A Holiday Celebration

Dylan F. Thomas recently returned from teaching as Guest Lecturer and Stage Director at Yale University, where he staged the Opera Scenes and taught his unique acting method, The Dressler Technique, in “Acting for Opera”. Dylan was named Opera Program Manager for the GRAMMY-winning National Children’s Chorus’s youth opera program, National Youth Opera Academy, where he teaches acting and co-directs the fully-staged operas during the summer opera camp. As a singer/actor himself, Dylan has performed all over the world in mahy different musical genres, including opera, musical theater, jazz, pop, and classic rock. He spent 11 months performing in several different productions for Universal Studios in Osaka, Japan, singing for tens of thousands of people every day. At Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre, he had the honor of performing for legendary musical theater lyricist and songwriter Sheldon Harnick in two of Harnick’s musicals: the rarely seen Rex, as well as Fiddler on the Roof. As a passionate educator, Dylan maintains a private acting studio, offering individual, small group, and large group classes for performers in all genres of theater, including musical theater, opera, straight theater, and tv/film. Acting student Eden Kontesz says that Dylan’s technique is “unique, different, and highly effective,” and Grammy-nominated composer Sharon Farber comments that he “offers a new perspective that is truly profound”. Superstar baritone, Quinn Kelsey, a favorite leading baritone at the Metropolitan Opera, shares that Dylan, “utilized his own intuitive twists on the storyline of certain pieces to give me as a singer a different perspective of my interpretation.”

Shira Renee Thomas is the General & Artistic Director of Valley Opera & Performing Arts (VOPA), currently in its 18th season. VOPA has helped launch the careers of many singers and instrumentalists who’ve gone on to perform in organizations such as English National Opera, the Metropolitan Opera, Los Angeles Opera, San Francisco Opera, the Academy Awards, and the Hollywood Bowl, to name a few. As a singer herself, Shira has performed all over the world and with some of the biggest stars in opera. Among the numerous awards earned by her, Shira won 1st prize in the prestigious Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod Vocal Solo Competition in North Wales, which has hosted such legendary opera singers as Luciano Pavarotti and Bryn Terfel in past years. Having suffered from debilitating recurrent Depression for 25 years, Shira has become an advocate for mental health, and has been interviewed on the subject by National Geographic and KTTV News. She has also written articles for HuffPost and Classical Singer Magazine, and is frequently invited to attend various events and conferences to tell her story of overcoming Depression. Shira is grateful to the staff at Ketamine Clinics Los Angeles for helping her to finally beat the illness and go into remission.

Julia Timmons is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University holding a BFA in Vocal Performance with a Minor in Music Technology and a Masters in Entertainment Industry Management (MEIM). Timmons currently serves as Executive Assistant to General and Artistic Director of VOPA, Shira R. Thomas. She is also an administrator at the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony and runs her vocal studio - JCT Vocal Studio. Timmons is accomplished both on and off stage. Some favorite onstage roles include Sandrina (La Finta Giardiniera), Sharpay (High School Musical), Penelope Pennywise (Urinetown) and Bunny Byron (Babes in Arms). Offstage, Timmons is skilled in audio technology, stage and production management, and Audio/Video capture and live streaming.

Mady McGraw was born and raised in Littleton Colorado, and she currently resides in Los Angeles California. Recent theatre credits of hers include “Disenchanted!,” “Songs for a New World”, and “Now. Here. This.” Mady started writing her own music at the age of 12. Her unique blend ranges from pop, rock to soulful folk. She writes original film and TV scripts, and works with her creative partner and sister, Lily McGraw. She takes pride in her passion, adaptability—and her Jennifer Coolidge impersonation.

James Kerrigan is an aspiring professional singer and voice teacher. He moved from Washington State to California to study Voice Performance, earning his BM with a theatre minor last spring. He has been in a wide variety of productions from Puccini’s “La Boheme” to Alan Menken’s “Little Shop of Horrors.” He currently teaches voice and piano lessons and recently hosted two local arts festivals; “Art, etc.” and “CSUN Vove’s Goth Groove.”

Shira Renee Thomas is the General & Artistic Director of Valley Opera & Performing Arts (VOPA), currently in its 18th season. VOPA has helped launch the careers of many singers and instrumentalists who’ve gone on to perform in organizations such as English National Opera, the Metropolitan Opera, Los Angeles Opera, San Francisco Opera, the Academy Awards, and the Hollywood Bowl, to name a few. As a singer herself, Shira has performed all over the world and with some of the biggest stars in opera. Among the numerous awards earned by her, Shira won 1st prize in the prestigious Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod Vocal Solo Competition in North Wales, which has hosted such legendary opera singers as Luciano Pavarotti and Bryn Terfel in past years. Having suffered from debilitating recurrent Depression for 25 years, Shira has become an advocate for mental health, and has been interviewed on the subject by National Geographic and KTTV News. She has also written articles for HuffPost and Classical Singer Magazine, and is frequently invited to attend various events and conferences to tell her story of overcoming Depression. Shira is grateful to the staff at Ketamine Clinics Los Angeles for helping her to finally beat the illness and go into remission.

Julia Timmons is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University holding a BFA in Vocal Performance with a Minor in Music Technology and a Masters in Entertainment Industry Management (MEIM). Timmons currently serves as Executive Assistant to General and Artistic Director of VOPA, Shira R. Thomas. She is also an administrator at the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony and runs her vocal studio - JCT Vocal Studio. Timmons is accomplished both on and off stage. Some favorite onstage roles include Sandrina (La Finta Giardiniera), Sharpay (High School Musical), Penelope Pennywise (Urinetown) and Bunny Byron (Babes in Arms). Offstage, Timmons is skilled in audio technology, stage and production management, and Audio/Video capture and live streaming.

Dylan F. Thomas recently returned from teaching as Guest Lecturer and Stage Director at Yale University, where he staged the Opera Scenes and taught his unique acting method, The Dressler Technique, in “Acting for Opera”. Dylan was named Opera Program Manager for the GRAMMY-winning National Children’s Chorus’s youth opera program, National Youth Opera Academy, where he teaches acting and co-directs the fully-staged operas during the summer opera camp. As a singer/actor himself, Dylan has performed all over the world in mahy different musical genres, including opera, musical theater, jazz, pop, and classic rock. He spent 11 months performing in several different productions for Universal Studios in Osaka, Japan, singing for tens of thousands of people every day. At Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre, he had the honor of performing for legendary musical theater lyricist and songwriter Sheldon Harnick in two of Harnick’s musicals: the rarely seen Rex, as well as Fiddler on the Roof. As a passionate educator, Dylan maintains a private acting studio, offering individual, small group, and large group classes for performers in all genres of theater, including musical theater, opera, straight theater, and tv/film. Acting student Eden Kontesz says that Dylan’s technique is “unique, different, and highly effective,” and Grammy-nominated composer Sharon Farber comments that he “offers a new perspective that is truly profound”. Superstar baritone, Quinn Kelsey, a favorite leading baritone at the Metropolitan Opera, shares that Dylan, “utilized his own intuitive twists on the storyline of certain pieces to give me as a singer a different perspective of my interpretation.”

Opera singer, violinist, web developer, graphic designer, and master multitasker, Laura has starred in obscure operas, founded two opera companies (because one wasn't crazy enough), and juggles a career in web development & design while freelancing for nonprofits and artists. Her household is a zoo with a parade of dogs and cats, and she spends her free time painting everything in sight and trying to clean up after her menagerie. An ADHD-addled, middle-aged, leftist single mom in the conservative South (Chattanooga, TN), Laura lives for Dr. Pepper & Little Debbie Snack Cakes, loathes water and the gym, and yet is perpetually perplexed by her mysterious menopausal weight gain. Despite the chaos, she remains a Renaissance woman with a sharp wit and a healthy (ok, maybe more than healthy) dose of sarcasm thrown in for good measure.