Cassie Chang, soprano & Maria Jung, piano

“Not only close to perfection but also astonishingly beautiful and moving”- Meche di Voce.

Soprano Cassie Chang made her Lincoln Center Debut with An Operatic Affair and has since been featured by notable media such as Operawire and Stir Magazine. She was a young artist at the Canadian Opera Company Summer Intensive 2023 and has published her own song cycle Internalized Globalization (Beijing, Vancouver, New York) on streaming platforms. She received a High Distinction Award at the Vienna International Competition in 2020 and is a recipient of numerous scholarships including the DAAD and the Lotte and John Hecht Memorial Scholarship. She has appeared in concerts internationally including cities such as Bayreuth, Berlin, Beijing, Vancouver, Toronto, and New York. Her credits include The Old Maid and the Thief (Laetitia) with Heroic Opera, Serse (Romilda) with the Manhattan School of Music. La Bohème (Mussetta) and Viaggio a Reims (Corinna) with Classic Lyric Arts. Die Zauberflöte (First Lady) and Gianni Schicchi (Lauretta) with the Berlin Opera Academy. In addition she has performed in the Canadian premiere of die Passagierin (Oberaufseherin) with UBC Opera. Ms.Chang received her Masters of Music from the Manhattan School of Music 22’ under the tutelage of Catherine Malfitano and Bachelor of Music from the University of British Columbia 20’ under the tutelage of Peter Barcza. She currently studies with Valentin Peytchinov and is endorsed by the AGMA holding O1B Status in the United States. with her two young sons.

Maria Hwa Yeong Jung is an active vocal collaborative pianist from Burnaby. Maria has worked at University of Toronto Faculty of Music as a vocal coach and staff accompanist, and accompanied the renowned Oriana Women’s Chorus and Acquired Taste Choir with conductor Mitchell Pady. She also worked as a music director and repetiteur for the Summer Opera Lyric Theater for the productions of Handel’s Cesare, and Marschner’s Der Vampyr. Maria is a graduate of University of Toronto, where she earned her Master’s degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy, and Bachelor’s degree in Music Education under the tutelage of Lydia Wong and Dr. James Parker. Recently graduated from New England Conservatory of Music, she studied with Dr. Cameron Stowe and John Moriarty in the Collaborative Piano Graduate Diploma program. As a collaborative pianist, Maria has performed in many prestigious venues such as Chan Center, Pyatt Hall, The Annex, Jordan Hall, Walter Hall, Boston Atenaeum, Isabella Gardner Museum, Robert Gill Theater and Museum of Fine Arts. She also took part in eminent summer festivals such as Toronto Summer Music Festival Academy of Songs, Aspen Music Festival, Opera Nuova, Opera on the Avalon and Vancouver International Song Institute. As an emerging repetiteur, she has worked with conductors such as Evan Mitchell, Stephen Lord, Jordan de Souza, and Judith Yan.

Maria recently performed as a music director with Heroic Opera Company with their production of Menotti’s Old Maid and Thief. She has performed with Music Friends Recital Society as a collaborative artist, worked closely with Opera Mariposa for their production of Puccini's Gianni Scchichi and debuted as a music director for their opera scenes concert. She is a faculty member at VSO school of music, a vocal coach at Vancouver Academy of Music for their college department and a staff pianist at the dance department of the Shadbolt Center for the Arts.