Meet the Artists
Coming soon!
Our musicians and business designers have years of experience and worlds of passion
Stephen Thompson
Executive and Artistic Director
Vocals, Piano
email: info [at] fortevocal.org
Stephen Thompson earned his BFA from NYU. He initially trained as a baritone with Dr. John Weiss but later found his true fach as a dramatic tenor. After a successful career in NYC, during
which he composed two original Off Broadway Equity Showcase musicals, Stephen earned his Masters from Emerson College where he subsequently taught Voice. He also taught and music
directed at ECSU, Clark University, and for the Metropolitan Opera Guild. He has directed award-winning choirs in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Arkansas, and Oregon where he was an ACDA Certified Choral Adjudicator and Sacred Music Director for the Archdiocese of Portland.
Most recently he was the Artistic Director for The Sierra Music Society and Executive Artistic Director of Firebird Light Opera. Recent favorite roles include Frederick in The Pirates of Penzance, Captain Corcoran in HMS Pinafore, tenor in La Cenerentola and FLO gala soloist performing “Brindisi”, “Nessun Dorma”, “Duet from the Pearl Fishers”, and “Vesti La Giubba”. He has performed as a soloist and has also conducted performances of Handel’s Messiah and Haydn’s Creation. He recently completed composition of an original full-length opera, Il Don and is cofounder of Forte, a Reno-based classical and jazz vocal quartet. Stephen is currently the choir director and organist at St Mary’s in the Mountains in Virginia City and he teaches private voice lessons.
Talie Schiestel
Natalie (Talie) Schiestel has been studying classical opera since she was 11 years old. Her love of music has shaped her journey across Chicago, Indiana, London, Boston, New York City, and now, Lake Tahoe. She studied vocal performance while at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, before pursuing a master’s degree in advertising at Boston University.
Some of her favorite roles include Pirates of Penzance, West Side Story, and The Wiz. While in New York, she had the honor of performing at Carnegie Hall four times.
During a ten-year hiatus from music, Talie got married, started a family, and built Talie Jane Interiors—a full-service interior design firm with a luxury furniture showroom and a construction division. Now, she is thrilled to return to music in the Reno-Tahoe area. Most recently, she debuted with the Tahoe Symphony as a featured soloist in Mozart's Solemn Vespers and Vivaldi's Gloria. She was also a featured soloist with Firebird Light Opera Company in Reno.
Talie lives on Tahoe’s east shore with her supportive husband and two young sons and is honored to perform with the talented members of Forte.
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