Guest Artists
JULIE BATMAN
Julie Batman, soprano, sings professionally with the Orlando Light Opera, Opera Orlando, Opera Tampa/ Tampa Singers, The Dicken’s Carolers, and Mary Queen of the Universe. She is a graduate of and staff professor of voice and piano at Rollins College. She has been a choral director and choral accompanist at Rollins College and she also teaches voice and piano at Lake Highland Preparatory School. Julie has been featured as a vocal soloist for several local arts organizations in Orlando. Her credits include being a featured soloist for The Villages Philharmonic Orchestra; the contemporary ballet, Carolina, Handel’s The Messiah- with the Messiah Choral Society, The Villages Philharmonic , the Central Florida Community Arts, and the Basilica Mary Queen of the Universe Shrine. She has sung as soloist for Mozart’s Requiem, Schubert Magnificat, Vivaldi’s Nulla in Mundo Pax/ Alleluia, Mozart’s Laudate Dominum and several other solos with Bach Festival choir, Et in Carnatus Est from Mozart’s Grand Mass in C with CFCA and has been a featured soloist on several CDs: Osterkantate Ernest Wolf Easter Cantata- Moravian Society, All is Bright – Bach Festival Choir, Ave Maria and The Basilica Choir – Stemik Music. Carolina contemporary Ballet CD and DVD. In addition to singing and teaching, Julie enjoys accompanying choral groups and playing solo piano for events.
EMILY HEUMANN
Mezzo-soprano Emily Heumann is gaining recognition for her "credible" storytelling (Orlando Sentinel), and "delicious vocals" (Arts + Culture Texas Magazine). In the 19/20 season, she appeared on tour with The Chapelwood Choir, as Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro with Opera Orlando, in Rigoletto with St. Petersburg Opera, and as The Fox in The Little Prince with First Coast Opera. In the 18/19 season, Emily was a Studio Artist with Opera Orlando, where she appeared as Mrs. Noye in Noye's Fludde, Nicklausse in the outreach tour of Les contes d'Hoffmann, and covered Hansel in Hansel and Gretel. Last season, Emily also made her debut as Cherubino with First Coast Opera.
She has performed with dozens of companies including St. Petersburg Opera Company, First Coast Opera, Opera Orlando, Rec Room Arts, The Savannah Voice Festival, Operativo Houston, Florida Opera Theatre, and The Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra.
Emily is also recognized for her crossover work in musical theatre and straight theatre. Most notably, she was seen as Natalie Goodman in Next to Normal at Mad Cow Theatre Company, where critics praised her "believable" performance filled with “emotional complexity” and “pipes to do Kitt’s score justice, even without microphones" (Orlando Weekly). She has also been seen as Éponine in Les Misérables, Irene Molloy in Hello, Dolly!, Moll in The Cradle Will Rock, Emily Webb in Our Town, Susie in Wit, Peggy in Godspell, and Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, for which she was named "Best Leading Actress in a Musical" at the Murray Awards.
Emily holds a Master's Degree in Voice Performance and Pedagogy from The University of Houston, where she performed Beppe in L'amico Fritz, Lisa in I due timidi, Princess Linetta in The Love for Three Oranges, and Bobachino in The Inspector. While in Houston, Emily also appeared as Hansel in a critically-acclaimed production of Hansel and Gretel with Rec Room Arts, as the Alto Soloist in Chapelwood United Methodist's presentations of Pergolesi's Stabat Mater and The Messiah, and as Eloisa in Rossini's Soirées Musicales with Operativo Houston. During this time, Emily also appeared in concert engagements across Houston, Tampa, Savannah, and New York, most notably at the National Opera Center.
Emily enjoys performing new music, especially works by her husband, composer Eric Heumann. She has performed in dozens of new music programs across the county. www.emilyheumann.com
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DANIEL BATES
Grammy Award-nominated tenor Daniel Bates enjoys a wide-ranging performance schedule in concert and opera. His operatic appearances include debuts with Anchorage Opera as Ernesto in Don Pasquale and with the Imperial Symphony as Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi, as well as a return to Anchorage Opera as the title role in Candide. His concert appearances include a return to The Arts at Grace to perform a solo recital and his Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra debut in their season opening gala.
An alumnus of young artist residencies across the United States, Mr. Bates was a 2014–2016 Young Artist with Florida Grand Opera, where his repertoire included a critically acclaimed Ernesto in Don Pasquale, Ferrando in Così fan tutte, Nadir in Les pêcheurs de perles, Goro in Madama Butterfly, the Third SS Man in Mieczyslaw Weinberg's The Passenger, and the Magician (cover) in The Consul. As an Apprentice Artist with the Santa Fe Opera in 2015 and 2016, Mr. Bates performed the role of the Slave in Salome and both Junior and Charlie in the world premiere in Jennifer Higdon's Cold Mountain, a live recording of which was released by Pentatone and which has recently been nominated for a Grammy.
Recognized as a young artist of significant talent, Mr. Bates is a Grant Winner in the 2016 Giulio Gari International Vocal Competition and First Place winner in the 2016 National Society of Arts Letters Voice Competition (Florida East Coast Chapter). In 2015 he received a Career Development Grant from the Sullivan Foundation. Additional competition credits include District Winner and Regional Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, First Place winner of the East Bay Opera League Competition, and prizewinner of the Henry and Maria Holt Competition.