Studio Artists Program
The Sarasota Opera Studio Artists are members of the more advanced level of Sarasota Opera’s two training programs. The Studio Artists receive the same intense training as the Apprentices, but they participate in main stage productions by performing supporting roles and covering principal roles. With many roles needing covers each season and our extended performance schedule, Studio Artists are often called on to substitute for an indisposed principal artist, sometimes with little notice. The Studio Artists occasionally augment the Apprentice Artists in choruses for larger productions.
The Studio Artists are often Sarasota Opera's musical representatives outside the Opera House. Serving Sarasota and Manatee counties, they perform in various locations. These outreach initiatives take place in schools, retirement homes, community centers, and at guild meetings as well as other locations.
Studio Artists Program participants have often returned to Sarasota Opera as principal artists, and many have gone on to perform with major companies in the United States and internationally.
2025 Winter Studio Artists
Gabrielle Barkidjija
Mezzo-Soprano • River Forest, IL
STUDIO ARTIST
Sarasota Opera Debut
Dorotea, Stiffelio (2025)
Andrew Boisvert
Bass • Needham, MA
STUDIO ARTIST
SARASOTA OPERA
Debut: Il Conte di Ceprano, Rigoletto (2019)
Eric Botto
Tenor • Houston, TX
STUDIO ARTIST
Sarasota Opera Debut
Don Basilio and Don Curzio, Le nozze di Figaro (2025)
Jeremy Brauner
Tenor • Maplewood, NJ
STUDIO ARTIST
SARASOTA OPERA
Rafaelle, Stiffelio (2025)
Normanno, Lucia di Lammermoor (2024)
Debut: Apprentice Artist (2013)
Benjamin Dickerson
Baritone • Milton, VT
STUDIO ARTIST
Sarasota Opera Debut
Silvio, Pagliacci (2025)
Jamila Drecker-Waxman
Soprano • New York, NY
STUDIO ARTIST
Sarasota Opera Debut
Kyle Dunn
Baritone • Leonia, NJ
STUDIO ARTIST
SARASOTA OPERA
Debut: Apprentice Artist (2024)
Tessa Fackelmann
Mezzo-Soprano • Ottawa, ON, Canada
STUDIO ARTIST
Sarasota Opera Debut
Cherubino, Le nozze di Figaro (2025)
Riley Findley
Baritone • Kansas City, MO
STUDIO ARTIST
Sarasota Opera Debut
Steve Groth
Baritone • Delafield, WI
STUDIO ARTIST
Sarasota Opera Debut
Antonio, Le nozze di Figaro (2025)
Juan Hernández
Tenor • San Juan, Puerto Rico
STUDIO ARTIST
Sarasota Opera Debut
Federico, Stiffelio (2025)
Paul Leland Hill
Bass • Clinton, UT
STUDIO ARTIST
SARASOTA OPERA
The Imperial Commissioner, Madama Butterfly (2023)
Studio Artist (2023, 2021)
Debut: Apprentice Artist (2020)
Sara Kennedy
Soprano • Austin, TX
STUDIO ARTIST
SARASOTA OPERA
Lola, Cavalleria rusticana (2025)
Debut: Apprentice Artist (2022)
Alejandro Luévanos
Tenor • Durango, México
STUDIO ARTIST
SARASOTA OPERA
Peppe, Pagliacci (2025)
Debut: Resident Artist (Fall 2024)
Lauren Paul
Mezzo-Soprano • Evansville, WI
STUDIO ARTIST
Sarasota Opera Debut
Mamma Lucia, Cavalleria rusticana (2025)
Marcellina, Le nozze di Figaro (2025)
John Potvin
Baritone • Aiken, SC
STUDIO ARTIST
Sarasota Opera Debut
Fiorello, Il Barbiere di Siviglia (2025)
Joylýn Rushing
Soprano • Philadelphia, PA
STUDIO ARTIST
SARASOTA OPERA
Resident Artist (Fall 2024)
Resident Artist (Fall 2022)
Debut: Apprentice Artist (2020)