About Us
Hometown Opera Company is a group of singers in Rochester and surrounding areas who love opera and love sharing it with others. We create musical projects, partner with existing creatives, and provide a positive and supportive community for opera singers.
The group began when a small group of singers banded together to create more opportunities for classically trained singers in Southeastern Minnesota. It was late in 2022 that six founding members decided to put together a concert of arias that would showcase their voices and this profoundly important art form. The idea was a hit, as was their debut concert in February of 2023. The audience reception was overwhelmingly positive, and the group had friends and supporters reaching out in the following weeks to express excitement and enthusiasm about future projects.
The group began holding monthly salons at their accompanist's home studio where they would bring an art song or aria to sing for their peers. It was a way for them to share and celebrate the genre and to hear what other singers in the group had been working on. Word of mouth spread quickly and the group attracted more classically trained singers with operatic experience who were excited to find a community of singers in Rochester.
The group met consistently and shared collective vision and plans over the following months, performing in a few events like summer community gatherings, parties, and some outreach projects in Rochester and its outskirts.
In August 2023, a subgroup of the opera company created their first educational outreach project: "Pirates of Penzance" in which they performed excerpts from the operetta, involving students from Rochester Public School's Summer of Discovery. The project was met with great excitement, and the groups efforts to engage students in the performance of opera was a big success.
2023 wrapped up with Carols at Eventide at the Historic Chateau, a concert of Christmas music from ages past. It was a lovely program of music which was at times light hearted and joyful, and at other moments solemn and reverent.
First season's final concert was in February of 2024, one year after their debut concert. "Apricity: the Warmth of the Sun in Winter" was a gorgeous collection of classical art songs by Brahms, Schubert, Schumann, and Liszt, and displayed voices that warmed the hearts of it's audience.
The group held auditions in August of 2024, casting singers from Rochester, surrounding cities, and the metro area to perform in its exciting 2024-25 season that will broadens their landscape and scope with bigger productions. Projects include a madrigal concert and play in December, a concert of opera scenes collaborating with local composer Kevin Dobbe in March, and its very first full opera to be performed at the Charles E. Gagnon museum in Rochester in July of 2025.
Mission Statement
The Hometown Opera Company aims to make opera accessible and enrich the cultural experiences available in Southeastern Minnesota through educational programs, opera performances, and collaborative projects with local artists. As an organization, we aim to shape the future of opera by fostering fresh and diverse audiences and empowering a creative group of artists to present, develop, and progress opera
Philosophy
Hometown Opera Company's goal is to create singing projects for singers and audiences to enjoy, and for that purpose we maintain and encourage a spirit of collaboration with one another and other singers, musicians, and creatives in our community. We have high standards for ourselves as singers and for the quality and caliber of our performances. Our singers are well prepared to sing for an audience and in our salons, memorizing repertoire whenever possible. We bring our best forward as musicians and people, knowing that sharing our gift with others is a privilege and gift. Texts are learned with attention to diction of the languages sung, and singers have taken time to learn translations and develop interpretations of the character that is being performed. We always aim to honor the composer's intentions and regard common practices of the period and repertoire. Our best shines through when we understand that great singing happens as a result of consistent and dedicated practice, good technique, and applied musicianship. We have fun with each other while we take part in this practice that allows us to share part of ourselves in our humanity and connect with others.
Executive Committe
Kate Rogers, Executive Director
Stefanie Tranchida, Artistic Director
Board of Directors
Kate Rogers, President
Stefanie Tranchida, Vice President
Megan Dotzler, Secretary
Jordan Brown, Treasurer
Kathryn Bisanti
Erin Haefner
Michelle Howard
Board of Directors
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Michelle Howard
Founding member, soprano
Michelle Howard earned her BA in Music-Vocal Performance from BYU. She has enjoyed singing with the Rochester Symphony Chorale for the past 6 years. Michelle has recently performed with local theatre and is grateful to be a part of this opera community.
Team
Paula Breid
Soprano
A native of Rochester, Paula learned to love music by listening to musical soundtracks on her parents' record player and through vigorous sing-alongs during family road trips. Later, playing flute in the band at Mayo High School provided a foundation of musical knowledge that kept her participating in musical groups throughout her adult life, including many years in church choir and a variety of community choirs. Paula came to solo vocal performance later in life, as her career in nursing at Mayo Clinic and raising her three children provided more than enough excitement for one person, thank you very much. Paula retired from nursing in 2015 and began pursuing singing in earnest, distinguishing herself as a vocalist by cantoring for church services, weddings, and funerals, performing with the Rochester Symphony Chorale, and volunteering with the Resounding Voices Chorus in Rochester. She is extremely excited to explore the world of opera performance with this group. When not singing, Paula enjoys travelling with her husband, Ron, gardening, and spoiling her three grandchildren and four grandcats.
Zakary Morton
Baritone
Zakary (they/he) is excited to join Hometown Opera for the first time. Their hometown is Cedar Rapids, IA, but Zakary is currently a resident of Minneapolis. They have performed in projects as different as starring in the staged reading of a new rock opera (The Elephant) to playing Major-General Stanley in Pirates of Penzance (Paul Bunyan Playhouse) to singing in the scary good Hell on Wheels at ValleyScare. Zakary would like to thank everyone for supporting the arts here in Minnesota, and hopes you enjoy the season!
Grant Holsinger
Bass
Grant is a classically trained Bass from Stillman Valley, IL. IT was there that he grew the love for theater and performance that led him to Luther College in 2013 to pursue and graduate in 2017 with a degree in vocal performance. While there he studied with Baritone, Dr.Gary Moss, and was coached by Dr. Jessica Paul and Dr. Nicholas Shaneyfelt. Often described as Rich and Full, His voice is well suited to Basso Profundo and Basso Buffo roles. Roles performed include Bogdanovitch in Franz Lehar's The Merry Widow and Don Alhambra De Bolero in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Gondoliers. While not having performed in a Full opera for several years, He is super excited to Join Hometown Opera Company to help bring some opera to SE Minnesota!
Joy Jasik
Soprano
Joy Jasik is excited to be a part of Hometown Opera's season this year! She grew up singing in choirs and doing musical theatre in the Rochester area. She recently graduated from the University of Northwestern in St. Paul, Minnesota with a bachelor's degree in Vocal Performance and is looking to pursue a master's degree in the next few years. Currently, Joy is also singing with Choral Arts Treble Singers, doing community theatre, and working at Mayo Clinic as a Desk Operations Specialist.
Justin Spenner
Baritone
Multi-genre Baritone Justin Anthony Spenner (they/he) is a "wild and anxious ride" (Star Tribune) known for their captivating work that spans the genres of opera, art song, chamber, experimental, pop, and metal. Recently, their portrayal of Mephistopheles in Faust (Pickup Truck Opera) was described as "a mood." They have two charming cats named Percy and Motley. Justin performs locally and regionally with companies that treat artists nicely, such as Mixed Precipitation, 113 Composers Collective, Overdressed Duo, Bach Society of MN, Theater Latte Da, An Opera Theatre, Opera on the Lake, and The Edvard Grieg Society. Justin's self-produced work addresses mental illness, human connection, and inherited trauma. This includes their 10+ years of tinkering with Schubert's Die Winterreise through various practices, including dance, film, and meditation. Along with Joey Crane, they produce the podcast Is This Music?!?!, which features chats with local and international performers and composers. They have two bands, the sub-genreless metal band (ab)scheid, and the Norwegian cover band, Near Norse. As if that wasn't enough, Justin is a Teaching Artist with An Opera Theatre's Opera Immersion program and teaches a small clutch of interesting singers.
Meagan Cochran
Soprano
Meagan Cochran is a talented music professional who graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Opera Performance from Illinois Wesleyan University. She had the incredible opportunity to study abroad in countries like Austria, Italy, Bulgaria, and Germany, which expanded her musical knowledge and exposed her to different artistic traditions.
Meagan has a background in music performance, many forms of dance, stage managing, and coordinating. She is currently working as a Music School Administrator at Rochester Academy of Music and can been seen in performances with the Rochester Symphony Orchestra Chorale.
Laurie Helmers
Soprano
Laurie Helmers holds degrees from NIACC (Mason City, IA) and WSU (Winona, MN). She has 6 decades of musical experience and performance, starting her career as a 4-year-old by singing to the cattle on her family's Iowa beef farm while doing chores! Laurie owns Music Matters Studio, where she teaches piano and voice. She is a church organist and also freelances as a solo pianist, accompanist and vocalist. Laurie was adjunct faculty for theatre at Riverland College in Austin. She continues to provide musical and artistic direction for theatres -- most recently for Rochester Civic Theatre's summer theatre youth camps. Laurie has a long resume of eclectic concert and stage performances ranging from roles as Mother in Menotti's opera Amahl and the Night Visitors to Miss Mona in the Broadway show Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, and from singing country and rock in a road band called GYST to the soprano arias in Handel's Messiah. Other interests include playing scrabble, speed walking, doing jigsaw puzzles, reading historical fiction, and trail riding with her husband, John, and her son, Myatt, on their stable of quarter horses.
Marinda Carey
Soprano
Marinda is a Rochester, MN based soprano. Her background includes extensive private voice study with Carla Hanson. She has performed in several area choirs, including Bella Voce and the Rochester Chorale.
Victoria Erickson
Soprano
Praised for her "beautifully ruby-throated quality" (Classical Voice North Carolina) and her "pointed wit and sparkling tone wielded with comedic potency" (Voix des Arts), Minnesota native Victoria Erickson is a uniquely promising and vibrant soprano. As a champion of new works, Erickson sang the title role in the world premiere of The Miller’s Daughter, a new opera produced in conjunction with the Iowa Arts Council in April 2024, and premiered the role of Juliette in the world premiere of The Eleanors with Savannah VOICE Festival in January 2025. Previously, she sang the role of Alex in the world premiere of Meow and Forever and toured Madagascar and France as a featured artist with Really Spicy Opera. Selected performances include the title role in the world premiere of Harmony (Seagle Festival), Blanche in Dialogues des Carmélites (Saltworks Opera), Liù in Turandot (North Carolina Summer Opera), Alice Ford in Falstaff and Pamina in Die Zauberflöte (UNCG Opera Theatre), Hedy LaRue in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and Rapunzel in Into the Woods (College Light Opera Company). In addition to her stage capabilities, Ms. Erickson received a Respekt und Wertschätzung Grant from the DAAD-Stiftung (German Academic Exchange) to perform and research as a Visiting Fellow at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hamburg, Germany, after which she served as an artist-in-residence in the collaboration between the Hochschule fur Musik und Theater in Munich and Really Spicy Opera. For more information, visit victoriaericksonsoprano.com.
Theodora Nestorova
Soprano
Bulgarian-British-American soprano, researcher, and teacher Theodora Ivanova Nestorova has been hailed as an “outstanding” (Cleveland Classical), “transformative artist” with “virtuosic” vocalism, “impressive” coloratura, and a “chilling timbre” (Boston Music Intelligencer).
As the 2018-2019 first-place winner of the American Prize in Vocal Performance (Art Song), Theodora is an avid early and contemporary musician. She has premiered roles such as Galatea in Dean Burry’s Il giudizione di Pigmalione (Opera McGill), and recorded world premiere compositions with the Wladigeroff Brothers on international award-winning record labels such as Aparté, at the Bulgarian National Radio, with Fermata Chamber Soloists, the Indictus Project, in the Jordan Hall Liederabend Series, Wien Modern Festival, Bang on a Can, and Emmanuel Music’s The Bach Institute. Theodora is one-half of the experimental soprano-cello duo, Pizzicanto, which was invited to serve as Music for Food’s Artist Fellows for the 2022-23 season.
A published voice scientist, pedagogue, and clinician, Theodora serves as Assistant Professor of Voice, Phonetics, & Dysphagia at Viterbo University’s Department of Communication Disorders & Sciences/Speech-Language Pathology Program while maintaining a private voice teaching and diction coaching (especially Slavic languages) studio. She has been awarded the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Voice Pedagogy & Emerging Leader Awards and the McGill University Excellence in Teaching Award and won multiple awards from the Voice Foundation and Pan American Vocology Association (PAVA). Theodora is also a licensed Laryngeal Manual Therapist/Oromyofasical Tension Release Specialist at ENT Vocalex Clinic. An international educator, Theodora was nominated to serve in the 2023 Global Leaders Program Executive Cohort, a think tank for arts changemakers. A Fulbright Scholar, Theodora was a Fulbright Study/Research Grant Recipient to
Vienna, Austria, studying MA Lied/Oratorio at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna and conducting vocology research. Theodora holds a Ph.D. (Interdisciplinary Studies/Applied Performance Sciences) from McGill University’s Schulich School of Music, an M.M. (Vocal Pedagogy &Music-in-Education Concentration) from the New England Conservatory, and a B.M. (Voice Performance/Musicology) from Oberlin Conservatory.
Blanka Melbostad
Soprano
Ana Lucia Wuertz
Blanka is thrilled to be making her debut with Hometown Opera. Recent credits include *The Sorcerer* and *Utopia, Ltd.* with Gilbert and Sullivan Very Light Opera, as well as *Die Csárdásfürstin* with Opera on the Lake. Blanka looks forward to bringing her passion for performance to this exciting new stage!
Mezzo Soprano
Ana Lucia (formally Annie) Wuertz is excited to return to Hometown Opera Company for her second Christmas season. Growing up in the area, she first began her music career as a freshman in high school, shocking her parents and peers who had never heard her sing before. She continued to compete in solo and small ensemble competitions, and participated in regional Honors Choirs throughout her high school years. Ana Lucia was also a member of her school's drama club, and has fond memories from the many productions she was a part of. Ana Lucia focused her early adult years on her degree, career and raising her young family. A mother to three beautiful daughters, she is excited about finding her voice again, and sharing it with the world. It has been a great honor to sing alongside the most talented and professional singers in this area.
Aaron Selly
Tenor
Aaron is new both to Rochester and to the opera. His most recent stage appearance was as Nostradamus in the comedy musical Something Rotten and is looking forward to getting on stage once more. When not here he spends his time working, cooking, cleaning, and playing board games.