Hailed a “comic tour de force” by Alex Ross of the New Yorker following last year’s performances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, baritone Hadleigh Adams is a baritone with a very strong lower extension enabling him to perform many bass-baritone roles. With a repertoire spanning from Rameau and Vivaldi all the way to Ades and Francesconi, he is an artist equally at home on the opera stage as he is in concert.
This season’s highlights include the US premiere of Luca Francesconi’s Quartett (Valmont), San Francisco Opera’s new production of Tosca (Angelotti), his European debut with the Nederlandse Reisopera in Sondheim’s A Little Night Music (Carl Magnus), and a return to the Cincinnati Opera for Gounod’s Romeo et Juliette (Mercutio). On the concert platform he performs Carmina Burana with the San Francisco Symphony, The Messiah with Nashville Symphony, and The Messiah with the Milwaukee Symphony
Next Season, Mr Adams makes return performances to the San Francisco Opera In Handel’s Partenope (ormonte) Gounod’s Romeo and Juliette (Paris), and covers Britten’s Billy Budd (Mr Flint). Among other concert engagements, he will perform with the Colorado Symphony, Houston Symphony Orchestra, and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.
Last season, highlights included Lou Harrison’s Young Caesar (Nicomedes), Annie Gosfield’s War of the Worlds (General Lansing), and Bernstein’s Mass (baritone soloist) with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Gregory Spears’ Fellow Travelers (Hawkins Fuller) at Minnesota Opera, Thomas Ades’ Powder Her Face (Hotel Manager/Duke) with West Edge Opera. He also covered in Matthew Aucoin’s Crossing (Walt Whitman). On the concert platform he performed Beethoven’s Mass in C with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Bach’s Cantata 80 with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, The Messiah with the American Bach Soloists, and Bernstein’s Candide with the San Francisco Symphony (Maximilian).
Prior to these seasons he has performed with the London Philharmonia Orchestra in Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex (Creon/Tiresias), London’s Royal National Theatre in staged performances of Bach’s St Matthew Passion (Jesus), La Boheme with the San Francisco Opera (Schaunard), Agrippina with Opera Omaha (Claudio), and the title character in both Vivaldi’s Bajazet, and Castor et Pollux with Pinchgut Opera.
Born in Palmerston North, New Zealand, Hadleigh is a former Merola Opera artist, San Francisco Opera Adler Fellow, and studied at the Guildhall school of Music And Drama.
Bio Category: 2122 featured artists
MIMÉ YAMAHIRO BRINKMANN
Mimé Yamahiro Brinkmann is one of the most active freelance cellist/gambist playing both as soloist, and as chamber and orchestra musician in the early music field.
After receiving a Performance Diploma on modern cello at Toho Gakuen School of Music Tokyo, Japan, she received a scholarship from The Netherlands government and came to study historical performance, both cello and viola da gamba at The Royal Conservatory in the Hague where she graduated with a soloist diploma.
Mime has been the prize winner of some of the most important early music competitions such as “Musica Antiqua Brugge Soloist Competition” in Belgium and “The international competition for original string instruments” in Brescia, Italy.
Her performance can be heard regularly in different parts of the world – both as a solo recitalist and with some of the world leading orchestras such as Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra (Canada), Apollo’s Fire-Cleveland Baroque Orchestra (USA), Concerto Copenhagen (Denmark), Drottningholm Slott Opera orchestra and ensemble (Sweden), and the Paul Hillier Ensemble (Denmark).
In between her busy touring life, Mime enjoys teaching at The Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm. She has also given master classes at Early Music Festival Juiz de Fora, Brazil, Tchaikovsky Conservatory Moscow, Russia and enjoys working with the promising next generations.
OLIVIER BRAULT
Violinist Olivier Brault hails from Terrebonne in Québec and brings communicative enthusiasm and scholarship to concerts throughout North America and Europe. In addition to directing the chamber ensemble Sonate 1704, he performs as Music Director with Les Goûts Réunis in Luxembourg, as a member of Four Nations Ensemble in New York, and as soloist with many Montréal-based ensembles including the Ensemble Caprice, Les Boréades de Montréal, Quatuor Franz Joseph, and Les Idées heureuses. He holds a Doctorate from the Université de Montréal, where he specialized in 18th-century violin repertoire. He has led workshops and masterclasses at the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal, CWRU, Oberlin Conservatory, Penn State University, University of Michigan, the Conservatoire Royal de Musique de Bruxelles and The Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris. He has participated in over 65 recordings, many award-winning. In 2011 he received the medal of the Assemblée Nationale de Québec for cultural contributions to his nation. Mr. Brault joined the early music faculty of McGill University in Montréal teaching baroque violin in 2017.
KRISTINE CASWELCH
Kristine Caswelch, soprano, grew up in a biracial family surrounded by black educators, activists, and trailblazers. Her favorite connection to Cleveland was learning that her grandparents traveled from Missouri to Cleveland in 1961 in order to get married, since it was still illegal for mixed-race couples to marry in Missouri. This fall, Kristine will begin graduate studies as a baroque soprano in Historical Performance at the Longy School of Music of Bard College in Boston. Kristine plans to focus her studies on examining the past histories and present experiences of being a Passing Person of Color through historically informed performance.
ALAN CHOO
Violinist Alan Choo, whose performances have been described by The Straits Times Singapore as “an intoxicating brew of poetry and dare-devilry,” performs on the global stage as a leading soloist, chamber musician and historical specialist. He made his solo debut with Apollo’s Fire at the Tanglewood and Ravinia Music Festivals in 2017, and currently serves as Concertmaster and Assistant Artistic Director for the ensemble. He is also Founder and Artistic Director of Red Dot Baroque, Singapore’s first professional period ensemble and Ensemble-in-Residence at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music. In May 2019, he was invited as guest concertmaster and soloist with the Shanghai-based baroque ensemble, Shanghai Camerata. He has also appeared as a soloist with the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Chinese Orchestra, Orchestra of the Music Makers and more.
Alan is the recipient of the Early Music Award 2016 from Peabody Conservatory, the Paul Abisheganaden Grant for Artistic Excellence 2015, the Goh Soon Tioe Centenary Award 2014, the Grace Clagett Ranney Prize in Chamber Music 2014 and 1st prize in the National Piano and Violin Competition 2011, Artist Category. He has also given masterclasses and lectures in violin performance, performance practice and stage presence to college students at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Michigan State University, Baldwin-Wallace College, Bowling Green State University, Yong Siew Toh Conservatory and Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts.
Alan holds a Doctorate in Historical Performance from Case Western Reserve University, as well as degrees from the Peabody Conservatory and the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory. His teachers include Julie Andrijeski, Risa Browder, Victor Danchenko and Alexander Souptel. He is currently recording an album of the complete Rosary Sonatas by Heinrich Biber with Apollo’s Fire.