Voice Faculty

Whitworth College 
BA Vocal Performance 
University of Texas at Austin 
MM Vocal Performance 
DMA Voice 

Has been teaching at TXST since 2018 
Contact Dr. Ramo 
Personal site: www.suzanneramo.com

A member of the School of Music faculty since 2018, Suzanne Ramo is lauded by the San Francisco Chronicle for an ease with coloratura that one hears “blazing forth brightly” as well as her “lyrical phrasing sweetly rendered”. Recent performances include Brahms’ Requiem with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, recitals in Italy and Uruguay, and Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional del Paraguay. A frequent performer in the state of Texas, she has twice brought her crystalline soprano to Orff’s Carmina Burana with Ballet Austin, and returned to the Laredo Phil for the title role of Donizetti’s Rita and Mahler’s Symphony No. 4. As Constance in Les dialogues des Carmélites with Austin Opera, she earned a nomination for an Austin Critics’ Table Award as best singer of the 2008-09 season. Declared “always a highlight of any Austin Opera production she joins” by the Austin American-Statesman, she has previously joined the company as Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus, Stella in Previn’s A Streetcar Named Desire, and Zerlina in Don Giovanni. She received a second nomination from the Austin Critics’ Table Awards for her performance in Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem with the Texas Choral Consort in the 2013-14 season. She reprised the role of Violetta in La traviata with Amarillo Opera, a performance which was broadcast on PBS. Other Panhandle performances include Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with Amarillo Symphony, and Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with Chamber Music Amarillo.

Operatic roles include Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, Musetta in La bohème, Violetta in La traviata, Micaela in Carmen, Madame Mao in Adams’ Nixon in China; and Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte. With the San Francisco Opera, she sang the title role of The Ballad of Baby Doe, Der Königin der Nacht in Die Zauberflöte, Woglinde in both Das Rheingold and Götterdämmerung, and Der Waldvogel in Siegfried in addition to joining the company for its productions of Rigoletto, Falstaff, Der Rosenkavalier, and Semele. Also under the auspices of San Francisco Opera, she sang title role of La Calisto, Miss Wordsworth in Albert Herring, and Elvira in L’italiana in Algeri in California as well as Violetta in La traviata on national tour with the Western Opera Theater.

A prolific interpreter of oratorio repertoire, she has joined the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra under the baton of Nicholas McGegan for Beethoven’s Christus am Ölberge, Modesto Symphony for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Stanford University as guest soloist for Mozart’s Mass in C minor, Carmina Burana with the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Panamá at the Alfredo Saint-Malo Music Festival, as well as the Strata Trio for Schubert’s Der Hirt auf dem Felsen at Concerts at the Point in Massachusetts. Especially sought after for concert performances in Texas, she has sung acclaimed performances of Strauss’ Vier letzte Liederand Dubois’ Seven Last Words of Christ with the Laredo Phil, Handel’s Messiah and Poulenc’s Gloria with the Austin Symphony Orchestra, Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with the Victoria Symphony, Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem with the Brazos Valley Symphony, Mozart’s Requiem with Musica Ecclesiae in Austin, and University of Texas Wind Ensemble, in addition to concerts of Broadway favorites with the San Antonio Symphony and Victoria Symphony.

In addition to performing, Dr. Ramo has been an Attaway Scholar at the Centenary College of Lousiana, where she presented her research on the Father-Daughter Relationship in Verdi’s Luisa Miller, Rigoletto and La traviata.

Dr. Ramo earned her Bachelor of Arts in Music from Whitworth University, and her Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the University of Texas at Austin. She is a two-time participant with the Merola Opera Program and held a prestigious Adler Fellowship with the San Francisco Opera. Always seeking to enhance her performance and teaching skills, she completed Teacher Certification with OperaWorks in 2018. International teaching residencies include La Escuela Nacional de Arte Lírico in Uruguay, the Sol Mayor Festival Internacional de Música in Paraguay, and the Music Fest Perugia in Italy. Before joining Texas State, she was Assistant Professor of Voice and Director of Opera at West Texas A&M University.

Southeastern Louisiana University
BM Vocal Performance
Arizona State University
MM Opera Performance

Has been teaching at TXST since 2018
Contact Ms. Karanas
Personal site: www.davedakaranas.com

Greek-American mezzo-soprano Daveda Karanas has been hailed for her “capacious power” and “a voice lustrous and exciting” by the San Francisco Chronicle.

In the 2026–2027 season, Ms. Karanas will perform the world premiere of Andrew Ardizzoia’s Afterglow (orchestrated version), give the premiere of Jasmine Barnes’ American Lament at the African American Art Song Alliance Conference, perform Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen with Austin Civic Orchestra, and appear in a concert tour of Mieczysław Weinberg’s The Passenger with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in England, Austria, and Germany. Future seasons will see Ms. Karanas at Teatro Real and LaGrange Symphony Orchestra. 

During the 2025–2026 season, she performed the premiere of Afterglow at the Contemporary Music Festival, presented a recital featuring works by African-American and African Diaspora composers with the Music Art Society of New Orleans, and gave a duo recital with colleagues Amanda Majeski, soprano, and Alan Darling, pianist, at the Green Lake Festival of Music. In the 2024–2025 season, Ms. Karanas performed Edward Elgar’s Sea Pictures with LaGrange Symphony Orchestra.

In the 2023-2024 season, Ms. Karanas made her highly anticipated house debut with Teatro Real, captivating audiences with her portrayal of Liese in The Passenger. These performances garnered widespread acclaim, paving the way for an album recording with Deutsche Grammophon and a video recording with Television Española. During the 2021-2022 season, Ms. Karanas made her house and role debut as The Mikado in The Montana Mikado with Intermountain Opera Montana, performed the Narrator in Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf with LaGrange Symphony Orchestra, and debuted in a series of opera concerts with Festival de Musique de Saint-Barth conducted by Steven Mercurio.

In addition to her operatic work, she is an advocate for historically underrepresented voices in classical music. She has curated and performed a series of recitals focused on the preservation and dissemination of lesser-known vocal works by Jewish composers, particularly those whose lives and careers were impacted by the Holocaust, as well as repertoire by African American composers and women composers. Her commitment to this repertoire includes her forthcoming world premiere recording of the orchestrated version of Dorothy Rudd Moore’s From the Dark Tower. Through this work, she continues to contribute to the equitable representation of marginalized voices in concert and recital repertoire.

Ms. Karanas made her Carnegie Hall debut in Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the Athens Philharmonic conducted by Yiannis Hadjiloizou and made her debut at The Israeli Opera singing Liese in The Passenger, a role she has performed at Florida Grand Opera and Detroit Opera following her successful debut of the role at Lyric Opera of Chicago. Other recent engagements include a major role debut as Kundry in Parsifal at the Lyric Opera of Chicago under Sir Andrew Davis, and debuts at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis as Mother Marie in Dialogues of the Carmelites and with the Auckland Philharmonia as Brangäne in concert performances of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde. 

Ms. Karanas made her German debut at Oper Frankfurt as Marfa in Khovanshchina and debuted at the Canadian Opera Company as Brangäne in Tristan und Isolde conducted by Johannes Debus and directed by Peter Sellars. She joined the roster of the Metropolitan Opera in their production of the Berlioz masterpiece Les Troyens covering the role of Cassandre and made an acclaimed European debut at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino as Judit in Bluebeard’s Castle under Zsolt Hamar in the festival’s 75th Anniversary. Daveda debuted the role of Azucena in Il trovatore at Opera Grand Rapids and sang her first performances of Amneris in Aida at Arizona Opera, followed by Vancouver Opera, and The Glimmerglass Festival in a new production by Francesca Zambello. She made her New Orleans Opera debut as Hasbeena in The Burlesque Opera Tabasco and made her role debut as Ježibaba in Rusalka at Arizona Opera.

Ms. Karanas completed her first complete Ring Cycle at San Francisco Opera under Donald Runnicles. In Francesca Zambello’s staging, she sang both Waltraute and the 2nd Norn in the new production of Götterdämmerung and Waltraute in Die Walküre. Other San Francisco Opera credits include Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, Mamka in Boris Godunov, Mistress of Novices in Suor Angelica, covering Amneris in Aida and Azucena in Il Trovatore. She also covered Brangäne in Tristan und Isolde with Seattle Opera and covered Judit in Bluebeard’s Castle with Saito Kinen Festival conducted by Seiji Ozawa. 

Ms. Karanas is a Grand Finals Winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. She also received an Encouragement Award from the George London Foundation, was an International Semi-Finalist in the Neue Stimmen Competition, an Encouragement Award recipient at the Marilyn Horne Foundation Competition, and Grand Prize Winner of the Arizona Opera League Competition.

She is a graduate of the prestigious Adler Fellowship Program at San Francisco Opera. Ms. Karanas further trained at esteemed institutions including Merola Opera Program, Music Academy of the West, and Chicago Opera Theater. Ms. Karanas is a graduate of Arizona State University and Southeastern Louisiana University.

Oberlin Conservatory
BM Vocal Performance
Yale School of Music/Yale Institute of Sacred Music
MM Vocal Performance
University of Michigan
DMA Vocal Performance

Has been teaching at TXST since 2026

Contact Dr. McGrew
Personal site: https://www.danielmcgrewtenor.com/

Daniel is a versatile performer of a broad range of repertoires spanning opera, early music, contemporary music, and music theatre. As a winner of the 2021 Young Concert Artist Auditions, he recently he and pianist, Sophia Zhou presented debut recitals at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. and Merkin Hall in New York City; McGrew and Zhou have also recently appeared with Buffalo Chamber Music Society, the Broman Concert Series at Mary Baldwin College, and Windsor Music in Boston. Recent concert engagements include performances with Elm City Consort, Bach Collegium Fort Wayne, and Music Worcester, among others.

Passionately engaged with new music, Daniel has premiered works by composers including Benjamin C.S. Boyle, Shawn Chang, Tom Cipullo, Reena Esmail, John Harbison, Robert Kyr, and Nina Shekhar. At Tanglewood’s renowned Festival of Contemporary Music, Daniel performed the role of Mortimer in the American premiere of George’s Benjamin’s Lessons in Love and Violence under the composer’s baton. Earlier at the same festival he gave a performance Kurtág’s Three Ancient Inscriptions the Boston Globe lauded as “viciously beautiful”; Classical Scene praised his “intense concentration,… clarity, and ferocity.”

No stranger to the operatic state, Daniel’s credits include: François in Bernstein’s A Quiet Place, Harlekin in Ullman’s Der Kaiser von Atlantis, Candide in Bernstein’s Candide, Orphée in Charpentier’s La descente d'Orphée aux enfers, Albert in Britten’s Albert Herring, Orfeo in Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo, Contino Belfiore in Mozart’s La finta giardiniera, Ecclitico in Haydn’s Il mondo della luna, and Toquemada in Ravel’s L’heure Espagnole. In summer 2022, Daniel participated in the premiere recording of Gerald Cohen’s “Steal a Pencil for Me” with Opera Colorado.

In the world of music theatre, Daniel participated in the symphonic premiere of James Lapine’s revue, Sondheim on Sondheim, with the Boston Pops Orchestra. He later joined Kate Baldwin, Liz Calloway, and other Broadway actors in David Loud’s, A Good Thing Going, for which his “most beautiful, longing-imbued tenor” was celebrated as “a find!” (Woman Around Town).

An early music specialist, Daniel has performed many of J.S. Bach’s major works and over 30 of the church cantatas with conductors including Matthew Halls, John Harbison, David Hill, Koji Otsuki, Kenneth Slowik, and Masaaki Suzuki. He has made multiple appearances with Gamut Bach Ensemble at the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society and the Bach Vespers series at Holy Trinity Lutheran. Additional memorable early music credits include Douce Dame: Woman and the Ars Nova, a program exploring women’s voices in the 14th century through the music of Guillaume de Machaut and Phillipe de Vitry with Elm City Consort; Bach’s B minor Mass at Alice Tully Hall; Bach’s Magnificat on tour throughout India; and the Monteverdi Vespers 1610 and Händel’s Occasional Oratorio in New York and New Haven. He twice attended the Bach Institute at Emmanuel Music in Boston.

The heart of Daniel’s musical passion and practice is the performance of song; he appears regularly with such ensembles as Brooklyn Art Song Society, New York Festival of Song, Mirror Visions Ensemble, and Cincinnati Song Initiative. Recent highlights from the recital stage include two performances of the complete Mörike-Liederbuch of Hugo Wolf with pianist, Martin Katz; the premiere of a new cycle by Tom Cipullo with tenor, Scott Murphree and pianist, Grant Wenaus; Killmayer’s settings of Heinrich Heine with pianist, Sam Martin; Beethoven’s An die ferne Geliebte with pianist, Ignat Solzhenitsyn; and Schumann’s Spanisches Liederspiel with pianist Jonathan Biss. In 2023, he and harpist, Parker Ramsey will tour with a recital of songs for tenor and harp.

Daniel holds degrees from Oberlin Conservatory, Yale University, and University of Michigan. He is a committed teacher and pedagogue, having taught studio voice, lyric dictions, and music history at University of Michigan, Oberlin Conservatory, Bowling Green State University, and Adrian College. He currently maintains a small private studio in Stamford, Connecticut.

Abigail Pena, Lecturer of Voice

New York University

BM Vocal Performance

MM Vocal Performance

Has been teaching at TXST since 2024

Contact Prof. Pena (email: abigail.pena@txstate.edu)

Soprano Abigail Pena has served on the voice faculty at Texas State since 2024. For the past 10 years she has served on the voice faculty at Concordia University Texas where she founded the Concordia Young Voices Competition and has served as Assistant Professor of voice teaching Applied Voice as well as Aural Skills, Vocal Pedagogy and Diction for Singers. Prior to Concordia, she served for two years on the voice faculty at New York University. 

Abigail’s students have been prize winners in multiple regional and national competitions, have performed on Broadway and in film, and have gone on to study at numerous top-tier programs around the country. 

Abigail has performed as a soloist under the batons of such noted conductors as Marco Armiliato, Edoardo Müller and Daniel Beckwith and has performed multiple roles in oratorio and opera including Bach’s Magnificat, Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion, Mozart’s Vesperae solennes de confessore, Mozart’s Mass in C Minor, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, Mozart’s Così fan tutte (Fiordiligi), Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel (Witch), Britten’s Albert Herring (Mrs. Herring) and Adamo’s Little Women (Meg). Abigail holds a BM Magna Cum Laude, an MM Summa Cum Laude and a Post-Master's Advanced Vocal Pedagogy Certificate from New York University. 

Abigail lives in the Austin area with her husband, two kids and three-legged dog, Frankie.

Minnesota State University
BM Music Education
Florida State University
MM Voice Performance
MM Opera Production

Has been teaching at TXST since 2010

Contact Mr. Ulen
Personal site: www.ronulen.com

Ron Ulen is an American baritone of Norwegian heritage; born in Virginia and grew up in Florida and Minnesota. After studies in Business Administration and Finance he turned his attention to Music, earning his bachelor’s degree in Voice and Music Education from Minnesota State University. He then entered the graduate program at Florida State University where he earned two master’s Degrees, in Vocal Performance and Literature and in Opera Production and Management. Postgraduate studies led him to Vienna, Austria and the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

Even before finishing his studies, he made his professional stage debut as Guglielmo in Mozarts "Cosi fan tutte" with the National Opera Company. Thus began a long and successful relationship in which he sang the leading baritone roles in hundreds of performances. This, in turn, led to guest appearances throughout United States, for example Malatesta in "Don Pasquale", Figaro in "Il Barbiere di Siviglia", Count Eberbach in "Der Wildschütz", Mr. Ford in "The Merry Wives of Windsor" and Marcello in "La Boheme". His busy schedule gave him the opportunity to perform in 37 states.

Mr. Ulen made his European debut in "Il Trovatore" at the renowned Opera House in Zürich, Switzerland. Thereafter, his career was largely concentrated in Europe. His first engagement as a resident leading baritone was in Coburg, Germany, where he sang the title roles in Verdi´s "Falstaff", Tschaikowky´s "Eugen Onegin", Bartok´s "Bluebeard’s Castle", Zar Peter I. in Lortzing´s "Zar und Zimmermann" as well as Sharpless in Puccini´s "Madame Butterfly" and Tarquinius in Britten´s "The Rape of Lucretia".

During the course of his career, he was engaged as the leading baritone at the Staatstheater in Schwerin, the Staatstheater in Mainz and the Staatstheater in Augsburg before working for more than 25 years as a freelance artist. 

Guest appearances have taken Ron Ulen to the stages and concert halls of New York, Vienna, Rome, Miami, Beijing, Washington, D.C., Hamburg, Chicago, Munich, Dallas, Tokyo, Paris, Houston, Berlin, Vienna, Los Angeles and numerous others as a soloist in the Brahms "Requiem", in Orff’s "Carmina Burana", Händels "Messiah", Mendelssohn’s "Elijah", Mozart’s “Mass in C” and Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, to name just a few.

Mr. Ulen appeared in new productions of "La Boheme" as Marcello, in Paisiello’s "Il Barbiere di Siviglia" as Figaro, Ottokar in "Der Freischütz" and Renato in "Un Ballo in Maschera". In addition, he sang the Four Villains in "The Tales of Hoffmann" as well as Miller in "Luisa Miller". He has enjoyed a great success as Nabucco in Verdi’s opera of the same name in numerous venues. Additional productions have included Ariadne auf Naxos, La Finta Giardinieri, Aida, Lucia di Lammermoor, and La Forza del Destino. Other roles include Germont in Verdi´s "La Traviata", Belcore in "L´Elisir d´Amore", Conte Almaviva in "Le Nozze di Figaro", Valentin in "Faust" und Conte di Luna in "Il Trovatore". In the Wagner repertoire, he has sung leading roles in Der fliegende Holländer, Tannhäuser, Lohengrin and Die Walküre, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and Parsifal. A versatile performer who feels equally at home on the opera, concert, or recital stage, Mr. Ulen has sung over 120 roles in more than 2500 performances.

Despite his busy performing schedule, he has always tried to find time for teaching, in an attempt to pass on some of the information which he has gathered in his career. His students are represented on the rosters of many European and American opera houses and winners of numerous competitions. Further, he has conducted master classes at numerous Universities and Conservatories in Europe, U.S., and Asia, as well as having been invited to adjudicate international voice and opera competitions, including NATSAA, Classical Singer International Auditions, Metropolitan Opera Auditions, National Opera Association, and the McCammon International Voice Competition.

Mr. Ulen is Professor and Artist Teacher of Voice in the Texas State University School of Music and Professor of International Studies in the College of Liberal Arts. In addition to his teaching, he continues to maintain an active schedule in opera, concert and recital. He was formerly the Associate Director of the “German Singer Summer” Opera Program, aimed at giving young singers an opportunity to study the German language and culture while performing roles with German opera houses within a study abroad setting. This unique program was designed in close cooperation with the opera houses of Freiberg, Döbeln, Dresden, and Radebeul.

Baylor University
BM Voice Performance
Western Carolina University
MA Voice
Biel Opera Studio
Artist Diploma - Opera

Has been teaching at TXST since 2017

Contact Ms. Vassian
Personal site: www.idliketoteachtheworldtosing.com

Associate Professor of Instruction Myra Vassian grew up in the mountains of North Carolina, where some of her earliest musical influences were Appalachian folk music, jazz standards and opera. After receiving degrees in vocal performance from Baylor University and Western Carolina University, she was awarded an International Rotary Scholarship to attend the Conservatory of Music in Zürich, Switzerland. She remained in Switzerland for five years, earning a Performing Artist Diploma from the Biel Opera Studio. She made her European debut in the role of “Lauretta” from Gianni Schicchi and continued to sing the roles of “Norina” from Don Pasquale, “Zerlina” from Don Giovanni and “Madeleine” from Le postillon du Lonjeumeau in opera theaters throughout Switzerland. Upon returning to the United States, she performed the role of “Susanna” in The Marriage of Figaro with Opera Carolina and taught voice at Davidson College. From 1997 to 2007 she was Director of Music at The City Church, New York, and most recently served on the voice faculty of the Evening Division of the Juilliard School of Music for 10 years. Ms. Vassian has maintained a studio of private voice students in Manhattan since 1996 and in recent years enjoyed performing cabaret shows at the Metropolitan Room and the Duplex and Laurie Beechman theaters.

University of California - Santa Cruz
BA Music
Peabody Conservatory
MM Opera Performance

Has been teaching at TXST since 2026
Contact Ms. Lamb
Personal site: www.fenlonlamb.com

Fenlon Lamb is an artistic director, educator, stage director, and producer of opera who champions alternative-medium design and ecologically sound production practices. She trains young singers and directors in both the academic and professional spheres. 

Fenlon is the Director of Opera Studies and an Assistant Professor of Music at Texas State University. She builds acting skills and prepares young singers for graduate and professional auditions at Musiktheater Bavaria in the summer months. Fenlon was the Director of Opera at University of Missouri, KC Conservatory of Music and Dance (2015-2018) and Assistant Professor/Opera Director at Kent State University (2009-2011). She was the Director of Vocal and Opera Programming at The Bar Harbor Music Festival for eleven seasons (2008-2019).

Fenlon creates sets and costumes in paper and other eco-friendly materials with her artistic partner, Jefferson Ridenour, and their team of designers at Papermoon Opera Productions. In the last few seasons, Papermoon created inventive, new productions of Pirates of Penzance and Fanciulla del West for Central City Opera, The Juliet Letters with Portland Opera’s young artists, a colorful, commedia-meets-1980s production of Il barbieri di Siviglia with Amarillo Opera and Opera Delaware, and an intimate Werther for William Jewel College. Papermoon's production of La voix humaine received 1^st Place in the National Opera Association competition. Their flagship production of Hänsel und Gretel has been remounted at Palm Beach Opera, Amarillo Opera, Bar Harbor Music Festival, Ball State University, and Missouri State University. Co-founded in 2018 after seeing the lack of truly affordable and imaginative sets available for smaller companies and academic institutions, Papermoon continues to innovate here at Texas State with sets and costumes available for use in our own community and the professional and academic opera industry at large.

Fenlon directs nationally lauded productions with opera companies and academic institutions across the US. A frequent collaborator with Arizona Opera, Fenlon directed the world premiere production of Riders of the Purple Sage and returned to the company for a "fantastic revival of this timely western" (Opera Wire). In recent seasons, she directed new productions of Charlie Parker's Yardbird for Arizona Opera, Carmen for Opera Santa Barbara with her photos from Seville featured in projections there and at Opera Southwest, an Alcina in collaboration with student designers at Boston University, and Papermoon’s production of Rigoletto at Eugene Opera. Other highlights include Le nozze di Figaro at Portland Opera, Lucia di Lammermoor with Madison Opera, and La bohème for New Orleans Opera. Fenlon has directed Carmen for Amarillo Opera, Pensacola Opera, Annapolis Opera, North Carolina Opera, Mill City Summer Opera and Dayton Opera. A house favorite at Palm Beach Opera, she has directed productions of Tosca, La Bohème, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Don Pasquale, L’Elisir d’Amore and Così fan tutte for the company. 

Upcoming projects include a return to Madison Opera for Norma, two Papermoon collaborations with Shreveport Opera and Opera Las Vegas, respectively, and the remount of her Charlie Parker’s Yardbird with Opera Montreal.

Brigham Young University 
BM Media Music/Commercial Music 
University of Utah 
MM Collaborative Piano
DMA Collaborative Piano/Conducting 

Has been teaching at TXST since 2022 
Contact Dr. Leavitt

Pianist and composer Michael Leavitt embarked on his musical journey at the age of eight under the guidance of Barbara Lee, quickly surpassing expectations and demonstrating exceptional talent. Accompanying choirs at school and church became second nature to him, and at the age of twelve, he continued his studies under the esteemed Roger Bushell, culminating in his first piano competition victory just a year later. Throughout his high school years, Michael's musical prowess shone brightly as he emerged triumphant in numerous local, state, and regional competitions.

Michael's passion for music led him to pursue a major in choral performance at the Las Vegas Academy of International Studies, Visual, and Performing Arts (LVA). During his time with the LVA Chamber Choir, he had the incredible honor of performing at the White House Christmas Opening, captivating the audience alongside First Lady Hillary Clinton. Following his graduation from LVA, Michael's career flourished as he worked as a pianist for various musical theater productions and honed his skills as an audio engineer at Impulse Studios and the Huntridge Theater. Collaborating with acclaimed bands like Collective Soul, Green Day, and 3 Doors Down further enriched his musical experiences.

Continuing his educational journey, Michael pursued his undergraduate degree in Music Media from Brigham Young University (BYU). During his time at BYU, he served as both pianist and conductor for the renowned Young Ambassadors, embarking on extensive tours across the United States, China, Korea, Brazil, and Argentina from 2003 to 2005. Additionally, Michael's talent and dedication led him to assume pivotal roles as a pianist and conductor in numerous BYU musical theater productions, including Smokey Joe's Cafe, Oklahoma, and Aida. In 2008, he collaborated with Erik Orton to direct and produce the music for the BYU filming of Berlin, an original musical. Michael's compositional prowess shone in 2009 when he composed and produced the music for the BYU film Onward Alone. Moreover, he served as the co-producer and conductor for the LDS production A Brand New Year, a live broadcast that captivated an audience of over 20,000 individuals.

A career highlight for Michael was his collaboration with Tony Award winner Audra McDonald in Hale Center Theater Orem's production of 110 In the Shade. Alongside Dave Zabriskie, he developed the innovative virtual orchestral system known as ROCS, which enabled him to conduct a computerized orchestra during live performances with Audra. The success of ROCS led to its further development and promotion, now known as the aTempo System, as Michael and Dave continued to push the boundaries of musical technology. Notably, in April 2012, Michael had the privilege of closely collaborating with internationally acclaimed conductor Don Chan to create virtual orchestral demo recordings of West Side Story for the Leonard Bernstein Foundation.

To further expand his musical knowledge and expertise, Michael pursued advanced studies at the University of Utah, where he obtained a Master of Music degree in Collaborative Piano. Undeterred by his accomplishments, he continued his educational journey at the University of Utah, earning his Doctor of Musical Arts degree. Since 2022, Michael has shared his wealth of musical knowledge and passion as a dedicated educator, serving as a faculty member at Texas State University.

With a remarkable career encompassing performance, composition, technological innovation, and education, Michael Leavitt continues to make an indelible impact on the world of music. His unwavering dedication to excellence and his profound artistry inspire aspiring musicians and shape the future of music.

This assistantship is responsible for working closely with the opera program.  It offers a 25% FTE load, while is an average of 10 hours a week of instructional program support work.

This GIA position works with both the Voice Area and the Opera Program in a support position. It offers a 25% FTE load, while is an average of 10 hours a week of program support work.

This GTA position is a teaching position where the Graduate Student is the Teacher of Record for the Voice Class course.  It offers a 25% FTE load, while is an average of 10 hours a week of instructional work.

Only graduate students with 18 credit hours are eligible to apply.

It offers a 25% FTE load, while is an average of 10 hours a week of program support work.