Photo by James Meredith
The East Bay's Young Musicians Choral Orchestra scored a big hit at the opening session of the Opera America national conference, on June 20, in the Grand Hyatt Hotel.
James Meredith, chair of the organization's voice department and director of the its Opera Theater, led the singers. Olivia Stapp, Frederica von Stade, and Jake Heggie — supporters of the young musicians for a long time — participated in the event.
Four of the participating singers — Marisol De Anda, Christabel Nunoo, Edward Nunoo, and Zach Weisberg — have been winners in the Pacific Musical Society’s Annual Competition and numerous other awards. The Young Musicians Choral Orchestra is a successor to the Young Musicians Program, which supported disadvantaged youth with music education, preceding El Sistema projects by many years.