Steve Wallace is an award winning singer and composer from Chicago and most recently a composer with Theatre Now NY's Writer's Lab and BMI’s Lehman Engel Advanced Workshop. His professional expertise incorporates a plethora of genres and styles from Soul, Hip-Hop, Blues, and Classical. In the span of his career, Mr. Wallace has released 15 of his own albums as an artist, produced, performed and written on hundreds of album. He has and continues to compose scores for television and film.

As a composer, Steve Wallace has written a book of 14 art songs, 2 symphonies, 3 operas, 4 musicals. Mr. Wallace is also a very accomplished classical singer and has performed worldwide as a soloist, on tours, and as lead tenor roles in operas. The groundbreaking film musical "Hal King" that Mr. Wallace created, composed, and produced was released on Feb 9th 2021.

Charismatic baritone Brian Major continues to be praised by critics for his velvety voice and “commanding stage presence.”During the 2020-2021 season, Mr. Major was engaged to make his Chautauqua Orchestra debut singing Paul Moravec and Mark Campbell’s Sanctuary Road as well as selections from Porgy & Bess, his Opera on the James debut as Scarpia in Tosca, and a debut with Maryland Lyric Opera as Ford in Falstaff (COVID19). In the spring of 2021, Mr. Major returned to Opera Grand Rapids as Gary in Douglas Pew’s Penny and will join Lyric Fest for a filmed recital of Kurt Weill songs, the Princeton Festival for an Opera Gala, and Opera Delaware for a concert of Shakespeare selections. During the 2021-2022 season, Mr. Major will return to the Columbus Symphony to sing Schaunard in La bohème and as the bass soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony as well as returning to Opera Grand Rapids to sing Ping in Turandot.

Rising star Whitney Morrison has earned praise for her “big, gleaming soprano” (Chicago Classical Review) and “vocally sumptuous” performances (Chicago Tribune). A Chicago native and recent alum of Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Ryan Opera Center, Morrison champions an African American aesthetic in classical music, embracing a style of performance that blends classical singing technique with elements of the gospel singing tradition. Morrison’s future engagements include 7 Deaths of Maria Callas with Marina Abramović at the Greek National Opera Athens. Recent credits include: Leonie Baker in the world premiere of Freedom Ride at Chicago Opera Theater, and Sister Rose in Dead Man Walking at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Curtis Bannister is proving to be a firebrand as a multitalented artist with his dynamic artistry as both a singer and actor. The recipient of the 2021 Actors Equity Foundation Roger Sturtevant Award for Excellence in Musical Theater, Drama League Award nominee for best concert performance and a special award honor from The Kurt Weill Foundation. 

Curtis debuted at The Kennedy Center as Soloist 1/Celebrant (cover) in Leonard Bernstein’s MASS for the Center’s 50th Anniversary celebration with the National Symphony and has performed, in concert, with the Cincinnati Symphony/Cincinnati Pops Orchestra’s Celebration Concert, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and his The Philadelphia Orchestra. Bannister has performed with Lyric Opera of Chicago, St. Petersburg Opera, Atlanta Opera, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Heartbeat Opera, Chicago Opera Theatre and Utah Festival Opera.

Tyrese Byrd, tenor, is a native of Greenville, South Carolina, known for his musicianship and expressive tone. In his 2024-25 season, Tyrese sang the roles of Prologue/Peter Quint in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw and the role of Tito in the orchestra workshop of The House on Mango Street. This summer, he joins Opera NEO as an Apprentice Artist.

In the 2023-2024 season, Tyrese appeared as Aristée/Pluton in Orpheus in the Underworld with the University of Michigan and as the Evangelist in Bach’s St. John Passion. He was the tenor soloist for Mendelssohn’s Elijah with The University of Michigan Chamber Choir and The Washington Chorus in Argentina. He spent the summer as a Studio Artist at Chautauqua Opera. Tyrese is also passionate about uplifting the music of Black composers who are often excluded from the Western canon. For three years, he’s worked with a research team called Singing Justice with the University of Michigan Humanities Collaboratory, who endeavor to infiltrate the concert stage using Black Song. 

Tyrese received his graduate degrees from the University of Michigan SMTD where he studied with Dr. Louise Toppin and Daniel Washington. Tyrese completed his undergraduate studies at Furman University.

D-Composed is a Chicago-based chamber music experience that honors Black creativity and culture through the music of Black composers. Since 2017, it has created intimate, out-of-the-box performances that blend genres and eras of Black music, taking it out of traditional concert halls and into art galleries, cafés, and other unexpected spaces. As architects of creativity, D-Composed merges diverse artistic mediums to celebrate the legacy and brilliance of Black composers, reshaping the classical landscape on its own terms. Its creative process, referred to as D-Composed (/dee-kuhm-pohzd/), involves breaking down preconceived notions, barriers, and opinions about what classical music “should” be, rewriting the narrative to reflect what the classical world can become.

D-Composed embraces chamber music for its intimacy, designing performances that foster connection and comfort for every audience member. Traditionally reserved for elite palace gatherings, these reimagined chamber experiences are warm and welcoming: audience members are invited to laugh, clap, or spark conversation—every gesture becoming part of the music. By keeping the experience personalized and approachable, D-Composed ensures that the music of Black composers is not only heard but deeply felt, creating a space where everyone can engage with the art form on their own terms.oes here