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JULIA BENTLEY, PIANO
Julia Bentley is so pleased that years of piano lessons (especially the ones during middle school) made it possible to be part of the orchestra for this super fun show. Practice what you love every day, listen to opera, and always be kind to your teachers! |
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Kimberly Carballo, piano
Founder and director of Reimagining Opera for Kids (ROK), Kimberly is Coordinating Opera Coach for Indiana University’s (IU) Opera and Ballet Theater, and an active international performer and educator. She has previously worked as the mainstage and young artists’ program coach for the Compañía Lírica Nacional de Costa Rica, and music theory instructor and vocal coach at the Conservatorio Musical de Alajuela, the Escuela de Artes Musicales de la Universidad de Costa Rica, and the Universidad Nacional in Costa Rica. In addition to her duties at IU, she maintains a private studio as a freelance coach, collaborator, and piano teacher. Kimberly also forms part of the inaugural and ongoing team for Tunaweza Kimuziki (Through Music All is Possible), a project promoting exchange among music educators, scholars, and performers in Kenya and the USA. Actualmente Kimberly Carballo es pianista de ópera en la Jacobs School of Music Opera Theater de Indiana University, profesora en el departamento de Música de Cámera y Piano Colaborativo, ejecutante, y educadora con trayectoria internacional. Ha trabajado como pianista y coach para la Compañía Lírica Nacional de Costa Rica, profesora de teoría y pianista en la Universidad de Costa Rica, el Conservatorio Musical de Alajuela, y la Universidad Nacional. Además de estas actividades profesionales, en el taller Tunaweza Kimuziki forma parte del equipo inaugural que ha seguido hasta hoy en día; el taller, cuyo nombre significa “A través de la música, todo se puede hacer,” provee oportunidades de interacción e intercambio cultural para músicos y educadores de música, con bases en los EEUU y en Kenya. kimcarballo.com |
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Erin erickson, Pamina
Erin Erickson is thrilled to be working with ROK and helping bring The Magic Flute to life! She is a soprano pursuing a graduate degree in vocal performance at IU, studying with Alice Hopper. Erin joined ROK as a sophomore undergraduate, appearing in Mooch the Magnificent, Ana y su Sombra, and The Firebringers. Outside of ROK, Erin is highly involved in other performance ensembles. She has performed with the Singing Hoosiers, the All Campus Choir, the Indiana University Chorale, Voces Caelestes, and has appeared as a super in IU’s 2020 production of La Traviata and in the women’s chorus of their 2021 production of The Nutcracker. Erin has also understudied for Lucrecia y el Canto de los Dudasaurios with Amity Trio in 2022. She enjoys reading, embroidery, and taking long walks with her dogs in her spare time. |
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victoria hilkevitch, violin
Victoria Hilkevitch is professor Emerita at the University of Indianapolis. Her PhD is in Life Span Developmental Psychology (Rutgers University, 1986), and Postdoc in Social Gerontology (NIA training grant, 1988-90). In her personal lifespan the violin has played a near constant role, which has accelerated in retirement. She has played in chamber music groups and orchestras since childhood. Her music activities over the past two decades include violinist in ROK, the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra (first violin section), Shir Simcha band (violinist), Eine Kleine Porchmusic (founder and violinist), and exploring the violin sonata repertoire with many excellent keyboard players in Bloomington. She currently studies violin with Kit Boulding, concertmaster of the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra |
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THOMAS KING, sarastro/papageno
Thomas King, tenor, has sung over 50 roles in opera, opertta and musicals in his long career. He also sang lead roles in three world premiere operas written especially for him. He is a promoter of the solo voice recital, having performed in 20 states, in Puerto Rico, Germany and Austria. Dr. King has taught private voice at Austin Peay State University in Tenneessee, Indiana University Jacobs School and DePaw University. He taught at the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria for 25 years and was the Artistic Director for seven years, retiring in 2010. |
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SYLVESTER MAKOBI, TAMINO
Tenor, Sylvester Makobi, better known as Makobi, hails from Nairobi, Kenya. His musical journey began at the Kenya Music Festival, where he won first prize in three solo singing categories for university students and professors at the national competition in 2010. His professional engagements began with the Kenyan Boys Choir as a soloist. Later, he co-founded the acappella group, Taifa Mziki and served as Director. His performances have allowed for travel to other East African countries as well as the UK, France, China and the U.S. A notable highlight includes performances during the first inauguration of President Barack Obama. In Kenya, he performed with the Ravenna Festival Chorus under the baton of Ricardo Muti, performed as soloist during state events at State House Nairobi with the Kenya Conservatoire of Music Orchestra as well as celebrations for the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the European Union. His concert performances include tenor soloist in Mozart’s Mass in C Minor, Requiem Mass and Coronation Mass, Haydn’s Creation, and Handel’s Messiah. His operatic roles include Don Basilio and Don Curzio in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Ferrando in Mozart’s Cosí fan tutte, Second Priest in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Rev. Horace Adams in Britten’s Peter Grimes, Elder in Ondieki the Fisherman by Francis Chandler and most recently the role of Nate in William Grant Still’s Highway 1 U.S.A . He has been a volunteer with Reimagining Opera for Kids (ROK), where he performed all three tenor roles in the world premiere of The Firebringers by Chappell Kingsland. Makobi has been involved in the recording of five albums, where he is featured tenor soloist and played different Kenyan instruments namely Ohangla drums, Chivoti, Nyatiti and Kĩgamba. Makobi will soon be joining a group of classically trained singers from the Pan-African Diaspora for a residency at Princeton University. Makobi has continued to serve various communities both in Nairobi and in Bloomington, IN. He was the 2019 recipient of the Carlton Hodge Price, which is awarded by the African Studies Program to an Indiana University doctoral student, for their commitment to excellence in African Studies, in outreach, and in other activities directed to the wider public. Makobi currently is a Doctor of Music student as well as an Adjunct Lecturer at Jacobs School of Music. He also works as an advisor to the Board of Aeons at the Office of the President, Indiana University. |
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KATIE RUSH, PAMINA
Katie Rush is all aflutter returning to the stage with her ROK debut. Some of her favorite previous roles include Violet Beauregarde in Willy Wonka, Miss Havisham in Miss Havisham’s Wedding Day, and Rapunzel in Into the Woods. When she isn’t singing very loudly, she can be found digging in her garden or putting together an improvised crafting project. She’d like to thank her impossibly patient husband Cliff for his endless support and her brother Ben for getting her into this latest adventure. |
ADDITIONAL CAST MEMBERS:
Andrew Downs, Piano
Eric Ford, Artist Coordinator
Beatrice Kim, Pamina
Erin Koolman, Tamino
Laura Looper
Ben Rardin, Tamino
Tyler Readinger-Angstadt, Clarinet, Conductor sub
Lizzy Scarlett, Violin
Victoria Schemenauer, Queen
Steven Warnock, Papageno/Sarastro, Stagehand
Andrew Downs, Piano
Eric Ford, Artist Coordinator
Beatrice Kim, Pamina
Erin Koolman, Tamino
Laura Looper
Ben Rardin, Tamino
Tyler Readinger-Angstadt, Clarinet, Conductor sub
Lizzy Scarlett, Violin
Victoria Schemenauer, Queen
Steven Warnock, Papageno/Sarastro, Stagehand
