Voice student Sid Chand is adjusting to a vastly different winter in 2026, having been welcomed to the The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center artist training program at Lyric Opera of Chicago before he technically finishes his time at SFCM.

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Sid Chand in 'Proving Up.'

Chand, a tenor who studies with César Ulloa, has been a fixture of SFCM's stages, including as the titular role in Candide in March 2025, a production helmed by Askonas Holt artist Frederic Wake-Walker that San Francisco Opera General Director Matthew Shilvock called "an absolute triumph."

"Over the past three years, Sid has been a central artistic presence in our opera program, taking on multiple principal roles and continually raising the level of his work," Chair of SFCM's Opera and Musical Theatre and Opera Studies programs (and Director of Opera and Musical Theatre) Heather Mathews says. "He brings a unique perspective and curiosity to everything he does. What stands out most is his openness to growth; he approaches each production with focus, generosity, and a genuine desire to serve the music and storytelling. Chicago Lyric is gaining a thoughtful, committed young artist, and I couldn't be prouder."

Chand came to study with Ulloa at SFCM via Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, who'd previously invited Ulloa to teach at the New Zealand Opera School. "Over the past few years, Sid has been a true pleasure to work with," Ulloa says. "He is not just blessed with a beautiful voice, but with an innate musicality that is rare to find; an excellent musician with a compelling presence on stage. I am thrilled to see him take this important next step in his musical journey and have every confidence that he will find great success as a member of the prestigious Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago."

Chand started taking vocal lessons in high school at the behest of his mother and grew up in New Zealand's strong choral culture. "There's no music really in my family," he remembers. "I played Indian classical instruments when I was really young, but not enough to say that I played them; I wasn't serious. I remember I loved listening to Frank Sinatra, and I listened to a lot of rap. I just didn't really have any knowledge of classical music. The world works in funny ways, I think. Your mum randomly tells you to do this one thing, and then the snowball just keeps going, and here I am."

Craig Terry at SFCM.

César Ulloa.

When the GRAMMY-winning Music Director of The Ryan Center at Lyric Opera, Craig Terry, brought his popular Beyond the Aria series to SFCM in October, he and SFCM Voice Executive Chair Richard Cox talked about an opening for a tenor, and Cox scheduled time for Chand to sing for Terry. "I very much enjoyed our coaching, asked Sid to work on a few specific things for our second session, and was impressed in every way," Terry says. "We flew him to Chicago in November to sing on our stage in front of our entire Artistic team, and after his audition, invited him on the spot! I'm incredibly grateful to the entire SFCM team for the introduction to Sid and to so many other gifted artists, and look forward to returning there again soon!"

During his coaching with Terry, Chand recalls, "We'd stop every measure for breath instructions or for little other bits of guidance. And in my head, I thought I was just showing how'green' I am. I was thinking, 'He doesn't like my voice, I'm not doing anything right, it's not gonna work.' I didn't even expect anything." When Terry explained that he wanted Chand to come audition, Chand recalls, "I was like, 'Dude, what?! That is not what I was expecting.' It was just whiplash."

"Honestly," Chand continues, "I felt like I was very average at a lot of stuff like when I was a kid. I was okay at school, and I played a lot of sports, but I was also just okay at them. But I took my first singing lesson and my teacher said, 'You have such potential, you're really good.' And that was the first time somebody had said to me, 'You're really good at this thing."

Back in the present day, Chand recalls, "Very early on I told Cesar, 'I appreciate you so much, and I don't want you to lie to me or anything. I won't feel bad, but I'm going to ask you completely straight: I want to reach the highest possible level with this. Is that possible for me?'"

"That's something I really appreciate about Cesar," Chand says. "He has this very natural mentorship ability. He doesn't just stop at singing. He really cares to guide you through a career and he'll be honest as to where he thinks your career will go and what you should aim for. He never says anything in a way that is demeaning to your hopes or goals but he's very realistic. As, I think, you should be: This is such a difficult profession, and it's a really hard balance to not break people's hearts."

Chand might have to worry about a new winter coat in Chicago, but it'll come with some well-deserved confidence that this singing is his thing, and he's quite good at it.

Learn more about studying Voice or Opera and Musical Theatre at SFCM.