Meet the Stars of ARIA NOUVEAU
Click on photos for individual bios
JOHN RIESEN
״... every inch the hero in stature and voice…״
- Classical Voice North America
Based in Buffalo, NY
Originally from Detroit, MI
Award-winning American tenor John Riesen is consistently impressing audiences with his "impassioned...and vibrant" voice (Opera Today). John’s growing career boasts a variety of roles and includes significant work in opera, musical theatre, studio recording, and concert, both classical and Pops. He has released two albums: What You'd Call a Dream (2019) and Christmas at Home (2020) and several singles, including “Autumn Leaves” (2021), “What a Wonderful World” (2021), and “Maria” (from West Side Story, 2021), that have reached ten million streams on Spotify and Apple Music, and has lent his voice to 130 commercially available recordings. Recently, critics praised John’s “soaring vocal performance” on the 2025 album Love Is… by Terry Lee Nichols (NewAgeCD.com). John is also the head of Spotify promotion and PR for Emitha LLC, building an ecosystem for classical singers to be heard around the world. John’s 2025-2026 season begins at Grant Park Music Festival in The Magic of Rodgers & Hammerstein conducted by Mo. Larry Loh. He then returns to the popular Prohibition Pops concert with Wheeling Symphony Orchestra and Sioux City Symphony Orchestra and returns to Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra for their concert of Opera Hits. In the 2024-2025 season, John made his Carnegie Hall début as tenor soloist in Carmina Burana with Oratorio Society New York under the baton of Mo. Kent Tritle. He then returned to Carnegie Hall to close out his season as tenor soloist with Mozart’s Vesperae de Dominica. He returned to Utah Opera in one of his favorite roles, Anthony Hope in Sweeney Todd, made his role début as Don José in Carmen with Sioux City Symphony, and joined Las Vegas Philharmonic for Handel’s Messiah. Additionally, he appeared in concert with Shreveport Opera, and at several private events. In the 2023-2024 season, he returned to Pacific Symphony in Mo. Carl St. Clair’s finale concert of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, which he also performed with the Southwest Michigan Symphony, and joined Flint Symphony Orchestra for Carmina Burana. On the Pops stage, he joined The Dallas Symphony and The Phoenix Symphony for their touring concert Prohibition, Virginia Arts Festival with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra as Anthony Hope in Sweeney Todd, and both Williamsburg Symphony Orchestra and Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra for Holiday Pops programming. He was also a featured soloist in Opera Las Vegas 25th anniversary gala, joined Portland Opera for an all-Puccini program, and returned to Opera Montana as Rodolfo in La bohème. The previous season included his début with Brevard Music Center as tenor soloist in Carmina Burana under the baton of Mo. JoAnn Falletta, his role début as Camille in The Merry Widow at Knoxville Opera - where he also reprised his Younger Thompson in Glory Denied - his role début as the Duke in Rigoletto at Opera Montana, a return to Opera Las Vegas as Detective Daniel Lewis in A Capacity for Evil, and Younger Thompson at Opera Roanoke. Additionally, he was named a semifinalist on NBC’s America’s Got Talent. John has been privileged to sing for political figures, including President Barack Obama, President Jimmy Carter, District Judge Stephanie Kulp Seymour, and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. He has sung the national anthem at several collegiate, semi-professional, and professional organizations, including the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park, the Pensacola Ice Flyers, MSU hockey/baseball, and more. Before singing, John avidly pursued athletics, attaining all-region pitcher status in 2006 and 2007.
LAURA AUER
״... her voice SOARS with
pristine clarity…״
- Philadelphia Music Local
Based in Los Angeles, CA
Originally from Philadelphia, PA
From acoustic stages to international symphony halls, Top 10 Billboard-charting artist Laura Auer (OU-ər) delivers the soaring power of a pop soprano diva with the emotional depth of a tenured singer-songwriter. Her voice—with “pristine high notes” and a velvety, rich lower register—alongside her original songs and modern arrangements of classical hits has even captivated the likes of Disney and led to collaborations with renowned musicians worldwide. A longtime collaboration with three-time Grammy-winning producer Tim Sonnefeld helped shape her original songs into a cinematic, world-beat-driven orchestral pop sound they coined "popra." Then in 2021, Auer returned to her classical roots, drawn to the Italian "bel canto" singing style — a lighter, lyrical, sweet-toned vocal technique in contrast to the heavier traditional sound of opera. Auer & Sonnefeld recorded fresh arrangements of her favorite songs and arias to offer a modern take on the true meaning of bel canto. The result was SEASONS, a four-part album series: Spring brought her to Taiwan's premier Evergreen Symphony Orchestra for Disney's Fantasy Symphony Live Tour and her breakout cover of "So This Is Love"; Summer debuted at #8 on the US Billboard Classical Crossover chart, with Boyd Meets Girl and operatic tenor John Riesen; Autumn reimagined the Irish classic "Carrickfergus" with renowned Celtic flutist Michael McGoldrick; and Winter, the finale, features her most-streamed track, a cover of "In Dreams" from The Lord of the Rings, now past one million Spotify streams. It was the work that took to create this series — building symphonic reinterpretations of timeless, beloved repertoire — that became the blueprint for Aria Nouveau.
JAY DREF
״... an artist worth adding to your music radar.״
- V13 Media
Based in Buffalo, NY
Originally from Buffalo, NY
Juilliard-trained baritone Jay Dref inspires audiences with his passionate, transcendent voice. Reviewers have called him "Groban-like," and the emotional impact of his live performances has quickly made him one of the premier vocalists of his generation. For the past five years, Dref has joined world-renowned soprano Sarah Brightman on her Winter Symphony and Starlight Symphony tours throughout the US, Canada, Mexico, Asia, and Europe. Traveling with his idol has been a dream come true. During the Covid pandemic, he participated in online concerts sponsored by Classical Crossover Magazine. Dref has released an original duet with Italian soprano Angelica Volpi, "L'Amore è un Attimo," which remains a popular choice on his digital platforms. He collaborated with the songwriting team of Lauren Christy and Stephan Moccio on his single "Taxi in the Rain." Moccio, who also worked with Sarah Brightman, praised Dref as "the best of the best," and Christy described him as a "really special singer."
NEILL CAMPBELL
״... when (Neill) began to play, the whole room fell silent…״
- Heart of America Concert Series
Based in Brooklyn, NYC
Originally from Eugene, OR
Neill Campbell is a New York City-based pianist who has had the great privilege of traveling the United States as a pianist, coach, chorus master, and music director. Praised for his precise, powerful, and sensitive musicianship, he prides himself on the positive relationships he builds wherever he works. Neill has been a répétiteur and/or chorus master for companies including the Janiec Opera Company at Brevard Music Center, Shreveport Opera, Pensacola Opera, and Gulfshore Opera. For four seasons, he served as the program director for the Gate City Bank Young Artist Program at Fargo-Moorhead Opera, where he also recently made his conducting debut in a double bill of Bastien and Bastienne, and Trouble in Tahiti. An avid performer of new music, the 2023/24 season saw Neill debut with forward-thinking companies presenting contemporary American opera. Jumping in as a last minute replacement, he recently joined Opera Company of Middlebury on less than a week’s notice for their production of Glory Denied. He also played for Opera Birmingham’s world premiere production of Touch, a new opera about the life of Helen Keller. In past seasons he has been the music director at Seagle Festival for new operas including Fellow Travelers and the world premiere of Harmony, as well as workshops for several others. Equally at home with musical theater, Neill has music directed Fiddler on the Roof, performed in a gala performance with Norm Lewis, and played in the pit for many productions including A Little Night Music and Les Misérables. A graduate of Michigan State University (BM Piano Performance, MM Collaborative Piano) as well as an alumnus of Interlochen Arts Camp, Neill’s musical training also includes extensive experience as an orchestral violinist. This broad and varied education gives him a unique perspective to draw upon for his own musicianship, and has afforded him the opportunity to perform internationally in Italy and Cuba.
