Performance:
June 12, 2026
8:00PM
Society Hill Dance Academy
1919 E. Passyunk Ave
Philadelphia, PA 19148
ePOP and Wear Yellow Proudly join forces to present a Love Notes Special Edition: Memoirs of a Gaysian.
ePOP's second offering at the Philly Pride Arts Festival, this cabaret explores the unique perspectives of Queer-Asian experiences. Highlighting Queer and Asian composers and librettists, it features songs and arias from the traditional classical canon alongside works by living composers.
Being Asian and being Queer are often compartmentalized - traditional family values and limited accessibility to same-sex marriages in Asian countries result in many LGBTQIA+ people being silenced. Join us for an evening where Queer-Asian artists unite these two worlds, sharing their unique stories and perspectives with you.
Memoirs of a Gaysian stars tenor Spencer Britten, countertenor Chuanyuan Liu, and pianist Jeremy Chan, whose work has been heard on stages including The Philadelphia Orchestra, Carnegie Hall, Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Sydney Opera House, Alice Tully Hall, Wigmore Hall, and venues throughout Europe.
About Love Notes, and why this Special Edition:
During the first winter of the COVID pandemic, we introduced Love Notes, a virtual cabaret featuring world-class opera artists exploring themes of love. The following year, Love Notes 2.0: Sour Notes turned to love’s messier side, expanding into both virtual and in-person formats while spotlighting Philly-based artists.
We returned with Love Notes 3: Notes to Self, a reflection on growth, struggle, and self-discovery—with humor along the way. Last year’s Love Notes 4 Philly celebrated the love of community, connecting audiences with local mutual aid groups and the work needed to uplift them—love made manifest.
When we were invited to attend Wear Yellow Proudly’s Memoirs of a Gaysian, we immediately knew it was a show we wanted to share. We were deeply moved by its stories, music, and extraordinary talent. As we began discussing a Pride 2026 collaboration, it became clear this piece belonged in the Love Notes series.
We’re thrilled to present this Special Edition, and hope you leave feeling as moved, inspired, and uplifted as we did.
On the evening of Friday, June 12, we return to Society Hill Dance Academy to present Love Notes Special Edition: Memoirs of a Gaysian. ePOP & WYP are teaming up with our sponsor, Top Dog Cocktails to offer two complimentary cocktails to each guest over 21 years of age.
TICKETS FOR THE SHOW
Location
Society Hill Dance Academy
1919 E. Passyunk Ave
Philadelphia, PA 19148
Showtime for the Live Performance
Friday, June 12, 2026
8:00 PM (doors open at 7:30 PM)
General Admission- $38 includes two complimentary cocktails provided by Top Dog Cocktails. Seating for general admission tickets is on a first-come, first-served basis.
VIP Ticket- $50 includes reserved seating near the stage and two complimentary cocktails provided by Top Dog Cocktails.
*This show includes some adult themes and language. For this reason, this show is most appropriate for ages 14+. Parental discretion is advised.
**Guests must be at least 21 years of age and not visibly inebriated to receive complimentary cocktails at the live shows. Ticket purchase not required for cocktails.
Artist Biographies
Spencer Britten, tenor
Spencer Britten is a Chinese-Canadian artist “oozing with mirth and personality” (Opera Canada.) His accomplishments in Opera & Musical Theatre have led him to work internationally with companies including Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Glyndebourne Festival, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Hungarian State Opera, Royal Opera Versailles, Bregenzer Festspiele, and The Glimmerglass Festival. Spencer has sung with the likes of conductors Sir Simon Rattle, Antonio Pappano, and Simone Young. Concert work has been notably punctuated by Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Orchestre Metropolitain’s Messiah (2023,) streamed on Stage+ (Deutsche Grammophon) and again with a star studded cast and The Philadelphia Orchestra (2024).
The 2025-2026 season brings Spencer back to Montreal for performances of Carmina Burana & Turandot with Orchestre Philharmonique & Choeur des Mélomanes, to Boston for his house and role debute of Tonio in La fille du régiment with Boston Lyric Opera, and to Hungary to reprise Lindoro in L’Italiana in Algeri with the Hungarian State Opera.
Acclaimed performances include Lindoro in L’Italiana in Algeri (Bregenzer Festspiele) and Janek in Claus Guth’s new production of The Makropulos Case (Staatsoper Unter den Linden) where he gave “great emotional spectrum” (Vorarlberg Nachrichten) and “[won] the sympathy of the audience” (Die Welt.)
Spencer also appeared in the critically acclaimed Messiah/Complex (Against the Grain Theatre,) representing the queer and Asian communities in this all-Canadian take on Handel’s Messiah. The digital production, including Spencer's "joyful Comfort Ye" (New York Times/The Globe & Mail) and "deliciously sly Ev’ry valley" (Opera Going Toronto) was Juno Nominated and won the Noteworthy Category of Opera America's Awards for Digital Excellence.
Spencer was recently a finalist in the Edmonton Opera Rumbold Vocal Prize (3rd Prize,) as well as the Opera Crown Tbilisi International Voice Competition. He was a semi-finalist in the Paris Opera Competition and a final rounds contestant at Neue Stimmen.
Jeremy Chan, pianist
JEREMY CHAN is a freelance pianist and vocal coach based in New York City and Australia. A versatile musician with a flair for improvisation, he loves collaborating with artists who sing, play, and dance. His “superb” playing has been praised for its “shimmer, mystery, and ease” (Classical Singer Magazine), and for “summoning about as much color as can possibly be coaxed out” (New York Classical Review).
Jeremy has served on the artistic staff at Juilliard, Manhattan School of Music (MSM), Chautauqua Opera Conservatory, and is on the roster of the Brooklyn Art Song Society and the Isadora Duncan Dance Foundation. From 2021-26, he served as Director of Music at Advent Lutheran Church.
Jeremy’s 2025-26 season includes engagements with Dior, The Australian Ballet, the Denyce Graves Foundation, Annapolis Opera, New York University; performances at Carnegie Hall, Sydney Opera House, Regent Theatre (Melbourne), Roulette (Brooklyn); and productions of Le Nozze di Figaro (Chautauqua) and Die sieben Todsünden (MSM). A passionate advocate for diversity in the arts, Jeremy currently serves as Vice President of the Asian Opera Alliance, and Advocacy Engagement Officer for Wear Yellow Proudly. His writing on Asian representation in opera has been published in the Opera America magazine.
Previous engagements include West Side Story with Opera Australia, the 2017 China tour of Bright Sheng's Dream of the Red Chamber, over 50 opera productions around the United States, including Britten's A Midsummer Night’s Dream (MSM and Juilliard) and Ariadne auf Naxos (Lakes Area Music Festival).
Especially adept in contemporary opera, Jeremy has served as music director for Juilliard Opera Lab, American Opera Projects, and Justine Chen’s Seven Sisters workshop.
A highly sought after audition pianist for opera companies, competitions, conductors, managers, and opera singers, Jeremy has served as official pianist for the distinguished Naumburg 2020-21 International Vocal Competition, and the New York City auditions for Aspen Opera Center, Wolf Trap Opera, inter alia.
He has played at National Sawdust, Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York University, Columbia University, London’s Wigmore Hall, Trinity Church Wall St, Merkin Hall, and other major venues around the globe, including in Boston, Washington, D.C., Toronto, Vancouver, Salzburg, Sydney, Melbourne, Venice, Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan and Changsha.
After over six years of performing together as a duo, during the pandemic, Jeremy established the Vertex Duo with mezzo-soprano Kristin Gornstein and released their first studio collaboration "Still", available on all streaming platforms. The duo recorded their second album, “joy, too”, of all-contemporary music at Sun Hill Studio in Yellow Barn, Vermont with multiple Grammy award winning producer Judith Sherman, released August 2024. Jeremy also appears on the NAXOS label.
As a chamber musician, Jeremy has performed with the American String Quartet and the Hector del Curto Quintet. Jeremy sat on the selection committee for the Steinway & Sons 2019 Junior Piano Competition and on the peer review committee for the 2020 and 2024 Arts Fund with the American Australian Association.
In high demand as a choral accompanist, Jeremy is Principal Pianist with Choirs of America for their NYC concerts at Stern Auditorium, Carnegie Hall and David Geffen Hall, and collaborates regularly with Cantori New York, Every Voice Choirs, NY Choral Society, Manhattan Concert Productions, playing for conductors including Z. Randall Stroope, Dillo Rolworth, Karen Kennedy, Jason Max Ferdinand, Anton Armstrong, André Thomas, Coty Raven Morris, Rene Clausen, Josh Habermann, Doreen Rao, Mark Shapiro, and Sandra Snow. Jeremy served as the official accompanist for the Central City Chorus from 2022-2025.
Jeremy received degrees from Queens College, Manhattan School of Music, and fellowships from Juilliard, Tanglewood, Georg Solti Accademia, Aspen Music Festival, Toronto Summer Music Festival, and the Vancouver International Song Institute.
Chuanyuan Liu, countertenor
Praised for his "iridescent countertenor" (The New York Times), "liquid elegance" (Seen and Heard International), and "intense stage presence" (Classical Voice North America), Chuanyuan Liu (刘川源) is a rising force among the new generation of countertenors. His deep passion for storytelling inspires him to connect with audiences through empathy, authenticity, and creativity.
In the 2025-26 season, Chuanyuan returns to White Snake Projects as Raven in the world premiere of White Raven, Black Dove, and makes his house and role debut as Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus at Cedar Rapids Opera. In concerts, he joins The Virginia Consort and Handel Choir of Baltimore as the countertenor soloist in Bernstein's Chichester Psalms, and returns to Wear Yellow Proudly for another installment of Memoirs of a Gaysian, alongside tenor Spencer Britten.
In the 24-25 season, Chuanyuan appears as the alto soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the Kansas City Symphony and debuts the role of Tolomeo in Giulio Cesare at Hudson Hall. Chuanyuan reprises the roles of Priest/Medium in Christopher Cerrone and Stephanie Fleischmann’s In a Grove at the Prototype Festival in its New York premiere and at Opera Saratoga as a Festival Artist, where he also takes on the role of Madame de Quinper-Karadec in La Vie Parisienne. Other season highlights include making his Alice Tully Hall debut with American Modern Opera Company in Doug Balliett's Rome Is Falling, covering the role of Painter in The Seasons at Boston Lyric Opera, guest soloist appearances for the Oratorio Society of Virginia’s Christmas at the Paramount. As an apprentice artist with Chautauqua Opera Company, he performs Elise Traynor in Lincoln in the Bardo (orchestral workshop) by Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek, and Max in Sitcom (harpsichord workshop) by Luke Styles and Alan McKendrick.