Art with Arias 2026 Performers

May 6, 2026

The Canadian-American baritone Micah Schroeder has been celebrated for his “smooth-as-glass lyrical contours” (The National Post) and is known for his versatility in opera and concert repertoire. He graduated from the Opéra National de Lyon’s opera studio and was a member of Vancouver Opera’s Yulanda M. Faris Young Artist Program. Recent highlights include Ivàn in the world premiere of Malina by Karola Obermüller and Peter Gilbert at the Schwetzingen Festival and Theater Aachen, and his debut in Claude Vivier’s Kopernikus at the Teatro Mayor in Bogotá. In 2027, he joins the Allee Theater in Hamburg for performances of Papageno in Die Zauberflöte. His artistic work focuses particularly on French repertoire, contemporary music, and new works and his standard repertoire includes roles like Papageno, Pelléas, Don Giovanni, Eugene Onegin, Schaunard, Figaro, and Count Almaviva. Shaped by his German-Armenian heritage, he combines stylistic versatility with a distinct artistic signature. 

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Richard Gammon, a Filipino American stage director, has directed for Wolf Trap Opera, Detroit Opera, Hawai’i Opera Theatre, and Virginia Opera. Acutely interested in contemporary American opera, he directed the world premieres of Family Style, Kandake, and Black Coffee for Opera Theatre of Saint Louis’ New Works Collective, The Lake at ArtSounds; and new productions of Bound (Anchorage Opera), Scalia/Ginsburg (Princeton Festival), Buoso’s Ghost (Detroit Opera), and An American Dream (Hawai’i Opera Theatre, Virginia Opera, Opera Santa Barbara). Richard, as the director of the Opera Maine Studio Artist Program, programs and directs almost exclusively contemporary operas including Paul’s Case, Rappahannock County, As One, and Rocking Horse Winner. Creative positions include directing for the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival, the National Asian Artists Project, and Cleveland Play House; leading workshops for NYU’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program; and creative associate for Seán Curran Company’s Dream’d in a Dream (BAM Next Wave Festival). 

Evgenia Trukša was born in Riga, Latvia, and emigrated to the United States in 2001 to study with renowned pianist Mark Zeltser. She later continued her studies at Texas Christian University (TCU) and the University of Southern California, studying piano performance with Dr. Daniel Pollack. She holds a Master’s in Piano Performance from TCU, where she studied with Dr. Tamas Ungar, and a Professional Certificate in Collaborative Piano from the Manhattan School of Music under Prof. Thomas Muraco. A prizewinner of several national and international competitions—including the Wideman International Piano Competition, MTNA Piano Competition (regional/national winner), Jyväskylä International Piano Competition (Finland), and Epinal International Piano Competition (France)—Evgenia has performed at venues such as Carnegie Hall (Zankel and Weill), La Jolla Music Society (CA), Barbara Mann Performing Arts Center (FL), and Artis–Naples (FL). She has taught collaborative piano at Mahanaim College (Long Island), TCU, and San Diego University, and has worked as a vocal coach and assistant conductor with Opera in Williamsburg (VA), Gulfshore Opera (FL), Opera Maine (ME), Manhattan School of Music (NY), New York Lyric Opera, Savannah Voice Festival, and the International Vocal Arts Institute at Mannes. Since 2011, she has served as opera coach and pianist on the artistic staff at the Manhattan School of Music. 

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