Soprano Leslie Sandefur’s rich lyric soprano voice, has enchanted audiences throughout the United States, and Italy. As a native of Elk Grove, Ms. Sandefur attended Elk Grove High school. She went on to receive her Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from University of Nevada and her Master of Music degree from CSUS. She sang her first operatic role at 18 and began her professional singing career at 19, singing in local concerts and with the Nevada Opera. She has sung with Berkeley Opera, Sacramento Opera, Opera San Jose, Pocket Opera, and the Lamplighters of San Francisco, to name a few. She has sung with the San Francisco Opera chorus and was a finalist at their Merola auditions. She has also performed at the Stern Grove Festival and Carnegie Hall. She is also the recipient of numerous awards including the Leontyne Price National Vocal Arts Award. An addition to performing, Ms. Sandefur enjoys teaching voice lessons, in Elk Grove.
Pianist Theresa Keene is one of the few active African American female concert pianists in Northern California.  She was featured as Artist of the Month in the April issue of Inside Publications.  A native Sacramentan, Miss Keene holds a Masters Degree in Music from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and doctoral studies at the Eastman School of Music in New York.   For eleven years, Miss Keene has been the principal keyboardist for the Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra.  She has taught for 30 years in her private practice as well as 2 1/2 years at Sierra College and 21 years at American River College and 30 years of private practice in Sacramento teaching ages 4-90; beginners through advanced.    Recently, the Music Teachers National Association awarded Miss Keene the Lifetime Professional Nationally Certified Teacher Award. She is a proud member of the St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church; Dr. Ephraim Williams, Pastor.    Her recordings and DVD containing Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata and Debussy's Claire de lune are available today, and at Underground Books at 35th & Broadway.  A world renowned artist, Miss Keene continues to electrify audiences with her spell-bounding performances.   Miss Keene says if it had not been for God's Grace and Mercy and the extreme sacrifices made by her parents, Mr. & Mrs. Leonard and Frances Keene, she would not be the woman, teacher or pianist she is today. Click here to read an article about Theresa Keene.
	Tenor Joshua Lindsay is a doctoral student at the IU Jacobs School of Music. In April, he sang the role of Hoffmann in Les contes d’Hoffmann. Last year, he sang the role of Matteo in IU Opera Theater’s production of Arabella. As resident artist with the Nevada Opera, Lindsay performed the roles of Tamino (Die Zauberflöte), Dr. Blind (Die Fledermaus), and Edwin(Trial by Jury). He sang Don José (Carmen) for Capital Opera and at the Manhattan School of Music. With the Utah State University Opera, he performed the roles of Kaspar (Amahl and the Night Visitors), Aeneas (Dido and Aeneas), and Timothy (Help! Help! The Globolinks!) He also sang for three seasons in the young artists program of the Utah Festival Opera. As a soloist with the Reno Philharmonic, he sang Carmina burana and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Besides performing, he also has taught voice lessons and was the opera director at the University of Nevada. He taught middle school and high school band and orchestra. He is currently an associate instructor in the school of music where he teaches class voice and studio voice. Lindsay received a Master of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music and a Bachelor of Music degree from Utah State University. He is a student Andreas Poulimenos.
Guitarist George England began playing guitar at age 11 and continued learning jazz and classical guitar throughout high school. While attending American River College in Sacramento, California, George studied classical guitar with Brandon Yip as well as performing in multiple jazz ensembles including the American River College Jazz Collective.   Mr. England completed his Bachelor of Music degree at California State University, Northridge where he studied with Dr. Steve Thachuk, Ron Borczon, and Ronald Purcell. While at Northridge, Mr. England was awarded the Andres Segovia Memorial Endowment in 2005 and was asked to perform in a master class with the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet at the Grammy Pro-Sessions master classes in Beverly Hills, California. In his last year of study at Northridge, Mr. England became a founding member of the Ronald Purcell Honors Guitar Quartet, which performed in and around the Los Angeles area and premiered a work by Dr. Daniel Kessner in the 2006-2007 academic year.   Mr. England is currently pursuing his Master of Music degree under the direction of Dr. Richard Savino at California State University, Sacramento. In the fall of 2007 Mr. England was awarded first prize in the Student Performer’s Competition at the Festival of New American Music, put on by CSU Sacramento.   George teaches guitar privately in the Sacramento area and is currently on the staff of the Stockton School of Music.
	A very special thank you to the Music Exchange for providing the festial with a beautiful piano.  The Music Exchange has several locations.  In Sacramento, they are located at 2245 Arden Way, Sacramento, CA 95825 (916) 641-5855. About Music Exchange Music Exchange is a factory authorized dealer for Yamaha Acoustic Pianos; Yamaha Clavinova Digital Pianos; Yamaha Contemporary Pianos; Yamaha Personal Pianos; Yamaha Silent Pianos and Yamaha Disklavier Player Pianos. They have the largest inventory of Yamaha pianos in Northern California, drawing on inventory located in their 18,000 square foot warehouse centrally located in Vacaville, CA. They are also a factory authorized dealer for Wyman pianos and Roland Atelier Home Organs. Dublin Newcastle Sacramento Santa Rosa Walnut Creek San Francisco