![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bloomingtonsymphony.com\/staging\/6573\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Nathalie-Friederich-Headshot-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C1800&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>Nathalie Friederich<\/strong> is a soprano from Phoenix, Arizona. Ms. Friederich\u2019s recent engagements include the role of Musetta in La Boh\u00e8me<\/em> with the IU Opera Theatre & Ballet, chorus in Le Nozze di Figaro<\/em> at Indiana University Opera Theatre and Ballet, Erste Dame in the Trentino Music Festival\u2019s 2024 production of Die Zauberfl\u00f6te<\/em>, The Taum\u00e4nnchen in Indiana University Opera Theatre\u2019s Fall 2022 production of Hansel und Gretel<\/em>, and several Indiana University Opera ensembles including the chorus in Don Giovanni, Candide, Die Lustige Witwe<\/em>, and Sweeney Todd, and Oklahoma. <\/em>Her achievements in vocal competitions are notable, with first-place wins in the 2019 Atlanta Music Club Competition, the 2021 National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) competition in the Mid-Atlantic undergraduate voice category, and the 2022 undergraduate division of the Indianapolis Matinee Musicale. In 2024 she placed first place in the Peabody art song competition in the graduate division and competed in the Laffont Metropolitan Opera Competition. In 2025 she won 1st place in the Atlanta Music Club competition and in 2026 she won the Pock and Blumberg award in the NSAL Indiana Chapter competition. She graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor\u2019s degree in Vocal Performance from Indiana University\u2019s Jacobs School of Music under the instruction of Professor Jane Dutton. She is currently continuing her studies with Jane Dutton, pursuing her Masters at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. This Spring she will premiere the role of Karolina in the workshop of Martin Hennessey\u2019s new opera Swimming in the Dark <\/em>based on the best-selling novel by Tomasz Jedrowski. This is her debut performance singing the soprano solo in Beethoven\u2019s Symphony no. 9<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n Mezzo-soprano Esther Jo<\/strong>, a native of Seoul, South Korea, is currently pursuing an Artist Diploma at the Jacobs School of Music under the tutelage of Jane Dutton, supported by a Performance Fellowship and full scholarship. She recently completed her Performer Diploma, earning a Performer\u2019s Certificate under the same support. With Indiana University Opera Theater, her roles include Carmen in Bizet\u2019s Carmen<\/em>, Madame de la Halti\u00e8re in Massenet\u2019s Cendrillon<\/em>, La Zia Principessa in Puccini\u2019s Suor Angelica<\/em>, and Olga in Tchaikovsky\u2019s Eugene Onegin<\/em>. She has also appeared in opera workshops as Charlotte in Massenet\u2019s Werther<\/em>, Gertrude in Thomas\u2019s Hamlet<\/em>, and Giovanna Seymour in Donizetti\u2019s Anna Bolena<\/em>. She was named a finalist in the Georgina Joshi Foundation Competition. She also participated in a masterclass with Stuart Skelton. She further expanded her artistic career in Europe as a Faculty-Nominated Artist and Competition Winner in the Jacobs Berlin Performance Program, taking masterclasses with Klaus Sallmann, Uwe Griem, Brenden Gunnell, Byron Knutson, Viviana Barrios, and Trevor John Pichanik, which were held in Berlin and Leipzig. She then made a successful debut at the Mendelssohn-Remise. This summer, she will join Opera Maine as a Studio Artist, covering Gertrude in Gounod\u2019s Rom\u00e9o et Juliette<\/em> and performing Khanh in Huang Ruo\u2019s Bound<\/em>. Korean tenor Suro Kim<\/strong> is currently pursuing his Master of Music in Voice Performance at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he studies with Carol Vaness. A native of Seoul, he attended Seoul Arts High School, Korea\u2019s leading arts high school, and graduated at the top of his class from the College of Music at Hanyang University, one of the country\u2019s premier music schools. Stephen Stavnicky<\/strong> is a bass-baritone from Cleveland, Ohio graduating this May from Indiana University – Jacobs School of Music with a Master’s degree in Voice Performance and Trumpet Performance, having been under the tutelage of Peter Volpe (voice) and Jason Bergman (trumpet). He has been seen on stage with IU Opera Theater as Escamillo in Carmen<\/em>, Prince Gremin in Eugene Onegin<\/em>, Le Roi in Cendrillon<\/em>, and has been in various opera choruses at IU, including the world premiere of Mason Bate’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay<\/em>. Stephen has been a soloist for other works such as Mozart’s Requiem<\/em>, Haydn’s The Creation<\/em>, both J.S. and C.P.E. Bach’s Magnificat<\/em>, and Handel’s The Messiah<\/em>. Stephen was the first-place winner of the 2025 Indianapolis Matinee Musicale competition in the Graduate Voice division and placed in the top three of the voice division of the Tuesday Musical competition in Akron, Ohio in 2023, a competition in which he won first place in the brass division the year prior. As a trumpet player, Stephen has performed with professional orchestras in Ohio, has performed with nearly every ensemble here at IU, and was a finalist in IU’s Brass Concerto Competition in 2024. Stephen holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Trumpet Performance from Kent State University.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bloomingtonsymphony.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Esther-Jo-Headshot-1.jpg?fit=640%2C640&ssl=1\")
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At Hanyang University in Seoul, South Korea, Jo graduated summa cum laude<\/em> with a Bachelor of Music, receiving multiple merit-based full scholarships, an exclusive teaching certification, and ranking among the top three students in the voice department. She subsequently earned her Master of Music with full scholarship and research assistantship. Under the guidance of Locky Chung and Su-gil Park in Korea, Jo performed Maddalena in Verdi’s Rigoletto<\/em> (a co-production of Hanyang University and the Seongdong Cultural Foundation), Dorabella in Mozart’s Cos\u00ec fan tutte<\/em>, and Dritte Dame in Mozart’s Die Zauberfl\u00f6te<\/em>, among other roles. As an alto soloist, she has performed Charpentier\u2019s Te Deum<\/em>, Vivaldi\u2019s Gloria in D major<\/em>, Britten\u2019s A Ceremony of Carols<\/em>, and Sch\u00fctz\u2019s Die sieben Worte Jesu Christi am Kreuz<\/em>. She has further refined her artistry through masterclasses with Mutsumi Moteki and as a Voice Fellow at the Yewool Music Stage, earning international recognition.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bloomingtonsymphony.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Suro-Kim-Headshot-1.jpeg?fit=640%2C636&ssl=1\")
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Kim has sung Alfredo in Verdi\u2019s La Traviata<\/em> and Rodolfo in Puccini\u2019s La Boh\u00e8me<\/em> in Korea, and has broadened his stage experience at Indiana University in opera workshop productions of Dialogues des Carm\u00e9lites, La fille du r\u00e9giment, Rigoletto, Faust<\/em>, and Peter<\/em> Grimes<\/em>. He is engaged to sing Tamino in Mozart\u2019s Die Zauberfl\u00f6te<\/em> in Tokyo this summer and will also appear as the tenor soloist in Beethoven\u2019s Symphony No. 9 <\/em>with the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra in Indiana.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bloomingtonsymphony.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Stephen-Stavnicky-Headshot-1-scaled.jpg?fit=640%2C776&ssl=1\")
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