Little Opera

Erin Bregman, Little Opera Founder & Education Specialist

Erin is a San Francisco playwright, librettist, and Teaching Artist. As an educator, she has led over 100 classes through the creation of original operas and has taught for the San Francisco Opera, the Randall Museum, the San Francisco Boy’s Chorus, and more. Her own work has been produced and developed across the country, including with Washington National Opera, 6NewPlays, Rorschach Theater, Just Theater, The Brick, Profile Theater, and others. 

Danny Clay, Music Teaching Artist

Danny is a composer and general noise-maker based in San Francisco who works in a variety of media. He “daylights” as an elementary school music teacher, where he has curated collaborative projects between young  creative minds and professional organizations around the country, including the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), 826 Valencia, Nonsemble 6, the UnCaged Toy Piano Festival, and Friction Quartet.  He has been commissioned by groups such as Kronos Quartet, Phyllis Chen, Sarah Cahill, and many groups throughout the Bay Area.

Laura Fernández, Music & Theater Teaching Artist

Laura Fernández is a classical singer and music educator working toward her Master of Music degree at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Laura has performed various roles on the operatic stage, some of her most notable performances include Erste Dame (Die Zauberflöte,) Geraldine (A Hand of Bridge,) and the title role in Puccini’s Suor Angelica. Most recently, Laura was an encouragement award winner at the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (2021.) While being an avid performer, Laura is also a passionate educator with over eight years of private piano and voice instruction, musical theater direction, as well as experience in the general music classroom in the Miami Dade County Public School District. 

Jenny Hanson, Music Teaching Artist

Jenny comes from a family of folk musicians and grew up listening to her large family playing guitar and singing harmonies at family gatherings. She began studying flute in high school with Ruth Giles, professor at Minnesota State University at Mankato/Gustavis Adolphus College, and completed her degree in Flute Performance at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities studying with Julia Bogorad Kogan, Adam Kuenzel and Keith Underwood. Jenny holds a Masters Degree at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities in Flute Performance studying with  Julia Bogorad Kogan and Immanuel Davis. After graduating, she started an all girl punk rock band called Eufio. She currently teaches private and group Suzuki flute lessons in Noe Valley. 

Eva Langman, Theater Teaching Artist

Eva’s background is in theatre and cultural anthropology, and she's training in counseling psychology and drama therapy. In addition to teaching at Little Opera, she teaches around the Bay Area and has led opera/theater creation classes with AltSchool, Bay Area Children’s Theater, West Portal Elementary School, and others. She also works as a freelance ghostwriter and editor, and is collaborating on a musical comedy in which, finally, she confesses to being a clown. 

Frances Lee, Executive Director & Music Teaching Artist

Frances is a nonprofit development and communications leader with 15 years of experience at local and national nonprofit organizations. Her experience includes leadership roles at Autism Speaks, Girls on the Run of the Bay Area, Raising A Reader, and most recently MyPath, a San Francisco-based youth economic justice organization where she was their Director of Development. Before her nonprofit career, Frances was a music educator and taught piano, flute, and voice for afterschool programs and in her private studio. Frances studied music education and flute performance at the University of Southern California and California State University Los Angeles. In addition to singing in rock and pop cover bands, Frances sings in the San Francisco Bach Choir and serves on their Board of Directors. 

Suzanne Vradelis, Theater & Movement Teaching Artist

Suzanne brings 30 years of classroom experience to Little Opera. She is a recipient of the 2007 SF State University Alumni Award for Teacher of the Year, and 826 Valencia’s Teacher of the Month prize, and achieved National Board Certification. During her tenure at West Portal School she wrote, directed, and produced 13 original musicals with over 1,000 students. Suzanne trained in ballet and modern dance for many years — she taught dance at Antioch college in Ohio and worked as dance director for Otrabanda Theater Company in New Orleans before coming to San Francisco. Suzanne holds a Masters in Education.