Musicians in the Bach, Three Cantatas concerts

November 20-21, 2010

Trevor Stephenson, harpsichordist and artistic director of the Madison Bach Musicians received a DMA in Historical Performance of 18th-C. Music from Cornell University. With his colleague, Norman Sheppard, he has rebuilt and customized a series of historical keyboard instruments ranging from Italian Renaissance harpsichords to Victorian pianos. He has released twelve recordings on the Light & Shadow label, and tours throughout the United States as performer and lecturer. His harpsichord was made in 1997 by Norman Sheppard of Madison; it is modeled on a late 17th-C. Dutch instrument by Couchet.

Soprano:

Rachel Edie Warrick joined the Madison Bach Musicians in 2006. Rachel has been a soloist throughout the Midwest in Handel's Messiah and Alexander's Feast, Bach's B Minor Mass, Magnificat, and St. Matthew Passion, Mozart's Vespers, and Respighi's Laud to the Nativity. In the Madison area, Rachel has performed with Opera for the Young and Madison Opera. Rachel holds Vocal Performance degrees with honors from the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music and the University of Michigan. Rachel is a private voice instructor in Madison, where she lives with her husband, Jay and daughter, Clara.

Praised by the Chicago Sun-Times for her “glowing, pure line,” soprano Amy Conn is in demand as an intelligent and communicative artist. Recent performances include Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610, Mozart’s Mass in C Minor, Schumann’s Das Paradies und die Peri, Purcell’s King Arthur, Bach’s Mass in B Minor, Pergolesi's Stabat Mater, and Haydn’s Creation. In 2010 she was a finalist in the NY Oratorio Society’s 34th Annual Competition and was a winner of Milwaukee’s Bel Canto Chorus Artist’s Competition. Also in 2010, Amy covered the role of Isifile in Cavalli’s Giasone with Chicago Opera Theater.

Alto:

Consuelo Sañudo has sung with Sequentia, Weser Renaissance, Las Huelgas Ensemble, and Bonnen, as well as performing solo stage work (title role, Arianna by Alexander Goehr, Speranza in L'Orfeo by Monteverdi) and oratorio in Germany. She has sung at the Moscow Alternativa and at the Frank Zappa Festival (Brussels Radio). She performs with the Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble, Madison Bach Musicians and Cecilia Singers. In 2009 she sang the premiere of David Dies' opera Hills like White Elephants. She has just finished a series of solo recitals in Madison.

Jessica Lee Timman, mezzo-soprano, is an active performer and teacher based in Madison, Wisconsin. She has performed numerous principal roles, supporting roles and chorus work in over 25 operatic productions with The Florentine Opera, Madison Opera, Opera for the Young, Music by the Lake, Stoughton Opera, Milwaukee Opera Theatre, and UW Opera. Jessica earned a DMA and MM in Voice Performance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a BME in Choral Education from the University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire.

Tenor:

Peter Gruett is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin where he studied voice with James Doing. He is an active soloist and ensemble singer in the Madison area where, in addition to the Madison Bach Musicians, he has been featured with the UW – Madrigal Singers, the choir of the First Unitarian Society of Madison and the Festival Choir of Madison.

George Abbott graduated with a double major of a BA in Music and a BS in Math from the University of North Texas. He has 18 years of choral experience starting with the Children's Chorus of San Antonio at age nine. After graduating from UNT, he taught middle school math in Dallas ISD for one year before attending Texas A&M to get his MS in Chemical Engineering. Other choral groups he has been in include the Texas All-State Choir, Canticum Novum and Chamber Choir of Denton TX. He studied voice under Richard Croft in his final two years at UNT.

Bass:

Nathan Krueger holds degrees from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, the University of New Mexico and is currently finishing a Doctorate at the University of Arizona. Mr. Krueger served on the Voice faculty at UW Oshkosh, and is currently a member of the Milwaukee Florentine Opera and Chicago Lyric Opera Supplementary choruses. Mr. Krueger has sung with the Santa Fe Opera, Santa Fe Desert Chorale, Arizona Opera Chorus, the Tucson Chamber Artists, Arizona Opera, L'opera Piccola in Chicago, Opera Southwest, and Chicago Chamber Opera.

As a performer, Jerry (Chiwei) Hui is at home with both early and contemporary music. Currently the director of “Eliza's Toyes”, a Madison-based vocal sextet specializing in early music, Mr. Hui has also performed extensively on the West Coast with groups such as the Albany Consort and San Francisco Renaissance Voices. He conducts and sings new and rare works; recent performances include Peter Maxwell Davies' theatrical Eight Songs for a Mad King. An award-winning composer, his music has been performed in the United States, Germany, France, Indonesia and Hong Kong.

Baroque Violin:

Kangwon Lee Kim is a versatile violinist with repertoire ranging from baroque to 21st century using both baroque and modern violins. She has given solo and chamber recitals throughout the U.S. and in Korea, Canada, Puerto Rico, Switzerland, and Norway. Dr. Kim has recorded for the Deutsche Harmonia Mundi and CRI labels. She has performed with the Smithsonian Chamber Players and Concerto Soloists Chamber Orchestra and collaborated with world-renowned musicians Menahem Pressler and Laurence Lesser. Dr. Kim earned her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and holds degrees from the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, the Manhattan School of Music, and Temple University.

Violinist Edith Hines performs frequently on both Baroque and modern versions of her instrument in such groups as the Bach Collegium Fort Wayne, violin/keyboard duo Ensemble SDG, Madison Bach Musicians, Madison Symphony Orchestra, and Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra. She is adjunct instructor of violin and viola at Ripon College and directs an early music ensemble through the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Continuing Studies. Edith has studied modern violin with David Updegraff, Donald Weilerstein, and David Perry and has had coaching in historical performance from Julie Andrijeski, Robert Mealy, and others.

Baroque Viola:

Marika Fischer Hoyt concertizes extensively on both modern and baroque viola. In addition to her work with the Madison Bach Musicians, she plays principal viola with the period-instrument Bach Collegium of Fort Wayne, IN. On modern viola, she is a member of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, and a founding member of the critically-acclaimed Ancora String Quartet. Marika earned her B.A. from Smith College and her M.M. from Indiana University. She also studied several years at the Mannes College of Music in New York and at the Musikhochschule in Hamburg, Germany.

Christine Liu is a recent graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison where
she earned a Doctorate in Musical Arts with a minor in business. She holds a Masters
degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and a Bachelors degree from
UW-Madison. Her teachers include Sally Chisholm, Felicia Moye, Jodi Levitz, Vartan
Manoogian, and Darcy Drexler. Enjoying both chamber and orchestral playing, she
has played with several orchestras including Monterey Symphony, Vallejo Symphony
and Madison Symphony. She currently works for the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra as
Personnel Manager and Orchestra Librarian.

Baroque Cello:

Anton TenWolde (cello) was born in the Netherlands where he studied with Sylvain van Amerongen, cellist with the The Hague Philharmonic Orchestra (Residentie Orkest). While earning his degree in Applied Physics at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, Anton performed with Ton Koopman, and toured with the Netherlands Student Chamber Orchestra and the Netherlands Student Baroque Orchestra. In 1973 he moved to Madison, Wisconsin, where he worked for 28 years as a Research Physicist and Project Leader at the Forest Products Laboratory. For many years he played principal cello with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra. He is a founding member of the Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble, and is a member of Con Vivo! a Madison chamber music group, and regularly performs with the Fort Wayne Bach Collegium.

Double Bass:

Rose Gear began her double bass studies at the age of 12, and has since performed with Madison Symphony Orchestra, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, and UW-Madison Chamber Orchestra in addition to appearances with Madison Bach Musicians. Her teachers include Rosemary Poetzel, Ross Gilliland, Mark Urness, and Laura Snyder. In 2005 Rose performed with Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra during their Eastern European tour to Austria, Hungary, and the Czeck Republic. Rose also enjoys guest appearances as a tango bassist with Quinteto Yzafa, a local tango ensemble.

Recorder:

With BM and MM in flute from Indiana University and Diploma in recorder from The Royal Conservatory of The Hague, Lisette Kielson has performed to acclaim in both the United States and Europe. Artistic director of L'Ensemble Portique, Lisette has signed with Centaur Records and will release CDs of Bach and Boismortier this year. Lisette directs the Collegium Musicum at Bradley University, teaches on the faculty of the Whitewater Early Music Festival, and leads workshops throughout the country. She serves as President and board member of the American Recorder Society.

Hailed as “distinguished” by the Chicago Tribune, Patrick O'Malley has performed across the US and Europe. He is on the faculty of the Music Institute of Chicago and is a registered Suzuki Method recorder teacher. Patrick runs a private studio and teaches remote students via video conference at PatrickRecorder.com. He earned a Master of Music degree in recorder from Indiana University, studying with Eva Legêne. Under a Netherlands Fulbright Fellowship, he studied with Han Tol at the Rotterdam Conservatory.

Viola da Gamba:

Russell Wagner began his studies in early music performance with Ben Bechtel at the College Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati. He is a frequent performer in Chicago’s early music community including appearances with The Newberry Consort, Bella Voce, the Catacoustic Consort (Cincinnati), Spirit of Gambo, a Chicago Consort of Viols, and Chicago Early Music Consort. Wagner is a leading restorer of cellos in this country, working from his studio, Chicago Celloworks.

Phillip W. Serna performs on viols with Ars Antigua, Duo fantaisie en Echo, the Newberry Consort, the Spirit of Gambo, et al. Appearing across the country as a pedagogue and recitalist, Phillip performs works old and new, including concerti with various orchestras. Phillip is the music director of Viols in Our Schools, Early Music America’s Outreach Award recipient of 2010. Additionally, he is instructor of double bass and viol at Valparaiso University. Phillip holds a Bachelors degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and Master and Doctoral degrees from Northwestern University.

Roster of Performers in the St. Matthew Passion

April 2008

Conductor: Ching-Chun Lai

Evangelist: Stephen Noon

Jesus: Samus Haddad

Mimmi Fulmer, soprano

Choir I

Soprano
Rachel Edie Warrick
Emily Whelan

Alto
Consuelo Sañudo
Bridget Duffy

Tenor
Peter Gruett
Jim Nichols

Bass
Matthew Tintes
Scott Johnson

Orchestra I

Baroque Violin I
Kangwon Kim
Brandi Berry

Baroque Violin II
Eleanor Bartsch
Rolf Wulfsberg

Baroque Viola
Marika Fischer Hoyt
Christine Liu

Baroque Cello
Anton TenWolde

Bass
Ross Gilliland

Baroque Oboe
Stanley King
Curtis Foster

Baroque Flute
Janet Hathaway
Rebecca Meier Rao

Baroque Bassoon
Julia Marion

Organ continuo
Trevor Stephenson

Choir II

Soprano
Emily Fink
Kristin Schwecke

Alto
Lon Ellenberger
Jessica Lee Timman

Tenor
Bruce Gladstone
Ryan Veillet

Bass
Paul Rowe
Codrut Birsan

Orchestra II

Baroque Violin I
Edith Hines
Wendy Adams

Baroque Violin II
Rachel Hauser
Jakob Hansen

Baroque Viola
Katrin Talbot
Nick Jeffrey

Baroque Cello & Viola da gamba
Eric Miller

Bass
Nils Berg-Olsen

Baroque Oboe
Ivar Lunde
Ellen Rider

Baroque Flute
Beth Bryngelson
Janna Stauffer

Harpsichord continuo

Max Yount

_______________________________

Trevor Stephenson, harpsichordist and artistic director of the Madison Bach Musicians received a DMA in Historical Performance of 18th-C. Music from Cornell University. With his colleague, Norman Sheppard, he has rebuilt and customized a series of historical keyboard instruments ranging from Italian Renaissance harpsichords to Victorian pianos. He has released twelve recordings on the Light & Shadow label, and tours throughout the United States as performer and lecturer. His harpsichord was made in 1997 by Norman Sheppard of Madison; it is modeled on a late 17th-C. Dutch instrument by Couchet.

Kangwon Lee Kim is a versatile violinist with repertoire ranging from baroque to 21st century using both baroque and modern violins. She has given solo and chamber recitals throughout the U.S. and in Korea, Canada, Puerto Rico, Switzerland, and Norway. Dr. Kim has recorded for the Deutsche Harmonia Mundi and CRI labels, and live recordings of her performances have been heard on National Public Radio, WFLN in Philadelphia, and Wisconsin Public Radio. She has performed with the Smithsonian Chamber Players and Concerto Soloists Chamber Orchestra and collaborated with world-renowned musicians including Menahem Pressler and Laurence Lesser.

Dr. Kim earned her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She holds degrees from the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, the Manhattan School of Music, and Temple University. From 2006 to 2008, Dr. Kim was an assistant professor in violin and chamber music at Biola University in California. During the summer, Dr. Kim teaches at Credo summer chamber music festival at Oberlin College.

Edith Hines recently received the DMA degree in violin performance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she held a Paul Collins Wisconsin Distinguished Graduate Fellowship. She performs frequently around Madison on baroque and modern violins, in such groups as the Madison Bach Musicians, Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble, Madison Symphony Orchestra, and Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra. An active chamber musician, she has participated in the Norfolk, Yellow Barn, and Ravinia festivals and has toured the U. S. and Japan with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Edith has studied modern violin with David Updegraff, Donald Weilerstein, and David Perry, and has had coaching in historical performance from Julie Andrijeski, Robert Mealy, John Chappell Stowe, and others.

Eleanor Bartsch began her violin studies at the age of four with Ellen Kim as a part of the Northern Lights Suzuki School in St. Paul, MN. Continuing her studies with Young Nam Kim, Eleanor was a winner of the Minnesota Youth Symphonies Concerto Competition. She has participated in masterclasses with Robert Mann of the Juilliard School and Joseph Silverstein, among others. Eleanor attended the Aspen Music Festival this past summer, studying with Paul Kantor of the Cleveland Institute of Music, and David Perry of the University of Wisconsin.

This season, Eleanor will perform four of Mozart’s violin and fortepiano sonatas in a collaboration with Trevor Stephenson of the Madison Bach Musicians. In addition to the M.B.M, Eleanor frequently performs with the University of Wisconsin Contemporary Chamber Ensemble. An avid chamber musician, she is a member of the Perlman Piano Trio, and enjoys playing with her string quartet. She recently began her first season as a member of the Madison Symphony Orchestra. Eleanor is currently a student at the University of Wisconsin School of Music under the tutelage of David Perry.

Edmond Chan, born in Corpus Christi, attended The University of North Texas where he received his Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry. Edmond started playing violin at age 3 and has performed with various orchestras and ensembles in Colorado, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Texas, Vermont, Wisconsin and Germany. Edmond was the first prize winner in the strings division at the Corpus Christi Young Artists Preparatory Competition and also received third prize in the piano division while in high school. As an exchange student in Germany Edmond was a member of the Schleswig-Holstein Kammer Orchester and studied violin in Hamburg with Stefan Maus. During his college career, Edmond was a member of the UNT Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra, Opera Orchestra and Baroque Orchestra. He was also a soloist and lead violinist with the UNT Baroque Orchestra.

Edmond has participated in master classes held by Gregory Fulkerson, Andrew Jennings, Henry Ruben, Fredel Lack, Stephen Clapp, Emlyn Ngai and Bruce Dickey and has recently performed at the Boston Early Music Festival, Madison Early Music Festival and is a member of the Madison Bach Musicians and the Philadelphia baroque orchestra, Tempesta di Mare. While at UNT Edmond was under the tutelage of Julia Bushkova and Cynthia Roberts. He is currently a student of David Douglass.

Rolf Wulfsberg, violin, is a member of the Madison Symphony Orchestra and also performs Scandinavian folk music on violin and Hardanger fiddle. A freelance music engraver, he is presently working on the preparation of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach: The Complete Works, published by The Packard Humanities Institute.

Marika Fischer Hoyt concertizes extensively on both modern and baroque viola. She’s a member of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, and the violist and manager of the Ancora String Quartet. On baroque viola, Marika performs with the Madison Bach Musicians, The Bach Collegium of Fort Wayne, IN and the Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble. Before moving to Madison in 1999 Marika played with many orchestras and chamber ensembles around the country, including the Richmond, VA, Charleston, WV and Des Moines, IA Symphonies.

Marika graduated Cum Laude from Smith College with a B.A. in Music, and earned her M.Mus. in Viola Performance at Indiana University. Her musical training also includes years at the Hochschule für Musik in Hamburg, Germany, the Mannes College of Music in New York City, and Indiana's Early Music Institute, where she studied with Stanley Ritchie. Marika spent five summers at the Yellow Barn Chamber Music Festival in Putney, VT, being coached by faculty from New England Conservatory, and three summers (so far) at the Madison Early Music Festival, studying with David Douglass and Julie Andrijeski.

A firm believer that musicians should be as diverse as possible, Christine Liu is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Musical Arts in viola performance with a minor in business at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She holds a Masters degree in viola from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and a Bachelors degree in violin performance from UW-Madison.

In 2002, Ms. Liu moved to Shanghai, China for one year where she taught general music to grades 1-10 at the SMIC Private School. Upon returning to the United States, she joined forces with the dark side and began pursuing the viola. She has performed for such artists as Pamela Frank, Robert Mann, the Brentano Quartet, and Pinchas Zucherman. Enjoying both chamber and orchestral playing, she has been a member of several orchestras including the Vallejo Symphony, Monterey Symphony, and Madison Symphony Orchestra. Her teachers include Sally Chisholm, Felicia Moye, Jodi Levitz, Vartan Manoogian, and Darcy Drexler.

Anton Tenwolde (cello) was born in the Netherlands, where he studied with Sylvain van Amerongen, cellist with the The Hague Philharmonic Orchestra (Residentie Orkest). While earning his degree in Applied Physics at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, Anton performed with Ton Koopman, and toured with the Netherlands Student Chamber Orchestra and the Netherlands Student Baroque Orchestra. In 1973 he moved to Madison, Wisconsin, where he worked for 28 years as a Research Physicist and Project Leader at the Forest Products Laboratory. For many years he played principal cello with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra. He is a founding member of the Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble, and is a member of Con Vivo! a Madison chamber music group.

Ross Gilliland is a member of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, and serves as principal bass in the UW Chamber Orchestra. Ross performs chamber music regularly with faculty at UW-Madison, with the Madison-based ensemble Con Vivo, and has appeared annually for four years at the Token Creek Chamber Music Festival. He has degrees in physics and music from UW-Madison. Ross spends his Summers entertaining America's youth in his ska band.

Rose Gear began her doublebass studies at the age of 12, and has since performed with Madison Symphony Orchestra, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, and UW-Madison Chamber Orchestra in addition to apperarences with Madison Bach Musicians. Her teachers include Rosemary Poetzel, Ross Gilliland, Mark Urness, and Laura Snyder. In 2005 Rose performed with Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra during their Eastern European tour to Austria, Hungary, and the Czeck Republic. Rose also enjoys guest appearences as a tango bassist with Quinteto Yzafa, a local tango ensemble.

Julia Marion recently graduated with a Bachelor of Music in bassoon performance from the University of Wisconsin at Madison where she studied with Marc Vallon. Julia’s interest in period bassoons has led her to play in a variety of chamber ensembles and orchestras including the Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute, where she studied with Micheal McCraw, and the Jeune Orchestre Atlantique in Saintes, France, where she performed Romantic period orchestral works on a nineteenth century bassoon. For her modern bassoon playing, Julia was recently named a co-winner of the 2008 Irving Shain Woodwind/Piano Duo Competition and this summer was invited to participate as a Young Artist in the Manchester Music Festival of Manchester, Vermont. Julia is fascinated by the challenges and opportunities period instruments pose to the modern bassoonist and plans to pursue a career in modern and period instruments in the future.

Mimmi Fulmer performs repertoire ranging from early music to premieres of works written for her. She has been featured soloist at festivals around the nation, including Aspen and Bang on a Can, and in concerts at the Kennedy Center, CAMI Hall, and the Walker Art Center. Her solo CD of 20th-century music, "About Time" (Centaur Records), was called "a gratifying testimony to…composers in America" by Opera News online, and "a spectacular show" by American Record Guide. She can also be heard on the CRI label in works of Edward Cone, the Innova label in works of Hans Sturm, and the Centaur label in music by Joseph Dubiel.

She is Professor of Voice and Associate Director of Opera at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where her work has been recognized with both the Vilas Associate and Chancellor's Awards. In 2005, she premiered a one-woman, multi-media opera, “Mirror Story” at the University of Michigan. She recently appeared as guest soloist with the Beloit College Masterworks Chorus and gave a recital and master class at UW-Green Bay. Upcoming performances include concerts with the Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble and the Madison Bach Musicians, an international conference at Princeton University on the music of Edward Cone, and the release in 2008 of her CD with flutist Leone Buyse, “American Voices”.

Consuelo Sanudo, mezzo-soprano, lived and performed in Germany for 9 years.
Highlights include the title role of Arianna, an opera by Alexander Goehr at its German premiere, the Young Singer/Octavian in Liebe Tod Kaiserwalzer by Ju(umlaut) rgen Schirrmacher, a theater piece for two singers, an actor and a video camera, and concerts in Europe as a concert and oratorio soloist as well as Lieder recitals.  She has sung with Sequentia, Las Huelgas Ensemble, Karta(umlaut)user Kantorei and BONNEN, with which she went on tour in Russia through the Goethe Institut, and her most recent recording was for Volker Staub's Suarogate, for solo vocal quartet and instruments. 
After returning to the USA she has continued to perform: Reflections on the French Baroque, a program with music of Delalande, Monteclair, Satie, Hahn and others, at the Austin Music Festival, and regular engagements as a soloist in the Madison area.

Matthew Tintes, Bass-baritone, recently completed his Master of Music degree at the University of Wisconsin- Madison, receiving his Master’s in Vocal Performance, with an emphasis in Opera. Tintes originally hails from Fargo, North Dakota. He received his degree in Vocal Music Education from North Dakota State University, and proceeded to teach Junior High and High School choir. At UW Madison, Tintes sang the role of Leporello in “Don Giovanni”, Arkel in “Pelleas et Melisande” and Don Pasquale in “Don Pasquale”. Tintes currently teaches voice at Beloit College and teaches voice in and around Madison. In 2009, Tintes will be singing with Madison’s “Opera for the Young”, touring Wisconsin and educating kids about Opera and music.

Baritone Samus Haddad, a New York native, is very happy to join his first performance with the Madison Bach Musicians. He recently finished his masters degree in opera performance at UW-Madison under the tutelage of Paul Rowe, and is now a professor of voice at St. Norbert college in De Pere, WI. He spent the summer as an apprentice artist with the Central City Opera company in Colorado, and is looking forward to working with Sarasota Opera in Florida this coming spring. Most recent credits include Elder Bat McLean (Susannah - Central City), The Ferryman (Curlew River - Central City), Dr. Malatesta (Don Pasquale - UW Madison), Golaud (Pelleas et Melisande - UW Madison), and John Brooke (Little Women - Stoughton Opera). He would like to thank Shauna for all of her incredible love and support.

Rachel Edie Warrick joined the Madison Bach Musicians in 2006. Rachel has been a soloist throughout the Midwest in Handel's Messiah and Alexander's Feast, Bach's B Minor Mass and Magnificat, Mozart's Vespers, and Respighi's Laud to the Nativity. She has an avid interest in early music, and has been a faculty member at the Madison Early Music Festival, a member of the early music ensemble Vox, and a scholarship recipient at the Baroque Vocal Programme in Vancouver, BC. Favorite roles include Rosina in Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, Cherubino in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, and La Ciesca in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi. She has toured with Opera for the Young and Motor City Lyric Opera. Rachel holds Vocal Performance degrees with honors from the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music and the University of Michigan. Rachel is a private voice instructor in Madison, where she lives with her husband, Jay and daughter, Clara.

Joseph Testa is both a singer and conductor. He has sung professionally with two-time Emmy nominee Conspirare (based in Austin, TX), and is currently the Artistic Director/Conductor for Capital Choral Musicians which he founded in 2008. Testa graduated from the University of Arizona ('94) with a DMA in Choral Conducting, Voice and Theory and has studied with Edwin Fissinger, Frank Pooler, Maurice Skones and Kenneth Jennings.

Bridget Duffy, a senior at UW-Madison, is a mezzo-soprano studying voice with Professor Mimmi Fulmer as part of her Choral & General Music Education degree. Bridget's theatrical experiences include Carousel (Julie Jordan), Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Milly), Mame (Agnes Gooch), Up the Down Staircase (Sylvia Barrett, Bea Schachter), Oliver!, Inherit the Wind. Bridget is the choir director and pianist The Crossing Campus Ministry and is a member of the UW Concert Choir, Madrigal Singers, and Women's Chorus. In college she has been in the choruses of UW Opera’s L’enfant et les sortileges, Pelléas et Mélisande, and Don Giovanni. In addition to her accompanying work as an organist and pianist, she has performed as an alto soloist with the Madison Bach Musicians and in Handel's "Messiah" at St. Paul's in Madison.