Larry Molinaro, organist, has devoted a substantial part of his career to the study and performance of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach.  His interpretation of the music of Bach has won praise from critics and audiences alike for being innovative, thoughtful, informative and “a model of its kind” (Washington Post). Following a recent solo performance with the Annapolis Chamber Orchestra and Chorus, The Capital wrote, “Molinaro opened the program with a spectacularly rousing performance of Bach…There were times when one would swear there had to be another person at the organ, too: two hands and two feet couldn’t have struck all those notes and produced all that marvelous sound.”  Of Mr. Molinaro’s recreation of Felix Mendelssohn’s famous Bach recital at the Thomaskirche in Leipzig in 1840, the Washington Post wrote that “…the organist’s propulsive, immaculately articulated playing revved the evening to a thrilling conclusion.” Of his performances of the works of other composers, critics have written about his “graceful agility” (Baltimore Sun), and for his ability to be “both instructive and entertaining” (The Capital).  As organist and harpsichordist with the regional Live Arts Maryland program, Mr. Molinaro regularly presents concerts of the music of J.S. Bach, including “Dance, Dance Revelation” (2012) focused on dance forms in the music of Bach, and a concert cycle, “Dialogues” (2011), which featured the first volume of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier (1722) and included compositions by other composers, such as Mattheson and Kuhnau, that influenced the creation of Bach’s volume. During the 2008-2009 Live Arts Maryland season, Mr. Molinaro showcased the four volumes of Bach’s encyclopedic, four-volume Clavier-Übung series, juxtaposing works by Couperin, Vivaldi, Kuhnau, Froberger and Frescobaldi that served as models for Bach’s monumental publication.  Mr. Molinaro earned the Artist’s Diploma in organ performance from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and continued his studies at Yale University’s School of Music where he was Frank Bozyan Scholar for Organ.  He studied improvisation in Paris with composer Naji Hakim and the keyboard works of J.S. Bach with Bach specialist Edward Aldwell.  He is the organist and harpsichordist for Live Arts Maryland, which includes the Annapolis Chamber Orchestra and Annapolis Chorale.  He has served as director of music at Grace Church, Georgetown (DC) and as parish organist at historic St. Anne’s Episcopal Church in Annapolis, MD.

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These early examples don’t look, or sound like modern choral music. They are single lines of music and no accompaniment is there. What’s important about them is the idea that someone wanted to make sure that whatever was being sung, was being sung in a particular way.

This is what starts to move vocal music away from an “oral tradition” where tunes and songs are simply passed from one generation to another by singing together. This oral tradition would continue, but mostly with secular music. Sacred music would start to become more complex and over the years would involve multiple voices singing separate parts at the same time. That might be the beginning of choral music as we know it today

Now we have a “chorus” – but what to do with them?  As vocal music continued to become more complex, different regional styles emerged.  Some music was written for multiple voices to sing.  As it evolved, some composers began to write for multiple groups of singers or choruses.  A big leap forward.

This is what leads us into the music for our concerts this weekend.

For me, the Schütz “Musikalische Exequien” is a turning point in the evolution of vocal and choral music.  A detailed description and analysis would take far more space than I have here. But contained in this twenty-five minute piece of music is a compendium of musical styles.  By itself, that’s not all that amazing because composers almost always try to be inventive using all the tools at their disposal.

What’s amazing about this piece is that Schütz not only uses many musical idioms of the day, he’s also looking forward and trying new musical techniques. Many of these would become touchstones for generations of composers who would follow him.

Here’s an example of what I mean in the second movement of the Schütz “Musikalische Exequien” that we are singing this weekend.  This music is written for two separate choruses. This video allows you to see and hear how the choruses answer one another.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSBzAwv2-0M

What Schütz does reflects who his teachers were.  He studied with Giovanni Gabrieli, the master of polychoral (music for more than one choir) music. But Schütz takes this concept of multiple choruses and, in the last movement, moves one of the groups “offstage” – maybe in a side chapel of a church where the piece was being sung.

Another composer and teacher of Schütz’, Claudio Monteverdi also did in his “1610 Vespers,” but with a solo voice.  Schütz studied with Monteverdi just a few years before writing “Musikalische Exequien” and, still looking forward, expanded this idea with his “offstage” chorus.   While it was startling and new in 1635, two hundred years later this technique would be a staple of opera composers like Verdi.

What all of this does is move choral music away from being strictly functional – like church music – to something that is highly complex and artistic.

Listen to Schütz setting of “Selig sind die toten,” which is for six-part chorus.  Even though it is for a single chorus, you can find places where he imitates the multiple chorus sound.  I chose this performance by Phillippe Herreweghe because he uses one voice on a part and I really like the lyrical quality he gets with this music!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08E5TbcTyHo

There is so much to share about this amazing piece, which I believe is one that moved vocal music into the modern world!   Join me this weekend and we will begin a musical journey together that will take us all the way to the end of the 20th century by our last concerts in April.

Erik Apland (Nicely Nicely) is from Bruce, South Dakota.  He began playing the piano at the age of five and has completed degrees in classical piano performance from South Dakota State University and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.  Mr. Apland has exhibited great musical versatility by performing music ranging in styles from classical to jazz as a soloist and in many ensembles.  He entered the field of jazz as the leader of show and dance orchestras on cruise ships, eventually serving as bandleader and calliopist aboard the historic steamboat “The Delta Queen.”  Mr. Apland was also pianist with the legendary Sam Butera band, based in Las Vegas.  In 1998, he joined “The President’s Own” United States marine Band as one of only three presidential pianists.  In that capacity, Mr. Apland frequently performed at the White House for heads of state, dignitaries and celebrities from around the world as well as in nationally televised performances.   Mr. Apland is the accompanist for the Annapolis Chorale and Chamber Chorus, a full-time freelance artist in the Washington/Baltimore/Annapolis area, and musical worship leader from the piano at the Wallace Presbyterian Church in College Park, MD.

Jason Buckwalter (Sky Masterson) is a frequent performer in the Baltimore, Annapolis and Washington, D.C. areas.  A native of Landenberg, Pennsylvania, Mr. Buckwalter moved to Baltimore to attend graduate school at the Peabody Conservatory.  At Peabody, he performed the role of Papageno in the Spring 2008 production of Die Zauberflöte.  His recent roles include Escamillo in Carmen at Carroll Community College and Pish-Tush in The Mikado with the Young Victorian Theatre Company.  Mr. Buckwalter was appeared in two Live Arts Maryland productions last season, as Dick Deadeye in HMS Pinafore and Moonface Martin in Anything Goes!  Currently, Mr. Buckwalter is on the chorus roster of the Washington National Opera and the Lyric Opera of Baltimore.  In May, he made his solo debut with the Washington National Opera as Brühlmann in Werther.

Kimberly Christie (Miss Adelaide) was praised by the Washington Post for her “uninhibited movement and shining vocal abilities” as Ernestine in M. Choufleuri restera chez lui le with Bel Cantanti Opera.  Also with Bel Cantanti, she has performed the role of Clorinda in Rossini’s La Cenerentola, which was hailed by Maurice Saylor as “one of the great joys of the opera” and her aria, “a wild ride that brought down the house.”   This summer saw Ms. Christie with the Advent Project of Vienna, VA,  performing as a soloist in Schubert’s Mass in G Major and JS Bach’s Christ lag in Todes Banden as well as revisiting the role of Nella in Gianni Schicchi with Wendy Taucher Opera Dance Theater in Martha’s Vineyard.  Other opera credits include Mary Warren in Peabody Conservatory’s production of The Crucible, Adele (cover) and Sally in Die Fledermaus with Carol Community College, Serpina in La serva padrona with the Baltimore Vocal Arts Foundation, Nella in Gianni Schicchi with Peabody Opera, Blondchen in Die Entführung aus dem Serail with ConcertOPERA, Philadelphia and Clara in Offenbach’s La vie Parisienne with the Franco-American Vocal Academy (FAVA).  She received her Master of Music degree in vocal performance from Peabody Conservatory in May 2012 and was granted the Anita Erdman Award in Opera upon graduation.  She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Rutgers University where she received the award for outstanding vocalist. Ms. Christie has also studied with FAVA in Excideuil, France, under tenor William Lewis, and at the International Vocal Arts Institute in Tel Aviv, Israel, with Metropolitan Opera coach, Joan Dornemann.  In December 2012 she will sing with the Kennett Square Symphony Orchestra as the First Place winner of their 2012 competition.  Ms. Christie made her Live Arts Maryland debut last season as Bonnie in Anything Goes! and as a soloist in the JS Bach Mass in B Minor.  She is thrilled to return in the role of Adelaide!

Molly Moore Green (General Matilda B. Cartwright) is an avid performer who has been involved in productions and concerts since she was a young girl.  A voice performance major in college, she has been a member of the Annapolis Chorale off and on for more than 20 years.  Mrs. Green has performed with Live Arts Maryland, Colonial Players and many other area groups.  She makes her first Live Arts Maryland appearance this season, having appeared as Reno Sweeney in last season’s Anything Goes! and, in prior seasons, Mrs. Huckelbee in The Fantasticks, the Housekeeper in Man of La Mancha, Aunt Eller in Oklahoma!, Meg in Brigadoon and Charlotte in  A Little Night Music.  She is also a frequent soloist at Live Arts Maryland’s annual gala and other special events.  Mrs. Green is the Director of Advancement at Severn School in Severna Park, where she lives with her husband Ernie, son, Alec, and daughter, Ella.

Thomas Magette (Nathan Detroit) is a frequent performer in Live Arts Maryland productions, most recently as the Billy Crocker in Anything Goes!, reprising a role he first performed at the Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre in the last century.  Other roles include Harold Hill in The Music Man, Lt. Cable in South Pacific, Charlie Dalrymple in both our productions of Brigadoon, Max Detweiler in The Sound of Music, the Padre in Man of La Mancha, Henrick in A Little Night Music, Motel in Fiddler on the Roof, Dickon in The Secret Garden, Merlin in Camelot, Enoch Snow in Carousel and Captain Andy in Show Boat.  He also sang the role of the Sailor in the Live Arts Maryland’s production of Dido and Aeneas.  He has played Nathan in our previous productions of Guys and Dolls.  Mr. Magette has appeared in at many area theaters, including Colonial Players and the Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre, where he appeared in more than 400 performances.  Among his favorite roles locally are Che in Evita, the title role in Pippin, Rooster in Annie and of course that spell-binding cymbal salesman, Mr. Hill.  He created the role of Scrooge’s nephew Fred in the original production of Colonial Player’s ever-popular production of A Christmas Carol, a show he has also music-directed.  He has served as the music director for several other local shows, including Annie, Pippin and Grease.  A graduate of the University of Tennessee, where he sang and danced while earning bachelors and masters degrees in nuclear engineering, Mr. Magette is a Senior Vice President at EnergySolutions.   He and his wife Marci preside over an empty nest to the north in Severna Park.

Michael Ryan (Uncle Arvide Abernathy) has given thousands of performances throughout the United States of highly varied repertoire as a soloist for The United States Marine Band.  He performed at The White House on many occasions at the request of the President of the United States.  Mr. Ryan was seen on global TV singing “America the Beautiful” at the first inauguration ceremony of President Ronald Reagan.  He accompanied President Clinton to Hawaii, where he was the soloist for the 50th anniversary of VJ Day.  By special request, Mr. Ryan led a “National Sing-a-long” at the beginning of President Clinton’s second inauguration.  He was The Marine Band’s featured soloist at concerts in England, Ireland, The Netherlands, Norway and in the former Soviet Union.  Mr. Ryan is also well known throughout the United States for his many performances in opera, concert and oratorio.  He is music director at St. James Episcopal Church, home of the annual Messiah Sing Along.

Caitlin Vincent (Sarah Brown) is a native of Seattle, Washington.  She made her international debut in 2007 as Amour in Clérambault’s solo cantata “Amour piqué par une abeille” at Le Mois Molière in Versailles, France.  A classically trained ballet dancer, Ms. Vincent holds degrees from Harvard University and the Peabody Conservatory, where she studied with William Sharp and Ah Hong.  Recent opera roles include Zerlina in Who Killed Don Giovanni? and Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro with The Figaro Project, Belinda in Dido and Aeneas with Opera AACC, the Dew Fairy/Sandman in Hansel and Gretel with Peabody Opera Theater, Sister Constance in The Dialogues of the Carmelites with Dunster House Opera, and Zerlina in Don Giovanni with Lowell House Opera.  In April 2011, Ms. Vincent premiered the role of Janey in Paul Mathews’ opera Piecing it Apart, a performance for which she was described as a “standout” by sequenza21.com.  Equally praised for her interpretations of concert repertoire, she has performed with the Annapolis Chorale, Central Maryland Chorale, Maryland Choral Society, and Evergreen Philharmonic in such works as Bach’s Mass in B Minor, Bach’s Cantata 51, Mendelssohn’s “Lobgesang,” Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610, Mozart’s Mass in C Minor, Mozart’s “Exsultate, jubilate” and Vivaldi’s Magnificat.  Ms. Vincent has received first place honors from both MD/DC/VA and Pacific Northwest chapters of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Vocal Competition, as well as the George Woodhead Prize for Voice and two Peabody Career Development Grants.  Upcoming performances include soprano soloist in Handel’s Messiah with both the Harford Choral Society and Central Maryland Chorale and the role of Jackie Kennedy in the world premiere of Joshua Bornfield’s Camelot Requiem with The Figaro Project.  For more information, visit www.caitlinvincent.com.

Wednesday, June 19, 5:45 Departure (boarding begins at 5:15)
$75 a person – all proceeds benefit Live Arts Maryland!

Escape the land for a cool night on the water!

We’re thrilled to welcome ESPN boat racing commetator Gary Jobson as our personal guide to Annapolis’ famed Wednesday Night Races!

No LAM event is complete without music and there will be lots of that, along with on-board raffles (50/50 cash and a lunch/dinner with Gary at the Annapolis Yacht Club, catered hors d’oevures, a book signing with Gary and much more. Each guest receives a coupon for a free drink (beer/wine/soda) and starter raffle tickets for both raffles!

Space is limited so act now!

In 2004 Margarita moved to the United States where she studied under Marylène Dosse (a pupil of Alfred Brendel and Paul Badura-Skoda)at Penn State University . During her first two years in the US, Margarita took part in the recital series at Sotto Voce ( Altoona, Pennsylvania) and made several appearances across the East Coast. As a result of winning two young soloist competitions she was invited to play with The Nittany Valley Symphony and The Williamsport Symphony (the program also included an appearance by ex-Monkee soloist Davy Jones). Playing the Grieg Concerto, her Williamsport performance was hailed as a “brilliant execution” (Williamsport Symphony Notes, 2005).

In 2006, Ms. Loukachkina enrolled at the Peabody Conservatory, where she studying Piano Performance with Alexander Shtarkman. Completing her Master’s degree in Piano Performance in 2012, she will start the Doctoral program in the Fall under full tuition scholarship as a Graduate Assistant in music theory. Since she began studying at Peabody, she performed the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No.2 with the Altoona Symphony (2006) and was a prize winner at the Louisiana International Piano Competition (2008). Most recently, Margarita performed in the “Thursday Noon Recital Series” at the Peabody Conservatory and was a 1st prize winner at the 2009 Baltimore Music Club Competition. In addition to being a full time student, Margarita holds faculty positions at the Peabody Preparatory and at the Garrison Forest School.

Madeleine Gray

Other recent US performances include Aurelia in “The Chocolate Soldier” at the Bard Festival in New York, The Witch “Hansel and Gretel” with Opera on the James, Katisha “Mikado” and Marcellina in “le Nozze di Figaro” with Annapolis Opera, Mama Lucia “Cavalleria Rusticana” for Washington National Opera and Toledo Opera and Emilia “Otello” with Opera Roanoke.  Past concert appearances include alto soloist in “Messiah” with the Annapolis Chorale, mezzo soloist in Beethoven’s “9th Symphony” with the York Symphony and Quad City (Iowa) Symphony orchestras, her Avery Fisher Hall debut as alto soloist in “Messiah” with the National Chorale and a return to the National Cathedral Choral Society as mezzo soloist in the Mozart “Requiem.”  She and her husband, musician, writer and lecturer Bill Scanlan Murphy, recently collaborated on the words and music program, “Telltale Hearts and Twilight Fancies: music inspired by the life and works of Edgar Allan Poe.”   Hear Madeleine sing!

Christina Lamberti, soprano, has gained international attention with versatility of repertoire, gleaming tone, and soulful presence.  She has not only garnered attention from portrayals at notable companies such as San Francisco Opera and Singapore Lyric Opera, but has also had a long standing relationship with the innovative Theatre Regensburg in Germany since 2006.  For the 2008 Regensburg season, she sang numerous performances of the titles roles in “Norma” and in “Manon Lescaut”.  In the 2006/07 season, she performed four major roles in repertory with astounding success and unprecedented ease.  These operas and roles included “Un Ballo in Maschera” (Amelia), “La Clemenza di Tito” (Vitellia), “Don Giovanni” (Donna Elvira) and “Otello” (Desdemona).  Before her Regensburg debut, she made her European debut as Vitellia in Mozart’s “La Clemenza di Tito” at the Estonian National Opera in Tallinn, which was highly acclaimed by both the press and audiences alike.  In September 2007, she opened the season at the Slovenian National theatre in Maribor premiering in “La Callas” (a tribute to Maria Callas).

Ms. Lamberti covered Lisa in “Pique Dame” at San Francisco Opera, where she had already covered Duchess of Parma in a new production of Busoni’s “Doktor Faust”.  While in San Francisco, she caused a sensation standing in for Carol Vaness in Act III as Elettra in “Idomeneo.”  After a concert of arias by Verdi, Puccini and Boito in the American press proclaimed her as a “discovery” and “the Verdi soprano of the future.”

Her roles range from Leonora in “Il trovatore” (Singapore Lyric Opera) to the title role in “Iphigénie en Tauride” (San Francisco Opera Center).  During her three years as an Adler Fellow, Ms. Lamberti sang the roles of Clotilde in “Norma,” Fifth Maid in “Elektra,” and Fortuna in “L’incoronazione di Poppea” for the San Francisco Opera.  For the San Francisco Opera Center, in addition to Iphigénie, she sang Fiordiligi in “Così fan tutte.” Ms. Lamberti made her Festival Opera debut as Donna Anna in “Don Giovanni.”

Ms. Lamberti, originally from Phillipsburg, New Jersey, began her studies at Westminster Choir College. She apprenticed at the Pittsburgh Opera Center under the direction of Tito Capobianco, singing Suzel in “L’amico Fritz,” and the title role in “Giovanna d’Arco.”  At Philadelphia’s Academy of Vocal Arts, Ms. Lamberti portrayed Mimi in “La Bohème,” Tatyana in Eugene” Onegin,” Donna Elvira in “Don Giovanni,” Fiordiligi in “Così fan tutte,” and Alice Ford in “Falstaff.”  After her Opera Company of Philadelphia debut as Sacerdotessa in “Aida,” she won an Adler Fellowship with the San Francisco Opera.  Hear Christina sing!

Shouvik Mondle, baritone, was born in Calcutta, India, and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area where he received a Bachelor’s of Music with Honors in Vocal Performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.  A prolific performer, Mr. Mondle has sung under the auspices of Virginia Opera, Fresno Grand Opera, New Jersey State Opera, Natchez Festival of Music, Nashville Opera, Westfield Symphony, Baltimore Lyric Opera, Annapolis Chamber Orchestra, Mid- America Productions, Sacramento Opera, San Francisco Opera Guild, Theatreworks, and his alma mater, S.F.C.M., among others.

His stage credits include the title character of “Rigoletto,” Mr. Ford in Falstaff, Baron Scarpia in “Tosca,” the title character of Macbeth, Germont in “La Traviata,” the title character of “Don Giovanni,” Sharpless in “Madama Butterfly,” Enrico in “Lucia di Lammermoor,” Marcello in “La Boheme,” Belcore in “L’Elisir d’Amore,” Ping in “Turandot,” Der Konig in Carl Orff’s “Die Kluge,” Guglielmo in “Cosi fan Tutte,” Count Almaviva in “Le Nozze di Figaro,” Mr. Ford in “Merry Wives of Windsor,” Escamillo in “Carmen,” Melisso in Handel’s “Alcina,” Count in Schubert’s “The Conspirators,” “Number 7″ in Conrad Susa’s “Transformations,” and Lt. Torasso in the West Coast Premiere of Stephen Sondheim’s “Passion.”  Mr. Mondle is also proud to have created the starring role of General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo in the critically acclaimed World Premiere of David Conte’s “The Dreamers.”

Noteworthy engagements include Sharpless in “Madama Butterfly” with Fresno Grand Opera, Mr. Ford in Falstaff with the Natchez Festival, the title role of Rigoletto with Pocket Opera of San Francisco, Germont in “La Traviata” with the Annapolis Chorale, soloist roles in “Carmina Burana” and “Messiah” with Annapolis Chorale, Baron Scarpia with the Natchez Festival, a Carnegie Hall debut in Mozart’s “Versprae Sollenes de Confessore,” Sharpless with the Westfield Symphony, the title role of Macbeth with New Jersey State Opera and Pocket Opera of San Francisco, Eugene Onegin and Baron Scarpia with Pocket Opera, baritone soloist in Puccini’s “Messa di Gloria,” “Faure’s Requiem” and “Schubert’s Mass in G,” Fred Graham in “Kiss Me Kate,” baritone soloist in “Brahms Requiem” with the Annapolis Chorale and Annapolis Chamber Orchestra.

Mr. Mondle just reprised the role of Phantom in Jakarta, Indonesia, to much critical acclaim, a role that he had previously performed in a large-scale stadium European tour of the original American musical, Ivan Jacobs’ “Phantom of the Opera.”  Continuing his happy association with Live Arts Maryland, Mr. Mondle sang the title role in “Don Giovanni,” El Gallo in “The Fantasticks,” Captain Von Trapp in “The Sound of Music,” Aeneas in “Dido and Aeneas,” Don Quixote in “Man of La Mancha,” soloist in Dvorak’s “Te Deum,” Jesus in Bach’s “St. Matthew Passion,” and soloist in Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana.”  He lives and teaches private voice lessons in Annapolis.  For more information on lessons, contact shouvikmondle@gmail.com.  Hear Shouvik sing!

Jonathan Winell, tenor, is known for his impressive artistry, beautiful tone and easy, thrilling top.  Beginning to make his mark on the operatic stage, he recently had his Lincoln Center debut at Avery Fisher Hall as Baroncelli in Wagner’s “Rienzi” with The Opera Orchestra of New York under the baton of Eve Queler.  In late 2011, he appeared as Alméric in Tchaikovsky’s “Iolanta” with the Dicapo Opera Theatre.

As an Apprentice Artist with Central City Opera in 2011, Mr. Winell covered Rinuccio in “Gianni Schicchi” and performed as Le Journaliste in Poulenc’s “Les Mamelles de Tirésias” and Léon in Pasatieri’s “Signor Deluso.”  In 2010, he covered and performed Ernesto in “Don Pasquale” as a Studio Artist with Opera New Jersey.  He also appeared in the Opera New Jersey Concert Series on numerous occasions throughout 2010-11.  He was Tamino in “Die Zauberflöte” with New York Lyric Opera in 2010, and Percy in “Anna Bolena” at the Academy of Vocal Arts in 2008.  He appeared as Nadir in “Les Pêcheurs de Perles” with the Connecticut Concert Opera in 2007 and participated in several opera concerts with the CCO.  He also performed the roles of Camille in “The Merry Widow” and The Duke in “Rigoletto”, both at the Hartt School of Music.

Mr. Winell traveled to Florence, Italy for three summers to study Italian at La Scuola Leonardo da Vinci.  While there, he attended the Florence Voice Seminar for two summers at the invitation of Benita Valente, Director, as well as the Bel Canto Institute, under the direction of Jane Klaviter, Founder and Artistic Director.  At the Institute, he was awarded a two-concert singing engagement with the Vermont Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Lou Kosma.

An award-winning tenor, he received grants from the Giulio Gari Foundation and the Bel Canto Vocal Scholarship Foundation/Arturo Coppola Memorial Award.  In 2011, he was an Eastern Region Finalist at the Met National Council Auditions.  He has also placed in a number of competitions including third in the Gerda Lissner Competition in 2010 and 2011; fourth in Il Comitato Amici del Loggiato, La Spezia, Italy in 2009; and fifth in the Queens Opera Association Vocal Competition in 2007.

Mr. Winell began his vocal studies in 2002, with dramatic soprano, Doris Jung Popper, with whom he continues to work.  In 2007, he graduated from the Hartt School of Music and during the 2008-09 season was an Artist in Residence at the Academy of Vocal Arts.  In 2010, he returned to New York City to study with the world-renowned voice teacher, Patricia McCaffrey.  Over the years he has worked with many great coaches and conductors, among them Jane Klaviter and Bob Morrison of the Metropolitan Opera, Kathy Olsen, Laurent Philippe, Christofer Macatsoris, John Moriarty and Eve Queler.  Hear Jonathan sing!

Kimberly Christie

Tom Magette, tenor, is a frequent performer in Live Arts Maryland productions, most recently in A Grand Night for Singing.  He also appeared as Nathan Detroit in the fall 2012 production of “Guys & Dolls.” Other roles include Billy Crocker in Anything Goes!, a role he first performed at the Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre in the last century and reprised with Live Arts Maryland last season, Harold Hill in The Music Man, Lt. Cable in South Pacific, Charlie Dalrymple in both our productions of Brigadoon, Max Detweiler in The Sound of Music, the Padre in Man of La Mancha, Henrick in A Little Night Music, Motel in Fiddler on the Roof, Dickon in The Secret Garden, Merlin in Camelot, Enoch Snow in Carousel and Captain Andy in Show Boat.  He also sang the role of the Sailor in the Live Arts Maryland’s production of Dido and Aeneas.  Mr. Magette has appeared in at many area theaters, including Colonial Players and the Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre, where he appeared in more than 400 performances.  Among his favorite roles locally are Che in Evita, the title role in Pippin, Rooster in Annie and of course that spell-binding cymbal salesman, Mr. Hill.  He created the role of Scrooge’s nephew Fred in the original production of Colonial Player’s ever-popular production of A Christmas Carol, a show he has also music-directed.  He has served as the music director for several other local shows, including Annie, Pippin and Grease.  Mr. Magette recently joined PricewaterhouseCoopers where he manages the nuclear practice.  He and his wife Marci are soon to be grandparents, an entirely new role altogether.

David Merrill, tenor, is grateful for this opportunity to sing with the Annapolis Chorale.  He received his Masters in Voice from Shenandoah Conservatory in Winchester, VA, and his Bachelors in Music from Methodist University in Fayetteville, NC.  His recent roles include Sam in the opera Street Scene, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Alfred in Die Fledermaus, Camille in The Merry Widow, Edwin in Trial By Jury, Alexis in The Sorcerer and Lamar in Godspell.   Mr. Merrill teaches middle school music and works with the technology team at Severn School in Severna Park.  He would like to dedicate these performances to his influential mother, his wonderful girlfriend, his family and his brother and father, who have both touched the face of God.

Elizabeth Merrill, mezzo soprano, has been praised for her “vibrant presence” in The Baltimore Sun and is known for her versatility across genres, from Early Music to standard repertoire to contemporary composition. A native of St. Louis, MO, she began her music studies at a young age while singing with the Saint Louis Children’s Choir, and since then, she has performed in everything from opera to oratorio, chamber music, solo recitals, and church choirs on both the East Coast and in the Midwest.  Most recently, Ms. Merrill “succeeded marvelously” (Boston Classical Review) in the role of Oronta in Cavalli’s Artemisia with Helios Early Opera.  In 2012, Ms. Merrill sang the role of Clori in Musica Nuova’s pastiche production of Monteverdi’s Il Ballo delle Ingrate, and the role of Sesto in Handel’s Giulio Cesare in Egitto, (Timothy Nelson dir.), for which she was praised for her “vivid vocalism” in The Baltimore Sun. Other past roles include the 2nd Knabe in Die Zauberflo?te (Baltimore Symphony Orchestra), Gerina in A. Scarlatti’s La Principessa Fedele, Belinda in Dido and Aeneas, Senator Patrick Leahy in The Gonzales Cantata by Melissa Dunphy, and Ve?nus in Rameau’s Adonis. Ms. Merrill has performed with Maryland Concert Opera, The Amherst Early Music Festival, American Opera Theater, The Figaro Project, Concerto delle Donne, hexaCollective, The Federal Hill Parlor Series, Vivre Musicale, The Baltimore Baroque Band, Intermezzo: The New England Chamber Opera Series, the Hammond Performing Arts Series, and Union Avenue Opera. Ms. Merrill received Master’s degrees in both vocal performance and Early Music voice performance from the Peabody Conservatory in 2011, and she fulfilled the requirements of Peabody’s Graduate Performance Diploma program in 2012. She completed her undergraduate music studies at Wellesley College in Massachusetts, where she received honors for her performance thesis of Claude Debussy’s Ariettes oublie?es, and also received the Billings Performance Award in Music. Other honors include The Eugene L. Cox Graduate Fellowship for research or study of Medieval and Renaissance history and culture and Pi Kappa Lambda. Ms. Merrill currently lives in Baltimore, MD.

Caitlin Vincent, soprano, is a native of Seattle, Washington.  She made her international debut in 2007 as Amour in Clérambault’s solo cantata “Amour piqué par une abeille” at Le Mois Molière in Versailles, France. A classically-trained ballet dancer, Ms. Vincent holds degrees from Harvard University and the Peabody Conservatory, where she studied with William Sharp and Ah Hong.  Recent roles include February’s A Grand Night for Singing and Sarah Brown in Guys & Dolls, both with Live Arts Maryland, Zerlina in Who Killed Don Giovanni? and Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro with The Figaro Project, Belinda in Dido and Aeneas with Opera AACC, the Dew Fairy/Sandman in Hansel and Gretel with Peabody Opera Theater, Sister Constance in The Dialogues of the Carmelites with Dunster House Opera, and Zerlina in Don Giovanni with Lowell House Opera.  In April 2011, Ms. Vincent premiered the role of Janey in Paul Mathews’ opera Piecing it Apart, a performance for which she was described as a “standout” by sequenza21.com.  Equally praised for her interpretations of concert repertoire, Ms. Vincent has performed with the Annapolis Chorale, Central Maryland Chorale, Maryland Choral Society, Harford Choral Society, and Evergreen Philharmonic in such works as Bach’s Mass in B Minor, Bach’s Cantata 51, Mendelssohn’s “Lobgesang,” Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610, Mozart’s Mass in C Minor, Mozart’s “Exsultate, jubilate,” and Vivaldi’s Magnificat.  She has received first place honors from both MD/DC/VA and Pacific Northwest chapters of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Vocal Competition, as well as the George Woodhead Prize for Voice and two Peabody Career Development Grants.  Upcoming performances include Eve in Haydn’s The Creation with the Central Maryland Chorale and the role of Jackie Kennedy in the world premiere of Joshua Bornfield’s Camelot Requiem with The Figaro Project.

Jonathan Wagstaff, lyric baritone, performs extensively in both the Mid-Atlantic region and the United Kingdom. His recent operatic roles include ‘Tiresie’ in Rameau’s Naïs as a Britten-Pears Young Artist at the Aldeburgh Festival, ‘Count’ in Le nozze di Figaro (The Sage Young Artists, UK), and ‘Guglielmo’ in Cosi fan tutte. Over the last few years Mr. Wagstaff has won a number of awards including 1st place for ‘Advanced College Men’ in the 2012 NATS Competition, Mid-Atlantic Region.  He has sung as soloist on a number of recordings and broadcasts.  Notable television and radio appearances include solos for a live performance of J.S. Bach’s Magnificat on EWTN on Christmas Eve 2012, singing the English national anthem on ITV1 for HRH the Prince of Wales in a celebration for his 60th birthday in November 2008, and on BBC Radio 3 as a soloist for a program of renaissance Portuguese sacred works.  Mr. Wagstaff grew up near London singing with the National Youth Choir of Great Britain before moving on to Oxford University in 2002 to complete undergraduate and graduate degrees in Musicology with medieval music scholar Margaret Bent. He has held choral awards at The Queen’s College, Oxford, Chelmsford Cathedral, and Wells Cathedral (UK). Over the past 10 years, he has worked with a number of renowned conductors and coaches including Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Sir David Willcocks and Graham Johnson.  He is currently in the final year of his Master of Music in Voice at the Peabody Institute, Baltimore in the studio of Steven Rainbolt, where he is the recipient of the Richard Goodlake Memorial Scholarship, and works as a professional chorister with the Choir of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington DC.

Larry Molinaro, organist, has devoted a substantial part of his career to the study and performance of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach.  His interpretation of the music of Bach has won praise from critics and audiences alike for being innovative, thoughtful, informative and “a model of its kind” (Washington Post). Following a recent solo performance with the Annapolis Chamber Orchestra and Chorus, The Capital wrote, “Molinaro opened the program with a spectacularly rousing performance of Bach…There were times when one would swear there had to be another person at the organ, too: two hands and two feet couldn’t have struck all those notes and produced all that marvelous sound.”  Of Mr. Molinaro’s recreation of Felix Mendelssohn’s famous Bach recital at the Thomaskirche in Leipzig in 1840, the Washington Post wrote that “…the organist’s propulsive, immaculately articulated playing revved the evening to a thrilling conclusion.” Of his performances of the works of other composers, critics have written about his “graceful agility” (Baltimore Sun), and for his ability to be “both instructive and entertaining” (The Capital).  As organist and harpsichordist with the regional Live Arts Maryland program, Mr. Molinaro regularly presents concerts of the music of J.S. Bach, including “Dance, Dance Revelation” (2012) focused on dance forms in the music of Bach, and a concert cycle, “Dialogues” (2011), which featured the first volume of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier (1722) and included compositions by other composers, such as Mattheson and Kuhnau, that influenced the creation of Bach’s volume. During the 2008-2009 Live Arts Maryland season, Mr. Molinaro showcased the four volumes of Bach’s encyclopedic, four-volume Clavier-Übung series, juxtaposing works by Couperin, Vivaldi, Kuhnau, Froberger and Frescobaldi that served as models for Bach’s monumental publication.  Mr. Molinaro earned the Artist’s Diploma in organ performance from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and continued his studies at Yale University’s School of Music where he was Frank Bozyan Scholar for Organ.  He studied improvisation in Paris with composer Naji Hakim and the keyboard works of J.S. Bach with Bach specialist Edward Aldwell.  He is the organist and harpsichordist for Live Arts Maryland, which includes the Annapolis Chamber Orchestra and Annapolis Chorale.  He has served as director of music at Grace Church, Georgetown (DC) and as parish organist at historic St. Anne’s Episcopal Church in Annapolis, MD.