2324 easter oratorio – Apollo's Fire

ARYEH NUSSBAUM COHEN

Acclaimed as a “young star” and “complete artist” by the New York Times and “extravagantly gifted… poised to redefine what’s possible for singers of this distinctive voice type” by the San Francisco Chronicle, countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen is one of the classical vocal world’s most promising rising stars. He has been awarded by many major competitions including the Grand Prize of the 2017 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, a 2017 Sara Tucker Study Grant and 2022 Career Grant from the Richard Tucker Music Foundation, and a 2023 George and Nora London Award. His first commercial recording project – the world premiere recording of Kenneth Fuchs’ Poems of Life with the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by JoAnn Falletta – was honored with a 2019 GRAMMY® Award in the Best Classical Compendium category, which recognizes albums with multiple soloists and multiple works.

In the 2023-24 season, Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen returns to Glyndebourne to assay the title role of Handel’s Giulio Cesare in Egitto in Sir David McVicar’s acclaimed production – he sings the role of Sesto in the same opera for his debut at Teatro dell’Opera di Roma under the baton of Rinaldo Alessandrini – and he debuts at Deutsche Oper Berlin in the company premiere of Sir George Benjamin’s Written on Skin as First Angel/The Boy in Katie Mitchell’s original production. His vibrant concert schedule includes a worldwide tour of Handel’s Rodelinda with The English Concert conducted by Harry Bicket – including debuts at Carnegie Hall, LA Opera, Cal Performances, and in South Korea and China – Carmina Burana with Hans Graf and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, I Tre Controtenori at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Bach’s Magnificat with Cantata Collective under the direction of Nicholas McGegan, Bach’s solo alto cantatas Widerstehe doch der Sünde, BWV 54 and Ich habe genug, BWV 182 with Jeffrey Thomas leading the American Bach Soloists, and Bach’s Erfreut euch, ihr Herzen, BWV 66 and Easter Oratorio, BWV 249 with Jeannette Sorrell and Apollo’s Fire.

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EDWARD VOGEL

With a voice described as “velvet-toned” (BBC Music Magazine), and praised for his “appealing, midweight baritone” (The New York Times), “forthright agility and bold declamation” (Musical America), baritone EDWARD VOGEL is recognized as a sensitive, versatile performer. Recent highlights include solo appearances with the New York Philharmonic, Apollo’s Fire, the Tucson Symphony, and ensemble work with Theatre of Voices, the Bach Collegium Japan, and the Yale Schola Cantorum, with whom he has participated as a soloist in recordings on the Hyperion label. In 2024, he received a GRAMMY® nomination for his work as a soloist on Apollo’s Fire’s recording of Handel’s Israel in Egypt. An avid recitalist, Mr. Vogel’s specialties include British art song of the twentieth century, music from Medieval and Renaissance Iberia, and works by Gustav Mahler; his intimate interpretations of art song have been heard onstage at celebrated venues including the Tanglewood Festival and Wigmore Hall.

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ANDRÉA WALKER

A native of Texas, soprano ANDRÉA WALKER is pursuing her Doctorate in historical performance practice at Case Western Reserve University. She recently graduated with her Master’s in vocal performance from the Yale Institute of Sacred Music where she studied early music, oratorio, and art song. Before her time at Yale, Ms. Walker received her Bachelor’s from the University of Houston. Her recent performance highlights include her Lincoln Center debut in Telemann’s Der Tag des Gerichts with Masaaki Suzuki and Juilliard415, touring throughout Germany as a soloist in Haydn’s Schöpfungsmesse with Yale Schola Cantorum, performing the role of Venus is Daniel Purcell’s The Judgment of Paris with Amherst Early Music Festival, and being a guest artist at the Norfolk Chamber Choir Festival under the direction of Simon Carrington. As a new resident of Cleveland, she is thrilled to make both her Apollo’s Fire and CityMusic Cleveland solo debuts this 2023 season.

LAWRENCE WILIFORD

Lauded for his luminous projection, lyrical sensitivity, and brilliant coloratura, American-Canadian tenor Lawrence Wiliford is in high demand in concert, opera, and recital repertoire. Recent season highlights include a performance of Mozart’s Requiem with the Eugene Symphony, Mozart’s Coronation Mass with the Back Bay Chorale, Mozart’s Coronation Mass with Les Violons Du Roy, Zachary Wadsworth’s When There is Peace with Chor Leoni Men’s Choir, Handel’s Messiah with the Phoenix Symphony, Mozart’s Mass in C Minor and Bach’s St. John Passion at the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park, and Bach’s St. John Passion with Luminous Voices.

Lawrence Wiliford’s concert engagements encompass the major symphony orchestras and early music groups in the US and Canada. His recent concert appearances include Handel’s Messiah with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, The National Symphony Orchestra (US), Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Toronto Symphony, and Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra; the St. Matthew Passion with the Calgary Philharmonic, Oregon Bach Festival, Orchestre Métropolitain, and Toronto Bach Consort; Mass in B-minor with Music of the Baroque, National Arts Centre Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfónica Naciónal de Mexico, Oregon Bach Festival and Toronto Symphony Orchestra; the St. John Passion with the Orquesta Sinfónica Naciónal de Costa Rica; Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings with I Musici de Montréal and Niagara Symphony; Haydn’s Elijah with the Handel and Haydn Society, Colorado Symphony and Grand Philharmonic Choir; Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 at the Oregon Bach Festival; Mozart’s Requiem with the Indianapolis Symphony, Tafelmusik and the National Arts Centre Orchestra; Mozart’s Mass in C-Minor with the Jacksonville Symphony; Beethoven’s Mass in C-Major with the Houston Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic and Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra; Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and Haydn’s “Lord Nelson” Mass with the National Arts Centre Orchestra; and Stravinsky’s Pulcinella with the Houston Symphony.

Mr. Wiliford has collaborated with conductors such as Jane Glover, Matthew Halls, Grant Llewellyn, Nicholas McGegan, John Nelson, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Trevor Pinnock, Helmuth Rilling, Nathalie Stutzmann, Masaaki Suzuki, and Pinchas Zukerman. His diverse opera credits include Mozart’s Così fan tutte, Don Giovanni, and Die Entführung aus dem Serail; Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Albert Herring and The Turn of the Screw; Lully’s Persée, and Rameau’s Pygmalion and La Guirlande. Mr. Wiliford has been involved in a number of world premiere performances featuring works by Benjamin Britten, Derek Holman, James Rolfe, John Greer, Marjan Mozetich, and Zachary Wadsworth among others.

Wiliford’s recorded projects appear on several labels and include a GRAMMY® nominated and JUNO award-winning recording of music by Vaughan Williams with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Peter Oundjian (Chandos); J.S. Bach’s Johannes-Passion under the direction of Alex Weimann (ATMA Classique); a program of late works for tenor and harp by Benjamin Britten (ATMA Classique), and sacred songs by Edmund Rubbra, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Gustav Holst (Stone Records). Wiliford is also a featured soloist on the 2020 JUNO nominated recording of Zachary Wadsworth’s oratorio When There is Peace by Chor Leoni Men’s Choir.

Mr. Wiliford holds a Bachelor of Music in Church Music from St. Olaf College, a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Toronto and a Master of Arts in Media Production from Toronto Metropolitan University. He studied at Tanglewood, the Internationale Bachakademie of Stuttgart, the Steans Institute at the Ravinia Festival, and the Britten-Pears Young Artist Program. He is a graduate of the Canadian Opera Company’s Ensemble Studio and is a recipient of grants from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council. In addition to his performing schedule, Mr. Wiliford is co-artistic director of the Canadian Art Song Project.

Born in Muskegon, Michigan, Mr. Wiliford became a member of the American Boychoir School in Princeton, New Jersey at the age of 10. While a student at St. Olaf College, he sang with the St. Olaf Choir, became a published choral arranger, and was one of the founding members of the male vocal chamber ensemble Cantus, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

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