Anastasia Malliaras

Soprano Anastasia Malliaras, is gracefully exploring new depths of her artistry and voice. With a beautiful blend of warm and bright colors, her timbre is distinguishable with a vocal tone that is both elegant and natural. She has played many classic operatic roles and in 2017 she was seen in the world premiere of the opera Tesla where she portrayed the role of Marie Astor Hampton. Anastasia has been a Studio Artist at Central City opera where she played Ruth Baldwin in Musto’s Later That Same Evening and has previously participated in the Young Artist Vocal Academy at Houston Grand Opera and the iSing! International Young Artist Festival.

Anastasia has placed in prestigious competitions including the Loren L. Zachary Competition and the Metropolitan Opera National Council Los Angeles District and Western Regionals. She is co-founder and singer of the chamber music ensemble, Duo Apollon. The paier is a classical voice and guitar duo that performs original repertoire for voice and guitar.

“Underpinned only by hesitant, isolated notes on the guitar, Ms. Malliaras keened the melody so slowly that its shape was initially masked, the focused purity of her voice giving it a softly mournful, musing quality that carried no hint of the usual heroic striving. Only with the second tanza, ringing out thrillingly, did that very clear shape reveal itself.”

– LA Opus

Taso Comanescu

American guitarist Taso Comanescu is a colorful performer full of subtle nuance and strong musicianship. His programs present a variety of repertoire that creatively captures his audiences. He is an in-demand solo performer, ensemble artist and instructor whose accomplishments have taken him around the globe.

Taso has recorded two full-length albums, collaborated with internationally acclaimed dramatic tenor Charles Castronovo and given his symphonic debut with the West Coast Symphony. He received his degrees from Pepperdine University studying with Christopher Parkening and the University of Southern California under Scott Tennant. He has been a member of the music faculty at Pepperdine University since 2011 and has recently become a popular instructor at Elite Guitarist. Other musical projects outside of classical guitar include his work with the Greek Rebetiko Trio and LA-based rock band Blind Sparrow.

“…I felt aware of the stillness of the audience. All eyes and ears were riveted on the young classical guitarist Taso Comanescu. His fervor and devotion were immediately clear for each musical phrase of his stunning performance from Francisco Tarrega’s soulful Lagrima to Isaac Albeniz’s Asturian, classical piece Leyenda. He was magical.” – Debra de Liso, award winning theatre director