Soprano – Olivia Selig
Olivia Selig (she/her) brings her love of music, teaching, and community to her role as Soprano Section Lead with the Vivaldi Choir. A graduate of the University of Victoria’s Bachelor of Music program (2014), Olivia studied voice with Dutch soprano Anne Grimm, developing a deep appreciation for musical storytelling across a variety of styles — from early music and opera to vocal jazz.
Her performance experience includes serving as soprano soloist in Poulenc’s Gloria with the UVic Orchestra, Bob Chilcott’s Wenceslas with the Linden Singers, as well as appearances at Opera on the Avalon (St. John’s NFLD) and Opera NUOVA (Edmonton AB). In addition to solo performing, Olivia Has participated in some extraordinary choral music festivals, including the International Choral Festival in Barcelona (2017) and Harbour Voices Choral Festival in Newfoundland (2024). Olivia also performs regularly with Phoenix Chamber Choir under Nicholle Andrews and as a substitute with the Vancouver Chamber Choir under Kari Turunen.
In addition to performing, Olivia has taught private voice and piano lessons across Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland, and now shares her joy of learning as an elementary school teacher in the Burnaby School District. Outside of music and teaching, Olivia enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband and dog, baking something new, and getting lost in a good story.
Alto – Dinah Ayre
Born into a musical family, mezzo-soprano Dinah Ayre has always had a passion for storytelling through song. Dinah has completed a Music Performance Diploma and Artists Diploma at Vancouver Academy of Music, studying with soprano Robyn Driedger-Klassen and previously with tenor David Meek. She has sung alto in the Vancouver Chamber Choir since the 2017/18 season and also keeps busy singing with a host of other local ensembles, including Belle Voci Chamber Choir & Cathedral Singers, the UBC Early Music Ensemble, as well as for various churches. Dinah has also performed as a soloist with many of these ensembles, and has recently had the pleasure of singing as alto soloist for performances of Handel’s Dixit Dominus, Bach’s Magnificat, and Mozart’s Requiem.
Dinah has a special interest in new music and working with local composers. Some of her favourite projects have included the Vancouver Opera New Works Project, an intensive program designed to create brand-new opera scenes in just two weeks, and premiering the role of ‘Mrs. Lundblad’ in the one-act opera, The Woman Who Borrowed Memories, at the Vancouver Fringe Festival. Dinah was also proud to be part of the audience-selected winning team of Vancouver’s first Art SongSLAM in 2020.
As a personal project, Dinah enjoys performing and recording art songs, and hopes to bring this underappreciated art form more into the spotlight in Vancouver. When she’s not singing, you can find Dinah working at Cheesecake Etc., one of Vancouver’s longest-running dessert restaurants.
Tenor – Steve Froese
Steve is a lifelong musician, starting with Suzuki violin at age 4, and spent his formative years singing southern gospel with his family and playing various instruments. Since then he has become a professional multi-instrumentalist and lyric tenor/counter-tenor. However, he is equally comfortable singing soprano, baritone, or bass given his over 4 octave vocal range. His musical journey ultimately took him to the theatre stages of Broadway (and off-Broadway) in New York City. Locally, Steve most recently worked with the North Shore Light Opera Society (NSLOS). Roles have included several years as Skimbleshanks in Cats on Broadway, and with NSLOS as Lea the fairy in Iolanthe, the Sargeant in Pirates of Penzance, and R&D Officer 1 in the modern remake of The Magic Flute. Chorally, Steve has sung with the Vancouver Youth Chorale, Vancouver Cantata Singers, Richmond Chorus, No Bach Aloud, Westcoast Mennonite Chamber Choir, Bella Voce, and Chor Leoni. Professionally, Steve spent several decades as the tenor section lead and soloist at St. Mary’s Kerrisdale Anglican Church, and sang with the St. Andrew’s Wesley Men’s Ensemble.
Steve is an avid RV Traveller and retired Mechanical, Computer, and Aerospace Engineer.
Bass – Jack Foster
Jack Foster (he/they) is a multi-hyphenate creative based in so-called Vancouver, BC. Raised in Fredericton, NB, he began taking voice and bagpipe lessons at a young age and joined his first community choir at 14. At the same time Jack joined his high school musical theatre program, the highlight of which was bringing the role of Pooh-Bah in The Mikado to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2010.
In 2011 Jack moved west to attend the UBC School of Music, graduating with his BMus in Voice Performance in 2016. During this time he sang under the direction of Graeme Langager in the University Singers, performing works such as Handel’s Messiah, and Britten’s War Requiem.
From 2013 to 2019 Jack worked as a bass soloist at St. John’s Shaughnessy Anglican Church, honing his classical skills. 2018 saw the debut of Jack’s drag queen persona, Tara Beladi, and he began performing in venues around Vancouver as a host, acoustic pop singer and storyteller.
During the 2020/21 lockdown, Jack retreated from choral singing and drag, finding the digital performance formats available dissatisfying. Instead, Jack began writing fiction, leading to the publication of his debut short story in 2023, Drag Mothers.
Presently, Jack sings bass in Phoenix Chamber Choir under Nicholle Andrews and works as lead baritone with the Shaughnessy Heights United Church Choir. He also continues to perform in drag and write stories. Whichever medium he is working in, Jack is interested in exploring the juxtaposition of queer identity and traditional forms. Jack is thrilled to be joining Edette and the Vivaldi Chamber Choir this season!
More information on Jack’s work can be found on socials at @shesterrible_.