Mark Aliapoulios, baritone, made his concert debut at the age of 25 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Seiji Ozawa.  Since then he has performed as soloist with numerous organizations around the world including the Boston Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Portland Symphony Orchestra, the Vermont Symphony, the Shinsei Nippon Symphony (Japan), the Symphonic Orchestra of Belgrade Radio/Television (Yugoslavia), the Handel and Haydn Society, the Mark Morris Dance Company, the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, the Boston Ballet Orchestra, the Longwood Symphony, as well as the Opera Company of Boston, the Boston Lyric Opera, Palm Beach Opera, the Miami Bach Society and the Florida Philharmonic Chorus. As a soloist, he has sung under the batons of leading international conductors Leonard Slatkin, Seiji Ozawa, Kurt Mazur, Eric Leinsdorf, Lucas Foss, Sarah Caldwell, Jonathan McPhee, Jaime Laredo and Robert Shaw.  In the traditional opera repertoire, he has sung leading roles in Madama Butterfly, Der Freishütz, La Bohème, Don Giovanni, Dialogues des Carmélites, Der Fledermaus, and Werther. Mark is both a professor of voice and Associate Dean for the PBA College of the Arts.

Marilyn Mims debuted during the 1987-88 season as leading lady with the New York City Opera in La Traviata, at Carnegie Hall with the Opera Orchestra of New York in Meyerbeer’s Robert le Diable, and with the Metropolitan Opera in Die Fledermaus. During the next seven seasons she sang seven major roles at the Metropolitan Opera (Violetta, Fiordiligi, Konstanze, Gilda, Lucia, Rosalinde, and Donna Anna) including two live Saturday afternoon broadcasts as Violetta and Fiordiligi, with James Levine conducting. Her performance of Ortlinde in Levine’s recording of Wagner’s Die Walküre earned her a “Grammy” Award. Her career as a professional operatic soprano included appearances with major opera companies and orchestras spanning five continents including major appearances with San Francisco Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Grand Theatre of Geneva, Teatro Colon of Buenos Aires, Canadian Opera, and the New Israeli Opera. At Palm Beach Atlantic she teaches voice and is producing director of the Opera Workshop program.

Sonia Santiago

Performing artist and veteran educator Sonia Santiago is a distinguished music educator and voice instructor and has one of the most sought-after private voice studios in South Florida.  As an accomplished voice instructor, she emphasizes vocal freedom through healthy vocal technique in all styles and genres. Sonia has thrilled audiences worldwide with her rich lyric mezzo-soprano voice. She is an artist that is as much at home on the operatic stage as in the concert hall. Mrs. Santiago currently serves as Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, Florida in addition to maintaining a select private voice studio.  Her work at the university includes overseeing all vocal ensembles and teaching applied voice. Her acclaimed choirs are active throughout the school year and play an important role in outreach and recruitment for the university.