Information forthcoming.
Joel Bevington is a doctoral candidate in choral conducting at the University of Washington and directs the music program at First Lutheran Richmond Beach in Shoreline, Washington. His interest in participatory music and music’s ability to break through social barriers has led him to study choral music from the Baltic states. He is passionate about making connections with others through music, teaching all ages how to enjoy singing and performing together. Along with conducting, he is a professional organist and singer, participating in many ensembles in the Seattle area. Joel studied organ performance at Wheaton College, Ilinois, and Emory University. He received his graduate degree in conducting at Louisiana State University and is now happy to call Seattle home while he finishes his doctoral studies at UW.
Gustave Blazek, true bass, has been heard in the Pacific Northwest music scene for over thirty-five years. While studying music education and choral conducting at Pacific Lutheran University, he toured internationally with the world-renowned Choir of the West and was principal student bassist in the University Symphony. As choral bass, his subterranean range has set the foundation for a generation of choruses from Seattle to Portland, Carnegie Hall, Montana, and Dublin, Ireland. Gus has performed, toured, and recorded with the Pacific Northwest’s finest professional choruses, including the Emerald Ensemble, Solaris, St. James Cathedral Cantorei, Cappella Romana, Byrd Ensemble, Tudor Choir, Queen City Musicians, Musica Sacra, and Montana Chorale. He has also recorded as a freelance bass for Sony Classical and Seattle Symphony.
As soloist, his rich basso has graced oratorio roles with Orchestra Seattle, Cascade Symphony, Seattle Mandolin Orchestra, Ladies Musical Club, and numerous Seattle-area churches. His repertoire spans the German Baroque to the late twentieth century: from Schütz, Buxtehude, and the Bach family through Stravinsky, Vaughan Williams and Rutter. He also covers the few opera roles written for a true bass: Sarastro (Magic Flute), Osmin (Abduction from the Seraglio), Don Ruy Gomez de Silva (Ernani), and Pimen (Boris Godunov).
Alto Marjorie Bunday, beginning her eleventh year in Seattle, is happy to join the Emerald Ensemble for her debut concert. She sings regularly with the St. James Cathedral Cantorei, Epiphany Evensong Choir, and the Mägi Ensemble. She also joined the Byrd Ensemble with the Seattle Baroque Orchestra for their 2022 “Convent and Cloister” concert, and has been a soloist with the Medieval Women’s Choir. She previously lived and sang in Denver and the Washington, DC, area, doing everything from early music to hot-off-the-press works with groups such as the Washington Bach Consort and Woodley Ensemble. When not singing, she is nurturing friendships with the crows, enjoying Seattle’s natural beauty, and working in the music office at St. James Cathedral.
Audiences recently heard mezzo-soprano Erica Convery in Seattle Modern Opera Company’s updated production of Offenbach’s La belle Hélène, in the chorus of Seattle Opera in their production of Carmen, and with the Mägi Ensemble, a professional, Seattle-based women’s ensemble that performs Baltic works. She recently performed the role of Hansel in Northwest Opera in Schools, Etc.’s outreach production of Hansel and Gretel and filled in as Mercedes in Tacoma Opera’s production of Carmen in 2018. Before moving to Washington state, Ms. Convery resided in Baltimore and sang with Bel Cantanti Opera, Maryland Lyric Opera, and The Bridge Ensemble, and as a regular soloist with the Baltimore Musicales.
Ms. Convery made her Carnegie Hall & Kennedy Center concert debuts while finishing her Master of Music degree at the Peabody Institute. She also received two consecutive scholarship grants from the Stockton Opera Competition, two consecutive Peabody Career Grants, the George Castelle Memorial Award, and membership in the elite music honor society of Pi Kappa Lambda. Ms. Convery currently resides in Everett, Washington, with her husband, Chris, and daughter, Isabelle, and enjoys teaching voice and piano in her private studio.
Chad DeMaris has been recognized as a “strong lyric tenor” and for his “beautiful, warm tone with a strong sense of sincerity”. His repertoire spans opera, recital, and concert works. Chad most recently made his mainstage debut with Seattle Opera, singing the roles of Cop/Reporter 2 in X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X. Other recent engagements include performances as tenor soloist in Mozart’s Coronation Mass and Bach’s Jesu, meine Freude, King Kaspar in Amahl and the Night Visitors, and Eduardo Jr/Mr. Xoloti in Frida Kahlo and the Bravest Girl in the World.
In addition to Emerald Ensemble, Chad is a member of Cantorei at St. James Cathedral, a staff singer at Epiphany Parish Seattle, and has performed with several choral ensembles throughout the Puget Sound area, including Byrd Ensemble, Opus 7, Cascadian Chorale, and Seattle Jewish Chorale. Upcoming engagements include the role of Monkey in Monkey and Francine in the City of Tigers with Seattle Opera, as soloist in the premiere of the oratorio Cassandra with Harmonia Seattle, and performances of Bach’s Magnificat and Handel’s Gloria with the Epiphany Choir. Chad holds a Bachelor of Music in vocal performance from Simpson College, and a Master of Music from the University of Missouri–Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance.
Ben Grover received his Bachelor of Musical Arts degree in vocal performance at the University of Michigan. Since moving to Seattle, he enjoys singing solos, especially oratorio, with local choirs (such as Byrd Ensemble, Cantaré Vocal Ensemble, Cascadian Chorale, Master Chorus Eastside, Opus 7, Seattle Pro Musica, and Solaris), chamber ensembles, orchestras (Seattle Bach Choir, Harmonia), and even ballet companies (City Opera Ballet).
Brandon Higa was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, and has resided in Seattle since 2001. Appearing on both operatic and concert stages, he has been hailed by the Tribune Herald for his “sweet tenor.” He has appeared with Tacoma Opera as Sam in The Pirates of Penzance, Monostatos in The Magic Flute, Crookfinger Jake in The Threepenny Opera, and St. Brioche in The Merry Widow, as well as with the Astoria Music Festival as Gherardo in Gianni Schicchi and Kitsap Opera in Carmen as Remendado. He has appeared with Seattle Modern Opera Company as Bill in A Hand of Bridge, Ricky in Jake Heggie’s Again, and Menelaus in La belle Hélène. He has sung as tenor soloist in various concert works including Vaughan Williams’s Serenade to Music with the Honolulu Symphony, Rachmaninov’s All-Night Vigil, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, Buxtehude’s Membra Jesu nostri, Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s Magnificat and cantatas BWV55 and BWV147, Reinhard Keiser’s St. Mark Passion as the Evangelist, and selections from Monteverdi’s Selva morale e spirituale. He has sung with Hawai’i Opera Theatre, Puget Sound Opera, Puget Sound Concert Opera, The Market Street Singers, Kitsap Opera, and Tacoma Opera, and was a Tacoma Opera young artist. He has held tenor soloist and lead positions in both Honolulu and Seattle. He is currently tenor section leader with Kirkland Choral Society.
Soprano Natalie Ingrisano enjoys performing as a soloist, chamber singer, and professional chorister in the Pacific Northwest and Midwest. During the Covid-19 pandemic, she was involved in online concerts, including “The Deer’s Cry” and “Art Songs by Black Composers, 1760–1830.” She appears frequently as a soloist in chamber music series throughout Seattle, including Classical Uncorked. Natalie has performed extensively as a Baroque soloist, including prominent concert works by Charpentier, Couperin, Handel, Monteverdi, and Vivaldi. She has also appeared as a guest faculty at Lyon College in Arkanses, and performed Mahler’s Fourth Symphony with the Northbrook Symphony in Illinois. She has twice performed the United States and French National Anthems at Bastille Day in Daley Plaza, Chicago. As a professional chorister, she joined The Benedict XVI of San Francisco in their inaugural season. She has also sung with the Emerald Ensemble and the Mägi Ensemble, and in concert with The Rolling Stones.
Information forthcoming.
Finnish-American soprano Maria Männistö moves comfortably among a wide range of musical styles to international acclaim. An adventurous recitalist, she has performed as soloist in contemporary works by György Ligeti (Mysteries of the Macabre), Arnold Schönberg (Pierrot lunaire), Luciano Berio (Circles), Morton Feldman (Rothko Chapel) Michel van der Aa (In Circles), Giacinto Scelsi (Khoom), George Crumb (Madrigals), and Pierre Boulez (Le marteau sans maître), and has premiered works by Wayne Horvitz (Smokestack Arias), Garrett Fisher (Kocho and Kakitsubata), William O. Smith (Space in the Heart), and Tom Baker (Hunger: The Journey of Tamsen Donner). She has appeared frequently as soloist with the Seattle Symphony, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Seattle Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra, Tacoma Symphony, EOS Kammeroper Köln, Seattle Modern Orchestra, and The Box is Empty. Ms. Männistö has performed over thirty solo recitals in the U.S., Canada, Finland, Belgium, and Germany, and has performed and recorded with The Tudor Choir, Flemish Radio Choir, Opus 7, Byrd Ensemble, and Solaris. A dedicated member of the Seattle-area Finnish community, she serves as the primary organist at the Finnish Lutheran Church and performs regularly at Nordic festivals and events.
Praised for her “clear, burnished voice” and “mezzo rich with an alto’s strength and a soprano’s shining top edge” (Tacoma News Tribune), Melissa Plagemann’s busy performing schedule spans the stages of opera, oratorio, chamber music, and ensemble performances. In the 2018/19 season, she sang the role of Designer #1 in Seattle Opera’s production of The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs. She returned to Pacific Northwest Ballet for their performances of Nutcracker and Midsummer Night’s Dream, and to Symphony Tacoma for Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. She joined the Everett Philharmonic for Wagner’s Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde, the Bellingham Chamber Chorale for Mozart’s Coronation Mass, Master Chorus Eastside for Handel’s Messiah, and the Bellevue Chamber Chorus for Vivaldi’s Gloria. She was heard twice singing the National Anthem for the Seattle Mariners, and joined forces with pianist and composer Sheila Bristow for several performances of their project, “Words of Women,” featuring texts by all female writers and poets. Melissa teaches on the faculties of Pacific Lutheran and Western Washington Universities, and is a managing diva of Opera On Tap’s Seattle chapter. She lives in Shoreline with her husband and daughter.
Soprano Ksenia Popova has been hailed by The Tacoma News Tribune as “a soprano to watch.” Ms. Popova has sung the roles of Micaëla (Carmen), Lucia (Lucia di Lammermoor), Juliette (Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette), Polly Peachum (The Threepenny Opera), and Josephine (H.M.S Pinafore) with Tacoma Opera; Donna Anna (Don Giovanni) and Gretel (Hansel and Gretel) with Pacific Northwest Opera; Josephine (H.M.S Pinafore) with Opera Coeur d’Alene; Juliette (Roméo et Juliette), Gilda (Rigoletto), and Adele (Die Fledermaus) with Vashon Opera; and Gulnara (Il Corsaro) with Puget Sound Concert Opera. Previously, she was a Studio Artist with Tulsa Opera, covering the role of Marguerite (Faust). As a Resident Artist with Opera San Jose, she performed in the student matinee of Lucia di Lammermoor (as Lucia) and Il Barbiere di Siviglia (as Berta) and sang the role of Madeleine in the West Coast premiere of Kevin Puts’ Silent Night.
In concert, Ms. Popova has appeared as a soprano soloist with Greater Seattle Choral Consortium (Carmina Burana), Sammamish Symphony Orchestra (Carmina Burana), Icicle Creek Chamber Series (Messiah), Seattle Opera Creation Lab, and PNW Kobzar Project. She is a Metropolitan Opera National Council Third Place Regional winner, as well as having received Audience Favorite and Encouragement Awards. Occasionally, she dips her toes into Musical Theatre, performing the role of Pat Collins in the US premiere of Stephen Edwards’ Moon Landing and appearing with the popera group Vivace. Ms.Popova is the Founder of Opera on Tap Seattle, a nonprofit that brings opera to the masses via your local dive bar. Upcoming performances include soprano soloist with Seattle Symphony and Parasha in Mavra with Puget Sound Concert Opera.
Information forthcoming.
Kathryn Weld, mezzo-soprano, has performed extensively throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Japan. She has appeared as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic, Osaka Chamber Orchestra, Bayerischen Rundfunkchor, Seattle Symphony, Philharmonia Baroque, and Portland Baroque Orchestra, among others. On the stage she has sung roles with the Seattle Opera, the Regensburg Opera Theater in Germany, Opera Carolina, and Tacoma Opera, in works ranging from Rameau and Mozart to John Adams and Tan Dun.
A favorite guest artist in chamber music concerts and in recital, she has appeared with Trinity Wall Street Concerts in New York, Music of Remembrance, the Seattle Chamber Players, the Nordic Heritage Museum Concerts and the Battelle Artist Recitals, 2nd City Chamber Music and Jacobsen Concerts in Tacoma. She has presented recitals in Paris, St Petersburg, Asahikawa, and Munich.
Since joining the voice faculty at Western Washington University in 2008, she has taught voice and opera, French, German, and Italian diction, and has served both as Interim Opera Director and Advanced Treble Chorale Conductor. She has also served as Affiliate Artist Faculty at the University of Puget Sound and at Cornish College of the Arts.
Robin Wyatt-Stone is a Seattle-based bass-baritone. He earned his Bachelor of Music in vocal arts at the University of Southern California, where he discovered and honed his passion for opera and choral music. Some of his favorite memories from school include touring with the USC Chamber Singers under Dr. Jo-Michael Scheibe and performing Bach’s Mass in B minor under the baton of Helmuth Rilling. Robin has continued to pursue classical singing personally and professionally as a member of the Seattle Opera Chorus, section leader at Trinity Parish Church, and featured soloist for Eastside Sings with the Greater Seattle Choral Consortium. Robin has also sung with a number of local choral organizations including the Emerald Ensemble, Byrd Ensemble, Radiance, LUMIA Ensemble, Seattle Pro Musica, Opus 7, and Holiday Harmony. When not singing professionally, Robin spends most of his time being a big nerd, and enjoys tabletop RPGs, board and video games, studying massage therapy, and hanging out with his cat, Millie.
Kathea Yarnell is a freelance mezzo-soprano in the Puget Sound region, routinely performing as a soloist and professional chorister. For over ten years she has been an established soloist, cantor, and section leader at Epiphany Parish of Seattle. Over the decades Kathea has sung with many ensembles including Solaris Vocal Ensemble under Giselle Wyers, whateverandeveramen., The Esoterics, The Fisher Ensemble, Cantatorem, and Seattle Opera Chorus. With a strong interest in new works and adventurous programming, she is regularly featured as soloist with Solaris Vocal Ensemble and The Esoterics, and in numerous individual concert offerings. Kathea earned degrees in music education from the University of Washington and has studied with Tom Harper, Valerie Yockey, Stephen Wall, and Eric Banks. She taught middle-school choir and orchestra for several years before moving to private teaching and performance. She maintains a small piano and voice studio while substitute-teaching, working with special-needs children through music, and volunteering in the Northshore School District.