Taryn Plater

Mezzo-soprano

Taryn Plater is a versatile performer of opera and jazz. Recognized for her “dramatic and vocal thrust” (Opera Canada), the Vancouver-based mezzo-soprano was a 2021–2022 RBC Artist Fellow with the Association for Opera in Canada and a 2021 Vancouver Opera Foundation bursary recipient. An advocate for Ukrainian classical music, Taryn created the digital artist statement First Steps with Against the Grain's 2021 National Opera Intensive, exploring her cultural heritage through Ukrainian art song, and continues to seek out opportunities to share this repertoire. In addition to her performance endeavours, Taryn is a mentor with Opera InReach and founding Artistic Director of Opera Unbound.

Derek Stoll

Piano

Derek Stoll obtained a Bachelor of Music degree in Composition from the University of Calgary. He has composed works for concert band, jazz band, small ensembles and solo instruments. He studied jazz and brass performance at the Banff Centre. He was commissioned to compose and arrange for the Canadian Brass, trumpet virtuoso Jens Lindemann, and the Calgary Stampede Grandstand show. He has been teaching jazz piano at Mount Royal University in Calgary since 2001, and has taught jazz theory at the University of Calgary. He has performed solo and with numerous ensembles backing up world-class singers and instrumentalists.