Bemidji State University’s annual Opera Night Gala not only provided an exquisite showcase for the vocal talent in the university’s School of Music, but also highlighted the opportunities for all students — regardless of their major area of study — to participate in its ensembles.

This year’s gala, which featured more than two dozen individual and chorus performances spread across four acts, included a broad range of repertoire covering modern Disney-soundtrack highlights, Broadway staples and 18th Century operatic standards. The cocktail wear-optional evening also featured a catered dinner for this year’s nearly 190 guests.

Dr. Cory Renbarger, professor of music and director of Bemidji Opera Theatre program — pictured above performing “L’onore! Ladri!” from Verdi’s “Falstaff” — says the event serves primarily as a spotlight for BSU’s students.

“This is a grand event,” Renbarger said. “It’s important for us to showcase our tradition of vocal music excellence at Bemidji State University, and to highlight the culture of arts that provides pride and involvement to our alumni and community.

“This year’s Gala was at a particularly excellent performance level for our students,” he said. “It showcased tremendous growth. I’m proud of the education these students have received at BSU and the professional standard that they’re striving to achieve.”

In total, BSU’s 2026 Opera Night gala featured solo and ensemble opportunities for around 40 performers. While the majority of student performers were either vocal performance or music education majors, non-music majors featured prominently in the program.

Rachel Fealy (left), a junior from Eagle Bend, Minnesota, double-majoring in criminal justice and psychology, was one of three performers for “Matchmaker” from the 1964 musical “Fiddler on the Roof.” She was joined by Kaitlyn Blom (center), a sophomore from Clarissa, and Brooke Kemp (right), a freshman from Bemidji. Both Blom and Kemp are music education majors.

Merideth Klingbeil (right), a graduating English major from Wells, Minnesota, performed “Every Day a Little Death” by Stephen Sondheim with fellow senior Bella Fontana (left), a vocal performance major from Bemidji. The duo reprised the piece from their performance during BSU’s October 2025 production of Sondheim’s 1973 musical, “A Little Night Music.”

In addition to providing opportunities for non-music majors, students at Northwest Technical College may also participate in BSU’s music ensembles. Indigo Shew, a first-year cosmetology student, performed “Flowers” from the 2006 musical “Hadestown.”

BSU faculty singers included Renbarger, Dr. Jennifer Olson, associate professor of music, and Eric Carlson, associate professor of technology, art & design. This year’s guest artist was Dr. Nathan Herfindahl, an operatic baritone and director of choirs at Brainerd High School. Herfindahl has performed with The Metropolitan Opera, The Washington National Opera, Opera de Monte Carlo, the Martha Graham Dance Company, Minnesota Concert Opera and The National Symphony Orchestra, among others.

Renbarger said that the success of this year’s Opera Night Gala reinforced the value of the School of Music’s cross-disciplinary approach to instruction and to the importance of allowing students to work side-by-side with professionals in their fields for events of this scale.

“Singers and instrumentalists from our student body and our faculty — as well as professionals from both inside and outside Bemidji — joined us on stage and with technical and artistic preparation,” he said. “We want to increase this reach and continue bringing in professional talent for this event and give our students a chance to perform on the same stage with other superb singers and performers.”

History of Opera Night

BSU’s Opera Night dates back to February 1977, when the brainchild of professor emeritus Dr. Fulton Gallagher was staged at The Tiffany Restaurant in Minneapolis’s Radisson South Hotel. That performance, which Minneapolis Star reviewer Don Morrison said spotlighted the “considerable skill” of BSU singers and faculty, became an annual affair that continued until 2001. After a two-year break, it returned for five performances between 2004–2008 before going on hiatus. The tradition was resurrected in the fall of 2022 as an annual event under the guidance of Dr. Cory Renbarger, professor of music.

During Gallagher’s tenure, Opera Night held Minnesota performances in the Twin Cities, Grand Rapids and Chisholm in addition to home shows in Bemidji. In 1987, BSU brought Opera Night to Canada with a performance at the Rotary International in Winnipeg, and performers took the show to Florida in 1990 and 1992.

Opera Night’s second era, five shows between 2004–2008, saw the productions serve as a fundraiser for a Bemidji Elks Club music scholarship.

Annual Opera Night Galas returned in the fall of 2022 under Renbarger’s direction. After holding the first two annual events on campus in the Beaux Arts Ballroom, Opera Night moved to Bemidji’s Sanford Center in 2025. Eight student performers who participated in the Fall 2022 Opera Night Gala as freshmen also participated in the Spring 2026 event as seniors.

Between 2007 and 2018, Gallagher began directing an independent annual Italian Opera Night in Bemidji, first at Bemidji’s Ruttger’s Birchmont Lodge and, later, at the Hampton Inn & Suites. In total, Gallagher managed 12 of these events with musical directors including himself, Renbarger and BSU alumnus Matt Goinz. Renbarger served as artistic director between 2016–2018 before bringing the production back to the School of Music as a university-produced event.

Learn more about the Bemidji State University School of Music and its vocal music programs and ensembles.