RSPA Summer Arts Intensive Berlin 2026

Peicen Yan is a soprano from Shanghai, China. She began her vocal studies in 2013 and trained successively with Wei Xu, a former artist of the Shanghai Opera House, and Yunhui Ji, soprano of the Shanghai Opera House. During her school years, she was actively involved in musical theater and choral performance, participating in multiple concerts and productions as a member of her middle school musical theater club and the Pinghe High School Choir. In her senior year of high school, she organized and presented her first solo recital.
Peicen is currently a sophomore at Hamilton College, where she majors in Music and studies voice in the studio of Dr. Kay Paulsen. She performs in studio classes, musicales, and student soloist concerts each semester. Her operatic repertoire includes roles such as Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, Papagena in Die Zauberflöte, and Despina in Così fan tutte. She is also a member of the Hamilton College Choir and the chamber ensemble Hamilton Voices, where she has served as Soprano Section Leader since January 2026. Recent performance highlights include major college events, choral concerts, and a choir tour of Scotland and Ireland. In 2025, Peicen won Second Place in her category at the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) competition held at Ithaca College. She also attended the 2026 NATS Eastern Region Conference and Competition, where she placed among the top five singers in her category and qualified for the National Student Auditions.
Peicen is excited to continue her journey in music and the performing arts. She looks forward to traveling to Germany for the first time, immersing herself in its rich artistic and cultural traditions, learning alongside wonderful mentors, and meeting talented new friends.

Sophia Gittings from Wellington, New Zealand just recently completed her first year studying Vocal Performance at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee, where she studies under the tutelage of Dr. Rebecca Folsom. Recently in her spring semester, she performed as Cendrillon in Pauline Viardot’s operetta Cendrillon, which was a highlight of her freshman year. For high school she attended Queen Margaret College, where she studied voice with Mark Stamper, and was an active member of her school’s premier choir. Sophia’s musical background is shaped strongly by New Zealand’s choral culture. She’s sung with both the New Zealand Secondary Students’ Choir and the New Zealand Youth Choir, performing nationally and internationally in China, England, Singapore, Denmark, and Wales. With the New Zealand Youth Choir, she took part in performances at the Llangollen Eisteddfod and the European Choir Games, where the ensemble received Top Awards, including the Pavarotti Trophy for Choir of the World. She’s been singing since the age of 6, and has been fostering her love for music, and dream to become an opera singer ever since.

Countdown to Berlin begins now! Join us as we spotlight our young artists each day!

Konstantina Gotouhidis is a 21-year-old soprano pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Applied Music (Classical Voice Performance) and Arts Leadership Certificate at the Eastman School of Music. An alumna of Santaniello Vocal Studios and Rising Stars Performing Arts, Konstantina is proud to be one of Joe Santaniello’s longtime students, a Company Pre-Professional alumna, and one of the first students to experience RSPA’s fully developed College Bound Program.

This summer, she joins Rising Stars Performing Arts’ Summer Arts Intensive Berlin as an Administrative Intern and Resident Assistant while also participating in the scenes program, including scenes from the Pirates of Penzance, in which she will be revamping her beloved role of Mabel that she performed with RSPA in 2022. In the fall, she will continue developing her arts administration experience through internships with Killer Queen Opera and Stratagem Artists.

As a performer, Konstantina recently appeared as Ida in Eastman’s production of Die Fledermaus and will perform the role of Adele this summer with Lyric Opera Studio Weimar. Her previous operatic experience includes performances in the choruses of Eastman’s productions of Dido and Aeneas and Ainadamar, as well as covering the roles of Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro and Adele in Die Fledermaus at Lyric Opera Studio Weimar. She also performed the role of Florindo in 24Opera.

Konstantina is passionate about combining artistic excellence with arts leadership and administration as she continues to build a multifaceted career in the performing arts.

In just 40 days, we take off for Summer Arts Intensive Berlin 2026 — and we’re already hearing excitement about next year.

For young artists looking for serious training, cultural immersion, and the chance to study abroad in one of Europe’s great artistic cities, this program is truly special.

Save the date for Summer 2027.

Open Enrollment Begins: 9/1/2026
Applications Due: 1/1/2027

Learn more at rspasai.com

So excited to finally announce our SAI Berlin 2026 Masterclass Series 🇩🇪✨

Daily masterclasses with incredible faculty, industry professionals, and guest artists — bridging technique, performance, career preparation, and the international theatre scene.

From audition work and Mozart to performance anxiety, musical theatre, physical theatre, and Germany’s theatre & singing industry — our students are training for the next level.

Train. Create. Connect. Perform.

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Rising Stars Performing Arts — Summer Arts Intensive Berlin is thrilled to announce our German Language Teacher and German Diction Teacher/Coach, Marcelo de Souza Felix, baritone.

“…His baritone is powerful and nuanced. His stage presence: irresistible.”
— Badische Zeitung

This is how Badische Zeitung describes the Brazilian baritone Marcelo de Souza Felix.

From 2019 to 2023, he was an ensemble member at Oper Dortmund. As a member of the International Opera Studio of Oper Köln, he was nominated as Young Singer of the Year by Welt am Sonntag.

Further guest engagements have taken him to Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Theater Freiburg, Philharmonie Essen, Anhaltisches Theater Dessau, Berliner Philharmonie, and Landestheater Linz.

Alongside his stage career, he has worked as a German language coach at the Berlin Opera Academy and as a Portuguese coach with Rundfunkchor Berlin.

A big welcome to Marcelo!

The warmest welcome to our newest SAI Berlin 2026 students! ✨🇩🇪
So grateful to everyone who could join us this morning for introductions. Seeing these faces together for the first time is so surreal— we are more excited than ever to collaborate, create, and grow together this summer!

Berlin, here we come. ✨🎭🎶

So exciting to watch this experience take shape—more pieces coming together every day for an incredible summer in Berlin. ❤️🇩🇪

During our second weekend of SAI Berlin, on Saturday, July 4th at 10:00am, we will be offering two private, two-hour educational tours at the Sachsenhausen Memorial for our students, staff, and any family members visiting who wish to join us. This guided visit is an important part of our program’s commitment to cultural exploration, education, and reflection.

Families of our Young Artists:
We are planning a possible informational Zoom answer any questions and to welcome you all as well to the RSPA extended family!

📅 March 6th | 7:00–8:00pm (ET)
or
📅 March 7th | 10:00–11:00am (ET)

Please check your email early next week for a short form so we can lock in the meeting time that works best for families.

We’re grateful to share these meaningful learning moments together.

ArtWithPurpose

✨ Meet the SAI Berlin 2026 Faculty ✨

We’re proud to introduce the artists and educators who make up Rising Stars Performing Arts SAI Berlin 2026 faculty. Each brings a deep respect for the craft, real-world professional experience, and a shared commitment to training young artists with rigor, curiosity, and care.

🎭 Faculty
Joe Santaniello • Joshua Conyers • Victor Jannett • Patrick McGill • Tony Bellomy • David Mariano • Ada Cacciatore • Erin O’Meally

📍 Berlin, Germany
🎶 Classical Voice & Musical Theatre Tracks

Applications for this year are now closed. Information for SAI Berlin 2027 will be released August 1st.

We’re also excited to share that we’ll be at this year’s Classical Singer Convention in Boston May 22-24th and offering a masterclass. Stop by, say hello, and learn more about our approach to training and international study.

Grateful for this team and the work we get to do together. More soon. 2026 SAI Young Artists see you Saturday morning for our zoom meet and greet at 10am eastern time (link to be emailed)!

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Thank you, Young Artists! ✨

Thank you all for submitting your Repertoire & Training Forms. We loved learning more deeply about who you are as young artists, where you are in your journey, and what you’re currently working toward. Hearing about your goals and process is such an important part of how we shape this experience together.

A special thank-you to the private teachers who shared feedback as well — we’re grateful for the open, collaborative relationship we have around growth, process, and continued development. After all, no one is ever fully evolved.

We’re very much looking forward to meeting you all for the first time!

📧 Zoom link will be sent Friday night.