Soprano Sophie Blades is currently completing her Masters of Music Studies (Opera Performance) at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, studying with Dr Anke Höeppner-Ryan.

A few of Sophie’s notable roles include Silvia (Zanetto), Sandman (Hänsel und Gretel), Theodora (Theodora) and Second Witch (Dido and Aeneas). Most recently, she premiered the roles of Mara, Mum and Snake Skin 1 as a part of Sydney Conservatorium of Music and NIDA’s 2024 New Opera Project, ‘Mother’ directed by Lindy Hume. This year Sophie is looking forward to performing as Adina (L’Elisir d’amore) with the Mediterranean Opera Festival as well as Eurydice (Orphée aux enfers) with Sydney Conservatorium of Music and NIDA.

As a concert soloist, Sophie has performed works including Spatzenmesse KV 220 (Mozart), Krönungsmesse K.317 (Mozart), Missa Brevis Sancti Joannis de Deo (Haydn) and Carmina Burana (Orff). She has also been the recipient of the Patricia Lucas Music Achievement Scholarship and The Bud Brown Memorial Scholarship.

Baritone Aidan Hodder holds a Master of Music Studies from Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University. 2025 is his second year as the recipient of the John Wegner AO Opera Scholarship and the Max & Jill Schutz Opera Society Scholarship with Melba Opera Trust.

Aidan made his professional debut in 2023 in State Opera South Australia’s G& S FEST, singing John Wellington Wells (The Sorcerer) and appearing in the chorus for The Pirates of Penzance and H.M.S. Pinafore. He has since sung Samuel (The Pirates of Penzance), Aeneas (Dido and Aeneas), and Manoah (Samson). He has participated in masterclasses with Caitlin Hulcup, Roderick Williams, and Stuart Skelton.

Aidan is an advocate for children’s education and involvement in the performing arts. He currently works for the educational entertainment company Dino Encounters, delivering educational experiences with animatronic dinosaur puppets, and is heading a new Sydney branch of the company.

Melbourne based Mezzo-Soprano Sidra Nissen joined Opera Scholars Australia as a Graduate Scholar in 2025. She completed her Bachelor of Music degree in 2023 at The Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. Her performance career began with the Victorian Opera Youth Chorus Ensemble (VOYCE) and she made her professional debut with Victorian Opera in Il Mago di Oz (2022), and subsequently, Cheremushki (2023).

Sidra has received numerous awards including: First place Oratorio/Art song category and runner up in the Warrnambool Eisteddfod final. (2025) She was the winner of both the Robert Salzer Foundation Scholarship for Best Female Singer and Ian Field Memorial Award for Outstanding German Language Interpretation at the 2023 National Liederfest Competition.

In Australia, Sidra studies under Suzanne Johnston and has had the opportunity to learn from Deborah Birnbaum, Professor Graham Johnson OBE, Janice Chapman, Neil Semer, Bryan Wagorn, and Bryan Zeger in London, New York and Italy.

Brittney Northcott is a mezzo-soprano currently completing a Master of Music in Opera Performance at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music (MCM), where she is preparing the role of Nerone in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Classical Voice from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, where she performed roles including Cherubino and Marcellina in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro and the Old Woman in Jonathan Dove’s The Enchanted Pig.

In 2024, Brittney was selected as an artist for the Lisa Gasteen National Opera Program, receiving intensive coaching in Italian recitative. She is also a 2025 Graduate Scholar with Opera Scholars Australia, continuing to refine her craft.