Biographies — Modesto Symphony Orchestra

Guest Artists

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Nicholas Hersh, Music Director

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American conductor Nicholas Hersh is Music Director of the Modesto Symphony, having been appointed in August 2023. Across the country, Nicholas has earned critical acclaim for his innovative programming and natural ability to connect with musicians and audiences alike, and he was the unanimous choice of the search committee in Modesto.

Hersh’s 2024-25 season includes guest conducting engagements with the Nashville, Madison, Omaha, and Tucson Symphony Orchestras; and the Florida and Apollo Orchestras. He continues to enjoy regular relationships with the NY Philharmonic, Baltimore, Houston, National, and Colorado Symphony Orchestras; and Budapest Festival Orchestra. 

Recent engagements include the Detroit, Grand Rapids, New World, North Carolina, Phoenix, Portland (ME), Richmond, Utah, and Winston-Salem Symphony Orchestras; Louisiana and Rochester Philharmonics; and the Sarasota Orchestra.

Over a remarkable tenure as Associate Conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Hersh created the BSO Pulse series, through which he brought together indie bands and orchestral musicians in unique collaborations; he led the BSO in several subscription weeks, and concerts in and around Baltimore; and he directed the BSO’s educational and family programming, including the celebrated Academy for adult amateur musicians. Hersh also maintains a close relationship with the National Symphony Orchestra, leading concerts throughout Washington, D.C. He stepped in to replace an indisposed Yan Pascal Tortelier, on subscription, to great acclaim. 

Hersh is frequently in demand as an arranger and orchestrator, with commissions from orchestras around the globe for adaptations of everything from classical solo and chamber music to popular songs. His orchestration of Beethoven’s Cello Sonata Op. 69 was premiered by the Philharmonie Zuidnederland in January 2022, while his symphonic arrangement of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody continues to see worldwide success as a viral YouTube hit. He also serves as arranger and editor for the James P. Johnson Orchestra Edition.

Hersh grew up in Evanston, Illinois and started his musical training as a cellist. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Music from Stanford University and a Master’s Degree in Conducting from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. Hersh is also a two-time recipient of the Solti Foundation Career Assistance Award. Nicholas lives in Philadelphia with his wife Caitlin and their two cats, and in his free time enjoys baking (and eating) sourdough bread.

Upcoming Performances

Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser, conductor

A passionate communicator, Canadian conductor Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser brings clarity and meaning to the concert hall, fostering deep connections between audiences and performers. Daniel is an innovative creative visionary, who believes that the beauty of music can heal and unite all of us beyond differences.

Mr. Bartholomew-Poyser holds the positions of Resident Conductor of Engagement and Education at the San Francisco Symphony, the Barrett Principal Education Conductor and Community Ambassador of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Principal Youth Conductor and Creative Partner with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa. Daniel is also the Artist in Residence and Community Ambassador of Symphony Nova Scotia, conducting Ballet and Pops with national and international artists and designing diverse and relevant family and outreach shows for the Halifax community. He is the host of the weekly, national Canadian Broadcasting Corporation radio show Centre Stage – with Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser.

Daniel has conducted with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Detroit Symphony in the US and the Canadian Opera Company, the Toronto Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, Hamilton Philharmonic, Edmonton Symphony, and Regina Symphony in Canada. He was a guest conductor with the Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Centre in 2020. Additionally, Daniel has served as the Assistant Conductor of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony and Associate Conductor of the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra. In April 2022, Daniel made his debut with Carnegie Hall’s Link Up Orchestra, conducting the world premiere of “Ram Tori Maya” by Indian American composer, Reena Esmail and “We Shall Not Be Moved” arranged by American vocalist and composer, Nathalie Joachim.

Mr. Bartholomew-Poyser was featured in the 2019 CBC documentary Disruptor Conductor directed by Sharon Lewis. Along with RuPaul’s Drag Race star Thorgy Thor, the documentary follows Bartholomew-Poyser as he collaboratively creates the first orchestral drag queen show in Canada, titled Thorgy and the Thorchestra. The award-winning documentary focuses on Bartholomew-Poyser’s concerts for the Neurodiverse, Prison, African Diaspora and LGBTQ2S+ populations.

Daniel holds a Bachelor of Music Performance and Education from the University of Calgary, and a Master of Philosophy in Performance from the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England. Mr. Bartholomew-Poyser is a recipient of the Canada Council for the Arts Jean-Marie Beaudet Prize for Orchestral Conducting. He has been awarded RBC Royal Bank Emerging Artist Grant and the Canada Council for the Arts Jean Baudet Prize for Orchestral Conducting. Daniel is a member of the Ontario College of Teachers.

Upcoming Performances

Timothy Loo, cello

Timothy Loo, moved to Los Angeles in 1992 to study cello performance at California State University at Northridge and the University of Southern California.  Timothy is a member of the Lyris Quartet, founded in 2008.  This quartet is the resident ensemble at both Jacaranda and Hear Now Festivals and has been featured numerous times on the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Green Umbrella and Noon 2 Midnight series at The Walt Disney Concert Hall.

In January 2018, Mr. Loo made his concerto debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at The Walt Disney Concert Hall performing the fiendishly difficult Concerto for Cello and Orchestra by Bernt Zimmermann, under the direction of conductor Susanna Mälkki.  

Timothy has also performed on over 1000 motion pictures, TV shows, albums, commercials, award shows, including yearly at the Academy Awards.

Timothy is also one of the foremost music contractors in Los Angeles.  Most recently he assembled the orchestra for composer John Williams for the scoring of Indiana Jones 5: The Dial of Destiny, ESPN College Football Playoffs, The Fablemans and Obi Wan Kenobi.  Mr. Loo is also the music contractor for James Newton Howard, Mike Post, Jeff Russo, Branford Marsalis, Disney’s Launchpad streaming series, The Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles, just to name a few.

In 2019, Timothy and his husband Tommy Johnson purchased Sabron Payroll Services and act as CFO and CEO respectively.  Sabron is a leading payroll company in the entertainment industry that has built strong relationships with major production companies such as Disney, Netflix, MGM, Paramount, LucasFilm, and Apple.

This performance with the Modesto Symphony marks Timothy’s debut performing the John Williams’ Cello Concerto.

Upcoming Performances

Tony DeSare, guest artist

Tony DeSare performing with Ryan Murray & the MSO, Holiday Pops 2014

Tony DeSare performs with infectious joy, wry playfulness and robust musicality. Named Rising Star Male Vocalist in Downbeat magazine, DeSare has lived up to this distinction by winning critical and popular acclaim for his concert performances throughout North America and abroad. From jazz clubs to Carnegie Hall to Las Vegas and headlining major symphony orchestras, DeSare has brought his fresh take on old school class around the globe. DeSare has four top ten Billboard jazz albums under his belt and has been featured on the CBS Early Show, NPR, A Prairie Home Companion, the Today Show and his music has been posted by social media celebrity juggernaut, George Takei. DeSare has also collaborated with Youtube supergroup Postmodern Jukebox. He has been a featured guest artist with over 100 symphony orchestras with some highlights including the Cleveland Orchestra, The New York Pops, The San Francisco Symphony, The Houston Symphony, the Chicago Symphony.

Notwithstanding his critically acclaimed turns as a singer/pianist, DeSare is also an accomplished award-winning composer. He not only won first place in the USA Songwriting Contest, but has written the theme song for the motion picture, My Date With Drew, several broadcast commercials and has scored five films. His sound is romantic, swinging and sensual, but what sets DeSare apart is his ability to write original material that sounds fresh and contemporary, yet pays homage to the Great American Songbook.

Tony has a strong presence on social media and continues to release his "song diaries", recordings from his home studio that started in 2020 and now number in the 100's. Tony has numerous recordings available on all platforms and playlists.

Tony DeSare is a Yamaha Artist.

Upcoming Performances

Anne Akiko Meyers, violin

Anne Akiko Meyers, one of the world’s most esteemed musicians, is a GRAMMY® Award winning violinist, recognized as a muse and champion of many of today’s most important composers. Since her teens, Anne has performed around the world as soloist with leading orchestras, in recital and recorded more than 40 releases, which have become staples of classical music radio and streaming platforms.

Anne has been called “the Wonder Woman of commissioning” by The Strad and worked closely with some of the most important composers of the last half century, including Arvo Pärt (Estonian Lullaby), Einojuhani Rautavaara (Fantasia, his final complete work), John Corigliano (cadenzas for the Beethoven Violin Concerto; Lullaby for Natalie), Arturo Márquez (Fandango), Philip Glass (New Chaconne), Michael Daugherty (Blue Electra) Mason Bates and Adam Schoenberg (violin concertos), Billy Childs, Jakub Ciupiński, Jennifer Higdon, Morten Lauridsen, Wynton Marsalis,  Somei Satoh, Joseph Schwantner, and Eric Whitacre (The Pacific Has No Memory, Seal Lullaby) performing world premieres with the symphony orchestras of Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Nashville, Pittsburgh, San Diego, Seattle, Washington, D.C., Helsinki, Hyogo, Leipzig, London, Lyon, and New Zealand.

Anne’s recording of Fandango, a live performance with Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Philharmonic, received two Latin GRAMMY® Awards: Best Classical Album and Best Contemporary Composition.  Fandango was premiered in 2021 at The Hollywood Bowl, and has been performed over 40 times with 16 different orchestras around the world since.

Fandango WP Gustavo Dudamel LA Phil, Hollywood Bowl Allen Murabayashi

Fandango World Premiere with Gustavo Dudamel and LA Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl (c) Allen Murabayashi

In the 2024-25 season, Anne will premiere Eric Whitacre’s, The Pacific Has No Memory, with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra at Carnegie Hall and performs with the Cincinnati Symphony, Grant Park Music Festival, Sarasota Symphony, Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería, and Vancouver Symphony. Naxos will release Blue Electra, Michael Daugherty’s Violin Concerto inspired by Amelia Earhart, commissioned by Anne, and recorded with David Alan Miller and the Albany Symphony in April 25′. Platoon releases Beloved, a requiem by Billy Childs, alongside works by Ola Gjeilo and Eric Whitacre, with Grant Gershon and the Los Angeles Master Chorale in May 25′ for Mother’s Day and the Philip Glass Violin Concerto No. 1 with Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, New Chaconne, a new work written by Philip for Anne, and Echorus with Aubree Oliverson and the Colburn Academy Virtuosi, to be released for Father’s Day, June 25′.

The violinist’s first national television appearances were on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, at age 11, followed by performances that include Evening At Pops with John Williams, CBS Sunday Morning, Great Performances, Countdown with Keith Olbermann (in a segment that was the third most popular story of that year), The Emmy Awards, and The View. John Williams chose Anne to perform the theme from Schindler’s List for a Great Performances PBS telecast, and Arvo Pärt invited her to be his guest soloist at the opening ceremony concerts of his new center and concert hall in Estonia.

Krzysztof Penderecki selected Anne to perform the Beethoven Violin Concerto at the 40th Pablo Casals Festival with the Montreal Symphony, which was broadcast on A&E. Her recording of Somei Satoh’s Birds in Warped Time II was used by architect Michael Arad for his award-winning design submission, which today has become The World Trade Center Memorial in lower Manhattan.

Other career highlights include a performance of the Barber Violin Concerto at the Australian Bicentennial Concert for an audience of 750,000 in Sydney Harbour; performances for the Emperor and Empress Akihito of Japan; for Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, in a Museumplein Concert with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra; and “The Star-Spangled Banner” at T-Mobile Park in Seattle and Dodger Stadium. She was profiled on NPR’s Morning Edition with Linda Wertheimer and All Things Considered with Robert Siegel, and she curated “Living American” on Sirius XM Radio’s Symphony Hall.

Anne has been featured in commercials and advertising campaigns including Anne Klein, shot by legendary photographer Annie Leibovitz; Northwest Airlines; DDI Japan; and TDK; and was the inspiration for the main character’s career path in the novel The Engagements, by the popular author J. Courtney Sullivan. She collaborated with children’s book author and illustrator Kristine Papillon on Crumpet the Trumpet, appearing as the character Violetta the violinist, and featured in a documentary about legendary radio personality Jim Svejda. Anne has collaborated with a diverse array of artists including jazz icons Chris Botti and Wynton Marsalis; avant-garde musician Ryuichi Sakamoto; electronic music pioneer Isao Tomita;pop-era act Il Divo; and singer, Michael Bolton.

Anne was born in San Diego and grew up in Southern California, where she and her mother traveled eight hours, round trip, from the Mojave Desert to Pasadena for lessons with Alice and Eleonore Schoenfeld at the predecessor of the Colburn School of Performing Arts. Anne moved to New York at the age of 14 to study at The Juilliard School with the legendary violin instructor Dorothy DeLay, and with Masao Kawasaki and Felix Galimir; she signed with management at 16; and recorded her debut album of the Barber and Bruch Violin Concertos with the RPO at Abbey Road Studios at 18. She has received the Avery Fisher Career Grant, Distinguished Alumna Award, and an Honorary Doctorate from The Colburn School. She serves on the Board of Trustees of The Juilliard School, the Dudamel Foundation, was recently honored by the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and inducted into the Asian Hall of Fame.

Anne performs on Larsen Strings with the Ex-Vieuxtemps Guarneri del Gesù, dated 1741, considered by many to be the finest-sounding violin in existence.

Upcoming Performances

Amaryn Olmeda, violin

Winner of first prize and the audience choice award at the 24th Annual Sphinx Competition, violinist Amaryn Olmeda is a rising star sought after for her bold and expressive performances as a soloist and collaborator. Violinist.com says of Olmeda, “…her commanding stage presence, infallible technique, and interpretive ability already rival that of international concert stage veterans.”

“...her commanding stage presence, infallible technique, and interpretive ability already rival that of international concert stage veterans.”
— Violinist.com

Highlights of 2024-2025 include season-opening concerts in debut with the Boulder Philharmonic and the Alabama Symphony, as well as debut performances with the Charlotte Symphony, Albany Symphony, Pacific Symphony, Omaha Symphony, and Sarasota Orchestra. Olmeda will also debut in recital at the Kravis Center’s Young Artists Classical Series in West Palm Beach, FL and the University of Florida Performing Arts in Gainesville, FL.

Olmeda made her Lincoln Center debut during the 2024 Summer for the City Series. She made her Carnegie Hall solo debut on the Sphinx Virtuosi tour at the age of 14, garnering rave reviews. At 13, Olmeda was named the initial member of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and Opus 3 Artist’s Artist Apprentice Program.

Highlights of previous seasons include debuts as soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, and the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra at their New Year’s Concert Series, earning her a nomination for the San Francisco Classical Voice Audience Choice Awards. Olmeda also performed in recital at the Bouchaine Young Artist Series at Festival Napa Valley as well as at the National Arts Club in New York City.

In 2023, Olmeda made her recording debut as the featured soloist of Carlos Simon’s Between Worlds on the Sphinx Virtuosi’s inaugural recording with Deutsche Grammophon. The Strad Magazine said of Olmeda’s performance, “…it receives an impressive reading here by the young musician [and] she shows why she has garnered the word 'prodigy’.”

Other career highlights include selection as an NPR From the Top Fellow, receiving the National Arts Club’s Herman and Mary Neuman Music Award, being named a Young Artist Soloist by the Seattle Symphony, and being featured in a solo performance with the Sacramento Philharmonic and VITA Academy in the video production, The Extraordinary Life of Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges. In 2022 Olmeda performed for the San Francisco Conservatory Gala with pianist Yuja Wang. She has performed for numerous school and community outreach events including with the Buffalo Philharmonic, Richmond Symphony, Auburn Symphony, and Oakland Symphony.

Born in Melbourne, Australia in 2008, Olmeda currently studies at the New England Conservatory of Music with Miriam Fried. She previously studied with Ian Swensen at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Amaryn Olmeda performs on a violin made by J.B. Vuillaume in 1864.

Upcoming Performances

Brody Dolyniuk, guest artist

Brody Dolyniuk is a multi-faceted, self-taught musician who began his professional music career playing in piano bars. A chance meeting with a pair of star-shaped sunglasses led to forming an Elton John tribute band Brody called Yellow Brick Road. Soon YBR began going outside the EJ catalog to perform other classic rock giants such as Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and more. 

Within a year, YBR was a steady working band in the Las Vegas music scene and had cultivated a large local following. YBR also became an in-demand choice for the corporate entertainment market.

After 14 years of solid work, Brody stepped down as front man for YBR to pursue other avenues, namely his role as a vocalist for Windborne Music’s touring symphony shows, singing the Music of Queen, and later The Who, Rolling Stones, U2 and Journey. Simultaneously Brody had been developing his own production called Symphonic Rockshow. 

Now residing in Southern California, Brody continues to tour, as well as produce shows via his company, Yellow Brick Road Entertainment.

Upcoming Performances

Alexandra Loutsion, soprano

Hailed as "fearless" (Opera News) and “masterful” (Tulsa World) with a “powerful…and gorgeous voice" (MinnPost), Greek-American soprano Alexandra Loutsion continues to be recognized for her passionate performances and vocal versatility on the operatic stage.  

In the 2024-2025 season, Ms. Loutsion joins The Metropolitan Opera roster to cover the title role in Verdi’s Aida. She returns to Dallas Symphony Orchestra singing Gerhilde, and covers Sieglinde in Wagner’s Die Walküre, and returns to Virginia Opera singing Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Washington National Opera as the rehearsal cover for Lady Macbeth in Verdi’s Macbeth. Additionally, she will debut with Out of the Box Opera singing the title role in Puccini’s Suor Angelica. Last season, Ms. Loutsion returned to Virginia Opera singing Brünnhilde in the Jonathan Dove reduction of Wagner’s Siegfried. She returned to the rosters of Lyric Opera of Chicago covering the title role in Verdi’s Aida and Houston Grand Opera covering Kundry in Wagner’s Parsifal. She also returned to The Dallas Opera singing the Overseer and covering the title role in Strauss’ Elektra, and finshed her season debuting with Lyric Opera of Kansas City singing Mother Abbess in Rogers & Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music. Recently, Ms. Loutsion made her role and house debut with Virginia Opera as Brünnhilde in the Johnathan Dove reduction of Wagner’s Die Walküre (The Valkyrie) and returned to Opera Santa Barbara in the same role. She made her Washington National Opera debut as The Overseer, Confidante and Elektra (cover) in Strauss’ Elektra, as well as her Opera Idaho debut as Lady Macbeth in Verdi’s Macbeth. She returned to Washington Concert Opera debuting Abigaille in Verdi’s Nabucco, and also returned to Pittsburgh Opera as Leonora in Il Trovatore. She made her professional musical theater debut as Mother Abbess in Rogers & Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music with The Glimmerglass Festival and finished the season debuting with Austin Symphony Orchestra of Minnesota in both a solo recital and Wagner selections in concert.

Ms. Loutsion’s repertoire encompasses many of opera’s dramatic leads:, Strauss’ Elektra (Minnesota Opera, Canadian Opera Company (cover)), Puccini’s Turandot (Palm Beach Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Tulsa Opera, New Orleans Opera, San Francisco Opera (cover)) Verdi’s Lady Macbeth (Lyric Opera of Chicago (cover)), Puccini’s Tosca (Central City Opera, Palm Beach Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, The National Symphony Orchestra, The Santa Fe Opera (cover), Sacramento Philharmonic and Opera, Fort Wayne Philharmonic) and Beethoven’s Fidelio (Austin Opera and The Santa Fe Opera (cover)). Other role highlights include the Foreign Princess/Rusalka with Arizona Opera, Florencia/Florencia en el Amazonas with Arizona Opera and Pittsburgh Opera, and Donna Anna/Don Giovanni with North Carolina Opera. She also covered the Lady-in-Waiting in Verdi’s Macbeth with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Riccardo Muti.

In addition to iconic standard repertoire, Ms. Loutsion enjoys working with living composers to bring their heroines to life: most recently she recorded the leading role of Kayla in Kamala Sankaram’s Taking Up Serpents with Chicago Opera Theater, available on streaming services globally. She also recently debuted with Lyric Opera of Chicago as Brünnhilde in Yuval Sharon’s Twilight: Gods, a reinterpretation of Wagner’s Götterdämmerung. 

One of her greatest joys is creating unique recital programs that blend storytelling, spoken narrative, and song. Recent notable programs include Grotesque Beauty: The Life of Maria Callas, a one-woman show highlighting the life of Maria Callas, and Greek Love, a program using the eight ancient Greek words for love to explore how humans experience love throughout their lives. In two iterations of Greek Love, she employed a musical language as limitless as love itself, encompassing various styles and reworking classical pieces by altering keys, merging elements, and creating a dynamic version of vocal music. This approach ensured that each audience member had something personal to connect with and take away. She is currently in the process of creating a new cabaret style performance piece entitled Right to Exist, a story about the struggle and acceptance of one’s own identity.

On the concert stage, Ms. Loutsion has sung the soprano solo in Verdi’s Messa da Requiem with the Santa Fe Symphony and the Academy Chamber Orchestra of Pittsburgh, as well as Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the Cathedral Choral Society, West Virginia Symphony, Syracuse Symphoria, Erie Philharmonic and as a guest soloist with the Ithaca College Chamber Orchestra.

Ms. Loutsion represented the United States as a quarterfinalist in the Francisco Viñas International Singing Contest in Barcelona, Spain. She was a winner of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition District Auditions and the Long Beach Mozart Competition, as well as a finalist in the Fritz and Lavinia Jensen Foundation Competition, McCammon Voice Competition, and Dallas Opera Competition. She is the recipient of the Catherine Filene Shouse Education Fund Career Grant from Wolf Trap Opera, Santa Fe Opera’s Donald Gramm Memorial Award and Anna Case MacKay Award, the Shoshana Foundation Richard F. Gold Career Grant, the Central City Opera John Moriarty Award, and the Aspen Music Festival New Horizon Fellowship. 

She spent two seasons each with The Santa Fe Opera and Central City Opera as an Apprentice Artist, as well as Pittsburgh Opera as a Resident Artist. She holds a Master of Music in Vocal Arts from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Ithaca College. Ms. Loutsion was also recently awarded a place in the Greek America Foundation's "Forty under 40" Class of 2018, which celebrates the professional excellence and philanthropic endeavors of North Americans of Greek descent.

Upcoming Performances

Alice Chung, mezzo-soprano

American mezzo-soprano Alice Chung is rapidly being recognized for her "operatic tonal glamour (parterre box) and being “a force of nature with a sound both powerful and appealing” (San Francisco Classical Voice).

Ms. Chung’s 2023-2024 season commenced with a celebrated house début at Boston Lyric Opera as Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, after which Opera News declared Ms. Chung “one of America’s most gifted young singers.” Other notable appearances included a return to Hawai’i Opera Theatre in An American Dream and a début with Houston Grand Opera in the world premiere of The Big Swim. She also joined Boston Modern Orchestra Project for Bernstein’s Symphony No. 1 and Out of the Box Opera to sing the Principessa in Suor Angelica. On the concert stage, Ms. Chung enjoyed a return engagement with the U.S. Naval Academy in Handel’s Messiah, accompanied by the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra. This season, Ms. Chung sings Amneris in Aida with Boston Lyric Opera, the title role in Carmen with Hawaii Opera Theatre, and she reprises her roles of the Ox and the Pig in The Big Swim, this time with Asia Society Texas in Houston.

Previous engagements included a house and role début at Hawai’i Opera Theatre as Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, covering the role of Granny Jia in Dream of the Red Chamber in San Francisco Opera’s coproduction with the Hong Kong Arts Festival, along with a return to cover the role of Suzuki, and house débuts with Arizona Opera as the Third Lady in Die Zauberflöte and La mort in Le rossignol with West Edge Opera.

A graduate of the Academy of Vocal Arts, Ms. Chung has also performed with Tulsa Opera, Central City Opera, Chautauqua Opera, and the Lyric Opera of Kansas City. Role credits include La Zia Principessa in Suor Angelica, Zita in Gianni Schicchi, Maddalena in Rigoletto, Ježibaba in Rusalka, Die Hexe in Hänsel und Gretel, Mrs. Grose in The Turn of the Screw, Larina in Eugene Onegin, and Mariana in Luisa Fernanda. On the concert stage, she has sung with the Kansas City Symphony, Bucks County Symphony, and the Naples Philharmonic at Artis-Naples. Concert credits include Duruflé’s Requiem, Saint-Saëns’s Oratorio de Noël, Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky, and Beethoven’s Fantasia and Mass in C Major.

As a two-time alum of the prestigious Merola Opera Program, Ms. Chung garnered acclaim from San Francisco audiences for her excerpted portrayals of Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana, Augusta Tabor in The Ballad of Baby Doe, and Azucena in Il trovatore, which parterre box praised for its “riveting dramatic intensity.” The San Francisco Chronicle lauded Ms. Chung’s Gertrude in Hamlet as “ringing, magisterial.” She returned for her Schwabacher Recital début, presented by the Merola Opera Program in conjunction with San Francisco Opera and has continued to perform recitals in the Bay Area since. A lover of collaboration and chamber music, Ms. Chung has premiered new works alongside standard literature.

Ms. Chung is an honored recipient of numerous grants and winner of various competitions, including the 2022 Gerda Lissner Lieder/Song Competition, the Richard F. Gold Career Grant from the Shoshana Foundation, First Prize and Audience Favorite awards at the Young Patronesses of the Opera, First Place in the Cooper-Bing Competition, District and Regional Winner in the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, and the 2021 William Matheus Sullivan Foundation Audition Awards.

As the artistic director and co-founder of the arts and advocacy initiative Wear Yellow Proudly, Ms. Chung works to raise awareness of Asian and AAPI narratives and culture by showcasing and celebrating Asian art and artists worldwide.

Upcoming Performances

Ben Gulley, tenor

American tenor Ben Gulley has been hailed as “outstanding" (Opera News) and "startlingly gifted" (San Francisco Classical Voice). The award-winning artist’s recent seasons have included feature roles in opera, solo engagements, concert, film work, touring and important appearances abroad.

Gulley’s engagements for the 2024-2025 season include an exciting variety of fully staged productions including Rodolfo in La bohème with Knoxville Opera and Canio in Pagliacci with Pensacola Opera, as well as concert engagements such as a holiday concert with Orchestra Iowa, Carmina Burana with the Grand Rapids Symphony, and highlights from Bizet’s Carmen with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra.

Recent artistic and critical triumphs include his debut as Romeo in the rave-reviewed Roméo et Juliette with Opera Idaho (2024), headlining “An Evening with Sir Tim Rice” alongside the EGOT legend himself (2024), winning Broadway World’s “Best Actor In A Musical” award for his debut as Quasimodo in Dennis DeYoung's Hunchback of Notre Dame with Skylight Music Theatre (2022), a debut as Cavaradossi in Tosca with Sarasota Opera (2022), Tenor Soloist in Verdi’s Requiem with Orchestra Iowa (2023) and international engagements as Tenor Soloist in Bruckner’s Te Deum with Maestro Hartmut Haenchen and as Tenor Soloist in Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde opposite renowned mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung with the Belgian National Orchestra in Brussels and Namur, Belgium under Maestro Hugh Wolff (2021). In April of 2023, Gulley enjoyed a triumph with Portland Opera, jumping into the role of the Prince in Rusalka on two days’ notice and traveling directly to a dress rehearsal with no prior musical or stage rehearsals. Then, weeks later, he ended the season in similarly heroic and dramatic fashion by learning and performing the role of Foresto in Verdi’s Attila in three weeks’ time for a last-minute replacement at the Opera Festival of Chicago.

Other engagements of note for the 2023-2024 season included debuting with and headlining Symphony San Jose’s Christmas Pops program, a solo recital with pianist and NPR’s Peter Dugan for Fontana Chamber Arts, a role debut as Edgardo in a return to Opera Orlando for Lucia di Lammermoor, and concert appearances for Symphony San Jose’s season finale, “A Night of Puccini,” a return to Orchestra Iowa as the Tenor Soloist in Carmina Burana, and headlining with the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra for their Fourth of July Touring Patriotic Pops Concerts.

Season highlights for the 2022-2023 season included engagements with the Asheville Symphony (“Night at the Opera”), concerts for Hidden Valley Music Seminars and the Tallahassee Symphony (“Viva Verdi!”), Tenor Soloist in Verdi’s Requiem with Orchestra Iowa, Radames in Aida with Fort Worth Opera, and Tenor Soloist in Bruckner’s Te Deum with the Belgian National Orchestra at the BOZAR in Brussels, Belgium.

Amidst the 2019-2022 COVID-19 disruption in the performing arts, Mr. Gulley performed the Tenor Soloist in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra (2021) and with the University of Texas-Austin Symphony (2022), his Dallas Opera Recital (digital) debut in 2020, headlined an “Opera in the Park” concert with Opera Idaho (2021), produced the online “Aria-Thon” broadcast charity event and “Opera in the Park with Ben” with Opera Steamboat (2020), as well as his 2019-2020 Ben Gulley National Recital Tour presented by LiveOnStage (cut short due to COVID-19 lockdown), recitals for Perdue University, North Dakota State University, Epworth by the Sea, Banner Elk Community Concerts and the Jacksonville, FL Museum of Science and History (2021).

Previous seasons included engagements with Opera Orlando for a role and house debut as Dick Johnson in The Girl of the Golden West (2019), Opera San Luis Obispo as Tamino in Die Zauberflöte (2018) and Radames in Aida (2015), Sarasota Opera as Ismaele in Verdi’s Nabucco (2018), a debut as the Prince in Dvorak's Rusalka with Opera Steamboat (2017), a debut as Dr. Marianus in Mahler’s 8th Symphony with South Dakota Symphony (2017), the Tenor Soloist in “Beethoven vs. Coldplay” by Steve Hackman with the Grand Rapids Symphony (2017), Christmas Pops concerts with the Jacksonville Symphony (2018) and Louisville Symphony Orchestra (2018), an Operetta Recital with Sarasota Opera (2018), and headliner for The Lyric Opera of Kansas City’s Opera Ball (2019). Mr. Gulley made his international company debut with the Staatsoper Hamburg, where he covered the late Marcello Giordani as Énée in Les Troyens under Maestro Kent Nagano (2016), performing at the Great Pyramids of Egypt in Giza (2017), a company and role debut with Sarasota Opera as Pedro in d'Albert's Tiefland (2017), his Carnegie Hall debut with The American Symphony as the Tenor Soloist in Haydn's Mass in Time of War (2017), and his celebrated 70-date Ben Gulley Solo US National Recital Tour, presented by Allied Concert Services (2014-2015).

Mr. Gulley is equally at home in the musical theater, having won praise and awards for his turn as Quasimodo in Dennis DeYoung’s Hunchback of Notre Dame (Skylight Musical Theatre, 2022). Dan in Next To Normal (MTH, 2016), Jack in Into The Woods (MTH, 2010), An Evening with Cole Porter (MTH, 2014) and originating Disney’s stage version of the evil puppeteer, Stromboli, in Stephen Schwartz’s Gepetto and Son (now My Son Pinocchio, Coterie Theater).

As a contemporary crossover artist, 2016 marked the commercial release of Mr. Gulley’s debut solo album of original music, In Between, which is available on every major music distribution and streaming service. From 2010 through 2014, Mr. Gulley was also a member of the Sony/BMG Masterworks recording and global touring group The American Tenors, alongside fellow tenors Nathan Granner and Daniel Montenegro and produced by creator and producer of The Irish Tenors, Frank McNamara. Mr. Gulley was also featured twice on the nationally televised PBS Memorial Day event “Celebration At The Station” with the Kansas City Symphony and Maestro Michael Stern.

Upcoming Performances

DeAndre Simmons, bass

DeAndre Simmons

Called a "class act" by the Los Angeles Times, American bass DeAndre Simmons is consistently recognized for his velvety voice, incisive musicianship, and captivating stage presence. He has appeared on musical theater, operatic, symphonic, and recital stages in all 50 states and across four continents. Career highlights include performing Mozart's Requiem in the presence of Pope John Paul II, being one of only 10 musicians invited to participate in a concert for Nelson Mandela, and singing for seven US Presidents — from Richard Nixon to Barack Obama.

Simmons is frequently immersed in the operas of Handel, Mozart, Puccini, Rossini, and Verdi. Career engagements include performances with Opera Philadelphia, San Diego Opera, Opera Panama, and Pacific Opera Victoria, and the premieres of several new works — including the West Coast premiere of William Bolcom's A Wedding, the Canadian premiere of Marc Blitzstein's Regina, and the East Coast premiere of Richard Danielpour and Toni Morrison's Margaret Garner. He also sang the role of Detective Watts in the workshop of Stephen Schwartz's Séance on a Wet Afternoon. On the orchestral stage, Simmons has performed with major ensembles across the US, UK, and Europe, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, LA Phil, Kansas City Symphony, London Philharmonic Orchestra, and Italy's RAI National Symphony Orchestra.

Simmons is a veteran of musical theater, having recently performed as Caiaphas in Jesus Christ Superstar, Kerchak in Tarzan, Boatman in Sunday in the Park with George, and Ken in Ain't Misbehavin'. Additional credits include Steven in She Loves Me, the Wolf in Into the Woods, Curtis in Dreamgirls, the voice of Audrey II in Little Shop of Horrors, and Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha. He frequently performs music from the Great American Songbook in recital, concert, and cabaret settings — including his cabaret tribute to Stephen Sondheim, Just Me and Stephen: The Songs of Stephen Sondheim, which he toured across the US.

Upcoming engagements in 2024 include Montrellous in Lynn Nottage's Clyde's with Moxie Theatre, Bonze in Puccini's Madama Butterfly with San Diego Opera, the West Coast premiere of Zach Redler's The Falling and the Rising with Bodhi Tree Concerts, and a slate of solo recitals.

An alumnus of the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts and the Old Globe Theatre Intensive, Simmons holds degrees from the University of the Arts, Manhattan School of Music, and the Curtis Institute of Music. He studied voice with Fred Carama, Barbara Cook, and James Morris, acting with Uta Hagen, and the Fosse catalog with Ann Reinking and Jacques D'Ambroise.

Upcoming Performances

Nikki Renée Daniels, guest artist

Nikki Renée Daniels recently starred in Once Upon a Mattress (Lady Larken), and in the Tony Award winning revival of Company (Jenny) on Broadway. She played Angelica Schuyler in Hamilton, at the CIBC Center in Chicago. Other Broadway credits include The Book of Mormon (Nabulungi), the 2012 Tony Award winning revival of The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess (Clara), Les Miserablés (Fantine), Nine, Aida, Little Shop of Horrors, The Look of Love, Promises, Promises, Anything Goes, and Lestat.

She made her New York City Opera debut as Clara in Porgy and Bess. Other New York credits include Martha Jefferson in 1776 at City Center Encores! and Eve/Mama Noah in the New York premiere of Children of Eden at David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center.

Regionally, Nikki has been seen in Caroline, or Change (Emmie) at the Guthrie Theatre; Ray Charles Live! (Della B.) at Pasadena Playhouse; The Music Man (Marian) and Guys and Dolls (Sarah Brown) at Pittsburgh CLO; Anything Goes (Hope) at Williamstown Theatre Festival; Beauty and the Beast (Belle) at Sacramento Music Circus, and North Shore Music Theater; Ragtime (Sarah) at North Shore Music Theatre; Aida (Aida) and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Narrator) at ArtPark.  Her film and television credits include The Other Woman, “Chappelle's Show,” “Madam Secretary,” and “The Sound of Music: Live.”

Nikki has performed as a soloist with many symphony orchestras worldwide, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, The Philadelphia Orchestra, The Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the North Czech Philharmonic, The Capetown Philharmonic, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Pops, the Philly Pops, the New York Pops, Indianapolis Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Houston Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra.  She has also performed as a soloist at Carnegie Hall, and holds a BFA from the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music. Her debut CD, Home, is available on iTunes. Follow her on social media at @nikkireneesings.

Upcoming Performances

Crystal Monee Hall, guest artist

Crystal Monee Hall’s varied career as a singer, songwriter, instrumentalist and actress has included roles on Broadway (“RENT”), sold out tours with acclaimed musicians Mickey Hart (Grateful Dead) and Dave Schools (Widespread Panic), being a featured vocalist on Saturday Night Live and also a guest appearance on the HBO comedy-drama High Maintenance. She has released three albums (one solo as well as two with Hart) with work from her most recent EP "If You Breathe" called 'riveting' by Billboard Magazine . Her newest release seamlessly blends Hall’s love for world, blues, jazz, soul and contemporary R&B, showcasing her talent as a songwriter, while highlighting a voice that has captivated audiences worldwide. 

Currently, Crystal is a featured vocalist on Broadway Superstar Kristin Chenoweth’s “For The Girls” concerts at Broadway’s Nederlander Theater. In addition to being heavily featured, her songwriting comes front and center when Chenoweth performs her original tune “Reasons for Hope” co-written by the shows Musical Director Mary-Mitchell Campbell.

Crystal continues to be a key part of high-profile music moments, including a feature with country superstar Thomas Rhett on Saturday Night Live in March 2019. RollingStone took notice of her standout performance of “Don’t Threaten Me With a Good Time,” noting it “put on display the superb, soulful talents of Crystal Monee Hall”. He invited her out to to his sold out show at Madison Square Garden in September 2019 for an encore performance of the tune.

Crystal will be featured in Emmy, Tony and Grammy winning Ben Platt’s Netflix concert special filmed at Radio City Music Hall in September 2019. She also performed with him The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Good Morning America and for the run of his sold-out “Sing to Me Instead” Tour.

Tony, Grammy and Emmy Award Winner Cynthia Erivo’s PBS special features Hall in the role of soprano during her knockout performance of “Ain’t No Way”. She also joined Kesha as part of her powerful 2018 Grammy Awards performance in support of the #TimesUp movement,  provided supporting vocals for Mariah Carey's Christmas residency at New York's Beacon Theater, performed alongside Kanye West and Chance The Rapper during their debut performance of "Ultralight Beam" on SNL. Crystal provided backing vocals for Craig David's "All We Needed," the official song of the BBC's 2016 Children In Need campaign. 

With her career continuing to flourish, Hall looks forward to reaching new listeners with her message, music and voice. 

Crystal Monee Hall is a singer/songwriter, composer/lyricist and vocal arranger based in NYC.  

Credits include: Sesame Street, Ayodele Casel (Chasing Magic), Walker (CW network), A Beautiful Noise (Gospel Arrangement, Biden/Harris Campaign), Kristen Chenoweth, Renee Elise Goldsberry, Brandon Victor Dixon, Ben Platt, PBS Kids (Donkey Hodie, Nature Cat, Alma’s Way), Fearless (Mandy Gonzalez), Black Ink Crew (VH1), Broadway Inspirational Voices, HBO’s High Maintenance, Broadway’s RENT, Craig David, Cynthia Erivo, After the Storm (Ahrens and Flaherty), Thomas Rhett, John Legend, Patti Austin, Oleta Adams, Mariah Carey, Elton John, Kesha, Roy Ayers, Jason Mraz, Ledisi, Kanye West, The Last Internationale. crystalmoneehall.com, @crystalmonee.

Upcoming Performances

Capathia Jenkins, guest artist

The Brooklyn-born and raised singer/actor, Capathia Jenkins, premiered her new show, She’s Got Soul, with the Houston Symphony in October 2022, with upcoming performances including Cleveland Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Utah Symphony, Colorado Springs Philharmonic, Asheville Symphony, Arkansas Symphony, Tucson Symphony, Phoenix Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, among others.

Ms. Jenkins starred as ‘Medda’ in the hit Disney production of Newsies on Broadway. She made her Broadway debut in The Civil War, where she created the role of Harriet Jackson. She then starred in the Off-Broadway 2000 revival of Godspell, where she wowed audiences with her stirring rendition of ‘Turn Back, O Man’ which can still be heard on the original cast recording. She returned to Broadway in The Look of Love and was critically acclaimed for her performances of the Bacharach/David hits. Ms. Jenkins then created the roles of ‘The Washing Machine’ in Caroline, Or Change and ‘Frieda May’ in Martin Short-Fame Becomes Me where she sang ‘Stop the Show’ and brought the house down every night. In 2007 she went back to Off-Broadway and starred in (mis) Understanding Mammy-The Hattie McDaniel Story for which she was nominated for a Drama Desk Award. She was also seen in Nora Ephron’s Love, Loss, and What I Wore.

An active concert artist, Ms. Jenkins has appeared with numerous orchestras around the world including the Cleveland Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony (with Marvin Hamlisch), National Symphony, Cincinnati Pops (with John Morris Russell), Philly Pops, San Francisco Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Utah Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Toronto Symphony, San Diego Symphony, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, and many others. She was also a soloist with the Festival Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic multiple times. Capathia had the great honor of performing in the ‘Broadway Ambassadors to Cuba’ concert as part of the Festival De Teatro De La Habana. She will be returning to Carnegie Hall with the New York Pops for Get Happy: That Nelson Riddle Sound and also sang in a Tribute to Marvin Hamlisch at the Library of Congress.

Her Television credits include 30 Rock, the Practice, Law & Order SVU, the Sopranos, Law & Order, as well as on her critically acclaimed CD Phenomenal Woman with Louis Rosen and her most recent single, ‘I am Strong’. She can be seen in the film ‘Musical Chairs’ directed by Susan Seidelman. Ms. Jenkins was also seen in The Wiz in a live performance on NBC. She can be heard on the following film soundtracks: Nine, Chicago, Legally Blonde 2.

Upcoming Performances

Ryan Shaw, guest artist

Ryan Shaw is a three-time GRAMMY® nominated artist for his solo projects, Columbia Records’ This is Ryan Shaw, his In Between and Dynotone’s Real Love. He has shared the world stage with such artists as Van Halen, Bonnie Raitt, John Legend, B.B. King and Jill Scott. His music has been featured on FOX’s So You Think You Can Dance and ABC’s Dancing with The Stars, Grey’s Anatomy, and Lincoln Heights, and the films My Blueberry Nights and Bride Wars and the Sex and the City soundtrack. Ryan has been a featured guest on national TV talk shows and has starred as Judas in the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Olivier Award-winning London production of Jesus Christ Superstar, as the original Stevie Wonder in Motown: The Musical on Broadway, and on London’s West End as the Soul of Michael Jackson in Thriller Live. Ryan’s new album, Imagining Marvin, showcases Marvin Gaye hits alongside Ryan’s original songs and features multi-GRAMMY Award-winning co-writers and special guests.

As a concert soloist, Ryan Shaw made his Radio City Music Hall debut at the Dream Concert benefit to build the Martin Luther King Jr National Monument in Washington DC. His Carnegie Hall appearances include an Elton John and Bernie Taupin Tribute, A Celebration of The African American Cultural Legacy, and a Nat King Cole 100th concert with the NY Pops. Ryan has also been honored to be the second artist in history to be asked to perform a return engagement at the Central Park Summer Stage Gala (second to Stevie Wonder). He has also been a featured artist with the Houston Symphony for their R&B Mixtape concert as well as the soloist for the Houston Symphony’s 4th of July Celebration. Ryan has also performed with The Cleveland Orchestra, Philly Pops, Utah Symphony, Colorado Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Harrisburg Symphony, Helena Symphony, Anchorage Symphony, Orlando Philharmonic, Tucson Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, Des Moines Symphony, Omaha Symphony, Wheeling Symphony, Wilmington Symphony, Mississippi Symphony, Springfield Symphony, and Gulf Coast Symphony. Upcoming concert engagements include Seattle Symphony, Houston Symphony, Chicago Philharmonic, Arkansas Symphony, South Dakota Symphony, Knoxville Symphony, Allentown Symphony, Long Beach Symphony, Greeley Philharmonic, and Fort Wayne Philharmonic.

Upcoming Performances

Terron Brooks, guest artist

TERRON BROOKS is a singer-songwriter, recording artist, actor, motivational speaker, author and producer who has credits from the Broadway stage, Simba in Disney’s The Lion King and Seaweed in Hairspray, to the television screen’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, American Idol, The Voice, and The Ellen DeGenerous Show. Based in Los Angeles, Terron has had the great opportunity to perform at The Ahmanson(The Secret Garden), The Pantages (The Lion King, Hairspray) and The Hollywood Bowl(Kinky Boots). Mr. Brooks has traveled the country with Disney in Concert Symphony Orchestra. He’s best remembered for his critically acclaimed portrayal of Eddie Kendricks in the Emmy Award winning NBC miniseries The Temptations. He is a two time NAACP image award nominee for best supporting actor and an Ovation nominee for best featured actor. Terron has sung with world class artists Stevie Wonder, David Foster, Phil Collins, One Republic, and Smokey Robinson. He is the co-creator and star of The Soul of Broadway, reimagining classic Broadway favorites, and has produced, written and recorded his own records available digitally everywhere. Terron’s first book Something GoOD on the Table is featured on Amazon.com

Upcoming Performances

Chester Gregory, guest artist

Chester Gregory is an award winning singer and actor. He was last seen starring in Motown The Musical as the iconic Berry Gordy.  Broadway credits include Motown the Musical, Hairspray, Tarzan, Cry-Baby and Sister Act. Other credits include August Wilson's Fences and Two Trains Running. He has toured nationally with Dreamgirls, Sister Act, as well as his one-man show The Eve of Jackie Wilson. Chester has received many awards, including the Jeff Award and a NAACP Theatre Award, and has been presented the key to the city of his hometown of Gary, Indiana and in East Chicago. He has also been chosen as an Honorary State Representative of Indiana and has received a Honorary Doctorate from his alma mater Columbia College Chicago. He is currently producing several projects and recordings. Add him on social media @ChesterGregory and chestergregory.com

Upcoming Performances

Audrey Wright, violin

Audrey Wright is a multifaceted artist across solo, chamber music, and orchestral realms. She joined the New York Philharmonic in 2022 and has been the concertmaster of the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra since 2018. She previously served as associate concertmaster of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Wright has performed across the globe in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Boston Symphony Hall, London’s Royal Albert Hall, Saint Petersburg Philharmonia, and the Vatican, and has been a soloist with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, New World Symphony, and Cape Symphony Orchestra. With a passion for innovative programming and juxtaposing a wide range of musical styles, her repertoire spans the early 17th century to the modern day, and her performing experience includes the full spectrum of these musical styles, from period performance practice to the premiering of new and personally commissioned works. Her debut album, Things In Pairs, with pianist Yundu Wang, was released on Navona Records in 2022.

Originally from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Wright developed a love of ensemble and collaborative playing from a young age. During her high school years, she went on several international tours with youth orchestras in the Boston area, attended the prestigious Walnut Hill School of Performing Arts, and was on the national radio program From the Top. As a recurring participant in the Verbier Festival since 2012, she has performed with the Verbier Festival Orchestra and Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra, and has been concertmaster under the direction of Gábor Takács-Nagy, Michael Tilson Thomas, Kent Nagano, Iván Fischer, and Charles Dutoit. Wright was a Violin Fellow in the New World Symphony from 2013–14, and a member of the Excelsa Quartet from 2014–16. As the Fellowship String Quartet at the University of Maryland, Excelsa Quartet performed and competed internationally, working closely with members of the Guarneri, Emerson, St. Lawrence, and Juilliard quartets.

Wright has performed on such chamber music series as Meeting House Chamber Music, Jackson Hole Chamber Music, Manchester Summer Chamber Music, Great Lakes Summer Chamber Music Festival, and in many concerts in the mid-Atlantic area, including Chiarina Chamber Players, Community Concerts at Second, Pro Musica Rara, Hood College Chamber Music, and the Smithsonian Chamber Music Society, where she has performed on a number of the exquisite instruments in the Smithsonian Instrument Collection. She has worked closely with musicians Mayron Tsong, Paul Watkins, Roberto González-Monjas, Russell Hartenberger, Roger Tapping, John Heiss, John Gibbons, and Yundu Wang, as well as chamber ensembles such as the Axelrod String Quartet, Borromeo String Quartet, Boston Trio, and NuDeco Ensemble. Having worked extensively with artists across other disciplines, she also regularly collaborates with multidisciplinary artist and husband Geoff Robertson on innovative projects that often incorporate dazzling displays of light and sound.

In addition to performing, Wright is a passionate teacher and chamber music coach, and has developed a specialty in coaching and giving masterclasses on orchestral audition excerpts. In 2020 she released a YouTube series of excerpt tutorial videos that has become a widely used resource for musicians worldwide. She was the Director of the Homewood Chamber Music Seminar at Johns Hopkins University from 2017–18, has coached chamber music at the University of Maryland, and maintains a small studio of private students.

Wright holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the New England Conservatory of Music and a doctoral degree from the University of Maryland. Her primary teachers have included David Salness, Lucy Chapman, Bayla Keyes, and Magdalena Richter. She plays on a 1753 J.B. Guadagnini violin generously on loan from the Alsop Trust.

Upcoming Performances

Branford Marsalis, saxophone

Branford Marsalis is an award-winning saxophonist, band leader, featured classical soloist, and a film and Broadway composer. Over the span of his decades long career, he has become a multi award-winning artist with three Grammys, EMMY and Tony nominations, a citation by the National Endowment for the Arts as a Jazz Master, and an avatar of contemporary artistic excellence.  

Mr. Marsalis is frequently sought after as a featured soloist with such acclaimed orchestras as the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonics, and the Chicago, Detroit, North Carolina, and Düsseldorf Symphonies, with a repertoire that includes compositions by Debussy, Glazunov, Ibert, Mahler, Milhaud, Rorem, Vaughn Williams, and John Williams. He has toured with chamber orchestras such as the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, and City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong.

Emerging from the global pandemic in January 2022 Mr. Marsalis first returned to the New York Philharmonic to perform John Adam’s Saxophone Concerto, which highlighted his incredible agility and the instrument’s lyrical voice. Mr. Marsalis then launched a tour with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, in a program which explored the intersectionality of jazz and classical music with repertoire selections including Debussy’s jazz-inspired Rhapsody for alto saxophone and chamber orchestra. Later that year, he performed John Williams’ Escapades in Tanglewood’s celebration of Williams’ 90th birthday. In 2023 Mr. Marsalis performed with symphonies in Miami, Greensboro, Toledo and Corpus Christi, as well as with the Warsaw Philharmonic and Calgary Philharmonic. He also traveled to Tokyo and Kyoto to perform with the Makoto Ozone group in Japan. Mr. Marsalis recently composed a suite commissioned by the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, which premiered in March 2024.

Even as he tours the world as a featured classical soloist, Mr. Marsalis continues to perform with The Branford Marsalis Quartet, which he formed in 1986. His work on Broadway has garnered a Drama Desk Award and Tony nominations for the acclaimed revivals of Children of a Lesser God, Fences, and A Raisin in the Sun. As a composer for film and television, his screen credits include original music composed for: Rustin starring Colman Domingo, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom starring Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks starring Oprah Winfrey, and the EMMY nominated Tulsa Burning: The 1921 Race Massacre.

Upcoming Performances

Alex Boyer, tenor

Tenor ALEX BOYER is steadily gaining recognition for his commanding voice and dramatic portrayals of the lyric and spinto tenor repertoire. Hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle for Festival Opera’s production of Pagliacci, Boyer “mustered a large, potent sound that brought a welcome measure of anguish and dark menace to the role of Canio; his delivery of the famous showpiece ‘Vesti la giubba’ lacked nothing in the way of grit and vocal power.”

Most recently, he has been seen as Tichon in Janáček's Káťa Kabanová with West Edge Opera, Cassio in Otello and Cavaradossi in Tosca with Livermore Valley Opera, Cavaradossi with Hawaii Opera Theatre and as Captain Ahab in Jake Heggie's Moby Dick with Chicago Opera Theater. 

Other engagements include covering the roles of Ruggero in La Rondine with the Metropolitan Opera; Pollione in Norma, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, and Ahab in Moby Dick with the Dallas Opera; performing the roles of the Abbot in Andrea Chénier and Remendado in Carmen with San Francisco Opera; Rodolfo in La bohème and the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto with Island City Opera; Marcello in Leoncavallo's La bohème and Alwa in Lulu in the acclaimed West Edge Opera production. 

He is an alumnus of the Merola Opera Program and the Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Program for Singers.

Upcoming Performances

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