Board of Directors
Meet IOC Board Members!
Kyrian Corona
Vice President
Aaron Ball
Board Member
in memoriam
Ken Simms
Treasurer
Jessica Berns-Garner
Board Member
Alexis Wesley
Secretary
Paul Yoshinaga
Board Member
Kyrian Corona
Communications professional with over 20 years experience in public relations, social media, urban development, and arts management.
She has worked with global brands including Walt Disney Pictures, Tournament of Roses, Replay Jeans, Playboy Enterprises, and The Roger Wagner Chorale.
The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Business Journal, Los Angeles Times, Forbes.com, AllBusiness.com, Burbank Leader, Glendale News-Press, Chronicle of Philanthropy, and Reader's Digest, and my photos have appeared in Life & Style Weekly, LA Business Journal, Burbank Leader, Glendale News-Press, Benaki Museum (Athens, Greece), NEON-BREAKING NEWS ATHENS (Athens, Greece).
Alexis Wesley
Versatile actor and mezzo-soprano Alexis Wesley is equally at home in opera, oratorio, musical theatre, stage plays and film.
She is also a writer and producer of both independent film and theatre. Locally, she has performed principal roles with The Definiens Project, Independent Opera Company and Pacific Opera Project.Favorite roles include Mrs. Lovett (Sweeney Todd), Charlotte (A Little Night Music), Prudie Cupp (Pump Boys & Dinettes), Madame Flora (The Medium), Spring Beauty (The Snow Maiden), Princess Anhilte (The Gipsy Princess), Gertrude (Roméo et Juliette) and Marcellina (Le Nozze di Figaro). Favorite oratorio solo work includes Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Handel’s Messiah, Kodály’s Missa Brevis, Buxtehude’s Jesu Meine Freude and Vivaldi’s Gloria.
She is also a soloist/section leader for Lutheran Church of The Master in Los Angeles. Originally from Cincinnati, she holds an M.M. in Voice from CSUN and is a graduate of the Stella Adler Conservatory of Acting in NYC. By day, she is a graphic designer.
Ken Simms
Baritone is a proud member of Los Angeles’ opera community.
A native of Los Angeles, he began his formal musical training as a youth with the California Boys Choir.
After a long break which included attendance at the University of Southern California and several private occupations in the field of Finance, he began studying with William Bohn in 1999 until his retirement in 2001.
He continued his vocal development with Richard Fredricks.
Presently, Mr. Simms works with Gail Gordon Dennis Parnell and Christopher Luthi.
Mr. Simms has performed the principal baritone roles in Verdi’s Luisa Miller, La traviata, Un ballo in maschera, Aida, and Otello, Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro and Cosi fan tutte, Puccini’s La boheme and Tosca and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Tsar’s Bride.
Aaron Ball (in memoriam)
​Hailed as "a master of declamation and interpretation... a wonderful voice with enumerable vocal shadings... and flexibility of expression," (Sharon Mabry, Journal of Singing; author, Exploring Twentieth Century Vocal Music), Aaron's career highlights include many premieres. Aaron has appeared in leading and principal roles with Long Beach Opera, Pacific Lyric Opera, Mission Opera, Independent Opera Company, Lyric Opera of Orange County, the Huntington Beach Symphony Orchestra, the Valley Chamber Ensembles, and as soloist at Carnegie Hall; his signature roles include Don Giovanni, Figaro (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Papageno, Escamillo, Falke, and Sweeney Todd. An accomplished audiobook narrator & producer, Aaron’s most recent projects have been published by Beacon Audiobooks and are currently available on Amazon and Audible. Aaron serves as principal and creative director for his company Command virFormance offering performing arts organizations solutions for digital delivery of performance content as well as production design for opera including projection design and implementation of digital sets, animations, and video production/direction. Widely sought after as a coach and consultant for the performing arts, Aaron serves on the board of directors for Independent Opera Company in Los Angeles, as an advisory board member for Mission Opera in Santa Clarita, CA, and as a Mission Opera company trustee member of Opera America. Aaron serves on voice faculty at NOVA Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale and holds his BM and MM in vocal performance from California State University, Northridge. Aaron currently resides in Deerfield Beach, FL where he maintains a private voice studio.
Jessica Berns-Garner
Dramatic Coloratura Soprano, is an up-and-coming performer in the Los Angeles area, known for her warm, rich timbre and powerful instrument. Her operatic roles have included Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Frasquita (Carmen), La Ciesca (Gianni Schicchi), Fortuna (L’incoronazione di Poppea), both First and Second Lady and also Papagena (Die Zauberflöte), First Witch (Macbeth), and multiple roles in Suor Angelica including Dolcina, Nursing Sister, and First Touriere. Additionally, she has covered the title role in Anna Bolena, Blanche (Dialogues des Carmelites), Gilda (Rigoletto), Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi), Juliette (Roméo et Juliette), die Königin der Nacht (Die Zauberflöte), Adele (Die Fledermaus) and Genovieffa (Suor Angelica). Operetta roles Ms. Berns-Garner has sung include Gianetta (The Gondoliers), Constance (The Sorcerer), Phoebe (The Yeoman of the Guard), Countess Stasi (The Gipsy Princess), and Sylviane (The Merry Widow). In addition to her operatic work, Ms. Berns-Garner is also an accomplished concert soloist, having performed as a soloist in the Rutter Requiem, The Messiah, Handel’s Foundling Hospital Anthem, The Creation, and the Vivaldi Gloria. Ms. Berns-Garner holds a Master of Music degree in Vocal Arts Performance from California State University, Northridge, which she received in 2013, and continues to study voice with Jessica Tivens-Schneiderman.
Paul Yoshinaga
Paul is a professional jazz bassist who has performed with Emmy Award winning composer Michael Licari and Grammy Nominee drummer Randy Drake. He has also collaborated with legendary pianist Mark Massey for the 15th Annual Gardena Wine Festival. Along with Mr. Drake, he has hosted the jam sessions at the Central Coast Jazz Guitar Festival since its inception.
Paul retired as an attorney for the County of Los Angeles after many decades and has pursued his career in music with the support of his lovely wife Carey and their four cats.