2026 Summer Season Performer Bios
Andrea Baker, soprano
Soprano Andrea Baker’s 2024-2025 season featured a range of notable performances, including Mimi in La bohème with Western Plains Opera, a Mozart gala with Glacier Symphony, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte with Opera Ithaca, and Madame Silberklang in The Impresario at Anchorage Opera. Looking ahead, her 2025-2026 calendar is equally exciting, with several new roles on the horizon: Rusalka with Gulf Shore Opera, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with Western Plains Opera and the Rapides Symphony, Micaela in Carmen with Charleston Opera Theater, and Pamina in Die Zauberflöte with Opera Tampa in 2026. Additionally, she has appeared as soprano soloist in Poulenc’s Gloria at Emory University and will returns to the Glacier Symphony for Handel’s Messiah.
Andrea’s 2023-2024 season was a triumph of debuts, with a string of critically acclaimed performances that showcased her vocal prowess and dramatic flair. Of her portrayal of Marzelline in Fidelio at Opera Company of Middlebury the Times Argus praised her “brilliant and sensitive” singing. She earned an excellent critical nod as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with TEC Monterrey in Mexico and Donna Elvira with Opera Tampa, solidifying her reputation as a versatile and compelling performer.
Her debut as Mimi in La bohème with Wichita Grand Opera was a particular highlight, with critics noting her nuanced and affecting interpretation. Her role debut as Violetta in La traviata with Anchorage Opera earned phenomenal kudos, with America Presswire declaring: “Soprano Andrea Baker is quite likely breaking out right here and right now in what has been called her star-turn role…without question, Baker nails it. Her voice shimmers and shines as bright as the jewels bedazzling the women and costumes of the era, and it grips the heart of the audience…”
Andrea Baker placed first in the Edward M. Murray International Competition with Opera Ithaca and third in the James Toland Vocal Arts Competition.
Yelena Beriyeva, piano
Georgian-American pianist Yelena Beriyeva made her solo debut at the age of 5 with the Tbilisi State Symphony Orchestra. Since then, she has performed extensively as a recitalist, chamber musician, and orchestral soloist in Rep. of Georgia, Armenia, Russia, Ukraine, Venezuela, Canada, Mexico, and the United States. She has appeared as soloist under the batons of such renowned conductors as Ludovic Morlot and Philippe Entremont.
Rachel Braude, flute
Grammy Award–winning flutist Rachel Braude has been hailed as “masterful” by The Boston Globe. A former member of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, she currently performs with the Portland Symphony Orchestra, Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra, Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, and Odyssey Opera. She is also a frequent guest with the Boston Ballet Orchestra, Boston Lyric Opera, Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, Boston Pops Orchestra, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
During the summer season, she performs with the Boston Landmarks Orchestra, New Hampshire Music Festival, and Monadnock Music.
Rachel is currently on the faculties of Dartmouth College and Northeastern University, and has previously taught at New England Conservatory of Music, University of Massachusetts (Boston), Rhode Island College, and the University of Rhode Island.
Victor Cayres, piano
Pianist Victor Cayres has earned praise for concerts with the Sine Nomine string quartet and as soloist with Boston Pops, Orchestre des Jeunes de Fribourg in Switzerland, and Brno Philharmonic in the Czech Republic. He has been a guest artist at Banff Center for the Arts in Canada, Interlochen Center for the Arts, Universidade de São Paulo, University of Connecticut, Claflin University, Wesleyan University, Western Washington University, Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Conservatory and State University for Arts and Culture.
He has recorded for Albany, Centaur, Navona, and Parma Records, and frequently performs in Brazil, Europe, South Korea, and in the United States, including Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, Chicago’s Preston Bradley Hall, Boston’s Symphony Hall and Jordan Hall. His concerts have been broadcast live at Brazil’s TV Cultura channel, Boston’s WGBH 99.5 All Classical, and Chicago’s WFMT Fine Arts Radio. Mr. Cayres currently serves as Faculty at Boston University, Co-Director for Boston University Tanglewood Institute Young Artists Piano Program, and Faculty at New England Conservatory Preparatory School and Rivers School Conservatory. In his free time he enjoys cooking and playing soccer.
Angelia Cho, violin
Violinist Angelia Cho's concerto debut was with the Philadelphia Orchestra at the age of 11. Since then, she has enjoyed an exciting and versatile career as soloist, recitalist, chamber musician, teaching artist, and orchestral musician across the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and South Africa.
Ms. Cho has been a member of the National Symphony orchestra since 2018, and has performed with the Minnesota Orchestra for the 2014–2015 season, as well as having performed with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. She is also a former member of IRIS Orchestra as well as Boston Grammy Award®-nominated ensemble A Far Cry.
She received her Bachelor of Music degree from The Curtis Institute of Music, studying with Ida Kavafian, and continued her education in Boston at the New England Conservatory with Donald Weilerstein, earning a master's degree and graduate diploma in performance.
In 2000, Cho won the National Society of Arts and Letters Violin Competition and first prize at the Rutenberg Chamber Music Competition and was also the winner of the Concerto Competition and was in Honors ensemble at New England Conservatory. In 2007, Cho became a fellow of the Academy, a program of Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and the Weill Institute in New York City, currently known as ensemble Connect.
An avid educator and ambassador of music, Cho has been involved in several projects around the world, one of which included the building of the first national youth orchestra in Iraq. Though the orchestra is no longer in existence, the experience resulted in a book called Upbeat by author and conductor Paul MacAlindin, with whom Cho collaborated closely for four years during the project. Cho has since performed in numerous chamber music series and festivals, including Kneisel Hall, Yellow Barn, Verbier, Ravinia, Northwestern University Winter Festival, the Open Chamber Music Session in Prussia Cove in England, and the Grahamstown National Arts Festival in South Africa. She has collaborated with world renowned artists in chamber music and solos, such as Ida Haendel, Christian Tetzlaff, Shlomo Mintz, members of the Cleveland Quartet, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Minnesota Orchestra.
Sarah Coit, mezzo-soprano
In 2025, Utah Opera welcomed the return of Mezzo-soprano Sarah Coit as Hansel in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel. Her busy season continued with a house and role debut as Maria in Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda at Opera Baltimore. Coit joined Wichita Grand Opera as Angelina in Rossini’s La cenerentola, and makes three role debuts this season: as Cendrillon in Massenet’s Cendrillon with Vashon Opera, the title role in Handel’s Rinaldo with Pacific Opera NW, and returns to Opera Tampa as Miss Jessel in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw. She completes the year as alto soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the Glacier Symphony and in concert with American Bach Soloists for “A Baroque New Year’s Eve at the Opera”. In 2026, Sarah sings Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Knoxville Opera, returns to American Bach Soloists for performances of Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, and in 2027 premieres a new chamber opera, Pink Clouds, with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra.
In 2024 she joined the San Francisco Opera as the Rosmira cover in Partenope and Second Lady in The Magic Flute. She made a role and company debut as Diana in Cruzar la Cara de la Luna with San Antonio Opera, and workshopped Peggy & Jackson, a new opera about Peggy Guggenheim and American painter Jackson Pollock. Sarah finished the year as the alto soloist in Messiah with Portland Baroque. She returned to Seattle Opera in 2023 as Fariba and Wife #3 in the world premiere of Sheila Silver and Stephen Kitsakos’ A Thousand Splendid Suns, sang Mercedes in Carmen with the Reno Philharmonic, and reprised the role of Laurene Powell Jobs in The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs with Utah Opera. She also offered her first Nero in L’Incoronazione di Poppea with West Edge Opera, sang Angelina in Cenerentola with Toledo Opera, created the role of Polly Thompson in the world premiere of Touch with Opera Birmingham, and sang Hansel in Hansel and Gretel with Opera Tampa and Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Tri-Cities Opera.
Other recent engagements include Juno in Handel’s Semele with Opera Santa Barbara, Stephano in Roméo et Juliette with San Diego Opera, Sesto in Giulio Cesare with West Edge Opera, Daniel in Handel’s Belshazzar with American Bach Soloists, concerts with Sag Harbor Song Festival and The Neave Trio in Boston, and a role debut as Komponist in Ariadne auf Naxos with Arizona Opera.
Sarah enjoyed an exciting year of operatic and symphonic debuts in 2021 incuding Varvara in Katya Kabanova with West Edge Opera, Addison Moore in the film premiere of The Copper Queen by Clint Borzoni with Arizona Opera and Rosina in Utah Opera’s Il barbiere di Siviglia, where Utah Arts Review stated “As Rosina, Sarah Coit was captivating. Her opening aria “Una voce poco fa” displayed a clear, natural tone and her phrasing was exquisite.” Sarah was also the alto soloist in Handel’s Messiah with appearances at Symphoria, Winston-Salem Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, and the American Bach Soloists.
In previous seasons she performed Mercédès in Carmen with Opera Tampa, sang Nancy in Albert Herring, Sister Helen Prejean in Dead Man Walking, and Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, Adonis in the world premiere of Dan Visconti and Cerise Jacobs’ ‘Interactive video game opera’ PermaDeath with White Snake Projects in Boston, the title role in Giulio Cesare, and the Waitress in the world premiere of Michael Ching’s Speed Dating Tonight. She made her Seattle Opera debut as Mercédès in Carmen, performed at the Ravinia Festival as a soloist in Bernstein’s Songfest, joined West Edge Opera as Jenny Diver in The Threepenny Opera, sang Olga in Eugene Onegin with Livermore Valley Opera, as well as the Vivaldi Gloria and Bach Magnificat with the Master Chorale of South Florida.
Sarah Coit was a Gerdine Young Artist with Opera Theatre of St. Louis where she covered Richard in the American premiere of Handel’s Richard the Lionheart. She spent two years as a Resident Artist with Utah Opera, where she sang the Shepherd, White Cat, and Squirrel in L’Enfant et les sortilèges with the Utah Symphony and performed the roles of Mercédès in Carmen and Zerlina in Don Giovanni on the mainstage. As an apprentice artist at the Santa Fe Opera, she covered the roles of Erika in Barber’s Vanessa and Laurene Powell Jobs in the world premiere of Mason Bates’ The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs. As Alisa in Lucia di Lammermoor, Classical Review remarked “…mezzo-soprano Sarah Coit distinguished herself as Alisa, especially in the gorgeous sextet.”
A 2017 National Semi-finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, she has received prizes from the George London Foundation and the Handel Aria Competition.
Gabriela Díaz, violin
Georgia native Gabriela Díaz began her musical training at the age of five, studying piano with her mother, and the next year, violin with her father.
As a childhood cancer survivor, Gabriela is committed to supporting cancer research and treatment in her capacity as a musician. In 2004, Gabriela was a recipient of a grant from the Albert Schweitzer Foundation, an award that enabled Gabriela to create and direct the Boston Hope Ensemble. This program is now part of Winsor Music. A firm believer in the healing properties of music, Gabriela and her colleagues have performed in cancer units in Boston hospitals and presented benefit concerts for cancer research organizations in numerous venues throughout the United States.
Gabriela is the newest member of the internationally acclaimed and ground breaking string quartet, the Kronos Quartet. kronosquartet.org A fierce champion of contemporary music, Gabriela has been fortunate to work closely with many significant composers on their own compositions, namely Pierre Boulez, Magnus Lindberg, Frederic Rzewski, Alvin Lucier, Unsuk Chin, John Zorn, Joan Tower, Jessie Montgomery, Roger Reynolds, Chaya Czernowin, Steve Reich, Tania León, Brian Ferneyhough, and Helmut Lachenmann. Gabriela plays regularly with Winsor Music, Castle of our Skins, Radius Ensemble, is concertmaster of the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, and is a member of the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICEensemble), and A Far Cry.
In 2012 Gabriela joined the violin faculty of Wellesley College. She also teaches at the Longy School of Music at Bard College. Gabriela is co-artistic director of the much beloved Boston-based chamber music and outreach organization Winsor Music. Please visit winsormusic.org for more information!
Gabriela's recording of Lou Harrison's Suite for Violin and American Gamelan was highlighted in the New York Times Article "5 Minutes That Will Make You Love Classical Music."
Critics have acclaimed Gabriela as “a young violin master,” and “one of Boston’s most valuable players.” Lloyd Schwartz of the Boston Phoenix noted, “…Gabriela Diaz in a bewitching performance of Pierre Boulez’s 1991 Anthèmes. The come-hither meow of Diaz’s upward slides and her sustained pianissimo fade-out were miracles of color, texture, and feeling.” Others have remarked on her "indefatigably expressive" playing, “polished technique,” and “vivid and elegant playing.”
Gabriela can be heard on New World, Centaur, BMOPSound, Mode, Naxos, and Tzadik records.
Gabriela plays on a Vuillaume violin and a viola made by her father, Manuel Díaz.
Charles Dimmick, violin
Praised by the Boston Globe for his “cool clarity of expression,” violinist Charles Dimmick enjoys a varied and distinguished career as concertmaster, soloist, and chamber musician. As one of New England’s most sought after orchestral musicians, he is concertmaster of the Rhode Island Philharmonic, the Portland Symphony, the New Hampshire Music Festival, and co-concertmaster of the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra. A frequent soloist throughout New England and beyond, Charles has garnered praise, packed houses, and received standing ovations for what the Portland Press Herald has called his “luxurious and stellar performances” and his “technical and artistic virtuosity.” Recent solo engagements have included performances with the Memphis Symphony, Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, Portland Symphony, Winston-Salem Symphony, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Arizona Musicfest, Chamber Orchestra of Boston, and the Boston Civic Symphony. A resident of Melrose, MA, he is currently living out the pandemic in Lisbon, NH with his wife, RIPO flutist Rachel Braude, and their daughter Chloe. Charles performs on a 1784 Joseph & Antonio Gagliano violin.
Aaron Engebreth, baritone
For over thirty five years, the baritone Aaron Engebreth has built a varied solo career in classical music, theatre, musical theatre and radio. He currently stars in the multi-episode serialized opera made for television, Everything for Dawn, as Mac Logan, a Vietnam Veteran who appears as a spectral presence, even when he’s alive. Critically acclaimed as being “sung with wrenching melancholy by Aaron Engebreth”, the series currently streams on multiple online and television networks.
He began performing professionally at the age of 16, (nearly failing out of High School as a result) but a life in performance had seized his attention. He is now a perennial guest of major orchestras, opera companies and early music ensembles throughout the United States and abroad and devotes considerable energy to the performance of established music and contemporary premieres, frequently collaborating with many of today’s preeminent composers.
Mr. Engebreth has garnered two GRAMMY® Award nominations for Best Operatic Recording for his work with the Boston Early Music Festival and Radio Bremen. His New York City Opera debut in Dominick Argento’s mono-dramatic opera, A Waterbird Talk, was acclaimed by the New York Classical Review stating, “Engebreth is a marvelous actor, capable of holding his character’s many facets and motivations in tension.” He has been a soloist from Carnegie Hall to the Kennedy Center and Boston’s Symphony Hall, as well as international appearances from Sapporo Japan’s Kitara Hall to Le Theatre de la Ville in Paris to the AmBul Festival in Sofia, Bulgaria. Mr. Engebreth has been a guest soloist of the Tanglewood, Ravinia, Rockport and Monadnock Music Festivals, the Mark Morris Dance Company and Boston Ballet. He is often featured with early music ensembles such as American Bach Soloists, Handel and Haydn Society and Boston Baroque.
His association with Monadnock Music began in 2004 and he cherishes returning to this beautiful place to make music with some of his most valued friends and colleagues. A prolific recording artist, he is featured on over 35 commercial recordings and is often heard as a voice-over artist. He is a member of the Recording Academy and of the Actors’ Equity Association.
Stephanie Fong, viola
Violist Stephanie Fong is a native of Oakland, California. She enjoys a versatile career as a chamber and orchestral musician. Stephanie performs regularly with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and has served on the chamber music faculty at the University of Michigan School of Music, Gordon College, the Innsbrook Institute Summer Music Academy, and the Peaks to Plains Suzuki Institute. Stephanie has also concertized with groups such as Mistral Music, Chameleon Arts Ensemble, A Far Cry, Winsor Music, Boston Artists Ensemble, Enso String Quartet, Phoenix Ensemble, and Radius Ensemble, among others. She holds degrees from the New England Conservatory of Music and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where her principal teachers were Martha Strongin Katz and Ian Swensen.
Omar Chen Guey, violin
Violinist Omar Chen Guey has performed internationally as a soloist with orchestras, in recitals and chamber concerts in the United States, Europe, Qatar, Taiwan, Kenya, Seychelles and his native country, Brazil. He has been a featured soloist with the Brazilian, Campinas, Goiania, Minas Gerais, Claudio Santoro National Theater, Sao Paulo University, Sao Paulo Municipal, and the State of Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestras, as well as the Amazonas Philharmonic, Petrobras Pro-Musica, Experimental Repertoire, Qatar Philharmonic, Manhattan School of Music, Stony Brook University Symphony, Maidstone Symphony and the Seychelles International Music Festival Orchestras. Following a recital in Oslo, Norway, he had the honor of performing for the King of Norway, Harald V. He is a prizewinner at both Tibor Varga and Lipizer International Violin Competitions in Switzerland and Italy, respectively. In the past few seasons he performed the Britten Violin Concerto and the Vivaldi Four Seasons with the Fribourg Youth Orchestra in Switzerland. In 2024 he performed the Vivaldi Four Seasons at the Monadnock Music Festival.
He is on the violin faculty of Dartmouth College. He is the assistant concertmaster of the Rhode Island Philharmonic, a member of the Boston Ballet. He was a member of A Far Cry, a two time Grammy nominated self conducted chamber orchestra. He has performed with the Radius Ensemble, Worcester Chamber Music Society, Walden Chamber Players, Dinosaur Annex, Boston Lyric Opera, Odyssey Opera, Monadnock Music Festival, the Boston Pops and the Boston Symphony Orchestra Chamber Players. He was assistant concertmaster of the Orquesta de la Comunidad Valenciana, in Valencia, Spain, under the direction of Lorin Maazel.
Mr. Guey premiered the Violin Concerto by Jean-Charles Gandrille with the Qatar Philharmonic. This performance has been released on the French label Paraty. He released the Bach Concerto for Two Violins on the Paulinas Label with the Brazilian soloist Elisa Fukuda and the Camerata Fukuda. He premiered and released Chaza for solo violin by renowned French Lebanese musician Marcel Khalife on Nagan records. He participated in the Isaac Stern Chamber Music Workshop and has collaborated with such renowned musicians as Lynn Harrell, Ani Kavafian, David Finckel, Lawrence Dutton, Kikuei Ikeda and Colin Carr. Mr. Guey’s principal teachers were Philip Setzer, Ani Kavafian and Pamela Frank, Robert Mann, Sylvia Rosenberg and Elisa Fukuda.
Yoko Hagino, piano
Yoko Hagino was born and raised in Japan. As a child, she performed her own compositions, which took her to Europe and the U.S. Yoko Hagino won top prizes in various competitions, such as in the All Japan Mozart Competition and in the Steinway Society Piano Competition. She received her Bachelor's Degree and her Master's Degree with honors from Tokyo National University. She also earned an Artist Diploma from the Longy School of Music, where she studied with Victor Rosenbaum, as well as the Performance Diploma at Boston Conservatory, where she was a student of Michael Lewin. She also studied with Seymour Lipkin privately. Besides numerous performances in Japan, Yoko Hagino performed at Jordan Hall in Boston, at the William Kapell Music Festival, at Steinway and Sons in Kamen, Germany, and appeared live on Suisse Romande Radio in Switzerland.
As a devoted chamber musician and a passionate performer of contemporary music, she has performed in many concerts, such as Boston Symphony Chamber Music Community Concert Series, Fromm Players at Harvard, The Boston Conservatory New Music Festival, Goethe Institute Boston, Brandeis University New Music Festival, and the Summer Institute of Contemporary Performance Practice at the New England Conservatory. She often collaborates with a large number of composers, and has premiered hundreds of their works. Yoko frequently performs with Ensemble Sound Icon, Ludovico Ensemble, Storytime Quintet, and the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP). Her performances can be heard on Navona and Bridge labels.
Jesse Irons, violin
Jesse Irons is an imaginative violinist and orchestral leader, celebrated for his “strongly committed and highly polished” performances. As Assistant Concertmaster of Boston Baroque and co-leader of the acclaimed chamber orchestra A Far Cry, Jesse brings a deep commitment to musical storytelling, shaping programs that captivate audiences and challenge expectations. He is a core member of The Musicians of the Old Post Road and collaborates regularly with the Boston Early Music Festival, the Handel & Haydn Society, Sarasa, and Newton Baroque.
Having a penchant for combining old and new, Jesse has recently reimagined Vivaldi’s Four Seasons through the lens of climate change, using an algorithmically-modified score based on the 2050 United Nations Climate Model to provoke thought and spark dialogue on our environmental future.
Jesse happily lives in the Boston area with his musician wife Emily, face-painting daughter Isabelle, and high-fiving toddler Ennis.
Eunae Koh, violin
“Technically unflappable, a model of poise and empathy”
-Terry Blain, Star Tribune, 2020
Violinist Eunae Koh enjoys an established career as a soloist, chamber musician, and teacher. Since 2019, she was an active member of the Grammy Award-winning Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO), where she regularly performed as a featured soloist and Creative Lead. From 2024-2025, Eunae served as Assistant Professor of Violin at Chapman University, where she developed a unique pedagogy curriculum, taught undergraduate violin students, and co-directed the chamber music program. During the summers, Eunae serves as faculty-artist at the Yellow Barn Music Festival’s Young Artists Program and regularly teaches masterclasses at the Seoul Central Conservatory.
Originally from South Korea, Eunae made her concerto debut at 9 years old with the Seoul Symphony Orchestra and quickly gained recognition by winning numerous national competitions. Following her Special Prize award at the Isang Yun International Competition in 2011, her international profile began to rise. After moving to the United States in 2013, she made her U.S. debut performing the Brahms Concerto with the New England Conservatory Symphony Orchestra. Her performance of the same concerto with the Aukland Philharmonic Orchestra at the Michael Hill International Competition was acclaimed for its “beauty, bending the world to its will,” culminating in Second Prize and Chamber Music Prize awards.
At the SPCO, Eunae led solo unconducted performances of Haydn’s G Major Concerto, Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, B minor Concerto, and Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante. She was an active multi-year member on the Artistic Vision Committee, shaping the orchestra's season programming, and as one of the first Creative Leads, curated "Romantic Landscapes with Eunae Koh," a chamber music program lauded for its programming and emotional depth by the Twin Cities Pioneer Press. She also collaborated with renowned artists Joshua Bell, Tabea Zimmermann, Richard Goode, Anne-Marie McDermott, and Abel Selacoe.
Eunae has performed with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, A Far Cry, Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players and Chameleon Arts Ensemble, as well as led from the concertmaster chair of the Hwaum Boston Chamber Orchestra, the New York Classical Players and the Symphony in C. Her solo and chamber appearances have taken her to Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Jordan Hall and stages across Germany, Japan, Korea, and New Zealand.
Eunae earned her Doctor of Musical Arts at the Manhattan School of Music under the guidance of Mark Steinberg. Her dissertation, "The Violin Poème as Hybrid Genre," delves into the works of Ysaÿe, Chausson, and Bloch. She obtained a Master of Music and Graduate Diploma with the Presidential Scholarship at the New England Conservatory and a Bachelor of Music from Seoul National University. During this time, she taught undergraduate and graduate students as a teaching assistant of Donald Weilerstein and Young Uck Kim.
Joseph Canuto Leon, baritone
Praised for his “Outstanding Singing” and “Big, bass-y baritone” by The Dallas Morning News and his "Robust timbre" by Operawire, baritone Joseph Canuto Leon is an emerging artist beginning to make strides in the classical voice world. Originally from Des Moines, Joseph has been featured with The Dallas Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Opera Omaha, Chautauqua Opera Company, Charlottesville Opera, Wichita Grand Opera, American Baroque Opera Company, Painted Sky Opera, Village Opera, Peach State Opera, Opera in the Rock, and Opera on the James.
Recent roles for Mr. Canuto Leon include Giorgio Germont (La traviata) with Vero Beach Opera, Peach State Opera and Village Opera, Marcello (La bohéme) with Florida Grand Opera’s Outreach tour and Village Opera, Schaunard (La bohéme) with Florida Grand Opera and Painted Sky Opera, Valentin (Faust) and Enrico (Lucia di Lammermoor) with Village Opera, Father (Hansel and Gretel) with Chautauqua Opera Company and Wichita Grand Opera, Il conte d’Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro) as a guest artist with TCU Opera and with UNT Opera Theater, Baron Zeta (The Merry Widow) with Charlottesville Opera, Belcore (The Elixir of Love) with The Dallas Opera’s Outreach tour, the title role in Eugene Onegin with Russian Opera Workshop, Elder Ott (Susannah) with Opera Omaha, and Barone Douphol (La traviata), Morales (Carmen), and German Soldier #1 (Silent Night) with Florida Grand Opera.
Joseph received strong reviews for his four day step-in as Giorgio Germont in Vero Beach Opera’s 2025 production. He was hailed as “Stealing the show…an incredible voice and a triumph of a debut”. As Morales in Florida Grand Opera's 2025 Carmen, Operawire raved "Also a lovely pairing was with Moralès sung by baritone Joseph Canuto Leon. His robust timbre added a strong and grounded feeling to the Act one duet." Palm Beach Arts Paper added ""Joseph Canuto Leon made much of the mini-aria allotted to the Sergeant Morales." As Schaunard in La bohéme (FGO 2024), Opera News raved "A pleasant surprise was the high-profile Schaunard of studio artist Joseph Canuto Leon. Thanks in part to Cooksey’s canny and keen-eyed staging, Leon made Schaunard’s early-on description of his successful day seem like a mini-aria — even though the other three men were singing in background counterpoint, and this character doesn’t have an extended solo." His performance as Barone Douphol in Florida Grand Opera’s 2023 production of La traviata garnered strong reviews from multiple critics. South Florida Classical Review said, “...Joseph Canuto Leon brought a domineering menace to Baron Douphol…The relationship between Violetta and Baron Douphol was front and center from the opera’s beginning rather than a reaction to abandoning Alfredo."
Joseph is a graduate of the University of North Texas (MM 2017) and Iowa State University (BM 2013) and is a student of baritone Michael Chioldi. His professional training came as a member of the Young Artist Programs of Florida Grand Opera (2023-2024), The Dallas Opera (2021-2023), Chautauqua Opera Company (2024), Charlottesville Opera (2022), Opera on the James (2019), and the Russian Opera Workshop at AVA (2020).
Caitlin Lynch, viola
Violist Caitlin Lynch has performed across the globe in collaboration with artists from Itzhak Perlman to Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood. She is violist of the Aeolus String Quartet, violist and co-Artistic Director of the Grammy-nominated conductorless chamber orchestra A Far Cry, and founder and Artistic Director of Project Chamber Music: Willamette Valley. Praised for her “deep, chocolate-rich voice” (Washington Classical Review) and “lush sound and splendid advocacy” (Boston Music Intelligencer), Ms. Lynch’s “effervescent…stellar” (Oregon ArtsWatch) performances as a chamber and orchestral musician, soloist with orchestra, and recitalist have spanned fourteen countries across five continents - including performances at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Sydney Opera House, the Beijing National Center for the Performing Arts, and the United Nations.
Clara Lyon, violin
Three-time GRAMMY-nominated violinist Clara Lyon is an acclaimed artist whose work sparks imaginative pathways by interlacing sonic languages with diverse artistic disciplines. Celebrated for her stylistic versatility, she thrives as a collaborator across contexts—from chamber music and recital programs to interdisciplinary projects that blend music with literature, visual art, and community-rooted practice.
A prizewinner of the Irving M. Klein and Schadt International Competitions, Clara has appeared worldwide at venues and festivals including Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Library of Congress, NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts, and the Reykjavik Arts Festival. Her artistic vision has been recognized with a Music Academy of the West Alumni Enterprise Award and a Ragdale Foundation Residency with the Theorem Collective, and she has been a recipient of the Massachusetts Cultural Council grants.
Clara is Co-Artistic Director of Decoda, Carnegie Hall’s only Affiliate Ensemble, where she curates performances and creative initiatives for a national roster of 35 artists. Her work spans concert halls and recording projects as well as sustained community partnerships in schools, hospitals, shelters, and correctional facilities. She also performs as a member of the Lydian String Quartet and the chamber orchestra A Far Cry, and teaches at Brandeis University, the Decoda Chamber Music Festival, and Greenwood Music Camp.
From 2014–2023, Clara was a violinist and Director of Programs of the Chicago-based Spektral Quartet. During her tenure, the ensemble commissioned more than 85 new works from composers such as Anna Thorvaldsdottír, Miguel Zenón, George Lewis, Bernard Rands, Anthony Cheung, and many others, and earned three GRAMMY nominations across three musical genres. The quartet’s final collaboration—with composer Tonia Ko, poet and botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer, and the Center for Humans and Nature—will be released this year.
Clara’s projects also extend into film and installation, including the award-winning film Thus, the Night and exhibitions with visual artist Antonia Contro and cellist Hannah Collins. A dedicated recording artist, she appears on New Amsterdam, Sono Luminus, New Focus, Sideband, and other labels. She holds degrees from the Juilliard School and SUNY Stony Brook, and is an alumna of Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect fellowship.
David McFerrin, narrator
Praised by The Miami Herald for his “commanding stage presence and a voice of seductive beauty,” baritone David McFerrin is active in a wide variety of musical genres.
Mr. McFerrin’s solo concert engagements have ranged from Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 at St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice to various performances with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops. He has received notable acclaim for performances of Baroque repertoire with ensembles including American Bach Soloists, Apollo’s Fire, Arion Baroque Orchestra, Emmanuel Music, Handel and Haydn Society, Seraphic Fire, and TENET. Mr. McFerrin has also sung with the Cleveland Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic, and North Carolina Symphony. He is a member of the renaissance vocal ensemble Blue Heron, a 2018 Gramophone award winner.
Mr. McFerrin is a mainstay of the Boston opera scene and has performed on many other leading stages in the US and Europe. A former Emerging Artist with Boston Lyric Opera, he has sung more than 15 roles with that company, including Junius in Britten’s Rape of Lucretia, the Officer in Phillip Glass’ gripping two-character drama In the Penal Colony, and the title role of Britten’s Noye’s Fludde during the 2024-25 season. Mr. McFerrin also recently performed Masetto in Mozart’s Don Giovanni with Boston Baroque, as well as the complete trilogy of Britten’s church parable operas with Enigma Chamber Opera. Additional opera credits include Florida Grand Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Seattle Opera, Odyssey Opera, and the Rossini Festival in Wildbad, Germany.
Mr. McFerrin holds degrees from Carleton College, Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and the Juilliard School. He lives in Natick, Massachusetts with his wife Erin Doherty (an architectural historian and preservation planner), their seven-year-old daughter Fiona, and black lab Holly.
John McKean, harpsichord
John McKean is a harpsichordist and musicologist whose performances and scholarship bring the music of the past into the present with energy and depth. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, McKean has performed extensively throughout Europe and North America, with concert engagements bringing him to venues as far afield as the Norðurljós Hall in Reykjavík, Museu da Música in Lisbon, Fondazione Cini in Venice, St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London, and the Philips Collection in Washington, D.C. As both a soloist and continuo player, McKean’s repertoire extends from intimate solo recitals and chamber music to large-scale orchestral, choral, and operatic performances.
He collaborates with an array of period instrument ensembles, among them Boston Baroque, Handel + Haydn Society, Boston Camerata, Emmanuel Music, Upper Valley Baroque, Sarasa, and Apollo’s Fire. Regularly featured at festivals like Bay Chamber Concerts, the Portland Bach Experience, and the Newburyport Chamber Music Festival, he has also performed with a variety of modern groups, including A Far Cry and the Worcester Chamber Music Society, as well as the Rhode Island and Naples Philharmonics, and the Portland, Jacksonville, and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestras.
A faculty member at the Longy School of Music, McKean previously served as chair of its Historical Performance Department. He holds degrees in German Studies and Harpsichord Performance from Oberlin College and Conservatory, an advanced performance diploma from the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg, and a Ph.D. in historical musicology from the University of Cambridge. An internationally recognized expert in the history and development of Baroque keyboard technique, this area of research serves as a vital intersection between his academic and performing careers.
Having received instruction from some of the most distinguished harpsichordists of our time—including Lisa Crawford, Webb Wiggins, Robert Hill, and Gustav Leonhardt—McKean draws continual inspiration from this rich lineage of mentorship, blending stylistic integrity with expressive immediacy.
McKean regularly performs on a Flemish harpsichord of his own manufacture, reflecting his broader interest in the design, construction, and maintenance of historical keyboard instruments. Beyond the harpsichord, he is deeply engaged with the world of historical keyboard instruments in general, and the clavichord in particular. As a board member of the Boston Clavichord Society, he enjoys promoting this most intimate and expressive of keyboard instruments.
Originally from Maine, McKean draws inspiration from his home state’s juxtaposition of tradition and individualism, qualities that mirror his approach to historical performance. As both an artist and educator, he is passionate about fostering connections between today’s audiences and the rich legacy of earlier musical traditions, creating experiences that are as vibrant and engaging as they are historically informed. For more information, visit www.johnmckean.info.
Nathan Meltzer, violin
Recipient of a 2026 Avery Fisher Career Grant, winner of the 2023 Concert Artist Guild Competition, and major prize winner at the 2022 Sibelius and Singapore International Violin Competitions, violinist Nathan Meltzer is establishing a holistic and multi-faceted career as both a soloist and chamber musician, with passions for both standard and contemporary repertoire.
Nathan has performed as a soloist with major orchestras around the world. He has performed with the Orchestre national d'Île-de-France, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Royal Northern Sinfonia, the Finnish RSO, the Helsinki Philharmonic, and the Aalborg, Alabama, Charlotte, Indianapolis, Montréal, North Carolina, and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestras, among others, performing across Europe and North and South America.
As a recitalist and chamber musician, Nathan has performed at the Chamber Music Society of Palm Beach, the Dresden Musikfestspiele, the Hawaii Concert Society, Heidelberger Frühling, the Honolulu Chamber Music Series, Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players, Kallos Chamber Music Series, Merkin Hall, New Canaan Chamber Music, Parlance Chamber Concerts, Princeton Sound Kitchen, and Midori’s Partners in Performance, and at festivals including ChamberFest Cleveland, IMS Prussia Cove, Krzyzowa Music, La Jolla SummerFest, the Montreal and Moritzburg Chamber Music Festivals, Music@Menlo, Newport Classical, the Ravinia Festival Institute, the Perlman Music Program, Verbier Festival Academy, and Yellow Barn.
He is also the co-Founder and Artistic Director of The Green Room Ensemble, an non-profit chamber music organization dedicated to new music and historically unexplored works by composers from a variety of backgrounds and heritages. Nathan is a graduate from the Juilliard School, where he studied with Itzhak Perlman and Li Lin. He plays on a 1682 Andrea Guarneri violin.
Tanner Menees - viola
Born in Orange, CA in 1993, Violist Tanner Menees is forging a robust career as a chamber musician. Mr. Menees has collaborated in chamber music performances with a range of notable artists including Miriam Fried, Susan Graham, Lynn Harrell, Frans Helmerson, Gary Hoffman, Kim Kashkashian, Laurence Lesser, Danny Phillips, Marcy Rosen, Mitsuko Uchida, and Donald Weilerstein.
Tanner Menees has performed internationally at festivals such as the Marlboro Music Festival, Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute, Caramoor Evnin Rising Stars, Chamberfest Cleveland, Menuhin Festival String Academy, Edinburgh Music Festival, Juilliard String Quartet Seminar, and with NEXUS Chamber Music Chicago. As a proponent of new American music, he regularly performs and records with Copland House. Tanner has performed as a soloist with the Colburn Orchestra under maestro Thierry Fischer and with Symphony New Hampshire. He is also featured in a fun video by Mike Grittani, Dreaming of Boccherini, shot in Guarneri Hall as part of the NEXUS Chamber Music Festival in 2019.
Tanner received his Bachelor of Music degree and Artist Diploma from the Colburn School, where he studied with Paul Coletti. Later he studied with Kim Kashkashian at the New England Conservatory where he earned a Master of Music degree. Tanner plays on a viola of the Tarasconi school made in Milan, Italy c. 1880 courtesy of Guarneri Hall NFP and Darnton & Hersh Fine Violins.
Yeolim Nam, violin
Born in Seoul, violinist Yeolim Nam received her foundational training at the Sun-Hwa Arts School, where she earned multiple distinctions, including the Grand Prize in the institution’s chamber music competition. In 1996, she was selected to perform for internationally acclaimed violinist Sarah Chang and was subsequently invited to join her on a concert tour across Germany. This collaboration was documented and broadcast by Korean Broadcasting System (KBS).
An accomplished chamber musician, Ms. Nam has refined her artistry through participation in leading international festivals, including the Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival and the International Stichting Masterclass Apeldoorn, where she studied with Philippe Graffin. Her additional studies with distinguished artists such as Daniel Phillips, Soovin Kim, and Phil Setzer have further shaped her musical perspective. This extensive training led to performances with the Festival Ensemble Stuttgart Bach Akademie under the baton of Helmuth Rilling, with whom she toured extensively throughout Germany.
Ms. Nam currently holds positions with the Boston Ballet Orchestra and the Boston Lyric Opera. She previously served with the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra and continues to perform regularly with Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP), Emmanuel Music, Boston Landmarks Orchestra, Boston Festival Orchestra, and the Portland Symphony Orchestra.
She holds a Master of Music degree from the New England Conservatory, where she studied under Malcolm Lowe.
Kayla Oderah, soprano
Kayla Oderah is an emerging African American soprano known for her dazzling lyric sound and vocal warmth.
This 25/26 season Kayla makes her role debut as Clara in Porgy and Bess at Dayton Opera.
Last 24/25 season she made her return to Dayton, Ohio to perform as Soprano Soloist in the Faurè Requiem with the Dayton Philharmonic. She also performed as Soprano Soloist in Handel’s Messiah at the historic Hartford Memorial Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan.
During the 23/24 season Kayla joined the Handorf Company Young Artist program at Opera Memphis. There, she made her debut as Musetta in La Bohème and Linfea in La Calisto. Her residency also included a workshop performance of A.E. Reverie in partnership with Chautauqua, by Kamala Sankaram / Jerre Dye performing the total role of Young Woman. Last Spring she made her Memphis Symphony Orchestra debut as Pamina in Orchestra Unplugged: Mozart The Magic Flute.
During the 22/23 season she sang as a Dayton Opera Artist-in-Residence. There, Kayla sang the role of Woglinde in their production of Das Rheingold. During her spring residency she also sang as a soloist in the Young People’s Concert with the Dayton Philharmonic where she performed Dvořák’s ‘Song to the Moon’. She also performed as the soprano soloist in the Vaughan Williams’ Pastoral Symphony and the Mozart Missa Brevis K 259 with the Dayton Philharmonic. In addition to school and community performances for Dayton Opera, she was a featured soloist for the Stained Glass Series where she sang ‘Deh vieni non tardar’ and ‘Witness’ with the Dayton Philharmonic.
Kayla made her professional debut in 2022 performing the role of Girlfriend 2 in Jeanine Tesori’s Blue with Toledo Opera as well as Despina in Così fan Tutte with Finger Lakes Opera as a Tomita Young Artist. She also sang as a young artist with Opera Ithaca. There, Kayla performed the role of Zegner Daughter Littler in Proving Up by Missy Mazzoli and Anna in Nabucco.
She completed her Master’s at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre, and Dance. While completing her MMus degree she performed the role of Tytania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In 2016 she attended the Aspen Music Festival as a studio artist.
Oderah is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she received her Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance with a minor in artistic entrepreneurship. At UNC she was the recipient of the prestigious four-year Kenan Music Scholarship and performed opera roles including, Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus, Servilia in La Clemenza di Tito, and Mary in Highway #1 USA.
Kayla has performed internationally at the University of Cape Town where she sang the role of Constance in Dialogues of the Carmelites. She’s also performed in opera at the Amalfi Coast Music Festival and the Berlin Opera Academy.
While music remains her primary focus, Kayla has always had an interest in artistic outreach and entrepreneurial work in the arts. She hopes to extend the scope of opera to reach new and different audiences. Kayla is especially passionate about classical music and the African American/ African diaspora.
Rafael Popper-Keizer, cello
Hailed by The New York Times as “imaginative and eloquent” and dubbed “a local hero” with “silken tone and subtle attention to each note” by the Boston Globe, cellist Rafael Popper-Keizer maintains a vibrant and diverse career as one of Boston’s most celebrated artists. He is principal cellist of the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Emmanuel Music, and the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, and a core member of many notable chamber music organizations throughout New England, including the Chameleon Arts Ensemble and Winsor Music. His 2003 performance with the Boston Philharmonic of the Saint-Saëns Concerto in A minor was praised by the Globe for “melodic phrasing of melting tenderness” and “dazzling dispatch of every bravura challenge;” more recent solo appearances include Strauss' Don Quixote with the Boston Philharmonic, Beethoven's Triple Concerto with Emmanuel Music; and the North American premiere of Roger Reynolds' Thoughts, Places, Dreams with sound/icon.
Mr. Popper-Keizer is a member of nationally acclaimed conductorless string ensemble A Far Cry, which has won recognition for both artistic excellence and its democratic model of collective decision-making at every level. In 2017, A Far Cry commissioned, premiered, and recorded a new piano concerto by Philip Glass, with soloist Simone Dinnerstein. The release of this recording was followed up a few months later by the group’s album Visions and Variations, which received two Grammy nominations. A Far Cry’s recent and upcoming performance schedule includes tours of California and Colorado, regular appearances at the Rockport Music Festival and Central Park in NYC, and a concert at the Kennedy Center in DC featuring the Tchaikovsky Serenade played from memory.
In 2019, Mr. Popper-Keizer was appointed Artistic Director of Monadnock Music, where he has been in residence every summer since 2002. Based in Peterborough, New Hampshire, the central mission of Monadnock Music is to bring free concerts featuring world-class artists to the villages and towns of the region. Over the course of the festival’s more than fifty-year history, Monadnock Music has worked closely with composers including Aaron Copland, Elliott Carter, Roger Sessions, and (in more recent years) Richard Danielpour, Dalit Warshaw, and Jing Wang.
Mr. Popper-Keizer has been featured on over two dozen recordings, including the premieres of Robert Erickson's Fantasy for Cello and Orchestra, Thomas Oboe Lee's cello concerto Eurydice, Yehudi Wyner's De Novo for cello and small chamber ensemble, and Malcolm Peyton's unaccompanied Cello Piece. His most recent solo recording, on Musica Omnia, is a disc pairing two monumental works for unaccompanied cello: Zoltan Kodaly’s notoriously virtuosic Sonata for Solo Cello and Ralf Gawlick’s At the still point of the turning world, a powerful exploration of sonority and silence written for and dedicated to Popper-Keizer.
As an alumnus of the New England Conservatory (A.D. 1999, M.M. with honors 1997), Mr. Popper-Keizer studied with master pedagogue and Piatigorsky protégé Laurence Lesser; at the Tanglewood Music Center he was privileged to work with Mstislav Rostropovich, and was Yo-Yo Ma’s understudy for Strauss’ Don Quixote under the direction of Seiji Ozawa. His prior teachers include Stephen Harrison of Stanford University, and Karen Andrie at the University of California in Santa Cruz. At the age of ten he began undergraduate coursework in mathematics at UCSC, where he was accepted as a full-time student two years later.
Mr. Popper-Keizer is currently on faculty at Gordon College in Wenham, MA, and has previously taught at Philips Exeter Academy, Brandeis University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. With A Far Cry, he has participated in college and university residencies nationwide, including guest lectures and presentations at Baldwin Wallace University and Connecticut College, and masterclasses at Yale University.
Spencer Reichman, baritone
Baritone Spencer Reichman has established himself as a versatile and accomplished artist, with a distinguished career encompassing a wide range of opera and concert performances. His 2025-26 engagements include Biscroma Strappaviscere in Viva la Mamma with Florentine Opera, and Marcello in La bohème with Opera Company of Middlebury and Shreveport Opera. Spencer makes several role and company debuts as Sonora in La fanciulla del West with Wichita Grand Opera, baritone soloist in Orff's Carmina Burana with York Symphony Orchestra, Lazar Wolfe in Fiddler on the Roof with Union Avenue Opera, and Peter in Hansel and Gretel with Sarasota Opera. In 2027, he sings Bartolo in Le nozze di Figaro at Nashville Opera.
In 2024 he returned to New Orleans Opera as Sciarrone in Tosca, and sang Le Baron de Pictordu in Cendrillon at Knoxville Opera. In 2023, he covered Ophémon in The Anonymous Lover and Orpheus in Aucoin’s Eurydice at Boston Lyric Opera, sang the Huntsman in Rusalka and covered Sacristan in Tosca, both with the Santa Fe Opera, Germont in La traviata with Shreveport Opera, made a debut as Mr. Ford in Falstaff with Salt Marsh Opera and sang Paris in Roméo et Juliette with Opera San Antonio.
Previous role highlights include Sharpless in Madama Butterfly with Central City Opera and Shreveport Opera, Sprecher in Magic Flute with Pensacola Opera, Schaunard in La bohème with New Orleans Opera Association, and the title role in Gianni Schicchi with Loyola Opera Theatre.
Reichman’s apprenticeships include the Santa Fe Opera, Opera Saratoga, Florentine Opera, Nashville Opera, Central City Opera, Shreveport Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, and the Crested Butte Music Festival. Reichman holds degrees in voice from Loyola University New Orleans and Texas State University San Marcos.
Amanda Romano Foreman, harp
Harpist Amanda Romano Foreman grew up in New York City and by the age of 15 had already made her debut at Alice Tully Hall and Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall. Studying with former principal Boston Symphony Orchestra harpist Ann Hobson Pilot brought her to Boston where she maintains a busy musical career. As an orchestral player, Ms. Romano Foreman can be seen playing with the Boston Lyric Opera, Portland Symphony, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Rhode Island Philharmonic, Springfield Symphony Orchestra, Coro Allegro, Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, Cape Cod Symphony, Boston Festival Orchestra, Landmarks Orchestra and A Far Cry Chamber Orchestra to name a few. She was a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center and has participated in many other festivals such as the International Ensemble Moderne Academy in Austria, Summer Institute for Contemporary Performance Practice in New York City, Assisi Music Festival in Italy and International Festival of Contemporary Performance in Boston. Ms. Romano Foreman can be heard on more than 15 albums including the Grammy award winning 2020 best opera recording of “Fantastic Mr. Fox” with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project. She received her Masters degree at Boston University and Bachelors degree at the New England Conservatory both in harp performance. Aside from music, Ms. Romano Foreman loves to be outside and is usually found gardening with her two small children and husband or in the kitchen baking award winning pies and desserts which sometimes include harp shaped cookies for her students!
Jennifer Slowik, oboe
Jennifer Slowik is principal oboe of the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP), Odyssey Opera, and Emmanuel Music, where she regularly solos as part of their weekly Bach Cantata Series.
Ms. Slowik has been praised for her “silky phrases” and “lovely solo moments” in The Boston Globe, and sound that “took on a larger-than-life quality” in the Boston Musical Intelligencer. Jennifer is a frequent performer with organizations all over New England, including the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Boston, and Vermont's JUNO Orchestra and TUNDI Wagner Festival.
Recent highlights include Emmanuel Music's debut with Germany's Bachfest Leipzig,
the world premiere of Gatsby: An American Myth with the American Repertory Theater, BMOP's 25th Anniversary Concert at Carnegie Hall, and Boston Chamber Music Society's performance of Eric Nathan's Just A Moment for two antiphonal oboes. She was also interviewed by the Boston Globe (May 2020) and The Arts Fuse (February 2021) about artist livelihoods and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ms. Slowik is featured on numerous recordings on the BMOP/sound label, including the 2020 Grammy Award Winner for Best Opera Recording, The Fantastic Mr. Fox by Tobias Picker, Thomas Oboe Lee's Persephone, for oboe and strings., and Lisa Bielawa’s Synopsis #10 for solo English Horn.
Nicholas Tolle, percussion
Nicholas Tolle has been a member of the Boston Modern Orchestra Project since 2007 and has appeared on more than 50 recordings with that group on the BMOP/sound label. An in-demand freelancer in Boston, he has also performed with A Far Cry, Boston Ballet, Boston Lyric Opera, Handel and Haydn Society, Boston Baroque, Emmanuel Music, Sound Icon, and the Callithumpian Consort. Nicholas studied at the Boston Conservatory with Nancy Zeltsman, Sal Rabbio, and Pat Hollenbeck, the Conservatorium van Amsterdam with Gustavo Gimeno, Nick Woud, Jan Pustjens, and Peter Prommel, and the New England Conservatory with Frank Epstein. As a cimbalom player he has performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Chamber Players, New York Philharmonic, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, the International Contemporary Ensemble, and the Talea Ensemble. In 2023 he co-founded Lamnth, a violin/cimbalom duo with Lilit Hartunian.
Matthew Vera, violin
Mexican-American violinist Matthew Vera is known for his versatility as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral leader.
As an orchestral musician, Matthew can be heard all over the country. He is currently a member of the Boston Philharmonic’s first violin section where he has also served as guest concertmaster. Matthew began his tenure as concertmaster of the El Paso Symphony Orchestra in the fall of 2024 where he has been serving as guest concertmaster since 2022. Matthew frequents the stages of The Boston Ballet Orchestra, The Portland Symphony Orchestra, The Rhode Island Philharmonic, The Boston Modern Orchestra Project, among others.
Chamber music holds a special place in Matthew’s life. He is a violinist with Castle of our Skins, a concert and educational series dedicated to celebrating Black artistry through music. He can also be heard with Aurea Ensemble, Radius Ensemble, Juventas New Music Ensemble, and Monadnock Music.
Matthew made his solo debut on the viola with the Tucson Philharmonia at age 14. He has appeared as soloist with the El Paso Symphony Orchestra, The Buffalo Philharmonic, The Tucson Symphony, The World Youth Symphony Orchestra, and The New England Conservatory Symphony. He has attended numerous festivals including Tanglewood, The Heifetz Institute, Brevard Music Center, Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, and more.
A native of Tucson, Arizona, Matthew’s early musical training was fostered through the Tucson Unified Public Schools and Tucson Junior Strings, a unique conductorless orchestra training program for young people. He is a graduate of The New England Conservatory where he studied with James Buswell, Lucy Chapman, and Donald Weilerstein. His close mentors have included - The Borromeo String Quartet, Roger Tapping, Martha Katz, and John Heiss.
