An Evening of Opera Highlights – February 1st & 2nd, 2027

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Jason Garcia-Kakuk, tenor, currently based in Rochester, NY, hails from Queensland, MD. He is a 2022 graduate of Temple University with a BM in Voice Performance. He has performed with Opera Philadelphia, Curtis Opera Theatre, Opera Baltimore, the Eastman Opera theatre and Aspen Opera Theater. In 2025 he was seen as a studio artist with Finger Lakes Opera. Jason was recently named a winner in the NC district of Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition and secured first place in the Friends of Eastman Opera Competition. Besides his passion for singing, Jason enjoys reading, writing poetry, photography and playing guitar.

So Young Park, soprano, a native of South Korea, earned her BA from Seoul National University and her Artist Diploma and Master’s Degree from the New England Conservatory. Ms. Park made her Metropolitan Opera debut at the Queen of the Night in “The Magic Flute”, a role she has reprised at Los Angeles Opera, Houston Grand Opera, the Glimmerglass Festival, Michigan Opera Theatre and Boston Lyric Opera. She performed as soloist with Maestro Placido Domingo in Seoul, with Maestro Gustavo Dudamel in Los Angeles. So Young trained as a LA Opera’s Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist, and was featured in the live recording of “The Ghosts of Verseilles” that won two Grammy Awards. After many critically acclaimed performances in Korea and a recital in Beijing, China, she received the 2024 Korea New Artist Award from the Korea Opera Society.

William Clay Thompson, bass, received his Bachelor of Music, Vocal performance in 2017 from the University of North Texas, and continued his training at the Glimmerglass Festival, Minnesota Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Wolf Trap Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago, where he debuted the role of the King in “Aida.” Recently Mr. Thompson made his Arizona debut as Zuniga in “Carmen”, and joined the roster of The Metropolitan Opera making his debut in Brett Dean’s “Hamlet”. He has been praised for his “mahogany-timbred” voice and “imposing presence.”

Benedicte Jourdois, pianist and vocal coach, is a member of the Metropolitan Opera music staff and coaches at Julliard. Born in Paris, Ms. Jourdois holds degrees from the Conservatoire National de Region de Saint-Maur, the conservatoire National Superior de Musique de Lyon, Mannes college and the Julliard School. Previously, she was a faculty member at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia and the Manhattan School of Music. She has performed at numerous venues in Europe and across the United states, including Carnegie Hall in NY, the Kennedy Center in DC, Houston Grand Opera and Opera Philadelphia.

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