MUSICIANS — BERKSHIRE BACH
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BERKSHIRE BACH
VOICE

Erin Brittain, Soprano, has been described by critics as having an “exquisite,” “evanescent,” and “expressive” voice. She has sung for audiences in the U.S. and Europe and performed over 30 roles in opera, operetta, and musical theater. In recent years her solo and choral work has included performances with the Princeton Festival, Opera Fayetteville, American Symphony Orchestra, Bard Music Festival, MasterVoices, and the New York Virtuoso Singers, in venues including Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and the Kaufman Music Center. She recently appeared as a soloist in a performance of Ernest Bloch’s Sacred Service with MasterVoices, drawing praise from reviewers for her “crystal soprano [that] ascends gorgeously...like a voice of purity.” She is a founding member of The Perspective Collective, a chamber ensemble that has commissioned, developed, and performed art song and mini-opera projects. The group recently premiered works by Stephanie Leotsakos and Sunny Knable, and will bring both productions to the U.K. in 2023. She earned her B.A. from New York University and her M.A. from the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins, both in classical voice. This is her first appearance with Berkshire Bach.

Teresa Buchholz, Mezzo-Soprano, a graduate of the Yale University Opera Program, Indiana University, and the University of Northern Iowa, is one of the most versatile artists on the stage today. She spent several summers as a young artist with the Santa Fe Opera, the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, and the Natchez Opera, and enjoys success in the realms of opera, art song, and oratorio. She recently performed as a soloist for a staged version of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with Gulfshore Opera (FL), Bach’s Magnificat with Voices of Ascension, and Berlioz’s Les nuits d’été with the Bard College Orchestra. She has performed roles as diverse as Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd with Opera Roanoke, Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus with Asheville Lyric Opera, the title role in Giulio Cesare in Egitto with Opera Roanoke, Verdi’s Requiem with the New Jersey Choral Society, Mozart’s Requiem with the Tulsa Symphony, the Stamford Symphony, and Voices of Ascension (NYC), and Brahms’s Alto Rhapsody at the Bard Music Festival. In 2013 she was the winner of the female division in the Nico Castel International Master Singer Competition. This is her sixth appearance with the Berkshire Bach Ensemble.

Margaret Dudley, Soprano, has established herself as a force to be reckoned with in the national concert arena. Acclaimed for her “sparkling voice” and “full-toned soprano,” she is a core member of Boston’s renowned Lorelei Ensemble, touring the nation and collaborating with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, A Far Cry, and Cantus. Recent engagements include soprano soloist in Haydn’s Missa in tempore belli and Vivaldi’s Gloria at Carnegie Hall, Handel’s Messiah at Alice Tully Hall, Poulenc’s Gloria with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with the Hudson Valley Singers, the premier of Julia Wolfe’s Fire in My Mouth with the New York Philharmonic, and soprano soloist with the Choir of Trinity Wall Street. Additionally, she is in demand as an ensemble singer, performing with the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, the Crossing, Oregon Bach Festival, New York Virtuoso Singers, and New York Choral Artists. This is her second appearance with the Berkshire Bach Ensemble.

Sean Fallen, Tenor, is an active opera and oratorio soloist in New York City, the U.S., and worldwide. Recent operatic roles include Alfredo in La Traviata, Danilo in The Merry Widow, Cassio in Otello, Nemorino in The Elixir of Love, Ariel in the world premiere of The Rape of the Lock, Goatherd in the world premiere of My Undying Love, and Almaviva in The Barber of Seville. He has been the featured tenor soloist numerous times at Carnegie Hall, most recently in Lili Boulanger’s Psalm 130, in the Bach Magnificat, Haydn&#39;s Paukenmesse, Kurt Weill’s The Road to Promise, and Handel’s Messiah (a specialty). He has sung the latter from coast to coast, from Carnegie and Avery Fischer Halls in NYC to the American Bach Soloists in California. Other opera roles include Ferrando in Così Fan Tutte, Ramiro in La Cenerentola, Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Lippo in Street Scene, and Pong in Turandot. This is his second appearance with the Berkshire Bach Ensemble.

Nicholas Hay, Bass, has an active performance career as an ensemble singer with many choral and operatic organizations in the U.S. He started singing at a young age and joined the American Boychoir, previously one of the country’s premier music schools and a training ground for professional musicians. He has appeared with Opera Philadelphia, Baltimore Opera Company, Dell’Arte Opera Ensemble, Amore Opera, New York Lyric Opera Theatre, the Peabody Opera Theatre, Chelsea Opera, and the Opera Festival of New Jersey. An active choral singer and chamber musician, he sings regularly with the Riverside Choir in New York City, New York Virtuoso Singers, Opera Philadelphia, The Crossing, Bard Festival Chorale, and other choral ensembles. This is his first appearance with The Berkshire Bach Society.

Paul Holmes, Bass, is a versatile choral singer in New York City, singing with the Bard Festival Chorale, the Church of the Holy Trinity in Manhattan&#39;s Yorkville neighborhood, Park Avenue Synagogue, the New York Virtuoso Singers, and the Composers Choir. He has performed as part of the Metropolitan Opera Chorus, the Concert Chorale of New York, and the Clarion Choir on its Grammy-winning 2019 recording The Prison, and as a backup singer at the Met Gala in 2018. He graduated from Yale University with a B.A. in Music in 2013. Shortly after completing his studies, he competed on NBC’s The Sing-Off holiday special with the electronic a cappella group a.squared. Paul, an avid bread baker and brewer, enjoys his time between gigs working on home projects. This is his first appearance with The Berkshire Bach Society.

Chad Kranak, Tenor, has an active operatic career in the U.S. and abroad and has been described as a powerful-voiced tenor with stunning high notes. He has appeared with the St. Petersburg Opera and Long Island Lyric Opera in roles such as Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, and Aenaes in the Ars Musica production of Dido and Aeneas. In addition to traditional repertoire, he has premiered new works, including Alex Weiser’s opera State of the Jews, Felix Jarrar’s The Ulster County Songbook, and Paula Kimper’s Leaves of Grass: Whitman. This season he is appearing in Handel’s Messiah with the Sequoia Symphony, singing the role of Rinuccio in Regina Opera’s production of Gianni Schicchi, and performing in a recital of music by Paul Bowles at Lincoln Center. This is his second appearance with the Berkshire Bach Ensemble.

Alex Longnecker, Tenor, has an active performance career singing in styles ranging from opera to recital repertoire, commercial singing, and musical theatre. His professional choral credits include the Oregon Bach Festival Chorus, The New Consort, Bard Festival Chorale, New York Virtuoso Singers, Dallas Bach Society, and the Verdigris Ensemble. He has sung operatic roles at the Tanglewood Music Center and with multiple regional companies. He made his Lincoln Center solo debut with Yale Schola Cantorum and Juilliard 415 in Telemann’s Tag des Gerichts, and recently was a soloist in Schumann’s Dichterliebe, He has performed with the Blue Hill Bach Festival and sung Handel’s Messiah and Bach’s St. Matthew Passion and St. John Passion with the Dallas Bach Society and the Collegium Singers of the University of North Texas. He holds a B.A. in Music Education from Iowa State University, an M.A. in Vocal Performance from the University of North Texas, and an M.A. in Musical Arts in Early Music Voice from Yale University, where he performed with the eight-voice group Yale Voxtet. This is his first appearance with Berkshire Bach.

Thomas McCargar, Baritone, has been described by critics as having a “gripping” voice and as singing with “calm fluidity.” He began his career touring internationally with Chanticleer before moving to New York City, where he has established himself as an in-demand soloist and ensemble singer. He has been a featured soloist at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center as well as the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. As an ensemble singer he is a longtime member of the acclaimed Choir of Trinity Wall Street and has sung with Seraphic Fire, Musica Sacra, Voices of Ascension, and Yale Choral Artists, among others. He has toured internationally with TENET and the American Soloists Ensemble, and has participated in Bay Area lecture recitals with Concordian Dawn. He appears on the recordings of contemporary works that went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music. Also a conductor, he is the Director of Compline and the St. Paul’s Chapel Choir at Trinity Church Wall Street, and recently conducted the Choir of Trinity Wall Street and members of NOVUS NY for their Last Words concert. This is his third appearance with Berkshire Bach.

Sarah Nordin, Mezzo-Soprano, has been praised by Opera News for the “clear beauty” of her voice and “spot-on comic timing.” Known for her interpretations of Rossini and Mozart, she has been featured in recent seasons as Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia with Knoxville Opera, the title role in La Cenerentola with Geneva Light Opera, Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, and Dorabella in Cosi fan Tutte. She has appeared with Opera Tampa, Opera Orlando, St. Petersburg Opera, and Winter Opera of St. Louis, among others, and performed roles including Carmen, Charlotte in Werther, Isabella in L’Italiana in Algeri, Maddalena in Rigoletto, Nicklausse in Tales of Hoffmann, Adina in L’elisir d’amore, Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, and Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus. She has performed at the Caramoor Festival, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Central City, and Opera North and in six productions with The Metropolitan Opera, including three Met Live in HD Broadcasts and a tour with The Met to Japan. This is her first appearance with the Berkshire Bach Ensemble.

Margaret O’Connell, Mezzo-Soprano, enjoys a versatile career in opera, musical theater, oratorio, and new music. She made her Carnegie Hall debut under Leon Botstein and the American Symphony Orchestra in Strauss’ Feuersnot and her Berlin debut as Fricka in Das Rheingold, the first opera in Wagner’s Ring Cycle. She has been a featured performer at Bard Summerscape, Aspen Music Festival, Songfest, Center for Contemporary Opera, La Mama Theater in New York City, and American Opera Projects, working with Leon Botstein, Julius Rudel, John Harbison, Martin Katz, and other prominent music directors. Her portrayal of Alyce in Tom Cipullo’s Glory Denied with New York OperaFest was described as “fiercely committed.” Other roles include the title character in Carmen, Olga in Eugene Onegin, Dulcinée in Don Quichotte, Nicklausse in Les contes d’Hoffman, Adalgisa in Norma, Florence in Albert Herring, and Dido in Dido and Aeneas. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Violin and Voice Performance from Oberlin College Conservatory of Music and a Master of Music degree in Solo Voice from McGill University.

Indian-born soprano Sherezade Panthaki is an international soloist who began her musical education at an early age. Following intensive study and after earning top distinction as a young pianist, she turned to singing and found a more personal and expressive means to connect with audiences. Since her singing debut she has become a recognized star in the early music field, and has a particular affinity with the music of J.S. Bach. In recent seasons she has performed the Mass in B Minor, Magnificat, the Christmas Oratorio, various cantatas, and other works with groups ranging from Bach Collegium Japan, to the Boston Baroque, to Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra in Toronto, and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s. She holds an Artist Diploma with top honors from the Yale School of Music and the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, where she was the winner of multiple awards, including the prestigious Phyllis Curtin Career Entry Prize. She earned a Master’s degree from the University of Illinois, and a Bachelor’s degree from West Virginia Wesleyan College.

Katherine Cecelia Peck, Soprano, enjoys a diverse performance career ranging from opera to recitals to chamber music. She performs and records new works regularly and is co-founder of the Madison New Music Festival. Equally at home with early music, she is a frequent oratorio soloist and choral singer, was a 2019 finalist in the Handel Aria Competition, and a soloist with the Bard Music Festival, New York Virtuoso Singers, New York MasterVoices, and the Stamford Symphony Orchestra, among others. Originally from Wisconsin, she holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Master of Music from Boston University. This is her third appearance with Berkshire Bach.

Elizabeth Picker, Alto, is a seasoned operatic and choral performer, appearing regularly throughout the U.S. as a soloist and ensemble singer. A graduate of Yale University, where she was a member of Schola Cantorum under the baton of Simon Carrington of the King’s Singers, she has sung in opera and concert series with New York City Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Musica Sacra, the New York Philharmonic, Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity, Bard Summerscape and Music Festival, among many others, often in world premiere productions. She is a staff singer with the famed choir at New York’s Church of St. Ignatius Loyola and frequently joins other esteemed New York choirs, including those at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, St. Bartholomew’s Church, and Temple Emanu-El. She can be heard on numerous studio recordings and in TV and film productions, most recently in City on a Hill with Kevin Bacon, PBS’s Now Hear This, and The Tefila Project with Israeli singer-songwriter David Broza. This is her first appearance with The Berkshire Bach Society.

Nicholas Prior, Tenor, is a professional choral artist based in New York City who works as a singer, arranger, composer, clinician, and adjudicator. He sings with such groups as the New York Virtuoso Singers, the Bard Chorale, and Essential Voices USA, and is on the voice staff at St. Bartholomew’s Church and Temple Emanu-el. He holds a M.A. in Music and Music Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and has conducted groups including the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, the Canticum Novum Singers of New York City, the Albuquerque Boy Choir, the NM Kodály Institute, the UNM Children’s Chorus, SCMEA Honor Choir, and the NMACDA All- State Elementary Chorus. He is currently composing a catalog of new choral music for developing voices following many years teaching in the choral classroom. This is his first appearance with Berkshire Bach.

Dr. George B. Stauffer, Speaker, is Distinguished Professor of Music History and Dean Emeritus of the Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University. He served as University Organist and Music Director at Columbia University from 1977-1999, and is known internationally as a scholar and writer on the music and culture of the Baroque Era with particular emphasis on the life and works of J.S. Bach. Educated at Dartmouth College, Bryn Mawr College, and Columbia University, he has published eight books on Bach and Baroque music and contributed to many standard reference works including The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Collier’s Encyclopedia, Early Music, Bach-Jahrbuch, among others. In addition, he has written for leading publications including The New York Times, The New York Review of Books, and The Weekly Standard and has lectured at leading universities in the U.S. and abroad. He has presented pre-concert talks at important concert halls in the U.S. and in February 2023 provided commentary for the organ recital featuring Renée Anne Louprette at the Unitarian Universalist Meeting House in Housatonic (MA). He is currently writing a volume on Bach’s “Brandenburg” Concertos for Oxford University Press. This is his fifth appearance with Berkshire Bach and his second with James Bagwell providing commentary on works by Bach and Vivaldi.