President: Gabrielle Liberman ’28

Gabrielle is a sophomore studying History and pursuing minors in Music Performance and German. She sings Soprano and studies under David Kellett. Gabrielle is a long-time opera buff who loves the drama, humor, and most importantly, the community of opera! Outside of POCO, she is a member of the Princeton Tigerlilies, the Glee Club, and a community service cohort focused on arts education. As President of POCO, she hopes to make opera exciting and accessible for all!

Treasurer: Yehyun Hong ’28

Yehyun is an Operations Research & Financial Engineering major, Baritone, and Cellist from Watkinsville, Georgia. He is a part of PUO, a member of Butler College, and is pursuing a minor in Music Performance. He is most excited to get to know all of the lovely singers of POCO and goof off during rehearsals!

Assistant Music Director: Lukas Palys ‘29

Lukas is a Public and International Affairs major and Baritone from Dallas, Texas. He is a member of many singing ensembles at Princeton, including the Nassoons. He is pursuing minors in Music Performance, Russian, and East European and Eurasian Studies. He is a member of Forbes College and is most excited about collaborating with instrumentalists to create amazing events this season!

Vice President: Evan Shidler ’27

Evan is a History major and Baritone from Short Hills, NJ. He is pursuing minors in Musical Performance and Italian and is a member of Mathey! Evan used to sing in the Metropolitan Opera Children’s Chorus years ago as a boy soprano!

Music Director: Yizhe Sun (1st Year PhD)

Yizhe is a conductor, pianist, and percussionist, and he is excited to serve as Princeton Opera Company’s first music director since its revival. Before joining Princeton as a graduate student in physics working in the Levin lab in EEB, Yizhe studied Music and Physics at Harvard College and was trained as a conductor under the guidance of Federico Cortese. During his time at Harvard, Yizhe was heavily involved with Harvard College Opera, joining first as a rehearsal pianist for the 2023 production of The Merry Widow, then as its music director for the 2024 production of Falstaff, and finally as its president for the 2024-25 season. In addition to his involvement with HCO, he was also an assistant conductor and percussionist to the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra. He is looking forward to leveraging his experience to help POCO grow on the Princeton campus.

Publicity Chair: Nicole Samaan ’29

Nicole is a Chemical & Biological Engineering major and Soprano from Richland, Washington. She is a proud member of Whitman College and is pursuing minors in Music Performance and Bioengineering. Outside of singing, Nicole enjoys playing on the club tennis team and practicing piano.