Pianist and coach Evan Mounce has been heard with Calgary Opera in productions of Docteur Miracle, The Magic Flute, L’enfant et les sortilèges, Scorpion’s Sting, Portrait of Manon, and Hansel and Gretel and is delighted to join them this summer for South Pacific. Evan also enjoys working with Cowtown Opera, and will music direct their production of Prison Divas and NYC Meets YYC this spring.

He is also a pianist for Cantaré Children’s Choir. Evan has attended Opera NUOVA, the Centre for Opera Studies in Italy, and the Vancouver International Song Institute and has done apprenticeships at St. Andrews By the Sea, and Opera on the Avalon.

Although primarily a pianist these days, Evan holds a master’s degree in classical saxophone from the University of Toronto.

Soprano Laura Brandt has recently received praise for her portrayal of the Governess in The Turn of the Screw with Opera on the Avalon. “Splendid in the role …[was] the vibrant and expressive voice of Laura Brandt in the large and challenging role of the compassionate new Governess” (The Telegram).

Laura was an Emerging Artist with Calgary Opera for two seasons. Mainstage credits there include Frasquita (Carmen) and Peep-Bo (The Mikado). Other roles as an Emerging Artist include Aurore (Le Portrait de Manon), Gretel (Hansel and Gretel), and Female Chorus (The Rape of Lucretia). Past highlights for Ms. Brandt include Elijah and Rutter’s Magnificat with the Calgary Festival Chorus, Parasha (Mavra) with Metro Youth Opera, Contessa (Le nozze di Figaro) with the Centre for Opera Studies in Italy, Sprechstimme in Pierrot Lunaire with the New England Conservatory Contemporary Ensemble, and Donna Anna (Don Giovanni) with NEC Opera. Laura has also performed with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra.

She has been a past student of the Vancouver International Song Institute, The Center for Opera Studies in Italy, OperaWorks, Opera Viva, Opera NUOVA and the St Andrew’s Summer Opera Workshop. Ms. Brandt is the recipient of grants from the Nova Scotia Talent Trust and the Alberta Foundation for the Arts.

She has a Master of Music in vocal performance from the New England Conservatory.