Introducing wonderful singers of IOC Gala Spring 2025!

Patrick Blackwell

Patrick Blackwell is a Grammy Award winning Artist and has performed with Los Angeles Opera for Six Seasons. A Graduate of the Juilliard School, he make Los Angeles his home base. He performed the Role of Don Fernando In Beethoven’s Fidelio with Maestro Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic last Spring with a following European Tour of Barcelona, Paris and London. Mr. Blackwell is always excited to perform with Independent Opera.

Theresa Patten-Koeckert

A native of Los Angeles, Theresa Patten-Koeckert has sung professionally as a soloist in Germany, Italy, and the Czech Republic. She has performed in over 20 opera productions as a member of the Bavarian State Opera chorus in Munich. Her choral experience includes the Backakademie's Gaechinger Kantorei (Stuttgart), the Bavarian Radio Choir (Munich), the Oregon Bach Festival (Eugene), and the Los Angeles Master Chorale. She currently divides her time as a professional singer and business development manager in the entertainment industry.

Timothy Simon

Timothy Simon is a captivating opera singer whose voice resonates with power, nuance, and emotion. He is a Tenor based in Los Angeles but was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona. He has honed his craft through years of dedicated training and performance, immersing himself in the richness of operatic tradition. His operatic journey has included performances with esteemed programs such as Arizona Opera, the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, and Lawrence Opera Theatre, as well as in school productions at the University of Arizona and California State University, Northridge.

Catherine Antonia Samartin

Cuban-American soprano, Catherine Antonia Samartin, has been described as a passionate, and expressive performer with her dance, modeling, and stage/film-acting background adding a higher level of artistry and depth to each performance.

Most recently, she sang the role of Sally in Pacific Opera Project’s new libretto of Die Fledermaus, The Bat’s Revenge, and the principal role of Murderess-Charlotte Corday in the West Coast Premiere of Girondines. Other operatic roles consist of Juliette in Romeo et Juliette, Musetta in La Boheme, Gilda in Rigoletto, Countess Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro, and Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, performed in Berlin and most recently in Los Angeles. Alongside her operatic roles, she has had opportunity to perform major works including Stabat Matter Op. 58 - Dvorak, Symphony No. 2 Op. 14 - Shostakovich, and appeared as the Primary Soprano Soloist in Requiem D Minor K. 626 - Mozart, Magnificat in D Major BWV 243 - Bach, and Messiah HWV 56 - Handel.

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