About UCLA Ensemble Artists Program

Seraphic Fire’s Ensemble Artist Program at UCLA’s Herb Alpert School of Music and University of Miami’s Frost School of Music provides season-long vocal ensemble training to undergraduate and graduate voice student. Participating artists are chosen through competitive auditions through their school’s choral programs. This collaboration aims to help emerging professional singers discover outlets for professional employment while fulfilling Seraphic Fire’s educational mission to encourage the occupational advancement of musicians.

Participating students are invited to perform alongside the professional ensemble in subscription concerts across South Florida.

“Performing alongside the members of Seraphic Fire…helped me to quickly improve and understand expectations and what skills and dedication this profession takes.”

See UCLA Ensemble Artist Program students in Week II of the Enlightenment Festival, Beginning | End. University of Miami students will join Seraphic Fire in April 2022 for our 20th Anniversary concert, First | Last. Learn more at SeraphicFire.org/Education

Maxwell Ary is a tenor from Dallas, and an enthusiastic choral musician. Max is a graduate of the University of North Texas where he studied voice with Dr. Jeffrey Snider. Max has sung with notable ensembles including Orpheus Chamber Singers, Verdigris Ensemble, Incarnatus, Dallas Chamber Choir, and Dallas Bach Society. Max is a graduate student at UCLA’s Herb Alpert School of Music.

EAP participant

Seraphic Fire’s Ensemble Artist Program is supported in part by Dunspaugh-Dalton Foundation

Jessica Carlson is a fourth-year undergraduate student studying music education at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. Joining choir at nine years old, she has had opportunities to tour in Italy, New York, Ireland, France, Sweden, and Denmark to perform in venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Notre Dame Cathedral, and the Vatican. She has also competed in multiple choral competitions, winning a gold medal as a featured soloist at the 2019 European Choir Games. Jessica is hoping to gain the skills to pursue a career in professional choral performance and choral conducting.

Kevin Corrigan, tenor, is an undergraduate vocal performance major at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music where he is a student of Professor Juliana Gondek. Kevin most recently performed the role of Damon in UCLA Opera’s production of

Acis & Galatea. This spring, he is most looking forward to singing the ensemble role of Minotaur in Kay Rhie’s new opera, Quake,and the role of Lacouf in Les mamelles de Tirésias. Kevin is an alumnus of and former Part Leader for the AllAmerican Boys Chorus and has been recognized for his talents in various local and national competitions.

Soprano Elisabeth Fortescue, a native of San Francisco, is currently working towards her Bachelor of Music as a classical voice performance major at UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. In 2019, she graduated from the Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts where she was awarded the title of Student Conductor in 2018. After 13 years of choral experience, she is currently in the UCLA Chamber Choir. This is Elisabeth’s second year in Seraphic Fire’s Ensemble Artist Program, and she is ecstatic to be deepening her education in choral music in such an intimate and renowned environment.

Ian Schipper, bass-baritone, enjoys exploring a wide variety of emotional journeys through music. He sings a mixture of opera, oratorio, and choral performances, delighting in the variety of vocal music in the world. He particularly enjoys singing works of the Baroque and German Romantic. A native of Portland, OR, he also enjoys hiking, composing, and reading the works of JRR Tolkien.

Tivoli Treloar is a mezzo-soprano and a third-year classical voice performance major at UCLA. Tivoli has sung roles including Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro) and Flora (La traviata). Upcoming, she will sing in the world premiere of the contemporary opera, Quake. Tivoli is amember of the UCLA Chamber Singers and is thrilled to be a part of Seraphic Fire.

Joshua Valdes, bass, is currently pursuing a master’s degree in vocal performance at UCLA. Joshua has played various operatic roles such as “Don Giovanni” and “Figaro” and sung in award-winning choirs such as College of the Canyons’ “Just Jazz” ensemble and Bob Cole Conservatory of Music Chamber Ensemble. Joshua has had the opportunity to sing in renowned venues such as Carnegie Hall, where he sang a solo from Mozart’s Dixit Dominus, and The Mormon Tabernacle.

Carmen Voskuhl, mezzo-soprano is a recent graduate from the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music with a Bachelor of Music in vocal performance and is currently furthering her education through post-baccalaureate studies through UCLA Extension. Most notably, Carmen originated the role of El Alma in Carla Lucero’s Juana, which gained her praise from the Los Angeles Times for her “commanding vocal and theatrical presence.” Carmen is a member of the UCLA Chamber Singers and was a chorus member in the GRAMMY®-winning recording of Richard Danielpour’s The Passion of Yeshua.

Born in Austin, mezzo-soprano Erica Weisman began singing when young and played violin for over 12 years. She spent her most formative years with the GRAMMY®-nominated Conspirare Symphonic Choir and Austin Symphony Chorus. While pursuing a degree in vocal performance at the University of Washington, she sang Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Handel’s Messiah, Christoph Gluck’s Orpheus and Eurydice, and Arvo Part’s Passio under the GRAMMY®-winning director, Stephen Stubbs in the Pacific MusicWorks Chorus. She has also sung with semi-professional choirs, Seattle Pro Musica and Choral Arts Northwest.