Mezzo-Soprano

Regarded as a “virtuoso singing actor,” mezzo-soprano Max Potter is an engaging artist known for her expressive vocalism and dynamic stage presence.

Recent season highlights include Max’s role debut as Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier with Pacific Northwest Opera, performances as Mercedes in Bizet’s Carmen and Ines in Il Trovatore with Opera Santa Barbara. Max also made her symphonic debut as the alto soloist in Mendelssohn’s Elijah at Washington National Cathedral, and her mainstage debut with Chautauqua Opera as Jenny Reefer in The Mother of Us All.

As a resident singer for The American Opera Project’s Composers and the Voice Fellowship, she gave world premiere performances of art songs and opera excerpts by established and emerging composers. She also sang the world premiere of “Women Have Loved Before as I Love Now” from Margaret Bonds’ Six Songs on Poems by Millay, and joined I Cantori di Carmel on a tour featuring Max Bruch’s rarely-heard “Gruss an die heilige Nacht.”

Bass

Praised for his “voluminous sound” and “imposing, ringing baritone,” Canadian baritone and composer Joel Balzun is a recent grantee of the Olga Forrai Foundation and award-winner in the Wagner Society of New York Singers Competition. Highlights of the upcoming 2025/26 season include house debuts with Amarillo, Pittsburgh and Wichita Grand Operas, his role debut as Tonio (Pagliacci) with Pacific Opera Project and a world premiere by Dale Trumbore, supported by the Barlow Endowment. Recent engagements include Marcello (La bohème) as well as the orchestral workshop of the title role in Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek’s Lincoln in the Bardo with Chautauqua Opera. He also previewed Lincoln for the Metropolitan Opera. Other recent performance highlights include his debut at Los Angeles Opera (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Giorgio Germont (La traviata) with Opera Santa Barbara, Escamillo (Carmen) with Union Avenue Opera, and world premieres by Tom Cipullo and Kurt Erickson. His past appearances with San Luis Obispo Master Chorale include Mozart’s Mass in C, Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs and Dona Nobis Pacem, and Verdi’s Requiem. He is a proud alum of the Eastman School of Music.

Mezzo-soprano

Regarded as a “virtuoso singing actor,” mezzo-soprano Max Potter is an engaging artist known for her expressive vocalism and dynamic stage presence.

Max’s 2024/2025 season kicked off with a concert tour through Arkansas and Texas, presented by The Muses Project and highlighting music by Bizet, Rossini, and Mozart. She celebrated the holiday season with her debut as the alto soloist in Handel’s Messiah, and appeared as a concert artist in multiple settings with Opera Santa Barbara. In the new year, she returns to Opera Santa Barbara to debut the role of Cherubino in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro and returns to The Muses Project in the fall to reprise this iconic trouser role.

Recent season highlights include Max’s role debut as Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier with Pacific Northwest Opera, performances as Mercedes Bizet’s Carmen and Ines in Il Trovatore with Opera Santa Barbara. Max also made her symphonic debut as the alto soloist in Mendelssohn’s Elijah at Washington National Cathedral, and her mainstage debut with Chautauqua Opera as Jenny Reefer in The Mother of Us All.

As a resident singer for The American Opera Project’s Composers and the Voice Fellowship, she gave world premiere performances of art songs and opera excerpts by established and emerging composers. She also sang the world premiere of “Women Have Loved Before as I Love Now” from Margaret Bonds’ Six Songs on Poems by Millay, and joined I Cantori di Carmel on a tour featuring Max Bruch’s rarely-heard “Gruss an die heilige Nacht.”

Bass

Praised as a “mature artist with a voluminous sound,” baritone and composer Joel Balzun is establishing himself as a mature new voice in the future of music. As a Fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center, he sang alongside Stephanie Blythe in a concert of Great American Songbook selections and Dawn Upshaw and Sanford Sylvan in Shostakovich’s brooding Symphony No. 14. His continually-expanding repertoire includes the title roles of Don Giovanni and Gianni Schicchi, Joseph de Rocher (Dead Man Walking), Marcello (La bohème) the Four Villains in Les contes d’Hoffmann, Prince Yeletskiy and Count Tomskiy (Pikovaya Dama), Albert (Werther), Belcore (L’elisir d’amore), Dr. Malatesta (Don Pasquale) and Valentin (Faust), among others. He has also been successful in numerous competitions, including prizes from Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (Los Angeles District and Western Region), CS Music Vocal Competition, Lyndon Woodside Oratorio-Solo Competition, Houston Saengerbund Vocal Competition and Orpheus National Vocal Competition.

Mr. Balzun studied Music Composition and Vocal Performance at University of Calgary, Biola University, and the Eastman School of Music, where he earned his Master’s degree under the tutelage of Jan Opalach and Benton Hess. He currently serves on the voice faculty of Biola University as he completes the Doctorate of Musical Arts degree in Vocal Arts at University of Southern California.