Meet the Festival's 2026 Vocal Fellows

Sarah Elise Navy (she/her) is a soprano from Houston, TX. She is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts in Voice Performance and Literature at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign under the guidance of Dr. Ollie Watts Davis. She received her Master of Music and Performer’s Diploma in Vocal Performance from Southern Methodist University, where she studied with Professor Barbara Hill Moore, and received her Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance from Lawrence University as a student of acclaimed countertenor John Holiday. Recent operatic roles include the title role in Puccini’s Suor Angelica, Bianca in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia, and Manuelita in Offenbach’s Pépito as an Education Artist with The Dallas Opera. She has also appeared in concert with the Dallas Opera Orchestra. In addition to her performance career, Sarah is passionate about arts accessibility and creating inclusive spaces in classical music for Black and Brown youth.

Ruoxuan Nola Tan (she/her) is a mezzo-soprano from Shenzhen, China. Her stage credits include the leading role in Carmen, Arnalta in L’incoronazione di Poppea, and Florence Pike in Albert Herring with Northwestern Opera Theatre; Madame de la Haltière in Cendrillon with Berlin Opera Academy; and Bradamante in Alcina and Mother Jeanne in Dialogues des Carmélites with the Cleveland Institute of Music Opera Theatre. She has also appeared as alto soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the Case Western Reserve University Baroque Orchestra. Tan has participated as a young artist in Berlin Opera Academy, Nashville SongFest, and Oberlin College’s Baroque Performance Institute. She received an Encouragement Award in the 2026 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, Nebraska District, and First Prize in the NATS Central Region Advanced Classical Student Auditions. She is currently a second-year master’s candidate in Voice and Opera at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music, studying with Patrice Michaels.

Indian–American tenor Tejas Kishan Gururaja (he/him) is a Chicago-based singer of opera, oratorio, and musical theatre. Originally from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, he is currently at Northwestern University pursuing Bachelor’s degrees in Voice and Opera Performance at the Bienen School of Music and Neuroscience at the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences.

Performance highlights include the title role in Orpheus in the Underworld, El Remendado in Carmen, Nerone in L’incoronazione di Poppea, Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance, Nanki-Poo in The Mikado, Fabrizio Naccarelli in The Light in the Piazza, Raoul de St. Brioche in Die Lustige Witwe, and Ein Soldat in Der Kaiser von Atlantis. As a concert soloist, Tejas has performed the tenor solos in Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s cantatas BWV 5 and 131, and the role of Max in Schumann’s Der Rose Pilgerfahrt.

In addition to his work in Western classical music, Tejas maintains an active career in Carnatic (South Indian classical) music, performing regularly as a vocalist and violinist throughout the United States and India.

Baritone Owen Gonzalez (he/him) is a singer, pianist, teacher, and scholar. A Florida native, he received his Bachelor of Music from Stetson University, where he studied with Dr. Chadley Ballantyne and Dr. Nathan Munson. He is currently pursuing his Master of Music in Voice Performance at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he studies with Professor Yvonne Gonzales Redman.

His stage credits include Simone in Gianni Schicchi, the Baker in Into the Woods, and the Badger, Parson, and Poacher in The Cunning Little Vixen. He recently joined the cast of Lyric Theatre @ Illinois’s production of Mark Adamo’s Little Women, covering the roles of Gideon March and Friedrich Bhaer. His choral credits include the Vero Beach Opera Chorus, Orlando Sings, and the Bel Canto Singers of Daytona. Gonzalez performs regularly with the SoundBites choral recital series presented by the University of Illinois School of Music. In 2023, he made his Carnegie Hall debut at Weill Recital Hall performing Brahms part songs with a quartet in the inaugural Stetson in New York concert.