Sherrill Milnes
Sherrill Milnes is universally acclaimed as the foremost operatic baritone of his generation. With his powerful voice, commanding stage presence and rugged handsomeness, he received the kind of adulation that is usually reserved for tenors. He sang over 650 performances at the Met, where he was honored with sixteen new productions, seven opening nights, and ten national telecasts. As a leading artist in all of the world’s great opera houses, Mr. Milnes performed and recorded with the likes of Domingo, Pavarotti, Sutherland, Sills, Horne, Price, and Tebaldi. He is the winner of three Grammy Awards, and the most recorded American singer of his time. In 2008 he received the Opera News Award for Distinguished Achievement.
Maria Zouves
Maria Zouves is an educator, director, producer and writer. She is President of the Sherrill Milnes VOICE Programs − VOICExperience Foundation and the Savannah VOICE Festival – which she co-founded with her husband, Sherrill Milnes, to provide training for aspiring young artists and foster new audiences for the vocal arts. The Greek-American soprano has sung leading roles in the regional U.S., made her Carnegie Hall debut in 1997, and has recorded under the VAI label. While Maria directs most of the concerts in the VOICE Programs and co-directed the new SVF opera commission, Ching’s Alice Ryley: A Savannah Ghost Story, she most recently directed Mozart’s Don Giovanni at the Estates Theatre in Prague, where the work first premiered and co-directed Le nozze de Figaro with Sherrill Milnes in Prague and Salzburg with Prague Summer Nights. She was recently seen in the title role of the premiere of Ching’s Anna Hunter: The Spirit of Savannah.
Ms. Zouves has directed, taught, and produced events all around the world, having worked with the International Vocal Arts Institute (IVAI) in Montreal and Puerto Rico, the International Institute of Vocal Arts (IIVA) in Chiari, Italy, and at the Savonlinna Opera Festival in Finland. From 2007 to 2011, she served as Vice President and Associate General Director of Opera Tampa, the resident opera company of the Straz Center for the Performing Arts. She has taught workshops at Southern Illinois University, Drake University and served as interim opera director at Northwestern University. A sought after clinician, particularly in career development, she has also aided young singers as a career liaison through her former feature, “A Conversation with…” in Classical Singer magazine.
Ms. Zouves has sung leading roles with the Baltimore Opera, Florentine Opera, Memphis Opera, New Jersey State Opera, Orlando Opera, and the Pittsburgh Opera. The Stuttgarter Zeitung praised her “beautiful, lyric voice” and “a not to be surpassed ‘piano’ in the high register.” Opera News has described her voice as “creamy.” This Greek-American soprano shows great versatility in opera, on concert stages, and in crossover repertoire, with a specialty in classical and popular Greek music.
Andrew Bisantz
Conductor Andrew Bisantz has received accolades from Opera News, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Miami Herald, The Toronto Globe and Mail, The Boston Globe, and The Buffalo News. This is his 15th summer as part of VE/SVF, in the past having led productions of Alice and Anna, La Bohème, and Dialogues of the Carmelites, among others. He is Artistic Director and Conductor of Eugene Opera; in his fifteen seasons there he has led twenty-seven productions exploring a wide range of repertoire, including both the beloved operatic canon and the company premiers of Nixon in China, Dead Man Walking, La fanciulla del West, Eugene Onegin, Little Women, María de Buenos Aires, As One, little match girl passion, and Lucy. He has conducted more than eighty-five productions for opera companies throughout the U.S., including appearances with Boston Lyric Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Virginia Opera, Opera Omaha, Opera San José, Shreveport Opera, the Savannah Music Festival, Wolf Trap Opera, and the Brevard Festival. He has led ten productions for Florida Grand Opera, including the world orchestral premiere of Daron Hagen’s New York Stories in February 2021, which was hailed by the South Florida Classical Review as one of its Top 10 Musical Performances of the Year. He has been appointed Associate Professor of Music and Principal Opera Conductor of Boston Conservatory at Berklee starting this fall and will continue in his role in Eugene.
Torlef Borsting
Sponsored by Toby Hollenberg
A native of Hawaii, singing performer Torlef A. Borsting has enjoyed many stages of a varied musical career. While a resident of the San Francisco Bay Area, Torlef worked with San Francisco Opera, Opera San Jose, Sacramento Opera, Opera Parallele, Berkeley Opera, West Bay Opera, and Livermore Valley Opera. His favorite roles include Scarpia, Marcello, Jack Rance, Horace Tabor, Sharpless, Giorgio Germont, and Prince Yeletsky. He has also been an active concert performer working with Mendocino Music Festival, Pacific Chamber symphony, Oakland Symphony, Symphony Parnassus, Cantare Con Vivo, Orlando Sings, and the BelCanto Singers of Daytona Beach.
Now based in DeLand, Florida, Torlef has been thrilled to make debuts with Opera and Musical theater companies alike. Since his move to the east coast, he has worked with New York City Opera, Opera Orlando, Indianapolis Opera, Gulf Shore Opera, First Coast Opera, Citrus Alliance for the Arts, Jefferson Performing Arts Society (NOLA), Halifax Repertory Theatre, and of course the Savannah VOICE Festival. Torlef is so pleased to be returning as Major General Stanley in The Pirates of Penzance after participating in a beautiful production of Madama Butterfly as Sharpless in 2023, and as Jeff Douglas in Brigadoon during the summer of 2022.
Jodi Goble
Savannah VOICE Festival Composer in Residence
Composer Jodi Goble writes text-based, character-driven music fueled by her extensive background as a vocal coach and song-specialist collaborative pianist. Her compositions have been performed across the United States and internationally and featured on National Public Radio. She won the Iowa Music Teachers Association Commission Competition in 2013 and took first prize in the National Association of Teachers of Singing Art Song Competition in 2024 for her song cycle Sea Creatures. She also placed as a NATS ASCA finalist in 2008, 2017, 2020, and 2021, as the honorable mention winner in 2015, and won second prize in 2016. The American Prize named her a 2025 national finalist for the Charles Ives Vocal Chamber Music Composition Award for Sea Creatures and the Thomas Putsche Memorial Award in Opera/Film/Dance Composition for Meow and Forever. Her art songs are published in anthologies by New Music Shelf and North Star Music.
Ms. Goble’s recent commissions include works for Seaglass Theater, Really Spicy Opera, I, the Siren, Voices of the Pearl, the Durward Ensemble, and Laura Strickling’s GRAMMY-nominated 40×40 Project. Her works have recently been performed at the Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago’s Spring Lieder Lounge, the ASEAN Festival of Contemporary Music, Calliope’s Call, Songfest, the National Opera Center in New York City, the Fondation des États-Unis in Paris, San Francisco Opera’s Atrium Sessions, Jordan Hall, Ames Town and Gown, Omaha Under the Radar, the Art Song Preservation Society of New York, and the Savannah VOICE Festival, for which she is Composer-In-Residence.
Ms. Goble is Full Teaching Professor in Voice at Iowa State University, the official pianist for the Simon Estes Roots and Wings Community Concert Series, and the official accompanist for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Guild Auditions in Iowa.
Ashley Nuñez
After debuting the role of Lilian in the world premiere of The Eleanors by Jodi Goble and co-librettist Michael Ching at the National Opera Association Conference in January 2025 representing the Savannah VOICE Festival, Cuban-American soprano Ashley Nuñez went on to perform the role of Liù in Puccini’s Turandot with First Coast Opera at the Romanza Festivale. She also sang Pamina in Die Zauberflöte and the Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro with the Miami Music Festival.
Her diverse repertoire includes another world premiere: Ourland by Davies with the San José Chamber Orchestra. Additional credits include Gretel in Hansel and Gretel with Painted Sky Opera and Opera Amici, Manon in Massenet’s Manon with the Turner-Fischer Center for Opera at LSU, and Frasquita in Bizet’s Carmen with Vero Beach Opera. Since her last visit to Savannah, Ashley made her Carnegie Hall debut, was the featured soprano soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with Stetson University’s Choral Union, and performed as soprano soloist in Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra.
Ms. Nuñez has garnered recognition in numerous competitions, including the St. Petersburg Opera Guild Voice Competition, Music International Grand Prix in New York, Mobile Opera Rose Competition, the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Houston Vocal Competition, the Giffin Vocal Competition, the Wednesday Morning Music Club Voice Competition, and the Daytona Beach Choral Society Vocal Competition. Ashley holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Stetson University and a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Louisiana State University.
Eric Šebek
Eric Šebek has always been surrounded by the performing arts with a family of opera singers and Broadway performers. He is proud to a part of The Šebek Tenors comprised of his brother Zach, and his father Christian. He made his start in Nutley High school playing Pippin and Jack Kelly in Newsies. Eric has also played Patrick professionally in the The Radio City Christmas Spectacular starring the Rockettes in their 2016-2017 and 2019-2020 seasons. He attended Montclair State University for 4 years where he played Fleet in Titanic, Cigar in the New Musical: The Names We Gave Him, Musidorus in Head Over Heels, and Cat in the Hat in Seussical. He has also crossed over to Opera. Eric took part in a role study for the Marriage of Figaro where he played Basilio and Don Curzio with MSU’s Opera program. Eric also sang the role of Rinuccio in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi and Michael Ching’s hilarious continuation: Buoso’s Ghost. Additionally in 2023 he played Le Chevalier in Dialogues des Carmelites at MSU. Eric played the roles of Tamino in Magic Flute and Gastone in La Traviata at the Quisisana Resort as well as Alfred in Die Fledermaus the following summers. Eric has also performed the Jazz Trio in Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti SAS Performing Arts Company. Recently Eric was in a production of the new Opera “Blind Injustice” at Lincoln Center written by Scott Richards and conducted by Ted Sperling. Eric continues to perform and audition! He is represented by Jason Bercy Talent.
Chad Sonka
Chad Sonka is establishing himself as a versatile American baritone, teacher, and director. He was consistently singing and teaching throughout the country for Savannah VOICE Festival and Iowa State University, where he serves on the voice faculty. Recently, he performed the role of Marcello in La bohème with Quad Cities Opera and will be performing the role of Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus with Cedar Rapids Opera. Previous performing credits: Tosca (Scarpia – cover) with Central City Opera; Gianni Schicchi (Marco) with Savannah Music Festival; Man of La Mancha (Don Quixote) and Carmen (Dancaïro) with Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre; The Mother of Us All (Virgil T.), The Rape of Lucretia (Junius), Faust (Wagner), Elijah (Elijah) with Manhattan School of Music; and Amahl and the Night Visitors (King Melchior) with Nevada Opera. He was the first-place winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions – Iowa District in 2017. He is also the Education and Outreach Director the Milnes VOICE Programs. Directing credits include specializing in outreach theatre, Cendrillon (Viardot), Hansel and Gretel (Humperdinck), The Little Prince (Portman), and Die Fledermaus (Strauss II).
Samantha Talora
Samantha Talora is a versatile vocalist, concert and cabaret artist whose dynamic repertoire spans the Great American Songbook, Broadway, Blues and Classical music. She brings an eclectic and expressive range to her performances, blending storytelling and effortless musicality. Cabaret Scenes describes Talora’s voice as “…gorgeous mature soprano and powerful gospel ferocity.”
She has been selected by film and theater composer and songwriter, David Friedman, as the principal singer and interpreter of his vast songbook. In December 2024, she made her NYC solo debut at Don’t Tell Mama in NYC, with Trust the Wind – The Music of David Friedman, with encore performances in May and December 2025. BroadwayWorld raves, “…a stunning voice—crystal clear, every note clean and intentional, soaring effortlessly through the highs and resonating with rich depth in the lows. Her stage presence is joyful and poised, her banter both charming and incisive…infusing every song with truth and vulnerability.”
Based in the Berkshires of Western, MA, she has performed at various venues, including Whitney Center for the Arts, Studio9, The Colonial Theater and Barrington Stage Company and has been paired with singer and pianist, Ron Ramsay since Spring of 2014. The pair has blended their voices and delivered countless curated concerts throughout New England and beyond including A Night at the Oscars, A Sondheim Trilogy and Mistletoe & Music Cabaret Trains with Berkshire Scenic Railway. Their duo show at Don’t Tell Mama in Oct. 2025, “Friends in Harmony” was met with rave reviews. They return to Don’t Tell Mama NYC on May 21st and June 25th with “In Good Company.”
Follow on Instagram @samanthatalora / Website: www.samanthatalora.com