News and Updates

Sean Stanton is a singer, educator, conductor, and clinician who serves as Director of Vocal Studies at Chapman University.

Stanton has appeared with leading American opera companies, including Central City Opera, Opera San Antonio, Opera Southwest, Opera North, Opera on the James, and Opera Steamboat. Performance highlights include a Los Angeles NATS Chapter–sponsored recital of Schubert’s Winterreise, J. S. Bach’s Ich habe genug (BWV 82) with the St. Paul’s Chamber Orchestra in Philadelphia, and a featured appearance in An Evening with Willa Cather as part of the Library Foundation of Los Angeles’ ALOUD series. He was also a 2025 and 2026 Artist with Berkshire Choral International.

Stanton is a member of the LA Opera Chorus and Los Angeles Master Chorale and has performed extensively with the Lyric Opera of Chicago Chorus, Grant Park Chorus, and Chicago Symphony Chorus, where he served as bass section leader under Duain Wolfe. His choral career has included performances under conductors Riccardo Muti, James Levine, Charles Dutoit, Jaap van Zweden, James Conlon, and Nicholas McGegan, as well as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Grammy Award–winning recording of Shostakovich’s Babi Yar. His work as a conductor has included high school and collegiate ensembles, as well as choirs for ACDA, ILMEA, and Varsity Vocals. He also serves as Assistant Conductor at Saint Michael & All Angels Episcopal Church in Newport Beach.

Stanton has received numerous awards and honors for his work as a singer, including the Lola Fletcher Award from the American Opera Society and recognition from James Toland Vocal Arts, the New York Lyric Opera Theatre, Classical Singer, the Bel Canto Foundation, and the Luminarts Cultural Foundation. His competitive achievements include first-place honors in the Chicago, Illinois, and Central Region NATS competitions, as well as the Los Angeles NATS Young Artist Award.

Prior to joining Chapman, Stanton taught voice at the University of Southern California, Pepperdine University, and Scripps College, working with students across classical, CCM, and AMT styles. He also served as a Teaching Artist Fellow with the Classical Music Institute and Opera San Antonio. Stanton currently serves on the Board of the Los Angeles Chapter of NATS and has been recognized with the 2026 NATS Emerging Leader Award, the 2026 Clifton Ware Group-Voice Pedagogy Award, and a 2025 Los Angeles NATS Professional Development Grant.

Stanton completed his doctoral studies at the University of Southern California, with work spanning vocal arts, vocology, arts leadership, and choral conducting. His culminating research in vocology and arts leadership, Foundations of Sustainable Vocal Performance: A Skills-Based Approach to Practice, Performance, and Well-Being, explores how motor learning, deliberate practice, attention, motivation, rest, and physical and psychological well-being can be integrated into collegiate vocal training. His research advocates for a student-centered approach that equips developing singers to practice effectively, perform sustainably, and take greater ownership of their artistic development.

His work in performer wellness extends into an ongoing interdisciplinary collaboration with Chapman University faculty member Pamela Mikkelsen, PT, DPT, OCS. Together, they have presented at the Performing Arts Medicine Association (PAMA) International conferences, including Empowered Performance From the Core (2025) and Cultivating Vocal Tract Resonance (2026).

Stanton is also a certified Informatics Rehabilitation QiGong Healer through the Master Zhao Institute and holds an RYT-200 yoga teacher certification. He has led interactive workshops on Qi Gong and mind-body practices for singers at the University of Southern California, University of New Mexico, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, and regional NATS chapters.

Looking for a simple way to help make Sunday worship welcoming for everyone? St Michael & All Angels’ is looking for more parishioners to serve as ushers—a rewarding ministry of hospitality, welcome, and service.

Usher Training with Fr. Shane will be offered Sunday, August 30, shortly after the service. No special experience is needed—just a friendly smile and a willingness to help! All are welcome.

Would you like to take a more active role in our Sunday worship? St Michael & All Angels’ is looking for more parishioners to serve as Readers and Chalice Bearers—a meaningful ministry of worship, welcome, and service.

Training with Fr. Shane will be offered Sunday, September 13, shortly after the service. No special experience is needed, and everyone is welcome! Come learn more about this important ministry and discover how you can help make our worship a welcoming experience for all.

Mark your calendar for Sunday, August 9 at 4:00 p.m. and enjoy an inspiring afternoon of sacred choral music. Assistant Choirmaster Matthew Cook will conduct a special concert featuring motets by Felix Mendelssohn and Hubert Parry, performed by an outstanding choir of singers from across Southern California.

Whether you’re a devoted choral music lover or simply looking for a peaceful and uplifting musical experience, this concert offers a beautiful opportunity to pause, listen, and be refreshed.

📅 Sunday, August 9
🕓 4:00 p.m.
📍 St Michael & All Angels’ Episcopal Church, Corona del Mar
🎟️ Free admission — all are warmly welcome!

 .

As part of our Adult Christian Education program here at Saint Michael’s, we will gather in the St. Michael’s Davis Library on Friday, June 19, at 4:00 pm Pacific to view the livestream from Washington National Cathedral.

Guests are warmly invited, though not required, to bring a potluck hors d’oeuvre to share as we enjoy fellowship and conversation following the event.

The Rev. Raphael G. Warnock, pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church and U.S. Senator from Georgia, returns to Washington National Cathedral for a powerful conversation on faith, democracy, and moral imagination. Together with Canon Theologian Kelly Brown Douglas and Canon Missioner Leonard L. Hamlin, they explore the urgent themes of Senator Warnock’s new book, The Crooked Places Made Straight, a prophetic call to reach for the highest and noblest aspects of our national character.

Speakers will examine six crises at the center of American life: voting rights and voter suppression, gun violence, mass incarceration, the persistence of poverty, dark money in politics and the climate emergency.

Wear your brightest red and celebrate the joy of Pentecost with us on Sunday, May 24! Following the 9:30 a.m. worship service, everyone is invited to our Fruit of the Spirit Strawberry Festival & Brunch—a festive morning of good food, fellowship, and community.

This is a wonderful opportunity to meet our clergy and lay leaders, make new friends, and enjoy the sweetness of the season together. Come hungry, come joyful, and come ready for strawberries!

Why Does the World Exist? A New Conversation Starts at Men’s Fellowship

Big questions. Good conversation. Strong coffee. The Men’s Fellowship Group at St. Michael’s gathers every Thursday at 8:30 a.m. for fellowship and thoughtful discussion—no prior Bible knowledge required, just an open mind and a willingness to explore faith and life together.

A new book is beginning: “Why Does the World Exist?: An Existential Detective Story” by Jim Holt — a fascinating exploration of one of life’s biggest questions: why is there something rather than nothing? With curiosity, humor, and insight, Holt investigates the mystery of existence by engaging scientists, philosophers, and thinkers from around the world.

Come as you are, bring your questions, and discover where the conversation leads.