BFOS Ambassadors
MEET our Ambassadors around the world
At the Barcelona Festival of Song, we are proud of the singers who have passed through our program over the years. All our participants are super talented singers and pianists committed to promoting the Iberian and Latin American vocal repertoire. They are our best ambassadors around the world!
Being an Ambassador of the Barcelona Festival of Song means being talented, loving the Latin American and Iberian vocal repertoire, having an open mind to discovering and learning new repertoires, continually searching for new ways to reach audiences.
#BFOSAlumni #BFOSAmbassadors
Lori Şen
Turkish mezzo-soprano Lori Şen is known for her versatility in many vocal genres, including opera, art song, musical theatre, and jazz, as well as for her teaching and research interests in vocal literature, voice pedagogy, and voice science. Dr. Şen is an expert of the Western classical settings of traditional Sephardic folk songs.
Eugenia Forteza
French-Argentinean Mezzo-Soprano Eugenia Forteza has been praised for her “earthy vocal presence” and "powerful voice.” A Finalist and Opera Role Prize Winner at the 2017 Concorso Internazionale di Canto Katia Ricciarelli in Cerisano, Italy, she is a Young Artist at Teatro Grattacielo, in NYC, and the founder of the 360° of Opera blog.
Malina Rauschenfels
Malina Rauschenfels is a half-Peruvian vocalist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist with degrees in cello and composition from Eastman and Juilliard. She co-directs Burning River Baroque, and has performed Ibero-American music with El Fuego, The Newberry Consort and Crescendo. She loves learning early and brand new Ibero-American music.
ISAI MUNOZ
With a radiant voice and a profound understanding of art song and operatic repertoire, tenor Isaí Jess Muñoz has collaborated with some of the world’s leading ensembles. Mr. Muñoz is a graduate of the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, Manhattan School of Music, and Stony Brook University. He currently serves as professor of voice and opera at the University of Delaware. www.JessMunoz.com
Stella Dayrit Roden
Professor of Music, teaches Voice, Diction, and Vocal Pedagogy at the University of Central Missouri. Dr. Stella Dayrit Roden is an award-winning soprano, nationally and internationally recognized for her vocal artistry. A desire to learn Iberian and Latin American songs led her to BFOS in 2016.
Frances Mitchem-Diago
Puerto Rican-born, dramatic mezzo-soprano Frances Mitchem-Diago, is a DC/Northern VA-based opera singer, with a Master’s Degree in Vocal performance from George Mason University. Recent roles include La Zia Principessa in Suor Angelica by Puccini, and Third Lady in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte.She enjoys singing standards and jazz, recently recorded a Schubert Lied for an independent short film, and is honored to be an ambassador for the BFOS.
SYDNEY PÉREZ
Sydney Pérez is a senior at the University of Texas Butler School of Music, studying with Dr. Cynthia Morrow. She fell in love with the art songs of Iberian and Latin American composers during the 2019 Barcelona Festival of Song.
Expanding accessibility to this repertoire through performance and education is her greatest passion.
Yayra Sánchez
Puerto Rican Soprano, Yayra Sánchez sings with a “deeply textured, velvety voice” and “clear, bright coloraturas.” Based in Austin, TX, she performs concert works and operas, ranging from the traditional to the contemporary. Yayra earned her B.A. and M.M in Vocal Performance from The Boston Conservatory, and participated at the BFOS in 2008. She is an advocate of the Ibero-American repertoire and a proponent of new music.
Darci Bultema
Praised for her “luscious legato line” and “sumptuous crescendos” Darci Bultema, soprano, is recognized for her versatility in opera and art song. A frequent recitalist, she champions the performance of art songs from Scandinavian and Latin American countries and regularly commissions chamber music for soprano and clarinet. Bultema serves as Professor of Music at Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota, USA.
melody cooper
Melody Cooper is a professional harpist, pianist and vocalist based in Asheville, NC USA. Melody is an alumna of the 2012 Barcelona Festival of Song and Project Canción Española. Melody created a series “Spanish Rhapsody” with guitarists, salsa bands and piano to celebrate her love for Spanish and Latin American music.
Regina Stroncek
An avid recitalist with a deep-seated passion for art song and new music, Regina Stroncek is a versatile soprano based in Minneapolis, MN. She holds degrees in Vocal Performance, Spanish, and Portuguese, and is a two-time Fulbright scholar to Brazil, where she recently spent 2 years researching and performing Brazilian vocal chamber repertoire in the capital city, Brasília.
Eloisa ferrer
Eloisa Ferrer holds a B.A. in Vocal Performance and a M.M. Performing Arts Administration. She performed with Chelsea Opera and the Bronx Opera, and has held positions with theater companies and non-profit organizations. She works with artists and organizations that tell stories that reflect her community, and is delighted to be a Barcelona Festival of Song ambassador. https://www.linkedin.com/in/eloisa-ferrer-86b9181b0/
Patricia Sands
Patricia Sands participated in the BFOS in 2012, and also came to Barcelona for private repertoire coachings for performances in Taiwan (2007) and Spain (2019). Patricia is an NCVS trained Vocologist, Voice Teacher, Singer, and Music/Theatre Director in Asheville, North Carolina. She lived in eight different countries around the world until 2020, and now continues to enjoy the repertoire in the USA!
Monica Murray
Dr. Monica Murray is an active performer in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, who has served as section leader with the Minnesota Chorale, a recitalist for Thursday Musical, and member of the Minnesota Opera Company Chorus. A 2009 alumnus of the BFOS, she continues to explore Spanish language song repertoire, specifically the songs of Argentina. She serves as Chair of the Department of Music, Theatre, and Dance at Concordia University in St. Paul, MN.
Carrie deLapp-Culver
Dr. Carrie deLapp-Culver is an active performer and pedagogue in the Northeast Ohio region. She is an Associate Professor at The College of Wooster and sings with the Cleveland Chamber Chorus and the Modern Muse Trio. A 2009 alumnus of the Barcelona Festival of Song, she returned in 2015 to continue her study of repertoire in Spanish and Portuguese. Her article, “Repertoire with Results: Embracing the Spanish Art Song,” was published in the Journal of Singing in 2016 and her album, Sonidos Sureños, released by the Centaur label in 2013.
https://carriedelappculver.voices.wooster.edu
BFOS Ambassadors
Stay tuned for more Ambassadors…