Tenor David Saslav starred as The Pilot ("The Little Prince") and Haemon ("Antigone") in Mark Alburger's newest operas, and as Alan Shepard in Dave Meckler's 2001 one-act opera "Tocatta di Luna: Apollo 14" (about the dramatic 1972 lunar landing). He also gave a complete performance (at Fresh Voices 2001) of Nancy Bloomer Deussen's "The World is a Butterfly's Wing" with Melissa Smith, pianist and Daria D'Andrea, viola. He sang the role of Lloyd St. Pierre in the 1999 Berkeley Opera performances of David Scott Marley's "Daughter of the Cabinet". Other past appearances include the dual role of Don Basilio/Don Curzio in Bayshore Lyric Opera Company's 1997 production of "Le Nozze di Figaro", and in choruses for City Opera Theatre's inaugural "Jenufa" production, and the Lamplighters 1995 gala "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern's Excellent Adventure". The son of professional musicians, Saslav specializes in lieder and choral performance. Saslav has performed solo recitals in San Mateo and San Francisco, and can be heard frequently in collaboration with pianist Melissa Smith. He can be heard on recordings produced by the San Francisco Symphony , San Francisco Bach Choir , California Bach Society, and Chorus Cappella of Orinda, the latter two including solo work. He is also founder and artistic director of "Ora*Cappella" , an all-employee-based a cappella choir at Oracle Corporation , where he works full time as a Senior Product Manager. He currently studies voice with Baker Peeples in San Francisco. An occasional music reviewer, his reviews may be found in various publications, including 21st Century Music, The San Francisco Classical Voice website, and The Tech of MIT [Photo credit: Catherine Byrd, https://melisma.tripod.com/clbyrd528@aol.com .]

Melissa Smith began studying the piano at age seven in Havre, Montana, and performed her first solo recital at age 14. During her formative years, Smith received awards from the National Association of Piano Instructors, the Montana Music Teacher’s Association, and several amateur talent competitions. Currently, Smith performs recitals throughout the Bay Area at venues such as Old Saint Mary's Church, St. Patrick’s Church, Berkeley City Club, Maybeck Recital Hall, Star Classics, Palo Alto Arts Center, City College, Noontime Concerts, Music at Four in Portola Valley, Sanchez Concert Hall in Pacifica, Emeryville Opera House, Exit Theatre, Z Space, and the Century Club. Smith recently premiered (January 2001) a chamber opera, "Antigone", by Marin composer Mark Alburger, and was also the pianist for the production of Alburger’s "The Little Prince" at Dominican University in April 2001. In addition, Smith was the pianist in five shows for Goat Hall Production’s "Fresh Voices Festival II" (a festival of new works and chamber operas) in July and August of 2001. In 1997, Smith performed Francis Poulenc’s L’Histoire de Babar for piano and narrator with actor Steven Patterson as part of the San Francisco Fringe Festival. Robert Hurwitt of the San Francisco Examiner described their performance as "…pure, unadulterated delight…simply blissful." Smith also conceived and organized a celebration of Francis Poulenc’s music, "C’est Poulenc!", in honor of Poulenc’s 100th birthday. More than a dozen concerts featuring pianists, vocalists and instrumentalists were performed in the 1999/2000 season throughout the Bay Area. Edith Günther of 21st Century Music described her performance as "a deft capturing of the wit and humor" of Poulenc's music. Smith has studied piano with Eliane Lust, Dennis Alexander and Steven Hesla. She holds a Bachelor of Arts with emphasis in Music from the University of Montana in Missoula and is a current member of the California Music Teacher’s Association. (Photo credit: Catherine Byrd, https://melisma.tripod.com/clbyrd528@aol.com .]