program

Recognized for her “beautiful, warm voice with a secure and soft top and a powerful low register” (Basler Landschaftszeitung, Switzerland), Carla López-Speziale has enjoyed a distinguished career in opera, zarzuela and as a concert artist. 

Also hailed as "the best singer of Mahler in Mexico" (La Jornada, México), she has appeared with the Bellas Artes Opera, the Grand Théâtre de Genève, the Domingo-Embil Zarzuela Company in her native Mexico, at Weill Recital Hall and the Isaac Stern Auditorium at Carnegie hall, the New York City Opera National Company, Caramoor Opera in New York, Utah Festival Opera, and Hong Kong Musica Viva and Hangzhou Opera (China).

A notable Carmen,  Ms. López-Speziale has performed this role in the United States at the Marin Center in CA, in Mexico at the Palacio de  Bellas Artes in Mexico City, and in China at the Hangzhou Theater and at  the Hong Kong City Hall among other venues.  She has also appeared as Dalila (Samson et Dalila), La zia principessa (Suor Angelica), Azucena (Il trovatore),Ulrica (Un ballo in maschera) Isabella (L’italiana in Algeri), the Old Lady (Candide) and Orfeo (Orfeo ed Euridice) at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, Rosina (Il barbiere di Siviglia), at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City as well at the Ellen Eccles Theater in Utah, Bradamante (Handel’s Alcina) at the Teatro de las Artes in Mexico City, Mitrena (Vivald’s Montezuma), Jo (Little Women), Baba the Turk (The Rake’s Progress), and Judith (Bluebeard’s Castle)  She has also sung the roles of Siegrune in Die Walküre, and the Second Norn and Flosshilde in Götterdammerung in the first Mexican production of Wagner’s Ring Cycle at the Palacio de Bellas Artes.  With the Hellenic Foundation in NYC she sang Erda in Das Rheingold.  With the Orchestra of New Spain she has been featured as Cupido in the revival of Duron’s “Cupid’s New Weapons of Love” (Las nuevas armas de amor), as Orestes in the revival of Nebra’s “Iphigenia in Thrace” (Ifigenia en Tracia), and as Achille in the modern premiere of Courcelle’s “Achilles in Skyros” (Achille in Sciro) at the Moody Performance Hall in Dallas  and the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque.  Ms.  López-Speziale sang the world premiere of Dazzi’s En susurros los muertos in Mexico City, as well as its European  premiere in Basel at the Basel Prädiger Kirche, Mulhouse at La Filature  Scène Nationale, and Strasbourg at the Église reformée du Bouclier.

Alina is a 17-year-old student at Léman Manhattan Preparatory School and in the Juilliard Pre College Voice Program. Some of her favorite recent roles the Third Spirit in The Magic Flute (2020) at the Houston Grand Opera, Louisa in the world premiere of The Phoenix (2019) at the Houston Grand Opera, and Fan Scrooge in A Christmas Carol (2018) at The Alley Theatre. This year, Alina was named the New York winner of the Music Teachers National Association voice competition, and was recently a finalist for the regional Roger Rees Award. Also on stage, Alina has performed at Paul Hall at the Juilliard School for Songbook Recitals, Opera Scenes performances, Lift Every Voice and Sing: A Celebration of African-American Women Composers, and has appeared at the Gershwin Theatre as an ensemble member in the Arts for Autism Benefit/Concert. 

Ben Pedersen is a 17-year-old tenor and recent graduate of the Juilliard Pre-College program, where he studied with Lorraine Nubar. Last summer, he studied at the Academie International D'été De Nice with Lorraine Nubar. Ben has participated in masterclasses with Brian Zeger, Kayo Iwama, Jack Li Vigni, William Burden, and Dr. Katherine Jolly. Ben has been a winner in NATS and Classical Singer competitions and is a recipient of the George London Scholarship. This fall, he will begin his undergraduate studies at The Juilliard School, studying with William Burden. 

An ardent, multifaceted Mexican artist, Silvia Santinelli’s performances have taken her to concert halls worldwide, including the Chopin International Music Festival in Marianske-Lazne, Czech Republic; the International Piano Festivals at Valle di Blenio, Switzerland; and the Rachmaninoff International Festival in Tambov, Russia, to mention a few. Hailed as a “musician of great depth” (San Antonio Express News), she continues to dazzle audiences in concert, whether in solo, chamber, or duo performances. 

Highlights of her most recent engagements include performances at the International Piano Festival in Óbidos, Portugal; the RONDO - Vanguard Competition Winners Concert at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall; the Tuesday Musical Club Artist Series in San Antonio, Texas; the Griffin Concert Hall, Colorado State University School of the Arts; the salon concert series for the San Antonio International Piano Competition; and performances with the Chamber Orchestra of San Antonio (now Classical Music Institute) at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, where she championed the rarely heard Sinfonia da Camera by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari. 

In addition to receiving multiple awards and recognitions, Santinelli has been featured in various television and radio broadcasts, including National Public Radio (Performance Today), Texas Public Radio, KWEX (Univision), Televisa, and KMFA (Classically Austin), which featured her performance of the Ravel Concerto for the Left Handunder the baton of Kevin Noe.

Santinelli also specializes in and features the piano repertoire of Spain, in particular the music of Manuel de Falla. She continues to present selections of his music in concert exploring his compositional development as influenced by sociopolitical, cultural, and musical currents of de Falla’s time.

With the Marjory Powel Zachary Keyboard Endowment from the University of Texas at San Antonio, Silvia earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree and a Master’s Degree in Piano Performance under Busoni winner Valeri Grokhovski, while receiving additional interpretive instruction through the late Alexander Alexandrov from the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music in Moscow.

Santinelli is also the recipient of the FONCA/CONACULTA Grant sponsored by Fulbright in Mexico and a Teaching Assistantship from the University of Texas at Austin where she obtained a Doctorate in Musical Arts with internationally acclaimed pianist Anton Nel. Dr. Santinelli is the Co-Founder of Classical Music Institute, a Tobin Center for the Performing Arts resident company created for cultivating classical music education and performance.