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Daniel Andor-Ardó (Composer/Conductor/Publicity Committee Chair)Daniel is a long-time member of C4, and has written two compositions for the group. Pitter Patter, Pitter Patter, And Then was premiered by C4 in 2013, and DADA NY ’15 was written in celebration of C4’s tenth anniversary season, in 2015.
Daniel studied composition and piano at The Purcell School of Music, London. His compositions won numerous awards, and were featured by the Society for the Promotion of New Music during 2000–2002. While studying at the University of Cambridge, his conducting engagements included regular appearances with the university ensemble Sforzando Brass as well as his college orchestra. His other big passion—besides music—is science. He moved to New York City to work in neuroscience research at the Rockefeller University and currently realizes his dual passions by working at Google on the one hand and making music with C4 on the other. danielandor.com Nate Barnett (Conductor)
is a conductor, composer, and tenor from snowy Rochester, NY. He graduated last May from Yale University with a Bachelor’s in Music, where he received the Beekman Cannon Prize for his senior project in composition, A Peace Prayer. Nate is active as a soloist, ensemble performer, and teacher, and can be seen around New York playing any of these roles (and sometimes two at once). He is passionate about deepening the cultural appreciation for live, communal performance, and strives to put his creative efforts to that end. Nate also also co-directs the early and new music festival which he founded, the Uncommon Music Festival. Contact him at [email protected]. Hayes Biggs (Composer)
was born in Huntsville, Alabama and raised in Helena, Arkansas. He holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in composition from Columbia University. His teachers have included Don Freund, Mario Davidovsky, Jack Beeson, Fred Lerdahl and Donald Erb. Biggs has been a fellow in composition at the Composers Conference and Chamber Music Center at Wellesley, at the Tanglewood Music Center, at Yaddo, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, the Millay Colony for the Arts and at the MacDowell Colony. Among his honors are a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship, as well as the 2001 Aaron Copland Award, which afforded him the opportunity to live and compose at Copland House in upstate New York during the summer of 2002. Since 1992 he has been on the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music. His Symphonia brevis, commissioned by the Riverside Symphony, received its first performance under the direction of George Rothman in Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall in February of 2010. C4 gave the first performances of a setting of Gerard Manley Hopkins’s “The Caged Skylark” in November of 2011. Biggs’s song cycle on religious poetry, “Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs,” was premiered at Manhattan School of Music in January 2012 by soprano Susan Narucki and pianist Christopher Oldfather. That same month his Three Hymn Tune Preludes were given their first performance by Gail Archer at St. Paul’s Chapel at Columbia University. In December of 2006 his String Quartet: O Sapientia/Steal Away (2004) was given its premiere at New York City’s Merkin Concert Hall by the Avalon String Quartet as part of the 2006-2007 season of the Washington Square Contemporary Music Society; it was recorded by the Avalon String Quartet in 2008, and was recently released on Albany Records. Biggs’s music is published by C. F. Peters Corporation, APNM (Association for the Promotion of New Music) and Margun Music, Inc. www.hayesbiggs.com
Timothy Brown (Composer/Conductor/Conductors Committee Chair)
completed his BA at the University of North Texas and has been a choral professional for more than 30 years, directing and singing with high school, community, and chamber choirs. As a composer, Tim focused for a time on music for the theatre. His Curious George toured nationally for over ten years and his songs have been showcased at the BMI Workshop, the Laurie Beechman Theatre, the Donnell Library ‘Songbook,’ and – most recently – in A Trace of Love, an evening devoted entirely to his music with 6 collaborating lyricists. Tim did masters degree work at The Manhattan School of Music, studying composition with Nils Vigeland. His Incidental Dance Suite was premiered at Merkin Concert Hall, and Epitaph: Songs on Poems of Dorothy Parker was recorded by Metropolitan Opera mezzo, Theadora Hanslowe. Tim’s Christ Our Passover, and Eloi, Lama Sabbachtani were commissioned by and premiered at The Church of the Heavenly Rest, New York. Tim is proud to have had C4 premiere his Drip Dream, In So Many Words, Torch Song (For a Reason to Live) and, most recently, Take Me Bach.
Jacob Gelber
is a composer, conductor, and vocalist studying music and composition in the Columbia University-Juilliard School Exchange program. His compositions have received awards through the ACDA, Cantate Chamber Singers, Harmonium Choral Society, and ASCAP Young Composers Awards. Jacob is the conductor and music director of the Columbia University-Barnard College Vivace Chamber Singers. He has studied music through Princeton University, Westminster Choir College, Manhattan School of Music Precollege, the Atlantic Music Festival, the European-American Musical Alliance, and Steven Sametz’s Choral Composers Forum. His composition teachers have included Samuel Adler, Robert Beaser, and the late Steven Stucky. Erin Halpin
Hailing from Montreal, Erin is a trained bassoonist, violinist, and licensed architect. She started singing at an early age and never looked back, performing in her first musical at age 5. Erin's passion for singing has developed through a wide variety of vocal performances: musicals, choral festivals, symphonic choirs, professional chamber ensembles and even a touring independent rock band. While working full time as an architect in Montreal, a special interest in choral music along with many years directing a community church choir led Erin to pursue a Master's in choral conducting at the University of Sherbrooke. Having lived and studied in Canada, England, France and Ohio, Erin's work in architecture has now brought her to New York City where she is excited to discover the vast musical community and share her voice and love of performance with C4. Jamie Klenetsky Fay (Composer)
After a years-long hiatus, Jamie is again singing with C4! A composer, singer, and lover of new classical composition, Jamie’s work spans the creative spectrum. She sings professionally with C4, Eastern Opera of New Jersey’s chorus, and as an Artist-in-Residence at the Continuo Arts Foundation. Previous engagements include Rhymes With Opera's new music workshop and the select ensemble of Schola Cantorum on Hudson. Jamie's compositions have been performed by a number of ensembles, including two choral works by C4 in 2009 and 2010. Professionally, she works for the government of Morris County, NJ, as its web designer and developer. Brian Mountford (Composer/Production Committee Chair)
studied music and electrical engineering at UC Berkeley, and sang in the Yale Glee Club as an undergraduate. He sings with the New York City Master Chorale as well as C4, and plays piano and organ. He spends his time as a computer programmer and composes occasionally, dreaming of the day that his chamber opera will receive the reception it deserves, or perhaps a better one. Karl Saint Lucy (Composer)
is an alumnus of the University of Tulsa (Bachelor of Music in Composition, 2009, magna cum laude) and New York University's Tisch School of the Arts (Master of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre Writing, 2012). Karl's song cycle, La Hora Perdida: Songs for Renno had its first developmental workshop at Glow Lyric Theatre in Greenville, South Carolina in 2013, where he was the Graham Composer-in-Residence; his musical, Class, which he wrote with lyricist-bookwriter Maria Alexandria Beech, had its first developmental workshop at Hope Summer Repertory Theatre in 2014. His songs have been featured at Barrington Stage Company, 54 Below, and New World Stages, and had his Judson Memorial Church debut in November performing as Karl Saint Lucy. He performs as a pianist with the Story Pirates, and is a sought-after music director for new musicals in development. Bettina Sheppard (Composer/Composer Committee Chair)
works extensively now as a singer, pianist, and composer, after many years spent in dramatic and musical theatre. She holds graduate degrees from both University of Virginia and CUNY, where she studied composition with Chris Theofanidis and Shafer Mahoney, as well as composition studies at Juilliard with Conrad Cummings. Some completed works include a song cycle of Emily Dickinson poetry performed at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall; settings of Millay poetry commissioned for the American Cathedral in Paris; a song cycle of Kaneko poetry; stage productions, including TraumNovela (Barrow Street Theatre, Barcelona, Dallas); 365 Days/365 Plays by Suzan-Lori Parks at Barrow Street Theatre and the Public Theater; The Picture of Dorian Grey; Kindly Direct Me To Hell: An Evening With Dorothy Parker. She created the new group Bridges Vocal Ensemble, presenting her compositions of various cultures and time periods, in venues such as Carnegie Hall and City Center. Bettina is presently working on the new opera Stillwaters. Also in the works is an opera based on Welsh folk tales of The Mabinogian. Solus, her CD of original material was released under her Welsh name, Brythonwen. She has directed and performed with numerous vocal groups from madrigal to rock, and created the jazz harmony group Satin Dolls. Bettina is the author of The Everything Singing Book, published by Adams Media, and is on faculty at City College CUNY.
Martha Sullivan (Composer/Conductor)
Composer Martha Sullivan writes pieces that explore how music tells its stories. She is pursuing a PhD in Music Composition at Rutgers, exploring various genres, including music for dance, instrumental chamber music, electronic music, and music for theatre (she composed all the incidental music for Rutgers’ production of Cyrano de Bergerac in 2013), as well as the choral repertoire she is best known for. Sullivan’s first works for voice were composed during the seven years she sang with the Gregg Smith Singers, who have championed new choral work for over half a century. She now sings, composes, and conducts in C4: The Choral Composer/Conductor Collective. She has been commissioned to write choral music for groups around the country as well as in Tokyo and Zurich. Her most recent commissions have been for choir and chamber ensemble (for C4 and the Canite Quartet, and for Counterpoint [Vermont] and the Vermont Symphony Brass Quintet), and on a larger scale, for the Orange County Symphony, under conductor David Rentz. Her works have been recorded by the Esoterics (Seattle, WA), Chicago A Cappella, and C4. She is published by G. Schirmer, Laurendale, and See A Dot. She has achieved national recognition as a winner of competitions sponsored by both the Dale Warland Singers and the Sorel Organization. Martha Sullivan is an ASCAP composer. Perry Townsend (Composer/Conductor/Head of the Membership Committee)
is a composer and performer, whose work has been hailed as “a journey through sounds rich in surprises.” His music can be heard on American Modern Recordings and Ravello Records, and has been performed at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall, Steinway Hall, Tenri Cultural Institute, and Roulette. He has been commissioned by Bowdoin International Music Festival and Barbad Chamber Orchestra, and has premiered works at the ppIANISSIMO Festival in Sofia, Bulgaria, and the Fontainebleau Summer Festival. As a conductor, he leads the Angelic Voices Youth Chorus, Community Singers of Queens, Immaculate Conception Contemporary Ensemble, and is Music Director at Incarnation parish in Hollis, NY. As a vocalist, he has sung with the Choir of the Church of St. Mary the Virgin and Canticum Novum. He received an MA in composition from Copland School of Music, studying with Thea Musgrave, and a BM from N.C. School of the Arts, studying with Sherwood Shaffer. Currently, Perry is working with acclaimed mezzo Tichina Vaughn to create an opera about Christine Miller, the lone dissenter at Jim Jones’ Guyana commune in 1978. |
Ben Arendsen (Conductor/Facilitator)
Ben Arendsen is the Director of Choral Activities at Nassau Community College in Garden City, NY, and Associate Conductor of the Oratorio Society of Queens in Bayside, NY. Other recent appointments include Music Director of the Nassau Symphony Orchestra within the Metropolitan Youth Orchestras, interim Music Director of the Sound Symphony on Long Island, and Music Director of the Gilbert and Sullivan Light Opera Company of Long Island. Recent guest performances include premieres with the New York Composers Circle, Long Island Composers Alliance, a staged performance of Dominic Argento’s Postcard from Morocco, Mozart’s Die Zauberfölte, and a concert version of Leonard Bernstein’s Candide. Ben holds a Masters Degree in Orchestral Conducting from Queens College’s Aaron Copland School of Music, where he studied with Maurice Peress. As a guitarist, Ben has performed throughout New York and New England, including the Carnegie Hall Premiere of Steve Reich’s Electric Counterpoint with William Anderson in 2006. Maya Ben-Meir (Board of Directors Member Representative)
Israeli mezzo-soprano Maya Ben-Meir is both a soloist and ensemble singer. She holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Vocal Performance from the Academy of Music and Dance in Jerusalem, where she also spent time as producer of the Opera department, manager of the Jerusalem Academy Chamber Choir and alto section leader. Her style ranges from classical to contemporary and modern music, as well as rock and folk. Maya has performed as a soloist with the Raanana Symphonette Orchestra in an orchestrated concert of Schubert's "Winterreise" and with the Israel Sinfonietta Beer Sheva in numerous programs including a Chanson concert, and a concert portraying the songs of Israeli composer Sasha Argov. Maya has sung in the Abu-Gosh music festival conducted by Maestro Stanley Sperber and was a part of the cast of Oedipus 2011-Opera Theater at the Israel Festival in Jerusalem that same year, conducted by Guy Feder. She has sung on various stages in Israel and the United States, among them a tribute concert for the lyricist Eli Mohar in the Tel-Aviv museum and Cabaret stages in New York. Maya has performed as a soloist in many projects such as the Concerto for Cinema project in the Jerusalem Cinematheque, and in the "Sounds of the Desert" festival in a tribute concert for Israeli songwriter, pianist and composer Yoni Rechter and an evening of Moshe Villensky's songs. Maya arrived in New York in late 2013, and is actively pursuing a musical life. She is currently involved in solo projects and collaborations, as well as ensemble work. She is privileged to perform new pieces and arrangements written specifically for her, and works with many contemporary artists colleagues. Colin Britt (Composer/Conductor)
originally from Maine, holds a bachelor's degree in music composition from the Hartt School and a master's degree in choral conducting from the Yale School of Music and Yale Institute of Sacred Music. His compositions have been performed by ensembles in Connecticut, including Voce, CONCORA, and the Yale Schola Cantorum, and by ensembles across the country and on four continents. Also active in musical theater, Mr. Britt has directed music for productions with the West Hartford Summer Arts Festival, the Summer Place Players, and Playhouse on Park in Connecticut. He has served as music director of Marquand Chapel at Yale, on the adjunct conducting faculty at Hartt, as the conductor of the Hartford Chorale Chamber Singers, and as the assistant music director at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Hartford, and he currently serves as music director for Grace Church Van Vorst in Jersey City, New Jersey. He is pursuing a DMA in Choral Conducting with Patrick Gardner at the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, where he also teaches undergraduate conducting and directs the Rutgers University Choir. He and his wife, Victoria, live in Jersey City. colinbritt.com Melissa Bybee
is a singer and prolific illustrator of micro-moments on the A train. An
alto for C4 since 2011, she holds degrees in piano performance from
LSU-Baton Rouge (BM) and vocal performance from The Manhattan School of
Music (MM). Melissa has been an active member of New York City's
professional choral scene since she was a student. In October 2013, she made her debut as a music director, conducting and singing in the small choir for A (micro) history of world economics danced by Pascal Rambert in collaboration with PS122 at La MaMa's Ellen Stewart Theatre. Most
recently, she appeared in an octet of select women from Voices of
Ascension for the release of Bora Yoon's new CD "Sunken Cathedral" at
the Asia Society. In addition to her musical activities, Melissa is a
Vice President in Morgan Stanley's Legal and Compliance Division,
specializing in executive and director compensation.
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Former Members / Leave of Absence
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Danielle Buonaiuto
commissioned her first art song at 18, and hasn't looked back. Originally from Canada, she actively promotes the work of her Canadian colleagues in recital and recordings; recently, she won a New Music USA grant to premiere a work of Toronto composer David Passmore. She is equally enthusiastic about new music in her adopted country, and can be heard this season in New York, Baltimore, DC, and Miami, premiering art songs and operas by America's emerging composers, and chamber works written for her pierrot ensemble, Lunar Ensemble. In addition to her work with C4 this season, Danielle indulges her choral inclinations by sightreading Renaissance polyphony in New York's various churches. For more info on projects and to listen, visit www.daniellebuonaiuto.com. Kristopher Burke
has earned degrees in music education from Shepherd University and Vocal Performance from Shenandoah Conservatory. Kristopher sang as soloist and section leader with the St. James Choir in Leesburg, VA for five years and as a chorister with the City Choir of Washington under conductor Robert Shafer. He has also performed the roles of Sam Kaplan in Weill’s Street Scene, Don Basilio in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, and Flute in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Kristopher moved to New York a year ago from West Virginia, and now works as an arts administrator for the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus.
Natalie Chamat
was born and raised in Des Moines, Iowa where she was involved in the arts and theatrics starting at a young age. She is a national winner of the AuditionPlus Competition of 2013 and has held operatic roles as Cousin Hebe in H.M.S. Pinafore, Cinderella in Jacks are Wild, Suor Dolcina in Suor Angelica, and Spirit in Cendrillion. She possesses a B.M. in Voice Performance from Iowa State University where she graduated cum laude with honors and a M.M. in Voice Performance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Lorena Del Mar
born in Madrid (Spain), started her musical career at a very early age studying classical piano. In 2007 she moved to The Netherlands where she graduated cum laude with bachelors and masters degrees in jazz voice from The Royal Conservatorium of The Hague. During that time, she focussed on arranging from a vocal point of view using lyrics. In 2015 she led her jazz quartet in the release of their debut CD My resistance is low. She has recorded with the New York based indie jazz ensemble "The Delegation" and with the Spanish folk pop band "Sammy Jankis" as the lead singer. In addition, she works with several different groups in diverse styles, such as the modern jazz duo "Entre-Deux" and in the singer/songwriter duo "Artemisz and Lorena." Lorena is a member of several choirs in New York, though C4 is certainly the most exciting one for her. www.lorenadelmar.com Jonathan David
was raised in New York City and currently lives in Chapel Hill, NC. He has been commissioned by the New York Treble Singers, Marble Collegiate Church, Carroll University, Central City Chorus, and the Thanks-Giving Foundation, among others. His current projects are commissions for the Manhattan Wind Ensemble and baritone Daniel Neer, both scheduled for premieres in Spring, 2014. His most recent works are Two Kingsongs for the Cheah Chan Duo and St. John’s Dance for alto saxophone and piano for David Wozniak. His choral music has also been performed by the Princeton Singers, Brooklyn Youth Chorus Academy, Glen Ellyn Children’s Chorus, Cerddorion Vocal Ensemble, and Cascadian Chorale, among others. Jonathan has served as Composer-in-Residence for The Greenwich Village Singers and Music Director for the chamber chorus, Howl! He serves on the judging panel for the Annual ASCAP/Deems Taylor Awards for best classical music writing. Jonathan’s music is published by Oxford University Press and See-A-Dot Music, and is also available through his website, www.jonathandavidmusic.com.
Harry Einhorn
studied music and theater at Northwestern University. His cycle of performance-based chamber music drawing on Buddhist texts, written in collaboration with composer Philippe Treuille, has been performed throughout Chicago and New York. It's most recent iteration, Samaya, featured multimedia projection and dance and premiered at La Sala in Williamsburg. Outside of composition, Harry is also a performer, writer, producer, and director. His studies in Tibetan language and Buddhism have brought him to Himalayan India several times, where he has also worked on creative projects. He currently works at the Rubin Museum in the education department and the Rubin Foundation. He is interested in exploring the cross section between art, performance, ritual, and music, and is very grateful for his debut season singing with C4. [email protected]
Liz Hanna
graduated from Berklee College of Music in 2011 with a degree in Music Therapy. In addition to her clinical work, she serves as administrative assistant to the Western Wind Vocal Ensemble, whose renowned workshops in ensemble singing teach the power of choral music in building community. A multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and choral composer, Liz also sings with Choral Chameleon and the choir at the Church of the Heavenly Rest. Bill Heigen
is a composer, arranger, musical director, singer, vocal coach and pianist. He has received national awards in Brazil for his vocal arrangements, and for his choral directing. He has composed some musical theaters shows, been the musical director of multiple vocal groups, and has performed in many other professional a cappella ensembles -- singing many musical styles -- from bossa nova and Brazilian popular music to Renaissance repertoire. He is also a voice teacher/vocal coach and has taught music theory courses at various conservatories and universities in Brazil. Bill is now living in New York City and taking his Masters degree in Composition at Hunter College. Marissa Karchin
Marisa Karchin, soprano, is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Vocal Performance at Mannes College The New School for Music. After growing up in a musical family, she went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts from Yale University, where she discovered her love for both choral singing and opera. As a member of the Yale Glee Club under Jeffrey Douma she performed solos in Mozart’s Requiem and Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass. On the stage, Marisa has sung the roles of Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro and Belinda in Dido and Aeneas with the Opera Theater of Yale College, and the title role in L’incoronazione di Poppea with the Yale Baroque Opera Project, led by Venetian baroque scholar Ellen Rosand. This season at Mannes, Marisa looks forward to singing with the Mannes Sounds Festival and the Mannes Contemporary Ensemble. Leslie Ann Lopezhas been singing since the age of 16. She began with her first lead role playing “Julie” in Carousel in high school. She then began studying opera and musical theater privately and earned her music education degrees from Iona College and SUNY Purchase. She has been a music educator for 20 years and has enjoyed teaching students how to sing and perform. She also performed in over 25 musicals throughout Westchester and the Bronx for 10 years. She became a church cantor at the age of 21 and has done most of her performing and solos in this venue and in various recitals throughout her career. She was a founding member of the NYC Master Chorale and is currently the cantor at the Church of St. Bernard in White Plains. She is honored to be making her debut with The C4 ensemble this season.
Elizabeth Markeris an accomplished musician who has devoted the major portion of her career to the advancement of choral music. She holds a Master of Music in Voice Performance from Boston University where she studied with Mary Davenport and coached with Alan Rodgers. In New York she studies with Maria Farnworth. She has sung with many notable choral groups including Tanglewood Festival Chorus, the Russian Chamber Chorus and Cantori New York. In 1987, Elizabeth was invited to sing with the Oregon Repertory Singers representing the United States at the 26th Choral Singing Festival in Kärnten, Austria where the group won both the Folk and Classical Repertoire competitions. Elizabeth performed in many Robert Shaw Choral Workshops at Carnegie Hall and was a member of the Robert Shaw Festival Singers. She has served as section leader at The Church of the Good Shepherd (Episcopal) and been a member of the professional choir at St. Ignatius of Antioch (Episcopal). As a soloist, Elizabeth can be heard on two recordings: My Heart is Ready, music of Yuri Yukechev (Russian Chamber Chorus), and, as the Mother of Iseut, in Le vin herbé by Frank Martin (I Cantori di New York).
Alexandra Porter
soprano, completed her master’s degree in voice performance and pedagogy at Westminster Choir College in 2011. While a student, she performed as Despina (Così), Papagena (Die Zauberflöte), Héro (Béatrice et Bénédicte), and Cupidon (Orphée aux Enfers) in scene performances. Recently, she performed with Princeton-based Opera MODO as The Governess (The Turn of the Screw), Monica (The Medium), and studied the role of Stewardess (Flight). She spent two summers with Opera Slavica, performing as Jano and Pastuchyňa in Janáček’s Jenufa and in scenes as Mařenka (Prodaná nevěsta), as well as Brigitta in Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta. Fostering her passion for her new music, she has spent the past three summers at New Music on the Point, premiering seven compositions, two with members of the acclaimed JACK Quartet. This past summer, she also traveled to Italy for the Cortona Sessions for New Music, where she worked further with young composers to premiere their chamber works. An avid recitalist, she regularly performs programs combining the classical canon with new pieces, often composed for her. She is also a dedicated voice teacher and works as a faculty member for Princeton Day School and the Mason Gross Extension Division (Rutgers). David Rentz
an accomplished choral, orchestral, and opera conductor, currently serves on the faculty of the music department of Scripps and Pomona Colleges, is the music director of the Orange County Symphony, choir director at the First Congregational Church of Riverside, and resident conductor of the Chamber Opera Players of Los Angeles. From 2005 to 2010, he lived in New York, where, in addition to being an enthusiastic singing, conducting, and composing member of C4, he was director of Guildsingers, a professional early music ensemble specializing in 15th-century polyphony; choral director at The Brearley School; and assistant conductor of the New Amsterdam Singers. David received his B.Mus. summa cum laude from Washington University in Saint Louis, where he was a Mylonas Scholar in the Humanities. He earned his M.M at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he was director of the University Chorus and graduate conducting assistant for the University Opera. He received his M.M.A. and D.M.A. from the Yale University School of Music, where he was co-director of the University Chapel Choir and a member of the internationally-renowned Yale Schola Cantorum. www.davidrentz.com Suzanne Schwing
first trained for the stage at LAMDA and subsequently received her musical training at Boston University and Manhattan School of Music. A sought-after mezzo-soprano, Suzanne has performed in solo and/or choral capacities at such venues as New York City Opera (NYCO), Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Boston’s Symphony Hall, Tanglewood, the Kennedy Center, the “Kitara” Concert Hall in Sapporo, Japan, and in the General Assembly Hall of the United Nations. She has sung with conductors Seiji Ozawa, Kurt Masur, Mstislav Rostropovich, James Levine, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, George Manahan, Keith Lockhart, James Conlon, Sir Simon Rattle, Manfred Honeck, Gianandrea Noseda, and many others. As a member of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, the John Oliver Chorale, C4, and The New York Virtuoso Singers (NYVS), she has also recorded for the Sony Classical, RCA Victor, Koch International Classics, Parma, Soundbrush Records, 4Tay, and MSR Classics labels.
In 2012, Suzanne appeared as soloist with NYVS, the Pro Arte Singers, the American Symphony, the Great Music series at St. Bart’s Church, and on tour with the Israel Philharmonic and Zubin Mehta in Tel Aviv, in Haifa, and at the Salzburg Festival. She also performed with the NYVS Sextet, the Collegiate Chorale, and the Pro Arte Singers. In 2013, she recorded 25 world-premiere choral compositions with NYVS (the 2-disc set “25 x25” on the Soundbrush label, released on October 8, 2013) and she sings on C4’s debut album, “C4 Volume 1: Uncaged” on the 4Tay label. With the American Symphony Orchestra under Leon Botstein, Suzanne made her Carnegie Hall solo debut as Frau Blunt in Marschner’s Der Vampyr in March, and returned to Bard SummerScape as a Fury in Taneyev’s Oresteia in July and August. She also returned to NYCO for Moses in Egypt and La Périchole at City Center in April and as a member of the Meat Rack Quartet in the American premiere of Anna Nicole at BAM in September. Upcoming projects include "Johannes Brahms - Backwards and Forwards" with NYVS at Merkin Hall in November 2013, and the world premiere of Bruce Adolphe’s The End of Tonight (composed for 3 women’s voices, 3 cellos, and piano) at The Greene Space in May 2014. Joy Tamayo
A native of the Philippines, Joy Tamayo started singing at the age of three. She completed her master's in vocal performance at the Crane School of Music and a bachelor's degree in music from the University of the Philippines. As a concert soloist, Ms. Tamayo has performed works such as Orff’s Carmina Burana, Mozart’s Coronation Mass, Handel’s Messiah, Beethoven’s Symphony No.9, and Vivaldi’s Gloria. Operatic credits include the Queen of the Night in Mozart’s DieZauberflöte, Goldentrill in Mozart’s The Impresario, Lucy in Menotti’s The Telephone, Amore in Monteverdi’s L’Incoronazione di Poppea, and Sisa in De Leon’s Noli MeTangere. Currently, Ms. Tamayo is under the tutelage of Margaret Lattimore and Thomas Grubb. She has received vocal coaching from Carol Kimball, Chris Fecteau, and François Germain. Master classes include works with Martin Katz, Duain Wolfe and Arthur Espiritu. Joy is a member of The Salvatones, Schola Dominicana at the Church of St. Catherine of Siena, and the Philippine American Choral Project. Upcoming performances include the role of Barbarina from Le Nozze di Figaro with the dell'arte Opera Ensemble and a concert featuring the works of Filipino composer Nicanor Abelardo at Merkin Concert Hall. This is Joy's first season with C4, The Choral Composer/Conductor Collective. Lisa Whitson Burns
is a composer, dramatist and educator, originally from Honolulu, Hawaii. She holds a BA from Harvard University and an MFA from the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program at Tisch School of the Arts, NYU. In addition to creating new work, Lisa is passionate about exploring music and theatre with youth in underserved communities internationally through the non-profit organization she founded, Far Corners Community Musical Theatre (www.farcornersmusicals.org). |
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