Opera Orlando has selected three Stetson music undergraduates as apprentices for the 2026-2027 season through Stetson’s School of Music partnership program.

Elisabeth Lundstrom, Charlotte Kierstead and Hank Evans will work alongside Opera Orlando’s staff and guest artists for the upcoming season, earning credits toward their degrees. They will be taking part as paid performers in Opera Orlando’s opening MainStage production of Puccini’s Madame Butterfly. The students will also take part in a public masterclass with one of the company’s guest conductors.

Lundstrom is a mezzo-soprano currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in vocal performance at Stetson where she studies under the tutelage of Associate Professor Chadley Ballantyne, DMA. Some of her stage credits include Hansel in Stetson Opera Theatre’s production of Humperdink’s Hansel and Gretel. She also sang the role of Sam in Stetson’s production of In Pieces, a new musical by Joey Contreras and as Rizzo in the musical Grease. This spring, she will sing the role of Le Prince Charmant in Stetson Opera Theater’s production of Cendrillon. She is from Hobe Sound, Florida.

Kierstead is a soprano in her senior year at Stetson working to complete a bachelor’s degree in music with an outside field in theatre arts. She also studies with Ballantyne as well as Associate Professor Karen Coker-Merritt, DMA. She began her formal vocal training with Sarah Cheatham at Eastern Florida State College, earning an Associate of Arts degree before transferring to Stetson.

Most recently, she performed as Gretel in Stetson Opera Theatre’s 2026 production of Hansel and Gretel and will appear in the 2027 production of Cendrillon in the title role. She was a featured soloist in Stetson’s Festival of American Anniversaries, performed in Stetson’s production of In Pieces, and placed second in the 2024 National Association of Teachers of Singing’s Central Florida chapter auditions. She is a native Floridian.

Evans is a baritone pursuing a bachelor’s degree in vocal performance at Stetson under Ballantyne. He won the Florida Federation of Music Clubs Collegiate Voice Competition in January and is an alumni ambassador for Schmidt Vocal Arts in Covington, Kentucky. This spring, he will perform the role of Pandolfe in Massenet’s Cendrillon at Stetson and Herr Schlendrian in Bach’s Coffee Cantata with the Stetson Bach Society.

“Stetson’s School of Music is fortunate to have exceptional professional arts partners throughout Florida who share our commitment to developing the next generation of artists,” said Washington Garcia, DMA, Dean of Stetson’s School of Music. “Our partnership with Opera Orlando is a particularly meaningful example of what can happen when higher education and the professional arts community work together. Our students gain unique opportunities to perform with professional artists, learn from leaders in the field, and experience firsthand the world of a professional career through the collaboration. We are incredibly proud of this partnership and grateful to Opera Orlando for investing so meaningfully in the growth of our students and in the future of opera.”