2526 mozart requiem – Apollo's Fire

KEVIN DEAS

Kevin Deas has gained international renown as one of America’s leading bass-baritones. He is perhaps most acclaimed for his signature portrayal of the title role in Porgy and Bess, having performed it with the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, National Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Pacific Symphony, as well as the most illustrious orchestras on the North American continent, and at the Ravinia, Vail and Saratoga festivals.

Kevin Deas’ 2023-24 season includes performances of Mozart’s Requiem with the Vermont Symphony and Mobile Symphony, Handel’s Messiah with the North Carolina Symphony, National Cathedral, Houston Symphony, and the NAC Orchestra in Ottawa. Other notable performances in the season include a Gershwin program with Oregon Symphony and Rochester Philharmonic, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Pacific Symphony, Brahms’s German Requiem with Long Beach Symphony Orchestra, and will be performing the role of Commendatore in Mozart’s Don Giovanni with Boston Baroque, as well as the role of Dick Hallorann in Paul Moravec’s critically acclaimed opera The Shining with the Opera Atlanta.

Kevin Deas past season highlights includes performances of Haydn’s The Creation with the Minnesota Orchestra, Mozart’s Requiem with the Toronto Symphony, Eugene Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic, Orchestra Iowa, and National Philharmonic & Chorale, Stravinsky’s Pulcinella with the Florida Orchestra, Handel’s Messiah with the New York Philharmonic, National Cathedral, Saint-Saens’ Henry VII with Odyssey Opera of Boston, Verdi’s Requiem with the Orquesta Sinfonica de Mineria and Rhode Island Philharmonic, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Pacific Symphony and Bach Festival Society of Winter Park, and William Walton’s Façade at the Virginia Arts Festival. He has performed selections from Gershwin with the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, selections from the musicals Les Miserables, Show Boat, and Ragtime with Providence Singers, in “The Spiritual in White America,” a presentation of black spirituals transformed for the white concert stage by Harry Burleigh and Nathaniel Dett, at the Phillips Collection, and a Christmas concert with the Portland Symphony.

SONYA HEADLAM

Born of Jamaican parentage, soprano SONYA HEADLAM has been praised as “an entrancing soloist… with elan, flawless intonation, a velvety middle voice, and on-the-mark coloratura” (South Florida Classical Review). Engagements in 2022 include her Philadelphia Orchestra debut in Handel’s Messiah; Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Handel’s Messiah with the North Carolina Symphony; Bach’s B Minor Mass with the Grand Rapids Symphony; a much praised debut with the New World Symphony (Miami) in Mozart’s Exsultate Jubilate; and her Severance Hall debut with Apollo’s Fire, with critics calling her “the highlight of the concert… she sang flawlessly and with seeming abandon” (ClevelandClassical.com).

Sonya’s previous solo performances include Carnegie Hall, Trinity Wall Street, Bang on a Can All-Stars, and venues in South America, Europe, and Asia, as well as a Caribbean tour with members of the Cuban Philharmonic. On the opera stage, her favorite roles have included Fiordiligi in Mozart’s Così fan tutte with Light Opera of New Jersey. Sonya holds a Doctorate in Vocal Performance from Rutgers University, where she has also held a visiting scholar appointment.

GUADALUPE PAZ

Tijuana-born Mezzo-soprano Guadalupe Paz was a member of a children’s choir committed to the revival of sacred repertoire at the early age of 6. Since then, music and singing have marked her life. In 2009 she graduated from the Conservatorio Arrigo Pedrollo in Vicenza, Italy. She is a frequent guest artist at the National Opera Company of Bellas Artes in Mexico City.

On the concert stage, Ms. Paz has performed gala concerts alongside tenor Javier Camarena at Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City, with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Oviedo at the Auditorio Príncipe Felipe de Asturias, and with the Bellas Artes Orchestra at Bellas Artes Theater in Mexico City.

The mezzo’s concert repertoire includes Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, Bach’s Magnificat and Johannes Passion, Handel’s Messiah, and Mozart’s Requiem and Vesperae Solennes de Confessore, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony and Choral Fantasy, Rossini’s Stabat Mater and Petite Messe Solennelle. F Minor Mass by Bruckner, and The Glagolitic Mass by Leoš Janaček. Ms. Paz’ repertoire also includes performances of Gustav Mahler’s 2nd and 3rd Symphonies performed at Palacio de Bellas Artes with the National Symphony Orchestra, Cary Ratliff’s Ode to Common Things with La Jolla Symphony and Chorus, Mario Lavista’s Tres Canciones para Orquesta y Mezzosoprano, Manuel De Falla’s Siete Canciones Populares, Romeo and Juliette by Hector Berlioz, and Kurt Weill’s Seven Deadly Sins at Harris Hall during the Aspen Music Festival in 2013.

Guadalupe Paz has collaborated with Roberto Kalb, Alberto Zedda, Jan LathamKoenig, Eduardo Diaz-Muñoz, Yves Abel, Ivan López-Reynoso, Carlos Miguel Prieto, Srba Dnic, Marcelo Ayub and Nikza Bareza, among others. During her career Ms. Paz has been a recipient of diverse accolades including 1st place in the 2015 inaugural competition of the Rossini Award organized by the Palm Springs Opera Guild of the Desert, and 3rd place in the open vocal category of the same competition in 2016. She won 1st place at the Musical Merit Foundation of Greater San Diego in 2013 and 2014, was a finalist in the “Toti dal Monte” competition, and won 2nd place at the Mexican Singing Competition “Carlo Morelli”.

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JACOB PERRY

JACOB PERRY, 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 the American Classical Orchestra, Apollo’s Fire, Bach Collegium San Diego, Philharmonia Baroque, Portland Baroque, Tafelmusik, Tempesta di Mare, and Washington Bach Consort. In 2024, he was nominated for a GRAMMY® Award as a soloist on Apollo’s Fire’s recording of Handel’s Israel in Egypt. Deeply immersed in vocal chamber music, Jacob performs with ensembles including Les Canards Chantants, Blue Heron, and TENET. 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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“The U.S.A.’s hottest baroque band.” –CLASSICAL MUSIC MAGAZINE (UK)