Artists’ Profiles

Artists’ Profiles

Benjamin Manis

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Associate Conductor

Benjamin Manis joins the Utah Symphony as Associate Conductor for the 2022–23 season, leading the orchestra on tour as well as at Abravanel Hall and the Deer Valley® Music Festival. Before moving to Salt Lake, Manis spent three seasons as Resident Conductor of the Houston Grand Opera, making his debut with Verdi’s Rigoletto. Other highlights of his time in Houston include Carmen, Roméo et Juliette, and five world premieres. Mr. Manis returns to HGO in the 2022–23 season to lead productions of Tosca and El Milagro del Recuerdo.

Winner of the 2022 and 2019 Solti Foundation US Career Assistance Awards, Manis has served as cover conductor for the St. Louis, Dallas, and National Symphonies, working with conductors Gianandrea Noseda, David Robertson, and Stéphane Denève. After three years in the Aspen Conducting Academy, Manis returned to Aspen in the summer of 2021 as assistant conductor, where he conducted two programs with the Aspen Chamber Symphony.

Before moving to Houston, Manis studied cello and conducting at the Colburn School, where he conducted outreach concerts in public schools across Los Angeles and performed Lutosławski’s Cello Concerto as soloist with conductor Robert Spano. In May of 2019 he completed his Master of Music degree at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, where he studied with Larry Rachleff.

Clara Hurtado Lee

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Soprano

Called a “sparkling soprano” by the Salt Lake Tribune, Clara Hurtado Lee's warm and brilliant voice and skilled dramatic interpretations shine on stages throughout the Intermountain Region and abroad in Italy.

This season Ms. Hurtado Lee celebrates the release of her first EP recording with guest artists Jenny Oaks Baker and Nathan Pacheco. She recently completed a concert tour through Italy and San Marino with pianist Antonio D'Abramo. Other highlights include collaboration with Gentri; premiere of Fils de Dieu by Jared Oaks with UVU Women's Chorus and with Opera Contempo; and performances of the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor with Lyrical Opera Theater and First Elf in Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream with Utah Metropolitan Ballet.

2020-2021 included a recording and performances with Nathan Pacheco and Lyceum Philharmonic; performances of Brahms' Requiem with UVU Chamber Choir (under the batons of Reed Criddle and Craig Jessop); Clairières dans le ciel with Intermezzo Concert Series; and Auf dem Strom and The Wondrous Milligram with Intermezzo Concert Series.

Winona Martin

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Mezzo-Soprano

Winona Martin (she/her) is a mezzo-soprano from Dallas, TX. She was the Jost J. and Reine C. Fleck Opera Scholar at Boston Conservatory at Berklee, where she received her Master of Music in Opera Performance. Her notable recent roles include Nancy (Albert Herring), Sesto (La clemenza di Tito), The Mother (Thumbprint), and El gato (El gato con botas). Ms. Martin has won the Shreveport Opera Mary J. Smith Singer of the Year, Denver Lyric Opera Guild, Regional and National NATS, National Opera Association's Carolyn Bailey Argento, and Classical Singer competitions. Most recently, she was named an Encouragement Award Winner at the Rocky Mountain Region of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. This past summer, she joined the Wolf Trap Opera as a Studio Artist, where she sang the role of Mrs. McLean in Carlisle Floyd's Susannah.

Jehú Otero

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Tenor

Tenor, Jehú Otero is an upcoming singer from Puerto Rico. He completed his master's degree at Rice University (2020) and two bachelor's degrees (2014, 2018) at the Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music. He was a District Winner of the Laffont Competition (2021) in Puerto Rico. He has sung the roles of Tamino in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Pane in Cavalli's La Calisto, Mr. Erlanson in the Sondheim's musical A Little Night Music, Miles Zegner in Proving Up, among others. He has sung with the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra, the Houston Grand Opera, Pro Arte Musical, and recently debuted as Bazile at the Kennedy Center with Lafayette Opera's production of Silvain by Grétry. Jehú is a founding member of Fourte Guitar Quartet.

Tshilidzi Ndou

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Baritone

Baritone, Tshilidzi Ndou, is from Johannesburg, South Africa. He holds a B.A in Vocal Performance, a Diploma in Music from NWU, South Africa, and a Performer's Diploma in Voice, from Southern Methodist University, where he is currently pursuing his Master of Music in Vocal Performance under Professor Barbara Hill-Moore. Tshilidzi has performed roles including Count Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro), Mr Webb (Our Town), Luther Billis (South Pacific), Guglielmo (Così fan tutte), and the baritone soloist in Mozart's Requiem. Tshilidzi was named District Winner and Western Region Encouragement Award Winner, at the 2021 MONCA competition; First Place District Winner at the Mary E. Singletary NVAC, 2021; First Place at NATS National, 2020; Second Place and the Legacy Award winner at the NOA 2022 Carolyn Bailey Argento Vocal Competition.

Utah Opera Chorus

PREPARATION BY
Benjamin Manis and Carol Anderson

SOPRANO
Jenny Andrus
Jessica Benson
Lindsay Browning
Anadine Burrell
Lauren Cartwright
April Meservy
Genevieve Gannon
Carolyn Talboys-Klassen
Felicia Lundie

ALTO
Holly Banfield
Paula Fowler
Bryn McDougal
Rachel Peterson
Michelle Swenson
Val Tholen
Sammie Tollestrup
Will Turner
Dawn Veree

TENOR
Keanu Aiono-Netzler
Brynnen Green
Brady Hodgson
Edward Lopez
Brian Rowe
Scott Tarbet

BASS
Buddy Eyre
Dyson Ford
Tom Klassen
Gary Later
Nelson LeDuc
Sam Thomas
Daniel Tuutau