Ensemble Artist Program

Zaryah Gourgel has been a performer since she was a child. She was born and raised in West Palm Beach. There, she attended Bach Middle School of the Arts and Dreyfoos High School of the Arts. From there, she developed several artistic interests and hobbies, such as cinematic music making, comic books, manga/anime, Dungeons and Dragons, and so much more! Her main focus, however, was primarily vocal music. In her Junior year of high school, she took part in the Palm Beach Opera Studio, where her operatic training truly began. She is now a senior studying Vocal Performance at the Frost School of Music and is looking forward to an amazing year with the Seraphic Fire singers!

Gabriel Harley is an MM candidate in Choral Conducting at the University of Miami Frost School of Music where he studies under Dr. Amanda Quist. He serves as a graduate teaching assistant and is the conductor of the Allegro and Vivace ensembles in the Miami Children’s Chorus. Prior to his time in Miami, Harley was a middle school choral music educator in the Delaware public school system for five years. As a passionate advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion in the choral classroom, Gabe served as the membership chair for Delaware ACDA. In addition to teaching and conducting, Gabe is an active performer. He is currently a member of the Philadelphia Symphonic Choir. In 2018, he earned a Bachelor’s in Music Education Degree from Westminster Choir College where he studied with Dr. Joe Miller and Dr. Amanda Quist. At Westminster, Gabe traveled internationally with both Westminster Choir in 2017 for the World Choral Symposium and Westminster Kantorei in 2016 for a summer European tour.

Lauren Richards is a mezzo-soprano from Richmond, Virginia, with experience in choral and operatic singing, as well as organ performance. They are in their junior year studying Vocal Performance at the University of Miami Frost School of Music. This past summer, Lauren worked as a Box Office Apprentice for Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, SC. Last spring, they were a Flower Girl and chorus member in Frost Opera Theatre’s production of Le nozze di Figaro. Lauren will be in Frost’s production of Kurt Weill’s Street Scene as a member of the chorus in February 2024. Their junior recital will be on March 22, 2024, at The Chapel of the Venerable Bede on the University of Miami campus.

Kyra Stahr has founded her career as a conductor, educator, and vocalist on compassion and empathy. Stahr is currently a DMA candidate in Choral Conducting at the University of Miami Frost School of Music where she studies under Dr. Amanda Quist. She serves as a graduate teaching assistant and is the Associate Conductor of the Master Chorale of South Florida. Stahr is the co-founder and co-creator of conduct(her) podcast. In 2023 she earned her M.M. from the University of Southern California where she was Associate Conductor of Oriana and the South Bay Children’s Choir. At USC she was selected for the 2022 ACDA Eastern Graduate Conducting Masterclass and was awarded the 2023 Choral Music Departmental Award. Stahr enjoys serving as a guest conductor, clinician, and presenter. Recently she presented at the World Symposium on Choral Music and looks forward to presenting at SWACDA and ACDA Southern in 2024.

Yi-Chun Sarah Tsai was born and grew up in Taichung City, Taiwan. Since early childhood, Sarah has drawn into music and singing. She started learning the piano at age 4 and began taking voice lessons at 12. She has been studied in some of the best music schools in Taiwan and the United States. In 2021, she received her master's degree at the College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) at University of Cincinnati, and she is currently studying her doctorate degree in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy at the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami. Sarah has had plenty of performance experience in both opera and as a concert soloist. She sang the role of Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro, The Mother in Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors, Serpina in Pergolesi’s La Serva Padrona, and Hänsel in Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel.

Maddy Chamberlain is a soprano vocalist from the San Francisco Bay Area. She is currently a second-year undergraduate student at UCLA, pursuing a BA in Music Education and studying voice with esteemed baritone Vladimir Chernov. In her time at UCLA, she has been an active member of Chamber Singers and the Adoro Music Ensemble, and she is excited to be joining Seraphic Fire’s Ensemble Artist Program this year. With the UCLA Chamber Singers, Madison sang soprano in the vocal quartet for Lera Auerbach’s West Coast premiere of Vessels of Light in beautiful Royce Hall. In addition to her vocal work, Madison aspires to become a choral conductor at the K–12 and collegiate levels and hopes to inspire young artists to develop a passion for music, as she did, through music education. Also an avid instrumentalist, she is a member of the UCLA Marching Band as a percussionist.

Krystal Mao is a lyric coloratura soprano currently in her third year at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, where she is under the tutelage of renowned baritone Vladimir Chernov. She has performed roles such as the Second Woman in Dido and Aeneas, Coridon in Acis and Galatea, and recently originated the role of Siren in the world premiere of Quake by UCLA composition professor Kay Rhie. Previously, she performed in UCLA Opera’s productions of The Rake’s Progress (Stravinsky), L’elisir d’Amore (Donizetti), and Les Mamelles de Tirésias (Poulenc) as a member of the chorus. Krystal has also been a part of the UCLA Chamber Singers ensemble for the past three years, and this year she is a new member of the Seraphic Fire Ensemble Artist Program.

Prior to attending UCLA, Krystal worked with a variety of high-profile opera singers and vocal professors, including Grammy Award winner Denyse Graves and Juilliard professor J.J. Penna. In the summer of 2022, she attended the International Vocal Artists Academy of Payerbach, where she furthered her studies with Vladimir Chernov and Olga Toporkova through daily intensive vocal training. In 2023, she was a recipient of the second-place SAI Pasadena Alumnae Scholarship Award. This year, Krystal looks forward to her upcoming junior recital in the spring.

Leland Alexander Smith is an operatic baritone who began his training at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Pre-College in 2021. Leland is the national 1st Place Winner of the 2019 CS Music Vocal Competition, National Honorable Mention of the 2021 and 2020 YoungArts Competition in Classical Voice, National 2nd place winner of the 2020 Hal Leonard Vocal Competition and two-time finalist in the Opera Buffs, Inc. Artists of the Future Competition. Leland was also awarded 3rd place and the Most Promising Sophomore Award (Western Region) by the 2019 Schmidt Vocal Arts Competition. Leland has attended various summer programs for opera, including the prestigious Curtis Summerfest at the Curtis Institute of Music. He is honored to be a full-merit scholarship recipient of the Frost School of Music Program at Salzburg and the Schmidt Vocal Summer Institute. Leland is currently a junior undergraduate student with a full-ride scholarship at UCLA, continuing his vocal training under Professor Juliana Gondek.

Camryn Jayde Deisman is a Mezzo-Soprano, from the San Joaquin Valley, and currently a third year undergraduate student at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. Camryn is working toward her B.A. in Music Education, and B.M. in Vocal Performance. She is a student of internationally renowned baritone, Vladimir Chernov. With a passion for choral music, she is looking forward to earning her degree and becoming a choral director for young singers. In August 2024, Camryn sang the role of Dido, in California Opera Association’s production of Dido and Aeneas , located in Fresno, CA. Camryn is also a member of LA-based Adoro Music Ensemble and UCLA Chamber Singers. Camryn is Co-President of UCLA's cNAfME chapter (National Association for Music Education Collegiate). Camryn independently runs Jayde Jewelry Shop, an online jewelry business, and has shipped 5,000+ handmade, and affordable jewelry items internationally. Camryn is very excited to join the Seraphic Fire Ensemble Artist Program, and is looking forward to making beautiful music, with such talented musicians.