Three new arrivals join seven returning members for the coming season

(Los Angeles) July 8, 2025 — LA Opera has announced the members of the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program for the 2025/26 season.

Two of the three new members joining the program are singers and one is a pianist/coach. Soprano Emily Damasco and mezzo-soprano Katie Trigg were chosen from more than 800 applicants. Preliminary auditions took place in New York, Cincinnati and Los Angeles. The finalists auditioned in Los Angeles in the spring for a panel that included President and CEO Christopher Koelsch; Music Director James Conlon; Susan Graham, the program's Artistic Advisor; Paul Hopper, Senior Director of Artistic Planning; Blair Salter, head coach for the program; and Stephen King, head of vocal instruction for the program.

Pianist/coach Gabrielė Žemaitytė was chosen by an audition panel that included James Conlon, Paul Hopper and Blair Salter, as well as Jeremy Frank, the company's chorus director who is also a coach for the Young Artist Program.

Seven current members of the program will return for their second seasons with the company: soprano Gabrielle Turgeon; tenors Nathan Bowles and Yuntong Han; baritone Hyungjin Son; bass Vinícius Costa; and pianist/coaches Sujin Choi and Julian Garvue. Members of the program will be featured in LA Opera's mainstage productions and other performances throughout the season.

"The Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program is widely recognized as one of the premier training programs for emerging operatic talent, with alumni performing on many of the world’s most important stages,” said Christopher Koelsch. “The program provides an exceptionally supportive and inspiring environment in which young artists can flourish, offering meaningful opportunities for artistic growth and close collaboration with singers, conductors, directors and coaches of the highest caliber. We are honored to support the development of the next generation of deeply communicative and expressive artists, and look forward to experiencing their contributions throughout the coming season.”

Meet the Young Artists
Tenor Nathan Bowles appeared with LA Opera last season as Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet, the Bullfighter in Ainadamar and Borsa in Rigoletto, and will return as Parpignol in La Bohème, Dr. Caius in Falstaff and the First Armored Man in The Magic Flute. Earlier this year, he appeared with Tulsa Opera as Don José in The Tragedy of Carmen, and he will perform Canio in Pagliacci with Pacific Opera Project in September. He was a national grand finalist in the Metropolitan Opera's 2024 Laffont Competition.

South Korean pianist/coach Sujin Choi served on the music staff for Romeo and Juliet and Rigoletto in her first season with LA Opera, and will be on the music staff for La Bohème and The Magic Flute in the coming season. She holds collaborative piano degrees from New England Conservatory and Yonsei University and has been a coach with the Aspen Music Festival and Music Academy of the West, and a member of the Merola Opera Program at San Francisco Opera. In 2023, she joined the staff of Boston Conservatory as a pianist.

Brazilian bass Vinícius Costa appeared with the company last season as the Imperial Commissioner in Madama Butterfly, the Duke of Verona in Romeo and Juliet, José Tripaldi in Ainadamar and Count Ceprano in Rigoletto. He will return as Aye in Akhnaten, Pistol in Falstaff and the Speaker in The Magic Flute. He has been a Renée Fleming Artist at the Aspen Music Festival, singing the title role in The Marriage of Figaro and Victor Fyodorov in Jimmy Lopez's Bel Canto.

In her first season with the company, soprano Emily Damasco will appear as Beketaten in Akhnaten and as Pagagena in The Magic Flute. She earned her bachelor's and master's degrees at the Curtis Institute of Music, where her roles included the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte and Fox Gold-Stripe in The Cunning Little Vixen. She has performed with conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Curtis Symphony Orchestra as Fiordiligi in excerpts from Così fan tutte and as the Marschallin in the final trio from Der Rosenkavalier.

Pianist/coach Julian Garvue was a coach for LA Opera's productions of Così fan tutte and Ainadamar. He will serve on the music staff for West Side Story, Akhnaten and Falstaff in the coming season. He is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and Indiana University. He has participated in SongFest, Music Academy of the West and the Merola Opera Program at San Francisco Opera.

Chinese tenor Yuntong Han made his LA Opera debut last season as Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet and covered the role of Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly. He will return as the High Priest of Amon in Akhnaten and Bardolph in Falstaff. In November, he will cover the role of the Jade Emperor in The Monkey King at San Francisco Opera. He was a 2023 national grand finalist in the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition and has been a young artist at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and the Ravinia Steans Music Institute.

South Korean baritone Hyungjin Son made his LA Opera debut as Prince Yamadori in last season's Madama Butterfly, subsequently appearing as Gregorio in Romeo and Juliet, the Teacher in Ainadamar and Marullo in Rigoletto. He will return as General Horemhab in Akhnaten and the Second Armored Man in The Magic Flute. He was a 2023 national grand finalist in the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. He recently appeared with Boston Lyric Opera and Pittsburgh Opera as the Bonze in Madama Butterfly.

A native of New Zealand, mezzo-soprano Katie Trigg, will perform Maketaten in Akhnaten and the Second Lady in The Magic Flute in her debut season with the company. She completed her Master of Music at Curtis Institute of Music, where her roles included Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro. She has performed Flora in La Traviata with the Auckland Philharmonia, Verdi's Requiem with Auckland Choral and Mozart's Requiem with the Binghamton Philharmonic, and was a 2023 Studio Artist with Wolf Trap Opera.

Canadian-American soprano Gabrielle Turgeon made her company debut as Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, returning as the Voice of the Fountain in Ainadamar and both Countess Ceprano and the Page in Rigoletto. In the 2025/26 season, her appearances will include Meretaten in Akhnaten and the First Lady in The Magic Flute. This summer, she will perform Micaëla in Carmen with Canada's Brott Music Festival.

Lithuanian pianist/coach Gabrielė Žemaitytė joins LA Opera in the coming season, serving on the music staff for La Bohème. She completed both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in classical piano performance at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague. This summer, she is a vocal piano fellow at the Lehrer Vocal Institute at the Music Academy of the West. She was a collaborative piano fellow at Bard College Conservatory of Music and at Festival Napa Valley's Manetti Shrem Opera Program.

About the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program
Inaugurated during the 2006/07 season, the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program is designed to support the future of opera by discovering and developing the talents of exceptionally gifted young artists to become performers of potentially international stature. LA Opera uses its resources to provide extensive training for singers and pianists who are transitioning from academic training to a professional career in opera. A two-year paid residency, artists are given opportunities to further develop skills through mainstage roles, as principal artists' covers, and in dedicated young artist concerts and productions.

Singers who have graduated the program have gone on to debuts at prestigious opera houses around the world, and many have also returned to LA Opera to sing leading roles. Pianists have gone on to become conductors, members of music staff and heads of music staff, and faculty or staff at institutions such as San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, English National Opera, Atlanta Opera, Florentine Opera, Manhattan School of Music, and Santa Fe Opera.

More information about the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program is available at LAOpera.org/young-artists.

About LA Opera
Los Angeles is a city of enormous diversity and creativity, and LA Opera is dedicated to reflecting that vibrancy by redefining what opera can be. Through imaginative new productions, world premiere commissions, and inventive performances that preserve foundational works while making them feel fresh and compelling, LA Opera has become one of America’s most exciting and ambitious opera companies.

In addition to its mainstage performances at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the company explores unusual repertoire each season through the LA Opera Off Grand initiative, featuring performances in a variety of venues throughout Los Angeles. The LA Opera Connects initiative offers a robust variety of educational programming and community engagement offerings that reaches people throughout every corner of Los Angeles County. Learn more at LAOpera.org.

LA Opera Media Contact
Marlene Meraz
Director of Communications
mmeraz@laopera.org
213.972.7554

LA Opera's Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program generously underwritten by  
Colburn Foundation  
Eugene and Marilyn Stein  

Additional generous underwriting support provided by
Terri and Jerry Kohl 

With special support for young artist stipends graciously provided by
The Lenore and Richard Wayne Young Artist Fellowship 

Additional support provided by
The Jules Brenner Trust
LA Opera’s Young Artist Circle  

Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program created with funding from the
Flora L. Thornton Foundation  

LA Opera is a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving the greater Los Angeles community.