http://Bayareaartsalliance.Org/

Bay Area Arts’ Alliance, San Francisco, CA (2026)

04/24/2026

And we saved the best for last! Welcome back to Opus Project favorite, composer Vance Maverick! Vance orchestrated the arrangement of Strauss’ first horn concerto for solo and string quartet that we are premiering at Opus 11. Megan Cullen plays horn, Julian Leon and Keeley Brooks play violin, Kody Dunford plays viola, and Nate White plays cello.

Vance Maverick is a composer in the Bay Area. He holds degrees in linguistics and computer science, and has worked for decades as a programmer. He has studied composition intermittently, at university, privately, and at the Community Music Center. Since he returned to composition in 2015, his chamber music, orchestral pieces, and songs have been performed locally and around California. His opera At the Hawk’s Well was premiered by Bay Area Arts Alliance in summer 2024.

04/23/2026

We welcome back an Opus Project favorite - Megan Cullen, this time on horn! Megan is the soloist in our new arrangement of Strauss’ first horn concerto, orchestrated by Vance Maverick. Joining her in the string quartet ensemble are Julian Leon and Keeley Brooks on violin, Kody Dunford on viola, and Nate White on cello.

Horn player Megan Cullen has recently returned to playing after a long hiatus. She has worked as an opera singer for more than 20 years and has been privileged to perform all over the world. Returning to the horn has been incredibly rewarding and she has started to garner success in her little part of the world - Northern California (based in San Jose). Megan is Principal Horn of
The Wi******er Orchestra led by James Beauton. She also performs as a guest section player with The San Francisco Philharmonic, led by Jessica Bejarano. Additionally, Megan serves as Principal Horn with the San Francisco Composers’ Chamber Orchestra, an innovative group of
composer/performers that exclusively perform new works; this ensemble is led by John Kendall Bailey and was founded by Mark Alburger. As a young horn player, Megan studied at Juilliard with the late great Jerome Ashby. She was lucky enough to tour the world with The American Russian Young Artists’ Orchestra led by Leon
Botstein. She also spent a festival season at The Round Top Music Festival, where she was mentored by Michelle Baker and studied with William VerMeulen. Along the way, Megan played in masterclasses with such greats as Julie Landsman of the Metropolitan Opera, Phil Myers of the New York Philharmonic, and acclaimed soloist Eric Ruske. A fixture of The Opus Project, this is Megan’s second time playing horn on this series.

04/23/2026

New singer alert! We welcome Allegra Kelley, soprano to our family of performers. Allegra sings in the Ina Boyle trio for soprano, viola, and harp. Joining her on this piece is Kody Dunford on viola and Zane Mallett on harp.

Native San Franciscan Allegra Kelly is a classical soprano praised by the Bay Area Reporter for
“sophistication beyond her years.” Her repertoire spans from Baroque to contemporary works.
Her recent operatic appearances include La Badessa in Suor Angelica with Prague Summer
Nights, and La Sorella Infermiera and Il Notaio in Lamont Opera Theatre’s double bill of Suor
Angelica and Gianni Schicchi. She has also brought vivid character to the Sailor and First Witch in Dido and Aeneas, and has covered Zerlina in Mozart’s Don Giovanni with Prague Summer Nights and Acis in Händel’s Acis and Galatea with the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. As a member of the opera chorus, she appeared in Opera Parallèle’s premiere of Hello Star.

Equally at home on the concert stage, Ms. Kelly has been featured as a soloist with the San
Francisco Conservatory of Music Wind Ensemble in John Adam’s Grand Pianola Music and as a
Young Artist with SongFest. Her chamber work includes performances of Music for 18
Musicians and the Denver premiere of Three Ancient Irish Poems by 20th century Irish composer Ina Boyle. Allegra has collaborated with distinguished ensembles including San Francisco
Opera, Kronos Quartet, the Philip Glass Ensemble, The Knights (NYC), and V oices of Music.

Ms. Kelly holds degrees from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the University of
Denver’s Lamont School of Music. A lover of language, she speaks German and studies
Japanese. She currently studies independently with world-renowned dramatic soprano Heidi
Melton.

04/22/2026

We are thrilled to welcome harpist Zane Mallett to the BAAA and Opus Project family! Zane is playing in the Ina Boyle trio for soprano, harp and viola, “Three Ancient Irish Poems”. This piece also features Kody Dunford on viola and soprano Allegra Kelly.

San Francisco–based harpist Zane Mallett is the Principal Harpist of the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra.

He has appeared as Guest Principal Harpist with the Chicago, San Francisco, Oregon, Utah, Buffalo, and Rochester symphonies, and has also performed with the Toronto, Charlotte, and Winnipeg symphonies.

In 2025, he was named winner of the Corcoran Concerto Competition. He has spent summers at the Spoleto, Aspen, and Round Top Music Festivals.

Originally from Dallas, Zane began studying the harp at age sixteen. His primary teachers include Naoko Nakamura, Paula Page, and Judy Loman.

04/21/2026

Next up is cellist Nate White! Nate is playing in the Strauss quartet. This is an arrangement commissioned by BAAA of Strauss’ first horn concerto orchestrated by Vance Maverick and featuring Megan Cullen on horn.

Nathaniel White is a passionate cellist from Lexington Massachusetts, currently studying with Jennifer Culp at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. During his collegiate studies, he has performed in masterclasses and workshops for Eri Snowden-Rodriguez, Guy Johnston, Johannes Moser, and Michael Tilson Thomas, as well as playing side-by-side with the SF Ballet Orchestra. An avid chamber musician, he has spent summers at the Zodiac Music Academy and Festival in southern France, the Franconian Cello Academy in Nuremberg Germany, as well as the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival in Burlington Vermont. Previous teachers include Greg Hesselink, Ariel Barnes, Michael Reynolds, Jennifer Kloetzel, and Barbara Paschke.

04/21/2026

Next up please welcome Kody Dunford playing viola! Kody will play in the Strauss string quartet and in the Ina Boyle trio for soprano, viola, and harp. The Strauss is a special arrangement made just for BAAA of his first horn concerto, orchestrated for string quartet and soloist by Vance Maverick and featuring Megan Cullen on horn. Joining Kody in the Boyle is soprano Allegra Kelly and harp player Zane Mallett.

Kody is a passionate and innovative artist based in the SF Bay Area. Kody has collaborated with esteemed artists including Alexi Kenney, Nobuko Imai, Kristen Lee, Ayane Kozasa, and the Kronos Quartet, performing in halls ranging from Cincinnati’s Memorial Hall to Orange County’s Segerstrom Center. He has participated in masterclasses with Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, Kirsten Docter, and Pierree-Henri Xuereb, as well as in chamber masterclasses with members of the Danel, St. Lawrence, Aizuri, and Kronos Quartets.

Kody was the teaching assistant to Ayane Kozasa at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of music where he earned his masters degree. He completed his Bachelors degree at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. His principal teachers include Ayane Kozasa, Dimitri Murrath, and Jerzy Kosmala.

In addition to performing around the bay, Kody teaches private violin and viola lessons in SF and San Mateo.

04/20/2026

Next up is violinist Keeley Brooks! Keeley joins us playing second violin in the string quartet of the premier arrangement of Strauss’ first Horn Concerto. This piece was arranged for BAAA by Vance Maverick and features Megan Cullen on horn.

Keeley Brooks is a violinist, librarian and educator. She currently works at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music as their Institutional Performance Librarian in addition to performing frequently on her violin around the Bay Area. Originally from a small, mountain town in Washington State, Keeley fell in love with the violin after watching an elementary school strings class. She attended Yale University and received a Bachelor’s in Music. At Yale, Keeley studied with Wendy Sharp and received chamber music coaching from the Terra String Quartet. She also toured internationally as a member of the Yale Symphony Orchestra, working as President of the organization her senior year. Outside of her performing career, Keeley has also interned with the United States Forest Service working on wildfire acoustics, and completed an oral history on violin pedagogue Dorothy DeLay that is now available for public viewing as part of Yale’s Oral History of American Music.

04/20/2026

Let’s meet our Opus 11 musicians! First up is fabulous violinist Julian Leon. Julian is playing first violin in the quartet for the new arrangement of Strauss’ first horn concerto! This arrangement is for string quartet and soloist and was written just for BAAA by Vance Maverick. The piece features Megan Cullen on horn!

From curating ensembles for cultural engagement events to championing underrepresented voices, violinist Julian Leon uses music as a bridge to bring communities together. A dedicated performer and advocate, he is a member of Musique Sur La Mer orchestras, where he has played in numerous galas and benefit concerts supporting nonprofits across Orange County and Southern California.

Julian’s musical excellence has been recognized through multiple awards, including honors from the NAACP ACT-SO competition and the City of Long Beach. As an active freelancer in the San Francisco Bay Area, he balances his time between teaching budding violinists and pianists, while performing with the Stockton and Golden Gate symphonies.

Beyond music, Julian finds inspiration in the outdoorswhether it’s prone paddleboarding, hiking, or capturing moments through photography. He thrives on long days by the ocean and slow, quiet mornings. Currently, he is pursuing a Bachelor of Music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, continuing his journey of artistic growth and community impact.

04/13/2026

Welcome to our final presentation of the 2025-2026 season, Opus 11!

This is a very special program with two great pieces: Strauss’ first Horn Concerto in a brand new arrangement for soloist and string quartet by Vance Maverick, and Three Ancient Irish Poems by Ina Boyle, for soprano, viola, and harp.

We have a lot of new musicians to introduce you to this time: Julian Leon and Keeley Brooks on violin, Kody Dunford on viola, Nate White on cello, Zane Mallett on harp, and Allegra Kelly, soprano. Every single one of these players is just fantastic and you don’t want to miss their Opus Project and BAAA debuts! Playing the horn solo for the Strauss is Opus Project favorite, Megan Cullen.

We’ve had a wonderful time making music with you this season - please join us in closing things out with this world-premier arrangement and beautiful vocal chamber music!

Tickets available on PayBee and at the door for the in-person event. Livestream tickets available on PayBee only.

Saturday 4/25 7:30pm PDT

SF Community Music Center

544 Capp St / San Francisco

and live-streaming worldwide!

Please email [email protected] with any questions.

10/24/2025

Our featured composer for Opus 8 is Patricia Wallinga! Her piece on the program, Autumn Movements, is stunning - you don’t want to miss it! San Francisco-based composer Patricia Wallinga connects audiences with unheard stories, voices, and ideas of the modern world. Her intricate, charismatic music engages with traditions from literature, dance, theater, and folk music alongside influences from the classical canon. Her work has earned praise as “quite powerful” by the Bloomington Herald-Times and “damn brilliant” by conductor and composer Eric Whitacre.

Wallinga is particularly fond of vocal chamber music, a genre where she has earned notable early-career accolades. She won a 2015 BMI Student Composer Award for her first song cycle, Dreams in War Time, and was named a finalist for the National Association of Teachers of Singing 2019 Art Song Composition Award for her 2018 cycle The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. In June 2025, Wallinga’s chamber opera The Sisters (based on the poetry of Amy Lowell, Sappho, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and Emily Dickinson) premiered with Philadelphia-based opera company Liberty City Arts. Other highlights of Wallinga’s career include residency as a composer fellow at the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music in collaboration with the Del Sol String Quartet and a 2023 project reimagining F***y Mendelssohn Hensel’s Sonata in G Minor as a piano concerto (in collaboration with pianist Sharon Su).

As a mezzo-soprano/alto specializing in contemporary choral repertoire, Wallinga is proud to join the performer-composer tradition and considers her years of experience on both voice and double bass an essential influence on her work. Memorable performances include those at Carnegie Hall with Indiana University’s elite contemporary vocal ensemble NOTUS, part of a tour both in New York City and the American Choral Directors Association National Conference in Salt Lake City. Wallinga currently sings with the International Orange Chorale, a San Francisco-based choral ensemble specializing in contemporary classical music.

10/23/2025

Rounding out our Opus 8 performers is BAAA founder and director, soprano Megan Cullen. Megan is just rejoining us from her maternity leave and is very excited to be singing Goss’ Welsh Folksongs and Wallinga’s Autumn Movements. Hailed by Opera News as “first rate,” Megan Cullen is “a dramatic
soprano with an enormous voice” (Opera Canada) from Northern
California. Some of Megan’s signature roles that she has sung to
critical acclaim in the US and abroad are Strauss’ Elektra, Gluck’s
Armide, and Wagner’s Brünnhilde. A champion of new music, Megan
regularly performs world premieres, including The Queen in Qianni
Lin’s “The Demon Princess” with the Grammy-nominated Four Corners
Ensemble. She won the Jury Prize for Best Interpretation (of Verdi’s
Abigaille) from The Montecatini Opera Festival International
Competition (Italy)
-
the first American to ever win the honor
singing Verdi. Megan was educated at the San Francisco
Conservatory, Boston University, and The Juilliard SchooL.

Bay Area Arts’ Alliance

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