Simon Charette is a sought-after conductor, collaborative pianist, and vocal coach based in Washington, DC. Passionate about opera from an early age, Simon is the founder and artistic director of  L'Opéra Comique de Washington.

In 2022, he was named Artistic Director of the newly founded French Choir of Washington. He is also the Artistic Director of the Choir of the Embassy of France in Washington. He conducted this ensemble for French President Emmanuel Macron's address in Washington, DC, in 2018 and 2022. Simon is the Music Director of the North Bethesda United Methodist Church in Bethesda, MD.

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Recently, Simon worked as assistant conductor and pianist for the Washington Opera Society and also served as assistant conductor of the Chesapeake Youth Symphony Orchestra in Annapolis, MD, and chorus master & assistant conductor for the Southern Maryland Youth Orchestra and Chorus in Leonardtown, MD.

 

Recently, he has worked with the Canadian Vocal Arts Institute (Montréal), the National Music Festival Orchestra, the Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, the Montgomery Symphony Orchestra, and l'Orchestre de la Francophonie (Montréal).

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​After receiving a Master’s degree from the Université de Montréal, he furthered his training at the Dirigierakademie (Toronto, Canada), at the National Music Festival (Chestertown, MD), and the Académie Musicale de Villecroze (France).

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simoncharette.com

At the start of her 2022-2023 season, Erica Ferguson works as assistant director under Raymond O. Caldwell for the Washington National Opera Institute. She then makes her debut with Bel Cantanti Opera directing their Fall production of Bellini's I Capuletti e i Montecchi. Next, Erica choreographs Act 2 of Die Fledermaus for Maryland Opera's production of "Ritorna Vincitor!" In 2023, she returns to Loudoun Lyric Opera to direct their double bill production of Moore's Gallantry and Bernstein's Trouble in Tahiti. She ends the season assistant directing for Helen Aberger's production of H.M.S. Pinafore with Victorian Lyric Opera Company. 

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In 2021-2022, Erica made her directing debut with Loudoun Lyric Opera in their production of Carmen. Additionally, she assistant directed for Amanda Consol in the Maryland Opera Studio's New Work Reading, Sunder. 

 

The 2020-2021 season saw Erica make exciting debuts with OperaTerps and Victorian Lyric Opera Company. At the beginning of 2020, Erica directed and choreographed a double-bill production of Weill’s Down in the Valley and Pasatieri’s Signor Deluso for OperaTerps at the University of Maryland. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Erica directed and redesigned a live production for the small screen in Victorian Lyric Opera Company’s A Gilbert & Sullivan Drawing Room. Taking great safety measures, her team recorded both virtually and in-person to create a story that connected the past with the future. 

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With her background deeply rooted in dance, Erica has choreographed for many opera and musical theatre productions over the years. Her highlights include Gilbert & Sullivan’s Iolanthe and Trial by Jury for Young Victorian Theatre Company, Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, Moore’s Gallantry, and Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors at Towson University, children’s opera productions of Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty with Annapolis Opera, and Beauty and the Beast at Rockville High School. 

 

Erica Ferguson holds a Masters in Music from University of Maryland and was a member of the Maryland Opera Studio.

She earned her Bachelors of Music in Vocal Performance from Towson University. 

Grace Larsen is an up-and-coming music librarian. She has worked at the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra as an orchestral library assistant, and is currently teaching at her high school alma mater as their marching band director! She is excited to be part of the inaugural team of L’Opéra Comique de Washington!

 

In the summer of 2022 Grace was selected by the National Music Festival to work as the music librarian intern where she was able to get the full festival experience. She continues the love of playing trombone by being a part of the Towson University Wind Symphony and arranging and playing music with a towson local trombone choir.

 

Grace earned a Master Degree in Library Science from Syracuse University in 2022 and a Bachelors in Music Education from Towson University in 2019.

 

In addition to being the music librarian for L’Opera Comique de Washington, Grace is excited to be the Social Media Manager. She is going to take her skills of having a semi-successful Tik Tok and put them to good use! She would like to remind you to follow us on Facebook (L’Opera de Comique de Washington) and Instagram (@the_ocw)!

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Tatiana Loisha has more than 20 years of experience working as a piano accompanist with singers and instrumentalists.

 

In 2016-2019, Tatiana worked as a staff accompanist at Cleveland Institute of Music and Baldwin Wallace University, and as a rehearsal and performance pianist with Cleveland Opera Theater. Recent productions included Traviata, The Rake's Progress, The Barber of Seville, Madame Butterfly, The Threepenny Opera, The Marriage of Figaro, etc. She also worked as a pianist at Oberlin in Italy program (Arezzo, Italy) in the summer of 2018.

Since first moving to the D.C. area in 2014, Tatiana has been working as a pianist accompanist with the Potomac Vocal Institute and actively performed in the D.C. Metropolitan area accompanying singers and instrumentalists.

Tatiana Loisha studied at the Belarusian State Academy of Music, Minsk, Belarus, where she graduated with a BA in piano performance and a graduate degree in collaborative piano. Tatiana is a winner of the Shostakovich competition (St. Petersburg, Russia, 2001), International Competition for Young Pianists (Brest, France, 2002), and also a winner of contests for singers and pianists duets in Vilnius, Lithuania, 2006; St. Petersburg, Russia, 2006; Kazan, Russia, 2007. Tatiana collaborated with well-known vocalists, Yuri Gorodetski, Oksana Volkova, and Ilya Silchukov to name a few. The collaboration embraced preparing for and performing at international competitions, i.e. Queen Elisabeth Competition, Operalia, BBC Cardiff Singer of the World, and Montreal International Musical Competition.

 

Tatiana’s discography includes ‘Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov: Romances’ (CD, 2014, Kovcheg, Minsk, Belarus), ‘Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky: Russian Songs’ (CD, Oct-2013, ATMA Classique, Canada), ‘Queen Elisabeth Competition: Singing 2008. Various artists’ (CD, 2010, Queen Elisabeth Competition, Belgium).

Lyric Soprano, Ashlyn Mazone, holds both Bachelor’s and Master’s of Music degrees in Vocal Performance from the Benjamin T. Rome School of Music at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. She has had the privilege to perform in numerous venues throughout the area, including Bel Cantanti Opera Co., Opera Camerata, and Riverbend Opera Co. Notable roles include “La Contessa” in Le Nozze di Figaro, and the title role in Suor Angelica, among others. 

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Ashlyn also contributes to the stage in areas beyond performance, with experience as a makeup artist, costume designer, props designer, and choreographer. In 2023, she was happy to contribute as Section Leader and Featured Soloist for the French Choir of Washington, and is proud to serve as Section Leader for L’Opera Comique de Washington’s debut performance. She is also an active member of the Frederick Chorale. 

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She has taught private voice with Musical Expressions, Inc. since 2011, as well as her home studio in Hagerstown, MD. In addition to her musical pursuits, Ashlyn applies herself as a professional photographer, bringing expertise in brand creation, marketing, and social media management. As the recently appointed Digital Marketing Specialist and Campaign Manager, she looks forward to contributing these skills to boost the success of The OCW. 

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Ashlyn attributes her profound appreciation of French repertoire to the invaluable mentorship of the late Henriette Lund. Immensely grateful for the welcoming francophone community, she is dedicated to sharing its rich musical heritage through her performances and contributions.