Mezzo-soprano GABRIELA ESTEPHANIE SOLÍS lends her “rich tone” and “moving expressiveness” (San Francisco Classical Voice) to an expansive range of repertoire spanning medieval through contemporary periods. As a passionate concert artist, her notable solo performances from recent seasons include Lili Boulanger’s Psaume 130 and Holst’s The Cloud Messenger (Georgetown Epiphany Festival), Copland’s In the Beginning (University of Notre Dame), Brahms’s Alto Rhapsody (Grace & St.Peter’s, Baltimore), and selections from Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder (Berkeley Community Chorus and Orchestra). An avid interpreter of Baroque repertoire, she has collaborated with preeminent early music organizations in performances of Vivaldi’s Juditha Triumphans (Tempesta di Mare), Bach’s B Minor Mass (American Bach Soloists), Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater (Resonance Berkeley), and Handel’s Messiah (Seraphic Fire), as well as in the roles of Medoro in Handel’s Orlando (BEMF Young Artist Training Program), Bradamante in Handel’s Alcina, and Endimione in Cavalli’s La Calisto at San Francisco State University under the direction of Christine Brandes.
Bio Category: 2425 featured artists
KATHIE STEWART
Hailed as a virtuoso by the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Kathie Stewart is a founding member and principal flute of Apollo’s Fire: The Cleveland Baroque Orchestra. An advocate of the baroque flute as a mainstream instrument, Stewart serves as Teacher of Baroque Flute at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Kulas Visiting Artist at Case Western Reserve University, and is Assistant Director for the Seattle Baroque Flute Workshop. Stewart has performed as soloist with The Cleveland Orchestra, Cleveland Opera, Oberlin Baroque Ensemble, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Washington Bach Sinfonia, ARTEK, and Turn the Corner Irish Band. Stewart has performed at the BBC Proms, Snape Proms, Tanglewood Festival, Aspen Music Festival, Ojai Music Festival, Boston Early Music Festival, New World Symphony’s Baroque Festival, Oberlin College Artist Series, National Academy of Sciences, Library of Congress, and Dumbarton Oaks Series. Stewart is a faculty member of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music where she serves as Curator of Harpsichords in the Historical Performance Department and additionally taught baroque flute for nearly twenty years. A proponent of historical temperaments, she tunes and maintains the Conservatory’s world-class collection of historical harpsichord reproductions.
Stewart appears on fourteen recordings with Apollo’s Fire including solo performances in Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. IV (AVIE) and Telemann’s Concerto in E Minor for Flute and Recorder (AVIE). An accomplished Irish flute player, she can be heard on Scarborough Fayre: Traditional Tunes from the British Isles and the New World, Come To The River: an Early American Gathering, and Sugarloaf Mountain: an Appalachian Gathering. Radio appearances include holiday specials on National Public Radio, NPR’s World of Opera, SymphonyCast, and Performance Today. Her concerts have been broadcasted on Britain’s BBC Radio, Canada’s CBC, European Community Radio, and on WCLV’s “Seaway” syndication network carried by member stations of the European Broadcasting Union.
Stewart holds a Bachelor of Music degree from West Virginia University as a student of Joyce Catalfano and a Master of Music degree from Manhattan School of Music as a student of Thomas Nyfenger. She completed doctoral coursework at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music as a student of George Hambrecht and participated in Eiji Hashimoto’s Baroque Ensemble. Fascination with the traverso led her to the Baroque Performance Institute at Oberlin Conservatory where she studied baroque flute and recorder with Christopher Krueger.
EMI TANABE
Violinist Emi Tanabe enjoys a multi-faceted career as a baroque violinist and a solo crossover artist. In addition to being a core member of Apollo’s Fire, she performs with the Haymarket Opera Company and Third Coast Baroque in Chicago. With Apollo’s Fire she has performed on tour across the U.S. and Europe. Her facility with world music styles and improvisation has led to many solo violin performances with Tango, Flamenco, Celtic, and Jazz ensembles across the country. She has appeared with such groups as the renowned Surabhi Ensemble, the GRAMMY®-nominated children’s music band Wendy&DB, and the theater/dinner production “Teatro ZinZanni.” Emi is a native of Japan, and holds degrees in violin performance from the University of North Texas and Roosevelt University.
PAUL MAX TIPTON
Described by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution as a “dignified and beautiful singer”, PAUL MAX TIPTON is an acclaimed bass-baritone in oratorio, opera, chamber music, and art song, performing and recording throughout North America, Europe, and Asia in repertoire stretching from the Renaissance to the Contemporary. He is in demand as an interpreter of the works of Bach and Haydn, working with notable ensembles such as the Washington Bach Consort, Bach Collegium Japan, the Pacific Symphony, the Spoleto Festival USA, and Göteborg Baroque. Recent recordings include Christus in Bach’s St. John Passion for AVIE Records with Nicholas McGegan, Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem with Seraphic Fire, and Nicolaus Bruhns’ solo cantatas for bass with Masaaki Suzuki for the BIS label. In 2012 Mr. Tipton was made a Lorraine Hunt Lieberson Fellow at Emmanuel Music in Boston. He holds a Master of Music degree from Yale University and resides in New York City.
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.