A career in opera requires a commitment to ongoing learning. The Alumni Grant Program was launched in 2021 and provides annual grant funding to support ongoing artistic and career development for alumni of the Melba Program.
The Alumni Grant Program is supported by a perpetual endowment and we are deeply grateful to the generous benefactors who have made this important initiative possible.
Once a Melba, always a Melba.
If you would like to make a Tax-Deductible donation visit Support Us.
ANNOUNCING THE 2025 RECIPIENTS
Morgan Balfour
Morgan’s project:
A comprehensive artistic development study plan with professional recordings for auditions.
Supported by Honor Sambrook Alumni Grant
Former recipient of The Amelia Joscelyne Memorial Scholarship (2015)
Biography:
Australian soprano Morgan Balfour made her San Francisco Symphony debut in 2023 as the soprano soloist in Bach’s Magnificat. She returned in 2025 as the soprano soloist in Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms. Also in 2023, Morgan made her European debut with Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart’s JSB Ensemble under the baton of Hans-Christoph Rademann, where she received praise for her “crystal clear tone (that) conveyed a broad palette of emotional and vocal colors.”
During the 2025/26 season, Morgan returns to American Bach as a soloist in their concert series “A Grand Tour,” performs as the Soprano soloist in Handel’s Messiah for I Cantori di Carmel, re-joins San Francisco Bach Choir as the Soprano II soloist in Bach’s Mass in B Minor, makes her solo debut with Berkeley Community Chorus and Orchestra in Haydn’s Theresienmesse and closes the season with Cantata Collective. This comes close on the heels of her numerous roles in Purcell’s The Fairy Queen with Pinchgut Opera, where her “pure liquid soprano was a standout,” as well as Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro with Pocket Opera.
Additional operatic credits include: Puccini’s La bohème (Musetta), Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte (Pamina), Handel’s Rodelinda (Rodelinda), Tom Cipullo’s Glory Denied (Younger Alyce), Bizet’s Carmen (Frasquita), Verdi’s La traviata (Annina) and Handel’s Atalanta (Meleagro).
Previously, Morgan performed with Pinchgut Opera in their 2017 triple bill, Rameau: Anacreon & Pigmalion. Other Australian appearances include a tour with Australian Brandenburg Orchestra for their 2019 Noël Noël concerts, performing in R.V. Williams’ Serenade to Music with Sydney Philharmonia, joining Canberra Symphony Orchestra as the featured soloist for their Prom’s Concert and singing with the Brisbane Baroque Festival in Purcell’s King Arthur.
Alongside her work as a soloist, Morgan is an AGMA member of the San Francisco Symphony Chorus, and has participated in numerous projects including the GRAMMY Award-winning recording of Kaija Saariaho’s Adriana Mater. In addition to her work as a classical vocalist, she can be heard on the game soundtrack of The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria.
Nathan Bryon
Nathan’s project:
Professional recordings and audition tour to launch as an international freelance artist, following his time on the German Australian Opera Grant.
Supported by Ruskin Alumni Grant
Former recipient of the Ruskin Opera Scholarship & the Ryman Healthcare Opera Scholarship (2020 – 2022)
Biography:
Nathan Bryon is an Australian tenor hailing from Geurie, New South Wales. He is a proud alum of Melba Opera Trust, where he held the Ruskin Opera Scholarship and the Ryman Healthcare Opera Scholarship (2020-2022).
Nathan recently graduated from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music with an Artist Diploma under the tutelage of César Ulloa. He is a San Francisco District Winner of The Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition (2024), the Dame Heather Begg Memorial Award (2023), the Australian Music Foundation Yvonne Kenny Award (2023) as well as the Sydney Eisteddfod Opera Scholarship (2022).
Nathan is currently based in Wiesbaden, Germany as winner of the 2024 German-Australian Opera Grant, where he performs as Pong in Puccini’s Turandot, and Gastone in Verdi’s La Traviata, among other assignments.
Nathan recently completed a residency at the Wiener Staatsoper as the recipient of the 2024 Michael Byrne Award from the Opera Foundation for Young Australians, where he performed the role of Vierte Knappe in Wagner’s Parsifal, and covered Elemer in Arabella, Erste Jude in Salome and Erster Geharnischer in Die Zauberflöte.
In 2024 Nathan joined the prestigious Merola Opera Program at the San Francisco Opera, and covering the role of Don Ottavio in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, among other assignments.
Angela Brun
Angela’s project:
A program of coaching to develop an audition package.
Supported by Mel & Nina Waters Award
Former recipient of the Melba Opera Trust Scholarship (2011)
Biography:
Australian born soprano Angela Brun completed an Advanced Diploma of Opera at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in 2008. She has performed and understudied a number of roles for Opera Australia from 2009 – 2013 including Lakmé and Rose in Delibes’ Lakmé, Mabel from The Pirates of Penzance, Tytania from Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Partenope from Handel’s Partenope. Angela was successful in a number of prestigious competitions, including the Opera Foundation Vienna State Opera Award and the Pergolesi Spontini Italian Prize and was grateful to receive a Melba Opera Trust Scholarship in 2011 and a Melba Alumni Grant in 2026. She has enjoyed a career both as a concert artist as well as an operatic soloist in the UK, Europe and Australia. Since beginning a family in 2014, Angela has directed a number of choirs and shared her love of music through teaching in addition to performing. She sings regularly as a guest at St Andrew’s Cathedral, Christ Church St. Lawrence, St. James’ Church, St. Marks Darling point, St. Joseph’s Edgecliff, and the Sydney Cantata Project with recent oratorio performances including Faure’s Requiem, Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Coronation Mass, Haydn’s Nelson Mass, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle and Zelenka’s Miserere amongst others.
Samantha Hargreaves
Samantha’s project:
Having completed her studies at Guildhall (UK), Samantha has relocated to Germany. A program of German language study, professional recordings and audition tour.
Supported by Warwick & Paulette Bisley Alumni Grant
Former recipient of Dame Nellie Melba Scholarship, Patrick & Vivian Gordon Award, Eleanor Blakemore Opera Society Scholarship (2022 – 2023)
Biography:
Samantha Hargreaves is a Filipino-Australian soprano rapidly establishing herself on both national and international stages. Having just completed her Opera Artist Masters at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, Samantha is praised for her artistry, clarity of tone, and versatility across operatic and contemporary repertoire.
In 2025, Samantha joined the Longborough Festival Opera as an Emerging Artist, performing several roles in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas. She recently covered the role of Vespetta in Telemann’s Pimpinone at the Royal Opera House’s Linbury Theatre. During her studies, she has brought to life a vibrant array of characters including Adele (Die Fledermaus), Oberto (Alcina), Mary Crawford (Mansfield Park), Hannchen (Die Opernprobe), and Reserl (Der Häusliche Krieg).
Samantha is an enthusiastic champion of new and Australian music. She has collaborated with Lyric Opera of Melbourne, performing rarely-heard works by Peggy Glanville-Hicks and premiering the song cycle ‘This Too Shall Pass’ by Anne Cawrse. In 2024, Samantha made her professional operatic debut at the Sydney Opera House, creating the role of Sarah-Marie in Three Marys, a new chamber opera by Andrèe Greenwell and Christine Evans.
Her talent has been recognised with numerous awards and scholarships, including the Opera Europa Eva Kleinitz Scholarship (2024), the Tait Memorial Trust Scholarship, the Australian Music Foundation’s Nora Goodridge Developing Artist Award, and the John Fulford Award at the Herald Sun Aria Competition. She is an alumna of the Melba Opera Trust, Australia’s premier opera training program, and has received support for international language and vocal study, including a month’s intensive training in Italy with soprano Valeria Esposito. She was a finalist in the inaugural ‘K-Gagok Superstar’ international competition in South Korea, televised nationally by KBS.
Samantha’s concert appearances include soloist performances in Haydn’s Kleine Orgelmesse, Fauré’s Requiem, Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music, and Mozart’s Coronation Mass, among others. Whether on stage or in recital, Samantha Hargreaves is distinguished by her expressive musicality and commitment to telling stories through song.
Chloe Harris
Chloe’s project:
Support transitioning from Scottish Opera’s Emerging Artists program to an international freelance career, including professional recordings, visas and audition tour.
Supported by John & Elizabeth Wright-Smith Alumni Grant
Former recipient of Ryman Healthcare Opera Scholarship & the Eleanor Blakemore Opera Society Scholarship (2020 – 2021)
Biography:
Chloe Harris is an Australian mezzo soprano, and is currently an Emerging Artist with Scottish Opera for their 2024/25 and 2025/26 seasons. Her 2024/2025 season with Scottish Opera included the role of Counsel in Trial by Jury and Cherry Penistone in A Matter of Misconduct (world premiere); a Double Bill in collaboration with D’Oyly Carte Opera and Opera Holland Park. She also sang the role of Nancy (Albert Herring), and performed in the national Opera Highlights Tour. Chloe is looking forward to singing the roles of Yelena Ivanovna Popova (The Bear), Koto (The Great Wave – world premiere), Cherubino (The Marriage of Figaro), and performing in the national Opera Highlights Autumn Tour for Scottish Opera’s 2025/26 season.
Chloe is an alumna of the prestigious Royal Academy of Music Opera Studio (RAO), and has performed the roles of Baba the Turk (The Rake’s Progress), Marcellina (Le nozze di Figaro), Clarina (Il matrimonio di cambiale), Nancy (Albert Herring) with RAO. She was at Garsington Opera for the 2024 season as an Alvarez Young Artist, performing in the chorus of Le nozze di Figaro and covering the roles of Marcellina, 2nd Bridesmaid and Moon Queen for the opera A Trip to the Moon. Other roles in operas and scenes include Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro), Dorabella (Così fan tutte), Idamante (Idomeneo), Olga (Eugene Onegin), Charlotte (Werther) and Hermia (A Midsummer Night’s Dream).
In Australia, Chloe started as an Emerging Artist of Melbourne Opera’s Richard Divall Emerging Artists Programme, and is now an Associate Artist with Melbourne Opera. Chloe was a Melba Opera Trust Artist for 2020 and 2021, and was the recipient of the Ryman Healthcare Opera Scholarship and Eleanor Blakemore Opera Society Scholarship. She also joined Young Songmakers Development Program with Songmakers Australia in 2020. In 2019, Chloe was a finalist in Australia’s national operatic competition Herald Sun Aria, where she was a winner of the Richard Divall Prize. She debuted the role of The Second Fairy in the world premiere of The Selfish Giant with Victorian Opera.
Xenia Puskarz Thomas
Xenia’s project:
Produce debut album, to be professionally curated as a performance-ready program to attract concert and touring opportunities.
Supported by MJ Gething Alumni Grant
Former recipient of The Amelia Joscelyne Memorial Scholarship (2019)
Biography:
Acclaimed by The New York Times as one of their “Top Five Breakout Artists of the Festival” for her performances under Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla as Aglaja in Krzysztof Warlikowski’s production of Weinberg’s Der Idiot at the 2024 Salzburger Festspiele, Australian mezzo-soprano Xenia Puskarz Thomas’ career was launched on one of the world’s most prestigious stages.
A recent graduate of Bayerische Staatsoper’s Opernstudio, her work there brought collaboration with some of the world’s most significant opera conductors such as Vladimir Jurowski, Daniele Rustioni, and Henrik Nánási and included a broad range of roles over two seasons like Lucienne (Die tote Stadt), Krystina (Die Passagierin), Dachsund/Woodpecker (The Cunning Little Vixen) in Barrie Kosky’s acclaimed staging, Flora (La Traviata) and Mercèdes (Carmen). At the Cuvilliés-Theater, she received unanimous praise for her interpretation of the challenging role of Saiko in Thomas Larcher’s Das Jagdgewehr.
In the 2025/2026 season, Xenia Puskarz Thomas makes a series of high profile debuts including as The Women in George Benjamin’s Picture a Day Like This at Teatro San Carlo under Corinne Niemeyer, and as La messaggera in a new staging by William Kentridge of Monteverdi’s L’orfeo for Glyndebourne Festival conducted by Jonathan Cohen. On the concert stage she sings Michael Haydn’s Requiem with Münchner Philharmoniker under Riccardo Minasi, J.S. Bach’s Mass in B minor with Berliner Philharmoniker conducted by Raphaël Pichon, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Gewandhaus Orchester under Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla.
A passionate advocate and performer of early music, she has a strong collaboration with New York ensemble Twelfth Night, performing recently at festivals such as Early Music Seattle, Arizona and at Caramoor in Handel’s Aminta e Fillide as well as in their curated programme Elemental at Carnegie Hall. At The Juilliard School, she performed Luigi Rossi’s Orfeo, a work she will repeat this season as part of Raphäel Pichon and Pygmalion’s residency at Adelaide Festival.
Xenia Puskarz Thomas holds degrees from Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University and The Juilliard School, where she studied under Edith Wiens as a Kovner Fellow. Her awards include the Opera Foundation for Young Australians’ Lady Fairfax New York Scholarship and the Australian Singing Competition’s Tinkler Encouragement Award. She was a Young Artist with Opera Queensland in 2021 and a 2019 Melba Opera Trust Scholar supported by the Amelia Joscelyne Scholarship.
PAST RECIPIENTS
Shauntai Sherree Abdul-Rahman
A recording project that will feature 3 original pieces composed by Shauntai and written in language. Associate artists involved include Melba alumnus Stefan Cassomenos.
Supported by Honor Sambrook Alumni Grant
Alexandra Flood
A project to support enrolment in the Oxford Women’s Leadership Development Program.
Supported by Opera Society Alumni Grant
Natalie Grimmet
A project to support an audition tour.
Supported by Melba Alumni Grant
Jessica Harper
A project to support an audition tour, intensive vocal study and artistic preparation.
Supported by Warwick & Paulette Bisley Alumni Grant
Brenton Spiteri
A project to support vocal evolution and moving into new repertoire.
Supported by MJ Gething Alumni Grant
Elias Wilson
A project to support cultural exploration and a regional tour with fellow Melba alumna Stacey Yang.
Supported by John & Elizabeth Wright-Smith Alumni Grant
Katherine Allen
Funding to support audition travel following the completion of her Masters studies at Royal Academy of Music.
Supported by Warwick & Paulette Bisley Alumni Grant
Melba Program 2021
Damian Arnold
Audition preparation with a focus on movement and stagecraft.
Supported by Honor Sambrook Alumni Grant
Melba Program 2017
Emilia Bertolini
Professional development and collaboration with renowned experts who specialise in the baroque repertoire.
Supported by John & Elizabeth Wright-Smith Alumni Grant
Melba Program 2020 – 2021
Daniel Carison
Singing lessons, coaching and recordings/videos in preparation for future auditions and engagements.
http://www.danielcarison.com/.
Supported by Warwick & Paulette Bisley
Melba Program 2015 – 2017
Su Choung
Audition tour and coaching sessions in London.
Supported by MJ Gething Alumni Grant
Melba Program 2020 – 2022
Emily Edmonds
Funding for an audition tour to re-establish industry connections and employment prospects in UK, Europe and America.
Supported by John & Elizabeth Wright-Smith Alumni Grant
Melba Program 2013
Fiona Jopson
Creating quality recordings/videos to support audition activity and provide coaching to prepare for more dramatic repertoire. https://www.fionajopson.com/biography.
Supported by John & Elizabeth Wright-Smith Alumni Grant
Melba Program 2010
Jeremy Kleeman
Funding to support Jeremy’s return to the UK to re-establish industry connections and employment prospects in UK and Europe.
Supported by MJ Gething Alumni Grant
Melba Program 2014 – 2015
Stephen Marsh
Lyric diction coaching, musical coaching on prescribed roles, and German language coaching ahead of relocating to Berlin in 2024/2025.
Supported by Warwick & Paulette Bisley Alumni Grant
Melba Program 2018 – 2019
Michael Petruccelli
Lessons and coaching in preparation for his role debut of Prunier in La rondine, with National Opera in March 2022
https://www.michaelpetruccelli.com/biography.
Supported by MJ Gething Alumni Grant
Melba Program 2016
Jacqueline Porter
To undertake high-quality formal training in the Kodály method through participation in the Cuskelly College of Music Summer School Music Education Program in Brisbane, Australia in January 2023.
Supported by Honor Sambrook Alumni Grant
Melba Program 2010
Xenia Puskarz-Thomas
Preparations to participate in the second stage of The Metropolitan National Opera Laffont Competition in Michigan. https://www.xeniapuskarzthomas.com/about.
Supported by Melba Opera Trust
Melba Program 2019
Shakira Tsindos
Singing lessons to supplement her studies at the National Opera Studio (London).
https://www.shakiratsindos.com/about.
Supported by Honor Sambrook Alumni Grant
Melba Program 2016