Aaron Haas is a classical guitarist based in Los Angeles and co-founder of Duo Apollon. A skilled communicator and expressive performer, his teaching and playing serve the purpose of connecting to and expressing that which makes us most human, as well as most spiritual. From a family of singer-songwriters he understands the power of a musical narrative, and with an extensive background in meditation he delights in exploring the interaction between music and silence.

Aaron began playing electric guitar and writing songs at age 16 and picked up classical guitar as a sophomore at Skidmore College at age 19. Despite his late start, he graduated Summa Cum Laude and was nominated for the coveted Periclean Scholar’s Award for his senior recital, moving to Italy the following year to study with the Italian virtuoso, Lorenzo Micheli. After two years of study at the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana, he moved back to the states to pursue his master’s degree with Nicolò Spera at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Here his interest in chamber music developed and reconnected him with his love for songs while studying Lieder with Schubert scholar Yonatan Malin. This began a long period of performing art songs with singers in the years to come. He also collaborated with woodwind and string ensembles, including a collaboration with the award-winning Altius Quartet.

Completing his master’s degree, Aaron accepted a scholarship to study for his Doctor of Musical Arts at the University of Southern California, but not before attending the prestigious Accademia Chigiana in Siena with Oscar Ghiglia in the summer of 2015. At USC, as a student of pedagogue and LAGQ co-founder William Kanengiser, Aaron found encouragement to combine his two great passions, meditation and music, which culminated in an article published in the Journal of Singing in 2018 entitled “Creativity Through Silence: Exploring the Use of Meditation in Musical Performance.” Here he also met soprano Anastasia Malliaras, forming Duo Apollon who, in 2018, won the Beverly Hills auditions. The two perform around the Los Angeles area, and are nearing completion of their first CD, “Folk Songs,” a collection of folk song arrangements from around the world. Aaron was awarded a Teaching Assistant in his final year at USC, and completed his degree in 2019.

Aaron’s meditation path developed alongside his musical path, having been a student and mentee of spiritual teacher and psychotherapist John J. Prendergast for ten years. He has taught meditation with Yoga for All Musicians, an online yoga group catered to the challenges musicians face, since its inception in 2020, and holds his own meditation groups with the University of Southern California. He contends that the practice of meditation is vital to his own musical performances, and is always available to share his experience with both students and audiences.

Anastasia Malliaras is a versatile singer whose repertoire ranges from Baroque to Contemporary Opera, and Jazz to Musical Theater. She made her operatic debut in 2013 as Nannetta in Bay View Music Festival’s production of Falstaff and has since played the role again at West Bay Opera in 2019 and also played the roles of Zerbinetta (Ariadne auf Naxos), Héro (Beatrice et Bénédict), Frasquita (Carmen), Belinda (Dido and Aeneas), Despina (Cosí fan tutte), Marie (La fille du régiment), and Olympia (La Fille du Regiment). In 2017, she was seen in the world premiere of the opera Tesla with SoBe Arts, where she portrayed the role of Marie Astor Hampton and this fall, she made her debut with Pacific Opera Project as the Sandman in Hansel and Gretel.

As the art song repertoire is of great importance to the young singer. She is co-founder and singer in Duo Apollon – a classical voice and guitar duo. The pair performs original repertoire for voice and guitar, as well as transcriptions from piano and in 2018 were winners of the Beverly Hills National Auditions. Duo Apollon is sought after to play on notorious Southern California concert series such as Live! At the Museum in Laguna Beach, Music at the Mansion at Graystone Mansion, and Sundays Live at LACMA.

An active singer on the Los Angeles music scene, Anastasia is also the resident singer for the American Contemporary Ballet where she has performed in their Delibes Dances, Death and the Maiden, and Astaire Dances shows.

Awards and accolades include being the one of the finalists of the 2019 Zachary Competition, winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Los Angeles District in 2018, winner and LA Opera Encouragement Award recipient of the 2017 Center Stage Opera Vocal Competition, Encouragement Award from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions San Diego District in 2015, and winner of the 2014 Shirley Rabb Winston Vocal Competition where she was then invited to sing at the National Society of Arts and Letters 70th Anniversary Gala. Anastasia is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Chamapaign where she received a Bachelor’s of Music in Vocal Performance, as well as a graduate of the University of Southern California where she received a Master’s of Music in Vocal Arts.