10TH ANNIVERSARY NYC GALA
Michael Fabiano (he/him) is one of the world’s most celebrated opera singers, an accomplished entrepreneur, and an advocate for arts education. Over the course of his career, he has sung in 76 cities, in 26 countries, and on 89 of the most renowned stages, including The Metropolitan Opera, Paris Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Teatro Real de Madrid, The Royal Opera Covent Garden, and Sydney Opera. He is the recipient of the industry’s most prestigious awards, including the Richard Tucker Award and the Beverly Sills Artist Award, and is a Grand Prize winner from the Gerda Lissner Foundation and the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. In addition to his prolific performance career and commitment to ArtSmart, Mr. Fabiano is also Chief Strategy Officer for Resonance, a BizOps platform which combines powerful software solutions to allow businesses to streamline administration and operations, manage people, and maintain business partnerships. Mr. Fabiano is a native of Montclair, New Jersey and holds degrees from the University of Michigan and the Academy of Vocal Arts. michaelfabianotenor.com
Three-time Grammy Award-winning artist Isabel Leonard has established herself as one of the most in-demand performers, a star on the world’s leading stages and screens. The 2025–2026 season sees Ms. Leonard’s return to The Metropolitan Opera for two prominent productions: the title role in Bizet’s Carmen, under the baton of Fabien Gabel, with a production by Carrie Cracknell; and the leading role of Frida in Gabriela Lena Frank’s El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego, in a new production by Deborah Colker making its company premiere, with performances conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. She will also return to Bayerische Staatsoper to sing her signature Angelina in the Jean-Pierre Ponnelle production of Cenerentola, as well as singing the title role in Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges with the San Diego Symphony under Music Director Rafael Payare.
This season also features Ms. Leonard as a Perspectives Artist at Carnegie Hall, where she will present a series of concerts and performances throughout the season highlighting her perspective as a performing artist. Performances include a recital in Stern Auditorium with pianist John Arida, sing Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with The Met Orchestra, led by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and participate in the prestigious 50th Anniversary of the Concert of the Century Gala, also conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Her Perspectives series closes with a Spanish Song and Dance Recital with vocalist Ismael Fernández and dancer Sonia Olla.
Additional engagements include a residency with the Asheville Symphony Orchestra, comprising of a recital with John Arida, an orchestral performance featuring Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with the Symphony, and a concert of Gershwin and American Music with the Youth Orchestra. She also appears in residency at Washington University in St. Louis, including a masterclass and recital with John Arida; and with Montclair State University, where she performs Knoxville: Summer of 1915 in conjunction with a masterclass. Read more.
Ahmad Mayes (he/him) is a seasoned arts leader with a twenty-year track record of impact in music education, community engagement, and cultural equity. In July 2025, he joined ArtSmart as its second Executive Director, bringing a deep commitment to mentorship, access, and high-quality music education as tools for transformation.
Ahmad most recently served as Executive Director of the Chamber Music Society of Palm Beach, where he led the organization through a period of bold growth—doubling audiences and revenue, expanding community reach, and launching strategic partnerships spanning Florida to New York. Under his leadership, the organization reached record levels of contributed income and audience engagement, while deepening its investment in education and community programming.
Prior to his time in Palm Beach, Ahmad spent over a decade with the Cincinnati and Atlanta Symphony Orchestras, where he designed nationally recognized programs in music education, youth development, and DEI. In Cincinnati, he grew the orchestra’s education and community engagement department, reaching over 100,000 people annually, and helped launch several major national initiatives to diversify the classical music field—including the largest graduate fellowship program for musicians of color in the U.S.
His broader work in the field includes collaborations with the Smithsonian Institution, Sphinx Organization, the League of American Orchestras, and a wide network of schools, foundations, and community partners. A founding member of Equity Arc, Ahmad is a frequent contributor to field-wide conversations on inclusion, access, and social impact in the arts. He has served on national committees, been a grant panelist for institutions such as the National Endowment for the Arts and the Mellon Foundation, and presented at leading conferences, including SphinxConnect, ICSOM, and the League of American Orchestras’ annual conference.
Ahmad holds degrees in Music Education and Arts Administration from Florida State University and is an alumnus of the League of American Orchestras’ Emerging Leaders Program. His work continues to be guided by the belief that every young person deserves access to mentorship, creativity, and the resources to thrive—and that the future of the arts depends on institutions that reflect, support, and elevate the communities they serve.
Born and raised in The Bronx, Grammy-nominated artist Adan Perez is one of today’s top sought-after pianists and keyboardists. His knowledge and versatility in a wide range of music has landed him work with many popular artists in all genres. He has shared the biggest stages and recorded with artists such as Dave Valentin, Ruben Blades, John Scofield, Dave Stryker, Marcus Miller, Jimmy Heath, Giovanni Hidalgo, John Benitez, Obie Bermudez, Tito Nieves, Don Omar, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Oscar D’Leon, Wyclef Jean, Donnie McClurkin, Allure, Prince Royce, and Ray Vega and Ralph Irizarry’s Timbalaye among many others.
Mary Pinto, an acclaimed accompanist and vocal coach, has worked with international opera singers and major American opera companies for the past 25 years. She serves as musical and artistic director for Opera at Florham.
In 2012, Ms. Pinto coached and served as rehearsal pianist for Metropolitan Opera star and international soprano Deborah Voigt as she prepared for the three Brünhilde roles for the Met’s production of Wagner’s Ring Cycle. In 2014, she performed with Opera Noire’s Ensemble in the American Embassy in Moscow and St. Petersburg and spent the past three summers coaching at Masterclass d’Ischia in Italy. In March 2018 she was the official accompanist for the Deborah Voigt International Competition in Vero Beach.
Ms. Pinto has been a private coach and accompanist on the faculty of Montclair State University since 2007. In Fall 2018, she joined the adjunct faculty at SUNY Purchase College teaching Italian and French lyric diction, operatic styles, and coaching.
ArtSmart student and rising star Luz Velázquez is a 2025 YoungArts Winner with Distinction. She won the Gold Award in Jazz Voice Jazz in February, receiving a prize of $10,000. Luz studies with ArtSmart mentor Christine Moore Vassallo at The Celia Cruz Bronx High School Of Music.
A Puerto Rican from The Bronx, she won first place in the High School American Songbook Competition and third place in the National Jazz Festival in Philadelphia. In December 2024, she participated in the All-State Choir of the New York State School Music Association festival, an honor made possible through a selective auditioning process. A member of MasterVoices, she has participated in shows at Carnegie Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Madison Square Garden, among others. Luz is also a seasoned trumpet player, studying at Third Street Music School, and is a featured musician for the New York Police Department’s La Jara Youth Orchestra.
John Viscardi (he/him) is an operatic tenor and non-profit leader. Motivated by a profound belief in the power of music to transform lives and uplift societies, Mr. Viscardi serves as the Managing Director of ArtSmart and Executive Director of Classic Lyric Arts, a non-profit organization that provides training programs for pre-professional classical singers and pianists. As a tenor, Mr. Viscardi is sought after globally for his interpretation of classic and modern operatic works, having appeared in both recital and concert at venues that include Carnegie Hall (New York), Geffen Hall (New York), Tokyo Opera City (Tokyo), Verizon Hall (Philadelphia) and Avery Fisher Hall (New York). Mr. Viscardi serves on the board of directors of the Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts and is an Artist Fellow with the Philadelphia Center of Psychoanalysis. He holds a Bachelor of Music and Master of Fine Arts from New York University and is a graduate of the Academy of Vocal Arts. johnviscardi.com
Since making her professional operatic debut at the Latvian National Theatre in Riga as Micaela in Carmen, she has been seen at nearly all of the major theaters of the world, including the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Opéra National de Paris, Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Staatsoper Berlin, Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, Opernhaus Zürich and Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Vienna Staatsoper as well as many major concert venues.
This season, Pretty Yende returns to the Metropolitan Opera for Les Contes d’Hoffmann. She will later proceed to making her Puccini debut as Magda in La Rondine, at the Opera de Monte Carlo and wrap up 2024 with Le Fille du Regiment at the Bayerische Staatsoper, which will also mark her house debut. The new year Pretty will begin at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées with a brand-new production and a title role debut in Handel’s Semele, the role that will also bring her back to the Royal Opera House later in the season. At the Teatro Real Pretty will continue her season with yet another role debut as Ismene in Mozart’s Mitriade, Re di Ponto. Ms. Yende will reprise Lucia di Lammermoor at the Semperoper Dresden and will return to Teatro di San Carlo with La Fille du Régiment. Two more role debuts will be on the horizon for Ms. Yende this season, Lina in Verdi’s Stiffelio at the Dortmund Konzerthaus, and Leonora in Verdi’s Il Trovarote. On the concert stage Pretty is planned to appear for Barber:Knoxville, Summer of 1915 with the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, a Gala recital at the Vienna Stateopera, a joined concert with Nadine Sierra at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, and a Gala concert at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysée. On December 7th of 2024, Ms. Yende will make a music appearance singing Amazing Grace at the ceremonial reopening concert of Notre Dame in Paris.
Last season, Pretty Yende returned to the Wiener Staatsoper to star in La Sonnambula. She come back to Paris Opera to appear as Olympia in Les Contes d’Hoffmann; at the Royal Opera House Pretty reprised in Verdi’s Rigoletto. 2024 started with La Traviata performances at the Staatsoper Berlin and a return to the Bayerische Staatsoper as Adina in L’elisir d’Amore. At the Frankfurt Opera Pretty made her role debut in Handel’s Guilio Cesare in Egitto as Cleopatra in the new production directed by Nadja Loschky. Pretty ended last season with another role debut and a title role in Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda, at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples. Additionally, Ms. Yende made multiple recital and concert appearances, including Paris, Antwerp, Palermo, Dortmund, Abu-Dhabi, Tokyo, Madrid, Bordeaux, Saint-Denis.
Kelly Clarke is a mezzo-soprano and passionate advocate for music education. As an artist, Ms. Clarke was most recently seen on the stages of San Francisco Opera and other major venues across the United States. As an educator, she has served ArtSmart as a mentor in San Francisco and as a teaching artist for the San Francisco Opera Guild. Ms. Clarke saw the absolute joy and impact music education had on her mentees in the ArtSmart program. She brings this same passion to her position as Board Member, helping secure corporate sponsorship, cultivating donors, and overseeing event management to drive ArtSmart’s mission and expand its impact on students and communities. Clarke holds both a Professional Studies Diploma and Masters Degree in Vocal Performance from Mannes College of Music and a Bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance from SUNY Purchase.
Executive VP of GATC Health
Trustee of The Olivia Woodbridge Endowment Fund for the Arts
› 30+ years in finance and corporate development
› Lead $100M+ financing for various companies
