Up Next!

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Up Next! 〰️

Prismatic Arts Ensemble is proud to announce our next production: Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette!

Staying true to our mission, we’ll be changing things up to give a Philly spin to the famous opera based on Shakespeare's classic.

You can expect a nightclub theme, immersive elements, an incredible and diverse cast of singing actors, and more!

LEARN MORE!

Prismatic Arts Ensemble is a Philadelphia-based musical trio, committed to shifting the way we encounter classical music through bold programming, immersive stagings, and fearless storytelling.

OUR TEAM

Felipe Palma (he/him)
pianist/conductor

Felipe is a Brooklyn-born keyboardist, conductor, composer, and conjurer. His research interests include Gregorian chant, Balinese gamelan, mid-century jazz, and occasional legerdemain (he is a master of none of these things). Musical travels have taken him around the world to places such as Cuba, China, and the Middle East, but he has grown quite fond of Philadelphia, where he gets to make music with all kinds of folks in all kinds of spaces (mostly indoors). As one of the founding members of Prismatic Arts Ensemble, he is grateful for colleagues who are committed to unusual and compelling storytelling through music, theater, film, and whatever medium that can be used for creating things of beauty.

Marcelle McGuirk (she/they)
soprano

Praised for her "vocal nuance and agility," (Classical Singer Competition) soprano Marcelle McGuirk brings her musical interpretations to the opera, concert, and recital stages. Her repertoire spans the works of the Bel Canto and Romantic eras, and she has a special love of 20th-21st century music.
Notable stage credits include: Della (The Gift of the Magi), Snow Maiden (The Snow Maiden), Rosina (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Yum Yum (The Mikado), Musetta (La Boheme), Karen/Young Maren (Maren of Vardø), and several roles in the two woman contemporary opera, Between: The Elevator. Her solo concert credits include: Mozart’s Requiem, Vivaldi’s Gloria, Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s Magnificat in D, Faure’s Requiem, and Orff's Carmina Burana. In addition, her love of song repertoire and experimental theatre lea her to co-found Prismatic Arts Ensemble.
When not singing, Ms. McGuirk works with racial justice groups in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, with a specific focus on Spanish speaking communities, as she is of Puerto Rican descent. In her free time, she enjoys watercolor painting, reading, and experimenting with international recipes and cocktail mixology. She lives in Philadelphia with her spouse and their very fluffy dog, Zoë.

Matthew Maisano (they/he)
baritone

Known for their “sonorous baritone” (Broad Street Review) and “commanding stage presence," (Miami Herald) Philadelphia native Matthew Maisano (they/them) enjoys performing a variety of vocal music from the classical, operatic, musical theater, and popular repertoires. They have sung various solo and ensemble roles both in the Greater Philadelphia area as well as across the country! In 2024, Matthew is thrilled to return to the Hogfish Festival to sing Escamilla (a drag queen toreador) in an exciting retelling of Bizet’s Carmen entitled, CarmXn!
Matthew has a vibrant and active 5+ year career as drag artist, Balena Canto (Philadelphia's seductive song-wielding siren with a voice snatched for the gods)! Balena has performed extensively throughout the Greater Philadelphia area and loves combining her two loves of drag and opera! To learn more about Balena, please click here!

Our Mission

Established in 2020, Prismatic is a collaborative project between three Philadelphia area musicians- Marcelle McGuirk, Matthew Maisano, and Felipe Palma. Their deep love of immersive theatre and of song recitals led them to wonder what would happen if those two art forms could be combined, with the goal of bringing new life to rare and underperformed pieces and to give modern audiences a different way to experience classical music.

Prismatic Arts Ensemble also aims to change the paradigm in the way that they select repertoire, cast additional musicians, and hire artistic affiliates. We are committed to featuring the work of underrepresented artists- Black, Indigenous, and other Artists of Color; womxn; artists in the LGBTQIA+ community- as well as to cultivating a creative environment where artists and audience members alike can be fully present as their authentic selves.

We look forward to bringing diverse, thought-provoking, and imaginative programming to our community and hope to see you at the theatre soon!