Master Class

Soprano Susheel Bibbs, a graduate of Boston University School for the Arts in Opera and The New England Conservatory of Music (Boston) in Vocal Performance, has served the Arts and Humanities for over 30 years. Honored worldwide as an opera singer, an innovative concert artist, and an award-winning filmmaker-producer, she began in Opera as winner of the coveted Laid  Foundation full-year stipend, then sang in the US, Canada, Europe, Asia and Africa for such presenters as The Santa Fe Opera, The Opera Company of Boston, and Opera on PBS, with chamber and full orchestras in LA, Sacramento, San Francisco, and Las Vegas to name a few and in recital in The Salzburg Festival on television, at Lincoln Center’s Geffen and Weill Halls and dozens more. Concurrently, in media she became the youngest Executive Producer of a national television series on PBS for which she won a national EMMY. Later, she won 26 television and film-festival awards.  Two of her historical and musical documentaries are now on PBS.

Bibbs has recently published an Amazon.com best-selling book on Mary Ellen Pleasant, California’s Mother of Civil Rights, whom she plays in original, touring musical, dramatic, and film presentations, and she continues to appear in acclaimed classical song recitals, such as Robert Sim’s Majesty of The Spiritual. Susheel screens internationally in venues such as the renowned Cannes Film Festival in France and also gives masterclasses (sometimes enriched with film) for diverse audiences on opera and on Black classical song for universities. theaters, cultural groups, outstanding museums such as The Crocker Art Museum or The Missouri History and Art Museums, opera companies such as Pittsburg Festival Opera and The Opera Theater of St. Louis, and for organizations such as One Hundred Black Men, Pillsbury Corporation, The National Humanities Conference, The California Arts Council, The National Parks Service, and the National Endowment for the Humanities to name a few.

Bibbs is founder of The Living Heritage Foundation, a charity dedicated to expanding the careers of professional artists who have presented works of African Americans and women of note. Many of her films uncover hidden African-American music and history, and so for her far-reaching contributions to the Arts and Humanities, Susheel Bibbs has received awards from diverse groups: St. Louis Role-Model Experiences and The Genius Is Common programs, The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, The African-American Artsong Alliance, Friends of Negro Spirituals, The African-American Museum of Los Angeles and The City Museum in St. Louis as well as The Highest Commendation of the Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco, which named her the Foremost Authority on Mary Ellen Pleasant in their Highest Commendation. Her career profile on PBS Arts Showcase is screening nationally, and she has recently been awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award of the Marquis Who’s Who among Women.

Adrianna M. Cleveland is a Pittsburgh native. A member of both AEA and AGMA. Adrianna has had the luxury of performing in Pittsburgh for several arts companies such as Resonance Works (Hyena/ The Jungle Book, The Rose/ The Little Prince), Pittsburgh Musical Theatre (Effie White/ Dreamgirls), Pittsburgh Festival Opera (Rusalka/ Rusalka, Queen Mumsiebelle/ Theresa the Bubble Seller /Mister Rogers Operas, Violet Powers/world premiere A Gathering of Sons) and Pittsburgh Opera (Perneatha Cunningham-Evans/The Long Walk, world premiere of The Summer King, Girlfriend #2/ Blue. Regional Theatre credits include roles as Wanda/ Beehive the 1960’s Musical (Cleveland Great Lakes Theatre, Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, and Idaho Shakespeare Festival) and Ensemble, u/s Clara, Serena/ The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess (Broadway’s First National Tour). Ms. Cleveland received her Bachelor of Music in Voice from Baldwin Wallace University and Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of world-renowned Heldentenor, Dr. Timothy Mussard. Mimi/ “Seasons of Love” soloist/First Ever in Repertory La Boheme and Rent. A versatile artist, she has had her hand in many talents such as stage managing, backstage work, and many others. She is also a very accomplished baker.

Qaden Maekawa-Daise, Mezzo Soprano is currently a freshman at Carnegie Mellon University studying vocal performance with Maria Spacagna. She is from Atlanta, GA and has been singing classically for about four years. She attended the Boston University Tanglewood Institute in 2024, as well as programs at University of Michigan and New York University in 2023. Most recently she was a regional finalist for the Schmidt Vocal Competition in 2025.

Praised for his “chilling refinement in bearing and voice” (Opera Wire), Thandolwethu Mamba has been described as having a “magnificent voice” and “possessing an extraordinary capacity for timbral flexibility, which he exploits with a level of artistic maturity and musical tact” (Classical Voice of North Carolina). Mr. Mamba is a baritone from Eswatini who continues to establish himself on opera and concert stages, showcasing his command of diverse styles and repertoire.

Following his Metropolitan Opera debut in the ensemble of X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X in November 2023, Thando debuted as Sonora in La Fanciulla del West with North Carolina Opera. As a 2024/25 Opera Orlando Studio Artist, Mamba had role debuts in several productions including Macbeth, Cendrillon, Werther, and Treemonisha. Other roles include title roles in Don Giovanni, Le Nozze di Figaro and Gianni Schicchi. Mamba has also appeared as Dancaïro in Carmen, Don Calogero Sedàra in The Leopard (a world premiere later released on Naxos Records to critical acclaim), and Town Magistrate in Signor Deluso with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Frost Opera Theater, and Florida Grand Opera, respectively. He made his John F. Kennedy Center debut as Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro.

Mamba was a prize winner in the 2025 Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition Eastern Regionals following emerging as one of the winners of the competition’s New York District. Mamba has also been a finalist and prize winner in the Mary Jacobs Singer of the Year Competition, Pasadena Vocal Competition, Mildred Miller International Voice Competition, Benjamin Mathews Vocal Competition, and Career Bridges Grant Awards. Thando, as he is more commonly known, is committed to developing the growth of opera as a celebrated and sustainable art form in his home country and the continent of Africa at large.

Thandolwethu Mamba is a member of The Cafritz Young Artists of Washington National Opera.

Dayven Martinez, Tenor, is a Junior Vocal Performance Major at Carnegie Mellon University. He was a merit winner of the 2023 YoungArts Competition in Classical Voice, an alternate finalist in the Next-Gen American Pops Competition and was Top 5 in the Broadway Next On Stage Competition. He has worked with many acclaimed artists like Joan Dornerman, Vladamir Chernov, and his private studio Dan Teadt. He is incredibly grateful for the opportunity to perform and celebrate Black History with his fellow artists tonight!

Solomon Onyukwu is a vocalist, music director, and educator whose work spans classical, gospel, contemporary Christian, R&B, and soul music. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music and graduated with College and University Honors from Carnegie Mellon University, where he completed advanced training in vocal performance and musicianship.

Solomon has served as a music director for multiple churches and vocal ensembles, leading choirs, worship teams, and large-scale musical events with a strong emphasis on musical excellence and theological integrity. He is an experienced soloist and ensemble singer, having performed in a variety of concert, worship, and community settings. In addition to performing, he maintains a private voice studio and has over five years of experience teaching singers of all ages, focusing on healthy technique, artistry, and expressive communication.

Currently based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Solomon continues to perform, teach, and lead music with a passion for creating moments that are both artistically compelling and spiritually meaningful.