jasmine wang, soprano, aaron durand, baritone & Maria Jung, piano

Jasmine Wang is a Canadian-Chinese soprano known for her creative and dynamic presence across musical genres, from Chinese folk songs, to classical repertoire by Mozart and Handel, to contemporary pop. An active performer based in Vancouver, she also brings dedicated expertise as a music educator. She holds an Early Childhood Education and Infant and Toddler Certificate, and teaches fluently in both English and Mandarin.

Jasmine’s career highlights include organizing a charity concert in 2018 that raised $10,000 for the Burnaby Hospital, winning Gold in the 2021 Water Cube Cup Chinese Songs Contest, and making it as a Top 10 finalist in the 2022 Sing China Competition. She also received the Best Stage Act Award at the 2022 Solid Gold Singing Contest and was a four-year scholarship student during her Bachelor’s Degree in Voice at the Vancouver Academy of Music.

When not performing or teaching, Jasmine is passionately engaged in exploring cross-cultural musical narratives and developing educational programs that bridge Eastern and Western vocal traditions.

An alumnus of UBC, Aaron Durand (he/him) holds an M.Mus in operatic performance. He has performed across three separate continents, and in roles across the entire operatic spectrum, from Guglielmo (Così fan tutte) and Schaunard (La Bohème) to John A. MacDonald (Louis Riel) and "The Dying Man" in the avant-garde electronic opera, Pandora. Other life highlights include The Overcoat with Tapestry Opera and Vancouver Opera, premiering The Rocking Horse Winner with Tapestry Opera, sharing important Newfoundland history through Ours with Opera on the Avalon, and self-publishing a small poetry anthology, to be left on the King St platform. Aaron has also been active behind the stage. He founded an irreverent classical music company, Tongue in Cheek Productions, while in Toronto, and is one half of Vancouver duo Opera 101 with soprano Chloé Hurst. When not singing or teaching, Aaron is fulfilled by his studies of mythology, psychology, storytelling, and somatics. 

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.