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.

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JONATHAN PIERCE RHODES

With his mellifluous “honey-voice,” Tenor Jonathan Pierce Rhodes has emerged as an exciting young presence in the world of opera, drawing attention and admiration from audiences and critics alike.

This season, Mr. Rhodes continues his residency in Washington National Opera’s Cafritz Young Artist Program where he is set to grace the stage as Pong in Puccini’s Turandot, a brand-new production directed by Francesca Zambello. Mr. Rhodes’ previous roles at Washington National Opera include Police Buddy 2 in Jeanine Tesori and Tazewell Thompson’s Blue, and Frank in The Passion of Mary Cardwell Dawson, a character he first brought to life at The Glimmerglass Festival in 2019.

With a particularly strong presence in the field of contemporary opera, this season will also see Mr. Rhodes make his house and role debut with New Orleans Opera as The Son in their new production of Blue. Additionally, he is set to portray Timothy Laughlin in the West Coast premiere of Gregory Spears and Greg Pierce’s Fellow Travelers with Opera Parallèle this spring.

Mr. Rhodes has been honored to spend the past three summers as a young artist at The Glimmerglass Festival. In the last season, he covered the title role in Leonard Bernstein’s Candide and portrayed Cacambo, receiving praise as a “big-voiced standout” by the Wall Street Journal. Previous years have seen him as the Armored Man in The Magic Flute and Cherubiel in the world premiere of Holy Ground at the festival.

Mr. Rhodes has been recognized as an encouragement award winner in the Houston District of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. In 2019, he received the 1st place Neva Pilgrim Award in the Civic Morning Musicals Competition and had the distinction of being named a recipient of Eastman’s William Warfield Scholarship Award. Rhodes holds both a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from The Eastman School of Music/University of Rochester. He is a recent graduate of Rice University where he received his Masters in Opera Performance.

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