Suna Smith has participated in festivals world-wide, including the International Musicians’ Seminar at Prussia Cove in the UK; the long-term residency program at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Banff; the Franz-Schubert-Institut Master Lieder Course in Baden-bei-Wien, Austria; the Oxford Lieder Master Course in Oxford, England; the Wiener Meisterkurse in Vienna, Austria; and the Stimmen Festival in Freistadt, Austria. Her teachers include Evelyne Brancart, Ferenc Rados, and Pierre Vallet. She has appeared in public masterclasses with Richard Goode, Leon Fleischer, Julius Drake, Elly Ameling, Marc Durand, Wolfram Rieger, Graham Johnson, and Roger Vignoles; and in concert at New York's 92nd Street Y, Zankel and Weill Halls at Carnegie Hall, Haus der Kunst in Austria, the Holywell Music Room in Oxford, England, and the Royal Swedish Opera’s Summer Concert series in Stockholm, Sweden, and the Islington Proms, in England. Last summer, a small tour of ‘Singing Luther’ was presented in London and summer festivals in Sweden. Suna is the creator and curator of Forum for Music.

 

Canadian tenor Colin Ainsworth has distinguished himself with his exceptional singing, remarkable diction, and diverse repertoire stretching from the Baroque to modern music. Acclaimed for his interpretations of the major Classical and Baroque operas, his many roles have included the title roles in Orphée et Euridice, Pygmalion, Castor et Pollux,Roberto Devereux and Albert Herring; Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Ernesto in Don Pasquale, Rinuccio inGianni Schicchi, Fenton in Falstaff, Tonio in La Fille du Régiment, Nadir in Les Pêcheurs de Perles, Pylades in Iphigénie en Tauride, Renaud in Lully’s Armide, Tom Rakewell inThe Rake’s Progress, and Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Also an avid supporter of new works, he has appeared in the world premieres of John Estacio’sLillian Alling at the Vancouver Opera, Stuart MacRae’s The Assassin Tree at the Edinburgh International Festival, Victor Davies’ The Transit of Venus with the Manitoba Opera, and Rufus Wainwright’s Prima Donna at Sadler’s Wells in London and at the Luminato Festival. Other past opera engagements have included appearances at the Royal Opera House, Chicago Opera Theatre, Glimmerglass Opera, L’Opéra Français de New York, Opera Atelier, Pacific Opera Victoria, Calgary Opera, and the Greek National Opera. http://www.colinainsworth.ca/about-colin.html
 

Magnus Billström was educated at the Royal Musical College in Stockholm and studied under Swedish singer Ulf Lundmark. He has been contracted by the Royal Opera in Stockholm since 2012 and works with the Swedish Radio Choir in a number of productions and tours every year. Recent concert appearances include Mozart’s Requiem with Claudio Abbado at Luzern Festspiel and Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with Herbert Blomstedt. On the opera stage, Magnus sang at Gothenburg Opera’s production of Turandot; Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, directed by Graham Vic; Lohengrin directed by Stephen Langridge at the Royal Opera in Stockholm; and Erica Sunnergårdas’ Turandot where he sang the role of Il Mandarino. Media output includes a recording of Berlioz’ Romeo et Juliette with the Swedish Radio Choir and a concert of televised opera scenes for Swedish TV. Upcoming engagements include a production at the English National Opera of Verdi’s Otello, where he will double in the role of Montano; a series of solo summer recitals at the Royal Swedish Opera; and the role of Pastor Brusander in “Kristina från Duvemåla”, the musical by the former members of ABBA Benny Andersson and Björn Ulveus, at Cirkus in Stockholm.
 

Wendy Case is the violinist of the Brahms’ Ghost Piano Trio.  She is a sought after chamber, orchestral and solo musician and performs frequently with various chamber ensembles and with the Rochester Philharmonic.  She has collaborated with prestigious  musicians such as David Finckel, Phoebe Carrai, Soovin Kim, Jennifer Frautschi, Elizabeth Blumenstock, Arthur Haas, and ensembles including  the Blossom Festival Orchestra (Cleveland Orchestra), and the American Symphony of Carnegie Hall.  She has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States and Canada and currently holds a tenured post as Assistant Principal Second with the Erie Philharmonic under the direction of Maestro Daniel Meyer.  Her passionate performances and imaginative interpretations have won her the ears of audiences across the country.  Her studies include degrees from the University of Michigan, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and Stony Brook University.  Influential teachers include  Andrew Jennings, William Preucil, Philip Setzer (Emerson Quartet), Soovin Kim,  Hai Xin Wu, and Yehonatan Berick.  
 

Canadian baritone, Sung Chung, most recently made his COC mainstage debut in the role of Kutusov’s Adjutant in Prokofiev’s War and Peace. He created the role of Minik in Linda Caitlin Smith’s Facing South, which had its world premiere at the World Stage Festival in Toronto. Other performances include: the baritone soloist in Stravinsky’s Le Renard in Clermont-Ferrand, France, making his professional European debut; Sid in the 50 th anniversary production of Albert Herring at the October Britten Festival in Aldeburgh, England; Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro in Košice, Slovakia; and he was a soloist in the Banff Summer Arts Festival production of the operas of Georges Aperghis. Originally from Winnipeg, Mr. Chung received his diploma in Operatic Performance at the University of Toronto before completing his masters in opera at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, Scotland.
 

Ariana Chris, Greek-Canadian mezzo soprano, was heard by millions performing the Greek Anthem at the Closing Ceremonies of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games. Other prestigious appearances include representing Greece at BBC Cardiff Singer of the World and singing the role of Componist for the Polish National Premiere of Ariadne auf Naxos, televised for Mezzo Television France broadcast worldwide. Known for Carmen, Cendrillon, and Dorabella, her collaborations include Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Chicago Lyric Opera, New York City Opera, Opera Hong Kong, Montreal Opera, Angers and Nantes Opera France, Opera Baltycka Poland, Santa Fe Opera, Kentucky Opera, Canadian Opera Company, Opera Francais de New York, Lincoln Centre and Carnegie Hall. Her CD Greek Tangos is available on iTunes. http://www.arianachris.com

Violist William Frampton has been praised by critics for his “beautifully executed” performances (The Arts Fuse) and “a glowing amber tone” (Boston Globe). Having made his New York debut in 2009 at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, he has also appeared numerous times as soloist in Boston’s Jordan Hall in performances including Berlioz’s “Harold in Italy” with conductor Joseph Silverstein. An enthusiastic performer of new music, he has worked with composers such as Gyorgy Kurtag and Malcolm Peyton. Festival appearances have included Verbier Festival Academy, Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival, Buck Hill-Skytop Music Festival Richmond Festival, Kneisel Hall, Sarasota Music Festival, The Perlman Music Program, and is the Artistic Director of Music at Bunker Hill, a chamber music series in Southern New Jersey. He has collaborated with such artists as Paul Katz, Peter Wiley, Roberto Diaz, Andres Diaz, John Dalley, Daniel Phillips, James Dunham, and Roger Tapping. He teaches viola and chamber music at Queens College, CUNY, and is currently pursuing a DMA at The Graduate Center, CUNY.
 

Praised as “expressive and dynamic” and “vocally splendid”, American baritone Michael Kelly continues to distinguish himself as a consummate artist, captivating audiences with his “exquisitely self-effacing” artistry. Mr. Kelly is a versatile and innovative vocalist, having performed with The Cleveland Orchestra, Kansas City Symphony, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Cathedral Choral Society, Mostly Mozart Festival, Opernhaus Zurich, Chicago Opera Theater, Gotham Chamber Opera, Mark Morris Dance Group, Ars Lyrica, and Mercury Orchestra; and was a member of the Opernstudio at Opernhaus Zurich. He has also appeared in recital with Malcolm Martineau (with the Detroit Symphony in a world premier of a new work by David Del Tredici), the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, with Boston Early Music Festival, and with SongFusion; a recital series of which he is a co-founder. He made his European debut with Opernhaus Zürich in Handel’s Rinaldo with William Christie and has performed in opera, chamber and symphonic works under the batons of such conductors as Herbert Blomstedt, Michael Christie, Andreas Delfs, Jane Glover, Benton Hess, James Levine, Anne Manson, Nicholas McGegan, Steven Osgood, Leonard Slatkin, and Stephen Stubbs. An avid and passionate recital and chamber music interpreter, he can be found on three soon-to-be released recordings of Schubert’s Winterreise, Del Tredici’s A Field Manual, and a recording of Britten’s folk song settings. http://www.michaelkellysings.com
 

Cellist Jennifer Lee, a native of South Korea, had her undergraduate and graduate studies at Manhattan School of Music in NY. She studied with Marion Feldman and she also played under the coaches such as Arnold Steinhardt, Nathaniel Rosen, Peter Winograd and Karen Ritscher. After she finished her studies in the US, she was invited as the principal cellist of Cheong-Ju City Philharmonic Orchestra. She also taught at the Cheong-Ju National Teachers College, and Korea Christian Music Conservatory as a faculty. She came back to US for more experience in teaching. She is an active chamber music player, string coach, and an educator. She has started an organization called Korean American Youth Orchestra since 2009. She was invited as a judge of the Crescendo International Music Competition’s Little Mozart division in 2015.

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Doug MacNaughton began his singing career at the age of 20, when he made his operatic debut with Edmonton Opera. Since then, he has gone on to sing throughout Canada, the United States and Europe. He is at home in opera, operetta, musical theatre and concert work, and he is known as much for the versatility of his acting as for his singing. In the 2014/15 season, he performed the role of Donner in the Pacific Opera Victoria production of Das Rheingold, as well as the role of Judge Turpin in the Vancouver Opera production of Sweeney Todd. He was also the soloist in the Pax Christi Chorale’s presentation of Winter Nights, featuring Bach’s Nun Komm, der Heiden Heiland and the Christmas Oratorio. His CD GUITARIAS, featuring Doug as both a singer and a guitarist, was released on February 16th, 2014. www.DougMacNaughton.com
 

Jazimina MacNeil is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music. Recent and upcoming performances include the roles of Mère Marie in Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmèlites, Kate in Britten’s Owen Wingrave, Third Lady in Die Zauberflöte, Rinaldo in Handel’s Rinaldo, Romeo in Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Siebel in Faust, Carolina in Hans Werner Henze’s Elegy for Young Lovers, Idamente in Idomeneo, Carmen in Peter Brook’s adaptation Le Tragedie de Carmen, The Dog in Janacek’s The Cunning Little Vixen, Baba the Turk in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress, and as the alto soloist in Mozart’s Requiem.Other recent performances include her European solo recital debut with pianist Deirdre Brenner at the Berlin Philharmonic’s Curt Sachs Saal, a concert with the Gulangyu Piano Festival on Gulangyu Island in China, concerts at the Ravinia Festival with the Chicago Symphony and the Steans Institute, concerts with the Marlboro Music Festival, Chicago Chamber Musicians, String Theory, and the Winners Recital of the Liederkranz Competition in Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall. She has also performed the role of Elizabeth Proctor in Robert Ward’s The Crucible with the Chautauqua Institution Music Festival, the alto solo in Duruflé’s Requiem with the Mendelssohn Club Chorus, Ned Rorem’s “Aftermath” with Curtis On Tour, Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus at the Manhattan School of Music, and Bianca in The Rape of Lucretia with Aspen Opera Theater. http://www.jaziminamacneil.com/#!bio/c1enr
 

“Vibrant” (Boston Globe) soprano Adrienne Pardee has been praised for her “lovely tone, impressive control, and rapt attention to the score’s myriad details” (ChamberMusicToday).   Recent appearances include the title role in Milhaud’s opera L’enlèvement d’Europe (directed by Mark Morris) and the First Priestess in excerpts from Gluck’s Iphigénie en Tauride with Susan Graham and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. A great lover of art song, Ms. Pardee has been privileged to study and perform this repertoire at music festivals such as Tanglewood, Songfest, the Aspen Music Festival, and the Crane School of Music’s Fall Island Institute. She has worked with leading interpreters in the field, including Dawn Upshaw, Stephanie Blythe, Graham Johnson, and Lucy Shelton, among others. An experienced performer of contemporary music, Ms. Pardee recently appeared with Boston’s Callithumpian Consort singing Nicholas Vines’ Economy of Wax at Jordon Hall in Boston. Operatic engagements include singing the role of Fortuna in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea, Zerlina and Susanna in Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Le Nozze di Figaro, Adina/Giannetta on tour throughout the Midwest as a Young Artist with Tulsa Opera, covering Zerline in  Auber’s Fra Diavolo, as well as performing the roles of Bessie/Blanche on a premiere recording of Louis Karchin’s new opera, Jane Eyre. http://www.adriennepardee.com/about/
 

Born in Montreal, Nigel Smith spent most of his professional life in France. After graduating from the Curtis Institute of Music, he completed his apprenticeship with the Centre de Formation Lyrique, at the Paris National Opera, where he performed on both the stages of the Bastille and Palais Garnier. Nigel represented Canada at the 2001 Cardiff Singer of the World, and continued working in many theatres in France and in Europe. Performing principally on the operatic stage, Nigel has been heard with Jean-Claude Malgoire and the Atelier Lyrique de Tourcoing in works such as Rameau’s Les Indes galantes, Händel’s Agrippina, and Rinaldo, as well as in Salieri’s Falstaff. Additionally, he has created the roles of Lead for James Rolfe’s Beatrice Chancy, which was produced both live, and for television; as well as the role of Der Auskunftgeber for Philippe Manoury’s setting of Franz Kafka’s “Der Prozess”, entitled K…, at the Opéra National de Paris (Bastille). This latter encounter inspired Manoury to write the role of un jeune fugitif in his chamber opera La frontière for Nigel, which he created with Manoury and famed actor/director Yoshi Oida at Paris’ Les bouffes du nord. Nigel also premiered Guillaume Connesson’s oratorio Athanor at France Musique’s Festival Présences and, most recently, was featured in the world premiere of Joseph Barandashvili’s The Passion of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai with the Israel Camerata Jerusalem, under the baton of Avner Biron.

 

Cellist Nathan Vickery joined the New York Philharmonic in September 2013. He has appeared as a soloist with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and as a recitalist and chamber musician at festivals including the Marlboro Chamber Music Festival, Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute, and the Chamber Music Workshop at the Perlman Music Festival, as well as throughout Europe with Curtis on Tour. As a chamber musician he has collaborated with violinists Joshua Bell, Pamela Frank, and Miriam Fried; pianist Jonathan Biss; and the contemporary music ensemble Eighth Blackbird, among others. Mr. Vickery has appeared on NPR’s From the Top and WFMT in Chicago. He has won numerous competitions, including the Second International David Popper Cello Competition (Hungary) and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra’s Maurer Young Musicians Contest. He received his bachelor’s degree from The Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Peter Wiley. Nathan Vickery has served on the faculty of the Indiana University Summer String Academy.
 

Soprano Katherine Whyte has performed on opera and concert stages across her native Canada, the United States and Europe. Her performances during the 2013-14 season included her Vancouver Opera debut as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Beethoven’s Mass in C Major and Stravinsky’s Pulcinella with the Houston Symphony, Carmina Burana with the National Chorale, Mozart’s Requiem with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, and Handel’s Messiah with the New Choral Society. The 2014-2015 season will include returns to the Metropolitan Opera Company as Brigitta in Iolanta and Canadian Opera Company as Iris in Semele at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. She will be a recitalist with the Rising Star Recital series with the Metropolitan Opera Company and Soloist with the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony.  Future seasons will also include a debut with The Dallas Opera. Katherine Whyte made her debut with Canadian Opera Company in the 2011-2012 Season in the title role of Iphigénie en Tauride and returned the same season as Iris in Semele. Following her Metropolitan Opera debut in 2007 in Strauss’ Die ägyptische Helena, she has returned to the company for productions of The Gambler, The Enchanted Island, Two Boys, and Parsifal. Her other recent operatic appearances include Gilda in Rigoletto with English National Opera, the Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro with Virginia Opera and Opera Hamilton, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte with Michigan Opera Theatre, Euridice in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice with Atlanta Opera, and Iphis in Handel’s Jephta with Opéra National de Bordeaux. Ms. Whyte’s appearances on the concert stage include Mozart’s Requiem and Handel’s Messiah with the Houston Symphony, Neilsen’s Symphony No. 3 with the San Francisco Symphony, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the National Chorale and Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Mozart’s Mass in C-minor with the Vancouver Symphony, Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem with the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Costa Rica, Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream with the Colorado Symphony, and Handel’s Messiah with the National Symphony Orchestra. The winner of the 2007 Alice Tully Recital Competition, Ms. Whyte made her Carnegie Hall debut in Solo recital at Weill Hall in 2008. http://www.katherinewhyte.com/about.html