Bio Category: 2324 featured artists

CODY BOWERS

Described as “a voice of rare beauty” (Seen and Heard International), award-winning countertenor Cody Bowers is a Sullivan Foundation Award winner, a National Semi-finalist in the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, and a George London Foundation Finalist Award Recipient. In the 23-24 performance season, Mr. Bowers will make his Lincoln Center debut with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in Handel’s Israel in Egypt, in addition to debut performances with The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in a World Premier of Jonathan Leshnoff’s The Sacrifice of Isaac. In previous seasons, Mr. Bowers has performed in The Metropolitan Opera house, San Francisco Opera War Memorial Opera House, the Stern auditorium at Carnegie Hall, San Diego Opera, Minnesota Opera, Utah Opera, The Atlanta Opera, Boston Early Music Festival, Opera Neo, and Tanglewood Music Center.

On the Operatic stage, Mr. Bowers continues to expand a broad and contrasting list of characters that range from Tolomeo, Handel’s Cesarian foil, and prince of Egypt; the lost and mysterious Refugee from Jonathan Dove’s Flight; Federico Garcia Lorca, the celebrated 20th century poet and playwright in Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar, who was martyred during the Spanish Civil War; Leonardo, the ghostly Greta Garbo impersonator who inspires Frida Kahlo to make peace with her troubled life in Garbiela Lena Frank’s new Opera El último sueño de Frida y Diego; the stubborn child who, after being disobedient, is scorned by his own furniture as it comes to life in Ravel’s Lenfant et Les Sortilèges; and Orlando, the conquering hero of antiquity who’s desire to love and be loved drives him into the pits of insanity—and the underworld.

As a concert performer, Mr. Bowers has performed numerous works by J. S. Bach including St. John Passion, St. Matthew Passion, Magnificat, Christmas Oratorio, Mass in B minor. Other concert credits include Buxtehude’s Membra Jesu Nostri, Ralph Vaughn William’s Mass in G Minor, Vivaldi’s Gloria, and Mozart’s Mass in D Major.

Mr. Bowers is an active member of internationally celebrated ensembles like Gramophone Award-winning Blue Heron Renaissance Choir, The Handel & Haydn Society, Apollo’s Fire Baroque Orchestra, The Thirteen, Bach Society Houston, VAE: Cincinnati, Ensemble Altera, and The Choir at the Church of the Advent.

Permanently based in New Haven Connecticut, when he isn’t singing, Mr. Bowers enjoys tending to his many houseplants, brushing his two cats Lily & Leonard, and exploring new Ina Garten recipes with his husband.

WEBSITE

SOPHIA BURGOS

Puerto Rican-American soprano Sophia Burgos has in recent seasons established herself internationally as a singer of outstanding intelligence, musicality and stage presence.

Highlights of the season 2023/24 include a CD recording with Ensemble Zwerm in the Netherlands, concerts with Apollo’s Fire in the US, as well as several Lied recitals with pianist Daniel Gerzenberg in the Netherlands and Switzerland.

Most recently, she returned to Opera Nantes-Angers as Vercors in the world premiere of Philippe Leroux’s L’ Annonce faite à Marie, followed by her house debut at De Vlaamse Opera as Mrs Naidoo in Philip Glass‘ Satyagraha. She also made her debut at the Ruhrtriennale Festival in a staged production of Grisey’s Quatre Chants pour franchir le seul, with Klangforum Wien conducted by Peter Rundel. In concert she sang George Crumb’s Ancient Voices of Children with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Zubin Mehta, Czernowin’s Atara with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks and Matthias Pintscher, Grisey’s Quatre Chants pour franchir le seul with Ensemble Intercontemporain as well as recitals in Japan, Liedfestival Zeist and at Heidelberger Frühling.

A champion of new works, Ms. Burgos has premiered J.M. Staud‘s Once Anything Might Have Happened with Ensemble Intercontemporain and Matthias Pintscher in Paris, Gandolfi‘s Cantata: Where can I go from your spirit? with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Andre Previn’s Two Lyric Songs: The Waking as part of the 75th year anniversary of the Tanglewood Music Center, the title role of Maria Republica by François Paris with Nantes-Angers Opera and Lily Briscoe in To The Lighthouse by Zesses Seglias at the Bregenzer Festspiele.

Recent concert engagements include excerpts from Maria Schneider’s Winter Morning Walks with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream with the Tonhalle Orchester Zurich and Paavo Jaervi, Britten’s Les Illuminations at the Bregenzer Festspiele, Claude Vivier’s Lonely Child with Teodor Currentzis and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra in Munich and Hamburg, the world premiere of Beat Furrer’s Schnee-Szenen with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks under Peter Rundel, Bernstein’s Songfest with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the MDR Sinfonieorchester, George Crumb’s Ancient Voices of Children with Teodor Currentzis and MusicAeterna in Moscow and Perm and with the SWR Sinfonieorchester, Gérard Grisey’s Quatre Chants Pour Franchir Le Seuil with Ensemble Intercontemporain in Paris and with Klangforum Wien, Saint-Saëns’ Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien with the Tonhalle Orchester Zurich under Matthias Pintscher, the title role of Jennie in the New York premiere of Oliver Knussen’s Higglety Pigglety Pop!, Akrostichon Wortspiel by Unsuk Chin and Steve Reich’s Tehillim with Brad Lubman and Musica Nova Ensemble, Dutilleux’ Correspondances with the American Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall.

Available on CD/DVD are works by Berio and de Falla with the Sinfonieorchester Basel and Ivor Bolton (Sony Classical), Emily Dickinson songs by Robin de Raaf with Het Gelders Orkest and Antonello Manacorda (Challenge Records), Teresa/Benvenuto Cellini (Chateau de Versailles Spectacles), Fox/Cunning Little Vixen (LSO Live/Grammy Nomination 2022, Editor’s Choice 10/20, Critics Choice 2020, Gramophone Magazine).

Sophia Burgos holds a master’s degree from the Bard College Conservatory’s Graduate Vocal Arts Program. Awards include the Staetshuys Fonds Prize and Van Riemsdijk Prize in the 54th International Vocal Competition s’Hertogenbosch (Liedduo) in 2021, 2nd Prize and Special Prize at the 2018 ‘Schubert und die Musik der Moderne’ competition in Graz and the German Lied Prize at the 2017 Nadia and Lili Boulanger International Voice-Piano Competition in Paris.

In addition to her career as a singer, Ms. Burgos is passionate about education and outreach through art, holding a degree and certification in Music Education. She recently started her own YouTube channel to create a space for audience members to connect directly with classical music and its performers.

Originally from Chicago, IL, her earliest musical influences were Spanish folk song and dance, as she and her family are strongly tied to their Puerto Rican heritage.

WEBSITE

ALAN CHOO

Violinist Alan Choo, whose performances have been described by The Straits Times Singapore as “an intoxicating brew of poetry and dare-devilry,” appears 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 FVG Orchestra (Italy), 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. His solo debut album with Apollo’s Fire, the complete Mystery Sonatas of Heinrich Biber, was released on AVIE Records in 2024 and debuted at #2 on the Billboard Classical chart.

WEBSITE

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.

WEBSITE

NICOLE DIVALL

Nicole Divall is one of the most versatile musicians of her generation, performing as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral leader on both modern and period instruments. A prizewinner in the 1997 Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition, she has performed at numerous festivals in the Americas and with various ensembles, including Apollo’s Fire. In 2005 she returned to her home country to join the Australian Chamber Orchestra, a position which she held for 16 years. Nicole is a graduate of the Canberra School of Music and the University of Michigan, and completed the Emerson Quartet Graduate String Quartet Program at the Hartt School of Music in Connecticut.

ASHLEE FOREMAN

Ashlee Foreman, soprano, has been hailed as “a real discovery… an important new singer. Her voice has a tremendous range and is deployed with theatrical assurance” (Seen & Heard International, UK). Her solo debut with Apollo’s Fire in 2020 was called “a tour-de-force” by Cleveland.com. She has also appeared as soloist with Apollo’s Fire on tour at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London, the Heideberg International Spring Festival (Germany), and in Chicago and San Francisco.

Ashlee received her Bachelor’s in music from Cleveland State University and her high school diploma from the Cleveland School of the Arts. While an undergrad, she served as Apollo’s Fire’s first Artistic Outreach Intern, singing in school workshops and Family Concerts. In 2020 she joined AF’s professional chorus, Apollo’s Singers. She has also performed with the Akron Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Opera, Spire Chamber Ensemble (Kansas), and she sang the lead in Menotti’s opera The Telephone at the University of Akron.

AMANDA FORSYTHE

The American soprano Amanda Forsythe, highly praised for her performances on both sides of the Atlantic, sang Euridice on the recording of Charpentier’s La descente d’Orphée aux enfers with the Boston Early Music Festival which won the 2015 GRAMMY AWARD for Best Opera Recording. Her highly acclaimed CDs have included her début solo album of Handel arias “The Power of Love” with Apollo’s Fire on the Avie label. She recently toured with the outstanding French countertenor Philippe Jaroussky, performing works based on the Orfeo myth, and subsequently recorded the role of Euridice in a new edition of Gluck’s Orfeo for the ERATO label.

Equally at home on the concert platform and on the opera stage, in recent seasons Amanda Forsythe’s major engagements have included Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream with the Boston Symphony under Andris Nelsons and the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Susanna Mälkki, Handel’s Sileti venti and Laudate pueri with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Nicholas Kraemer, Messiah with Seattle Symphony, Bach’s Magnificat and concert performances as Marzelline Fidelio with the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia under Sir Antonio Pappano. Following performances as Amour in Gluck’s Orphée at London’s Royal Opera House, she participated in tours of this work, and of Mozart’s C Minor Mass and Requiem with the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra under Sir John Eliot Gardiner.

She is a regular soloist with the highly acclaimed baroque ensembles Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra (PBO), Apollo’s Fire, Handel and Haydn Society, Boston Baroque, Pacific Musicworks, the Boston Early Music Festival, and the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra. She sang the title role of Teseo with PBO at the Tanglewood and Mostly Mozart Festivals under Nicholas McGegan, and made her début at the Oregon Bach Festival in Bach’s Mass in B Minor and Magnificat under Matthew Halls.

Amanda Forsythe made her USA stage début with the Boston Early Music Festival, where her many roles have included Poppea and Drusilla L’incoronazione di Poppea, Niobe and Manto (recording) in Steffani’s Niobe, regina di Tebe, Aglaure Psyché (Lully), Venus Venus and Adonis (John Blow), Pallas The Judgment of Paris (Eccles), Isabelle Le Carnaval de Venise (Campra), Serpina La serva padrona and Edilia Almira, Königin von Castilien, for which she received rave reviews. Having made her début at Seattle Opera as Iris Semele, Amanda Forsythe recently returned there to sing Pamina Die Zauberflöte. Her operatic repertoire also includes Poppea Agrippina, the title role in Partenope, Dorinda Orlando, Amenaide Tancredi, Bastienne Bastien und Bastienne, Ninfa/Proserpina Orfeo, Amore Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria, Oberto Alcina, Dafne Apollo e Dafne, Atalanta Xerxes, Vagaus Juditha Triumphans and roles in Les Indes Galantes and The Fairy Queen.

She made her European operatic début in the role of Corinna Il viaggio a Reims at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, subsequently returning to perform Rosalia L’equivoco stravagante, and Jemmy Guillaume Tell, described by one critic as “…the best singing of this crucial part I’ve ever encountered…”. At her invitation, Amanda Forsythe joined the distinguished American mezzo soprano Joyce di Donato in a performance of Bellini duets in the festival’s ‘Malibran’ recital.

Major European opera house engagements have included Dalinda Ariodante in Geneva and Munich and Barbarina Le nozze di Figaro,Manto in Steffani’s Niobe, regina di Tebe, Amour in Gluck’s Orphée and Nannetta Falstaff at London’s Royal Opera House. Her performance as Nannetta was described by Gramophone Magazine as “meltingly beautiful”.

Amanda Forsythe’s recordings include Venus Venus and Adonis, Aglaure in Lully’s Psyché, and La Grande Pretresse in Lully’s Thésée with the Boston Early Music Festival (all for CPO), Manto in Steffani’s Niobe with BEMF (Erato), the title role in Handel’s Teseo with Philharmonia Baroque (PBO’s own label), Bach’s St. John Passion and Messiah with Apollo’s Fire (Avie), Dorinda Handel’s Orlando with Early Music Vancouver (ATMA) and Haydn’s Creation with Boston Baroque (Linn). She also sings on the DVD recordings of the Pesaro productions of L’equivoco stravagante and Guillaume Tell as well as Manto in the Royal Opera production of Steffani’s Niobe (Opus Arte). Her latest CD of Steffani duets with the Boston Early Music Festival was awarded the Diapason d’Or in January 2018.

FIONA GILLESPIE

Fiona Gillespie is a folk and classically-trained singer, songwriter, composer, and music educator. Raised in a family of traditional Celtic musicians Fiona grew up step dancing, singing ballads, and playing the Irish whistle, on which she competed nationally and internationally until 2006. She holds degrees in voice performance from Westminster Choir College (BM) and the University of North Texas (MM).

Fiona’s debut, full-length compositional recording with collaborator Elliot Cole released with a premier performance in New York City on October 31, 2021. The half-hour folk-rock cantata, scored for voices and 12-piece band of historical, modern, and electronic instruments, recreates the ancient Scottish ballad of Tam Lin. Her album of Scottish folk songs arranged by composers of the Viennese School, “Wisps in the Dell” released in 2019, and a “prequel” disc, “The Gallant David Rizzio” releases in 2022, all three of which are with the ensemble Makaris. As a featured performer Fiona’s recent and upcoming engagements include The Baroque Orchestra of Colorado, Musica Sierra, Carmel Bach Festival, Five Boroughs Music Festival, Labyrinth Baroque Ensemble, The Washington National Cathedral, Mountainside Baroque, The Academy of Sacred Drama, The Bach Choir of Bethlehem, Fire and Grace, and ALKEMIE. She sings regularly as a professional chorister with Skylark Ensemble, Apollo’s Fire, Kinnara Ensemble, Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity, and St. Tikhon’s Choir, and with churches in both New York City and Philadelphia.

Fiona is a co-founder and manager of the band The Chivalrous Crickets, the Baroque-Folk crossover duo, Disordering the Attic. She teaches voice at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA, where she has led opera workshop and music directed main stage productions (recent: Gilbert & Sullivan’s Trial by Jury, 2019). Fiona taught voice at Lycoming College from 2013-2017, as well as directed opera (stage & music: Humperdinck’s Hansel und Gretel), co-taught courses on Baroque music and art that traveled to Italy, Germany, and Austria, and helped coordinate and lead choir tours to Washington DC, Florida, and China. She has led folksong arranging and group singing workshops at the Big Sur Fiddle Camp, and for Bethlehem PA’s Celtic Cultural Alliance.

JEREMÍAS GARCÍA

Jeremías García is a classical and flamenco guitarist and composer. He has performed in the United States as a soloist and as the Co-Founder/Artistic Director of Houston’s Premier Flamenco Performance Company, Solero Flamenco (2009). In the flamenco realm, he is known for accompanying cante y baile with passion and precision. He has collaborated with many local and international flamenco artists.

García earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Classical Guitar Performance from Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi and a Master of Music degree from Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Post degree, he continued his studies in Flamenco, seeking instruction in Spain and the U.S.

Recently, he performed in Houston Grand Opera’s digital production, “Suite Española – Explorando Iberia” (2021) where he accompanied renowned soprano Ana María Martinez. García has performed Rodrigo’s “Concierto de Aranjuez” with the Fort Bend Symphony (2006), Brazosport Symphony (2007 and 2016), and Helena Symphony in Montana (2017). In addition to the “Aranjuez,“ the last two concerts featured performances of García’s original composition, “Suite Andaluz,” for flamenco cante, guitarra, baile, percusión (Solero Flamenco) and full orchestra. He has appeared in numerous recordings in genres from Jazz to Classical. He also recorded and released two CDs of original music – García y Reyna’s Baile del Sol and Café Khytaro’s Distancia.

Garcia served as Director of Guitar Studies at San Jacinto College for 20 years where he lead an award winning guitar ensemble. Today he is the Associate Artistic Director of the Houston Classical Guitar Festival and Competition. He maintains a private studio, directs guitar workshops and masterclasses while keeping a busy performance schedule. In April, 2021 he was a featured concert artist and instructor in England’s Classical Minds Festival.

SAM KREIDENWEIS

Baritone SAM KREIDENWEIS enjoys a diverse career as a soloist and ensemble musician across America and abroad. He regularly sings and records with Skylark Vocal Ensemble, True Concord Voices and Orchestra, Inversion Ensemble, and the Irish groups Anúna and M’ANAM. He is a founding member of The Leonids, a nine-part low-voice ensemble in Vancouver, BC, focusing on high-level chamber performance and development of students and aspiring singers. Sam has also performed with Conspirare, Cantus Vocal Ensemble, Kinnara Ensemble, Santa Fe Desert Chorale, and can be heard on the GRAMMY© Award-winning recording of Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil with the Phoenix Chorale and Kansas City Chorale.

Career highlights have included performing with Anuna at the Last Night of the BBC Proms, performing for the Japanese Royal Family in a revolutionary musical adaptation of the traditional Noh play, At the Hawk’s Well, and being part of the original cast and recording of Considering Matthew Shephard by Craig Hella Johnson with Austin-based Conspirare.

When not performing, Sam is a diversity, equity, and inclusion practitioner, using his love of mentoring and education to develop equitable and inclusive systems for corporations and nonprofits. A fierce advocate of the arts, Sam has previously served on the Board of Directors for Source Song Festival and the Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus. He holds degrees in voice and opera theatre performance from the University of Dayton and Arizona State University.

DAPHNA MOR

Daphna Mor 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.

DEBRA NAGY

Praised for her “dazzling technique and soulful expressiveness,” (Rocky Mountain News), and a musical approach that’s “distinctly sensual…pliant, warm, and sweet,” (New York Times), Debra Nagy is one of North America’s leading performers on the baroque oboe. She is principal oboe with Boston’s Handel & Haydn Society and performs with ensembles around the country including the American Bach Soloists, Apollo’s Fire, Boston Early Music Festival, and others. Passionate about chamber music, Debra is the founder/director of Les Délices (whose debut recording was named “One of the Top Ten Early Music Discoveries of 2009”) and also performs late-medieval music as a regular guest with Boston’s acclaimed Blue Heron and Chicago’s Newberry Consort. Debra has received many awards for her creative and scholarly pursuits including first-prize in the American Bach Soloists Young Artists Competition, a 2009 Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities, and a 2010 Creative Workforce Fellowship from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture. She has recorded over 30 CDs with repertoire ranging from 1300-1800 and has had live performances featured on the radio across the U.S., Canada, and in Europe.

Debra’s passion for unearthing little-known masterpieces caused the New York Times to dub Les Délices “an early music group with an avant-garde appetite,” adding, “concerts and CDs by Les Délices are journeys of discovery.” Inspired by a creative process that brings together research, composition in historical styles, improvisation, and artistic collaboration, highlights of Debra’s recent projects have included critically-acclaimed multimedia productions of Machaut’s medieval masterpiece Remede de Fortune and music from the recently-discovered Leuven Songbook (c. 1470). Her Baroque-Jazz crossover program, Songs without Words (‘successful, risk-taking music!” – The Whole Note) has not only expanded the repertoire for her instrument but also challenged accepted notions about period instruments (CD released by Navona Recordings, 2018). She eagerly anticipates the premiere performances of The White Cat, a fairytale-based pastiche Baroque opera for singers and chamber ensemble with puppetry and projections that brings to life Aesop’s Fables and Marie-Catherine D’Aulnoy’s 1690s feminist fairytale in April 2022 (postponed from April 2020 due to the Covid crisis).

Recent social unrest and the restrictions of the COVID-19 Pandemic have inspired several new projects. Debra reimagined Les Délices’ traditional concert series for the virtual space and safely recorded 6 different programs for broadcast during their 2020-21 season. One reviewer described the first program as, “in a word: sensational!” and another recognized “[Les Délices] raises the bar for streaming events that have fairly taken over since the pandemic halted live performing arts. At a most challenging time Les Délices embarks on a creative adventure to extend its audience beyond their in-person performances rather than an alternative to them. The modest ticket price is a cultural gift.”

At the same time, Debra created a bi-weekly web series variety show for early music called SalonEra. A salon experience for the 21st century, SalonEra stays timely and relevant in introducing a wide range of artists and performing traditions. Produced remotely, SalonEra brings together regular contributors and special guests whose personalities, perspectives, and contributions set the stage for fascinating conversations and fulfilling artistic exchange. Unlimited by geography or program conventions, SalonEra has attracted a wide audience and enables her to dramatically expand the range of repertoire and artists that Les Délices presents. Importantly, the program also provides paid work for performing artists whose livelihoods have been deeply impacted by the pandemic.

A dedicated and inspiring teacher, Debra serves on the artist faculties of the American Bach Soloists’ Summer Academy and the Oregon Bach Festival’s Berwick Academy, and has given masterclasses at Juilliard, the Cleveland Institute of Music, San Francisco Conservatory, Cincinnati Conservatory, and University of Washington. She is also committed to service and to fostering the next generation of leaders through her work as a mentor and as a former board member of Early Music America and liaison to its Youth Advisory Board.

When not rehearsing, performing, or dreaming up new projects, Debra cooks prodigiously (including much canning and pickling) and loves commuting by bicycle from her home in Cleveland’s historic Ohio City neighborhood.

WEBSITE

JACOB PERRY

Jacob Perry Jr., tenor, is lauded for his stylish interpretations of early music. As a soloist, he lends his graceful sense of phrasing and luminous tone to engagements with American Classical Orchestra, Apollo’s Fire, Bach Collegium San Diego, Philharmonia Baroque, Portland Baroque Orchestra, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Tempesta di Mare, Washington Bach Consort, and the Washington National Cathedral. In 2024, he was nominated for a GRAMMY award as a soloist on a recording of Handel’s Israel in Egypt with Apollo’s Fire.

Deeply immersed in vocal chamber music, Jacob enjoys active membership in Les Canards Chantants, a soloist-ensemble based in Philadelphia, as well as engagements with ensembles such as Ampersand, Blue Heron, Cathedra, Ensemble Altera, The Leonids, New Consort, Res Facta, and TENET Vocal Artists. He has explored the vocal works by contemporary composers through engagements with Yale Choral Artists, Third Practice, hexaCollective, and Great Noise Ensemble.

Career highlights include his recent solo debut with the New York Philharmonic singing Handel’s Israel in Egypt, headlining the inaugural festival of Western Early Music at the Beijing Central Conservatory of Music with Les Canards Chantants, and “English Orpheus”—a tour de force exploration of love songs and poems from the Elizabethan, Restoration, and early 18th-century periods he performed with Tempesta di Mare.

WEBSITE

ERICA SCHULLER

ERICA SCHULLER, soprano, brings vocal artistry, theatricality, and panache to baroque opera and concert performances across North America. She is a frequent soloist with Haymarket Opera in Chicago, the Boston Early Music Festival, Ars Lyrica in Houston, and New Trinity Baroque Orchestra, as well as Apollo’s Fire. Much admired for her comic acting, she won high kudos for two productions of Telemann’s Pimpinone with Haymarket Opera, where she played the lead female character, Vespetta. Her performance was described as “show stealing” by CHICAGO CLASSICAL REVIEW.

Erica was featured in Apollo’s Fire’s national touring production of Monteverdi’s Orfeo in 2018, singing the roles of La Musica and Euridice. She recently made her debut with Chicago’s Third Coast Baroque Ensemble in Handel’s Lucrezia. Upcoming engagements include the role of Poppea with Haymarket Opera in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea.

 

WEBSITE

JOSEFIEN STOPPELENBURG

Dutch soprano Josefien Stoppelenburg is best known for her dazzling vocal agility and her passionate and insightful interpretations. Stoppelenburg has performed all over the United States, Europe, Asia, and South America as a Baroque Music and Oratorio specialist, and as a concert singer. Stoppelenburg has performed most major oratorio works by Handel, Haydn, Bach and Mozart. Last season Navona Records released her CD, ‘Modern Muses, contemporary treasures for soprano and cello’. The album won a Bronze Medal in the 2022 Global Music Awards.

Concerts this season include appearances in Houston (Harmonia Stellarum and Ars Lyrica) the Boston Early Music Festival with the Newberry Consort, a St Matthew Passion in the Netherlands and concerts at the Arizona Bach Festival, Bach Week Evanston, Indianapolis Early Music Festival and the St. Louis Bach Festival.

Stoppelenburg taught vocal masterclasses at Indiana University (Jacobs School of Music), the University of Colorado, Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, and Illinois State University. She has performed for the Dutch Royal family on several occasions.

Josefien is also a professional painter and just illustrated a children’s book.

WEBSITE

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 GRAMMY®-winning Apollo’s Fire under the direction of Jeannette Sorrell, solo debuts with the Jacksonville and Tucson Symphonies, and his solo debut with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in Handel’s Israel in Egypt, for which Musical America praised him as “one of the evening’s highlights.” Other recent solo appearances include Handel’s Messiah and Monteverdi’s Vespers with Apollo’s Fire; and Ralph Vaughan Williams’s Dona Nobis Pacem, Bach’s Mass in B minor, and Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem with GRAMMY®-nominated True Concord under the direction of Eric Holtan. In 2019 Edward made his international solo debut in Bach’s Mass in G Major at Snape Maltings, UK, under the direction of Philippe Herreweghe.

Highly in-demand as an ensemble singer, Mr. Vogel has performed with groups including Bach Collegium Japan, and Paul Hillier’s Theatre of Voices in the world premiere of David Lang’s the writings at Carnegie Hall.

An avid recitalist, Edward finds passion in delivering sensitive, intimate performances of both art song and genres that go beyond the traditional classical canon. A two-time Vocal Fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center, he has honed his craft by coaching with champions of art song including Dawn Upshaw, Roger Vignoles, and the late Sanford Sylvan. His musical interests have led to engaging and acclaimed recitals of repertoire ranging from music of medieval Iberia to British art songs of the twentieth century.

Mr. Vogel holds degrees from the Yale School of Music and the University of Notre Dame.

WEBSITE

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.

WEBSITE

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