CVAC Board
Pamela Torrey
Director of Finance and Marketing, Co-Founder
A native of Rochester, NY, mezzo-soprano Pamela Torrey has found a home in performing twentieth and twenty-first century repertoire on both the operatic and concert stages. Ms. Torrey has sung the role of the Enfant in L’enfant et les sortilèges and has performed the world premieres of three separate pieces as a part of the Cleveland Institute of Music’s New Music Series. In addition to these performances, she has been seen as Mother Bayard in Hindemith’s The Long Christmas Dinner, Grace Ansley in Roman Fever by Robert Ward, the Cuckoo in Ottorino Respighi’s rarely heard La bella dormente nel bosco, Sally in A Hand of Bridge, Don Ramiro in Mozart's La finta giardiniera and Meg March in Little Women.
In addition to her singing work, Ms. Torrey is heavily involved in the business and arts communities of Chicago. She is the Co-Founder and Director of Operations and Finances for the Chicago Vocal Arts Consortium, an organization dedicated to providing resources to singers as they prepare for their professional careers. She has also served as an advisor to performing arts organizations and a stage manager in Chicago.
Ms. Torrey holds a master’s degree from Roosevelt University in voice performance where she studied with Jonita Lattimore. Prior to her move to Chicago, she received a bachelor’s degree in voice performance with academic honors from the Cleveland Institute of Music where she studied with Dean Southern.
Kota Terrace
Director of Administration and Operations
Kota Terrace, bass has been noted for his nuanced characterizations paired with his distinct youthful profondo. Upcoming engagements include Third Eye Theatre Ensemble’s production of Paula Kimper’s Patience and Sarah as Pa Dowling and Petite Opera Productions’ Don Giovanni as Il Commendatore. Recent appearances include Warlock Jarthel in Thompson Street Opera Company’s premiere production of Eric Lindsay’s Cosmic Ray and the Amazing Chris and Gideon March and Mr. Dashwood in Chicago Vocal Arts Consortium’s production of Adamo’s Little Women.
In addition to his work as a performer, Kota serves as an Arts Administrator for Chicago Vocal Arts Consortium. Especially passionate about Eastern European opera and art song, he is also laying the groundwork for Bohemian Opera Works, a Chicagoland opera company that would exclusively perform works in Russian, Czech, Polish, and Hungarian.
Kota is soon to complete his Master of Music in Voice Performance from the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University where he was seen as Badger and Parson in The Cunning Little Vixen, Tempo in the prologue of Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d’Ulises in Patria and Der Schultz in Mendelssohn’s liederspiel Heimke aus dem Fremde.
An alumnus of Idaho State University, he was a student of Dr. Diana Livingston-Friedley. At Idaho State, his roles included Mr. J.J. Peachum in Weill’s The Threepenny Opera and Don Alhambra del Bolero in The Gondoliers. He was a founding member of the Portneuf Chamber Music Ensemble and continues to be a collaborative artist with Opera Elect. Kota can also be heard as a cantor and chorister at Queen of Angels Catholic Parish in Lincoln Square where he is an Assistant Conductor of its Schola Cantorum. Kota is a student of Kurt Link.
Joelle Kross
Director of Development and Community Engagement
Joelle Kross, coloratura soprano, has been praised as “a vocal knockout” (Hub Review) and “petite, spritely, and utterly delightful in every scene” (Theater Mirror). Joelle has appeared in Chicago with the Second City Blackout Cabaret, Chicago Vocal Arts Consortium, Main Street Opera, Floating Opera Company, and Forte Chicago, in Boston with MetroWest Opera, Boston Midsummer Opera, Lyric Stage, Gloucester Stage, Wheelock Family Theatre, and Reagle Music Theatre, and in Colorado as a young artist with Opera Steamboat. She has also performed internationally in Austria, France, and England. Favorite roles include Blonde in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Olympia in Les contes d’Hoffmann, Amy in Adamo’s Little Women, Le Feu/Le Rossignol in L’enfant et les sortilèges, and Amore in L’incoronazione di Poppea. Joelle holds an MM in Voice Performance from the Chicago College of Performing Arts and a BA in Theatre, Music, and French from Muhlenberg College.
As an arts administrator, Joelle has held several development positions at a variety of arts organizations from small theatre companies to major symphony orchestras, specializing in cultivation and stewardship, event planning, and assembling a mean cheese plate.
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Alexandra Enyart
Associate Board Member
Alex Enyart is a rising orchestra and opera conductor currently based in Chicago, Illinois. Her performances have received positive reviews from The Chicago Tribune, Chicago Classical Review (“Conductor Alexandra Enyart, . . ., again demonstrated why she is a podium talent to watch. She directed the lean ensemble with finesse, control, and technical grace”), Schmopera (“performed throughout the evening with sensitivity towards the singers and a unified sound"), and many others. As an active performer in Chicago, Alex serves as Music Director for Thompson Street Opera Company and has worked as a guest conductor for Chicago Fringe Opera, Another Voice Collaborative, Third Eye Theatre Ensemble, and Chicago Vocal Arts Consortium.
2016 marked the debut of Alex’s international career with a performance with the Tomsk Philharmonic Orchestra in Russia. She has worked as an apprentice with the Louisville Orchestra and Kentucky Opera and was invited to work with Anthony Maeillo as a result of winning the 2017 CODA conducting competition. In 2018 she won the CCM Mozart Overture competition and was invited to be a member of the Chicago Sinfonietta’s Project Inclusion. There she works closely with Mei-Ann Chen and other talented colleagues from around the country and world as they strive to bring more diversity to the highest level of art making. She has had the privilege to work and study with Kimcherie Lloyd, Mei-Ann Chen, Joe Mechavich, Harold Farberman, Mark Gibson, Teddy Abrams, and Donald Portnoy among many others.
Ashley McKinstry
Associate Board Member and Social Chair
Ashley McKinstry is a Chicago based soprano originally from Sioux Falls, SD. Her operatic roles include Lady Liberty/The Proposal, First Lady/Die Zauberflöte, Arminda/La finta Giardiniera, Ruth Putnam/The Crucible, La Fortuna/L'incoronazione di Poppea, Jeannie/The Reformed Drunkard, and Mrs. Gobineau/The Medium. As an ensemble member, she has performed Respighi’s La bella dormente nel bosco with CCPA Roosevelt University, Die Zauberflöte and Die Fledermaus with Sounds of South Dakota. Her choral ensemble experience include: Verdi/Defiant Requiem: Verdi at Terezín with Chicago Philharmonic, Beethoven/Symphony No.9 with Chicago Sinfonietta, Mendelssohn/A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Chicago Civic Orchestra, and Vaughan Williams/Sea Symphony and Mozart/Requiem with the Sioux City Symphony. As a soloist, McKinstry has performed Britten/Rejoice in the Lamb with the USD Concert Choir.
Ashley attended Opera Steamboat (2018), Chicago Summer Opera (2017/18) and OperaWorks, Advanced Artist Program (2016). In Chicago, she is the administrative assistant for Fourth Coast Ensemble, an associate board member of Chicago Vocal Arts Consortium and trains with Forte Chicago, an all-female operatic improv group. McKinstry holds a Master’s Degree in Vocal Performance from the Chicago College of Performing Arts, Roosevelt University, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from The University of South Dakota. Currently, she studies with Allan Glassman.