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 third-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 continuing her work with 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 fourth 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 four years, and is excited to return to be a part 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 Senior recital in the spring.

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.

Olivia Salazar is a twenty one year old artist studying at the University of California Los Angeles under the tutelage of Distinguished Professor Vladimir Chernov and Coach Wendy Caldwell. In her time at UCLA, she has held a leading role in the Kurt Weill Cabaret (2025), played Mercédès in Carmen (2024) in the UCLA Scenes Program, The Second Witch in Dido and Aeneas (2023), Madame Grosse in Poulenc’s Les Mamelles de Tirésias (2023), and the Shepherd in Acis and Galatea (2022). Olivia has received the semifinal award for the 2020 Music Center Spotlight Competition, has received a near full scholarship to the prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy, where she studied under Distinguished Teacher Jeffrey Norris, and has performed additional leading roles including Krakamiche in the recently rediscovered opera Les Dernier Sorcier (2021), and Bunthorne in Patience (2022).

Olivia also has a passion for singing in choral ensembles, partaking in UCLA Chamber Singers for the past three years (2022- present) where she has sung with Cappella Romana on their super audio recording of In the Footsteps of St. Demetrios (2024), with the Long Beach Camerata in the Brahms Requiem (2024), and with the Brubeck Brothers in Gates of Justice (2023). Olivia was additionally the alto soloist in the Universalist Unitarian of Santa Monica’s rendition of The Messiah (2024).

When Olivia isn’t singing, she enjoys traveling, baking, cooking, reading, sewing, and spending quality time with her family, friends, and pets.

Yani Araujo, is an experienced soloist and ensemble artist hailing from Orlando, FL. He has sung in numerous performances around the Central Florida area with ensembles such as Solaria of Orlando Sings, the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park, the Villages Philharmonic, and many more. Yani holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Rollins College, with a focus in vocal performance and conducting. He is currently pursuing the degree of Master of Music in Choral Conducting at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Andres Delgado, tenor, is an undergraduate Voice Performance major at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music under the instruction of Juliana Gondek. Most recently, he performed the roles of Dr. Caius in Falstaff, Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, Count Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Basilio in Le nozze di Figaro, and L’Aumonier in Dialogues des Carmélites in a scenes program with UCLA Opera. He has also appeared in the ensemble of Pacific Symphony’s productions of La Bohéme, Carmen, and Tosca.

Andres is also a member of the UCLA Chamber Singers and was formerly a section leader in the Southern California Children’s Chorus. As a passionate follower of choral music, Andres has been singing for over 18 years and has been fortunate to conduct choirs across the globe, traveling to France, Ireland, Poland, and Austria. In addition to his musical studies, he is also pursuing a minor in Art History.

Kevin Cornwell II is a second-year graduate student in Choral Conducting at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. Before arriving at UCLA, Kevin served with Julian Goods as Co-Interem Choral Director for the Detroit School of Arts in Detroit, Michigan. As a conductor, Kevin has served as the Assistant Conductor with his mentor, Dr. Michael A. Mitchell, to the Oakland University Chorus and Chorale, where he received his Bachelor of Music in Vocal Music Education. He also was a finalist for the state (Michigan) and the National American Choral Directors Association Conducting Undergraduate Masterclass in 2023.

Kevin enjoys a multifaceted music career as a Film Score Composer, Live Arranger, and Musician outside of Choral Music. Kevin attributes much of his musical inspiration to his father, Kevin Cornwell Sr., his High School Choir director, who helped shape him and instilled many of his core values at a young age.

Leland Alexander Smith is a young baritone currently in his senior year at UCLA on a full scholarship studying voice with Juliana Gondek. He began at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Pre-College, where, as a teenager, he became the first-place winner of the CS Music Vocal Competition, the second-place winner of the 2020 Hal Leonard Vocal Competition, and a two-time winner of the YoungArts competition in classical voice. Leland has performed roles internationally, including the title role in Don Giovanni, Aeneas in Dido and Aeneas, the Count in Le Nozze di Figaro, and Musiklehrer in Ariadne auf Naxos. In concert, Leland has performed as a soloist in various oratorios such as Faure’s Requiem in D minor and Puccini’s Messa di Gloria. He recently created the role of General Laturb in the fully-staged world premiere of Richard Danielpour’s opera The Grand Hotel Tartarus. Leland has been mentored by luminaries such as Sherrill Milnes, Vladimir Chernov, Lucas Meachem, and Nicole Cabell, among many others. He is thrilled to return and take part in Seraphic Fire’s Ensemble Artist Program.