Maestro Vote began his professional career in 1980 as a conductor at The Eastman School of Music and The Aspen Music Festival. In 1982 he was engaged at the Musiktheater im Revier in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, where he conducted Le nozze di Figaro, L'elisir d'amore, Giulio Cesare, Xerxes and L'Orfeo. His successes there led to productions of Gianni Schicchi and Hans Werner Henze's Don Chisciotte de la Mancia in Aachen. From there, he went to the Gärtnerplatz Theater in Munich and the Theater des Westens in Berlin. Maestro Vote’s approach to conducting is informed by extensive experience in German opera houses and his 1989 engagement at the Bayreuth Festival as Assistant Conductor to Daniel Barenboim and James Levine. In 1990 he was invited by James Levine to join the Metropolitan Opera, conducting performances of Elektra, Madama Bufferfly, Un ballo in maschera, La forza del destino, Les contes d'Hoffmann, and the 1996 New Year's Eve Gala. Placido Domingo invited him to lead Tokyo's Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra for the Operalia Vocal Competition. The Los Angeles native has collaborated with many of the world's most prominent operatic artists, including Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Hildegard Behrens, Stephanie Blythe, Jane Eaglen, Renée Fleming, Galina Gorchakova, Ben Heppner, Jerry Hadley, James King, Susanne Mentzer, Richard Leach, Samuel Ramey and Deborah Voigt, among many others. Maestro Vote achieved international prominence and received high acclaim as Music Director of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen at Seattle Opera in 2001 with soprano Jane Eaglen. Called the "musical Wotan of the production.....a real master of Wagnerian style....a conductor who brings out the best in his players,’’ the New York Times noted that his performance was "beautiful, conceptually unified and musically strong...Mr. Vote brought vigor and textural clarity to the score." Recent seasons have included Opera Memphis' Samson et Dalila with Barbara Dever and Otoniel Gonzaga, Aida and Salome for Orlando Opera, plus touring with that company to Toulon, France; Faust at Sarasota Opera, which Opera News called a "Faust, passionately, arrestingly conducted by Franz Vote, who was as interested in theatrical sweep as in nuances of tempo and phrasing." His recent performances of Lucia di Lammermoor at Opera Naples were called the company's “best ever...every section was strong, tightly meshed and well-rehearsed. Vote’s direction created a seamless tapestry from [the orchestra] and the singers...” Franz Vote currently lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he is Music Director and Conductor of the New Mexico Bach Society and Vice-President of the New Mexico Performing Arts Society. He also guests conducts at various opera houses around the country.
Monika Cosson, mezzo soprano, is a private voice instructor at Santa Fe University of Art and Design. She has performed and recorded with The Gregg Smith Singers, The Santa Fe Desert Chorale and Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico. Her opera roles include Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte and Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with Loyola Opera, High Priestess in Aïda and Cronie #3 in The Ballad of Baby Doe with New Orleans Opera, Flora in La Traviata with Jefferson Performing Arts Society, Lisa in I due timidi with Santa Fe Opera, and La Badessa in Suor Angelica with Opera Southwest. Monika has also appeared as a soloist with Canticum Novum, The Santa Fe Men's Camerata, and the Santa Fe Community Orchestra. Pamela Epple, oboeist, is Director of Serenata of Santa Fe. Originally from the Midwest, she graduated from Interlochen Arts Academy and received B.M. and M.M. degrees from the Juilliard School in 1977. While in New York, she maintained an active freelance career as a member of several prominent ensembles. She was a founding member of the Aspen Woodwind Quintet and the NY chamber music group, Tafelmusik. Ms. Epple also toured with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra in the U.S. and abroad. She has also performed at many festivals including Aspen, Monadnock, Angel Fire, and Yale-in-Norfolk. A resident of Santa Fe, she has played oboe and English horn with the Santa Fe Opera, Santa Fe Symphony, the New Mexico Symphony, Santa Fe Pro Musica, and others. In the summer, she performs and teaches oboe and English horn at the Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music in Nelson, New Hampshire.
Sally Guenther received her Bachelors degree at Indiana University where she studied with Janos Starker and Masters degree at The Juilliard School of Music, studying with Harvey Shapiro. She also attended the Taos School of Music, Music Academy of the West and International Congress of Strings. After engagements with several US orchestras, including with the Cincinnati, Fort Worth and Syracuse symphonies (as principal cellist), and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, she became solo cellist of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra in Norway, a position she held for twenty years. Guenther was also active in Norway as a pedagogue teaching at the Grieg Academy of Music, and was a founding member of the contemporary chamber ensemble, BIT 20, an internationally recognized group which records and travels extensively in Europe and Asia. Since moving full-time to New Mexico in 2006, Guenther devotes herself to chamber music, travelling widely in the Southwest area and participating in chamber music festivals in Santa Fe, Taos, Abiqiu, Los Alamos, and Brekenridge, Colorado. She is also devoted to teaching and has recently been appointed to the faculty of the new Santa Fe School for the Arts. In addition she has played with the New Mexico Symphony, Santa Fe Pro Musica and Santa Fe Symphony orchestras. Seth Hartwell, tenor, has performed baroque oratorio with such groups as VocalEssence, Santa Fe Pro Musica and the Valparaiso University Chorale under the baton of world-renowned Bach scholar Helmuth Rilling. He has performed with The Santa Fe Opera, Opera Southwest, and the Royal Norwegian Opera. Seth has a master’s degree in vocal performance from the University of New Mexico and a bachelor’s degree in music education from Valparaiso University (Indiana). He maintains a private voice studio and is Director of Children’s Music at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Albuquerque.
Nancy Laupheimer founded the Taos Chamber Music Group in 1993 and serves as its Artistic and Executive Director. She has played flute, alto flute and piccolo with the Santa Fe Symphony, Musica de Camera Orchestra, Santa Fe Festival Ballet, Desert Chorale, New Mexico Music Festival, Serenata of Santa Fe, Music from Angel Fire, the Dorian Wind Quintet, and the American and Helios String Quartets. Other chamber music collaborations have included concerts on the Dolores and Green Rivers with members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. In 2004 Laupheimer played for the Foundation for Modern Music's Music of Today Series in Houston where her composition BitterSweet was given its Texas premiere. In addition, she taught a masterclass for flute students at Rice University's Shepherd School of Music. Active as a music educator, flute teacher and composer as well as performer, Laupheimer has participated in the Sante Fe Chamber Music Festival's Educational Outreach Program. She holds BA and MM degrees from Vassar College and Boston University's School of Music, and received fellowships to the Tanglewood and Aspen Music Festivals.
Lori Lovato is currently clarinetist of the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra, Santa Fe Symphony, the Música de Cámara Orchestra, and artist-representative for Backun Musical Services, Ltd. She is also a founding member of the New Mexico Woodwind Quintet, and has appeared as soloist with the Chamber Orchestra of Albuquerque, New Mexico Symphony Orchestra’s Music Under the Stars Series and as guest artist for the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Santa Fe New Music Ensemble, Albuquerque Chamber Soloists, Music at Angel Fire, Chamber Music Albuquerque, Chatter New Music Ensemble, Opera Southwest Orchestra, Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, Sphinx Symphony Orchestra, and the Orquesta Sinfónica de Monterrey, Mexico. Prior to her orchestral career, Lori was the Band & Orchestra Director at West Mesa and Cibola High Schools in Albuquerque, New Mexico for ten years. Jennifer Perez is a classically trained high soprano and recent graduate of the University of New Mexico, where she earned her Bachelor's Degree in Music. During her time at UNM, she had the privilege of working with such wonderful mentors as Sam Shepperson, Marilyn Tyler and Bradley Ellingboe. She has sung leading roles in many children's operas with the Sante Fe Opera Community Outreach Program, as well as Gretel for the Opera Unlimited children’s production of Hansel & Gretel. She has performed in several operas directed by Marilyn Tyler at the University of New Mexico, including Samuel Barber's The Old Maid and the Thief, in which she played the role of Letitia. In March 2011, she played the role of Giulietta in Jacques Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann as part of an opera scenes performance given by the UNM Opera Theatre. Jennifer is also a member of the American Choral Directors Association. She performed at the 2010 ACDA regional convention in Denver, Colorado. Furthermore, she participated in and was a soloist for the 67th NMMEA All-State Intercollegiate Choir, a choral workshop and performance led by world-renowned choral conductor Andrew Megill. During her time with the UNM Concert Choir, she had the opportunity to perform the soprano solos in Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass, as well as Mozart's Requiem for the Festivale Internazionale della Cultura in Bergamo, Italy. She has also performed with small ensembles at various banquets for different departments at UNM. During her last semesters in the choir, she held the position of soprano section leader. She recently participated in a choir comprised of UNM students and members of The Santa Fe Desert Chorale and was chosen as soloist for some of the selections. Jennifer also sang in the most recent concert of the Santa Fe Community Orchestra and Chorus, performing the soprano solos in Poulenc's Gloria and Vaughan Williams' Serenade to Music. This summer, she will take part in another experimental ensemble with The Desert Chorale. Her community affiliations include soprano section leader in the St. Paul Lutheran Church choir and member of the professional choral group, Polyphony, directed by Maxine Thevenot. John Rangel is a dynamic Composer and Jazz Pianist. He has been a professional musician for over twenty years. John grew up in a very musical family in New York City. He grew up listening to jazz and classical pianists; many of which were available to experience live in NYC. He loved the recordings of Stravinsky, J.S. Bach, Mozart, Maurice Ravel, Ray Charles, Erroll Garner, Teddy Wilson, Oscar Peterson, Wynton Kelly, Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock. He listened live to many classical pianist at various concert venues in NYC. He also heard live Mary Lou Williams, Kenny Baron, Oscar Peterson, Richie Beirach, Kirk Lightsey, Ralph Towner, and others. He decided to become a musician and studied in Rochester NY at the Eastman School. He eventually migrated back to NYC where he studied with John Corigliano, Stanley Cowell, Richie Beirach, Joanne Brackeen, Phil Markowitz, and Frank Martori. After a six period in Orlando Fl, John moved to Los Angeles in the early 90's. He immersed himself in the rich vibrant culture of Leimert Park known as the "African Greenwich Village." Leimert Park is the center of African-American Arts in LA, brimming with poets, artists, and musicians. This community has been a major influence on John's spiritual intention and musical direction. John Rangel has explored a tremendous range of musical experiences including Jazz, Classical, Film Music, Pop, Hi-Life, Salsa, Reggae, and Calypso. John Rangel's versatility as a jazz pianist is most evident in his work with the following artists; Nat Adderly, Marcus Printup, Ira Sullivan, Bobby Shew, Sam Rivers, Ravi Coltrane, Pharaoh Saunders, Sonny Fortune, Zane Musa, Eric Person, Justin Ray, Ernie Watts, Sam Most, Azar Lawrence, Phil Ranelin, Scott Whitfield, George Bohannon, Al McKibbon, James Leary, Dr. Art Davis, Nedra Wheeler, Tony Dumas, Dwight Trible, Carmen Bradford, James Torme (son of Mel), Blay Amboley and His Afrikan Jazz Band, Tierney Sutton, Rosemary Clooney, Willie Jones III, Ndugu Chancellor, Sunship Theus, Sherman Ferguson, Ralph Penland, Smitty Smith, Joe La Barbera, Derf Reklaw, and Billy Higgins. Some performance highlights include; Inntone Jazz Festival in Austria, The Outpost Performance Space, Carnegie Hall in NY, Royce Hall in LA, Gene Harris Jazz Festival in Idaho, the Playboy Jazz Festival, LA County Museum of Art, MOCA, Central Avenue Jazz Festival, Clearwater Jazz Festival in Florida, Ronnie Scott's in London, Jazz Café in London, North Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands, and various venues in Osaka and Tokyo. John now lives in Santa Fe New Mexico where he has recently relocated his music production studio. He a professor at Northern New Mexico College teaching piano and has started a program at Rio Grande School teaching music using Apple computers. He shared 2009 producer of the year credit from the New Mexico Music Awards last year with Luis Guerra. He has worked with many local musicians in the thriving New Mexico community of musicians; including Luis Guerra, Diego Arencon, Cathy McGill, Hillary Smith, Larry Mitchell, Bobby Shew, Cal Haynes, Michael Glynn, Glenn Kostur, Peter Amahll, Kanoa Kaluhiwa, Matt Brewer, Bruce Dunlap, John Trentacosta, Carmella Rappazzo, Marcos Cavalcante, Howard Cloud, Dimi Disanti, Pat Malone, Dave Parlato, Jon Gagan, Chris Golden, Doug Lawrence, Paul Gonzalez, Brian Wingard, Camillo Quinones, and many others.
In 2011, Kathlene moved to Santa Fe to be the accompanist for the Santa Fe High School Choral Department and the Director of the Royal School of Church Music at the Church of the Holy Faith. She also has her business, The Red-Headed Chef, but still finds time to sing with ensembles around the country including the Santa Fe Desert Chorale and the Grammy-nominated group Conspirare, with whom she is a featured soloist in their PBS special “Conspirare, a Company of Voices.” Jane Thorngren has appeared extensively as a soprano in leading operatic roles and on concert stages throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Europe, South America and Asia. Principal soprano with the Theater der Landeshaptstadt Mainz, Germany, for three years, she also appeared with many North American opera companies including Minnesota, Fort Worth, Palm Beach, Portland, Baltimore, Florentine, Columbus, Detroit, Knoxville, Calgary, and Edmonton. She has been heard in two Live from Lincoln Center broadcasts with New York City Opera, in the title role of The Merry Widow and as Musetta in the Emmy-winning La Bohème. Her extensive oratorio experience includes appearances with the symphonies of Pittsburgh, Seattle, Phoenix, Savannah, Toronto, Ottawa, Hartford and Denver, the chamber orchestras of New York, Los Angeles, Cleveland, and Stamford, as well as orchestras in Germany, The Netherlands, France, Hong Kong, and Armenia. She was the featured soprano for many seasons at the Festival de Musique Saint-Barthélemy in the French West Indies in opera and concert works. Art song recitals in Paris, Mainz, New York, Seattle, California, Iowa, Colorado, Florida and Montana have been her recent focus. She has recorded a collection of art songs on her own CD, This and My Heart. Scott Temple, French horn, began his career in Philadelphia, where he played with the Opera Company of Philadelphia, Concerto Soloists, the Penn Contemporary Players, Pennsylvania Ballet, and the Delaware Symphony. In 1979 he and his wife, bassoonist Toni Lipton, moved to New York City. For the next thirty years, Scott Temple played with many of New York’s major ensembles, notably the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Brooklyn Philharmonic, New York City Opera, Joffrey Ballet and Paul Taylor Dance Company. A resident of New Mexico since 2008, he has performed with the Santa Fe and New Mexico Symphonies, Santa Fe Pro Musica, Canticum Novum, and the Santa Fe Concert Association. Toni Lipton Temple played bassoon and contrabassoon with the Metropolitan Opera from 1979 - 2008. She has participated in various orchestral and chamber music festivals over the years, including the Grand Teton Music Festival, North Country Chamber Players, and Met Chamber Ensemble. She has served as a faculty member of the Bel Canto Music Festival in Florence, Italy. Since moving to Santa Fe she has performed with the Santa Fe Concert Association Orchestra, Santa Fe Symphony, New Mexico Symphony, Santa Fe Pro Musica, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, New Mexico Woodwind Quintet, Canticum Novum and Serenata. This summer she will be performing with the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra in their production of Alban Berg's Wozzeck.
Andreas Tischhauser, The Santa Fe Desert Chorale’s Managing Director, first joined the organization in 1997 as a singer under founding director Lawrence Bandfield. Having moved to the Southwest that same year to serve on the faculty at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, he enjoyed an active performing career in New Mexico and Colorado. During his time in the Four Corners area, Andreas held a position as Professor of Music at Fort Lewis College teaching Flute, Voice, Non-Western Music, and Music Technology. While teaching at the college, he also held principal flute positions in the San Juan and Santa Fe Symphonies. After a temporary departure from the area in 2008, Andreas was lured back to the Southwest in 2010 to assist in the restructuring of the Santa Fe Desert Chorale and, four months later, was promoted to the position of Managing Director. Dr. Tischhauser received his education from Wichita State University, the University of Colorado, the Cincinnati Conservatory, and Florida State University. Andreas was selected as a finalist in The Myrna Brown International Competition for professional flutists in 2005. His flute teachers include Brad Garner and Charles Delaney. Sarah Weiler, mezzo-soprano, has been a soloist and choral member of the Desert Chorale, Santa Fe Pro Musica, Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico, Canticum Novum, and has performed many solo works with the Santa Fe Symphony and Chorus, including the role of the Sorceress in Dido and Aeneas, the alto solos in Vivaldi’s Gloria, and selections from Beethoven’s Mass in C. Sarah is also a member of the theatre company Santa Fe Rep and most recently portrayed Catherine in their 2011 musical production of Pippin. Sarah also recently performed in the Wise Fool and Santa Fe Performing Arts’ production of Love and Emma Goldman: A Rock Opera, which premiered in Santa Fe in May 2012. Sarah is also a certified white-belt Nia instructor and teaches classes at StudioNia Santa Fe. Nia is a sensory-based movement practice that combines the dance arts, martial arts, and healing arts. She received an MBA in Arts Administration from Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati.
|
||
 |
|
|
Franz Vote has been called one of the finest conductors of his generation. Named a "singer's conductor" by reviewers, his rapport with musicians, both on stage and in the orchestra pit, elicits music-making of the highest level. Regarding his premier of Les contes d'Hoffmann at the Metropolitan Opera, one reviewer noted, "... during the curtain call, a very unusual thing happened. Usually half or more of the musicians have left the orchestra pit by the time the conductor gets to take his curtain call, and he then has to stand there and extend his gratitude to an almost empty pit. Not this time. Last night most, if not all of the musicians stayed in their spots, and what's more, they stood up and avidly applauded Franz Vote.”
Flutist Linda Marianiello has lived in New Mexico since 2009. She enjoys a thirty-five year career as soloist, chamber musician and orchestral flutist, and records for Helicon, MSR Classics, and the Bavarian Radio. Festival appearances include Bayreuth, The Deia International Festival, Salzburg, Marciana Marina, AIMS, and Aspen. As a recitalist, she has toured all of Western Europe and much of the U.S. She has taught at Brooklyn College, Colorado State University, and presented numerous masterclasses throughout the United States, Europe and in Guangzhou, China. Linda Marianiello lived in Germany for nearly a decade, where she played principal and assistant principal flute for the Bavarian State Opera and Munich Radio Orchestras. Prior to that, she was assistant principal flutist of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra.
Pianist Debra Ayers performs extensively as a recitalist with singers, instrumentalists, and chamber music ensembles including Vega string quartet, Arcadian Winds, Auros New Music Ensemble, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, Aspen Music Festival Chamber Players, Emerald City Opera, Breckenridge Music Festival, Serenata of Santa Fe and Taos Chamber Music Group. She is a member of Taos Trio, and co-founder/pianist of MONTAGE Music Society. An alumna of the University of Southern California and the University of Wisconsin, her teachers include Gwendolyn Koldofsky, Martin Katz, André-Michel Schub, Brooks Smith and John Barrows. Recordings include the critically acclaimed MONTAGE Music Society Recording, STARRY NIGHT Project…music based on visual art (MSR), and Ernst Krenek Lieder with soprano Ilana Davidson (Capriccio).
Norma Bekowies, soprano, has performed as chorister and soloist with The Desert Chorale, Canticum Novum, Santa Fe Women's Ensemble, and Santa Fe Pro Musica. She appeared as soloist in Haydn's Creation with Robert Shaw at the Blossom Music Festival and in Handel's Messiah with the New Mexico Symphony. She also participated in the Aspen Choral Institute. Norma holds a Master's degree in voice from the University of New Mexico, where she studied with Jane Snow. She taught elementary grades and vocal music in the Santa Fe Public Schools and created many musical plays in which her young students performed. Norma also taught English in Mongolia to university students and teachers for several years and has studied the traditional Mongolian "long song". Currently, Norma is a section leader in the choir of the Church of the Holy Faith in Santa Fe.
Edmund Connolly
Dr. Andre Garcia-Nuthmann has been a tenor soloist in the New Mexico area for many years. In the summer of 2009, Andre sang the tenor solos in a performance of Joseph Haydn’s “ Die sieben letzten Worte” in Eisenstadt, Austria at the Haydn Saal in the Esterhazy Palace. This concert was part of the commemoration programs in remembrance of Haydn’s 200th death anniversary. In the summer of 2007, Andre and his choir “El Coro de la Tierra Alta” participated in the Classical Music Festival in Eisenstadt, Austria celebrating Joseph Haydn’s 275th Birthday. While there, Andre was the guest soloist and his choir was “Choir in Residence.” Andre has often been featured as tenor soloist in Canticum Novum conducted by Kenneth Knight. In March of 2006 he sang the tenor solos in the Verdi Requiem with the Santa Fe Community Orchestra conducted by Oliver Present. Andre often has soloed with the Santa Fe Symphony including Haydn’s “Theresienmesse” and “Paukenmesse”, Mozart’s “Requiem”, Beethoven’s “Choral Fantasy”, Dave Brubeck’s “Fiesta de la Posada”, Bach’s “Magnificat”, “Mass in b minor”, and Handel’s “Messiah”. In 2001 he was invited by BachWorks, with Anthony Newman, director, to celebrate Bach’s birthday in Manhattan. Besides oratorio, Andre has been featured in several operatic roles including “Don Giovanni”, “Die Zauberflöte”, “The Prima Donna”, “The Bartered Bride”, “Amahl and the Night Visitors”, “Bastien and Bastienne” and has performed for the Santa Fe Opera Outreach Program and One Hour Opera. The favorite role he sang was “Lenski” in UNM Opera studio’s production of Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin” under the direction of Marilyn Tyler. His most recent role was that of the “Mad Woman” in Britten’s “Curlew River.” In summer 2002 Andre shared the stage with Kurt Ollmann in a musical homage to Leonard Bernstein. Currently, Andre is the Chair of Visual and Performing Arts at New Mexico Highlands University. He holds a doctorate in vocal performance at Arizona State University and coaches voice with Regina Rickless.
Sarah Ihlefeld just completed her third summer season with the Santa Fe Desert Chorale. She has been hailed as a young singer of great promise. She recently earned her Master of Music degree from Rice University after completing her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Southern California. Sarah has performed with the Oregon Bach Festival, Houston Bach Society, Aspen Music Festival, and the Salem Chamber Orchestra. Recent operatic roles include Dido in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas with the Santa Fe Symphony, Ramiro in Mozart’s La Finta Giardiniera, Mélisande in Debussy’s Pélleas et Mélisande, Olga in Weill’s Street Scene, and Eustazio in Händel’s Rinaldo. She also realized the role of Margaret Truman in the world premiere performance of Primiani’s Truman Project for OPERA America. A resident of Santa Fe, Sarah Ihlefeld regularly solos with the Santa Fe Symphony and Holy Faith Episcopal Church.
Christine Keightley
Bass-baritone Kenneth Knight, a native of Texas, received his B.A. degree in music theory from Yale University, where he sang in the Yale Glee Club and the Whiffenpoofs. After graduate study in voice, musicology, and conducting at the Manhattan School of Music, he toured for several seasons with the Norman Luboff Choir. He has also sung with the Roger Wagner Chorale, the Gregg Smith Singers, the Don Ellis Band, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, American Bach Soloists, and the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra Chorus. In 1987 he was chosen to be the principal cantor for papal masses at the Los Angeles Coliseum and Dodger Stadium during the visit of Pope John Paul II. In California he was director of music for eight years at St. Clare’s Catholic Church in Santa Clarita and for five years at Petaluma United Methodist Church. He is also the founding director of the Sonoma County Men’s Chorus. Now a resident of Santa Fe, Mr. Knight is the founding director of the Canticum Novum Chorus & Orchestra, and has also directed the Zia Singers and the Santa Fe Men’s Camerata.
Cecilia Leitner, soprano, has performed as a soprano soloist in the United States, Spain, China and Korea with conductors Helmut Rilling, Simon Carrington, Stephen Layton, Paul Hillier, Stephen Stubbs, Jeffrey Thomas and Nicholas McGegan. Her performances include the Oregon Bach Festival, Seattle Accademia d’Amore, Yale Schola Cantorum, Yale Voxtet, Yale Baroque Opera Project, Magnolia Baroque Festival, Interpretation of Spanish and Latin American Song, and with the American Bach Soloists Academy and Festival. Ms. Leitner received a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from Yale University, where she studied at the Institute of Sacred Music under the tutelage of James Taylor, Ted Taylor, Judith Malafronte and Simon Carrington. She completed her Bachelor’s degree at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, where she studied with Glenn Siebert. Cecilia currently performs and teaches in the Santa Fe area and continues her vocal studies under Nina Hinson Rasmussen. 
Genevieve Leitner performs and teaches guitar throughout the US and in Chile. Her prizes include: 
Stephen Lewis, baritone, is pleased to be performing with the New Mexico Bach Society! A native of Amarillo, Texas, Stephen earned a Bachelor’s degree in Music and Theology at Dallas Christian College, and a Master of Music in Choral Conducting at Texas Tech University. In addition to an extensive choral background, Stephen has also appeared in a number of music theater roles, most recently portraying Professor Harold Hill in The Music Man with Lubbock Moonlight Musicals. After four years in Lubbock, Stephen moved to the renaissance hill town of Asolo in northern Italy to study business. While abroad, he was pleased to perform in the Asolo Song Festival as a soloist and director of the festival choir. Upon completion of his MBA, Stephen then found his way to the gorgeous desert climate of New Mexico. Currently residing in Albuquerque, Stephen works for Premier Wealth Management Group. In addition to his duties there, he performs regularly with the Cathedral Choir of St. John’s Cathedral, the New Mexico Symphonic Chorus, and Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico. Stephen has been featured as a soloist with each of these ensembles, as well as with Canticum Novum.
After earning a Bachelor’s of Music Studies degree from the University of Texas at Austin, Kathlene Ritch, Soprano, moved to New York City where she sang with such noted ensembles as the New York Philharmonic, London Sinfonietta, and the Vienna Philharmonic. In 2001, she made her solo debut at Lincoln Center with the American Symphony Orchestra in Listz’s Dante’s Inferno. With that same ensemble, she recorded a live concert version of Die aegyptische Helena as Hermione opposite Deborah Voigt’s Helen.
Maxine Thévenot, born in Saskatchewan, Canada, is Founding and Artistic Director of Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico; Artistic Director of the Sangre de Cristo Chorale in Santa Fe; Director of the University of New Mexico women’s choir, Las Cantantes; is, with Edmund Connolly, one half of the duo Air & Hammers; and holds the position of Director of Cathedral Music and Organist at the Cathedral of St. John, Albuquerque, New Mexico, one of six women in the USA to hold such a position. Maxine holds degrees from the University of Saskatchewan (Bachelor of Music) and the Manhattan School of Music (Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts), where she was twice recipient of the Bronson Ragan Award for “most outstanding organist”. She is also an Associate of the Royal Canadian College of Organists and the Royal Conservatory of Music, and an Honorary Fellow of the National College of Music, London, UK. Dr. Thévenot maintains a distinguished international career as an organ recitalist having performed in many of the world's most prestigious churches and concert halls and has recorded 11 choral and organ CDs for RavenCD. She is often a visiting lecturer at universities, most recently having lectured at Cuneo Conservatory, Italy. Maxine has also contributed as a writer and photographer to several international publications. For more information please visit 
Denise Wernly is a Mezzo-Soprano from Albuquerque, New Mexico. She recently finished her Master’s Degree at the Manhattan School of Music, studying under Patricia McCaffrey. She received her Bachelor’s Degree from Northwestern University, where she performed the roles of Anna Gomez in The Consul and Gianetta in The Elixir of Love. She has also appeared as a soloist with the Northwestern University Symphonic Band and the Northwestern University Chapel Choir.
Tim Willson, baritone, a native of Greeley, Colorado, has also lived in Cleveland and New York. He was seen at the Metropolitan Opera as the mad doll-maker Spalanzani in The Tales of Hoffman, conducted by Julius Rudel, and as Wagner in Mefistofele, conducted by Mark Elder. He also appeared as the Innkeeper in the “Live from the Met” production of Verdi’s Falstaff. On the Sony/Met recording of Il Trovatore, Tim sings the role of the Messenger. Understudy assignments at the Met included Goro in Madama Butterfly and Spoletta in Tosca. He appeared as Pang in Turandot with the Tulsa Opera, Triquet in Eugene Onegin with the Santa Fe Opera, Monostatos in The Magic Flute with Opera Grand Rapids, and Benoit in La Boheme with the Sacramento Opera. With Opera North Carolina he was Gastone in La Traviata and Robot from Arcturus in Starbird. At Amato Opera in New York, Tim sang the leading tenor roles in Lucia di Lammermoor, The Tales of Hoffman, Aida, Otello, Pagliacci, Cavalleria Rusticana, and Madama Butterfly. Now a Santa Fe resident, Tim was a soloist in the Santa Fe Symphony’s performances of Dvořák’s Stabat Mater and sang the role of Satan in the Santa Fe Pro Musica’s production of Gerald Fried’s Rock of Angels as well as Pontius Pilate in their performances of J. S. Bach’s St. John Passion. He is also a docent at Las Golondrinas Living History Spanish Colonial Museum, where he appears as a hide tanner and a buffalo hunter.BIOS
