Huston Grand Opera (HGO) has accepted five new young artists into the HGO Studio program for the 2022-23 season.

The new members include soprano Meryl Dominguez, baritone Navasard Hakobyan (Winner of HGO’s 2022 Eleanor McCollum Competition Concert of Arias), pianist/coach Michelle Papenfuss, soprano Renée Richardson, and mezzo-soprano Erin Wagner.

They are joined by the second-year young artists which are tenor Ricardo Garcia, bass Cory McGee, pianist/coach Bin Yu Sanford, baritone Luke Sutliff, tenor Eric Taylor, and mezzo-soprano Emily Treigle.

The program is a three-year intensive training for both classical singers and pianists and coaches through individualized courses. The artists’ residency runs alongside HGO’s mainstage season which provides performance opportunities and experiences in the professional opera world, as well as recital performances, and a variety of other concert engagements.

Brian Speck, the Director of the HGO Studio program remarks in a press release, “It is thrilling to see the pure talent in this year’s class of HGO Studio members. Their passion and energy are contagious. The HGO Studio program gives the next generation of opera singers and coaches the tools they need to succeed in a highly competitive industry.”