Hannah Early | Piano

Hannah is delighted to join forces with Renegade Opera for the first time. Hannah earned a Bachelor of Arts from Pacific University, where she performed as solo pianist, collaborative pianist, and chorister throughout her studies. Upon graduation in 2017, she maintained a full schedule as collaborative pianist with both university choirs and several of the solo voice studios, a staff position at St. Matthew Catholic Church, and productions at Theatre in the Grove. Since, she has enjoyed collaboration with local talent at Mendelssohns Classical Music Bar, and various appearances with organizations such as Opera on Tap, New Wave Opera, and Cult of Orpheus. She is also available for studio work preparing and performing with performers of all ages in recital, audition, competition, and more. Upcoming appearances include collaboration with soprano Erin Walker at Festa Italiana September 20th and 21st and a recital with baritone Dan Gibbs, dates TBA. When away from the piano her hands are filled with work in her extensive backyard garden and the care of two children whom she frequently immerses in nature and music. 

Savannah Gentry | FLUTE

Savannah is an American flutist and soloist recognized for her vibrant artistry and versatility across contemporary and classical repertoire. She was a quarterfinalist in the National Flute Association Young Artist Competition (2023), a finalist in the University of Oregon Concerto Competition, and a second-place winner in the Flute Society of Kentucky Quartet Competition Gentry has performed in leading U.S. venues such as National Sawdust, Opera America, and The DiMenna Center, and has appeared with ensembles including BeComEnsemble, SPLICE, and the Greenwich Village Orchestra. Recent solo highlights include guest artist recitals for the Greater Portland Flute Society (2025) and Willamette University (2023). She holds graduate degrees from the Manhattan School of Music and Indiana University and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts at the University of Oregon under Jacqueline Cordova-Arrington. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Gentry brings a distinct and compelling voice to every performance.

Colleen Bernstein | Percussion

Colleen Bernstein is an award-winning percussionist and educator recognized for her versatility and passion. She has performed on multiple Broadway musicals and previously collaborated with notable artists including Béla Fleck, Judy Collins, Tania León, Concertgebouw Orchestra Camerata, American Symphony Orchestra, Silkroad Ensemble, International Contemporary Ensemble, Talea Ensemble, Balla Kouyate, and Sandbox Percussion. As a soloist, Bernstein has performed a concerto with Albany Symphony, presented sets at MATA Festival, New Music Gathering, World Vibes Congress, and Oh My Ears Festival, and won prizes internationally including at the Universal Marimba Competition. She is a member of American Wild Ensemble and Creative Leaps International. Bernstein is a professor at William Paterson University and Hunter College, and Director of Percussion for New Jersey Youth Symphony. She holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music and University of Michigan, and is an artist endorser for Black Swamp Percussion and Malletech.

Cecille ElliotT | Violin

Cecille is a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter/composer currently based in Portland, Oregon. Her passion lies in the diversity of music, and how her instruments find voices around the world and in various genres. She is a member of Lyyra, a professional vocal ensemble made up of six women, performing and leading educational workshops across the US and abroad. Locally, she is a rostered vocalist with Resonance Ensemble, singing as well as being a two-time commissioned composer for the group. As a freelancing performer and creator, she lends her voice and string-playing for various artists across the city and the country to bring their projects to life. Cecille is excited to return to Renegade Opera, bringing her violin playing to the Waking the Witch production.

Erin Ratzlaf | Cello

Erin Ratzlaf, cellist, has received praise for her versatility, consistency, and sensitivity as a musician. She has held positions with the Eugene Symphony, the Vancouver Symphony, the Portland Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra NOVA Northwest (formerly Portland’s Columbia Symphony) and is in demand as a freelance musician with orchestras such as the Newport Symphony and with Portland Center Stage and Stumptown Stages. Erin has been involved in Portland’s alt classical scene since its inception and was a founding member of Classical Revolution PDX, collaborator in creative projects such as Filmusik and FearNoMusic’s Young Composers Project, and is a past member of the Portland Cello Project. Erin has appeared on OPB’s Art Beat, All Classical FM radio, KPSU and KBOO, as well as in numerous studio recordings with artists of all genres.  She resides in Portland with her cellist husband and 3 children, where she maintains a busy teaching schedule.

Ricky Smith | Clarinet

Ricky is a dynamic performer and educator based in Portland, Oregon. He recently won the position of Second and Bass Clarinet with the Oregon Ballet Theatre Orchestra and served as Acting Second Clarinet with the Oregon Symphony during the 2024–25 season. Ricky has performed with ensembles including the Portland Opera, Eugene Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, and chamber groups such as 45th Parallel Universe, in addition to various regional orchestras throughout Portland and Western Pennsylvania.

His festival appearances include the Siletz Bay Music Festival, Oregon Bach Festival, Aspen Music Festival, and the AIMS Festival Orchestra in Graz, Austria.

A passionate advocate for music education, Ricky maintains a thriving private studio of students from across Portland, teaches at George Fox University, and regularly leads sectionals for middle and high school ensembles throughout the Portland metropolitan area.

Ricky holds a Master of Music and an Advanced Music Studies Certificate in Clarinet Performance from Carnegie Mellon University, as well as a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Southern Methodist University. His principal teachers include Michael Rusinek and Paul Garner. Outside of music, he enjoys skiing, exploring Oregon’s wine country, and traveling.

Stage Director | Iona Boyd

Iona is a British stage director based in Edinburgh, Scotland. She works nationally in the UK with companies such as the Royal Ballet and Opera, Scottish Opera and Opera North, as well as internationally in venues such as the Musikverein in Vienna and the Estates Theatre in Prague. She most recently directed Massenet’s Cendrillon for Edinburgh Studio Opera which was described by All Edinburgh Theatre as a “beguiling, entertaining and magical production.” Iona’s work focuses on truthful storytelling which examines the complex grey areas of the human experience. Coming up, Iona is assistant director for Renaud Ducet’s production of La Bohème at Scottish Opera, and will assist Nicholas Bone at Opera North for their contemporary production Pass the Spoon. Following this, Iona will direct Purcell’s Dido & Aeneas at Edinburgh’s St Giles Cathedral for Opera Caledonia.

Rehearsal Pianist | Claire Forstman

Praised for her “masterful” playing (Bend Bulletin), Claire Forstman is a music director, pianist, and vocal coach currently based in Portland, Oregon.  Her upcoming engagements include shows with Seattle Opera (Pirates of Penzance) and Portland Opera (La bohème), where she has just finished two seasons as a member of their Resident Artists.  A sought-after collaborator in the Pacific Northwest, this summer she rejoins many favorite regional companies: OperaBend for Il barbiere di Siviglia (La traviata, 2024); OrpheusPDX for Il sogno di Scipione (Aci, Galatea, e Polifemo, 2024); Renegade Opera for Waking the Witch (Orlofsky’s Party, 2024; American Patriots, 2023); Ping & Woof Opera for Così fan tutte (Amahl and the Night Visitors, 2025); and Vashon Opera for Cendrillon (Otello, 2024).  She has also worked for the Oregon Bach Festival, Portland’s Opera on Tap, Portland State University’s Opera Department, New Wave Opera, the Portland Symphonic Choir, Portland’s Opera in the Park, and Resonance Ensemble.

In her residency with Portland Opera, Claire served as the principal pianist for the company’s productions of Falstaff, The Juliet Letters, and Puccini: In Concert. She assisted with productions of Joel Thompson’s The Snowy Day and Paul Moravec’s The Shining as offstage conductor and orchestral keyboardist respectively.  She also worked on the company’s production of Le nozze di Figaro as second pianist, chorus pianist, and coach.

Before moving to Portland in 2023, Claire was a studio artist for two seasons at the Florentine Opera in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she worked on productions of Rigoletto, L’enfant et les sortilèges, Il barbiere di Siviglia, and Roméo et Juliette, among others.  She has also worked for Opera Steamboat (2023) in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, Chicago Summer Opera (2022, 2023), dell’Arte Opera in New York City, (2019, 2022), and Finger Lakes Opera (2021) in Rochester, New York.

A passionate recitalist, she presented a solo program this summer for the Salon Series at Ascension Episcopal Parish, giving her debut performance of Schumann’s Fantasie in C, Op. 17.  Recently, she was a collaborator for acclaimed vocalist Katherine Goforth’s recital “Where Would We Be Without Defeat” at Stanford University.  She also works as a dance accompanist and has played for the Oregon Ballet Theatre School, BodyVox dance company, the Portland Ballet Academy, and the Milwaukee Ballet School and Academy.  

Claire is a proud transgender woman and is originally from Birmingham, Alabama; she received her Master’s in Contemporary Performance from the Manhattan School of Music and her Bachelor’s in Piano Performance from the Eastman School of Music.

Costume Designer | Kelli Mcdonough

My name is Kelli McDonough. I am a couture/costume designer working out of my home studio, Inkthethink, here in Portland. I love storytelling aspects of fashion design, and it's been such a fun journey to have started with designing for the opera. I can design, pattern and prototype casual garments, special event attire to show performance pieces. I've been working on avant-garde costume collections for the runway the last couple of years, but no matter what my project may be, my goal is to always infuse a whole lot of whimsy, weird and weird.

Lighting Designer | Samantha Kemp

Hi, there. My name is Samantha, but please feel free to call me Sam. I am deeply passionate about live performance design and what it means to create an environment with light. 

Originally from the tiny town of Lindenhurst, NY on Long Island, but transplanted to Las Vegas, Nevada right before middle school, I’ve weaseled my way into artful spaces my whole life despite always being herded in the opposite direction. I’ve tried on many different hats: wildlife conservationist; environmental scientist; published communication studies scholar; but none have felt as correct as lighting designer. 

I graduated from Portland State University in 2023 with a double Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Psychology — majors that have both nothing & everything to do with lighting design. I plan to spend the next few years building my portfolio and cementing my presence in the Portland theatre community. In my free time, you might find me hiking in Forest Park, perusing one of Portland’s many bookstores, or just playing video games on my couch.

MUSIC DIRECTOR/Conductor | Danielle Jagelski

DDanielle Jagelski is a composer, conductor, and creative producer. She is the Artistic Director and Co-founder of Renegade Opera, Associate Conductor of PROTESTRA, and co-founder of Simmer Arts.

“Danielle Jagelski is a prime example of socially responsive artistry in the 21st century.” - I Care If You Listen

Her work has been performed at distinguished art spaces including Roulette Intermedium, The National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, Performance Space New York, and Green Room 42. Recent and upcoming commissions include works for Portland Opera, American Composers Forum, Voices of Ascension, New Native Theatre, North American Indigenous Songbook, Colleen Bernstein- Percussionist, CUNY-Seagal Center, MoreArt, Sister Singers Network, Lorena Navarro, Michigan State University, and American Patriots Project.

An enrolled citizen of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin and Red Cliff Band of Ojibwe, Danielle often collaborates and performs with other Indigenous and Native American artists. She is passionate about kinship building and decolonization through interdisciplinary projects. She is also active consultant on equitable producing practices and decolonial frameworks, having worked with educational institutions such as New York University and University of Portland Garaventa Center, as well as creative projects such as Shamengwa by Weslie Brown, The Handel and Haydn Society Youth Choruses in Boston, and York The Explorer by Aaron Nigel Smith. 

As a conductor, Danielle is sought out for her execution of contemporary works. Recent conducting engagements include Voiceless Mass with International Contemporary Ensemble, NextGen3 with Beth Morrison Projects, Amistad by Anthony Davis with Harlem Opera Theatre and Connecticut Lyric Opera, Voices of Mannahatta with Voices of Ascension, Ḵutulagaaw by Ed Littlefield, Missing by Brian Current at Anchorage Opera, Scalia/Ginsberg at Opera Ithaca, Dark Sisters by Nico Muhly, world premieres of Adam’s Run by Ruby Fulton and Garden of Alice by Elizabeth Raum, and guest conductor for the Manhattan School of Music Symphony, and National Music Global Culture Society at Lincoln Center. Upcoming projects are Waking the Witch by Ashi Day, Indians of Vacation by Ian Cusson at Edmonton Opera, guest conductor with Resonance Ensemble, and associate conductor for The Witcher In Concert live-to-concert National tour.

She is currently an Opera America IDEA grant recipient with playwright Rhiana Yazzie, for their new opera Little Ones, as well as part of the 2025 LIFT cohort at Native Arts and Cultures Foundation. She has received grants from Opera America, The Plimpton Foundation, and Oregon Community Foundation, among others. She was a resident artist at the 2024 Berkeley Repertory Theatre- Groundfloor Residency, and has earned awards for her work in contemporary opera from the National Opera Association. IG @daniellejagelskimusic / daniellejagelski.com

Stage Manager | Emily Trimble

Emily is a Stage Manager who grew up in Houston, Texas and graduated from the University of Texas at Dallas. She worked in Dallas for a few years after graduating before moving to Portland. She worked at companies such as Undermain Theatre, WaterTower Theatre, and Dallas Children’s Theatre. She moved to Portland in 2012 and has since Stage Managed for Bag&Baggage Productions, Corrib Theatre, Broadway Rose, OPS Fest, Oregon Children's Theatre. Some of her favorite shows she has stage managed have been In This Corner: Cassius Clay; A Year with Frog and Toad; Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed; and The Great Gatsby. When at home she can be found watching bad action movies with her husband, playing with her two cats, or doing a variety of fiber arts.

Ashi Day | composer

Ashi is a composer and educator whose vocally-driven music explores unconventional intersections between music and theater; using the voice as a compositional tool; strategic use of humor and absurdity; considering and caring for the experience of the performer as much as the audience; expanding the canon in ways that allow performers to play against stereotypes; and letting instrumentalists play characters just like singers. She also writes a lot of songs about animals.

In addition to writing choral music and art song, Ashi writes chamber operas that explore, in some way, who gets to move freely through the world and who does not. Usually working as her own librettist, her operas are praised for their catchy melodies and idiomatic vocal writing. Waking the Witch, a one-act immersive opera for solo countertenor (or mezzo-soprano) and Pierrot ensemble, sees the audience as an accused witch being interrogated by a 16th-Century witchfinder, and uses a libretto drawn from the words of historical witch hunters as well as modern-day rhetoric that is eerily similar. The Fishwife, an ensemble-driven comic operetta commissioned by Maryland Opera Studio, reimagines of the Grimm fairytale “The Fisherman and His Wife,” as playful exploration of wanting: greed, ambition, satisfaction, and more (and includes fake Baroque arias and sea shanties). Her micro-operas include For Whom the Dog Tolls, in which a solo soprano plays a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, a rare hunting breed that can lure ducks to their demise; The Green Child, for soprano and clarinet (the clarinetist playing the titular character, with optional staging included), based on the legend of the green children of Woolpit in which two girls save each other from dangers physical and existential; and Fae-Feral Child (with librettist Cilff Hoitt-Lange), commissioned by No Divide KC as part of their Come as You Are: Vulnerability in the Concert Space), in which a bullied child finds new beginnings through an encounter with the faefolk. 

Ashi’s works have been performed by Lyric Opera of Kansas City with No Divide KC; Maryland Opera Studio, Renegade Opera, Opera Ithaca, Hartford Opera Theater, Fresh Squeezed Opera Company, Whistling Hens, Juventas New Music Ensemble, Calliope’s Call, Cappella Clausura, KC VITAs, StageFree, Metropolitan Master Chorale of Los Angeles, Artifice, Ensemble Lyrae, PERI Trio, Connecticut Yankee Chorale, and Cantate Chamber Singers, as well as a by number of university and church choirs, singers in recital, and more. She has also been a festival composer at Choral Arts Initiative’s PREMIERE|Project Festival, Denison TUTTI, New Music on the Bayou, NEO Voice Festival, Women Composers Festival of Hartford, Music by Women, University of North Georgia’s ROCC, District New Music Coalition’s New Music DC, Opera from Scratch, and more. In devised theater, she collaborated with artists of various disciplines to co-create Narrative the Build We for Cultural DC’s Source Festival and Being Moss as part of I Thought the Earth Remembered Me with banished? productions for the Capital Fringe Festival.

Ashi has been named a DC Arts and Humanities Fellow for multiple years alongside artists of all mediums “whose artistic excellence significantly contributes to the District of Columbia as a world class cultural capital.” She was a 2025 Come As You Are fellow with No Divide KC and Lyric Opera of Kansas City, in which she was commissioned to create a new micro-opera for youth and family audiences. She was a 2022 Opera America Discovery Grant for Women Composers awardee for Waking the Witch. Ashi has also won prizes in the Sewanee Church Conference’s FYFE Choral Composition Competition and the New York Treble Singers Composition Competition. 

Ashi earned a B.M. and M.M. in Composition respectively from Bucknell University and Westminster Choir College. Composition teachers include William Duckworth, Jackson Hill, Stefan Young, and Joel Phillips. Equally dedicated to education, Ashi spent five years teaching elementary music and language arts in south Florida, during which time she also studied improv theater and classical voice. She then earned an Ed.M. in Arts in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where she was named an Urban Scholars Fellow for her work in arts education. She now works in arts education administration, creating opportunities for people of all ages to experience, explore, learn through, and train in music and opera as the Education Manager for Washington National Opera. As a soprano, she is a professional church musician and an excellent partner for singing rounds. She resides in Washington, DC, with her husband and her dog/muse, Oliver.