EDMONTON OPERA’S
EMERGING ARTIST RESIDENCY PROGRAM

We are excited to unveil the selected artists for our Emerging Artist Program. This initiative has been made possible, in part, thanks to the generous support of the Azrieli Foundation. We are grateful for their support as we focus on elevating the next generation of artists who are trained to work in this vibrant industry.

BRUNO ROY

Montréal-born baritone Bruno Roy is renowned for his performances in opera, orchestra, and art song works. He has a particular affinity for the French repertoire and contemporary pieces. He's been featured with top-tier organizations such as the Canadian Opera Company, Opera de Québec, Oper Frankfurt, and many others, playing roles in acclaimed productions like The Magic Flute, Tosca, and Louis Riel.

Beyond the mainstage, Bruno engages younger audiences by touring with children's operas in Toronto and Frankfurt. He's also collaborated on new opera projects, recently working with composer Danika Lorèn on an opera adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler.

Other notable performances include roles in Les pêcheurs de perles, Kopernikus, and Carmina Burana. An accomplished artist, Bruno holds degrees from McGill University and the Canadian Opera Company’s Ensemble studio. He also earned accolades from the Banff Centre for Arts and won the 2021 Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions for the Western Canada District.

Adanya Dunn

Adanya Dunn, a Canadian-Bulgarian mezzo-soprano and creative entrepreneur, is renowned for her innovative approach to opera. Her performances have been described as revolutionary for the art form, and she made headlines with her role as Suzie/Suli in the groundbreaking lesbian love story, Pomegranate, with the Canadian Opera Company in 2023.

Her journey in the United States started with an impressive American debut as Hermia in "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" with the Santa Fe Opera in 2021. The following year, she showcased her talent with the Manitoba Opera and collaborated with the Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France.

Throughout her career, Adanya has been recognized with numerous awards, such as the Bita Cattelan Philanthropic Engagement Award and the Vancouver Opera Guild‘s Career Development Grant, among others.

Outside of her performances, Adanya is a multi-talented professional, wearing various hats as a freelance producer, grant writer, photographer, and even a web developer. She has a strong entrepreneurial spirit, founding the non-profit Red Light Arts & Culture in Amsterdam, which celebrates the cultural diversity of the Red Light District.

Her artistic contributions extend beyond opera; Adanya has premiered over 200 works and collaborated with notable organizations like FAWN Chamber Creative and Tapestry Opera. She is not only a performer but also a composer, poet, painter, and dancer.

Meijun Chen

Meijun Chen is currently a Doctor of Music student in Wind Band Conducting, under the supervision of Dr. Angela Schroeder, at the University of Alberta (UofA). Her research includes wind band and orchestral music education in Canada and China, and the historical developments of university band and orchestra pedagogies, repertories and composers.

Meijun is an active Guest Conductor of UofA Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Concert Band, University Symphony Orchestras, community orchestras and choirs. She was the Edmonton Youth Orchestra Conducting Intern in 2020 and 2022. Over Summer 2023, she was selected as one of five conductors for the U.S. “Pershing’s Own” Army Band Conductors Workshop, mentored by Dr. Emily Threinen and Colonel Bruce Pulver, and one of ten Conducting Fellows of the University of Cincinnati CCM’s International Wind Festival and Conductor’s Academy, mentored by Colonel Jason Fettig and Dr. Kevin Holzman, worked with “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band musicians.

As the scholarship recipient of The Johann Strauss Foundation Music Award for Advanced Study of Music in Austria, she just finished her orchestral and opera conducting studies with Professor Toby Purser at the Vienna Opera Academy in August 2023.

Meijun is also an award-winning clarinetist who has performed and competed in over 13 countries across Europe, Asia and North America. She played in the 2018 National Youth Band of Canada, won the 2019 UofA Concerto Competition, and was an University of Lethbridge Visiting Artist in 2023. She is a frequent Guest Clarinetist with the Royal Canadian Artillery Band.

Meijun is an experienced conducting and clarinet clinician at public schools in Alberta. Her music students won gold medals at national level, and the acceptance to Canadian universities’ Performance and Music Therapy programs. Meijun continues to immerse in the music performance and education community, not only to inspire younger generations, but also bring the joy of music to connect people and encourage community engagement.

Kahlan Oosterveld

Kahlan is an emerging Stage Manager based and born in Edmonton, Alberta. She graduated from Macewan University’s Theatre Production program in 2020 and has been working her way around Edmonton ever since, however her opera journey started not long ago.

Since October 2022, she has been working as an Apprentice Stage Manager with Edmonton Opera. Her first show with the company was Tosca, followed soon after by Orphée+ in January and Stabat Mater in March. Upcoming productions that she will apprentice for are Carmen and Das Rheingold. Although new to the Opera community, she has quickly fallen in love with both the art and the people. She feels extremely lucky to be able to work with Edmonton Opera on so many productions in the past year and in the near future.

Kahlan has also been working with various theatre companies around Canada. Selected past credits include Annette is a Bimbo! (RISER Regina), Cinderella (Alberta Musical Theatre Company), and Passeport (L’Uni Théâtre). Though her interest in opera started just last year, she has always had a love of performance arts, often dabbling in vocal performance herself. In the future, Kahlan is so excited to work on many different operatic productions around the country with various different companies.

This program is supported in part by the Azrieli Foundation.