Meet the Women of Lorelei
Beth Willer |
Noted for her “directorial command, technical expertise” and work with women's vocal ensembles, Founder and Artistic Director Beth Willer has led Lorelei Ensemble since 2007 to become recognized as one of Boston's up-and-coming vocal ensembles. Committed to the expansion of repertoire for the advanced women’s vocal ensemble, Ms. Willer has collaborated with composers from the U.S. and abroad, delivering numerous world, North-American and U.S. premières, while working to expose lesser-known works of the Renaissance and Baroque periods for women’s voices. Ms. Willer currently holds positions as Assistant Conductor of the Radcliffe Choral Society at Harvard University and conductor of the Boston Conservatory Women’s Chorus. Additionally, she serves as the Repertoire and Standards Chair for Women’s Choruses for the Massachussetts American Choral Directors Association.
A candidate for the D.M.A. in conducting at Boston University, Ms. Willer holds degrees from Boston University and Luther College, studying with Ann Howard Jones, David Hoose, Bruce Hangen and Weston Noble. During the summer of 2007 she studied conducting with Mark Shapiro of Mannes and counterpoint with Phillip Lasser of Juilliard at the European American Music Alliance in Paris, France. As a member of the Boston music scene, Ms. Willer has served as conductor of the New England Conservatory Youth Chorale and Youth Camerata, the Walnut Hill School Chorus, and as conductor and vocal music staff at the Boston Arts Academy. Additionally, Ms. Willer has conducted the Boston University Concert Choir and Women's Chorale, and has served as a teaching fellow with the Boston Children's Chorus. An active church musician, Ms. Willer directed choirs at First Church in Wenham, Massachusetts from 2006-2008 and has sung with the BU Marsh Chapel Choir. Previous to her career in Boston, Ms. Willer served as a conductor of the Memorial High School Choirs and the Chippewa Valley Youth Choirs in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
Margot Rood |
Soprano Margot Rood brings her luminous tone and superb musicality to repertoire ranging from baroque opera to American musical theatre. Ms. Rood’s appearances on the concert platform have delighted audiences and garnered critical acclaim from national journals. Most recently, the soprano made her Carnegie Hall debut in the world premiere of Shawn Jaeger’s Letters Made of Gold, under the direction of Dawn Upshaw. In fall of 2010, she made her Boston concert stage debut as the Jungfrau in Schumann’s Das Paradies und die Peri with Marsh Chapel Choir at Boston University, followed by her Boston Symphony Hall debut as soloist in Handel’s Israel in Egypt with the Handel and Haydn Society, under the baton of Harry Christophers. Other recent solo appearances include: the world premiere in New York City of Quick Study- a song cycle for soprano and chamber ensemble by Matthew Ricketts, soprano soloist in Beethoven's Mass in C with Harvard Summer Chorus, and as soprano soloist in Handel’s Dixit Dominus with Handel and Haydn Society. She performs regularly with the Lorelei Ensemble (Mo. Beth Willer), Handel and Haydn Society (Mo. Harry Christophers) and Music at Marsh Chapel (Mo. Scott Allen Jarrett).
The soprano’s 2010-2011 season on the operatic stage featured a return to St. Petersburg Opera to sing Fredrika Armfeldt in Sondheim’s A Little Night Music and a return to Green Mountain Opera Festival to sing Despina in Mozart’s Così fan tutte and cover Frasquita in Bizet’s Carmen. The 2009-2010 season saw Ms. Rood as Little Red Riding Hood in Sondheim’s Into the Woods with St. Petersburg Opera, followed by appearances as Dorinda in Handel’s Orlando with Green Mountain Opera Festival.
Ms. Rood’s 2011-2012 engagements include her debut with Opera Boston covering the role of Hero in Berlioz’s Beatrice et Benedict, her debut with Boston Modern Orchestra Project performing Vessel by Kati Agócs, singing the world premiere of Tony Solitro’sTime in Eternity in Philadelphia, performing as soloist in Bach’s St. John Passion with Boston’s Back Bay Chorale, and singing the world premiere of a new chamber work by Christopher Trapani in New York City. www.margotrood.com
Sonja Tengblad |
Soprano Sonja DuToit Tengblad is a versatile performer, with credits spanning the Renaissance era through the latest music of the 21st century. Recent highlights include Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro as Susanna, Haydn's Die Shöpfung as Eva, and appearances as the soprano soloist for Brahm’s Ein Deutsches Requiem with the National Lutheran Choir and members of the Minnesota Orchestra, Bach's B Minor Mass with Boston's Back Bay Chorale, and John Rutter’s Requiem at Carnegie Hall.
A lover of new music, Ms. Tengblad premiered the role of Maria in Diego Luzuriaga's El Niño de los Andes with VocalEssence of Minnesota, and was the soprano soloist for the American premiere of Siegfried Matthus' Te Deum for 5 soloists, symphony orchestra, choir and boy's choir, and for the world premiere of Carol Barnett's The World Beloved, A Bluegrass Mass (available through Clarion recordings). Ms. Tengblad also appeared in a concert celebrating the 80th birthday of composer Dominic Argento where the Minnesota Star Tribune reported her to have given "the most affective performance of the evening". This November, she will sing a piece by NEC professor Kati Agócs with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project.
An active ensemble singer, Ms. Tengblad performs with the 5-time Grammy-nominated ensemble Conspirare out of Austin, Texas; the Oregon Bach Festival Chorus; Vox Humana out of Nashville, Tennessee; Boston’s Lorelei Ensemble, and the Handel and Haydn Society Chorus. She will join the Handel and Haydn Society’s Vocal Outreach Quartet this fall as their new soprano.
Emily Culler |
Emily Culler, soprano. Master of Music, Boston University, 2006. Bachelor of Music, Samford University, 2002. Graduate performance studies certificate, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London, England, 2002. Emily is an active soloist and chorister in the Boston area specializing in Medieval, Baroque, and New music, appearing most recently with the Lorelei, Juventas!, and Marsh Chapel Choir and Collegium ensembles, and the Connecticut Early Music Festival. Since 2007, Emily has served as Outreach, Alumni Relations, and Development Officer for the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, a world-renowned summer music program for gifted musicians of high-school age.
Anna Ward |
Hailed for her "flexible yet radiant tone," Anna Ward has become an active artist throughout New England. This season Ward has been featured with the Raylynmor Opera, Coro-Dante, Copley Singers, Equilibrium, and Seraphim Singers, in addition to continued work with a number of professional choral ensembles. She has appeared on operatic stages as Lisette (La Rondine), Mabel (Pirates of Penzance), Phyllis (Iolanthe), Barbarina (Le Nozze di Figaro), 2nd Lady (the Magic Flute), and Despina (The Three Little Pigs). Ward premiered the role of Lily in The Year of the Serpent with Juventas! Opera Project and enjoys presenting recital music with living composers throughout the year. www.annawardsoprano.com
Kimberly Soby |
Praised for her sincere musicianship and heartfelt performances, soprano Kimberly Soby brings an exquisite balance of beauty and intelligence to her vast repertoire. A champion of new music, Ms. Soby has premiered and performed works with the New England Conservatory Percussion Ensemble, the New England Conservatory Contemporary Ensembles, New Music Brandeis, University of New Hampshire and also performed with the Callithumpian Consort during the celebration of composer Steve Reich’s music in the fall of 2007. While at the University of Connecticut, she was a featured soloist in the world premiere of Quiet Pride, a suite for jazz orchestra by legendary bassist Rufus Reid. Ms. Soby was the 2009-10 NEC/Opera Boston Opera Fellow and continues to perform with them as an outreach artist and a chorus member. A native of Connecticut, she is a graduate of the University of Connecticut and the New England Conservatory.
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Clare McNamara
Clare McNamara is an increasingly sought-after Boston-area soloist and chamber musician. Clare is a new member of Lorelei Ensemble and a founding member of the medieval vocal ensemble The Broken Consort. Recent engagements have included studying and performing medieval repertoire with Benjamin Bagby and members of Sequentia at the Vancouver Early Music Festival; solo Telemann cantatas with Exsultemus & Newton Baroque as part of their acclaimed Harmonisher Gottesdienst series; a fellowship at Yale’s Norfolk Chamber Music Festival under Simon Carrington; three Fringe concerts at the Boston Early Music Festival; and assistant-directing Ensemble Trinitas in a large-scale performance of the Cantigas de Santa Maria. Clare is also a chorister and frequent soloist at the Church of the Advent in Beacon Hill, where her solo credits range from Telemann to 20th-century composer Kenneth Leighton. Operatic credits include Athamas in John Eccles’ Semele (Harvard Early Music Society) and the role of Corindo in the upcoming production of Antonio Cesti’s Orontea (Longy School of Music). She graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University and is currently finishing her Master’s degree in Early Music at the Longy School of Music, where she studies with Laurie Monahan.
Stephanie Kacoyanis |
Stephanie Kacoyanis is an accomplished performer of opera, oratorio and musical theater. Recent roles include Lucy Steele in the world premiere of Sense and Sensibility: The Musical (Wellesley Summer Theatre), Third Lady in The Magic Flute (MetroWest Opera), Dritte Zofe in Der Zwerg (OperaHub), Juno in Semele (Harvard Early Music Society), and Marcellina in The Marriage of Figaro (Indian Hill Opera). In concert, she has appeared as alto soloist with Newton Choral Society, Brookline Chorus, Canto Armonico (under Simon Carrington), Cambridge Concentus (under Joshua Rifkin), the Accademia d'Amore for Baroque Opera (Seattle) and the Newburyport Choral Society. She has also performed with the College Light Opera Company and at the North Shore Music Theatre. Upcoming engagements include covering the role of Madame Sosostris in Opera Boston's production of The Midsummer Marriage. Ms. Kacoyanis was a semi-finalist at the 2010 Rochester Oratorio Society Classical Idol Competition and the winner of the Kanellos Award at the 2009 Greek Women’s University Club Music Competition. She holds degrees from Wellesley College (English) and Boston University (M.M., Voice).
Christina English |
Mezzo-soprano Christina English made her Carnegie Hall debut in Weill Recital Hall performing Malcolm Peyton's Songs from Walt Whitman. Active on the operatic stage, recent engagements include Ruggiero (Alcina), Meg (Little Women), Dorabella (Cosi fan tutte), and Marcellina (Le nozze di Figaro). She is heard each Sunday morning on WERS 88.9 FM with the professional choir at First Church Boston, regularly performs with Boston-based Lorelei Ensemble, and is Alto Artist in Residence with Metropolitan Chorale of Brookline. Her 2011-12 season includes performances with Lorelei Ensemble, Metropolitan Chorale, Opera Boston, and Cape Cod Opera.
Ms English was awarded Second Prize in Voice in the 2009 Grieg Festival Young Artists Competition in Florida, performing selections from Grieg's Haugtussa. She is a sought after interpreter of contemporary works, and was invited by composer John Heiss to perform his Songs from James Joyce in New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall, as well as by Mohammed Fairouz to sing his Three Shakespeare Songs at the Kaufmann Center. Recital repertoire includes song cycles by Xavier Montsalvatge, Robert Schumann, Igor Stravinsky, and Erik Satie. She has been a Young Artist with the Janiec Opera Company at Brevard Music Center and the Seagle Music Colony. Additional training and performance includes OperaWorks, Operafestival di Roma, MetroWest Opera, Riverside Theatreworks, and Crittenden Opera Studio.
Emily Marvosh |
Emily Marvosh, mezzo soprano, is an active ensemble singer in the Boston area, regularly performing with Boston Lyric Opera, Opera Boston, the Handel and Haydn Society, L’academie, and Boston Baroque, in addition to being a member of the Handel and Haydn Society outreach quartet. As a soloist, she has performed with Boston Lyric Opera, the Back Bay Chorale, Longwood Opera and Intermezzo Chamber Opera; she is also a frequent soloist with the Marsh Chapel Choir Bach Cantata Series. Forays into new music include the role of Meg in the New England premiere of Mark Adamo's Little Women and world premieres with Juventas New Music Ensemble and the Lorelei Ensemble. Recent concert performances include solo appearances with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, Harvard University, the Providence Singers, and Seraphic Fire and Firebird Chamber Orchestra. In 2010 Miss Marvosh performed with the Oregon Bach Festival under the direction of Helmut Rilling, the Berkshire Choral Festival, and the White Mountain Bach Festival. She holds degrees from Central Michigan University and Boston University.
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Teri Kowiak
A graduate of the Longy School of Music's Early Music Program, Teri Kowiak specializes in the historically-inspired performance of medieval, renaissance and baroque music while also performing a wide range of styles including classical, jazz, traditional Irish/Celtic, and premiering new compositions. She is a featured vocalist on the premier solo album Redline by bagpiper Michael McNutt (of Cu Dubh) and has performed with Cappella Clausura, the Seraphim Singers, Ensemble 44, the Harvard Early Music Society and the choir of the Church of Our Saviour in Brookline, MA. She is a founding member of El Fuego Spanish Early Music Ensemble.
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Brooke Larimer
Hailed for her “convincing physical realization of character” (Boston Musical Intelligencer) and “big voice” (BentNailOpera.wordpress.com), mezzo-soprano Brooke Larimer can be seen this season with Opera Boston covering the role of Ursule in Béatrice et Bénédict and as Alto Soloist in Haydn’s Mass in Time of War with Choral Art Society of the South Shore. Past performances with Connecticut Lyric Opera, The Center for Contemporary Opera, Brookline Chorus, Harvard Pro Musica, BMOP, Commonwealth Opera and Raylynmor Opera. Brooke is thrilled to be a part of Lorelei Ensemble for the 2011-2012 season! www.brookelarimer.com