FREE All About the Opera with Nathaniel Meyer, Isaac Bray, Katelyn Parker Bray, and Christina Spurling

Maestro Nathaniel Meyer of the New Opera Company of Boston will give a behind-the-scenes look and sneak peek at the 2026 BHMF Opera Production - the Mozart Double Bill of Bastien-Bastiènne and The Impresario. The quirky and unconventional spirit of Mozart the man comes through in this comical production. Hear insights about the company's creative process writing the new libretto (the original was lost), learn about the exciting award-winning cast of singers and actors, with striking analysis of the music and live performances of arias by Isaac Bray and Katelyn Parker Bray.

American conductor, Nathaniel Meyer has conducted in France, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, Italy, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Romania, South America, and throughout the United States. Meyer was the 1st prize winner of the LaGuardia Conducting Competition. In 2022-2023, he has conducted the Bucharest Symphony, the Paris Mozart Orchestra and the Prague Philharmonia. Meyer is the Music Director laureate of the Du Bois Orchestra, dedicated to performing works by historically marginalized composers alongside the well-known repertoire of the classical tradition. With the Du Bois Orchestra, Meyer was one of the first American conductors to champion the works of forgotten African American composers such as Florence Price and Margaret Bonds, rediscovering long-lost scores and giving the Boston and world premieres of pieces such as the oratorio, Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight by Florence Price. Meyer studied at Yale University and the Jacobs School of Music, where he received his Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting. He has also studied at the Pierre Monteux School for Conductors and the Järvi Academy for Conductors in Estonia, and in international masterclasses with Jorma Panula, Ennio Nicotra, Claire Gibault and Martin Sieghart. He has been an assistant conductor for Benjamin Zander and the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as the Philharmonia Orchestra in London for acclaimed performances and a historically informed recording of Beethoven's 9th Symphony. He is also an accomplished trumpet player, and the winner of the National Trumpet Competition and International Trumpet Guild Competition. The Boston Globe described him as "outstanding in the prominent trumpet part, playing with spirit, accuracy, feeling, and beautiful tone". As a conductor, Meyer has been described as "Talented and Charismatic...a new, dynamic Leonard Bernstein" (Belmont Citizen-Herald) and possessing "the musical imagination and the physical gifts of a born conductor...he led the final section of Tchaikovsky's Overture-Fantasy with power, passion and pertinence, building an overwhelming climax at the crest of the love theme. The audience and the orchestra burst into applause and cheers." (Boston Globe music critic, Richard Dyer).

Isaac Bray has performed as a featured soloist on opera and concert stages throughout the United States and internationally, most notably at Florida Grand Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, and Central City Opera. Bray recently made his international debut at the Vatican in Rome, singing as the baritone soloist for the world premiere of Blood & Breath® with Frequency Opera. A resident of Maine, Mr. Bray is in high demand throughout coastal New England. Recent credits include the baritone soloist in the Brahms Requiem with the Bangor Symphony Orchestra, the baritone soloist in Carmina Burana with the Mount Desert Summer Chorale, the role of John Proctor in The Crucible with Opera in the Pines, and Marcello in La Bohème with the Bar Harbor Music Festival. Other local New England credits include the baritone soloist in Belshazzar’s Feast with the Bangor Symphony and role of Jesus in St. Matthew Passion with the Bagaduce Chorale. On the opera stage, Bray has performed extensively around the country at numerous companies and festivals. He has performed the roles of Dancairo in Carmen with Opera San Antonio, Fiorello in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Opera Grand Rapids, Will Parker in Oklahoma! with Charlottesville Opera, Morales/Dancairo in Carmen with Venture Opera, and Gregorio in Romèo et Juliette with Opera Grand Rapids. For the 2014/15 season, Bray was a member of the Florida Grand Opera Young Artist Studio where he performed the roles of Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, Assan in The Consul, and The Official Registrar in Madama Butterfly.. Professional awards include the McGlone Opera Guild Award, and the Central City Opera Young Artist overall award. Mr. Bray is on the music faculty at the University of Maine where he teaches applied voice and vocal pedagogy. He also serves on the board of the Maine Chapter of NATS.

Katelyn Parker Bray earned her master’s degree in Opera Performance from the Boston Conservatory. Credits at the conservatory include Zerlina in Don Giovanni, La Bergère/La Princesse in L’Enfant et les Sortilèges, Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel, and Yum-Yum in The Mikado. She studied voice with Penelope Bitzas in Boston. Katelyn performed Lisette in La Rondine for the Martina Arroyo Prelude to Performance program. Other roles include Lucia in Opera Brittenica’s production of The Rape of Lucretia, Despina in Mozart’s Così fan tutte with the North End Performing Arts Center in Boston as well as with the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival. Katelyn was a soloist in Boston Opera Collaborative’s Underlying Rhythms performance, performed Gretel in MetroWest’s production of Hänsel und Gretel, sang in Anne Hutchinson with Intermezzo Opera, and was a soloist in Mendelssohn’s Vom Himmel hoch with Acadia Choral Society. Locally, Katelyn sang as the soprano soloist with the Bangor Symphony in their performance of Mozart's Mass in C Minor, K 27 and as a soloist in Bach's St. Matthew Passion with the Bagaduce Chorale.

Christina Spurling is a pianist, collaborator, and educator whose work is rooted in community, storytelling, and connection. Known for her expressive artistry, thoughtful partnership, and versatility across genres, she brings warmth, sensitivity, and clarity to performances ranging from chamber music and song repertoire to choral, operatic, and educational settings.

A native of Islesford, ME, Christina earned the Master of Music degree in collaborative piano performance from the Longy School of Music of Bard College in Cambridge, MA. She has served as rehearsal pianist and accompanist for various opera companies, choirs, orchestras and colleges in New England. For 6 years she was a collaborative pianist and piano instructor at Colby College and has also taught at College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor.

An avid chamber musician with a passion for community, Christina founded the Quietside Chamber Music Festival in 2018 on Mount Desert Island, featuring Maine-based musicians. As a teaching artist, she enjoys opportunities to engage in dialogue about equality, the environment and social justice, through collective music making and sharing.

Christina currently teaches piano and ensembles at Elm City Community Music School in Waterville, ME and continues to perform chamber music and accompany choirs across Maine