Featured Artists

JESSE BLUMBERG

baritone

enjoys a busy schedule of opera, concerts, and recitals, performing repertoire from the Renaissance and Baroque to the 20th and 21st centuries. His performances have included the world premiere of The Grapes of Wrath at Minnesota Opera, Bernstein’s MASS at London’s Royal Festival Hall, various productions with Boston Early Music Festival, and featured roles with Atlanta Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Opera Atelier, and Boston Lyric Opera. Jesse has made concert appearances with American Bach Soloists, Boston Baroque, Apollo’s Fire, Oratorio Society of New York, Montréal Baroque Festival, Arion Baroque, Early Music Vancouver, Pacific MusicWorks, and on Lincoln Center’s American Songbook series. His recital highlights include appearances with the Marilyn Horne Foundation and New York Festival of Song, and performances of Die schöne Müllerin and Winterreise with pianist Martin Katz. Jesse has given the world premieres of Ricky Ian Gordon’s Green Sneakers, Lisa Bielawa’s The Lay of the Love and Death, Conrad Cummings’ Positions 1956, and Tom Cipullo’s Excelsior, and works closely with several other renowned composers as a member of the Mirror Visions Ensemble.

In 2018 Jesse returns to American Bach Soloists, Opera Atelier, TENET, New York Festival of Song, Berkshire Choral Festival and Oratorio Society of New York, debuts with Portland Baroque Orchestra, Voices of Music, and The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. He also collaborates with the Diderot String Quartet for concerts in New Hampshire, New York and Washington, D.C., and performs recitals in Iowa, Minnesota, Connecticut, and Paris.

Jesse has been featured on nearly twenty commercial recordings, including the 2015 Grammy-winning Charpentier Chamber Operas with Boston Early Music Festival. His recent releases include Bach cantatas with Montréal Baroque, Winterreise with pianist Martin Katz, Rosenmüller cantatas with ACRONYM, and St. John Passion with Apollo’s Fire. He has been recognized in several competitions, and was awarded Third Prize at the 2008 International Robert Schumann Competition in Zwickau, becoming its first American prizewinner in over thirty years. Jesse received a Master of Music degree from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and received undergraduate degrees in History and Music from the University of Michigan. Jesse is also the founder and artistic director of Five Boroughs Music Festival, which brings chamber music of many genres to every corner of New York City.

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AMANDA CRIDER

mezzo-soprano

Praised for her “focused golden toned voice,” American mezzo-soprano Amanda Crider is quickly gaining recognition for her extraordinary musicality and assured dramatic presence. Engagements for the 2015-2016 season include her debut with Florentine Opera as Prince Orlovsky in Die Fledermaus, Alma in the world premiere opera Persona with Beth Morrison Projects, her return to Eugene Opera as Olga in Eugene Onegin, a series of concerts with Seraphic Fire, and Handel’s Messiah with Augustana College. In the 2014-2015 season Ms. Crider was heard as a soloist with New World Symphony for de Falla’s El amor brujo, the Louisiana Philharmonic for a Baroque Christmas, Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic for Mozart’s Requiem under the baton of Manfred Honeck, and her role debut as Angelina in La Cenerentola with Opera Roanoke. In the summer of 2015, she sang Laurey in Oklahoma with the Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra. Future seasons include a debut with Boston Lyric Opera.

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ROSS HAUCK

tenor vocals

grew up in Ohio, but currently lives in Seattle with his wife and four children. He specializes in early music, sacred oratorio, and premieres of new works. A regular with Apollo’s Fire, Mr. Hauck has been heard as a soloist in Messiah, as Tamino in The Magic Flute, and as Johnny in the Come to the River tour, as well as being featured in the 2012 and 2013 Irish Countryside Concerts and Sugarloaf Mountain. He has sung with the symphonies of Seattle, Dallas, Phoenix, Chicago, Baltimore, Portland, Grand Rapids, Kansas City, and the National Symphony. An alumnus of Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, he undertook further training at the Tanglewood, Ravinia, and Aspen Festivals and at the Wolf Trap Opera Company. He can be heard on the AVIE label on the Apollo’s Fire recording of Messiah and on the Naxos label in the world premiere of the song cycle Vedem by Lori Laitman. He is also a cellist and serves as a professor of voice on the faculty of Seattle University. He frequently programs sacred concerts for churches and Christian universities, and leads an arts ministry at his church in the Northwest.

BRIAN KAY

lute

is a modern-day troubadour. He holds a Master’s degree in music from Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University, where he studied lute and theorbo. He specializes in historical plucked instruments and ancient songs of various world traditions. He is a songwriter and poet, and also paints and plays a variety of percussion and wind instruments. Cleveland Classical.com called him “far-ranging,” “brilliant,” and “exciting,” and Early Music America called his work “phenomenal.” His newest album, Three Ravens, was released in January 2015.

AARON KEENEY

baritone

is a first year master’s student at Juilliard studying with Dr. Robert White Jr. Last season, he returned to Opera Naples where he sang Sgt. Belcore in L’Elisir d’Amore under the baton of Maestro Ramón Tebar, and performed with Apollo’s Fire in their production of Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo. In the summer season, Mr. Keeney gave a recital of opera and traditional American song for the Nelson Eddy Appreciation Society. Favorite roles from previous seasons include Guglielmo in Cosi Fan Tutte, Ping in Turandot, and both Count Almaviva and Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro. On the concert stage, he has been a bass soloist in Bach’s Mass in B Minor, Handel’s Messiah, Hayden’s Lord Nelson Mass, and Mozart’s Requiem. Next summer, he will cover Leporello in Don Giovanni at Juilliard and joining the roster of Des Moines Metro Opera as an apprentice artist. He lives in Philadelphia with his fiancée, Meryl, and their dog, Marie.

CARRIE KRAUSE

violin

Raised in Fairbanks, Alaska, Carrie Krause performs as baroque violinist with ensembles across the country and on numerous international series. This past season, Carrie was guest artistic director and concerto soloist with Seattle Baroque in a performance of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. She has performed as concertmaster of New Trinity Baroque in Atlanta, as guest concertmaster of Pacific Baroque in Vancouver and the San Francisco Bach Choir, and as associate concertmaster of Apollo’s Fire. Carrie has also appeared with Chatham Baroque, New York State Baroque, Portland Baroque, Passamezzo Moderno, Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado, Clarion, American Classical Orchestra, and Concert Royale in New York. Festival engagements include the Leipzig Bach Festival as soloist, the Belgrade Early Music Festival in Serbia, Sastamalla Gregoriana in Finland, the Utrecht Early Music Festival, Festival Dan les Jardins de William Christie, and the BBC Proms. Carrie has worked under such conductors as Jordi Savall, Ton Koopman, Richard Egarr, Nie McGegan, and Masaaki Suzuki. Carrie founded the 1-90 Collective, a baroque ensemble, which performs a house concert series across Montana, has been presented on series from Seattle to Syracuse, and was recently featured on Spokane Public Radio. She also founded Baroque Music Montana, which presents a series of community concerts in southwest Montana and a workshop on period performance. Carrie has presented classes on baroque style for the Fairbanks Suzuki Institute, Montana State University, and the Bozeman Symphony.

RONNIE MALLEY

oud & accordion

A Chicago native of Palestinian descent, Ronnie Malley is a multi-instrumentalist that has been performing for audiences since his youth. Ronnie began guitar lessons at age nine, later moving on to piano, Middle Eastern percussion, and being self-taught on his principle instrument, the Oud (Mid- Eastern lute). As a member of the family band with his father and brother on percussion, Ronnie’s stage experience began by performing at weddings, concerts, festivals and local Middle Eastern clubs accompanying renowned artists such as Kazem Al Saher, Majdi Husseini, Wael Jassar, and Tony Hanna.

After years of playing Middle Eastern and American rock music, Ronnie expanded his musical palette to explore different traditions from around the world. He has studied and collaborated with musicians from – Senegal, Sudan, North Africa, India, Kashmir, Macedonia, Iran, Greece, Turkey, as well as with Afro-Peruvian folk artists, Rodolfo Munoz and Miguel Ballermos. Through these experiences, he has gained a vast repertoire of folk, classical, and spiritual songs from various cultures.

His more recent credits include principal musician and actor in the Lookingglass, Berkeley, and Arena Stage Theatre productions of “Arabian Nights”, assistant music arranger and performer in the Goodman Theatre production of “Mirror of the Invisible World”, both written and directed by Mary Zimmerman, French FTS Production documentary,“Modou The Hang Player – One World Music”, and MPEF Productions documentary, “At The Gate”.

Ronnie currently teaches at the Old Town School of Folk Music, conducts Arabic music workshops for Chicago Public Schools and the University of Chicago’s Startalk camp, composes and records for various film projects, as well as performing and touring with music groups Lamajamal, Mucca Pazza, Duzan Ensemble and the U of C Middle Eastern Music Ensemble.

DAVID MCFERRIN

baritone

Praised by The Miami Herald for his “commanding stage presence and a voice of seductive beauty,” baritone David McFerrin has won critical acclaim in a wide variety of repertoire.

On the opera stage David has been featured in several recent productions with the Boston Lyric Opera. His performances as the Officer in last season’s BLO production of Philip Glass’ gripping two-character drama In the Penal Colony were widely admired — the Wall Street Journal hailed his portrayal as “disturbingly eloquent.” Other roles with BLO have included King Mark in Martin’s The Love Potion, Cascada in Lehar’s The Merry Widow, Johann in Massenet’s Werther, and Jason McFarlane in Beeson’s Lizzie Borden, performed both in Boston and at the Tanglewood Music Festival. David has also sung with Santa Fe Opera, Seattle Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Opera Boston, Sarasota Opera, and the Rossini Festival in Wildbad, Germany. His roles include Aeneas in Dido and Aeneas, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, Taddeo in L’Italiana in Algeri and the title role in Britten’s Noye’s Fludde. This season he makes his debut with Boston Baroque as Achilla in Handel’s Giulio Cesare.

David’s solo concert engagements have ranged from Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 at St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice to the music of Cole Porter with the Boston Pops. Upcoming highlights include Bach and Monteverdi with the Handel and Haydn Society, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs, and a concert performance of Stephen Paulus’ one-act opera Three Hermits. Last season David was a featured Adams Fellow at the Carmel Bach Festival in California; debuted with the Vermont Symphony and Boston’s groundbreaking chamber orchestra, A Far Cry; returned to the Artist Series of Sarasota in a set of pops performances; and appeared with the Handel and Haydn Society in Boston, Canada, and California. He was also runner-up in the Oratorio Society of New York’s 2016 Lyndon Woodside Solo Competition, the premier contest for this repertoire. Past concert credits include a Carnegie Hall debut with Gustavo Dudamel and the Israel Philharmonic, as well as performances with the Cleveland Orchestra, North Carolina Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Seraphic Fire in Miami, New York’s TENET, and at the Casals Festival in Puerto Rico. David’s concert repertoire includes Bach’s St. John Passion, B Minor Mass and Christmas Oratorio; Handel’s Messiah, Joshua, and Samson; Haydn’s Creation and Mass in Time of War; Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem; and the requiems of Brahms, Fauré and Duruflé. He is also a regular soloist and baritone section leader for the choirs of Trinity Church Boston, and performs around the country with the renaissance ensemble Blue Heron.

An avid recitalist, David has performed at the Caramoor Festival, the Steans Institute at the Ravinia Festival, and as a Stern Fellow at SongFest in California. He has appeared with Five Boroughs Music Festival and the New York Festival of Song, and completed four summer chamber music residencies at the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont. This fall he is curating and performing a program of songs from World War I with soprano Deborah Selig and pianist Clifton J. Noble, Jr., to be presented on Veterans Day in Northampton, Massachusetts.

David’s childhood in western Massachusetts was full of music: his choral director mother took him to her rehearsals in a bassinet! He started violin lessons at age five, soon joined a children’s choir, and spent his teen-age years fitting orchestra, musical theatre and a capella group rehearsals around ultimate frisbee practices and outing club treks. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Carleton College in music and political economy, he earned graduate degrees at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and the Juilliard School. In 2008 he won 2nd place in the Metropolitan Opera National Council New England Region, and was awarded a Richard F. Gold Career Grant from the Shoshana Foundation, annually given to promising young American singers. He lives in the Boston neighborhood of Roslindale with his wife Erin, a preservationist with the Massachusetts Historical Commission, and their black lab Holly.

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DANIEL MOODY

countertenor

Countertenor Daniel Moody has garnered widespread acclaim for his commanding yet expressive vocal timbre and his breathtaking musicianship. Praised as having a “vocal resonance, [which] makes a profoundly startling impression” (The New York Times) and for his “vivid and powerful” voice (The Boston Musical Intelligencer), Mr. Moody is equally known for his “sweet and melancholy sound” (The Washington Post) and ability to “pierce hearts” and “utterly silence a room” (The Boston Musical Intelligencer) with his expressivity and deep connection with audiences.

Recent opera appearances include Nerone in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea, the title roles in Handel’s Giulio Cesare and Rinaldo, Oberon in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and L’Enfant in Ravel’s L’Enfant et les sortileges. In Mr. Moody’s most recent role as Rinaldo, he drew attention from the San Diego Story for his unusually powerful tone: “[Mr. Moody] may help to create a new operatic vocal category: Helden Countertenor.” Mr. Moody has also appeared in Mark Morris’ productions of Britten’s Curlew River and Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas at the Tanglewood Music Festival (and again at BAM in March, 2017), where the Financial Times noted his “inspired and absorbing performances”.

A proponent of early music, Mr. Moody has performed at the Boston, Indianapolis and Washington Early Music Festivals, Maryland’s Mountainside Baroque, and Boston’s Antico Moderno,and under such conductors as Stefan Asbury, Nicholas Kramer, Ken Lam, and Lyle Nordstrom. A graduate of the prestigious Yale Voxtet – resident at Yale’s Institute of Sacred Music – he has performed as a soloist at such venues as Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, London’s St. John’s Smith Square and, Cambridge’s Trinity College, working closely with renowned conductors David Hill, Simon Carrington, Masaaki Suzuki, and Matthew Halls. His performances have been broadcast live in concert on BBC Radio 3 in the United Kingdom, and on Boston’s WGBH, Indiana’s WFIU, WSHU’s Sunday Baroque.

Highlights of recent and 2016-17 seasons include the American premiere of George Benjamin’s Dream of the Song at the Festival of Contemporary Music at the Tanglewood Music Center, one of four vocalists in Joyce DiDonato’s Carnegie Hall opera workshop (broadcast on Medici TV), Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, Handel’s Messiah with the Charleston Symphony and Winston-Salem Symphony Orchestras, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Oberon) at the Lakes Area Music Festival (Minnesota), and engagements with Mark Morris Dance Group, Apollo’s Fire, and Boston Symphony Orchestra covering for countertenor Bejun Mehta.

Mr. Moody is a graduate of the Peabody Conservatory (BM ’14) and sang with the Washington National Cathedral Choir during his years in Baltimore. He recently graduated with a Master’s Degree from the Yale School of Music and Institute of Sacred Music, and has won awards at the George London Competition, Handel Aria Competition, New York Oratorio Society Competition, and the Russell Wonderlic Competition.

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DAPHNA MOR

ney & recorder

has performed throughout Europe and the United States as both a soloist and ensemble player. Mor’s “astonishing virtuosity” (Chicago Tribune) has been heard in solo recitals in the United States, Croatia, Germany and Switzerland. She has performed as a soloist with the New York Collegium, the New York Early Music Ensemble and Little Orchestra Society, and as a member of the orchestra with the New York Philharmonic, New York City Opera and Orchestra of St. Luke’s. Mor was awarded First Prize in the Settimane Musicali di Lugano Solo Competition and the Boston Conservatory Concerto Competition, and has appeared in a duo with Joyce DiDonato on the singer’s promotional tour for the album In War and Peace. Devoted to new music, Mor has recorded on John Zorn’s Tzadik label, and has performed the world premiere of David Bruce’s Tears, Puffes, Jumps, and Galliard with the Metropolis Ensemble. Also active in the world music community, Mor has performed in festivals and on stages worldwide, including New York’s Summer Stage and Munich’s Gasteig. She can also be heard on Sting’s album If On A Winter’s Night for Deutsche Grammophon. Mor serves as the Music Director of Beineinu, a New York initiative dedicated to the modern cultivation of Jewish culture, and is a performer and teacher of liturgical music of the Jewish diaspora. She leads programs for the Education Department of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

JOHANNA NOVOM

violin

grew up in the woods of New Hampshire, and is currently based in Brooklyn. Her unusual schooling encouraged a variety of artistic inclinations that she thrives on to this day. She began playing violin at age 10, and the collaborative, communicative aspects of music have always inspired her, making chamber music an obvious priority. Johanna discovered baroque violin while pursuing her BM with Marilyn McDonald at Oberlin, and went on to achieve a Master’s in Historical Performance. She also spent a fellowship year in the Yale Baroque Ensemble under Robert Mealy.

First prize winner of ABS’ 2008 International Young Artists’ Competition, Johanna is Associate Concertmaster of Apollo’s Fire, and performs with many period ensembles, including Trinity Wall Street Choir and Baroque Orchestra, Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra, TENET, Concert Royal, Washington National Cathedral Baroque Orchestra, ACRONYM, and the Sebastian Chamber Players. Recent festival engagements include the Carmel Bach Festival, the Boston Early Music Festival, the Tanglewood Festival, and the BBC Proms.

JACOB PERRY

tenor

Jacob receives praise for his instincts singing in small vocal consorts in addition to his work as a soloist. He is a core tenor of the soloist-ensemble Les Canards Chantants and the chamber choir The Thirteen. Jacob can be heard singing with The Clarion Choir, ACRONYM, Piffaro, and as a featured soloist with Mountainside Baroque and Apollo’s Fire.

Born and raised in Silver Spring, Maryland, Jacob has cultivated a passion for a wide variety of music ranging from medieval folk song to the tight harmonies of vocal jazz. He has experience singing solo and chamber works by contemporary composers through engagements with Third Practice Ensemble, hexaCollective and Great Noise Ensemble.

Jacob’s 2016-2017 season includes numerous choral/solo appearances with Apollo’s Fire, a complete tour of masses and concerts in each of the Papal Basilicas in Rome, Italy with the Choir of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, and an expansive series of engagements with Les Canards Chantants including concerts in Beijing, China for the first festival of early music hosted by Central Conservatory of Beijing. In April 2017, Jacob will give recitals with artists of Tempesta di Mare in Philidelphia to celebrate the 450th anniversary of Claudio Monteverdi’s birth.

Jacob is a cantor and chorister at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. He earned his B.A. in Vocal Performance from University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Jacob teaches private voice lessons in his home in Downtown Sivler Spring, MD. Use the contact form on this website request more information about bookings and teaching.

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ADRIANE POST

violin

formed her first quartet at age 11 and found her love of chamber music. She can be heard as leader of Washington National Cathedral Baroque Orchestra, founding member of ACRONYM Ensemble, member of Apollo’s Fire and Handel & Haydn Society, as a regular with Trinity Wall Street Baroque Orchestra and performing with many period instrument ensembles across the US. Described as one of North America’s “brightest and best” by Early Music America, Adriane has received a fellowship from The English Concert and has performed with Les Arts Florissants and William Christie in Thiré, France, and as concertmaster for Nicolas McGegan and Jordi Savall with Juilliard 415.

Recent performances include Spoleto USA, Tanglewood, The BBC Proms and the Carmel Bach Festival. Adriane received her BM from Oberlin Conservatory and her MM from The Juilliard School’s Historical Performance program. A proud Vermonter, Adriane admits to residing happily in Brooklyn with her husband, Paul Dwyer.

AMANDA POWELL

soprano

has been praised as “the star of the evening with a performance so tender it could make a stone cry” (SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL). Noted as “Bright-toned, charismatic and theatrically arresting” (SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE), she enjoys a diverse performance career including classical, folk, jazz, and global music. As a frequent guest artist with Apollo’s Fire, she has appeared in Cleveland and on tour in programs including Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo, Mozart’s The Magic Flute, and Handel’s Messiah. She has a special affinity for bringing early music artistry to traditional folk repertoire and has been featured on numerous recordings including Sugarloaf Mountain and Sephardic Journey, both of which are top ten BILLBOARD bestselling CDs. In 2015 she released her solo debut album, Beyond Boundaries. She can also be heard on Apollo’s Fire’s newest CD, Christmas on Sugarloaf Mountain.

Ms. Powell holds a degree in vocal performance from Shenandoah Conservatory and a certificate in jazz improvisation from the Jazz in July Institute (University of Massachusetts). She has collaborated with artists such as Bobby McFerrin and Sheila Jordan. A nationally recognized leader in the field of sacred world music, she has sung concerts around the world, including at concert halls in Italy, Spain, France, Mongolia, and China. She serves on the voice faculty at Cleveland State University where she also teaches classes in improvisation. In addition, Ms. Powell serves as Apollo’s Fire’s Artist-in-Residence for Outreach Performances.

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KARINA SCHMITZ

violin

holds degrees from New England Conservatory and the Cleveland Institute of Music. Her early music studies began at Oberlin Conservatory with Marilyn McDonald, Miho Hashizume and David Breitman. She continued her training in the Apollo’s Fire Apprentice Program while serving as concertmaster of the Case Western Reserve University Baroque Orchestra. Based in Boston, Karina is currently principal with the Handel and Haydn Society and Apollo’s Fire, the Cleveland Baroque Orchestra, associate principal of the Carmel Bach Festival Orchestra, and founding member of the seventeenth-century string band, ACRONYM. She has previously performed with the Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra, Boston Camerata, Blue Heron, Chatham Baroque, the Oregon Bach Festival, Les Delices, New York State Baroque, Spire Ensemble, Opera Lafayette, the American Opera Theater in Washington, D.C. Karina has recordings on the Chandos, Olde Focus, Mode, Eclectra, Koch, AVIE, Tzadik and Artemis/Vanguard labels.

KATHIE STEWART

flutes

Hailed as a virtuoso by the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Kathie Stewart is a founding member and principal flute of Apollo’s Fire: The Cleveland Baroque Orchestra. An advocate of the baroque flute as a mainstream instrument, Stewart serves as Teacher of Baroque Flute at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Kulas Visiting Artist at Case Western Reserve University, and is Assistant Director for the Seattle Baroque Flute Workshop. Stewart has performed as soloist with The Cleveland Orchestra, Cleveland Opera, Oberlin Baroque Ensemble, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Washington Bach Sinfonia, ARTEK, and Turn the Corner Irish Band. Stewart has performed at the BBC Proms, Snape Proms, Tanglewood Festival, Aspen Music Festival, Ojai Music Festival, Boston Early Music Festival, New World Symphony’s Baroque Festival, Oberlin College Artist Series, National Academy of Sciences, Library of Congress, and Dumbarton Oaks Series. Stewart is a faculty member of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music where she serves as Curator of Harpsichords in the Historical Performance Department and additionally taught baroque flute for nearly twenty years. A proponent of historical temperaments, she tunes and maintains the Conservatory’s world-class collection of historical harpsichord reproductions.

Stewart appears on fourteen recordings with Apollo’s Fire including solo performances in Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. IV (AVIE) and Telemann’s Concerto in E Minor for Flute and Recorder (AVIE). An accomplished Irish flute player, she can be heard on Scarborough Fayre: Traditional Tunes from the British Isles and the New World, Come To The River: an Early American Gathering, and Sugarloaf Mountain: an Appalachian Gathering. Radio appearances include holiday specials on National Public Radio, NPR’s World of Opera, SymphonyCast, and Performance Today. Her concerts have been broadcasted on Britain’s BBC Radio, Canada’s CBC, European Community Radio, and on WCLV’s “Seaway” syndication network carried by member stations of the European Broadcasting Union.

Stewart holds a Bachelor of Music degree from West Virginia University as a student of Joyce Catalfano and a Master of Music degree from Manhattan School of Music as a student of Thomas Nyfenger. She completed doctoral coursework at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music as a student of George Hambrecht and participated in Eiji Hashimoto’s Baroque Ensemble. Fascination with the traverso led her to the Baroque Performance Institute at Oberlin Conservatory where she studied baroque flute and recorder with Christopher Krueger.

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JEFFREY STRAUSS

baritone

is an “authoritative artist” (Cleveland Plain Dealer) whose performances have been praised as “captivating” (Chicago Tribune) and “serenely beautiful” (New York Times). In addition to his many performances with Apollo’s Fire, he has appeared with period-instrument ensembles including The Consort of Musicke with Emma Kirkby, the Taverner Consort under Andrew Parrott, Tafelmusik, the Handel & Haydn Society (Boston), Seattle Baroque, Tempesta di Mare (Philadelphia), and the Newberry Consort (Chicago).
He made his concert debut at 17 with the Buffalo Philharmonic and studied voice with Elsa Charlston in Chicago, Yvonne Rodd-Marling in London, and Gérard Souzay in Paris. An accomplished stage actor, favorite projects include the title role in Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo, praised as “deeply moving” (Cleveland Plain Dealer), Jesus and Pilate in the J.S. Bach Passions, Méphistophélès in Berlioz’s Damnation of Faust, and Apollo in Handel’s Apollo e Dafne. His 2014 portrayal of Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof was hailed by the Buffalo News as “masterful.”

His longstanding commitment to contemporary music includes numerous appearances with the Contemporary Chamber Players (Contempo) in Chicago and performances of Ned Rorem’s song cycle Aftermath, Lawrence Axelrod’s The Immanence of Angels and Ophélia, Paul Schoenfield’s Camp Songs, a jazz oratorio with the Dave Brubeck Quartet, and premieres of works by Bernstein, Babbitt, Shapey, and Cipullo. CD recordings with Apollo’s Fire include the Monteverdi 1610 Vespers; Handel’s Messiah; Sephardic Journey, which debuted in February 2016 at #2 on the Billboard World Music chart; and Bach’s St. John Passion, released in March 2017.

2018-2019 Season

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“The U.S.A.’s hottest baroque band.” –CLASSICAL MUSIC MAGAZINE (UK)