Mezzo Soprano Joanne Evans and Pianist James Maverick

London-born mezzo soprano Joanne Evans is a graduate of the Merola Opera Program, and of the residencies at the Ravinia Steans Music Institute, Britten Pears Young Artist Program, Fondation des Treilles and the Festival d’Aix en Provence where she was awarded Le Prix des Amis for Voice. As a Vocal Fellow at Music Academy of the West in 2022, Joanne sang the role of Olga in Eugene Onegin and was named winner of the Marilyn Horne Song Competition. Elsewhere, Joanne won first place in the 2022 Handel Aria Competition and was a Boston District winner in the 2022 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. She is a beneficiary of a Career Bridges grant and has received awards from the Gerda Lissner Foundation and the Premiere Opera Foundation. Joanne is a proud finalist in the upcoming Dallas Opera Lone Star Competition.

Pianist James Maverick holds degrees in piano performance, choral conducting, and collaborative piano from Lawrence University and Indiana University-Bloomington, and he is currently on the Collaborative Piano faculty at the University of Texas-Austin Butler School of Music. James joined Austin Opera as music staff in 2023 for Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, and again in 2024 for Kevin Puts’ The Manchurian Candidate and Verdi's Requiem. For the past four seasons, he has been pianist and Assistant Chorus Master at Cincinnati Opera. He has prepared workshops of new operas through Austin Opera's Latinx Residency program, Cincinnati's Opera Fusion: New Works program, and Opera Philadelphia.