Pops IV – West Side Story Retold
Jessica Rosas Posada, Maria: Jessica Rosas Posada is a native of Puebla, Mexico. Dr. Posada is currently in her second year as visiting director of voice studies at Whitman College. She has been the soprano soloist for masterworks in Mexico and the United States including Rutter’s Requiem, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Handel’s Messiah, Vivaldi’s Gloria, Vivaldi’s Magnificat and Haydn’s Missa in Angustiis; and for the leading operatic roles of Madame Herz in Mozart’s Der Schauspieldirektor, Susanna in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Norina in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, Hanna Glawari in Lehár’s The Merry Widow, and Gretel in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel. Posada has received numerous accolades including First and Second Place Division Winner, the Aspiring Artist Summer Program Grant Award, and the Waldman Award for Best Performance of Spanish Song, all from the National Association of Teachers of Singing, South Texas Chapter. She earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in vocal performance from the University of North Texas.
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Jacqueline Medina Green, Anita: Jacqueline Itzel Medina Green graduated from Central Washington University in 2019 with degrees in vocal performance and music education. During her time at Central, Jacqueline performed in the CWU Chamber Choir under Dr. Gary Weidenaar, Vocal Jazz 1 under Vijay Singh, the CWU Opera Ensemble, and Mariachi del Centro. As a performer, Jacqueline worked as a cantor at St. Andrew Catholic Church during her time in Ellensburg, Washington. She also has performed as a chorus member in the CWU opera ensemble, where she appeared in Mozart’s The Magic Flute and Vaughan Williams’ Riders to the Sea. Jacqueline also played the roles of the Girl in Michael Torke’s Strawberry Fields and Fiametta in Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Gondoliers. Jacqueline currently resides in Moses Lake with her husband, Nelson Green. She is a full-time elementary music teacher at Garden Heights Elementary, and she is currently pursuing a Masters in Music Education through Eastern Washington University. Aside from graduate studies and teaching, Jacqueline performs regularly with the Mid-Columbia Mastersingers. She enjoys singing, spending time with family and going to zumba classes. [Photo by Briana Eddy Photography]
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Brittany Stahley, Francisca: Soprano Brittany Stahley is a musician and voice teacher in the Yakima Valley who helps singers connect to their bodies and become well-rounded, technically skilled musicians. Brittany graduated from Central Washington University with a M.M. in voice pedagogy and performance and B.M. in vocal performance. She has been fortunate to serve as a soloist around the Pacific Northwest as well as part of the Canticus Vocal Ensemble. She has served as vocal director in many productions at The Warehouse Theatre Company and A.C. Davis High School. 
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Monica Juarez, Rosalia: An alumnus of Yakima Valley College and Central Washington University, Monica Juarez has spent many years involved in music and theater. In her years spent at both YVC and CWU, she has been in numerous vocal ensembles, including the university’s chorale, women’s chorus, and multiple vocal jazz groups. She has been a member of the Yakima Symphony Chorus for fifteen seasons. Her theatrical roles at YVC have included ensemble cast roles in both Oklahoma and Romeo and Juliet. Additionally, she has played Rosie in Bye Bye Birdie, Janet in The Rocky Horror Show, and Olive in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
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Tanya Knickerbocker, Consuelo: Tanya Knickerbocker, mezzo-soprano, is from Wisconsin and currently resides in Yakima. She has performed in Eastern Washington with various orchestras including the Mid-Columbia Symphony, the Washington-Idaho Symphony and the Walla Walla Symphony. She has performed in several operas (The Magic Flute, Die Fledermaus, Don Giovanni, Marriage of Figaro and Dido and Aeneas, among others) and currently sings with MidColumbia MasterSingers and the Yakima Symphony Orchestra. She studies with Reg Unterseher. When she isn’t singing, she is a tenured chemistry professor at Yakima Valley College and a realtor with Yakima Valley Real Estate in Yakima. [Photo by Trevor Obermeyer]
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Karl Hedlund, Tony: Karl E. Hedlund, tenor, is excited to return to the Yakima Symphony stage where he previously performed Orff’s Carmina Burana and Mozart’s Requiem.  He is an active performer, teacher, vocal coach and choral conductor. He has sung a wide variety of roles from opera, operetta, oratorio and musical theater with such companies as Fulton City Theater, Light Opera Oklahoma, Oklahoma City Lyric Theater, Opera in the Ozarks, Opera on the Vine, Tulsa Opera and Yakima Valley Opera. In the Pacific Northwest, Mr. Hedlund has enjoyed performing as a soloist with the Mid-Columbia Symphony, Mid-Columbia Mastersingers, Mid-Columbia Opera on the Vine as well as performing in several main-stage productions with Mid-Columbia Musical Theater and behind the scenes as music director and orchestra conductor for the same. Mr. Hedlund resides in West Richland, Washington, with his wife and family.  He works as a music educator for Emerson Elementary, Pasco School District, and serves as director of music for All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Richland.
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Steven Slusher, Riff: Steven S. Slusher, who hails from St. Louis, Missouri, received his Master of Music degree from Southern Illinois University and holds a Bachelor of Music in vocal performance from Ohio Northern University. Mr. Slusher has conducted throughout the United States, from the Crystal Cathedral in California to Riverside Church in New York City. He has performed in many musicals, opera productions and orchestral works, including Sondheim’s A Little Night Music, Mozart’s The Impressario, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, and more recently Faure’s Requiem and Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass with the Yakima Symphony Orchestra. He was a featured soloist at Missouri’s Music Education Association Convention, as well as a backup singer for Greek tenor Mario Frangoulis. Slusher is the past assistant director and soloist of the Bach Society of St. Louis and a principal singer and soloist for the St. Louis Symphony. He was on the music faculty at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri for seven years, and he has served as director of music at Trinity Episcopal Church in St. Louis and director of choirs at Toppenish High School. Currently, Mr. Slusher is assistant chorusmaster of the Yakima Symphony Chorus and tenured associate professor of choral/vocal Activities at Yakima Valley College.
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Angel Martinez, Bernardo: Angel Martinez is a Mexican-American operatic tenor and longtime Yakima local. He attended A.C. Davis High School and is a recent graduate from Central Washington University, having earned his Bachelors of Music learning voice, choral and opera studies. He has taken part in various choral ensembles, most notably the CWU Chamber Choir. He has performed in operas such as The Magic Flute, El Gato con Botas and The Gondoliers, and he prepared the role of Fenton in The Merry Wives of Windsor for the 2020 CWU Opera Scenes program which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Angel has learned voice through Debra Hardy Smith (Yakima) and Dr. Melissa Schiel (CWU-Ellensburg). He currently studies with Richard Zeller (Gresham, Oregon) in hopes of attending a school out of state for voice/opera performance in the near future. In the meantime, Angel puts his knowledge to the test by teaching voice at Melody Lane Academy. His most notable performance was at Carnegie Hall in 2019 to perform Ola Gjelo’s Work Dreamwaver. 
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Nelson Green, a Jet: Nelson Green is a magna cum laude graduate from Central Washington University, double majoring in choral music education and vocal performance. During his time at Central, he sang in the CWU Chamber Choir under Dr. Gary Weidenaar and CWU Vocal Jazz I under Vijay Singh.  He was the co-winner of the 2018 Opus 7 Undergraduate Composition Award for his piece “Infinite,” which also received the Thomas Gause Award in Composition at CWU. As a performer, Nelson has won and placed in NATS competitions. He also participated in three years of the CWU Opera Ensemble, playing the roles of Papageno in Mozart’s The Magic Flute and Giuseppe Palmieri in Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Gondoliers. His performance as Son in Michael Torke’s Strawberry Fields contributed to CWU’s second place finish in the Division I category of the National Opera Association Production Competition in 2018. Nelson currently resides in Moses Lake, Washington with his wife, Jacqueline. Aside from teaching choir at Columbia Middle School, Nelson sings with the Mid-Columbia Mastersingers and enjoys chess, reading, and spending time with family.