top of page
Choirs
El Paso Chorale
120 Adult Volunteer Singers
El Paso Chamber Choir
24 Adult Professional Paid Singers
Rehearsals Mondays 7pm-9:30 begin October 15th
Conductor, Prentice Loftin
Amahl & the Night Visitor
Cast
Heather Dials, Mother
Soprano
​
Heather began her professional career at the Santa Fe Opera. She has sung principal roles across the U.S. and Europe with symphonies and opera companies and on tour with the San Francisco Opera and European Opera Center. Ms. Dials has shared the stage with many of today’s greatest opera stars, including Luciano Pavarotti, Juan Diego Flórez, and Anna Netrebko. She has won many vocal competitions, including the prestigious Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, and she was nominated for a Richard Tucker Career Grant. Ms. Dials teaches voice in Las Cruces and at the El Paso Conservatory of Music, and she is a member of the El Paso Chamber Choir.
Nayeliz Reyes Pérez, Amahl
Soprano
​
Nayeliz as been singing since she was four years old. Her first experience was singing in the church children’s ministry. At the age of nine she was one of the lead singers in her elementary school rock band Palmas Del Mar in Humacao, Puerto Rico. In the 6th and 7th grade, Nayeliz was recognized as the Outstanding Soloist. She has participated in SISD All Region Choir, and this year won first chair in middle school category. Nayeliz has had the honor to work with recognized Opera Soprano Laquita Mitchell and El Paso’s own Levi Hernandez. She is a member of the varsity choir at SSG Manuel R. Puentes Middle School and also a voice student at El Paso Conservatory of Music.
Ricardo Sotelo, King Gaspar
Tenor
Ricardo Sotelo began his singing studies in Esperanza Azteca Juárez under the tutelage of Master Eduardo Ruiz. He was chosen to participate as a choral singer in the Choir Esperanza Azteca Nacional in 2012 and 2013, singing on stages such as The National Auditorium in Mexico, Sala Nezahualcóyotl, and Arena Mexico. Mr. Sotelo has been a soloist in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico City, El Paso, and New Mexico in works like Bastien und Bastienne, L’elisir d’amore, Le Nozze di Figaro, and Dido and Aeneas. In 2016, Mr. Sotelo was chosen to sing in a choir in Los Angeles under the direction of Placido Domingo. He is currently a member of the El Paso Chamber Choir, doing his university studies, and working on projects in Music, Cinema, and Theater.
Mario Acosta, King Melchior
Baritone
Mario Acosta is a musician, singer, and actor, studying music at the Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, specializing as an Opera and Concert Singer. He has presented a recital of vocal specialization in the baroque, classical and bel canto genres. He has sung as a soloist in operas such as Il Tabarro, La Bohème, Carmen, La Traviata, Le Nozze di Figaro, Rigoletto, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Gianni Schicchi, Dido and Aeneas, and L’elisir d’amore, Bastien und Bastienne, and the Coffee Cantata. He has collaborated with El Paso Opera. He is a member of the El Paso Chamber Choir and currently serves as vocal director at the FIDELIO Opera Company.
Alex Leal, King Balthazar
Bass
​
Alex Leal began singing with Robert Provencio, who directed a folk group at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. He was a member of the El Paso High School choir directed by the late Richard Hawley, and he also participated in All-State. Thanks to the help of Lane Park, music director at First Baptist Church, Mr. Leal was accepted into the Baptist All-State Choir. He also sang with Bruce Nehring’s Presbyterian church choir. Mr. Leal received a Bachelor of Music degree at West Texas State University and a Master of Music degree at the Boston Conservatory. He currently teaches music at Tornillo ISD. He has been a member of the El Paso Chamber Choir for several years.
Gilbert Olivares, Page
Tenor
​
Gilbert Olivares, Tenor, has been a member of Catholic Church choirs in Juárez and El Paso since his teenage years. He became a member of the El Paso Choral Society in 2015. As part of the Choral Society, he has participated in Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem, Orff’s Carmina Burana, and the 2017 New Year’s Eve concert. In 2016, Gilbert enrolled in the fouryear certificate program of the El Paso Conservatory of Music. He is expected to complete the program in May 2019.
Flor De La Garza, Pianist
​
Flor De La Garza is a native of El Paso. She graduated from UTEP with a bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance studying with Dr. Arryl Paul. She is currently in the last steps of completing her master’s degree in Piano Performance from the New Mexico State University, studying with Dr. Laura Spitzer. Ms. De La Garza was the assistant music director and pianist for the UTEP Opera program from 1999 to 2003 and for the Doña Ana Lyric Opera in collaboration with NMSU from 2013 to 2016. De la Garza is currently an independent collaborative pianist at the UTEP Department of Music.
bottom of page