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. Now, with a 36-city U.S. tour ahead, the multi-hyphenate singer-writer-producer weaves her signature sound, heartfelt storytelling, and sweeping orchestral grandeur into an unforgettable experience, transforming everyday music fans into lifelong champions of the fine arts. Raised in West Chester, Pennsylvania, Auer didn’t begin singing until just six months before her teacher suggested she audition to study voice in college. She was no stranger to classical music, having played viola in orchestra since childhood, but with no formal vocal training, she famously showed up to her audition as the only one in jeans and could only read sheet music for the viola—yet still earned a place in Pennsylvania State University’s prestigious Vocal Performance program. There, she quickly gained a reputation as a “Ferrari” for mastering vocal technique at an extraordinary pace, though her artistic curiosity led her far beyond the traditional opera stage. She sang nightly in a rock cover band, two a cappella groups, and quietly began building a parallel career as a recording session singer. To this day, Auer’s voice is featured on over 50 commercial albums and three original off-Broadway soundtracks. In 2012, she signed her first original band, Soul Kitchen Collective, to House Records, which propelled her to begin writing songs for herself as a solo artist. In 2014, performing under her family name on her mother’s side, Laura Promiscuo, she released her debut album Chasing Down the Dream, won The Philadelphia Songwriters Contest, and toured nationwide through 2016. A move to Los Angeles led to collaborations with three-time Grammy-winning producer Tim Sonnefeld, who crafted her pop songs with mid-tempo world-beat percussion and dark, cinematic strings, coining her genre-blending orchestral pop sound as “popra.” Auer cites artists like Sting, Sade, Bond, and Ofra Haza as major influences for her work at this time. A pivotal moment came in 2018 when the executive producer of Disney’s Mulan expressed interest in featuring one of Auer’s original songs in the live-action film’s soundtrack. Though the studio ultimately went in a different direction for the title track, it sparked a new creative era for Auer; she began writing more songs in a “Disney-esque” style and partnered with composer Jaron Samuel to form the songwriting duo Jaron & Auer. Together, they developed an original animated musical feature based on Auer’s voice and personal journey, for which she then wrote the screenplay and recorded the lead character—launching her as an exciting multi-hyphenate with ongoing work in music-driven storytelling. A quieter yet equally transformative moment came during the pandemic, when Auer realized a crucial part of her artistry had been missing—her classical soprano voice. She returned to her roots, training with Maestra Capucine Chiaudani of Italy’s Mediterranean Opera Studio, and rediscovered the bel canto singing style: a lyrical, light, and beautifully expressive Italian tradition. This epiphany became SEASONS, a four-part album series highlighting her newly refined vocal elegance with fresh arrangements of both traditional operatic repertoire and popular covers. The results have been electric. Spring led to international stages, including a multi-month residency with Taiwan’s premiere Evergreen Symphony Orchestra for Disney’s Fantasy Symphony Live Tour. Summer debuted at #8 on the U.S. Billboard Classical Crossover chart, featuring collaborations with acclaimed artists such as Boyd Meets Girl and operatic tenor John Riesen, who now costars with Auer in their new live touring show (detailed below). Autumn unveiled a lyrical reimagining of the Irish classic “Carrickfergus” alongside renowned Celtic flutist Michael McGoldrick, and Winter—the series finale featuring her most popular track to date, a cover of “In Dreams” from The Lord of the Rings—has earned Auer over one million Spotify streams. Now gaining recognition as “the voice of pop-classical for today’s mainstream audiences,” Laura Auer stands at the intersection of opera, pop, world music, and film—as an artist who has always paved her own way. She brings audiences along on this journey in her new live duo concert experience, Aria Nouveau (-an ode to her personal appreciation for “art nouveau”) with tenor John Riesen, featuring duets from her SEASONS album series. Reviews are in, and the duo is set to dazzle audiences on tour across the U.S. in 2025 and 2026.


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.

Special Guests
Aria Nouveau stars joining the stage on special occasions









