The Mass in B minor

Musician Bios

Early strings specialist Dongmyung Ahn is a performer, educator, and scholar whose interests span from the twelfth to eighteenth centuries. She regularly performs with Pegasus, Raritan Players, the Sebastians, and Tenet Vocal Artists. She played rebec in the critically-acclaimed production of the Play of Daniel at the Cloisters. A dedicated educator, Dongmyung teaches music history at Columbia University, New York University, and Queens College. Dongmyung earned her Bachelor of Music with high distinction and her Master of Music from Indiana University where she studied baroque violin with Stanley Ritchie. She received her PhD in musicology at the Graduate Center, CUNY, and has published articles on medieval liturgy and Jewish-Christian relations in Henry VIII’s court, and a book review on gender and voice in the Journal of the American Musicological Society. She recently wrote an essay for Huffington Post about her experience as a stuttering music history professor.

French-American violinist Lydia Becker unites historical performance practices with creativity and curiosity. She regularly plays with leading forces in the early music field, including The English Concert, Les Arts Florissants, Paul O’Dette, Twelfth Night, and the Sebastians. Lydia is a founding member of the Berwick Fiddle Consort, an ensemble that explores historical fiddling traditions of the British Isles, and she co-leads traditional music sessions at the Juilliard School. Lydia is a Benzaquen Career Advancement Grant recipient and an English Concert in America Fellow. Lydia holds degrees from the Juilliard School, the Eastman School of Music, and the Conservatoire de Bordeaux. @aidyl.weiss lydiabecker.com

Meg Bragle, mezzo-soprano, is internationally acclaimed for her musical intelligence and “expressive virtuosity” (San Francisco Chronicle). A leading interpreter of Baroque and Classical repertoire, she has performed with ensembles such as the English Baroque Soloists, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Netherlands Bach Society, Philharmonia Baroque, Apollo’s Fire, Tafelmusik, and major symphony orchestras including Philadelphia, Seattle, Houston, and the National Symphony. Bragle’s performances are noted for their clarity, emotional insight, and immediacy. Her discography includes over twenty recordings, including acclaimed projects with Sir John Eliot Gardiner and the English Baroque Soloists, Apollo’s Fire, and works by Copland, Handel, Monteverdi, and Daron Hagen. Beyond the stage, she is Artist in Residence at the University of Pennsylvania, Co-Founder and Director of the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park National Oratorio Competition, and afternoon host on WRTI 90.1 FM in Philadelphia. Whether performing, teaching, or broadcasting, Bragle brings a deep belief in music as a shared, transformative experience.

Jay Carter, countertenor, has earned a reputation as one of North America’s finest countertenors. A frequent collaborator with both period and modern ensembles, he is recognized as a leading interpreter of baroque repertoire, lauded for luminous tone, stylish interpretations, and clarion delivery. In recent seasons, he has appeared with acclaimed conductors such as Nicholas McGegan, Ton Koopman, John Butt, John Scott, and Matthew Halls. Highlights of recent seasons include Bach’s Weihnachtsoratorium with Masaaki Suzuki and the Bach Collegium Japan; Vivaldi arias and the Gloria with Nicholas McGegan and the Saint Louis Symphony: and Bach’s Johannes-Passion with Daniel Hyde and the Choir of Men and Boys at St. Thomas Church. Carter’s discography includes recordings with Ars Lyrica, Bach Collegium San Diego, The Kingsbury Ensemble, Yale Schola Cantorum, Westminster Williamson Voices. Upcoming recording releases include Nicholas Bruhns Cantatas with Masaaki Suzuki and El Mesias (a Spanish-language translation of Handel’s Messiah) with Bach Collegium San Diego. Jay holds graduate degrees from the Yale School of Music, the Institute of Sacred Music, and the University of Missouri–Kansas City Conservatory of Music. His undergraduate studies were undertaken at William Jewell College, where he was a student and mentee of Dr. Arnold Epley. He has served on the voice faculty of Westminster Choir College, William Jewell College, and the UMKC Conservatory of Music. In addition work as a soloist, Carter is an avid ensemble musician and conductor. He has served as the conductor of several ensembles, and now serves an an artistic director for Musica Vocale, based in Kansas City. He and his wife live in historic Liberty, Missouri.

Changhyun Cha is a New York–based trumpeter and former member of the Broadway musical Sweeney Todd. He has appeared with the Metropolitan Opera and Broadway productions including Wicked, Aladdin, and Maybe Happy Ending, and has performed with American Symphony and American Ballet. He is also a founding member of Riverside Brass Quintet and currently serves as Assistant Band Director at St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s School.

Double bass and violone player Nathaniel Chase performs a wide range of music, from early music performances with the Sebastians, Boston Early Music Festival, and Tafelmusik, to new music with NOVUS NY, and orchestral repertoire with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and Allentown Symphony. He performed on Broadway in the critically acclaimed production of Farinelli and the King with countertenor Iestyn Davies. He is a graduate of the New England Conservatory and the Yale School of Music, where he was a winner of the 2010 Woolsey Hall Concerto Competition.

Immanuel Davis is one of the most versatile flutists of his generation. Equally at home on the modern and baroque flutes, Immanuel has performed as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States and abroad. He has performed with such early music ensembles as Opera Lafayette, Early Music New York, ARTEK, Lyra Baroque, REBEL, Bach Society of Minnesota and Mercury Orchestra of Houston. In 2019 he released a duo CD with traverso luminary Barthold Kuijken, La Magnifique: Flute Music for the Court of Louis XIV, on Naxos. Immanuel is the flute professor at the University of Minnesota.

Bassoonist Morgan Davison is an innovative performer and educator active in both historical and modern performance. Based in New York, she is a graduate of the Juilliard School’s Historical Performance program and Manhattan School of Music. Morgan has performed with ensembles including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, and the Handel and Haydn Society, and has toured internationally. She has appeared at festivals such as Tanglewood Music Festival and Aspen, and recently toured the UK with Juilliard415. Dubbed the “Bassoonfluencer” by The New Yorker, she connects a global community of musicians through her online presence. As an educator, she teaches privately and works with S’Cool Sounds, bringing music education to students in the Bronx and Harlem.

Violinist Nicholas DiEugenio has been heralded for his “excellent… evocative” playing (The New York Times), full of “rapturous poetry” (American Record Guide). Nicholas is in-demand as a soloist, chamber musician, and ensemble leader, creating powerful shared experiences in music ranging from early baroque to contemporary commissions. His award-winning album Unraveling Beethoven with pianist and wife Mimi Solomon was released in 2018 by New Focus Recordings, and other recordings include the Complete Violin Sonatas of Robert Schumann (Musica Omnia) as well as a tribute to Pulitzer prizewinner Steven Stucky (New Focus). Nicholas is a core member of the Sebastians as well as Associate Professor of Music at UNC Chapel Hill. Nicholas plays a J.B. Vuillaume violin (1835) as well as a Karl Dennis baroque violin (2011). nicholasdieugenio.com @dieu_violin

Praised for his “lovely tone and deep expressivity” by The New York Times, GRAMMY® nominated tenor Brian Giebler radiates “shine and clarity” (Opera News) in every phrase using “his high-placed tenor with great skill” (Opera Magazine). His debut solo album a lad’s love garnered high praise from Gramophone, Opera News, and San Francisco Classical Voice, and earned him his first GRAMMY® Award nomination for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album.

“The sweetness of Giebler’s impressive high tenor” and his “expressive and elegant phrasing” (Cleveland Classical) have been heard as Apollo in Handel Semele with The English Concert under Harry Bicket; Stravinsky Threni: Lamentations of Jeremiah with The Cleveland Orchestra; Orff Carmina Burana with the Austin, Colorado, Knoxville, Milwaukee, and Virginia Symphony Orchestras; Handel Messiah with Music of the Baroque (available on recording), internationally with the Seoul Metropolitan Chorus, and with the Charlotte, Memphis, Naples, and Rhode Island Symphonies; Aeneas in Purcell Dido and Aeneas with Atlanta Baroque Orchestra; Arnalta in Monteverdi Poppea with Boston Baroque; Evangelist in both Bach Passions with Trinity Wall Street, Voices of Ascension, and True Concord Artists; Handel Theodora with Ars Lyrica Houston; Bach Cantatas with the Grand Rapids Symphony and Handel & Haydn Society; Haydn Creation with Santa Fe and Princeton Pro Musica; and on stage with Boston Modern Orchestra Project and Boston Early Music Festival. Other highlights included a tour of the Ravinia and Caramoor Festivals with Apollo’s Fire, and multiple works with Mark Morris Dance Group including Handel L’Allegro, il Penseroso. briangiebler.com

Keyboardist and conductor Jeffrey Grossman specializes in vital, engaging performances of music of the past, through processes that are intensely collaborative and historically informed. As the artistic director of the Sebastians, Jeffrey has directed Bach’s Passions and Handel’s Messiah from the organ and harpsichord, and he is a frequent performer with Tenet Vocal Artists, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and numerous other ensembles across the country. Recent seasons include his conducting operas of Haydn and Handel with Juilliard Opera, leading Monteverdi’s Vespers with the Green Mountain Project in New York and Venice, and conducting a workshop of a new Vivaldi pastiche opera for the Metropolitan Opera. A native of Detroit, Michigan, he holds degrees from Harvard, Juilliard, and Carnegie Mellon. Jeffrey teaches performance practice at Yale. jeffreygrossman.com

Sae Hashimoto is a Japanese-born percussionist whose multifaceted career extends beyond barriers of genre. Her unique approach to performance is cultivated by her intensive classical training and a decade of freelance experience in NYC performing symphonic, baroque, contemporary, and avant-garde music. From 2021 to 2025 Sae was a member of Yarn/Wire, a NYC-based piano/percussion quartet that has pioneered the creative practice of new and experimental music. She has performed with the New York Philharmonic, New York City Ballet, New Jersey Symphony, and several Broadway productions. As a baroque timpanist she regularly performs with groups such as Trinity Baroque Orchestra and Tenet Vocal Artists. Since 2016, she has worked extensively with John Zorn, and has premiered more than a dozen of his works at venues all around the U.S. and Europe. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Juilliard School, where she studied with Daniel Druckman and Markus Rhoten.

Lauded for his “sonorous” voice (Opera News), baritone Harrison Hintzsche is celebrated for his warm lyric tone, nuanced musicality, and profound dedication to text. His dynamic career spans oratorio, art song, and chamber music, where he thrives on the challenge of interpreting a diverse repertoire and bridging a living connection between author and audience.

Hintzsche’s passion for music has led him to perform on world-class stages such as London’s Wigmore Hall, New York City’s Weill Recital Hall and Alice Tully Hall, and Seoul’s National Theater of Korea. He has worked closely with several celebrated leaders in music, such as Nicolas McGegan, Masaaki Suzuki, Graham Johnson, and Jos van Veldhoven.

Recent performance highlights include Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with Kent Tritle at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine; Bach’s Magnificat with Jos van Veldhoven and the Oregon Bach Festival Chorus, as well as with Matthew Dirst and the Portland Baroque Orchestra; Bach’s bass solo cantatas Ich habe genug and Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen with Philip Cave and Duke University; and Finzi’s In Terra Pax and Vaughan Williams’s Fantasia on Christmas Carols with the Choral Society of the Hamptons. He has recorded the bass arias in J. S. Bach’s St. John Passion, Easter Oratorio, Magnificat, and St. Matthew Passion with Cantata Collective and conductor Nicholas McGegan, all released by AVIE Records.

A sought-after ensemble musician, Hintzsche has performed with some of the nation’s leading choral ensembles, including the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, Conspirare, Ensemble Altera, the Oregon Bach Festival Chorus, the Leonids, Yale Choral Artists, and the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers, among others. He holds degrees in music from Yale University and St. Olaf College. Hintzsche is currently based in Brooklyn, New York, and hails from DeKalb, Illinois.

Joseph Jones began studying bassoon at age 12 when his piano teacher suggested: “Joey, you might be good at the bassoon.” Some years and many concerts later, Joe is a bassoonist performing throughout the country and occasionally around the world with ensembles like The Smithsonian Academy Orchestra, The English Concert, the Sebastians, Tenet Vocal Artists, Boston Early Music Festival, American Bach Soloists, and more. He is also a founding member of The Harmonie Collective. Joe’s playing has been praised for its “warm singing tone,” and once while performing a Vivaldi concerto he “proved he could easily break the four-minute mile without missing a note” (Star Tribune). Joe is a graduate of The Juilliard School’s historical performance program, as well as the University of Minnesota and Utah State University.

Daniel Lee leads an interdisciplinary career as a performer, scholar, preacher, and teacher. Praised for his “fleet-fingered, passionate… soulful performance” (The New York Times), he is the founding director of the Sebastians, an award-winning period ensemble based in New York City. He frequently performs as a soloist and leader with Early Music Missouri, the Kansas City Baroque Consortium, and the Providence Baroque Orchestra. He plays on modern replicas of Cremonese violins by luthier Karl Dennis and a rare 1770 Florentine violin in its original setup by Giovanni Battista Gabrielli. In addition to historical violins, he also performs on the violino piccolo and violoncello da spalla. An ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA), he has served churches and organizations in Connecticut, Missouri, and New York. He strives to explore the intersection of arts and spirituality, where creativity can inspire harmony in human society. He teaches early music at Yale University. danielslee.com

Baroque violinist Eleanor Legault is a versatile performer and interpreter of early music who plays with a diverse roster of period ensembles. Recent performances include appearances with The English Concert, Les Arts Florissants, Philharmonie Austin, Seattle Bach Festival, Tempesta di Mare, and as concertmaster of Seattle Chamber Orchestra and Juilliard415. Eleanor is the founder of Duo Moda, a historical violin/cello duo whose album of unpublished duets from the Classical era is expected to be released in the fall of 2025. Eleanor earned degrees at the Juilliard School, Royal Conservatoire of The Hague, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, and Lawrence Conservatory, where she pursued a dual degree in violin performance and English literature. Eleanor is a finalist in the 2025 Mathieu-Duguay International Early Music Competition and recently made her directorial debut in Seattle, WA.

Sookhyun Lee is an oboist trained in both modern and historical performance, holding degrees from Juilliard, Vienna, Mannheim, and Rotterdam.

Violist Kyle Miller made his concerto debut in 2005 with the Reading (Pennsylvania) Symphony Orchestra as “the dog” in P.D.Q. Bach’s Canine Cantata, Wachet Arf! Afterward, Kyle studied at the New England Conservatory, the Eastman School of Music, and the Juilliard School. A member of ACRONYM and Diderot String Quartet, Kyle also has performed with A Far Cry, American Classical Orchestra, American Contemporary Music Ensemble, Apollo’s Fire, the English Concert, Handel and Haydn Society, Irish Baroque Orchestra, the Knights, New York Baroque Incorporated, Opera Lafayette, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Relic Ensemble, Ruckus, the Sebastians, Seraphic Fire, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Teatro Nuovo, Tenet Vocal Artists, The Thirteen, Trinity Baroque Orchestra, Upper Valley Baroque Orchestra, and the Washington National Cathedral Baroque Orchestra. Kyle performs regularly at the Carmel Bach Festival and the Staunton Music Festival. In 2017–18, Kyle performed in a Broadway run of Claire van Kampen’s Farinelli and the King.

Maximilian Morel is a New York-based trumpeter and educator, active as both a soloist and orchestral musician. He has received prizes at competitions including the National Trumpet Competition of France, Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory Competition, Jeju International Brass Competition, Roger Voisin Competition, and Girolamo Fantini Competition. As a soloist, he has performed with ensembles such as the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory Orchestra, Jeju Philharmonic, Rome Aimart Chamber Orchestra, and Miami Lynn University Orchestra. Maximilian holds the principal trumpet chair at the American Ballet Theatre Orchestra and frequently appears with ensembles including the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, New York City Ballet Orchestra, American Symphony Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. He is also on faculty at the Juilliard School, teaching Ear Training and Music Theory in the Extension and Pre-College divisions.

Rebecca Nelson is a songwriter from Gera, Germany. Born into a family of classical musicians, she began practicing violin at age four and absorbed a healthy diet of Bach, Phil Collins, and Gillian Welch. After earning her Bachelor’s at Rice University and a Master’s at the University of Oklahoma, Rebecca diverged from her classical violin training, diving head first into the enchanting world of Historical Performance. Through her new love of baroque music and old love of folk and bluegrass, Rebecca found her voice as a composer. Since graduating from the Juilliard School’s Historical Performance program, she has joined and founded exciting new ensembles including Nuova Pratica and Relic. Her début album Do Not Lament was released in 2023 and album number two is just around the corner. Aside from writing and performing music, Rebecca enjoys taking long naps with her cat, Momo, and salsa dancing.

Pablo O’Connell (he/him) is an NYC–based historical and modern oboist. Highly in demand as a freelance musician, Pablo performs with the Trinity Baroque Orchestra, Cantata Collective, Heartbeat Opera, Tafelmusik, Mercury Chamber Orchestra, New York Baroque Incorporated, Opera Neo, Clarion, Musica Angelica, and Twelfth Night. He is passionate about contemporary music and performs regularly with SEM Ensemble and the Metropolis Ensemble. In October he recorded an album of music for duo and electronics by David First entitled Girders, and in January 2026 his premiere recording of Kyle Miller’s Impressions for solo oboe was released. Pablo maintains a private teaching studio of baroque and modern oboists and he holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in modern and historical oboes from the Juilliard School (’20, ’22).

Sherezade Panthaki, soprano, has forged ongoing musical collaborations with many of the world’s leading conductors including Nicholas McGegan, Masaaki Suzuki, Martin Haselböck, Stephen Stubbs, and Nicholas Kraemer. Combining “her full, luxuriously toned upper range” (The Los Angeles Times) and “astonishing coloratura, radiant top notes” (Calgary Herald) with exquisite creativity and historically informed performance practice, she is internationally renowned for her interpretations of Bach, Handel, and dozens of early music oratorios, operas, and cantatas. Her performances as Dalila in Handel’s Samson in Germany, elicited the review “With her exuberant virtuosity, with her elegance and powerful radiance, Panthaki is a new, trailblazing type among the female singers of old music—she is a highly dramatic soprano of the Baroque, an “Isolde” in one of Handel’s oratorios. When she sings, it is not simply an aria; it is an event” (Hannoversche Allgemeine).

Recent seasons have included performances with the New York Philharmonic, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Bach Collegium Japan, Wiener Akademie (Austria), NDR Hannover Radiophilharmonie (Germany), the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Boston Early Music Festival, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra (Canada), Toronto Symphony (Canada), Houston Symphony, The Choir and Orchestra of Trinity Wall Street, and Voices of Music (San Francisco). No stranger to classical and modern concert repertoire, she is in high demand for her interpretations of Mozart, Haydn, Mendelssohn, Brahms, and Poulenc, as well as world premieres by Reena Esmail, Martin Bresnick, and Trevor Weston. Her discography includes Handel oratorios with Nicholas McGegan and Philharmonia Baroque, Bach’s Mass in B Minor and solo cantatas with the Cantata Collective, works by Bach and Trevor Weston with the Washington Bach Consort, and operas with the Boston Early Music Festival (BEMF). Acclaimed for “bringing comic flair to a mischievous spitfire role” (Backtrack Magazine) in BEMF’s 2025 triumphant production of Keiser’s Octavia, Opera Wire lauded her singing as “especially beautiful – flexible and capable of expressing tragedy, sensuality, or sacredness.”

Born and raised in India, Ms. Panthaki holds graduate degrees with top honors from the Yale School of Music and the University of Illinois. She is a founding member and artistic advisor of the Kaleidoscope Vocal Ensemble—an octet of internationally renowned singers creating performances and educational programs of early and new music. Ms. Panthaki is highly sought after as a guest clinician and masterclass leader across the United States. She has taught voice to graduate music students at Yale, and currently heads the vocal program at Mount Holyoke College in Western Massachusetts. sherezadepanthaki.com

“A shining tenor,” (New York Classical Review) James Reese delivers dynamic performances that facilitate intimate connections between audiences and the art, with a voice the Washington Post calls “bright, agile, and full of heart.” Reese’s ability to impart emotional immediacy on music from Bach to the present day has earned him overwhelming critical acclaim over the course of a fast-rising career.

In the 2025–26 season, James will enjoy a wide range of projects and repertoire, giving performances throughout the United States and Canada. Of particular note: Messiah with the Kansas City and Baltimore Symphonies, as well as St. Thomas Fifth Avenue (NYC) and the Apollo Chorus of Chicago; a featured recital with soprano Maya Kherani at Opera Lafayette; A Bach Celebration with Tafelmusik alongside soprano Myriam LeBlanc; and a series of recitals with his collaborator, lutenist Brandon Acker. He also looks forward to working with the Apple Hill String Quartet, recording and giving the world premiere of Gregory W. Brown’s Rural Hours.

James is a noted interpreter of baroque music and other early repertoire, giving performances that are both “splendid” (San Francisco Chronicle) and “captivating” (Broad Street Review). After his 2025 debut with Opera Lafayette, Opera Gene wrote, “James Reese has an engaging, lively stage presence that stands out… and a crisp tenor voice that makes [his performances] pleasing and affecting.” Following a performance of Messiah with the American Bach Soloists, Classical Sonoma wrote, “It would have been nearly impossible to find a more satisfying solo quartet than the young singers who graced this performance… tenor James Reese sang with telling dramatic urgency and effortlessly produced fioritura.”

An advocate for new music, James has given the world premiere of over a dozen songs and arias for tenor, by composers such as Daron Hagen, Gregory W. Brown, Reena Esmail, and James Primosch. He was a founding member of Philadelphia vocal ensemble Variant 6, and performed with them until 2022. During his time with the ensemble, they premiered over 25 works for vocal sextet and released two records of contemporary vocal music. James sings frequently with other leading choruses and vocal ensembles, including Tenebrae, Blue Heron, Seraphic Fire, The Crossing, and Gallicantus.

As a recording artist, James won a GRAMMY award as a soloist singing the music of Edie Hill on the record Born, released by The Crossing. James has recorded on a number of labels, including ECM and Harmonia Mundi. He appears as a soloist on several discs released on the Hyperion Label, including singing the Evangelist in Heinrich Schütz’s Christmas Oratorio on Historia der Geburt Christi ‘The Christmas Story,’ SWV 435, released in 2019. Of that performance, The Academy of Sacred Drama wrote, “A series of scenes was connected by a single narrator, the Evangelist; the bulk of the singing lay with Mr. Reese, who impressed with his agile voice and penetrating timbre.”

James is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music. He holds a masters degree from Yale University’s School of Music, where he studied with James Taylor at the Institute of Sacred Music. James is the 2018 winner of the Margot Fassler Award for the Performance of Music at Yale. He is also a winner of the Career Advancement Award—which recognizes “especially promising young artists”—from the Musical Fund Society. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife Natalie.

David Ross is a freelance historical flutist based in New York City. He grew up in Minnesota playing piano, violin, and modern flute. He began playing baroque flute in 2002 and since 2009 his career has focused exclusively on the performance of 18th and 19th century flutes and piccolos. In the 2025–26 season, David will perform works by J.S. Bach, Charpentier, Telemann, Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Bellini, and Verdi, with a variety of ensembles. David studied baroque flute with Wilbert Hazelzet at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague, Netherlands where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Early Music in 2011. In 2014, his studies concluded with a Master’s degree from the Juilliard School’s Historical Performance Program. David teaches privately at his home in Roosevelt Island, NYC. mrdavidLross.com

A brilliant and accomplished concert artist, “resplendent” soprano Clara Rottsolk has appeared as a soloist with orchestras including American Bach Soloists, Santa Fe Pro Musica, Pacific MusicWorks, the American Classical Orchestra, Saint Thomas Fifth Avenue, Richmond Symphony, Bach Collegium San Diego, Virginia Symphony, New Mexico Philharmonic, Pacific Symphony, Atlanta Baroque Orchestra, Trinity Wall Street, and Seattle Baroque Orchestra, under the direction of conductors including Stephen Stubbs, David Danzmayr, Paul Goodwin, Jeffrey Thomas, John Scott, Daniel Hyde, Joshua Rifkin, Bruno Weil, Julian Wachner, David Effron, John Sinclair, Chia-Hsuan Lin, Timothy Nelson, and Andrew Megill.

With “sophisticated mastery of the nuances of the libretto: with perfect diction and expressive delivery” (Cleveland Classical), she performs chamber and recital repertoire with Les Délices, ARTEK, Les Canards Chantants, Folger Consort, Piffaro, Byron Schenkman & Friends, Colorado Bach Ensemble, and as soloist at festivals including Carmel Bach, Berkeley Early Music, Montréal Baroque, Spoleto USA, Indianapolis Early Music, Philadelphia Bach, Whidbey Island Music, and Boston Early Music Fringe. Her solo recordings can be found on Chandos, MSR Classics, and independent labels. Currently she is based in Philadelphia and teaches voice at Swarthmore, Haverford and Bryn Mawr Colleges. clararottsolk.com

Gaia Saetermoe-Howard, praised for her “poignant, pliant sound” (New York Classical Review), is passionate about creating invigorating performances on historical oboes and recorders throughout North America and beyond. She was appointed as principal oboe of Tempesta di Mare (Philadelphia Baroque Orchestra) in 2022, and her recent engagements include performances with Apollo’s Fire, the Handel and Haydn Society, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, and others. As an artist-scholar, Gaia traces global identities of the Baroque style through research on the history and musical archaeology of the Caribbean, Latin America, West Africa, and India. She is a currently a PhD student in Historical Musicology at Harvard University, and holds degrees from the Juilliard School, the Eastman School of Music, and the University of Rochester. Gaia maintains a private teaching studio, and has taught for renowned programs like S’Cool Sounds, the Wildwood Institute of Music, and the Juilliard Music Advancement Program.

Hailed for his “scampering virtuosity” (American Record Guide) and “superb” playing (The New York Times), cellist Ezra Seltzer is the principal cellist of the Trinity Baroque Orchestra, New York Baroque Incorporated, and Early Music New York and a founding member of the Sebastians. He has frequently appeared as guest principal cellist of Musica Angelica and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, where he earned praise for his “delicate elegance and rambunctious spirit” (Twin Cities Pioneer Press). He attended Yale University, where he received his Bachelor of Arts in history and Master of Music in cello, and graduated from the inaugural class of Juilliard’s historical performance program.

Violist Alissa Smith holds degrees from the Australian National University and The Juilliard School, where she served as a Teaching Fellow. An active chamber musician, she has performed at Carnegie Hall and appeared at festivals including Aspen, Verbier, Park City, Bravo! Colorado, and Steamboat Springs, and participated in a residency with the Emerson String Quartet. A versatile performer on both modern and baroque viola, Alissa has appeared at the Tanglewood and Ravinia festivals, toured with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, and performed with ensembles including the Knights, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, American Composers Orchestra, Klangforum Wien, Houston Symphony, and New York City Ballet. Her international appearances include the Sydney Festival and the Istanbul International Jazz Festival. As a baroque violist she performs with groups including Clarion, New York Baroque Incorporated, Trinity Baroque Orchestra, Opera Lafayette, and the Sebastians. Her recordings include film soundtracks and award-winning albums with the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

Sarah Stone was drawn to baroque cello and viola da gamba through a curiosity in the cultural background of the music she plays. She is executive director of Repast Baroque, a baroque chamber music ensemble based in New York City, and manages Bitterroot Baroque, a community baroque orchestra in Hamilton, Montana. Sarah regularly performs early music ensembles around the country including with the Sebastians, Trinity Baroque Orchestra, Seraphic Fire, Washington National Cathedral, and Apollo’s Fire. She holds degrees from the Juilliard School, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and Rice University. Sarah loves gardening, animation, long walks, deep-dives into digitized collections, and her cats Nyx and Erebus. sarahabigaelstone

Described by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution as a dignified and beautiful singer, bass-baritone Paul Max Tipton performs and records throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. For the 2025–26 season, he makes débuts at the Kansas City Symphony & Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue and returns to Tucson Symphony Orchestra, singing Handel Messiah. He returns to Berkeley with Cantata Collective to sing Bach’s Ascension Oratorio and select cantatas under Nicholas McGegan, and will record 17th century German cantatas for the BIS label with Masaaki Suzuki at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, in addition to concerts throughout the season with Conspirare in Austin and Tenet Vocal Artists in NYC. Recent seasons have seen debuts & recordings with Seattle Symphony, Bach Collegium Japan in Tokyo.

He recently debuted at Seattle Symphony in Bach’s St. John Passion as Christus, returned to Tokyo for Handel’s Messiah with Bach Collegium Japan, and sang the role of Jupiter in John Eccles’s Semele with American Baroque Opera, being called “gloriously godly” by the Dallas Morning News. Recent seasons include Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Bach Collegium Japan in Tokyo, covering the title role in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro at Handel & Haydn Society under Raphaël Pichon, Haydn’s Creation with Pacific Symphony, and Plutone in Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo with Göteborg Baroque. Recent recordings include Bach’s St. John Passion as Christus with Cantata Collective & Nicholas McGegan for Avie Records and solo bass cantatas by Nicolaus Bruhns with Masaaki Suzuki for BIS Records. He holds an MMus from Yale University and resides in New York City.

Tianyu Wang is a baroque and modern trumpet player at the Juilliard School, where he is a proud recipient of the Kovner fellowship and studies with John Thiessen, Ray Mase, and Chris Martin. He has performed Bach’s Mass in B minor with Juilliard415 on tour across the United Kingdom and Scotland and has appeared at the Festival Dans les Jardins de William Christie in Thiré, France. Tianyu also plays with New York Baroque Incorporated, including multiple seasons of Handel’s Messiah at St. Thomas Church. His artistry has been praised internationally—a Japanese critic recently called his Mahler 5 performance “a class of its own.” Born in Beijing and now based in New York, Tianyu is passionate about sharing the brilliance of the natural trumpet with audiences around the world. @tianyutpt

Todd Williams is a leading exponent of the Natural Horn in America. An active performer and educator based in Philadelphia, he serves as Principal Horn of numerous ensembles across the country including the Handel + Haydn Society, Boston Baroque, Philharmonia Baroque (San Francisco), Apollo’s Fire (Cleveland), Mercury (Houston), Opéra Lafayette (Washington, D.C.), Tempesta di Mare (Philadelphia), and has appeared as guest principal with such ensembles as Tafelmusik (Toronto), The English Concert (London), and the Chamber Players of the Smithsonian Institute. He was a judge for the inaugural Natural Horn Competition sponsored by the International Horn Society held in Ghent, Belgium and is on faculty at the Juilliard School in New York. Equally comfortable on the valve horn, he regularly performs with the Philadelphia Orchestra and is Associate Principal Horn of the Philadelphia Ballet. His extensive recording credits include such labels as Deutsche Grammophon, RCA/Sony, Chaconne/Chandos, CPO, Naxos, CORO, Avie, Musica Omnia, Friends of the Smithsonian, Warner Brothers, Paramount, and Apple TV. Todd is a graduate of Indiana University.