Next Stop: Vienna!

Raising Support for Intensive Study, Opera Performance, and European Auditions

This summer, soprano Michelle Bawden and collaborative pianist Shan Jing are setting off on a once-in-a-lifetime journey across Europe to take our next big steps as emerging classical musicians. Together we need your help to make it possible.

The Opportunity

We’ve been invited to take part in two incredible opportunities:

Together, we will attend the Schubert Institute in Baden bei Wien, Austria — a prestigious five-week intensive program dedicated to the art of Lied performance.

Michelle will then continue on to the Vienna Opera Festival, where she will make her European opera debut as Fiordiligi in Mozart’s Così fan tutte — in a fully staged production with orchestra.

Auditions across Europe in September will follow, giving Michelle a chance to take her first steps in the international opera scene.

This journey represents years of training, preparation, and dreaming. It’s a crucial step in our artistic development — and a major leap towards building professional careers in Europe.

About us

Michelle Bawden, soprano, holds a Master of Music in Voice and Opera from McGill University’s Schulich School of Music, where she studied with Aline Kutan, and a Bachelor of Music from the University of Ottawa under Christiane Riel. A finalist in the 2023 Wirth Vocal Prize and Canadian Music Competition and the 2024 Prix d’Europe, Michelle has performed roles including Die Königin der Nacht (Die Zauberflöte, guest artist at Université de Montréal), Die Mutter (Hänsel und Gretel, Opera McGill), and Miss Jessel (The Turn of the Screw, University of Ottawa).

As a soloist, she has appeared in Ein deutsches Requiem, Messiah, and Mozart’s Requiem with the Cantabile Chorale, and recently appeared at Festival Classica 2024 performing Mozart arias with the Arion Baroque Orchestra.

Le Devoir praised her as a soprano who “sings the Queen of the Night as easily as you and I brush our teeth.”

For more information, visit: Michelle Bawden

Shan Jing is a collaborative pianist currently based in Montreal, after completing her Master of Music in Collaborative piano at McGill University’s Schulich School of Music under the guidance of Kyoko Hashimoto. Originally from China, she is a sought-after collaborator with a special focus on art song. Shan was a participant in the Talent Music Summer Courses & Opera Festival in Brescia, Italy in 2024, further enhancing her international experience. Shan is highly regarded for her dedication to supporting emerging singers and bringing repertoire to life with nuanced accompaniment.

Why We Need Support

Opportunities like these are exciting — but they also come with significant costs. Over three months, we are covering:

Tuition and program fees

Housing and daily living expenses

Flights to and from Europe

Travel between cities for rehearsals and auditions

We’re doing everything we can to manage the expenses ourselves, but we’re also reaching out to our wider community for support as we take this leap.

Join Us for a Special Concert

Hamilton, Ontario

June 24, 2025 at 7:00 PM (EST)

️️ MacNab Street Presbyterian Church

(116 MacNab St S, Hamilton, ON L8P 3C3)

You can also see more information about the event here: https://www.facebook.com/share/15LgrUmJTv/

We’re incredibly grateful to the community at MacNab Street Presbyterian Church for welcoming us into their beautiful space for this concert — their generosity helps make this evening possible.

We’ll be performing a heartfelt evening of art songs and opera arias — including works from our summer programs. We’d love to see you there!

Can’t attend in person? The concert will be live-streamed, so you can still join us from afar. The link to the live stream can be found here: Livestream

And if you can't make it but would still like to support our journey, your donation here on GoFundMe means the world to us — thank you!

With heartfelt thanks,

Michelle & Shan