Tenor Willis Bote is a graduate student at the University of Michigan and received degrees in music and education at the universities of Western Ontario and Toronto. He recently sang Don Basilio in UM Opera Theatre production of Le Nozze di Figaro(Mozart). He was an apprentice artist with the Highlands Opera Studio in Haliburton, Ontario singing the role of Edoardo in La Cambiale di Matrimonio (Rossini). Willis’ other operatic roles include Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni (Mozart), Rolla in I Masnadieri (Verdi), Ernesto in Don Pasquale (Donizetti), Don Pelagio inLa Canterina(Haydn), Ferrando in Cosi fan Tutte (Mozart) and the title role in Albert Herring(Britten). Willis was also a visiting artist at the Mountain View Festival of Song in Calgary, Alberta where he presented recitals of song and chamber music during the weeklong festival. He was a prize winner of the “UM Friends of Opera” Vocal Competition and a finalist at the London Music Scholarship Foundation. He returns to University of Michigan Opera Theatre’s 2010 Winter production of Armide (Glück) in the role of Renaud.