Baritone JACOB STAFFORD HANES is a graduate of DePaul University where he earned his MM in Vocal Performance. He is also an alumnus of the prestigious Castleton Festival Vocal Immersion Program, working under Paul Groves and Michelle DeYoung. He is currently a Resident Artist at the Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA). In 2023-24, he was featured in the roles of Frank Maurrant in Weill’s Street Scene, Prophet/King in Muhly’s Dark Sisters with DePaul Opera Theatre, and W.P. Inman in Higdon’s Cold Mountain at the Seagle Festival, where he also workshopped Evan Mack and Evan Campbell’s monodrama for baritone American Sputnik, singing the role of Van Cliburn. At AVA, Hanes performed as Valentin in Faust and Guglielmo in Così fan tutte. This season, he is making his Princeton Festival debut as Sciarrone in Tosca.