Remembrance

Chinese-American mezzo-soprano Sun-Ly Pierce, Third Prize Winner of the 2024 Operalia competition, is rapidly establishing herself as a versatile and dynamic artist in both traditional and contemporary repertoire. Sun-Ly’s 25/26 season begins with her return to The Metropolitan Opera for the world premiere of Mason Bates’ The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (Rosa Saks) conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin and directed by Bartlett Sher. Other highlights of the season include debuts at LA Opera for Akhnaten (Nefertiti), Semperoper Dresden and The Santa Fe Opera for Madama Butterfly (Suzuki), Madison Opera for Così fan tutte(Dorabella) as well as the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées and Théâtre de Caen for La Calisto (Diana). Future seasons include returns to Houston Grand Opera and The Santa Fe Opera in leading roles. During the 24/25 season, Sun-Ly returned to several notable theaters including The Metropolitan Opera in Le nozze di Figaro (Cherubino), Opera Philadelphia in L’amant anonyme (Dorothée), and Des Moines Metro Opera in The Cunning Little Vixen (Fox). On the concert stage, she debuted with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra in Messiah, the Britt Festival Orchestra for Ravel’s Shéhérazade, and the Colorado Springs Philharmonic in Madama Butterfly (Suzuki). She also returned to the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in Die Walküre (Siegrune) under the baton of Music Director Fabio Luisi. In the 23/24 season, Ms. Pierce made several high-profile debuts, including The Metropolitan Opera in La Rondine (Suzy), Hudson Opera House in Rodelinda (Bertarido), New Orleans Opera in Le nozze di Figaro (Cherubino), and Berkshire Opera Festival in Faust (Siébel). Additionally, she returned to Houston Grand Opera in Madama Butterfly(Suzuki), to Des Moines Metro Opera in Il barbiere di Siviglia (Rosina), and debuted with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in Die Walküre (Siegrune) under Fabio Luisi. Sun-Ly made role and house debuts at Calgary Opera in The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs(Laurene Powell), Opera Philadelphia in Otello (Emilia), and Detroit Opera in Xerxes(Arsamene). She also returned to Houston Grand Opera in The Wreckers (Jack and Thirza cover) and Des Moines Metro Opera in The Love of Three Oranges (Smeraldina) and The Falling and the Rising (Toledo). On the concert stage, she performed Mozart’s Requiemwith the Houston Symphony conducted by Itzhak Perlman, Szymanowski’s Songs of the Infatuated Muezzin with The Orchestra Now at Carnegie Hall, recitals for Lyric Fest in Philadelphia, and various programs at Bard Music Festival. Ms. Pierce is a first-place winner of the Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers and a graduate of the prestigious Butler Studio at Houston Grand Opera. Her assignments while in the studio included Roméo et Juliette (Stéphano), Die Zauberflöte (Second Lady) in the Kosky production, Dialogues des Carmélites (Sister Mathilde and Blanche de la Force cover), Carmen (Mercédès), and Hänsel und Gretel (Hänsel). Additional engagements during this period included debuts with San Francisco Opera in Sheng’s Dream of the Red Chamber (Bao Chai), Des Moines Metro Opera in Die Zauberflöte(Second Lady) in the Kosky production, and Aspen Music Festival in Don Giovanni (Donna Elvira). She has won top prizes in the Marilyn Horne Song Competition, Dallas Opera National Vocal Competition, and Butler Opera International Voice Competition. She was a semi-finalist in the Kurt Weill Foundation’s Lotte Lenya Competition and a Vocal Fellow at the Music Academy of the West. She was also an Encouragement Winner in the New England Region of The Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition. A native of Clinton, New York, she holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music and Bard College Conservatory of Music.

Benjamin Beilman has earned international acclaim for his passionate performances and distinctive tone—The New York Times called it “muscular with a glint of violence,” while The Strad praised its “pure poetry.” Praised for his instinctive sense of form and color, he brings a balance of elegance and surprise to his playing—uncovering new depths in familiar works and expanding the violin’s expressive range through his commitment to contemporary music. Benjamin’s 2025/26 season highlights include appearances with the Minnesota Orchestra performing Szymanowski’s Violin Concerto No. 1, Dresden Philharmonic performing Mozart No. 5, Antwerp Symphony performing Saariaho’s Graal théâtre, Solistes Européens Luxembourg performing Beethoven, Nouvel Ensemble Moderne performing Berg, and the Nashville Symphony performing Britten. He will also curate, stage, and lead two chamber music programs at Sun Valley Music Festival, and continue his ongoing recital partnership with pianist Steven Osborne. In the Summer, he embarks on a month-long tour of Australasia, including appearances with the Sydney Symphony and Tasmanian Symphony with Tabitha Berglund, West Australian Symphony with Anja Bihlmaier, and the Auckland Philharmonia with Giordano Bellincampi. Last season saw Benjamin’s debut with the Berlin Philharmonic and Kirill Petrenko on tour in the US, as well as returns to the Chicago Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Oslo Philharmonic, and Antwerp Symphony. He also made his debut with the Belgian National Orchestra in a performance of Stravinsky’s concerto, and with the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony performing Korngold. In past seasons, Benjamin has performed with many major orchestras worldwide including the Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Rotterdam Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Trondheim Symphony, Oslo Philharmonic, Taipei Symphony, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Zurich Tonhalle, Sydney Symphony, and Houston Symphony. He has also extensively toured Australia in recital under Musica Aviva, and in 2022, became one of the youngest artists to be appointed to the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music. In recent seasons Beilman’s commitment to and passion for contemporary music has led to new works written for him by Frederic Rzewski (commissioned by Music Accord), and Gabriella Smith (commissioned by the Schubert Club in St. Paul, and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music). He has also given multiple performances of Jennifer Higdon’s violin concerto, and recorded Thomas Larcher’s concerto with Hannu Lintu and the Tonkünstler Orchester, as well as premiered Chris Rogerson’s Violin Concerto (“The Little Prince”) with the Kansas City Symphony and Gemma New. Conductors with whom he has worked include Elim Chan, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Cristian Măcelaru, Lahav Shani, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Semyon Bychkov, Krzysztof Urbański, Ryan Bancroft, Gemma New, Karina Canellakis, Jonathon Heyward, Juraj Valčuha, Han-Na Chang, Roderick Cox, Rafael Payare, Osmo Vänskä, and Giancarlo Guerrero. Beilman studied at the Curtis Institute of Music with Ida Kavafian and Pamela Frank, and with Christian Tetzlaff at the Kronberg Academy, and has received many prestigious accolades including a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship, an Avery Fisher Career Grant and a London Music Masters Award. He has also recorded works by Stravinsky, Janáček and Schubert for Warner Classics. He performs with the ex-Balaković F. X. Tourte bow (c. 1820), and plays the “Ysaÿe” Guarneri del Gesù from 1740, generously on loan from the Nippon Music Foundation.

Kwamé Ryan is a Grammy Award winning conductor, currently in his third season as Music Director of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra. Born in Canada then educated in Trinidad and Tobago and the U.K., Ryan formerly held the position of General Music Director of Freiburg Opera, Germany from 1999 to 2003, and served as Musical and Artistic Director of the Orchestre National Bordeaux-Aquitaine, France from 2007 to 2013. As a guest conductor in Germany, he has conducted the Radio Orchestras of Stuttgart and Bavaria, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Staatsoper Saarbrücken and Staatsoper Stuttgart, while in France, he has worked at Opera de la Bastille, Opera de Lyon and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. Work in the U.S and the U.K. has taken him to the Symphony Orchestras of New York, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Dallas, Detroit, Indianapolis, Atlanta, Houston, Boston Lyric Opera, English National Opera, the London Philharmonia and the BBC Proms. He is a regular guest with Washington National Opera and Dutch National Opera. A recipient of international awards for outstanding work in the field of music education, Ryan has served as Director of Trinidad and Tobago’s Academy for the Performing Arts and Musical Director of the National Youth Orchestra of France where he was made a Knight in the French State’s prestigious Order of Arts and Letters. Under his musical direction, La Monnaie’s 2021 production of Kris Defoort’s The Time of Our Singing was named World Premiere of the Year at the International Opera Awards, and Houston Grand Opera’s recording of Jake Heggie’s Intelligence was awarded the 2026 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording. The 2026-2027 season sees his debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Milwaukee Symphony as well as returns to Dutch National Opera and the Cincinnati Symphony.