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.
Lilian C. Tsai negotiates commercial deals and advises global business units as an in-house corporate attorney at Oracle. She studied communications and political science at the University of California, Berkeley and earned a JD at American University’s Washington College of Law. Lilian grew up playing violin, piano and flute, and credits her paternal aunt and uncle, who were subscribers at San Francisco Opera for 30+ years, for her love of opera. Lilian serves as the board secretary for the Ninth Judicial Circuit of Historical Society, the board secretary for the Hawaii Chamber Music Festival, a board member for ODC Dance, a councilor of the San Francisco Opera’s BRAVO! Council, and a court appointed special advocate (CASA) for foster youth.
Latonia Moore is one of today’s most thrilling and influential international sopranos, celebrated for her commanding voice, dramatic intensity, and fearless artistry. She has graced the stages of the world’s most prestigious opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera Covent Garden, Staatsoper Berlin, Arena di Verona, and Teatro Colón, captivating audiences across the globe.
A powerful advocate for inclusivity in the arts, Moore has been at the forefront of groundbreaking works that elevate untold African American stories. At the Metropolitan Opera, she made history opening the 2023 season as Sister Rose in Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, and reprised her searing performance as Billie in Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones—the first opera by a Black composer ever presented at the Met, and a Grammy Award–winning recording. Her Met appearances also include Emelda Griffiths in the New York premiere of Blanchard’s Champion.
Equally renowned for her interpretations of iconic roles, Moore has received international acclaim for performances of Aida, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, Liù (Turandot), Mimì (La bohème), and Bess (Porgy and Bess), appearing with leading companies and orchestras worldwide. Her concert work is just as formidable, with highlights including performances with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, BBC Proms, and world premieres by composers such as Anthony Davis and George Walker.
Beyond the stage, Moore is deeply committed to mentorship and arts advocacy. In 2025, she was appointed Director of Engagement and Advocacy at ArtSmart, where she champions equitable access to music education and mentors the next generation of artists. A three-time Grammy Award winner, her honors also include the Maria Callas Debut Artist of the Year Award and a Richard Tucker Foundation grant. A native of Houston, Texas, Latonia Moore brings extraordinary artistry, passion, and purpose to every performance—making her a recital artist not to be missed.
Chinese-born pianist Erica Xiaoyan Guo has been praised by San Francisco Classical Voice as having “a marvelously flexible touch, the kind of playing that makes you want to hear more…”. She performs extensively as a solo pianist, collaborative pianist, and chamber musician, and has appeared at major venues including Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Nymphenburg Palace, Temppeliaukion kirkko, and Musiikkitalo. She made her debut on the Schwabacher Recital Series in 2022.
Dr. Guo currently serves on the coaching faculty at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and is on the music staff at the Santa Fe Opera since 2022. She has also served on the music staff of Minnesota Opera, Utah Opera, New Orleans Opera Association, and Dayton Opera, and served on the opera coaching faculty at the New England Conservatory of Music in 2024.
An alumna of the Merola Opera Program and the Aspen Music Festival and School, Dr. Guo holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Maryland and received additional training at the Manhattan School of Music, New England Conservatory and the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München.
Steven Garcia Lopez (he/him) is an upcoming artist from San Francisco, California. He is an ArtSmart Alumni from Phillip and Sala Burton Academic School. He was a part of the One-to-One Vocal Mentorship Program with Jenna Toler as his mentor. He is now in his undergraduate studies at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music majoring in Voice Performance with Opera as his focus. Outside of school, Steven is working on releasing his first studio album.
Steven is grateful for the opportunities ArtSmart has created through access to lessons and one-to-one mentorship. Through the support of the ArtSmart Program, Steven built the confidence and had the resources necessary to build his career in music in a way he did not have access to before. In his personal work, Steven strives to tell a story that once seemed impossible but now seems closer in reach thanks to ArtSmart.
ArtSmart Experience: One-To-One Mentorship Program: Voice at Phillip and Sala Burton Academic School (San Francisco, CA); ~2022-2024
ArtSmart Mentors: Jenna Toler, Kevin Gino
Why Music?: Music has to be the most versatile outlet for creativity in the world, who could resist that?! Music to me is special because not only do I enjoy just listening to it, I enjoy partaking in it as well. Making music in the form of singing and producing my own tracks has ultimately let my creativity run wild.
Favorite ArtSmart Memory: My favorite ArtSmart memory was being able to perform with two of my close friends on our final recital day. Seeing two people who claimed they could “never perform in front of people” and actually end up doing just that was magical; I saw the passion of music bloom in their souls.
After ArtSmart: I am currently applying to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music to major in voice and opera. I am also simultaneously trying to kickstart a new music project called VANEST, in which I produce and perform my own tracks. An album is currently in the works.
Tajma Beverly was born on the South Side of Chicago and, while she now happily resides in the San Francisco Bay Area, she “left her heart” in the Heartland. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre Performance from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music (CCM).
Career highlights include working with director Francesca Zambello on LA Opera’s Porgy & Bess, receiving rave reviews for her portrayal of Jean in Girl Bar at Diversionary Theatre, and playing Diana Ross in a three-week run of Beehive: The 60s Musical, which was extended for an impressive nine months.
Tajma holds an Master of Music in American Popular Music History from California State University-Los Angeles and an Master of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre Writing from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.
As a composer, she creates musicals and operas that explore the minds, souls, and unacknowledged wounds of racial trauma experienced by Black families. Her work aims to “de-pathologize” Black people, advocate for Reparations, and foster Black Joy.
Mentoring Philosophy
A good mentor offers wisdom and experience. A good mentor sees and nurtures the unique gifts of each student.
Do not compare the beginning of your journey to the middle of someone else’s. Everyone’s path is unique. You are exactly where you need to be, on your unique path to becoming the Artist you are meant to be.
Aniyjah Garrett is a senior at Ruth Asawa School of the Arts. She has participated in the ArtSmart program for all four years of high school, studying with Maria Manetti Shrem Mentor, Nikki Einfeld. In 2025 she made her operatic debut as Young Celeste in Opera Parallèle’s world premiere of Hello, Star by Carla Lucero.
Her artistry blends classical technique with the soulful roots of R&B and pop. A senior at Ruth Asawa School of the Arts with a vocal focus, she has developed a versatile voice capable of moving between genres with ease. Over the past four years, she has immersed herself in the study of classical music while continuing to honor her contemporary influences.
Aniyjah’s stage credits include performing the iconic “Flower Duet” from Lakmé and portraying Amy in Little Women. Beyond the opera stage, she has collaborated with Musical Theater Works to help produce shows for young student performers, sharing her skills and passion with the next generation of artists.
Her musical journey is deeply shaped by inspirations such as Aaliyah—an R&B icon who, like Aniyjah, trained in classical music as a child. She strives to follow a similar path, pursuing excellence across multiple genres while incorporating her love of dance into her performances.
With a commitment to continual growth, Aniyjah aims to bridge the worlds of classical and contemporary music, creating performances that are both technically masterful and emotionally resonant.
Mario Rojas has built an international career performing leading tenor roles with opera houses in Europe, the United States, and Japan. In the 2025/26 season, he returns to the role of Don José in Carmen at the Estonian National Opera and at the Hyogo Performing Arts Center in Japan under the baton of Maestro Yutaka Sado.
In recent seasons, he has performed the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto at the Staatsoper Hannover; Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly in Japan; Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore at the Israeli Opera; Alfredo in La Traviata at the Opéra National de Lorraine in Nancy; Rodolfo in La Bohème in Trapani and Novara; Ruggero in La Rondine at the Teatro Regio di Torino; Roméo in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette in Bari; Ismaele in Nabucco at the Peralada Festival in collaboration with Teatro Real de Madrid; Nemorino at the Teatro Massimo Bellini; and Števa in Jenůfa at the OpéraNational du Capitole in Toulouse.
His repertoire includes roles such as Alfredo, Rodolfo, Rinuccio, the Duke of Mantua, Edgardo, Pinkerton, and Don José, among others.
In 2019, he was invited to perform in a concert with Maestro Plácido Domingo in his hometown of Torreón, Coahuila. He has received several distinctions, including the Maria Manetti Shrem Award (2021), the William Matheus Sullivan Foundation Award (2018), and the Luminarts Fellowship (2020), among others.
Mario is a graduate of the Ryan Opera Center at the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
