La bohème, and the title role in “Suor Angelica.” Other career highlights include performing at Carnegie Hall, being featured in the role of Arabella in the NAXOS world premiere recording of Johann Strauss II’s operetta “Blindekuh,” writing for OPERA AMERICA magazine, and premiering her opera libretto, “Girondines,” with composer Sarah Van Sciver. Most recently, she was commissioned and premiered her new art song “Reclaim the Land” at Yellowstone National Park’s 150th anniversary, which has been featured on Yellowstone Public Radio (a branch of NPR) and BBC Radio. She is extremely involved in new music and will be premiering the role of Ipp’osi’ in the first opera written entirely in the Chickasaw language, “Shell Shaker” by Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate. Additionally, 2023 will mark her performance debut and a composition commission with Chicago Fringe Opera. She is a proud graduate of Bowling Green State University and University of Michigan. Please visit www.kirstenckunkle.com for more information.
James Toland
After more than three decades teaching private voice in the San Francisco Bay Area, James Toland moved to Riverside, California to take a position as Professor of Voice and Opera Studies at California Baptist University. Assisting in the development of an opera program at the Collinsworth School of Music, Mr. Toland continues his work on the development of JTVA as well as maintaining a private voice studio.
During the 1980s, Mr. Toland was the artistic director of Oregon’s Eugene Opera where he staged opera for more than a decade. His innovative and highly comedic productions of The Barber of Seville and Cosí fan tutte were featured on National Public Radio's "All Things Considered." Prior to working in Eugene, he was the company manager of Texas Opera Theater, the touring arm of Houston Grand Opera.
Mr. Toland's keen interest in, and study of, world languages facilitate his work with singers, both individually and in groups. Particularly interested in the specifics of diction, Mr. Toland has undertaken to write a book with the working title "Phonemes First." The book will seek to inform, in easy-to-understand language, how the precision of good diction enables beautiful and healthy singing.