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Dr. Damon Sink | Composer: Dr. Sink teaches music theory, composition, and commercial music courses in the School of Music and also serves as the Music Core coordinator for theory, aural skills, and class piano.
In addition to his creative work as a composer, Dr. Sink is active in other areas of media production, film, and classical and jazz recording. Before coming to Western, he served as a full-time member on the faculties of Xavier University and The University of Dayton and founded dalSegno Media, an audio/visual production company. Recent projects beyond the new opera include a commission for System Five Brass, "Hymn: Under Menin Gate," performed in October 2022 in Ypres, Belgium, and Quartet for winds and piano, selected for performance at the 2025 Penn State New Music Festival.

Ron Rash: Ron Rash is the Parris Distinguished Professor in Appalachian Cultural Studies. His newest book, The Caretaker, was published in September 2023 by Doubleday and named one of the New Yorker’s Best Books of the Year. This last book brings his body of work up to 21 books: 8 novels (including the New York Times bestseller Serena), 7 short story collections, 5 poetry collections, and 1 reader/miscellany. He has been awarded the O. Henry Prize three times, and his books have been translated into 17 languages. In fall 2024, he will be inducted into the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame.

Dr. Isaiah Fecken | Director and Col. Lawrence Allen: A former Patricia and Dr. Carl S Hoveland Opera Fellow, Isaiah Feken is a sought-after teacher and performer across the U.S. Isaiah has appeared with Central City Opera, Des Moines Metropolitan Opera, Des Moines Ballet, Crested Butte Music Festival, Pittsburgh Festival Opera, Athens Choral Society, and was an artist in residence with Opera Colorado for their 19-20 and 20-21 seasons. Previously, Dr. Feken was a Teaching Associate of Voice at Drake University and served as the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor for Drake Opera Theatre. A native of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Dr. Feken received his B.M. from the University of Tulsa, later completing his M.M. and D.M.A. at the University of Georgia where he served as a principal baritone for UGA Opera Theatre.

Dr. Margaret Underwood | Conductor: Dr. Margaret Underwood is Director of Bands and Assistant Professor of Music at Western Carolina University, where she conducts the Wind Ensemble, guides all aspects of the wind bands, and teaches courses in music education. Dr. Underwood maintains an active guest conducting schedule, conducting performances across the United States. Ensembles under her direction have performed at state and international conferences and she has conducted at the College Band Directors National Association Northcentral Regional Conference. In addition to her presentations at numerous state conferences, she has also presented her research at the College Band Directors National Association Regional and National Conferences, the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles International Conference, the US Navy Band International Saxophone Symposium, and the International Society for Research and Promotion of Wind Music. Her research on Robert Kurka’s The Good Soldier Schweik Suite is published in The Journal of World Association of Band and Symphonic Ensembles. Prior to her current appointment, she served as Director of Bands and Associate Professor of Music at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio. Previously, she served as the Assistant Director of Bands at Mansfield University in Pennsylvania and taught middle and high school band for several years in New York.

In alphabetical order by last name. 

Dominic Armstron - Reverend Yates

Dominic Armstrong has been celebrated for his musicality and characterization on stages both nationally and internationally, having performed with companies including Opera Philadelphia, Chicago Opera Theatre, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Opera Regio Torino, Lyric Opera of Chicago, New York City Opera, LA Opera, Memphis Opera, Dayton Opera, Opera Colorado, the Ojai Festival, Wolf Trap Opera, Chautauqua Opera, and Opera Omaha. This season, Mr. Armstrong will make a return to Piedmont Opera (Don José, Carmen), will perform as the tenor soloist for the Beethoven Choral Fantasy at Carnegie Hall, make a return to Brooklyn Art Song Society, and create the role of Howard Reich in Tom Cipullo’s new opera The Dialogue of Memories with Music of Remembrance. An Associate Professor of Voice at The University of South Carolina, he also serves on faculty at The Summer Performing Arts at Juilliard program, Chautauqua Opera Conservatory, and the USC/Castleton Immersion in Castleton, VA.

Elizabeth Ashley - Lovisa Shwver

Elizabeth Ashley is a third grader at Fairview School. She has performed with Calliope Stage and Triple Threat Performing Arts, and is thrilled to join the cast of Shelton Laurel as Lovisa. Elizabeth enjoys singing, graphic novels, animals, and swimming. She looks forward to growing as a performer and to swimming the 500 freestyle. 

Davin Broadhurst - Hartley

Davin Broadhurst will be graduating with a BFA in Acting this spring. He has appeared in past Ģ������ƵStage and Screen productions, including A Doll’s House, Boeing Boeing, and The Tempest. Coming up in April, Davin performs in the musical Peter + I and his final thesis production, Beatrice: A Bromantic Comedy

Brennen Foerst - A Traveler

Brennen Foerst, a Cherokee, North Carolina–based performer with experience in musical theatre, opera, & choral performance. He has appeared in productions including The American Woodsman, A Christmas Carol: A Traveling Travesty, & One Hundred & Ten in the Shade. Brennen studied musical theatre at Ģ������Ƶ & has performed as a bass with the Cherokee Chamber Singers, including a Carnegie Hall appearance.

Eddie Garner - Ira Wilkey

Edward Garner holds degrees in Opera Performance from the Boston Conservatory and in Voice Performance from UNC Greensboro. After completing his collegiate studies, Edward spent the next two decades honing his musical craft by both studying and performing in New York, Switzerland, and Italy. He and his family have recently relocated to Franklin from Baltimore, MD, where Edward also taught yoga and music in the public schools. Mr. Garner is the Director of Family Ministries at First United Methodist Church, Franklin, and teaches K-12 Music for Jackson County Public Schools at Blue Ridge School/Early College.

Madison Garris - Susannah Harmon

Madison is an actress, singer, and voice-over artist from Western North Carolina. Currently, she is a vocalist with the Blue Ridge Big Band and can be seen in Helpmate’s PSA airing on WLOS. Madison’s next adventure involves voicing the character Tru in the motion-capture animated series Jurango. Madison is actively studying to become a certified Speech Language Pathologist at Ģ������Ƶ.

Andrea Price - Eliza Harmon

Andrea M. Price is Assistant Professor of Voice in the School of Music at Western Carolina University. Operatic roles include Mrs. Ford in Nicolai’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, Ciesca in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, the title role in Puccini’s Suor Angelica, and La Contessa in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro. In addition to performances in Italy, Dr. Price has presented recitals in Greece and New Zealand. She was a winner of the 2010 Georgia National Association of Teachers of Singing Artists’ Awards competition.

Patricia Sands - Widow Franklin

Patricia Sands taught Music and Theatre in Honduras, South Africa, Malaysia, Taiwan, Serbia, Qatar, and Singapore. Patricia performed in Barcelona, Belgrade, Urbania, Doha, Taipei, and with Singapore Lyric Opera, New Opera Singapore, Doha Community Orchestra, Braddell Heights Orchestra, and the South African Broadcasting Choir. She also studied with Lorraine Nawa Jones, student of Tito Gobbi.. Patricia directs Music/Theatre and is a Voice Instructor/Vocologist in the Asheville area. She is a Ģ������ƵField Supervisor.

Jake Surzyn - John Shwver

Jake Surzyn, baritone, has worked with companies across the United States, including Detroit Opera, Indianapolis Opera, Central City Opera, Opera Idaho, Charlottesville Opera, Madison Opera, and Opera North. Notable operatic roles include Papageno (Die Zauberflöte), Older Thompson (Glory Denied), Marcello (La bohème), Schaunard (La bohème), Dandini (La Cenerentola), The Pilot (The Little Prince), King Melchior (Amahl and the Night Visitors), Samuel (Pirates of Penzance), Der Lautsprecher (Der Kaiser von Atlantis), and Alfio (Cavalleria Rusticana). An avid performer of oratorio, Jake has been a soloist in a wide span of works including Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Handel’s Messiah, Haydn’s The Seasons and The Creation, J.S. Bach’s St. John Passionand Christmas Oratorio, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, Brahms’ Requiem, Smyth’s Mass in D, and Lang’s the little match girl passion. Jake’s upcoming season includes The Mandarin in Music Hall’s production of Turandot, the bass solos, and Christus in J.S. Bach’s St. John Passion.

Audrey Welsh - Rebecca Harmon

Audrey Welsh, mezzo-soprano, is a native of Houston, Texas, and a second-year Pittsburgh Opera Resident Artist in 2025-26. Last season, her roles included Lola in Cavalleria rusticana, Clotarco in Armida, Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, and the Curator in Woman with Eyes Closed. This season, her roles include Lucy in Fellow Travelers and Meg Page in Falstaff. This summer, Welsh will join the Santa Fe Opera as an Apprentice Artist and make her mainstage debut as “Young Woman” in the American Premiere of Tobias Picker’s Lili Elbe. Welsh was also Knoxville District Winner in the 2025 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. Welsh is a 2024 graduate of the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, where she received a Master of Music in Voice Performance, under the tutelage of Nova Thomas. She is also an alumna of the University of Houston with a Bachelor of Music in Voice and a Bachelor of Arts in Italian Studies.

Colin Wasmund - Jason Gunter

Originally from West Central Minnesota, Colin Wasmund is an Actor, Director, Writer, and Improvisor. Colin grew up on a hog farm and found his way into the arts through curiosity, an over-active imagination, and the need to find belonging. For the last 7 years, that belonging has been as a faculty member in WCU’s School of Stage and Screen. This year, Colin is also serving as the Interim Associate Dean for the BCFPA.

Ģ������ƵStudent Cast

• Gwen Aguiar: Pearl B.M./B.S.Ed Music Education, Class of 2029
• Jackson Deutsch: Corporal/Conscript, B.S. Cultural Anthropology
• Nick Peternson-Paugh: Sergeant B.M. Performance, Class of 2027
• Annalysa Sperduto: Sister’s Ghost, B.M. Commercial Music and Audio Production, Class of 2027
• Thomas Tant: Conscript 2, Class of 2029
• Maddox Wilson: Conscript/Musician, Smoky Mountain High School Class of 2026

Chorus

• Soprano: Lilly Davis, Ella Ledford, Tiffany Birchum, Alana Barwick, Ruth Welsh, Gwen Aguiar, Ella Ledford, Madison Garris, and Jay Shuster

• Alto: Izzy Reynozo, Maggie Ashley, Ashleigh Hobden, Kathy Dills, and Annalysa Sperduto
• Tenor: Eddit Garner, Maddox Wilson, Tristan Rice, and Bob Houghton
• Bass: Nick Peterson-Paugh, Byrd Nichols, Stephen Lambert, Jackson Deutsch, Thomas Tant

Woodwinds
Barb Amalong Sink, flute & alto flute (Smoky Mountain High School Faculty)

Esther Waite, flute & piccolo (SOM faculty)

Shannon Thompson, clarinet (SOM faculty)

Robyn Dixon Costa, oboe & English horn (Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra)

Jackson Smith, bass clarinet *

Brass

Bruno Dippolito, French horn *

Katie Sammons, French horn *

Madison Barton, trumpet (SOM faculty)

Brandon Mathis, trumpet *

Ashlyn Douglas, trombone *

Aidan Moore, bass trombone *

Jerry Bradley, tuba *

Piano

Michael Yannette

Percussion & Timpani
Ethan Robbins *

Jason Parker *

Violin 1

Mariya Potapova - Oleg Melnikov

Daniel Pinelli - Teresa Curran

Violin 2

Jonathan Urizar - Julian Smart

Alex Travers - Shawn Hurt

Viola

Cameron Rehberg - Daphne Bickley

Jason McCoy

Cello

Ashlee Booth - Amanda Durst

Patrick O’Neil

Bass

Daniel Iannucci

 

* denotes SOM student, + denotes SOM Faculty

This show is sponsored in part by the Ģ������ƵCampus Theme - WNC Mountain Life.