KELLY KRUMBEIN, SOPRANO, has lived in and around the Fresno area all her life. She has 12 years of choral experience ranging all the way from middle school ensembles to the locally active Fresno City College City Singers. Kelly has always had a passion for the stage and really began honing her skills 7 years ago. She discovered a love of musical theater which eventually led to an interest in opera. She has studied voice at FCC with Kathy Barba and Rebecca Sarkisian.

Kelly has been in a handful of opera and operetta choruses with the Opera Workshop at FCC including Patience, The Mikado, Don Giovanni,The Marriage of Figaro. She was also cast in her first role as the First Witch in Dido & Aeneas. She has also performed in many Broadway themed variety shows and cherished her time doing singing valentine telegrams with the ensembles at FCC.

KAYLEE McCRACKEN, SOPRANO, a recent high school graduate and voice student of Barbara Vlymen and former student of Regina Teter, has been singing in the choirs and ensembles of the Christian Home Educators of the Fresno Area and the Peoples School of Creative Arts for the past ten years.

Kaylee has performed with Musical Theaterworks Fresno in Beauty and the Beast and in Centerstage's The Sound of Music. Formerly she studied classical ballet with Severance Fresno Ballet School under the instruction of Chris Doyle, Francoise Thouvenay Doyle, Carla Stallings Lippert, and Jasmine Kloos. In those years she appeared in several productions of the Fresno Ballet's Nutcracker holding roles such as Clara, Chinese Tea, and Snow Corps. Traveling to Washington with members of the school, she also took part in Regional Dance America Pacific. Currently she is enjoying teaching ballet to young girls at Peoples School of Creative Arts. Kaylee's central goal in all of life is to glorify God and to do his will with great joy wherever he may direct her steps.

ALAN REA, PIANIST is past president and one of the founders of the Sierra Chamber Opera.  He is a pianist and a 52-year resident of Fresno.  He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Iowa, has a master's from Juilliard, where he was a pupil of Mme. Rosina Lhevinne, and a doctorate in piano from U. S. C.  As the recipient of a Fulbright award, he studied in Paris with Nadia Boulanger.  Heard often in central California as piano soloist, harpsichordist, accompanist and chamber music player, he also has played a number of times as soloist with the Fresno Philharmonic and other valley orchestras.

DAVID SARKISIAN, DIRECTOR AND LIBRETTIST has been with the Sierra Chamber Opera since its maiden voyage in 1978.  He has directed all 40 productions, has written ten libretti, and has sung six tours for the company.

David is a native of Fresno, and began his musical and stage experience playing guitar in rock bands.  He got involved in choir and musicals in high school, and continued his theatrical training in various local productions: The Fantastiks, Fiddler on the Roof, Kismet, and The Mikado to name a few.

David studied opera at San Francisco State University, and completed his Master's Degree at CSU, Fresno.  Upon completion of his schooling he became active in Fresno opera scene, serving as Chorus Master for the Fresno Grand Opera.  The Music From Bear Valley Festival put David's talent to work as Chorus Master and singer.  He has been a soloist with the Tulare Symphony and the Fresno Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition, David composed and recorded the music for the award-winning video series The Footprints of God and Led by the Light of Truth. He has been the Director of Music and Liturgy for St. Anthony of Padua parish since 1990.

David is married to soprano/voice teacher Rebecca Sarkisian, and they have two talented children: Amelia and Philip.
 

JASMINE SWALEF, SOPRANO, has honed her singing skills over the years, appearing in 22 different operas with Fresno Grand Opera, International Academy of Rome/Viterbo, and Inspiration Point Fine Arts Colony.  Some of these operas include Faust, La Traviata, L'Elisir d'Amore, Manon Lescaut, Othello, Turandot, Carmen, Tosca, and Il Trovatore.  Jasmine has had many solo experiences as well, including productions and programs at California State University Fresno, Fresno City College, Fresno Grand Opera's Opera on Van Ness, International Academy of Rome/Viterbo, and IPFAC (or Opera in the Ozarks, a summer program in Eureka Springs, Arkansas for aspiring opera singers).  Some of the roles she has performed include Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro, Belinda in Dido and Aeneas, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Queen of the Night in Magic Flute, Fairy Godmother in Cendrillion, Iolanthe in Iolanthe, and Mabel in Pirates of Penzance , Yum Yum in The Mikado, Ann Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor and Fiordiligi in Cosi fan tutte. 

NANCY WAMHOF is a classically-trained pianist and has been a valued accompanist on the Fresno music scene for many years. She played piano in the FUSD for 10 years at many schools, including Bullard Talent, Forkner, Starr, and Jackson. She has been accompanying "The Melodears", a women's singing group, for over 20 years and has been with SCO since 2001.

JILL WEBB is a member of the Music Teachers Association of California and has taught piano privately for 21 years.  Along with accompanying Sierra Chamber Opera performances, Jill is also a staff accompanist at Fresno City College and an organist in her church.  She has been married for thirty years and has five children.  Jill's hobbies include sewing, quilting, traveling, baseball, and singing with her husband and children.

STEPHANIE YPARREA-BUDD, SOPRANO has sung with SCO for the past 3 years.  She attended Bullard High and started her musical career performing in Good Company Player's Junior Company.  She attended University of Pacific Conservatory of Music with a Vocal Performance major.