EVANGELIA LEONTIS, soprano
Evangelia Leontis, soprano, has extensive experience on the opera, concert and recital stages. She has been seen on the operatic stage in roles including Woglinde in Das Rheingold, Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Frasquita in Carmen, Gretel in Hansel and Gretel, Lucy in The Telephone, Zweite Dame in Die Zauberflӧte, Barbarina in Le Nozze di Figaro and Le Feu in L'Enfant et les Sortilèges with companies including Barn Opera, Tundi Productions, MassOpera, Opera del West, Longwood Opera, Riverside Theater Works, Odyssey Opera, and Opera Boston. On the concert stage, Dr. Leontis has been the soprano soloist in works by Berlioz, Britten, Haydn, Fauré, Rossini, Bach, Bizet, Mozart, Grieg, Orff, Vaughan Williams, and Handel with Albany ProMusica, the Keene Chorale, Greensboro Opera, the Greensboro Oratorio Society, the Newburyport Choral Society, Newton Choral Society, Clear Lakes Chorale, Fine Arts Chorale, and Polymnia Choral Society, among others.
Dr. Leontis holds the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts from UNC Greensboro, a Master of Music degree in vocal performance from Boston University, and a Bachelors of Music degree in vocal performance from the Eastman School of Music. She was a finalist in the American Prize in Voice Professional Art Song Division Competition in 2020, won the Bel Canto Award in the 2015 Orpheus Competition, was a finalist in the 2015 Kentucky Bach Choir Competition, and was a winner of the 2010 Greek University Women’s Club Music Competition.
Dr. Leontis currently serves on the voice faculties of Keene State College and Castleton University. She has previously served on the voice faculties of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, the New England Conservatory Preparatory School, Guilford College, and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. She also serves as Administrative Director for Calliope’s Call, a New England-based ensemble dedicated to the performance and promotion of art song.
As a yogi, she completed her 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training in Bali, Indonesia with YogaWorks and has presented Yoga for Singers Workshops at the Boston Conservatory, UTRGV, Texas A & M Kingsville, NATS Boston, the Manchester Music Festival, the New Music School, the NEC Preparatory School, Greensboro College and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. Her blog entitled Inner Voice: the Intersection of Yoga and Singing explores topics relating to the ways yoga can help singers. Dr. Leontis lives in beautiful southern Vermont with her husband, twin toddler daughters, and dog. More information can be found at evangelialeontis.com.
JJ PENNA, pianist
J.J. Penna has performed extensively with a variety of eminent singers, including Kathleen Battle, Harolyn Blackwell, Measha Brueggergosman, David Daniels, Denyce Graves, Ying Huang, Susan Narucki, Roberta Peters, Florence Quivar, and Andreas Scholl. He has held fellowships at the Tanglewood Music Center, Banff Center, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Music Academy of the West, and San Francisco Opera’s Merola Opera Program. He received his training under Martin Katz, Margo Garrett, and Diane Richardson. Devoted to the teaching of classical song literature, he has been on the faculties of The Juilliard School, the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, the Bowdoin Festival, Westminster Choir College, the Renée Fleming Song Studio, and Vancouver International Song Institute. He currently teaches at the Yale University School of Music and the New England Conservatory.
MEGAN ROTH, mezzo-soprano
Known for her “rich character portrayals” and “versatile voice,” mezzo-soprano Megan Roth enjoys a varied career performing opera, oratorio, art song, and chamber music, with repertoire spanning from early to contemporary music. Most recently, Megan “smoldered” in the role of Tisbe in La Cenerentola with Boston Midsummer Opera, receiving accolades as she “...vamped about with sufficient trashy glitter, bringing the angry coloratura across the footlights with comic menace.”
In June 2021, Megan performed in the company's first post-pandemic live performance as Despina in excerpts of Cosi fan tutte, along with other scenes and arias. Additional roles include Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Summer Garden Opera in Virginia and in Little Women with MassOpera, where she was praised for her “warm and sonically sumptuous Meg.” Other notable engagements include soloist in Copland’s In the Beginning with Vox Humana in Dallas, Texas and Handel’s Messiah with The Keene Chorale as well as the Rhode Island Civic Chorale and Orchestra.
As an active chamber musician, Megan performs with several renowned national ensembles including GRAMMY® nominated Skylark Vocal Ensemble and True Concord, Yale Choral Artists, and the Cincinnati Vocal Arts Ensemble. Also an accomplished violinist, Megan was honored to have a featured violin solo on the 2021 GRAMMY® nominated album It’s a Long Way with the Skylark Vocal Ensemble.
Megan belongs to Beyond Artists, a coalition of artists that donates a portion of their concert fee to organizations they care about. She supports NYC Second Chance Rescue and The Bail Project through her performances. www.meganroth.com
