2008 - 2009 SOX artists
Nephi Sanchez
Tenor Nephi Sanchez, a Texas native, made his professional operatic debut recording "The Chino" a role from Daniel Catan's opera Salsipuedes for Houston Grand Opera's New Music Week in February 2003. In 2007, Mr. Sanchez was a member of the Nashville Opera’s Mary Ragland Young Artist Program where he sang the role of Benvolio for their production of Romeo et Juliette. In the summer of 2006, he was a member of the Lake George Opera Young Artist Program where he appeared as Joe Crowell in the professional premiere of Ned Rorem's Our Town.
Mr. Sanchez has a bachelor's degree from the University of Texas at Brownsville and a master's degree from the University of Houston.
While at the University of Houston, he performed such roles as: Flute/Thisby in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Il Podesta in La finta giardniera, and various comprimario roles in The Tales of Hoffmann. This will be Mr. Sanchez' first season as a member of the Shreveport Opera Xpress Young Artist Program.
Ashley Becker
Soprano Ashley Becker is currently a member of the Shreveport Opera SOX Young Artist program for the 2008-2009 season. Recently Ms. Becker was a 2008 Young Artist at the Seagle Music
Colony where she sang the role of Mimi in La Bohéme. In 2007 Ms.
Becker won second place in the Orpheus National Voice Competition in the
student division, was a semifinalist in the International Tommaso Traetta
competition, and performed in the Opera Company of North Carolina’s
“Opera About Town” series. Ms. Becker In 2006 she made her debut with Opera In Concert in Toronto, singing Madame Lidoine in Dialogues des Carmélites. Additionally, Ms. Becker won first place in the Charles A. Lynam Vocal Competition (Young Artist Division), third place in the New England
Region Metropolitan National Council Auditions, and was a finalist in the
Civic Morning Musicals Competition. Ms. Becker has also been a Youg Artist at Summer Opera Lyric Theatre (2006, 2004) where she performed the role of Mimi in La Bohéme and the Baroness von Gondremarck in La Vie Parisienne. Other roles in Ms. Becker's repertoire include Elettra in Idomeneo, Nella in Gianni Schicchi. Ms.Pinkerton in The Old Maid and The Thief, and Fortuna in Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria. In addition to operatic repertoire, Ms. Becker has
performed with a select ensemble from the Orchestra of North Carolina,
the Choeur Classique de Montreal, the McGill University Contemporary
Music Ensemble, the McGill Symphony Orchestra and the Choeurisma
Ensemble in Montréal. A recording featuring Ms. Becker as soprano soloist (Mahler II) will be released by McGill Records in 2008.
Rebecca Mann
