Appearing May 18, 2025
Aika Birch, Violin
Aika Birch, 16, attends Jackson High School in Massillon, Ohio. She began studying violin at the age of three with Dr. Marlene Moses and currently studies with Jung-Min Amy Lee, Associate Concertmaster of The Cleveland Orchestra.
Aika has been a member of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra (COYO) under the direction of Daniel Reith since and served as Concertmaster for the Fall 2024 concert. She has also performed with the Canton Youth Symphony Advanced Orchestra. Her summer festival experience includes the Ascent International Music Festival, the Philadelphia International Music Camp & Festival, the Western Reserve Chamber Festival, and the Interlochen Advanced String Summer Camp. Additionally, she is an active member of the Brahms Allegro of the Tuesday Musical Club of Akron and the McDowell Club of Canton.
In Spring 2024, Aika performed Bruch’s Violin Concerto as the winner of the Lakeland Civic Orchestra’s Young Artist Competition under the baton of Mathew Saunders. She was also awarded first prize in Sigma Alpha Iota’s Cleveland Annual String Competition in 2023.
In her spare time, she enjoys long walks, cooking, sewing, and reading.
James Carson, Piano
James Carson, 15, began studying piano at the age of six in the Bay Area, California. Since relocating to Cleveland during the pandemic, James has been studying with Gerardo Teissonnière, piano faculty at the Cleveland Institute of Music.
James has earned high recognition in piano competitions and festivals abroad and locally. At the age of seven, he won the Grand Prize in the San Jose Youth Focus music event. At age nine, he performed in Mozarteum, Austria as a second prize winner in the Grand Prize Virtuoso International Music Competition. In the following years, he was placed in the annual US Open Music Competition in Oakland, California.
More recently, at the 2022 Perugia Music Festival in Italy, James was selected to perform the Haydn’s Piano Concerto in D Major with the festival orchestra. In 2023, he was an alternate for the inaugural Nashville Chopin International Piano Competition in Nashville, Tennessee. Locally, he was an alternate for the 2023 Ohio Buckeye State Piano Competition. In 2024, he was named a semifinalist in the David Dubois International Piano Competition. He was a Grand Finalist in the 2024 Piano Star International Competition and was selected to perform at the winner’s concert at Carnegie Hall in June 2025.
He is also the Schumacher Young Artist Competition winner in 2025 and will be featured as the soloist in two concerts with Cleveland Philharmonic Orchestra.
Recently, he took the first prize in the 2025 Venetia Hall Concerto Competition by Ohio Federation of Music in Columbus.
On the side, James plays the violin in the Brecksville High School Chamber Orchestra, and at local venues as part of an all-sophomore string quartet – Prima Corda. He also does keyboard for his church worship team, and is on his high school’s soccer and Academic Challenge teams.
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Emily Margevich, Soprano
Soprano Emily Margevich is “a star in the making (Bachtrack), acclaimed for her “charismatic
and commanding” performances (The New York Times). This “poised and fearless Prima
Donna” (Musical America) has been on stage since age two, performing professionally in
Musical Theatre throughout her childhood in the Midwest. Emily continues to earn praise as a
“luminous soprano” (Wall Street Journal) with “a voice of liquid beauty” (Opera Magazine) that is
“big and luxurious, with a cascading quality, like a bolt of silk dropped from a balcony” (Parterre).
Throughout her education at DePaul University and The Academy of Vocal Arts, Margevich
placed First in the Sid Kleinmann Competition, Second in The Jensen Foundation Competition,
Third in The Meistersinger Competition in Austria, and was a multi-year District Winner of the
Metropolitan Opera Competition. Now a Company Artist at OperaDelaware, Ms. Emily is most
known for her portrayals of Tatyana, Musetta, and Donna Elvira.
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Quinn Middleman, Mezzo-Soprano
Praised for her “fine, warm mezzo-soprano voice,” Quinn Middleman is known for her dynamic artistry and as an “animated musical storyteller.” She looks forward to 2024-25 engagements including returns to Annapolis Opera as Berta/Il barbiere di Siviglia and Haymarket Opera as Mary Cleofe/Resurrezione, and a debut with Opera Montana in her signature role as The Witch/The Mother/Hansel and Gretel. She will premiere Rosśa Crean’s Westifaria with the PICOSA Ensemble.
In the 2023-24 season, she appeared as Nunzia/La liberazione di Ruggiero with Haymarket Opera, Third Lady/Die Zauberflöte with Annapolis Opera, Ježibaba/Rusalka with Opera Ithaca, several roles in L’enfant et les sortilèges with Salt Marsh Opera, and Podtochina/ Countess/The Nose with Chicago Opera Theater. She was proud to win 1st Place in the Opera Mississippi John Alexander National Vocal Competition. In the 2022-23 season, she sang the Page/Salome (covering Herodias) at Madison Opera and the Witch/Hansel and Gretel with Opera Birmingham, covered Handel’s titular Ariodante at Pittsburgh Opera, and joined The Santa Fe Opera as a member of the 2023 Apprentice Singers Program, covering Geneviève/Pelléas et Mélisande and Ninfa/Orfeo.
Quinn has recently appeared as Alisa/Lucia di Lammermoor with Madison Opera, Mother/Amahl and the Night Visitors with Opéra Louisiane, The Mother/The Scarlet Ibis with Chicago Opera Theater, Alto Soloist/Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, Testo/La Susanna with Haymarket Opera, Filippyevna/Eugene Onegin with Music Academy of the West, Countess (cover)/Queen of Spades at Des Moines Metro Opera, Ježibaba/The Littlest Mermaid with OPERA Iowa, and Alto Soloist/Messiah with Utah Symphony. In competition, Quinn placed first in the Opera Birmingham Competition, won the Mozart Prize at the Orpheus Vocal Competition, and was a finalist in the Argento Vocal Competition. She was a LYNX Project Artist in Residence and a Utah Opera Resident Artist, with whom she appeared as Flora/La Traviata and Madeleine/Silent Night and covered Rosina/Il barbiere di Siviglia. She has also performed with Crested Butte Music Festival, Chautauqua Opera, Central City Opera, St. Petersburg Opera, and Tanglewood Music Center, among others. She holds a master’s degree from Northwestern University, and received bachelor’s degrees in both Oboe Performance and Vocal Arts from the University of Southern California.
John Pickle, Tenor
John Pickle, tenor, enjoys an active career on both the operatic and concert stage. Operatically, he has appeared with Los Angeles Opera, Lyric Opera Chicago, Opera Colorado, Michigan Opera Theater, Florida Grand Opera, Nashville Opera, Lyric Opera Kansas City, New York City Opera, Hawai’i Opera Theater, Florentine Opera, Sarasota Opera, Cleveland Opera Theater, Dayton Opera, Opera Memphis, Opera Tampa, Maryland Opera, Mobile Opera, Opera Southwest, Opera Louisianne, and Opera Delaware in roles spanning the lyric spinto repertoire of Puccini, Verdi, Bizet, Leoncavallo, Mascagni, and Wagner. Concert work has included Mahler’s monumental 8th Symphony and Das Lied von der Erde, Verdi’s Requiem, Mozart’s Requiem, and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with companies including Houston Symphony, Pacific Symphony, Colorado Symphony, Dayton Philharmonic, Mississippi Symphony, Akron Symphony, Canton Symphony, The National Chorale, and The Orchestra Now at Bard College. For more information please visit www.johnpickle.com.
Young-Kwang Yoo, Baritone
Praised by New York Times and Opera News for “Vocal dexterity and outstanding Italian diction.”, “Mr. Yoo showcased a rich, reverberant baritone.” And “He provided sturdy, empathetic presence.”
Previous credits include Il Barbiere di Siviglia(Figaro), Don Giovanni(Don Giovanni), La Bohème(Marcello), Le Nozze di Figaro(Il Conte), Carmen(Escamillo), Lakmé (Frederic), Madama Butterfly(Sharpless), Luisa Miller(Miller), Emmeline(Mr. Maguire), Pelléas et Mélisande(Pelléas), Don Pasquale(Malatesta), Rigoletto (Rigoletto) and so on.
For his role Figaro in the Barber of Seville with the Florida Grand Opera and the Cleveland Opera Theater, Cleveland Classical and Pro Opera Florida hailed for “Baritone Young Kwang Yoo brought an ultimate suavity, and a special combination of tone and power to Figaro.”, “He made his debut in the role of Figaro and did so in a big way. He acted with ease and the required nonchalance at certain moments, showing a comic visage reinforced from the vocal aspect.”Also, the Operawire hailed his role, Escamillo, for “The stand-out performance of the evening came from baritone Young-Kwang Yoo.”
Young-Kwang has appeared on broadcasting in US and Korea. As a rising opera star, he was introduced CNN News and Reuters. Also, the Voice of America took a documentary paying attention to his life which has been moving to his dream as an international opera singer. In addition, he has been showed many of famous Korean TV shows on KBS, MBC, tvN, C channel, CBS and CTS channels.
Appearing March 16, 2025
Emliy Margevich, Soprano
Soprano Emily Margevich is “a star in the making (Bachtrack), acclaimed for her “charismatic and commanding” performances (The New York Times). This “poised and fearless Prima Donna” (Musical America) has been on stage since age two, performing professionally in Musical Theatre throughout her childhood in the Midwest. Emily continues to earn praise as a “luminous soprano” (Wall Street Journal) with “a voice of liquid beauty” (Opera Magazine) that is “big and luxurious, with a cascading quality, like a bolt of silk dropped from a balcony” (Parterre). Throughout her education at DePaul University and The Academy of Vocal Arts, Margevich placed First in the Sid Kleinmann Competition, Second in The Jensen Foundation Competition, Third in The Meistersinger Competition in Austria, and was a multi-year District Winner of the Metropolitan Opera Competition. Now a Company Artist at OperaDelaware, Ms. Emily is most known for her portrayals of Tatyana, Musetta, and Donna Elvira.
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Quinn Middleman, Mezzo-Soprano
Praised for her “fine, warm mezzo-soprano voice,” Quinn Middleman is known for her dynamic artistry and as an “animated musical storyteller.” She looks forward to 2024-25 engagements including returns to Annapolis Opera as Berta/Il barbiere di Siviglia and Haymarket Opera as Mary Cleofe/Resurrezione, and a debut with Opera Montana in her signature role as The Witch/The Mother/Hansel and Gretel. She will premiere Rosśa Crean’s Westifaria with the PICOSA Ensemble.
In the 2023-24 season, she appeared as Nunzia/La liberazione di Ruggiero with Haymarket Opera, Third Lady/Die Zauberflöte with Annapolis Opera, Ježibaba/Rusalka with Opera Ithaca, several roles in L’enfant et les sortilèges with Salt Marsh Opera, and Podtochina/ Countess/The Nose with Chicago Opera Theater. She was proud to win 1st Place in the Opera Mississippi John Alexander National Vocal Competition. In the 2022-23 season, she sang the Page/Salome (covering Herodias) at Madison Opera and the Witch/Hansel and Gretel with Opera Birmingham, covered Handel’s titular Ariodante at Pittsburgh Opera, and joined The Santa Fe Opera as a member of the 2023 Apprentice Singers Program, covering Geneviève/Pelléas et Mélisande and Ninfa/Orfeo.
Quinn has recently appeared as Alisa/Lucia di Lammermoor with Madison Opera, Mother/Amahl and the Night Visitors with Opéra Louisiane, The Mother/The Scarlet Ibis with Chicago Opera Theater, Alto Soloist/Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, Testo/La Susanna with Haymarket Opera, Filippyevna/Eugene Onegin with Music Academy of the West, Countess (cover)/Queen of Spades at Des Moines Metro Opera, Ježibaba/The Littlest Mermaid with OPERA Iowa, and Alto Soloist/Messiah with Utah Symphony. In competition, Quinn placed first in the Opera Birmingham Competition, won the Mozart Prize at the Orpheus Vocal Competition, and was a finalist in the Argento Vocal Competition. She was a LYNX Project Artist in Residence and a Utah Opera Resident Artist, with whom she appeared as Flora/La Traviata and Madeleine/Silent Night and covered Rosina/Il barbiere di Siviglia. She has also performed with Crested Butte Music Festival, Chautauqua Opera, Central City Opera, St. Petersburg Opera, and Tanglewood Music Center, among others. She holds a master’s degree from Northwestern University, and received bachelor’s degrees in both Oboe Performance and Vocal Arts from the University of Southern California.
John Pickle, Tenor
John Pickle, tenor, enjoys an active career on both the operatic and concert stage. Operatically, he has appeared with Los Angeles Opera, Lyric Opera Chicago, Opera Colorado, Michigan Opera Theater, Florida Grand Opera, Nashville Opera, Lyric Opera Kansas City, New York City Opera, Hawai’i Opera Theater, Florentine Opera, Sarasota Opera, Cleveland Opera Theater, Dayton Opera, Opera Memphis, Opera Tampa, Maryland Opera, Mobile Opera, Opera Southwest, Opera Louisianne, and Opera Delaware in roles spanning the lyric spinto repertoire of Puccini, Verdi, Bizet, Leoncavallo, Mascagni, and Wagner. Concert work has included Mahler’s monumental 8th Symphony and Das Lied von der Erde, Verdi’s Requiem, Mozart’s Requiem, and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with companies including Houston Symphony, Pacific Symphony, Colorado Symphony, Dayton Philharmonic, Mississippi Symphony, Akron Symphony, Canton Symphony, The National Chorale, and The Orchestra Now at Bard College. For more information please visit www.johnpickle.com.
Young-Kwang Yoo, Baritone
Praised by New York Times and Opera News for “Vocal dexterity and outstanding Italian diction.”, “Mr. Yoo showcased a rich, reverberant baritone.” And “He provided sturdy, empathetic presence.”
Previous credits include Il Barbiere di Siviglia(Figaro), Don Giovanni(Don Giovanni), La Bohème(Marcello), Le Nozze di Figaro(Il Conte), Carmen(Escamillo), Lakmé (Frederic), Madama Butterfly(Sharpless), Luisa Miller(Miller), Emmeline(Mr. Maguire), Pelléas et Mélisande(Pelléas), Don Pasquale(Malatesta), Rigoletto (Rigoletto) and so on.
For his role Figaro in the Barber of Seville with the Florida Grand Opera and the Cleveland Opera Theater, Cleveland Classical and Pro Opera Florida hailed for “Baritone Young Kwang Yoo brought an ultimate suavity, and a special combination of tone and power to Figaro.”, “He made his debut in the role of Figaro and did so in a big way. He acted with ease and the required nonchalance at certain moments, showing a comic visage reinforced from the vocal aspect.”Also, the Operawire hailed his role, Escamillo, for “The stand-out performance of the evening came from baritone Young-Kwang Yoo.”
Young-Kwang has appeared on broadcasting in US and Korea. As a rising opera star, he was introduced CNN News and Reuters. Also, the Voice of America took a documentary paying attention to his life which has been moving to his dream as an international opera singer. In addition, he has been showed many of famous Korean TV shows on KBS, MBC, tvN, C channel, CBS and CTS channels.
Appearing January 26, 2025
McKenna Glorioso, violin
McKenna Glorioso is a musician, educator, and arts administrator based in Cleveland. As a performer, McKenna is a violinist in the Akron Symphony Orchestra, Concertmaster of the Suburban Symphony, and plays violin and sings in the Cleveland-based dreampop band Wish Queen. McKenna founded and manages Ensemble Mercury, a string quartet that plays for events and produces immersive concert experiences around Northeast Ohio. She also plays frequently with the Canton Symphony Orchestra, Blue Water Chamber Orchestra, and the Cleveland Pops Orchestra. In 2023, McKenna joined the national tour for “Our Planet: Live in Concert,” performing over 50 shows and traveling to over 30 states in just three months.
McKenna was a resident Teaching Artist at Rainey Institute from 2018 – 2022, which fostered a belief in accessible music education for all and a deep connection to the Cleveland community. In 2023 she joined the Suzuki faculty at The Music Settlement, where she teaches violin and viola, leads group classes, and assists with outreach events.
McKenna made their debut as a composer and producer in 2023 through Maelstrom Collaborative Arts’ Cadre showcase. Along with their collaborators, they curated, presented, and performed in the work “Human/Nature,” an interactive art, music, and dance installation.
McKenna has two degrees in Violin Performance: a Bachelor of Music from McGill University and a Master’s Degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music. They studied Suzuki Pedagogy with Kimberly Meier-Sims at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Although their primary instrument is violin, McKenna enjoys playing many instruments including the viola, piano, electric bass, and theremin.
As an administrator, McKenna has supported several arts organizations in Development, Marketing, and Outreach roles. McKenna’s artistic ability combined with a keen understanding of administrative systems makes her an innovator and leader in the arts world. She is currently Development Manager at Preterm Cleveland.
David Ellis, guest conductor
A conductor, cellist, and viola da gambist, David B. Ellis has performed repertoire ranging from Renaissance to Contemporary. He received a Bachelor’s of Music degree in Cello performance, a Master’s of Music degree in Historical Performance, and a Master’s of Music degree in Orchestra Conducting, all from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. While at Oberlin, David studied with professors Raphael Jimenez, Tim Weiss, and Catharina Meints, and assembled and directed the Oberlin Baroque Orchestra. As a viola da gambist and baroque cellist, David has performed in many ensembles in Ohio and throughout the United States, including The Newberry Consort, Catacoustic, Les Délices, Three Notch’d Road, Apollo’s Fire, Burning River Baroque, and the Atlanta Baroque Orchestra. As a modern cellist, David has played in ensembles featuring a wide range of genres, including but not limited to the Akron Symphony and Cleveland Chamber Symphony. As a conductor, David has served as director of the CWRU Case Camerata Chamber Orchestra and Executive and Artistic Director for Earth and Air: String Orchestra. David is a passionate teacher, and in addition to maintaining a small private studio of cellists and viola da gambists, he has taught classes on numerous topics and served as a faculty member at the Viola da Gamba Society of America’s annual Conclave. David is a native of Solon, Ohio, and currently resides in Cleveland.
Appearing November 24, 2024
Stanislav Golovin, clarinet
Stanislav Golovin has performed as a solo, chamber and orchestral musician throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. Dr. Golovin is on faculty at the Cleveland Institute of Music and The University of Akron. Stanislav is a gold medal winner of the prestigious Houston Symphony Ima Hogg Young Artist Competition.
He has performed with The Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Houston Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Kansas City Symphony, Kansas City Chamber Orchestra, and others. He has played under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel, Franz Welser-Möst, Alan Gilbert, Hans Graf, Marin Alsop, John Williams, Manfred Honeck, Susanna Mälkki, David Robertson, Paavo Järvi, Lionel Bringuier, Giancarlo Guerrero, James Gaffigan, Andrew Grams, to name a few. In addition, he regularly performs with Nu Deco Ensemble in Miami, Florida, and the Appalachian Chamber Music Ensemble in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.
Stanislav Golovin has won numerous awards and competitions, including the Darius Milhaud Performance Prize Competition, the Wagner College Young Artist Competition, the Tuesday Musical Scholarship Competition (twice), National Young Artist Competition of Uzbekistan (twice), International Jewish Young Artist Competition in Moscow, the Fine Arts Award in Clarinet at Interlochen Arts Academy, and the Cleveland Institute of Music Concerto Competition. In 2020, Stanislav was selected by the Cleveland Jewish News and Classic Lexus as one of the 12 under 36 young Jewish professionals influencing the future of Northeast Ohio through professional and personal achievements. In addition, Stanislav received the 2023-2024 Outstanding Mentor Award at The University of Akron.
An active educator, Dr. Golovin has taught at Interlochen Arts Academy. In addition, he has presented masterclasses in the United States and abroad. Those have included at the Peabody Conservatory, UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, the University of Miami Frost School of Music, the University of Houston, Ohio State University, UMKC Conservatory, the University of Kansas, University of Washington in Seattle, the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, at Keylan Müzikevi in Istanbul, Turkey, at the Young Music Academy of the Haifa Symphony Orchestra, and at the Givat Washington College of Education in Kvutzat Yavne, Israel. Stanislav is a co-founder of the Bravissimo Clarinet Academy. Dr. Golovin received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in clarinet performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music and his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in clarinet performance from the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance. His primary teachers have included Franklin Cohen, Jane Carl, Nathan Williams, and Bahodyr Salikhov.
As a Buffet Crampon USA Artist and Vandoren Performing Artist, Dr. Golovin performs exclusively on Buffet Crampon clarinets and Vandoren reeds, mouthpieces, and accessories.