Acclaimed for his "extraordinary, pure and resonant voice", baritone Max Pivik has been called "a joy to experience." A native of Pittsburgh, Mr. Pivik has appeared in productions throughout Northeast Ohio and Western Pennsylvania.

His previous operatic roles include: Baron Douphol (La Traviata), Frank (Die Fledermaus), Count Boni (The Csardas Princess), El Dancairo (Carmen), Dr. Malatesta (Don Pasquale), Top (The Tender Land), Sharpless, The Bonze, Prince Yamadori (Madama Butterfly), The Husband (Amelia Goes to the Ball), Signor Deluso (Signor Deluso), Marullo (Rigoletto), Gianni Schicchi (Gianni Schicchi), Antonio (Le Nozze di Figaro), and Peter (Hansel and Gretel).

Max currently serves as the Director of Education and Outreach for Opera Western Reserve in Youngstown, Ohio. Max began with Opera Western Reserve as a founding Young Artist and has since taken the reins as Director where he coordinates the Young Artists and "Fun with Opera" outreach program, introducing school children to opera.

Max attended the Dana School of Music at Youngstown State University where he also served as a teacher for the Dana Vocal Performance Clinic. He is also the Associate Music Director and Choral Conductor at Trinity United Methodist Church in Youngstown, Ohio.

As a successful competitor Max has won numerous NATS competitions including First Place at the 2009 Great Lakes Region NATS competition. He also won the 2008 Dana Concerto Competition.

Robert Pierce, baritone, is a native of Painesville, Ohio. He has sung the title role in Haydn's The Apothecary, Claudio Beatrice et Benedict, Mr. Ford The Merry Wives of Windsor, Husband Amelia Goes to the Ball, and Frank Die Fledermaus. He has also sung in the Opera Cleveland chorus and as a soloist with the Westerville Symphony. In 2008, Mr. Pierce graduated with a Bachelor of Music dgree from Otterbein College, and he currently attends the Cleveland Institute of Music in the studio of Clifford Billions and is the Educational Outreach Associate Director for OPERA Western Reserve.

Shafica Kaleel, soprano, graduated Magna Cum Laude from Youngstown State University in May of 2010 with a B.A. in English and a minor in Music. While at YSU, she performed in several opera productions. In November 2008, Shafica sang selected opera scenes from Eugene Onegin and Albert Herring with the Dana Opera Workshop. She performed the role of Laurie Moss in the production of The Tender Land in April 2009. In November of 2009, Shafica was in the chorus for Opera Western Reserve's (OWR) Main Stage production of Carmen and sang the role of Frasquita for the Young Artist Mini-Main Stage production. As a senior, Shafica sang the role of Yum-Yum in Gilbert & Sullivan's popular operetta, The Mikado, at YSU. Recently, Shafica sang the role of Violetta for the Young Artist Mini-Main Stage production of La Traviata and sang the role of Annina in the Main Stage production for OWR. Shafica has been actively involved in Opera Western Reserve's Young Artist Program since 2009. She was member of the Dana Vocal Society at YSU, and The Golden Key National Honor Society. In addition, she placed first in the NATS Regional Competition in her division in 2009.

Bethany Lukes

Trevor Coleman

Pianist, Mrs. Karen Lyn DeBartolo-Fisher is a life-long Boardman resident. She received her Bachelor of Music Education degree, graduating Summa Cum Laude, from Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where her roommate was the now-famous, Kathie Lee Gifford. Karen studied piano with Andrej Wasowski, and did a great deal of accompanying while at ORU, including for Opera Workshop, traveling with the ORU choir on tour, as well as performing with Kathie Lee.

Presently, Karen Lyn is very proud to spend a large part of her time accompanying for the music departments of the Boardman School system. Karen also accompanies students at YSU for recitals and juries, both vocal and instrumental. She is also honored to be the accompanist for Symphonette, a division of the Youngstown Symphony Youth Orchestra.