Acclaimed for his sensational interpretation as lead in the world premiere of Stickboy
with Vancouver Opera, Sunny Shams is known for his beautiful, rich, velvety and expressive tenor voice, and his dramatic connection with the characters whom he portrays on stage. Starting piano lessons when he was eight, Sunny found his love for jazz and embarked on a career in jazz piano. Pursuing a degree in music as a jazz pianist but also wanting to learn to sing like Frank Sinatra, he took voice lessons while in college. His teacher quickly persuaded him to study classical technique, opening the door to the world of opera. After experiencing singing in the chorus for a season with Pacific Opera Victoria, Sunny was convinced that it is the ultimate art form and set out on his operatic career which has seen him around the world working with teachers such as Peter Barcza, Heather Thompson, Virginia Zeani, Montserrat Caballé, Daniel Okulitch, and with his late mentor, tenor Melvyn Poll.

Sunny's career has given him the opportunity to perform in many concerts singing arias
and ensembles, symphonic works such as Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, Handel’s Messiah and Mendelssohn’s Elijah, as well as portraying many lead roles in operas including Carmen, La Bohème, Don Giovanni, Falstaff, Die Fledermaus, Die Lustige Witwe, and Rusalka, in Vancouver, Seattle, Montreal, Madrid and touring in the Czech Republic. Sunny recently debuted as the title role in Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann with Opera Opulenza in Vancouver, and reprised the role of the Prince in Rusalka in a concert production in Vancouver with acclaimed coach and pianist Luke Housner from the prestigious Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia

Roger Parton studied music composition under Dr. Theo Goldberg for seven years, then continued his studies at UBC and with Wolfgang Bottenberg at Concordia University in Montreal. He works regularly as a pianist in opera, having participated in over eighty productions to date; currently he is assisting in productions through both City Opera Vancouver and Opera Opulenza. He has also appeared as an extraordinary collaborative pianist in recitals around Vancouver, as well as an exceptional audition accompanist for singers and instrumentalists. Roger has doubled as an editor and proofreader, as well as a piano and theory teacher. In every spare moment, he analyzes the works of both the well known and the lesser known composers, and continuously works at his passion: composition.