2425 bach b minor chicago

ARYSSA LEIGH BURRS

Vocalist Aryssa Leigh Burrs is hailed for her “rich sound and thoughtful musical ideas” while “transcending vocal styles and genres with flexibility and ease.” Ms. Burrs spent the Summer ’21 season as an Apprentice Artist with Central City Opera. While with CCO, she performed a solo Al Fresco Concert, covered the role of Sorceress in Dido and Aeneas, and was a feature ensemble member in a paired down production of Carousel. Aryssa will return as a Resident Artist with Opera Columbus-Capital University, where she was be seen singing the role of Zerlina in their spring 2021 production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni. Other recent engagements include Elvis Costello’s The Juliet Letters with UrbanArias and Mame Dennis in Mame at The Seagle Festival. Ms. Burrs is a recent graduate of Northwestern University, where she obtained a Masters of Music in Voice and Opera Performance. At Northwestern, she performed in numerous opera productions (Orlofsky, Die Fledermaus; Captain, Dog Days; Baba the Turk, The Rake’s Progress), while also appearing as soloist with various choral and orchestral ensembles (Am I born, David T. Little; Terra Nostra, Stacy Garrop; The Branch Will Not Break, Christopher Cerrone). As she is committed to using music for cultural and social justice causes, one of Ms. Burrs’ most cherished performances include her orchestral debut with the Charlotte Symphony as a featured soloist with the acclaimed drag queen production of Thorgy and the Thorchestra. Ms. Burrs also had the honor to perform a set of musical theater and operatic hits for the incomparable Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at a “thank you” dinner.

During the pandemic, Aryssa Leigh got to continue to hone her passion for progressive concert work and a lifelong interest in exploring musical styles through story and song. In January ’21, Aryssa created, produced, and performed in the virtual debut performance of her concert entitled Identify, which raised funds for the non-profit organization “Phenomenal Womxn” to launch their summer camp to teach empowerment through the arts to young girls. This concert looks at Aryssa’s personal pillars of identity and the music and visual arts that help her to feel challenged, curious, and ultimately empowered in those bits of herself; all with the intent, of inviting audience and collaborators alike to join her in the use of art in their own explorations. Identify, to be performed again for many seasons to come, encompasses styles ranging from english baroque, french mélodie, german romanic opera, to contemporary feminist pop.

Ms. Burrs holds both a Bachelor of Music Degree in Voice Performance and a Bachelor of Music Education Degree in Choral/General Music from the University of Maryland in College Park. Ms. Burrs has taught K-12 General and Choral Music in Montgomery County, MD, Public Schools, while maintaining a private voice and piano studio. Continuing to use her commitment and passion for educational programming, Ms. Burrs is currently teaching music and music theatre courses, leading dramatic coachings, and teaching solo voice at Capital University in the virtual format. DC Metro Theater Arts states, “From the moment she burst onstage, Aryssa [Leigh] Burrs charmed and dazzled the audience with her rich, full voice…she has the knack for singing pop and jazz music exceptionally well without compromising her vocal technique.”

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CHARLES WESLEY EVANS

Applauded by the New York Times for his “elegant, mellifluous and expressive baritone,” Charles Wesley Evans is establishing a fine career as an early music artist, and recitalist. This Georgia-born singer began singing professionally as a chorister at The American Boychoir School in Princeton, New Jersey. With The American Boychoir he toured both nationally and internationally, performing under the batons of notable conductors, John Williams, Zubin Mehta, James Levine, Kurt Masur, Vladimir Spivakov and Lorin Maazel. His singing has won him awards from numerous organizations and vocal competitions including the National Association of Teachers of Singing, the Mobile Opera Auditions, the Orpheus Vocal Competition, the Atlanta Music Club Auditions, and the Georgia Young Artist Competition.

Charles’ singing has led to a variety of opportunities throughout the United States and abroad. Most recently he has performed various works with Princeton Pro Musica chorus and orchestra, the Delaware Valley Philharmonic Orchestra and chorus, the Dryden Ensemble, TENET, Berkshire Baroque, the Master Chorale of South Florida and “Baroque Masterpieces” with the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra. He is also proud to be on the roster of the Grammy award-winning ensemble Conspirare and Grammy-nominated ensembles Seraphic Fire and the Trinity Choir of Trinity Church Wall Street. Charles has been broadcast on New York, South Florida, Texas and Kansas public radio, and he has recorded on the Naxos and Harmonia Mundi labels.
Charles holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Brewton-Parker College in Mt. Vernon, GA with further study at the Boston Conservatory of Music and Westminster Choir College of Rider University. He is currently Visiting Assistant Professor of Music at the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida.

EMILY MARVOSH

American contralto Emily Marvosh has established a reputation as a singing actress with excellent musicianship, a “plum-wine voice,” and “graceful allure,” on national and international stages. Recent solo appearances include the Handel and Haydn Society, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Rhode Island Philharmonic, Charlotte Symphony, Huntsville Symphony Orchestra, Tucson Symphony Orchestra, and John Davenant’s Macbeth with the Henry Purcell Society of Boston, as well as solo recitals in Tucson and the Boston area. Awards include the prestigious Adams Fellowship at the Carmel Bach Festival, the American Prize in the Oratorio and Art Song divisions, and second place in the New England Regional NATSAA competition. In the 2022-2023 season, she was the inaugural Resident Artist with the Lexington (MA) Symphony.

Her contributions to 21st century repertoire and performance include world premiere performances with The Thirteen, Juventas New Music, Shoreline Music Society, the Manchester Summer Chamber Music Festival, and the Hugo Kauder Society. She is a member of the Lorelei Ensemble, which promotes innovative new music for women. With Lorelei, she has enjoyed collaborations with composers David Lang and Julia Wolfe, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, A Far Cry, Duke Performances, and major symphony orchestras in Boston, Chicago, Nashville, and San Francisco.

A frequent recitalist and proud native of Michigan, Emily Marvosh created a chamber recital celebrating the history and culture of her home state, which won a St. Botolph Club Foundation Emerging Artist Award. Additional solo performances in Michigan are planned for the 2023-2024 season.

She belongs to Beyond Artists, a coalition of artists that donates a percentage of their concert fees to organizations they care about. She supports Rosie’s Place and the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music through her performances. She holds degrees from Central Michigan University and Boston University.

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REBECCA MYERS

Soprano Rebecca Myers is a celebrated performing and recording artist who specializes in a comprehensive variety of repertoire including early, contemporary, and chamber music.

Recent seasons have seen solo engagements with Seraphic Fire, Tempesta di Mare, Lyric Fest, Opera Philadelphia, Apollo’s Fire, the CalPoly Bach Festival, and Philadelphia’s Bach @ 7 series. Also a highly sought after recital artist, Rebecca has been featured in art song recitals with pianists Laura Ward and Benjamin C.S. Boyle presented by the European American Musical Alliance (EAMA), The Woodmere Art Museum, and Opus Opera.

Acclaimed for her work in the field of new music, Rebecca is a core member of The Crossing, the two time GRAMMY winning ensemble dedicated entirely to new music. She has premiered works by the top living composers around the world and she was a soloist on the 2016 GRAMMY nominated Bonhoeffer, released by The Crossing. She is also a founding member of the cutting edge vocal sextet Variant 6.

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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.

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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 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.

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