About

Alyssa Nance

Alyssa Nance

Coloratura Soprano

Alyssa Nance, soprano, is an accomplished operatic, concert, and choral artist known for her radiant lyric voice, stylistic versatility, and compelling musical presence. Praised for her “unbridled dexterity” (Kansas City Star) and “marvelous, soaring tone” (KC Metropolis), she maintains an active career performing opera, concert, and choral repertoire with leading regional companies and professional ensembles throughout the United States. 
Recent operatic work includes Tink Enraught in The Last American Hammer with Opera Grand Rapids, Inez (Il trovatore) with Kansas City Festival Opera, Jean Binnicker (Stinney: An American Execution) with Opera Grand Rapids, and Littler Daughter (Proving Up) with the Ad Astra Music Festival. Additional roles include Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel) with Opera Omaha, Jemmy (Guillaume Tell) with Wichita Grand Opera, Pamina (Die Zauberflöte) with the South Dakota Symphony, Zerlina (Don Giovanni) with Lawrence Opera Theatre, Musetta (La bohème) with Opera180, and Adele (Die Fledermaus) with Opera South Dakota. Her repertoire spans both standard and contemporary works, with a particular affinity for new music and bringing its characters to life. 
In concert, Ms. Nance has performed major works including Orff’s Carmina Burana, Vaughan Williams’ A Sea Symphony, Mozart’s Requiem, Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem, Poulenc’s Gloria, Handel’s Messiah, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, and Vivaldi’s Gloria. She has appeared as a guest artist with festivals and ensembles including The Kansas City Chamber Orchestra, Midwest Chamber Orchestra, The Messiah Festival of the Arts, The Salt Creek Song Festival, Ad Astra Music Festival, Choral Arts Alliance of Missouri, and Musica Vocale. 
A significant part of her career is devoted to choral performance. Ms. Nance performs regularly with professional vocal ensembles such as Spire Chamber Ensemble, The Crossing, The Kansas City Chorale, Prometheus: An American Vocal Consort, The Missouri Choral Artists, and Astra Ensemble. 
Ms. Nance is a former Nebraska District Winner and Upper Midwest Regional Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Her professional training includes residencies with Opera Omaha and Wichita Grand Opera, as well as work as an outreach artist with Lyric Opera of Kansas City. She holds a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Missouri–Kansas City Conservatory of Music and a Bachelor of Arts in Voice from Augustana University. 
In addition to her performing career, Ms. Nance is a dedicated educator and maintains a thriving private voice studio in the Kansas City metropolitan area, where she works with singers of all ages and levels. Her teaching emphasizes healthy technique, freedom, and expressive artistry. Visit alyssanance.com for more information.

Elena Lence Talley

Elena Lence Talley

Clarinet

Clarinetist Elena Lence Talley is a graduate with highest honors from the University of North Texas. She has performed with the Kansas City Symphony, where she is also the principal music librarian. Ms. Talley has also performed with the Lyric Opera Orchestra of Kansas City, the Missouri Symphony, the Kansas City Camerata and the Kansas City Chamber Orchestra. The author of several cover stories for the Clarinet magazine, she was membership coordinator of the International Clarinet Association for ten years. Talley has taught at Emporia State University and Mid-America Nazarene University. She has performed at the International Clarinet Association ClarFest, the International Double Reed Society conference and the University of Oklahoma Clarinet Symposium. Talley is the founder of the Lyric Arts Trio.

Dan Velicer

Dan Velicer

Piano

An active performer and teacher, Dan Velicer performs regularly with the Kansas City Symphony, the Lyric Arts Trio and Summerfest and is the rehearsal pianist for the Kansas City Symphony Chorus. He frequently collaborates with members of the Kansas City Symphony and UMKC faculty and helps prepare students for recitals and competitions. Previously, Mr. Velicer was an Opera Coach Fellow at the Aspen Music Festival, head staff pianist at the University of the Pacific Conservatory of Music, chamber music coach and artist performer at the Rocky Mountain Summer Conservatory and member of Trio Fedele. He is a graduate of Cornell University, majoring in both anthropology and music, and Rice University, where he received a master’s degree in piano chamber music and accompanying.

Critical Acclaim

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