Macina Finalists
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Jacob Abrahemse
Tenor
Hannah Crawford
Soprano
Simon Genga
Mezzo Soprano
Colin Mackey
Baritone
Midori Marsh
Soprano
Alex Mathews
Baritone
Ellen McAteer
Soprano
Elias Theocaridis
Tenor
Biographies
Tenor Jacob Abrahamse recently performed Alfredo in Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata (Brott Opera). He will soon join the Santa Fe Opera as an Apprentice Artist in the 2024 season.
Recent highlights as a tenor soloist include J. S. Bach’s Mass in B Minor with the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, Felix Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and G. F. Handel’s Messiah with the Cathedral Choir and Orchestra of St. James.
Abrahamse created the starring role in R. Murray Schafer’s Dora Mavor Moore Award-winning opera, The Children’s Crusade, and holds two Civic Awards from the City of Peterborough.
Hannah Crawford’s upcoming contracts include a role debut with Edmonton Opera at Helmwige in Die Walküre and her recent performances include the role of Stewardess in Johnathan Dove's Flight at the Royal Conservatory of Music -Toronto and Contesssa from Le Nozze di Figaro with Chicago Summer Opera. She also performed as Madame Lidoine in 2021 with Wilfrid Laurier University’s production of Dialogues des Carmelites.
Recently she took 2nd Place at the Canadian Opera Company’s Centre Stage Competition and won her District and further an Encouragement award at Regionals in the 2024 Metropolitan Opera Laffont competition.
Hannah is currently based in Toronto and studies with Elizabeth McDonald. This past season, Hannah was part of the prestigious Rebanks Family
Fellowship and International Performance Residency Program.
Simona Genga has been hailed as an "exceptional and rare voice" known for its "vocal plushness, amplitude and range" (Ludwig van Toronto/Opera Canada).
This season, Simona made debuts with Victoria Symphony (Handel’s Messiah) and Orchestre Philharmonique et Chœurs des Mélomanes (Beethoven’s Ninth).
The 22/23 season saw Simona as a National Semi-Finalist for the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, a debut with the National Arts Centre Orchestra (Ottawa), and a summer with San Francisco Opera’s prestigious Merola Opera Program, where they appeared in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia and in recital for Metamorphosis: Recovery, Renewal, and Rebirth where Simona subsequently won the Schwabacher Recital Series prize and returns to Merola this season.
Born and raised in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Colin Mackey has found great fulfillment performing opera, musical theatre, and concert works. In 2022, Colin earned a Master of Music degree from McGill University and will complete an Artist Diploma in Spring 2024 at the Glenn Gould School, studying with Jason Howard and Peter Tiefenbach.
Most recently Colin performed the role of Marquis de La Force in Dialogues of the Carmelites at Koerner Hall. This year Colin was among the winners of the Concerto and Chamber Competitions at the Glenn Gould School.
When not performing, Colin maintains an active teaching and conducting schedule and is passionate about music education and community music making. Following the completion of his diploma, Colin will attend the Schubert Institut in Baden bei Wien, Austria.
Midori Marsh is an American-Canadian soprano, hailing from Cleveland, Ohio. She received her Bachelors of Music at Wilfrid Laurier University and her Masters of Music in Opera at the University of Toronto. In fall 2019 she took home both first prize and audience choice award at the Canadian Opera Company’s Centre Stage competition and completed three years with the COC’s young artist ensemble. A known quantity in the Canadian opera scene, she has performed with Tapestry Opera, Against the Grain Theatre, the TSO, the National Arts Centre and more.
In 2020 she was named one of the CBC’s “30 hot Classical Musicians under 30” and in 2022 she was nominated for a Dora Mavor Moore Award for her portrayal of Papagena in the COC’s 2022 production of The Magic Flute. She took first prize at the 2023 Quilico awards, was a semifinalist in the Metropolitan Opera’s 2023 Laffont competition, a 2023 Lotte Lenya finalist and a 2024 Vero Beach Rising Stars finalist.
Alex Mathews performed solo and chorus roles with the Canadian Children’s Opera Company, Canadian Opera Company, and Toronto Symphony Orchestra from the age of 6 to 18 in Toronto. He attended St Michael’s Choir School and Western University, and was an active member of the opera program throughout his undergraduate and master’s degrees. He was a finalist in the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio Competition, the Montréal Atelier Lyrique National Competition, and the Detroit Opera Resident Artist Program auditions. He completed his Diploma in Operatic Performance at the University of Toronto, was a Vocal Fellow at the Chautauqua Opera Conservatory, the Banff Centre’s Opera in the 21st Century program, the Jeunes Ambassadeurs Lyriques training program, and the Music Academy of the West. Mr. Mathews was a semifinalist in Le Concours International de Chant de Marmande and recently performed the roles of Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia and Il Conte in Le nozze di Figaro. This Fall, Mr. Mathews will be joining the Academy of Vocal Arts as an incoming Resident Artist.
Ottawa-born soprano Ellen McAteer has been praised for her "brilliant, clear soprano" (New York Arts) and has been described as a "powerhouse of dramatic assuredness, the ultimate in vulnerable intensity" (Opera Canada).
She is the 2019 winner of the Brian Law Opera Competition, two-time recipient of the Richard Bradshaw Graduate Fellowship in Opera, and has been awarded the Ruby Mercer Opera Award, a Schulich Scholarship, the Gaelyne Gabora Memorial Prize and the E. M. Wirth Scholarship.
She holds a M.Mus from the University of Toronto, a B.Mus from McGill University and was a recipient of the Glenn Gould School's Rebanks Family Fellowship in addition to receiving career support from Jeunes Ambassadeurs Lyriques, Jacqueline Desmarais Foundation and the Canada Council for the Arts.
Toronto-born tenor, Elias Theocaridis is known for his powerful stage presence, alluring tone, and emotional singing. At the Metropolitan Opera’s Laffont Competition, he received an Encouragement Award and was an Audience Choice Prize Winner for the Western Canada District.
A recent graduate of Calgary Opera’s McPhee Development Program, he was seen as Froh in Wagner's Das Rheingold, Nemorino in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore, Bénédict in Berlioz's Béatrice et Bénédict, & Malcolm in Verdi's Macbeth. Other roles include Don José in Peter Brook's La Tragédie de Carmen (an adaptation of Bizet's Carmen), and Mr. Rushworth in the Canadian Premiere of Jonathan Dove's Mansfield Park.
He grew up in an artistic Mediterranean family, coming from a long line of Broadway performers, classically trained pianists, folk singers, models, disc jockeys and dancers.