Matthew Leese is known
as a versatile baritone, conductor, director, and teacher, specializing in
early music, art song and opera. He has founded three critically acclaimed
ensembles, including the professional early music ensemble 'Gravitación'. His extensive
performing experience in the USA, New Zealand, Asia and Europe includes
numerous recital and oratorio credits, as well as lead roles in 'Dido and
Aeneas', 'l'Euridice', 'Venus and Adonis', 'Cephale et Procris', ‘The Tide’ and
‘The Telephone’. Matthew has premiered the contemporary roles of Man in 'The
Trapeze Artists' by Anthony Ritchie and Frank in 'Outrageous Fortune' by
Gillian Whitehead. CD credits include ‘Elements’ and ‘Le Stagioni’ with First
Step Records, a disc of new music by NZ composer Anthony Ritchie, and as
medieval soloist on the 2007 Norton Anthology. As a director, Matthew has led
productions of ‘The Magic Flute’, ‘Little Red Riding Hood’, ‘Venus and Adonis’,
‘Dido and Aeneas’, Bach’s ‘Coffee Cantata’ and Mozart’s ‘Impresario’, and is
known for his expertise in period stage movement and dance. Future engagements
include Guest Conductor residencies with New Zealand choirs Tudor Consort and
Renaissance Singers in August 2010, singing Lorenzo in Bellini’s ‘I Capuletti e
Montecchi’ for Hawkes Bay Opera and serving as Musical Director in the 2010
Opera Otago production of Monteverdi’s ‘L’Orfeo’. Matthew holds the MM in Early
Music from Indiana University, a GPDip in Historical Performance from the Longy
School of Music in Cambridge and a MusBHons from the University of Otago in New
Zealand. He serves on the Voice and Opera faculty at Millikin University, is
Co-Artistic Director of the New Brunswick Early Music Festival, and is pursuing
a Doctorate in Choral Conducting at the University of Illinois.
Anna's solo performances include the Strauss' Vier Letzte Lieder, Brahms Requiem, Beethoven's 9th Symphony, Mendlessohn's Elijah, Bach's St John Passion, Handel's Messiah, and Faure's Requiem. Anna won the 2004 Royal Overseas League Vocal competition, was named best overseas competitor in the same competition, has performed, Mahler's second symphony with Bernard Haitink, and Donna Anna in excerpts from Mozart's Don Giovanni with the London Mozart Players under Andrew Parrot.Anna has sung a fair amount under the baton of Canterbury-based Richard Cooke, who conducted her first performance of Richard Strauss' Four Last Songs in Canterbury Cathedral in 2007.
Operatic roles include Ilia in Mozart's Idomeneo with the Auckland Opera Studio, Female Chorus in Britten's The Rape of Lucretia, Fiordiligi in Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte and Rosalinde in Strauss's Die Fledermaus, all for the Benjamin Britten Opera School and Juliette in Gounod's Romeo et Juliette with the British Youth Opera. She has performed the role of Tamiri in Mozart's Il re Pastore at the Linbury theatre, Royal Opera House (where she made her debut at age 24) and three Mozart heroines Fiord
iligi, Countess Almaviva and Tamiri with the Classical Opera Company.In 2006 Anna performed in her first Prom concert with SCO and Norrington. With the Royal Opera House, understudied Arminda in Finta Giardiniera, Musetta in La Boheme and in January 2007 she sang the role of Michaela in Bizet's Carmen with ROH. Since then, at the Royal Opera House, Covent garden, she has performed Musetta in La Boheme, Erste Dame in Die Zauberflote and Echo in Ariadne auf Naxos.
On the concert stage Anna has sung with several of the World's most-loved singers. She peformed with Andrea Bocelli in Auckland -August 2008, and with Jose Carreras in Newcastle, Seoul and Taipei. Another highlight (Anna is an avid All Blacks fan) was performing with Dame Kiri te Kanawa in Twickenham Stadium in 2005 for Jonah Lomu's return to rugby sevens. Anna toured NZ with pianist Terence Dennis, for NZ Chamber Music Society in August 2008. UPCOMING ROLES include Tatyana for Flanders Opera and New Zealand Opera, Antonia (Hoffmann) and Fiordiligi (Cosi) for Opera Koln, and concerts with the Halle Orchestra and Mark Elder.
A 
native of Fredericton, New Brunswick, Katherine Moller completed a Bachelor of Music degree at McGill University where she performed with many ensembles including the McGill Symphony and the McGill Baroque Orchestra. Since graduating she has had the opportunity to study baroque violin with members of Tafelmusik at the Scotia Festival of Music and the Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute. A versatile musician and recipient of a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts she studied fiddling in Ireland during 2001-2002. Katherine returned to Fredericton in 2002 and began teaching violin and fiddle. She has become active in the local music scene founding and directing the NB Fiddle Camp, the Fredericton Fiddle Orchestra, the York Early Music Ensemble, Moller Music, and co-founding the Fredericton Baroque Music Festival. She performs regularly with Symphony New Brunswick, the Atlantic Sinfonia, the Seasons Baroque Ensemble, a Celtic duo with guitarist Chris Mercer, and a six-piece Celtic Ensemble. Katherine currently resides in Harvey, NB, and continues teaching violin and fiddle in both the Harvey and Fredericton areas.
Matthew Wright is a native of Maryland. There, he attended the Peabody Conservatory, Baltimore, and studied classical guitar with Ray Chester and lute with Mark Cudek. Upon moving to Cambridge in 1999, Matt began concentrating on the lute, studying with Douglas Freundlich at The Longy School of Music, and subsequently receiving an MM in Early Music Performance. He has performed as a solo lutenist and continuo player for various ensembles and soloists throughout the Eastern U.S. He is also former choir director of Church of the Incarnation, Cambridge, where he incorporated rare sacred works for lute and voice. To enhance the repertoire of lute and voice, Matt has arranged several works that transcend tradition. Also an accomplished electric bass player, he does freelance work in rock bands, as well as teaching the instrument. As a teacher of guitar, he currently has students at Riverside Theatre Works, Hyde Park, and Indian Hill Music School, Littleton. (Photo by Teresa Tam)
Benjamin Hayek grew up in Warrenville, IL and was a member of the
Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra, with whom he toured Japan in 1992. The
recipient of a Talented Artist Scholarship, he received his Bachelor's of Music
in cello performance while studying with Laurien Laufman and Suren Bagratuni at
the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Shortly after
completing his Master's of Music degree, also at UIUC, he began work on his
Doctorate of Musical Arts with a particular focus in Baroque performance
practice under the direction of famed harpsichordist Charlotte Mattax.
Mr. Hayek is presently involved in the research and creation of a new edition
of cello sonatas by Italian Baroque composer, Giuseppe Jacchini. Following his
growing interest in the viola da gamba repertory, he continues to pursue his
study of the instrument through his participation in a variety of consort music
ensembles as well as in private study with renowned Chicago viola da gamba
player, Craig Trompeter. Mr. Hayek is an active performer and a member of
several early music groups in the central Illinois area, including the Baroque
Artists of Champaign-Urbana and Concerto Urbano. Along with Dr. Charlotte
Mattax, Mr. Hayek is also a principal founding member of the Baroque trio Arte
Bella, with whom he performed at the prestigious Bloomington Early Music
Festival in June 2007. He is on the faculty of Eastern Illinois University in
Charleston, IL, where he teaches applied cello, chamber music, and general
music courses.
Maureen Murchie was born in the United States but was raised in
Sendai, Japan, where she attended Japanese elementary and secondary schools.
Upon graduation from her Japanese senior high school, she was accepted into the
distinguished University Scholars Program at Baylor University, where she
received her Bachelor of Arts degree (magna cum laude) and Master of
Music degree under the instruction of violinist Bruce Berg. She is currently
pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts in violin performance at the University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she studied violin with Peter Schaffer,
viola with Rudolf Haken and Masumi Rostad, and Baroque performance practice
with Charlotte Mattax, Zachary Carrettin, and Ben Hayek. Her doctoral research
is on the history of the Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra in her hometown of
Sendai, Japan. Widely sought after as an orchestral, chamber, and solo player on
violin and viola, Ms. Murchie has held leadership roles in numerous central
Illinois ensembles, including the UI Symphony, UI Opera, Baroque Artists of
Champaign (BACH), Champaign-Urbana Symphony, Opera Illinois, Peoria Symphony, Sinfonia
da Camera, and The Prairie Ensemble. She is a founding member of Houston-based
Zephyr Ensemble, with whom she toured Japan in 2007, and her recent performances
of David Baker’s Heritage Trio with
Eastern Illinois University faculty trio have received international acclaim.
She has held teaching positions at McLennan Community College in Waco, TX,
Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, IL, and as a graduate assistant in
both the music and Japanese departments at the University of Illinois. In addition to her work on the Baroque
violin, she is also proficient on the treble and tenor gamba and participates
in viol consort sessions held weekly in Urbana.
NewBEMF Chamber Singers 2010
Julie Bosworth, soprano Julie
is a recent graduate of Millikin University, where she received her Bachelor of
Music degree in Music Education. This fall, she will attend the
Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University to pursue a Master's degree
in Vocal Performance. Her favorite roles include Konstanze
(Die Entführung...), Ginevra (Ariodante), Belinda (Dido and Aeneas), Blanche de
la Force (Dialogues of the Carmelites) and Rosalinde (Die Fledermaus).
Nicholas
Ertsgaard, tenor Nicholas
just completed his junior year at Millikin University as a Vocal Performance
major. From Salem, Oregon, Nicholas's performance experience includes Oronte in
‘Alcina’, Chevalier in ‘Dialogues of the Carmelites’, and a sailor in ‘H.M.S.
Pinafore’. He is delighted to be performing the role of Oberon in the NewBEMF production of ‘The Fairy
Queen’.
Heather Fehl, soprano Heather
just finished her junior year at Millikin University, where she studies voice
with Cynthia Oeck. She sang with the Millikin University Choir, Tudor Voices,
and Opera Workshop. Heather is from Arnold, Missouri. Her past opera
experiences includes ‘Dialogue of the Carmelites’ and this past year she had
the great pleasure of playing Alcina in Handel's ‘Alcina’. She is looking
forward to playing the role of Moth in the NewBEMF production of ‘The Fairy
Queen’. Samantha Gambaccini,
mezzo-soprano
Kevin
Jones, tenor Kevin
recently completed his junior year at Millikin University, where he is a double
major in Music Education and Vocal Performance. This is his third year
participating in the New Brunswick Early Music Festival and is proud to be the
official festival Teaching Fellow. A native of Monticello, Illinois,
Kevin’s opera theatre credits include Mssr. Vogelzang in ‘Der Schauspieldirektor’,
Father Confessor in ‘The Dialogues of the Carmelites’, Oberto in ‘Alcina’, and
Aeneas in the NewBEMF 2009 production of ‘Dido & Aeneas’. Kathryn Martinson,
soprano Kathryn recently
completed her junior year at Millikin University, working to complete a degree in
Vocal Performance. At Millikin, she sings with the University Choir, Tudor
Voices, and Opera Workshop. Currently from Des Moines, Iowa,
Kathryn's opera experiences include ‘Venus and Adonis’ and Morgana in
‘Alcina’. She is looking forward to performing as Hippolyta in the NewBEMF
production of ‘The Fairy Queen’.
Dallas Norton,
mezzo-soprano Dallas
recently completed her junior year at Millikin University, working to complete
a triple major in Vocal Performance, Music Business, and Commercial Music.
Originally from West Des Moines, Iowa, Dallas's performance experiences include
Mother Marie in ‘Dialogues of the Carmelites’, Bradamante in ‘Alcina’, Prince
Orlofsky in ‘Die Fledermaus’, and Octavian in ‘Der Rosenkavalier’. She is
looking forward to performing the role Titania in the NewBEMF production of
‘The Fairy Queen’.
