Biographies - Class Voice...

Cass Mann

Cass Mann, a classical singer and teacher, is passionate about sharing beautiful music with others. Her favorite performed roles include Miss Silverpeal in The Impresario, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Laurie in Copland's The Tender Land, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, the Bergère and Screech Owl in Ravel's L'Enfant et les Sortilèges, Countess Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro, and the Narrator/Mother for Opera Fort Collins's Outreach production of Little Red Riding Hood.

Ms. Mann's concert and Oratorio work consists of soprano solos from Orff's Carmina Burana, Handel's Messiah, Mozart's Requiem, Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass, and Franck's Die Sieben Worte Christi Am Kreuz.

Ms. Mann earned her Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance at Colorado State University. She has recently relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area, where she enjoys teaching and singing locally with Berkeley Opera, Festival Opera Chorus, Pocket Opera, and East Bay Aria Club.

Melanie O'Reilly

Melanie, considered internationally as a musical pioneer, singer Melanie O'Reilly is now firmly established in the great pantheon of creative Irish artists, with her own sound of Celtic-Jazz.

As a performer/singer-songwriter, her exhilarating and unique blend of Irish traditional music and jazz creates a powerful and haunting soundscape, exploring untouched frontiers, and which captivates audiences worldwide.

Born in Dublin, Melanie comes from a family of musicians. She has recorded 6 commercial albums for Mistletoe Music and performs regularly in Europe and throughout the US. "Downbeat" Magazine named her as one of the most important jazz representatives from Ireland and her music was recently featured in a PBS documentary.
She currently is Visiting Scholar of Celtic Studies at UC Berkeley, and she also teaches Vocals in the areas of jazz, Irish traditional and Musical Theatre.

Melanie is co-creator and presenter of her own radio series, "Jazz on the Bay", currently being broadcast on RTE Radio 1, Ireland's national broadcasting station.