Michael Harold, a New Orleans lawyer and owner of a legal search firm,YSR Search, majored in Spanish at the University of the South, Sewanee, and received his law degree from LSU.  He started piano lessons in first grade and continues to study music.  He has contributed articles for local and national magazines. He and Quinn performed piano concertos with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra  in 2011. Born in Osceola, Arkansas, Quinn Peeper practices obstetrics/gynecology in New Orleans.  He has degrees from Washington and Lee University, University College, Oxford, and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. In 2015, Dr. Peeper received an MBA from Auburn University. Quinn made his Carnegie Hall debut (Weill) in 1997. He is Chairman of The English-Speaking Union and is His Britannic Majesty’s Honorary Consul to New Orleans.

On November 17, 2018, authors Michael Harold and Quinn Peeper performed piano concerti with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra in New Orleans. The concert changed their lives. The idea began as a small pipe dream and over time turned into a massive fundraising gala. To celebrate the centennial of The English-Speaking Union, a non-profit of which Quinn is chairman, the two coined the gala “Rach and Bach” and played Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto, No. 2 (Quinn) and Bach Piano Concerto, No. 5 (Michael). While preparing for the concert gala, Michael and Quinn invited friends from all over the country and globe. The two hosted a farewell brunch at their home in New Orleans which was photographed and published in a local magazine, Adore. The event prompted them to photograph more events and eventually lead to the publishing of their book, Classical Shindig. Learn More

This year, Givonna Joseph is among the 2025 Who’s Who in America, was among the Honorary Muses to the Krewe of Muses on their Culture Bearers float, and received a Leadership Award from Washington, D.C..  She has previously graced the covers of NOLA Boomers and Break-Thru Media magazines. She is featured in Matt Calahan’s 2022 CD and Documentary Songs of Slavery and Emancipation, and she published her own CD Hymns For New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. The mezzo soprano has also had a diverse performing career outside of opera that includes opening for Ray Charles and singing for Saint/Mother Teresa of Calcutta.  She is a professor at Loyola University College of Music and Media, a national lecturer, and a specialist in Music Therapy and Arts Integration. She is also a former Director of Education for the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. She currently serves on Opera America’s Membership Board, Loyola University’s Visiting Committee, and The Symphony Chorus of New Orleans Board. She previously served on the Boards of the Louisiana Creole Research Association, Alliance Française, and New Orleans Opera Association. She is a Mentor for the NAACP ACT-SO Competition and is a member of the national Black Administrators of Opera. 

Ms. Aria Mason (Folse) is among the 2025 New Orleans Tourism and Culture Fund Gala Honorees.In addition to her work as Production Director, opera singer, and St. Louis Cathedral Cantor, Aria has demonstrated her commitment to the renaissance of the New Orleans community, as a member of the inaugural faculty at Morris Jeff Community School,  as a founding member of City Year Louisiana-where, she helped rebuild New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina-and sang before President Clinton on C-Span, as the New Orleans Outreach Coordinator at S.J. Green and Arthur Ashe Charter Schools, and as a member of Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s Transition Team. She is currently consulting with the Alumni Relations Department of her Alma Mater, The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. As the Granddaughter of Civil Rights icon Dr. Gilbert R. Mason, Sr., Aria is the sponsor of the RV Gilbert Mason, a Marine Research Vessel that LUMCON is building in his name.  She spoke at the Keel Laying and hopes to christen it soon. Aria is married to her Ben Franklin High School beau, Henri Folse, and is the mother of a beautiful 5-year-old daughter named Amara.

The only Mother and Daughter owners of an opera company in the country, started this journey in 2010 when they earned the distinction of being the first mother and daughter to sing solo roles in the same New Orleans Opera production. They were Lily and Annie in Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess under the direction of Carol Rausch and Robert Lyall. In 2011 they founded the award-winning, internationally acclaimed OperaCréole, not because they are opera singers, but because they wanted to give voice to the rich heritage of New Orleans and composers of African descent. They have provided Restorative Justice to 19th-century Creole opera composers such as Edmond Dédé and Lucien-Leon Guillaume Lambert, and also 20th-century composers such as Samuel Coleridge Taylor, William Grant Still, and Scott Joplin. They work to uphold the Creole Language and New Orleans’ History and Culture. Beginning during our historic snowstorm, OperaCréole’s 2025 Four State World Premiere of the 1887 opera Morgiane by New Orleans free composer of color, Edmond Dede, in partnership with Washington, D.C.-based Opera Lafayette, The Historic New Orleans Collection, and The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, allowed the world to celebrate the first extant opera by an American-born black composer, born right here in New Orleans. The opera received coverage from local, national, and international news sources! OperaCréole has received awards such as: The Big Easy Awards, The Gambit Affiliated Tribute to the Classical Arts Awards, Southern Living Magazine’s Southerners of the Year 2017, and The Coalition for the African Americans in the Performing Arts. They have been featured in French TV’s Le Grand Tour, the Nous Foundation’s Voices of Renewal Film, and documentaries and films by Dillard University’s Ray Charles Center for Material Culture. Our work has also been recognized by schools such as Lycée Français, St. Mary’s Academy, and organizations like the Louisiana Creole Research Association. Learn more

Oscar Rossignoli is a renowned contemporary pianist and composer based in New Orleans, celebrated for his innovative approach to jazz and Latin music fusion. Born with a deep passion for music in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, Rossignoli is captivated by the rich cultural tapestry of his homeland.

Bryan Batt- Most known as “Salvatore Romano” on the iconic TV series Mad Men (2 SAG awards), Broadway: Sunset Blvd. Saturday Night Fever, La Cage Aux Folles, Cats, Joseph… Dreamcoat, Starlight Express, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Seussical, and Beauty and the Best. Off- Broadway -Jeffrey (stage & film) Forbidden Broadway Cleans Up It’s act, Forbidden Broadway Strikes Back (Drama Desk nomination). Recently: Pay The Writer at The Signature, To My Girls at Second Stage. Regional theatre includes: Evita, Grey Gardens, Act of God, High Society. Over 25 films Including High Tide, 12 Years a Slave, Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game, Spike Lee's Tales from the Hood II, Jeffrey, Garden District (Best Actor in a short: London International Film Festival) numerous TV appearances including Dolly Parton’s Mountain Magic Christmas, The Black List, Law and Order :SVU, NCIS, Scream, Ugly Betty, The Simpsons. @bryan_batt

The founder of Lyrica Baroque, Jaren Atherholt is the Assistant Professor of Oboe at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and newly appointed Principal Oboe of the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra. She previously served as principal oboist of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra for eleven seasons. A native of Alaska, Jaren has performed to stellar reviews as a featured concerto soloist and has been guest principal oboist with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Detroit Symphony and International Chamber Orchestra of Puerto Rico, as well as guest associate principal oboist with the Pittsburgh and Atlanta Symphonies. Jaren spent four summers at the Marlboro Music Festival and currently performs each summer with the Grand Teton Music Festival. She has served on the faculty of John Mack Oboe Camp, Interlochen Arts Camp, the Wintergreen Music Academy, and the Vianden International Music School. Jaren plays Loree oboes. 

Michael Harold, a New Orleans lawyer and owner of a legal search firm,YSR Search, majored in Spanish at the University of the South, Sewanee, and received his law degree from LSU.  He started piano lessons in first grade and continues to study music.  He has contributed articles for local and national magazines. He and Quinn performed piano concertos with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra  in 2011.

Born in Osceola, Arkansas, Quinn Peeper practices obstetrics/gynecology in New Orleans.  He has degrees from Washington and Lee University, University College, Oxford, and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. In 2015, Dr. Peeper received an MBA from Auburn University. Quinn made his Carnegie Hall debut (Weill) in 1997. He is Chairman of The English-Speaking Union and is His Britannic Majesty’s Honorary Consul to New Orleans. 

David Sigler is an American guitarist and composer. He began his musical training at the age of 13. His formal studies led him to Columbus State University, where he studied guitar performance under Dr. Andrew Zohn and performed in master classes with DavidRussel, Sergio Assad, Paul Galbraith, and Jason Vieaux. David has placed in several international guitar competitions including 1st place in the 2010 Mississippi Guitar festival and 1st place in the 2024 Elías Barreiro Young Artists Competition. 

David holds a Bachelor’s of Music in Performance from the University of New Orleans and a Masters of Music in Performance from Loyola University. David is a founding member of the New Orleans Guitar Quartet and experimental avant-rock ensemble, Primpce. David resides in New Orleans, where he works as a performer, recording artist, and guitar instructor at Tulane University.

The Lake Forest Charter Eagle Strings Chamber Group has been established and performing for in-school and out-of-school functions since the school year of 2015-16. All members are products of the LFC strings program and active members of the LFC strings orchestra. They are multi-year winners of NOLA Chamber Fest and have performed in masterclasses for renowned groups such as Trio Virado and Jerusalem Quartet.  

For this performance, the performers are: Desiree Chavez (A 7th grade violinist in the Talented Arts music program who’s been playing for 4 years, and a promising pianist.), Angelyn Nguyen (A 7th grade violinist who’s been playing for 4 years), Evany Valencia (An 8th grade violinist who’s been playing for 3 years), Andy Trinh (An 8th grade violist who’s been playing for 5 years, and a 2024-25 Louisiana All-State Junior High Orchestra member ), and Drew Durand (A 5th grade cellist in the Talented Art Music program who’s been playing for 2 years, and a superior medalist of the 2025 Ursuline Academy Bach contest).