Meet the Artists
Vocalists of Forte
Our musicians have years of experience and dazzling passion
Stephen Thompson
Executive and Artistic Director
Tenor
email: info [at] fortevocal.org
Stephen Thompson earned his BFA from NYU, where he composed two original Off Broadway, Equity Showcase musicals. He initially trained as a baritone with Dr. John Weiss, and later found his true fach as a dramatic tenor. He has performed as a soloist and his highlighted performances include Handel’s Messiah and Haydn’s Creation.
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, Stephen 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 recently completed composition of an original full-length opera, Il Don.
Stephen is currently the choir director and organist at St Mary’s in the Mountains in Virginia City, teaches private voice lessons, and is cofounder of Forte, a Reno-based classical and jazz vocal quartet.
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Talie Schiestel
Alto
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.
Currently, Tallie 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.
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Nicole Dzadek
Soprano
Nicole began her musical journey as a cellist before shifting to voice at the University of Nevada, Reno, where she earned her BFA in vocal performance
She has most recently appeared as Brigitta in Tahoe Symphony's Iolanta, and Rosalinda in Firebird Light Opera's Die Fledermaus. Other roles with Firebird Light Opera include Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance.
Notable credits include the Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors with Nevada Opera; and Suor Angelica in Suor Angelica, Sally in A Hand of Bridge, the Fairy Queen in Iolanthe, and the Third Lady in The Magic Flute with Nevada Chamber Opera.
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Alyssa Caplan
Soprano
Alyssa Caplan grew up in a musical family in Henderson, NV, and has been singing for as long as she has been talking. She eventually joined a children's choir, and now has over two decades of choral experience, including tours across the U.S. and Cuba, and a performance at Carnegie Hall.
Since moving to Reno in 2016, she has been a featured member and soloist with P'Opera chorus, a founding member of Aspen A Cappella, a charter member of Firebird Light Opera, and has performed as a soloist with several other local ensembles, including the Reno Pops Orchestra.
Most recently, she held featured roles as Ida in Die Fledermaus and Edith in The Pirates of Penzance.
Alyssa holds a degree in Biology with a minor in Education from Vassar College. When not singing, she works as a Senior Supervisor of Laboratory Sciences in the biotechnology field. In her free time, Alyssa enjoys baking, hiking, playing guitar and spending time with family, including her husband and cat.
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Colleen Medina
Alto
Colleen first expressed her passion for singing with a curling-iron, pretend microphone in elementary school, and began performing in frequent Show and Tell, church events, and club socials, and then in high school with classical voice training, and landing various roles in musicals such as My Fair Lady, HMS Pinafore, Oliver, Bye Bye Birdie, and The Music Man. She also sang at weddings and with local bands at various restaurants in Bishop, CA. In her final year of high school, a musical group called Up with People came to town, and she wound up traveling all over the US, performing as their lead vocalist.
She has performed Broadway and Opera audience favorites such as The Habanera (Carmen), Don’t Cry for Me Argentina (Evita), I Dreamed a Dream (Les Misérables), and Not a Day Goes By (Merrily We Roll Along), for The Nevada Opera, P’Opera, and Firebird Light Opera.
Colleen eventually made her way to Reno, married, raised 4 children, and earned her Bachelor’s degree in nursing. She currently works as a Cardiac Rehabilitation nurse at Renown.
Currently she performs jazz alongside renowned local musicians at venues including Lakeridge Tennis Club, West Shore Café, and the Montreux and Arrowcreek Country Clubs.
Colleen is excited to be a part of Forte’s musical debut of “American Rhapsody”, a musical tribute to the American Troops, for which holds a special fondness, whose daughter currently serves in our Armed Forces.
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Kevin Shoemaker
Tenor
Kevin Shoemaker has been singing in front of audiences from an early age as part of choral ensembles, musical theater productions, and rock bands.
Most recently, he was a regular performer with the Nevada Gay Men's Chorus, sang baritone as a member of the Reno-based 'Never Too Late' barbershop quartet, and served as a guest tenor with the Nevada Wind Symphony.
Kevin is a professor of wildlife ecology at the University of Nevada, Reno, where his research focuses on using quantitative methods to inform wildlife conservation and management.
Between his day job and musical pursuits, he enjoys biking, tennis, playing guitar, and spending quality time at home with his partner and his dog.
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David White
Tenor
David graduated from California State University-Fresno with his BA under the direction of Dr. Maria Briggs. He obtained his master’s degree in Music: Vocal Performance, from University of Nevada-Reno, under the guidance and expertise of Professor Katherine Parker, Dr. Albert R. Lee and Dr. Daniel Fung.
David was cast in CSU-Fresno productions of The Secret of Luca, Carmen, Albert Herring, and Die Fledermaus. In the winter of 2017, he was cast as King Balthazar in Fresno Pacific University production of Amahl and the Night Visitors.
David was in the operas Carmen, La sonnabula, and the Barber of Seville with the California Opera Association directed by Edna Garabedian.
He was also cast in Theater Arts Alliance’s productions of Madame Butterfly, Young Frankenstein, and Beauty and the Beast.
Most recently, David was cast as Marco in the University of Nevada-Reno's production of Gianni Schicchi.
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Jacob Medina
Bass
More info coming soon
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David Deeter
Bass
More info coming soon
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