Love is in the Air
Cast

Mandy Spivak, a native of Miami, Florida …

has found success in concert as well as on the operatic stage. A frequent recitalist and soloist, she has performed in multiple venues in and around the Jackson, MS area. She portrayed Yum-Yum in Opera Mississippi’s production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado and has enjoyed various cabaret performances with the local company. Dr. Spivak was a featured artist at the John Duffy Composer’s Institute associated with the Virginia Arts Festival for seven seasons in Norfolk, VA. While there, she performed new stage works of rising composers such as Jake Runestad and Phillip Thompson. She has brought the title role in Puccini’s Tosca to life with Frost Opera Theatre and Amarillo Opera. Other roles with Amarillo Opera include Love Simpson in Carlisle Floyd’s Cold Sassy Tree and Minnie in Wage of Sin for a KACV television production. Additionally, she portrayed Desdemona in the world premiere of The Bride of the Moor by Thomas Pasatieri with Opera Beaumont in Beaumont, TX. Her portrayal of Miss Lavish in the production of Robert Nelson’s A Room with a View was made available on the Newport Classics label on DVD. Other roles Dr. Spivak has performed include Hanna Glawari in The Merry Widow, Adina in The Elixir of Love, Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus, Arminda in La Finta Giardiniera, Laetitia in The Old Maid and the Thief and Anne Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor.

On the concert stage, Dr. Spivak has been heard in multiple performances with the Mississippi Chorus. She has also performed Orff’s Carmina Burana and Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle with Fairmont State University, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the West Virginia University Symphony Orchestra, Handel’s Saul with the Miami Bach Society, Schubert’s Mass in C with Collegium Cantorei in Miami, and Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the Moores Symphony Orchestra in Houston, Texas. Other concert appearances include solo work in Handel’s Messiah, Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy, the Solemn Vespers by Mozart, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, Missa Cubana by Vitier, and Bach’s Cantata 140.

Dr. Spivak received a Bachelor of Music degree from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami and a Master of Music degree from the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston. She also holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Miami. An active member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, Dr. Spivak has held teaching positions at Miami-Dade College, West Virginia University and West Virginia Wesleyan College where she was Assistant Professor of Voice. She was the director of opera and musical theatre productions at Mississippi College where she also served on the voice faculty in recent years. She currently teaches at Hinds Community College in Raymond, MS where she is on the voice and theory faculty and is the Assistant Director of Choral Activities. Dr. Spivak resides in Clinton, MS with her husband and two children, where she is an active contributor to the local music scene.

Tenor Nicholas Perna’s voice…

has been hailed by the Houston Chronicle as “an impressive sound,” and the South Florida Sun Sentinel praised his “emotionally driven performance.” Perna was a recent finalist for the American Prize for men in opera, and has appeared multiple times in recent seasons with Opera Mississippi. He debuted the one person play Letters to Puccini for Opera Mississippi in 2022. Perna was twice selected as a Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Artist singer. Additional Operatic credits include Rodolfo in La Bohème, The Duke in Rigoletto, Nemorino in L’Elisir d’amore, Alfred in Die Fledermaus, & Tamino in Die Zauberflöte. Symphonic soloist appearances include Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde, Beethoven's Symphony no. 9, Handel’s Messiah, & Orff’s Carmina Burana.

Dr. Perna is Associate Professor of Voice and Voice Pedagogy at Mississippi College. He is a Presser Music Foundation awardee, and has presented research on four continents. Perna is Vice President for Outreach for the National Association of Teachers of Singing for the 2022-2024 term. He is the creator and co-host of the VocalFri Podcast, http://www.vocalfri.com, your weekly dash of voice science, pedagogy, and pop culture. Perna holds graduate degrees from the University of Miami & the University of Houston.

Tyler Kemp, Piano

An accomplished pianist and collaborator, Tyler Kemp has become an essential part of musical life in and around Jackson, MS.  His captivating and exciting performances of classical, jazz, and pop music showcase confidence and fluency from the concert stage and bandstand alike.

Tyler joined the faculty of Mississippi College in 2014 as Faculty Accompanist and Instructor of Collaborative Piano. He gives recitals regularly with students, faculty, and guest artists, as well as working with the Opera Theatre and Musical Theatre.  In the community, he serves as music director at Bellwether Church and is a frequent performer with the Mississippi Opera. He is a founding member of NEW JXN, a new music ensemble based in Jackson.