LEANDRA DAHM, soprano
Soprano Leandra Dahm is a versatile musician and performer based in Toronto. Born in Ottawa to a musical family, she began her studies in violin, piano and jazz before pursuing singing. Equally at home on stage and in concert, recent credits include performances with Toronto Summer Music (Art of Song Fellow, Metamorphosis), Tapestry Opera (Songbook XII) and the North American stage premiere of Haydn’s Orfeo ed Euridice (UofT/McGill).
Leandra is a graduate of the University of Toronto Faculty of Music (BMus’23), where she studied under the tutelage of Monica Whicher. While pursuing her studies, she enjoyed chorus involvement in a number of productions with the Opera School, as well as premiering the role of Artemis in Disobedience with the U of T Student Composer Collective. She currently holds scholar positions with the Choir of St. James Cathedral and the Orpheus Choir of Toronto.
BENJAMIN DONE, tenor
Praised for his clear and silvery sound, Benjamin Done, tenor, completed his Master of Music degree at the University of Toronto Opera School. Originally from Georgetown, Ontario, Ben completed his Bachelor of Arts (honours) in Music, majoring in Piano, and his Bachelor of Education at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario. He made his operatic debut as Mr. Splinters in 2021 in the University of Toronto Opera production of Copland’s The Tender Land. Also at UofT Opera, Benjamin went on to perform the roles of Chrysodule Babylas in Offenbach’s Monsieur Choufleuri, Ein Weiser in Hindemeth’s Hin und Zurük, Hamlet in the student composer collective Disobedience, and Charles Darnay in Arthur Benjamin’s A Tale of Two Cities. Elsewhere, Benjamin has performed John Adams in Virgil Thomson’s The Mother of Us All with VOICEBOX: Opera in Concert, “Casey” Baldwin in Lorna MacDonald’s and Dean Bury’s Bells of Baddeck, and sung in the chorus of the North American stage premiere of Haydn’s Filosofa del anima (Ossia: Orfeo) at UofT.
JAMES COOLE-STEVENSON, baritone
James Coole-Stevenson at the age of 25 has amazed audiences with his vocal maturity, musicality and dynamic performing range. He is an up-and-coming Canadian singer and has recently completed a Masters in Opera performance at the University of Toronto. He hasimpressed audiences in a number of operatic roles including Sydney Carton in Arthur Benjamin’s A Tale Of Two Cities, Demetrius in Britten’s Midsummer night’s dream, and Don Giovanni in Mozart’s Don Giovanni. His sensitivity and nuance in artsong, opera and sacred music is his most defining trait, as well as his wide-reaching musical interests. James is currently studying under Daniel Taylor, renowned countertenor.
LESLIE HIGGINS, soprano
Leslie Higgins is a 25 year old soprano from Uxbridge, Ontario. She completed her Honours Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance at Western University in 2020 and recently completed her Masters in Vocal Performance at the University of Toronto, studying under the tutelage of Nathalie Paulin. Leslie discovered her passion for classical music while singing in choir and has performed professionally with many choirs in Ontario, including Chorus Niagara and the Elora Festival Singers. Leslie also loves the stage and has a long history in Musical Theatre having performed in over 15 musical and opera productions. She recently returned to the genre playing Johanna in Doctor Bird’s production of Sweeney Todd. In addition to performance, Leslie is a passionate teacher with over 20 vocal students. Leslie is thrilled to be returning as a Sidgwick Scholar with Orpheus this season.
CHRISTIAN MASUCCI FACCHINI, countertenor
The Toronto-born and raised countertenor, Christian Masucci-Facchini, is described as having a full, rich, and muscular sound, that paired with his “impressive stage presence” (Opera Canada), is propelling him through the baroque and contemporary music scene today. He is an alumnus of St. Michael’s Choir School, where he was trained in classical voice, piano and violin, from 2007-2017. He has performed as a chorister and soloist internationally across Europe and North America, as well as at St. Michael’s Cathedral Basilica in Toronto. Christian is a 2021 graduate of York University where he studied Music, specializing in Classical Voice Performance with Stephanie Bogle. For the past two years, Christian has been studying in the Artist Diploma Program with a full-tuition Sheila K. Piercey Vocal Scholarship at The Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory of Music, and recently graduated in May 2023. There, he performed lead roles in multiple operas on the world-renowned Korner Hall stage in Toronto. For the 2023-24 season, Christian is thrilled to be one of six Rebanks Fellows in the prestigious young artist career building program, The Rebanks Family Fellowship and International Performance Residency Program at The Royal Conservatory of Music, and he is so looking forward to all the opportunities to come in this next phase of his musical journey. Highlighted stage credits include: Rinaldo in Handel’s Rinaldo (GGS Spring Opera, 2022), Cupid in John Blow’s Venus and Adonis (GGS Fall Opera, 2022), Refugee in Jonathan Dove’s Flight (GGS Spring Opera, 2023), and Henry Ford in Canadian composer, Abigail Richardson-Schulte’s opera, The Perfect Screw (Royal Conservatory Fall Opera, 2023).
LISSY MEYEROWITZ, mezzo-soprano
Toronto mezzo-soprano Lissy Meyerowitz is in her final year of study at the University of Toronto and will graduate with her Master’s of Music in Opera. She made her opera debut in 2019 in Halifax as Nicklausse in Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann, and her European debut as La Vecchia/Zita in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi in Vicenza, Italy. This spring she will perform in U of T Opera’s production of Massenet’s Cendrillon as Le Prince Charmant. She has performed in masterclasses for renowned singers such as Susan Graham, Lawrence Brownlee and Eric Owens.
DANTE MULLIN-SANTONE, baritone
Canadian baritone Dante Mullin Santone is an eclectic performer currently pursuing a Masters of Opera at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music, where he also completed his Bachelor of Music, studying under Wendy Nielsen. There he sang roles such as Il Ufficer in Il barbiere di Siviglia and Man #1 in Copland’s The Tender Land. He was recently a fellow with the Toronto Summer Music “Art of Song” program, and he’s been a Sidgwick Scholar with the Orpheus Choir of Toronto since 2020, with whom he sang Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem in 2022. Recent performance highlights include the premiere of Evan Tanovich’s Missa Solemnis in D (Sinfonietta Aionia and Concreamus Chamber Choir,) the premiere of Allan Bevan’s Perfectly Mad, singing the role of Rintrah (Orpheus Choir of Toronto,) and his artist residency with Shoestring Opera in their touring production of The Shoestring Magic Flute in the role of Papageno.
JOSHUA SUTHERLAND, tenor
Joshua Sutherland is a passionate choral artist hailing from Whitby, Ontario. In recent years, Joshua has performed with various ensembles throughout Southern Ontario, including the Ontario Youth Choir, Western University Singers, Kammerchor London Early Music Ensemble, and Modern Sound Collective. In 2022, Joshua was a participant in the inaugural Elora Festival Summer program in Ensemble and Solo Singing where he sang alongside the Elora Festival Singers in Bach’s Mass in B Minor. He is currently a choral scholar at St. James Cathedral and tenor lead with the Durham Philharmonic Choir. Joshua is also a recent graduate of the Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance program at Western University, where he made his operatic role debut as Bardolfo in Verdi’s Falstaff. Joshua is both honoured and grateful to be singing his first season as a Sidgwick Scholar with the fabulous Orpheus Choir.