GRAMMY Award-winning soprano Brittany Renee has been praised for her “luminous tones,” “opulent voice,” and “plush soprano bloom” (Opera News). Known for her exquisite artistry and radiant stage presence, she continues to establish herself as one of the most exciting sopranos of her generation.

Recent highlights include her acclaimed performances as Musetta in La Bohème at The Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, and Houston Grand Opera, as well as Bess in Porgy & Bess at the Kennedy Center with Washington National Opera. She also created the role of Esther in the world premiere of Paola Prestini’s Silent Light at National Sawdust and appeared as soprano soloist in Brahms' Requiem with the New York Philharmonic and Sanctuary Road with the Buffalo Philharmonic.

This season, she returns to The Met as Bess, reprises Sister Rose in Dead Man Walking at San Francisco Opera, and makes her role debut as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with Florentine Opera. She has also earned acclaim for her performances in Fire Shut Up in My Bones and Champion at The Met, and for her work with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and Opera Orlando.

In concert, Ms. Renee has performed with the New York Philharmonic, Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, and the American Pops Orchestra, and has made international debuts at the Semperoper Dresden, Teatro Petruzzelli, and in Israel, Canada, and Italy. She was also featured on The Met’s GRAMMY-winning Porgy & Bess and contributed vocals to the original film score of The Woman King.

Hilary Ginther is a mezzo-soprano acclaimed for her dramatic and vocal presence. In 2024–25, she returns to the title role in Carmen with Amarillo Opera, debuts at Wexford Festival as Blanche in Prokofiev’s The Gambler, reprises Suzuki in Madama Butterfly with Opera Louisiane, and debuts as Santuzza with Vero Beach Opera. She also returns to Opera Columbus. Highlights from the 2023–24 season include Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Virginia Opera), Jane Seymour in Anna Bolena (Musica Viva Hong Kong), Olga in Eugene Onegin, Sara in A Magic Flute Experience, and Emma Jones in Street Scene (Central City Opera).

Recent credits include Emilia in Rossini’s Otello (Central City Opera), Elisabetta in Maria Stuarda and Adalgisa in Norma (Musica Viva Hong Kong), Olga in Eugene Onegin (Opera Omaha), Rosina with Fargo-Moorhead Opera and Opera on the James, Anne Boleyn in Henry VIII (Odyssey Opera), Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with Maestro Joe Illick, Maddalena in Rigoletto (Opera Columbus), La Maestra delle Novizie in Suor Angelica (Opera Omaha), and Joan of Arc in The Maid of Orléans (New Orleans Opera).

Earlier performances include Carmen (Fargo-Moorhead Opera), Judy Sinclair in the world premiere of Companionship (Fort Worth Opera), and debuts with MidAmerica Productions at Carnegie Hall, New York City Opera as Lureen in Brokeback Mountain, and Los Angeles Opera in Getty’s Usher House and The Canterville Ghost. She also debuted with The Philadelphia Orchestra in Bernstein’s MASS, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin and released by Deutsche Grammophon in 2018.

At Florida Grand Opera, Ginther performed both Rosina and Vlasta in The Passenger. She held young artist residencies with Florida Grand Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, and Opera Saratoga. She is a 2019 Olga Forrai Foundation Grant recipient and winner of the Rosalind Jackson Memorial Award for Excellence from Crested Butte Music Festival. Ginther holds a Master of Music from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

Grammy Award winning baritone Gabriel Preisser has been praised by Opera News for his “handsome voice, charismatic energy, and timbral allure” and The New York Times called his performance as Lt. Gordon “wonderful.” His resume includes over 40 operatic and musical theater roles including Danilo in The Merry Widow with Utah Festival Opera, Billy Bigelow in Carousel with Minnesota Orchestra, the title role in Sweeney Todd with Helena Symphony, Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia with St Petersburg Opera, Dandini in Cenerentola with Opera Tampa, Escamillo in Carmen with Lyric Opera of the North, Belcore in L’elisir d’amore with Shreveport Opera, Le Mari in Les Mamelles de Tiresias with Opera Parallele, Albert in Werther with Minnesota Opera, Mercutio in Romeo et Juliette with Opera Tampa and St. Petersburg Opera, Tommy in Brigadoon with Gulfshore Opera, Silvio in Pagliacci with Opera Naples, Harold Hill in The Music Man with Colorado Symphony, and Bob Baker in Wonderful Town with Skylark Opera to name a few.  He has been praised for having a “matinee idol’s charm and charisma,” “a beautiful, luscious baritone,” and “a compelling, commanding stage presence.”

Mr. Preisser has made a name for himself as a versatile, cross-over performer and has especially been active in new works. He created the role of Lt. Gordon in Kevin Puts’ Pulitzer Prize winning Silent Night at Minnesota Opera with subsequent performances at Opera Philadelphia, Cincinnati Opera, and Michigan Opera Theatre. His performance as Lt. Gordon with Minnesota Opera was also broadcast nationally on PBS in 2013 and 2014.  He also took on the role of Farmer Bean in Tobias Picker’s Fantastic Mr. Fox both with Opera San Antonio and Odyssey Opera of Boston.  He can be heard on the first official audio recording of Fantastic Mr. Fox under the baton of Gil Rose with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project which won the Grammy Award for best new opera recording in 2020.  He has also been seen as the title role in Aldridge’s Elmer Gantry, Tom Joad in Gordon’s The Grapes of Wrath,  Riolobo in Catan’s Florencia en el Amazonas, Antonio in Hagen’s New York Stories, John Brooke in Adamo’s Little Women, and the Shoe Salesman/Puppet role in Argento’s Postcard from Morocco.  He is a frequent recitalist throughout the US and a proponent of American composers such as Charles Ives, Carlisle Floyd, Aaron Copland, John Duke, and others. 

A 2016 League of American Orchestras Emerging Artist, Preisser is known for his dynamic interpretation of Orff’sCarmina Buranaperformed with the Winter Park Bach Festival, Atlanta Ballet, Gulf Coast Symphony, Orlando Philharmonic, and others. He has also been heard as a bass soloist in Bach’sSt Matthew Passionwith the Colorado Symphony under the baton of Cristian Macelaru, soloist in William Walton’sBelshazzar’s Feastwith Jacksonville Symphony and the Canterbury Chorale, Schlendrian in Bach’sCoffee Cantatawith Orlando Philharmonic, bass soloist in Bach’sSt John’s Passionwith the Houston Bach Society, soloist in H.C. Gruber’sFrankensteinwith Colorado Symphony, and bass soloist in Handel’sMessiahwith Ars Lyrica, Villages Philharmonic, and The Messiah Choral Society.

Outside of his performance career, Mr. Preisser serves as general director for Opera Orlando.

Pittsburgh-born James D. Wetzel is the Director of Music and Organist of the Parish of Saint Vincent Ferrer and Saint Catherine of Siena on Manhattan’s Upper East Side where he directs the professional Schola Cantorum.

James previously served as Organist and Choirmaster of midtown’s Church of Saint Agnes and as Organ Scholar of the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine.

From 2011-2016 he was an adjunct lecturer in Hunter College’s music department, and since 2010 he has also been Assistant Conductor for the Greenwich Choral Society in Connecticut. He is the Dean of the New York City Chapter of the American Guild of Organists and a board member of the Catholic Artists Society and the New York Purgatorial Society.

A graduate of the Juilliard School and the Manhattan School of Music, his private teachers have included Paul Jacobs (organ) and Robert Page and Kent Tritle (conducting).

Everett McCorvey is the Artistic Director of the National Chorale.

Vocal Excellence is a hallmark of Dr. McCorvey’s work with professional choirs and with professional singers in concerts, masterclasses and workshops throughout the United States, Europe, South America and Asia, Poland and other countries.

Over a span of almost 30 years, Dr. McCorvey has engaged choirs and audiences in moving and dynamic experiences with his unique and committed interpretation of choral music of all genres.

Dr. McCorvey is a native of Montgomery, Alabama. He received his degrees from the University of Alabama, including a Doctorate of Musical Arts. He has performed in many cities and theatres around the world including the Metropolitan Opera, the Kennedy Center, Aspen Music Festival, Radio City Music hall, Birmingham Opera Theater, Teatro Comunale in Florence, Italy, Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, England, as well as performances throughout Spain, the Czech and Slovac Republics, Austria, Japan, China, Brazil, Ireland, Poland, Portugal and Hungary, Mexico, Peru and France.

Dr. McCorvey is also the founder and Music Director of the American Spiritual Ensemble, a group of 24 professional singers performing spirituals and other compositions of African-American composers. In its 25-year history, the group has presented over 400 concerts including 17 tours of the United States and 16 tours of Spain. In February of 2017, US Public Broadcasting Stations (PBS) presented a nation-wide special featuring the American Spiritual Ensemble.

Raised in the belief that every citizen in the country should find ways to give back to his or her community, city and country, Dr. McCorvey has been very active in his volunteer activities, working to keep the arts as a part of the civic conversation locally, regionally and nationally. He is a frequent advisory panelist and on-site reviewer for the National Endowment for the Arts in Washington, D.C. and he has served on the Boards of the National

Assembly of State Arts Agencies, National Opera Association and the Kentucky Arts Council. Dr. McCorvey has recently been invited to serve as a jurist on the Opera For All Voices initiative established by San Francisco Opera and Santa Fe Opera. The panel will review new operatic works for the industry with the goal of bringing new audiences to opera

Dr. McCorvey has served on the faculties of the New York State Summer School of the Arts in Saratoga Springs, New York and the American Institute of Musical Studies (AIMS) in Graz, Austria. He holds an Endowed Chair in Opera Studies and Professor of Voice position at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky.

In September of 2010, Dr. McCorvey served as the Executive Producer of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Alltech 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games held in Lexington, Kentucky. The Opening Ceremony was broadcasted on NBC Sports and was viewed by over 500 million people worldwide. The Alltech 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games was the largest equestrian event to ever be held in the United States. He is married to soprano Alicia Helm. They have three children. On working with the National Chorale, Dr. McCorvey says that “Celebrating the 55th Anniversary of great choral singing with the National Chorale is indeed an honor and a privilege. It is my fervent hope that we can continue to sing, share and experience the goodness of humanity through music and learn of each other better through sharing in the arts.”

César Leal is a Colombian-born conductor and musicologist known for integrating performance, scholarly research, and interdisciplinary collaboration. He is Director of Orchestral Activities and Associate Professor of Music at Gettysburg College’s Sunderman Conservatory, where he leads the orchestra, recently on international tours, and oversees the musicology program.

Maestro Leal has conducted professional and academic ensembles across the U.S., Latin America, and Europe. Previously, he was Artistic Director of the Sewanee Symphony Orchestra and a faculty member at the Sewanee Summer Music Festival. His programs are praised for combining historical insight with innovation, including full-stage productions with the Lexington Ballet of Rite of Spring, Les Sylphides, and Afternoon of a Faun. He is a regular guest conductor with the Panama National Symphony Orchestra, exploring connections between European and Latin American traditions.

A champion of diverse repertoire, Leal has collaborated with the American Spiritual Ensemble and artists such as Kallen Esperian, Cynthia Lawrence, Angela Brown, Kenneth Overton, and Reginald Smith Jr. Recent projects include Pilgrimage by Carlisle Floyd, a new orchestration of Margaret Bonds’s Credo, the world premiere of Princess Joy and the Emotions Factory, and an upcoming collaboration with the Martha Graham Dance Company for America 250.

In 2025, Leal became Chair of Gettysburg’s Ann McIlhenny Harward Interdisciplinary Program for Culture and Music, fostering dialogue between music, culture, and the humanities. As a scholar, he co-edited America in the French Imaginary, 1789–1914 (Boydell & Brewer, 2022), awarded by the American Musicological Society. His writing appears in multiple languages and continents, and he currently serves as guest editor for Sound Studies Review (2025) and Sonic Ideas (2026).

An active educator, Leal leads masterclasses, adjudicates competitions, and conducts youth and honors ensembles nationwide. Since 2015, he has taught conducting throughout the U.S., Europe, and Latin America.

He holds a Ph.D. in Musicology from the University of Kentucky and a Master’s in Conducting from Florida International University where he studied with Stewart Robertson.

Deborah Simpkin King, Ph.D., is a choral conductor, new music advocate, and master teacher. She plays an active role in the vibrant Manhattan choral scene and serves the national and international music community through her guest conducting and body of published work.

Her leadership as a conductor is ongoing with the semi-professional Ember of Ember Choral Arts, as Director of Music and Arts at the historic Trinity Episcopal Church in Asbury Park, NJ, as Conductor of the Manhattan School of Music Chorale, and as a conductor within Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival.

Her commitment to nurturing the next generation in the arts can be seen through the arts education initiatives at Ember Choral Arts, her long-standing leadership of the NJ-ACDA High School Choral Festival, and the expansion of the New York Choral Consortium (which she Chairs) work to include young singers through the Big Sing Jr.

Through PROJECT: ENCORE (which she founded), Dr. King is at the cutting edge of the new music industry. She works with composers to secure post-premiere performances and commissions and performs many premieres herself.

She also serves the music community internationally as a monthly columnist with ACDA’s Choral Journal and host of public radio’s Sounds Choral (syndicated through WWFM).

John Daly Goodwin has conducted concerts in major venues around the world including Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York, The Grand Theater in Shanghai, Palacio de Bellas Artes and Sala Nezahualcóyotl in Mexico City, the Cathedrals of Notre Dame and Chartres in France, and the Basilica of San Marco in Venice.  He has prepared performances for Marco Armiliato, Leonard Bernstein, Joseph Colaneri, Dennis Russell Davies, Robert De Cormier, Lukas Foss, Margaret Hillis, Fabio Luisi, Yehudi Menuhin, John Nelson, Daniel Oren, Carlos Miguel Prieto, Eve Queler, Corrado Rovaris, Julius Rudel, Gerard Schwarz, Robert Shaw, Leonard Slatkin and Robert Spano.

Mr. Goodwin has conducted or prepared choruses for 17 national television broadcasts including the 1998 Grammy Awards. He served as Music Director of the New York Choral Society from 1987 to 2012, principal guest conductor of the Coro del Teatro de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, and was a founding member of the New York Choral Consortium.  With a strong personal commitment to music education, Mr. Goodwin has done extensive volunteer work to benefit aspiring musicians and young children in the New York City Public Schools. 

James John is Professor of Music and Director of Choral Studies at Queens College’s Aaron Copland School of Music, where he directs the Queens College Vocal Ensemble, the Queens College Choral Society, and heads the graduate program in choral conducting. Dr. John is also Artistic Director of the Manhattan-based vocal ensemble Cerddorion, a select chamber choir dedicated to adventurous programs that span the breadth of the choral repertoire.

Under his leadership, the choral program at the Aaron Copland School of Music has become recognized as one of the finest collegiate choral programs in the region, with performances at state and divisional conferences of the American Choral Directors Association, as well as performances in prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and St. Patrick’s Cathedral. His ensembles are featured on several recordings, including The Partsongs of Hamish MacCunn, released by the QC Vocal Ensemble, and Songs of Peace and Praise, a compilation of choral music by Queens College composers, released on the NAXOS label. The QC Vocal Ensemble’s world premiere recording of Shanan Estreicher’s cantata, A Concordance of Leaves, was released on the NAXOS label in February of 2024.

Dr. John’s guest conducting appearances include Brahms’s Requiem and Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with the Tokyo Oratorio Society and Oratorio Sinfonica Japan, the annual Messiah Sing-In at David Geffen Hall, a concert of American choral music with the Virginia Chorale, and honor choirs throughout New York State. As a teacher and scholar, Dr. John has served as guest lecturer in conducting at the Hochschule für Musik in Freiburg, Germany and presented seminars on American choral music in Basel and Stockholm. He has given presentations at both divisional and national conferences of the American Choral Directors Association and is in demand as a clinician and adjudicator throughout the United States.

Dr. John received his Doctor of Musical Arts in conducting from the Eastman School of Music. His prior appointments also include Director of Choral Activities at both Tufts University (Boston, MA) and Nassau Community College (Garden City, NY), as well as Conducting Fellow at Dartmouth College.

Jason C. Tramm has been hailed as a “conductor to watch” by Symphony Magazine and “filled with Italianate passion” by the Huffington Post. Maestro Tramm’s work in the operatic, symphonic, and choral realms has received critical acclaim throughout the United States and abroad. He also currently serves as Director of Choral and Orchestral Activities at Seton Hall University (where he was named the 2017 University Faculty Teacher of the Year), Executive Director of the Light Opera of New Jersey, Director of Music at the 6500-seat Ocean Grove Great Auditorium, Artistic Director of the MidAtlantic Artistic Productions, Music Director of the Taghkanic Chorale and Principal Guest Conductor of the Long Island Concert Orchestra.

A frequent guest conductor, he has led symphonic and operatic performances in Italy, Romania, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. He also hosts Music Matters with Jason Tramm, a podcast on YouTube that explores artistic innovation under extreme circumstances, as seen through the eyes of distinguished artists.

Dr. Jennifer Pascual was appointed Director of Music at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City in 2003, the first woman to hold this prestigious liturgical music position. Jennifer earned a D.M.A. in Organ Performance from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, a M.M. in Piano Performance from the Mannes College of Music, NYC and the B.M. in Piano and Organ Performance and B.M.E. from Jacksonville University, Florida. She has served as an organist and choir director in four US dioceses and three Roman Catholic cathedrals. From 2007 to 2014, Dr. Pascual was professor and Director of Music at St. Joseph’s Seminary in New York. She currently also serves as the Director of Music of the New York Archdiocesan Festival Chorale.

She has served as a member of several sacred music organizations as well as a frequent recitalist, clinician and adjudicator at national conventions. She has participated in numerous international music festivals in the United States and abroad, is a recipient of the Paderewski Medal and Theodore Presser and Paul Creston awards and has performed as an organist and conductor in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, the Philippines, Poland, Russia, Spain and the United States.

Highlights of her career include the privilege of overseeing the liturgical music Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to New York in 2008, as well as the visit of Pope Francis in 2015. She also served as conductor for Mass (2008) and Vespers (2015) at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Mass at Yankee Stadium (2008) and Mass at Madison Square Garden (2015). In 2008, she conducted the St. Patrick’s Cathedral Choir for President Bush at the White House for National Day of Prayer and was also named a Dame of the Order of St. Gregory the Great, papal recognition of service to the Church. Annually, Dr. Pascual participates as a conductor in the Handel Messiah Sing In at Lincoln Center.

With the broadcast of live Mass from St. Patrick’s Cathedral on The Catholic Channel, SIRIUS/XM 129, the St. Patrick’s Cathedral Choir which she conducts can be heard at the 10:15 a.m. Mass on Sundays from September to June. Since 2006 she has hosted a weekly radio talk and music show called “Sounds from the Spires” broadcast on the same channel on Saturdays at 1:00am, Sundays at 12:00am, 6:00am, 8:00pm, and Thursdays at 1:00 p.m. (all Eastern times). Three of Dr. Pascual’s organ recordings and a St. Patrick’s Cathedral Choir recording can be found at JAV Recordings.

www.jenniferpascual.com

John J. Palatucci is a respected conductor, educator, and performing artist whose career spans more than four decades. He holds degrees in music education and performance from Montclair State University, as well as a Master of Education in educational leadership from NJ EXCEL. He has served on the faculties of Caldwell University, Montclair State, William Paterson University, and Columbia University’s Teachers College.

From 1990 to 2023, Mr. Palatucci was the Music Director of the Orpheus Club Men’s Chorus (OCMC) of Ridgewood, NJ. Under his leadership, the ensemble expanded its repertoire and artistic reach, with notable performances of Brahms’ Alto Rhapsody, Verdi’s Hymn to the Nations, Randall Thompson’s The Testament of Freedom, Respighi’s Laud to the Nativity, and an inventive presentation of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band arranged for men’s chorus and winds. He led the chorus in its 2005 Lincoln Center debut and a 2013 performance at Carnegie Recital Hall, and was named Music Director Emeritus in 2023.

Mr. Palatucci has performed under celebrated conductors including Henry Brant, Lucas Foss, Morton Gould, and Skitch Henderson, and has collaborated with musical legends ranging from Plácido Domingo and Dave Brubeck to Frankie Valli. He once assembled and led a 3,000-voice choir for a Rev. Billy Graham crusade at Brendan Byrne Arena. As a composer and arranger, his setting of The Sussex Mummers’ Christmas Carol is published by the International Percy Grainger Society, and several choral works have been dedicated to him.

Kathryn E. Schneider is Musical Director & Conductor of the New York City Bar Chorus, whose leaders and members are all legal professionals.  With a New York City Mayoral Proclamation marking the day, the chorus recently celebrated its 30th anniversary as a goodwill ambassador of the New York City Bar Association, bringing the healing power of music to those who cannot easily access it.  Kathy and the chorus have given more than 300 concerts at venues serving seniors, the visually impaired, people living with cancer and AIDS, those in substance abuse rehabilitation, and more. The chorus has also appeared off-Broadway, on local and national television, in exchanges with other legal choruses, at American Bar Association conventions, and at the New York City Bar's landmark midtown Manhattan headquarters. Kathy led the chorus in its first Carnegie Hall performance at the 2019 National Fall Sing — Remembering 9/11 Commemoration.

Kathy studied choral conducting at Westminster Choir College and Teachers College, Columbia University (learning from, among others, Drs. James Jordan and Dino Anagnost). She studied organ principally with Dr. George Stauffer at Columbia, and, while pursuing her law degree there, served as Assistant University Organist, performing frequently on the Aeolian-Skinner organ at St. Paul's Chapel. She studies voice with acclaimed soprano Harolyn Blackwell. Kathy is delighted to be returning to Geffen Hall for a seventh time collaborating with Maestro McCorvey as a Messiah Sing-In conductor.

Marlon Hurst is the Director of Music at Westminster Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) in Greenville, South Carolina. From 2003 to 2023, he served as Director of Music and Arts at First Presbyterian Church in Lexington, Kentucky. During that time, he was also the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Kentucky Bach Choir from 2009 to 2023, leading the semi-professional ensemble through a period of remarkable growth in both artistic excellence and organizational strength.

A charter member of the Kentucky Bach Choir’s bass section under founding director Richard Sowers, Hurst later assumed leadership and shaped the choir’s artistic vision with passion and purpose. Over 14 years, he programmed and conducted masterworks by J.S. Bach—including all motets, the St. John Passion, B Minor Mass, Magnificat, and the full Christmas Oratorio—as well as works by Handel, Brahms, Monteverdi, Schütz, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Rheinberger, Barber, and even the comedic PDQ Bach. Under his guidance, the Choir developed a loyal audience and a reputation for musical distinction, while his leadership extended beyond the podium to strategic board development, fundraising, and long-term planning.

Colleagues and singers consistently praised Hurst for his scholarly, holistic, and deeply relational approach to music-making. Known for his sensitivity to vocal pedagogy and spiritual nuance, he combines formal training as a trumpeter and vocalist with outstanding keyboard skills and eclectic musical tastes that span sacred choral traditions to jazz and rock. His rehearsal style is marked by precision, humor, insight, and a deep respect for the human voice.

A former member of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus and Chamber Chorus under Robert Shaw and Norman MacKenzie, Hurst brings decades of experience in both professional and sacred music settings. He holds a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a Bachelor of Sacred Music from Cumberland College (Kentucky).

Recognized not only for his artistic leadership but also for his integrity, collaborative spirit, and unwavering commitment to excellence, Marlon Hurst has left a lasting legacy with the Kentucky Bach Choir and continues to inspire congregations and musicians in his current role.

Michael Spierman is the artistic and music director of the Bronx Opera. Under the leadership of Mr. Spierman, the Bronx Opera has set a high standard for operatic productions. His artistic intuitiveness, hard work, foresight, and sound business sense have all contributed to the company's reputation for providing some of the highest-quality operatic productions in the country.

The opera company's stage is widely recognized as one of the few places today where young, gifted singers and musicians can launch their careers. Many have gone on to appear in roles at the Metropolitan Opera and other famed operatic venues. It is also a place where talented, dedicated, and seasoned performers can continue to demonstrate their skills.

Mr. Spierman has applied an eclectic approach to presenting the borough with opera, choosing to perform the works of living composers, classics from the repertoire that still have massive appeal, and lesser-known operas from the past that he believes deserve more attention. All of the company's productions are performed in English.

Robert Baldwin is Director of Orchestras and Professor of Conducting at the University of Utah. He is also the Music Director and Conductor for the Salt Lake Symphony, the founding conductor for Sinfonia Salt Lake, and is an honorary adjunct professor at Wuhan University Center for the Arts in China. Recently, he conducted for the National Chorale’s Messiah Sing-In at Lincoln Center in New York. International appearances include the Eutin Festspiele in Germany, Kuopio Academy in Finland, and the Hermitage Camerata in Saint Petersburg, Russia, the Busan Maru Music Festival in South Korea, and the Hunan, Wuhan University, and Wuhan Conservatory Symphonies in China. He holds degrees from the University of Northern Colorado, the University of Iowa, and the University of Arizona. Also a published poet, his works have appeared in various publications, including Poetry Quarterly and Haiku Journal. Desert Crossing, his second chapbook of poems, will be published later this year.

Dr. Thomas Juneau is thrilled to be returning to the Messiah Sing-In with the National Chorale this year! He is the Director of Choral Activities and Assistant Professor at Wagner College where he conducts the College Choir and teaches courses in Conducting, Orchestration, and Music History. He is also the Music Director of Summit Chorale in Summit, NJ. 

Dr. Juneau’s choirs have performed at internationally recognized venues including Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, La Madeleine in Paris, the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin, and twice at the Vatican. He recently led performances of Bruckner’s Te Deum and the Durufle Requiem.

Vagarshak Ohanyan, Conductor, Baritone, Educator, and Voice Teacher, was born in the former Soviet Union. In 2007, he performed in New York in a concert production of Leoncavalloʼs Pagliacci, singing Silvio. At the New York City Opera, he debuted as Sid in Pucciniʼs La Fanciulla Del West. In March, he performed with the Bachanalia Orchestra at St.Peterʼs Church. Last summer, he recorded a CD with Carlos Luis Garcia of Pucciniʼs opera IlTabarro.

With the Armenian Philharmonic he sang Sharpless in Madame Butterfly. As a guest soloist, he appeared with the American Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Leon Botstein, in a concert production of Rachmaninoffʼs Francesca Da Rimini in January 2002 at Avery Fisher Hall.

In March 2002, he performed songs by Rachmaninoff at Carnegie Hall. He sang a baritone solo in Durufleʼs Requiem with the Plymouth choir and orchestra at Plymouth Church. In 1997-98, he performed at the Tchaikovsky Rediscoveries Festival at Bard College and at the Trinity Church. He also performed at Carnegie Hall with the Russian Chamber Chorus and was invited to participate Virtosi Moskow Conductor Vladimir Spivakov Moscow Cantata at Carnegie Hall and Tanglewood with the Russian American Youth Orchestra and Chorus of New York. In 2007 he became an ensemble member and vocal coach for Hampton Synagogue. One of his distinguished students is New York and Hampton Synagogue cantor Netanel Hershtik.

Other highlights include solo recitals with the Boston Chamber Orchestra and the Rhode Island Chorale. He was a soloist in Faureʼs and Mozartʼs Requiems with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra (Russia) in 1994-95. Mr. Ohanyan continues to perform internationally at many prestigious festivals and opera houses. As a member of the Artist in Residence Program of National Chorale he teaches advanced voice and is a principal conductor of the elite choir at Professional Performing Arts School New York City.

Mr. Ohanyan holds a Doctorate of Arts Ed. and a MA in Vocal Performance from the Armenian State Conservatory and a certificate from the Julliard School. In 1996, he became a union member of the American Guild of Musical Artists. Vagharshak is a CO founder of the 2009 Youth Talent (AYT) Music Competition at Carnegie Hall. A month ago, Mr. Ohanyan was awarded with a medal from the government of Armenia, their highest award for education and dedication to the arts - a diploma for a Professor Honoris Causa Degree from the Yerevan Haybusak University (International Academy of Education.)