Opera for the Young

10/14/2026

Sachie Ueshima has been praised for her expressive artistry and commanding stage presence across both operatic and concert repertoire. In recent years, Sachie has performed with Madison Opera, Kentucky Opera, and Virginia Opera. Her accolades include The American Prize in Vocal Performance (Women in Art Song & Oratorio, Second Place), winner of The Mead Witter School of Music Concert Competition, and winner of Japan’s Toyonaka Music Competition in Voice. Sachie holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in voice from UW-Madison with a doctoral minor in choral conducting.

10/13/2026

Be sure to catch Sasha performing on October 25th at OFTY's Fall Gala: A Premiere And A Party!
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Sasha Tomasevich, originally from Oakdale, Minnesota, is a lyric tenor based in Chicago. Sasha earned a BA in Music from Luther College in 2024 and a MM in Vocal Performance from Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts in 2026.

Recent operatic credits include Tamino in The Magic Flute with Stafford Opera Troupe, Pluto in Orpheus in the Underworld with Great Lakes Operetta, Peter Quint in The Turn of the Screw and roles in Dialogues des Carmélites with CCPA, Gérald in Lakmé with Chicago Summer Opera, and Ferrando and Laurie with the Vienna Summer Music Festival.

Sasha is pumped to be joining OFTY this season to spread some mermaid magic! Outside of music, Sasha enjoys crocheting, geocaching, reading, watching reality television, and playing board games with family and friends.

10/12/2026

Noted for his “fine voice and comic timing,” St. Louis-based baritone Joel Rogier is dedicated to sharing opera with audiences of all ages. With Rusalka, Rogier will have appeared in all nine of Opera for the Young’s current productions. In 2026, Rogier made his debut with Druid City Opera in Don Pasquale and portrayed Vachel Lindsay in the premiere of Flame and Shadow: The Passion and Pain of Sara Teasdale at the St. Louis Art Museum. Rogier also appeared with Union Avenue Opera (most recently in Samson et Dalila) and Winter Opera St. Louis (Silvano in Un ballo in maschera).

10/08/2026

Leah Rockweit, a Wisconsin native, currently resides in Chicago, Illinois. She has an operatic repertoire spanning from Gilbert and Sullivan to Verdi, but in recent years Leah has settled into full lyric and dramatic soprano roles. She has recently been seen as the soprano soloist singing selections from Rossini’s Stabat Mater, alongside the spectacular Lyric Opera of Chicago chorus in Verdi’s Don Carlos and Beethoven’s Symphony #9, and with Opera Festival of Chicago in their production of Manon Lescaut (Puccini) and Il Prigioniero (Dallapiccola). Playful at heart, Leah is entering her sixth season touring the Midwest as a teaching artist with Opera for the Young, where she previously sang roles in shows varying from Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel to Rossini’s The Barber of Seville. She received her MM degree in Vocal Performance from UW-Madison. She also has a BME degree with an emphasis on Choral and General Music Education. Leah currently studies in the studio of Dan Megli.

10/07/2026

Steve Radtke, a Shawano, WI native, graduated from UW-Stevens Point with a degree in piano performance. He studied composition in London and piano performance at Brevard Music Festival. Steve works as a freelance accompanist in Madison, collaborating with UW-Madison, Opera for the Young, Madison Youth Choirs, and the Savoyards. Welcome Steve!

10/06/2026

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Opera for the Young® brings live, professional opera to elementary school audiences with annual Fall and Spring tours.

10/06/2026

Grady Hayden is a doctoral student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison studying under Mimmi Fulmer. He also holds degrees from Belmont University and Southern Adventist University. This past season Grady played Bill Corey in Opera for the Young’s tour of Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love. Next season he will be performing in Opera for the Young’s adaptation of Dvořák’s Rusalka. Grady has sung in several productions with UW-Madison’s University Opera. Most recently he sang Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm in University Opera’s production of A Little Night Music. Grady also joined the Madison Savoyards to sing the Lord Chancellor in their production of Iolanthe.