La Bonne Chanson

Alyssa Anderson, mezzo-soprano

Mezzo-soprano Alyssa Anderson's vocal repertoire spans the ages from Baroque masterpieces to contemporary experimental music, with a focus on American and twentieth-century artsong and chamber music.

A native of Falconer, NY, Alyssa received her BM in Vocal Performance summa cum laude from the State University of New York, College at Fredonia, and she completed her MM in Performance summa cum laude at the University of Minnesota. She was recently awarded the Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Minnesota for her thesis on the solo vocal music of American composer Henry Cowell and a recital performance of a number of his unpublished, and virtually unknown, songs for voice and piano.

While working towards her graduate degrees, Alyssa peformed numerous leading roles with the University of Minnesota's Opera Theater, including the Komponist in Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos, Giulietta in Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann, and Margaret Elliott in the Minnesota premiere of Eric Hermannson's Soul by Libby Larsen.

As a founding member of the Twin Cities based contemporary music ensemble RenegadeEnsemble, Alyssa has performed premieres of several new works for voice with the ensemble including Peter Billam's Tres Casidas del Divan del Tamarit, Ton Bruynel's Le Jardin, Zac Crockett's Dance 1, and Eric Schwartz'sThe Owl and the Pussycat.

Recent performances include the title role in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas and Gyorgy Ligeti's Sippal, dobbal, nadihegeduvel for mezzo-soprano and four percussionists. Alyssa has appeared as a soloist with the Minnesota Oratorio Society, the Kenwood Symphony Orchestra, the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra, Twin Cities Lyric Theater, the RenegadeEnsemble, the University of Minnesota's New Music Ensemble, the University of Minnesota's Bach Festival, the Jamestown Choral Society, the Fredonia College Choir, and Fredonia's Festival Chorus.

In 2004 and 2007, Alyssa won first place in the Minnesota District Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions; other awards include the Metropolitan Opera Nations Council Audions Encouragement award, the McGough Opera Award, the Ted Mann Scholarship, and the David F. Evans Performance Award.

Wendy Wegenke Berglund, soprano

Holding vocal performance degrees from Lawrence Conservatory of Music and the University of Minnesota, Wendy Wegenke Berglund is a soprano recitalist performing in the Twin Cities.  She has studied and coached with Karen Leigh-Post, Jean del Santo, Wendy Zaro Mullins, Margo Garrett, Karl Paulnack, Will Graham and Audrey Stottler and is a current student of Janet Gottschall Fried.  For the last six years Wendy Wegenke Berglund has maintained a voice studio at North Central University in Minneapolis.

Naomi Karstad, soprano

Naomi Karstad has been praised for her "powerful and expressive singing". She has performed as soloist with numerous local and regional orchestras - the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Youth Symphony, Bach Society, Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Southwest Minnesota Orchestra, Dakota Valley Symphony Orchestra and the Mississippi Valley Orchestra.  She sang the role of Margaret in the Minnesota premier of Libby Larsen´s opera "Eric Hermannson´s Soul" with the University of Minnesota Opera and has sung in the chorus of the Minnesota Opera. As a recitalist she has performed with Naxos recording artist Douglas Riva in songs of Enrique Granados and has appeared on the American Composer´s Forum Salon Concert as well as many other venues in the Twin Cities. Theater credits include appearances with the Minnesota Fringe Festival, Theatre Exchange, Theater in the Round Players, Opera 101, and the Lake Pepin Players.  Naomi has been featured on WCAL and Minnesota Public Radio.  She has created a one-woman show about Minnesota native and Metropolitan Opera legend, Olive Fremstad.

Matthew McCright, pianist

American pianist Matthew McCright has performed extensively throughout the United States and Europe as piano soloist and chamber musician. He has thrilled audiences and critics alike with an imaginative repertoire that spans both the traditional and a wide range of contemporary works. He has premiered numerous new pieces, many written for him, and has collaborated with composers Pauline Oliveros, Terry Riley, Paul Dresher, Augusta Read Thomas, Michael Gordon, Mary Ellen Childs, Julia Wolfe, Evan Ziporyn, Mark Anthony Turnage, Kirsten Broberg, Laura Caviani, Alvin Lucier, Linda Buckley and Judith Lang Zaimont among many others.

McCright currently resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota and is a member of the piano faculty of Carleton College while maintaining an active freelance schedule as one of the Twin Cities most sought after pianists. Recent projects include the 2009 CD release of Second Childhood on the Innova Records and an upcoming disc of the piano works of Minnesota composer Gene Gutchë on Centaur Records.  He is curator of the Open Doors music series, partnering performing artists with charitable causes and is housed at Saints Martha and Mary Episcopal Parish, where he is pianist-in-residence for the series. He will also launch The Composer’s Project, a nationwide program featuring emerging composers.

He has been featured in articles in the NewMusicBox magazine, Tutti magazine, and Voice.  He has performed on the Music in a Great Space series (Pittsburgh), Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra’s Engine 408: Music of our Time series, Young Artist Showcase (Thiel and Westminster Colleges), Schubert Club, as well as programs for the American Composers Forum. The recipient of numerous awards, grants, and prizes, McCright’s festival participation includes Bang on a Can at MassMOCA, Printing House Festival of New Music (Dublin), Late Music Festival (UK), Hampden-Sydney Chamber Music Festival, Kodály Institute, Perilous Night, Fringe, Spark Festival of Electronic Music, Seward Arts, Duquesne University's Summer Music Institute, Music 2000, CCM Village Opening, Minnesota Composers Alliance, and was accepted to the Chautauqua Music Institute. A member Mu Phi Epsilon, American Music Center, American Composers Forum and Chamber Music America, he has performed in collaboration with a variety of ensembles including RenegadeEnsemble, dal niente, Gypsy Hocket, Zeitgeist, Taipei Trio, Tempus Fugit, New Sound, New Century Piano Duo, Dixie Five, Composer's Ensemble, Westminster Triptych, WC Jazz Ensemble, and with countless chamber music groups.

McCright completed his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Piano Performance from the University of Minnesota, under the tutelage of Lydia Artymiw. In addition to private study in New York City with Lisa Moore, he also holds a Master of Music Degree in Piano from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati studying with Richard Morris and earned his Bachelor of Music Degree in Piano Performance, Magna Cum Laude, from Westminster College with Nancy Zipay DeSalvo. He has coached with some of the world’s leading artists such as Jorja Fleezanis, Burt Hara, Ronald Feldman, Anne Epperson, Sandra Rivers, Amernet Quartet, Pridonoff Duo, Daniel Shapiro, James Tocco, Joanne Polk, and Jeremy Denk. For more information please visit: www.matthewmccright.org

Brandon Miller, baritone

Brandon Miller is a performer and teacher from Blacksburg, Virginia.  He completed his Bachelor’s degree at Florida State University, where he was awarded the prestigious undergraduate Presser Award.  Upon graduation Brandon received a Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholarship to study music in Freiburg, Germany for one year. 

Brandon made his operatic debut in 2005 as Mercurio in Cavalli’s La Calisto with American Opera Theatre in Baltimore.  In 2006 Brandon sang the role of Father in the Orlando Opera Educational Outreach Program’s Hansel and Gretel in addition to singing with the opera chorus and the Orlando Opera Studio Artist program. 

Brandon recently completed his Master’s degree at the University of Minnesota, where he sang the role of Junius in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia in fall 2008.   In the spring of 2009 Brandon sang the role of Figaro in The Marriage of Figaro for Minnesota Opera’s outreach program program as well as singing in the chorus of the mainstage production of The Barber of Seville.

Kristin Morant, soprano

At New York City’s Carnegie Hall in April 2009, Kristin Morant “brought the audience to its feet” (Standard-Examiner Utah) with her crystalline voice and sparkling interpretation of the “Bell Song” from Lakmé.  Morant has had similar success across the country with performances of Glière’s Concerto for Coloratura Soprano at the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and at Utah's Weber University.  Upcoming appearances will take Morant to Chicago’s Symphony Hall in 2011.  Morant’s opera performances have included Queen of the Night in Mozart’s Magic Flute with Twin Cities Lyric Theatre, and with the University of Minnesota Opera Theatre: Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos, Elisa in Il rè pastore, Olympia in Les contes d’Hoffmann and Cécile in the midwestern premiere of Susa’s The Dangerous Liaisons.  On the Minnesota Opera’s Midwestern Tour, she appeared as Barbarina in Le nozze di Figaro and the Narrator Bat in the premiere of Carla Alcorn’s The Cat Who Walks by Himself.   With the Minnesota Opera, she has also appeared in Les contes d’Hoffmann, Street Scene, Die Zauberflöte.  She will appear in La Traviata with Minnesota Opera in 2011.  Roles premiered include the Priestess Pythia in Shirley Mier’s The Oracle at Delphi and Marcantonio in the Minnesota Opera’s premiere of Dominick Argento’s Casanova’s Homecoming.  Morant enjoys a warm relationship with Utah’s Weber University, where she has performed Carmina Burana on two occasions.  Other concert performances include the treble role in George Crumb’s The Ancient Voices of Children with The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and Rose-in-Bloom from The Rose of Persia with the Gilbert and Sullivan Very Light Opera Company.

Kristin Morant has been the recipient of the Schuessler Vocal Fellowship, the Schubert Club Special Opportunities Grant and the Minnesota State Arts Board Career Opportunities Grant.  She earned her Master of Music degree from University of Minnesota under the tutelage of Barbara Kierig.  

 

Noelle Noonan, soprano

Noelle Noonan, soprano, is a member of several national honor societies for academics and the arts.  She graduated summa cum laude from West Virginia’s Bethany College. Ms. Noonan studied French language and culture at La Sorbonne in Paris where she graduated with a Diplôme de la langue française.  She was also a voice student at the Conservatoire National de Région de Boulogne-Billancourt where her studio instructor was soprano Liliane Mazeron.  She graduated from SUNY Fredonia with an M.M. in Vocal Performance in May 2003.  While at Fredonia, Ms. Noonan performed the role of Lady Billows from Britten’s opera Albert Herring in Opera Scenes 2003, performed operatic arias with the College Symphony as a Concerto Competition Winner, and was frequently a featured soloist with both the university and numerous regional ensembles.  Currently, Ms. Noonan is pursuing a DMA in Vocal Performance at the University of Minnesota where she has been a Graduate Assistant in both the Voice and Choral divisions.  She portrayed the role of Mozart’s Countess Almaviva in the 2006 production of Le nozze di Figaro.  She is a soprano section leader and voice instructor at Saint Olaf Catholic Church in Minneapolis, and also maintains an active private voice studio.  During the summer of 2008, Ms. Noonan spent five weeks in Berlin, Germany as a research fellow through the Checkpoint Charlie Foundation and one week in New York City through the U of M’s Graduate Research Program.  She also performed as a guest artist with the Kenwood Symphony Orchestra, and with the Sieur Du Luth Summer Arts Festival in Duluth. During 2008-2009, she was a research fellow of the Institute for Global Studies as a part of the United Sates Department of Education’s FLAS program through which she researched the art songs of Giuseppe Verdi.  Last fall, she appeared as the Female Chorus in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia with the University of Minnesota.  Recent performances include the Rutter Requiem with the Oratorio Society of Minnesota, and arias and scenes as part of Opera Arriva’s summer festival in July.A two-time winner of the Masters Concerto and Aria Competition, Ms. Noonan will be performing Berlioz' Les Nuits D'été as a part of the Winner's Gala Concert in 2011.

Bill Pederson, tenor

Minnesota tenor, Bill Pederson, holds a BM in Vocal Performance from the University of Minnesota where he studied with Clifton Ware, Glenda Maurice and Wendy Zaro-Mullins. Along with being cantor/section leader at the Church of St. Louis King of France, in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Bill has performed with the Minnesota Chorale, the Ensemble Singers of VocalEssence, The Minnesota Bach Society , Consortium Carissimi, and Ensemble Polaris.

Jonathan Ten Brink, baritone

Jonathan Ten Brink is an exciting young baritone “possessing considerable agility” (Grand Rapids Press). He is equally comfortable on the operatic and concert stages and capable of singing both the baritone and bass-baritone repertoire.

Since moving to the Twin Cities in 2006 he has been a featured soloist with the Minnesota Orchestra; Minnesota Chorale; Bach Chamber Players of St. Paul; Oratorio Society of Minnesota; Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra; and Minnesota Bach Society. His concert work ranges from Bach’s St. Matthew Passion to Orff’s Carmina Burana and includes the Requiems of Durufle and Mozart as well as Mendelssohn’s Elijah and an award winning performance of Handel’s Messiah with the Calvin College Oratorio Society which was broadcast on NPR and PBS stations across the country. His Opera credits include singing “Alfesibeo” in the North American premiere of Gli amore d’Apolle e di Daphne under the musical direction of Paul O’Dette; “Tarquinius “in The Rape of Lucretia; “Belcore” in L’elisir d’amore;”and ”Zarastro” in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte . A frequent collaborator, Jonathan currently sings with the St. Paul based early music Rose Ensemble.

In addition to maintaining a private studio, Jonathan currently teaches voice at North Central University. He has previously held positions at Concordia College, the University of Minnesota, and Bowling Green State University where he received his Masters of Music. He is a doctoral candidate in the studio of Phillip Zawisza at the University of Minnesota.



 

Julian Ward, pianist

Pianist Julian Ward moved to Minneapolis in 1998 to begin graduate studies in accompanying and vocal coaching with Margo Garrett and Karl Paulnack at
the University of Minnesota.  Since then, he has enjoyed work as a collaborative pianist and vocal coach in the twin cities area.  He has served as a staff pianist with the Utah Opera, Las Vegas Opera Theater, and Chautauqua Opera; and since 2002 has worked with the Minnesota Opera, preparing mainstage productions, as well as working with the resident artists, and educational programs.  Mr. Ward has also maintained ties with the University of Minnesota, and has assisted with musical preparation for several University Opera Theater productions.



Wendy Zaro-Mullins, soprano 

A native born Californian, Wendy Zaro-Mullins has performed to audiences in Europe, Taiwan, and South and North America where critics have hailed her performances as "gripping" with "amazingly powerful vocals" which include a "lustrous robust sound" displaying a "simple, almost effortless, approach."

Zaro-Mullins' concert work includes solo appearances with symphonies throughout the country and abroad. Most recently, Wyoming audiences heard her sing the Verdi Requiem with the Wyoming Symphony and Chorus. She was been featured in Mahler's Second Symphony with the Wichita Symphony and Chorus, and Brahms’ German Requiem with the University of Missouri-Columbia Symphony and Chorus. Numerous appearences with the St. Joseph Symphony and Chorus of Missouri have led to performances of Britten's War Requiem, Verdi's Requiem Mass, and Barber's Summer of Knoxville, 1915. Zaro-Mullins premiered an American debut of Gorecki's Symphony No. 3 with the University of Kansas Symphony Orchestra as well as a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. While a guest of the Paraguayan National Symphony and Orchestra she performed Mendelssohn's Psalm 42 and numerous operatic arias. Minneapolis audiences have heard Zaro-Mullins sing Barber's Summer of Knoxville, 1915 with the Kenwood Orchestra as well as performances of operatic arias with the Symphony of the Lakes.

At home on the opera, music theatre, and concert stages, Zaro-Mullins' credits include San Francisco Opera. American Opera Center, and Eugene Opera. Roles performed by Zaro-Mullins include Fiordiligi, in Cosi fan tutte, Susanna in Susanna, Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Belinda in Dido and Aeneas, Mimi in La Boheme, Mrs. Nolan in The Medium, Pitti-sing in The Mikado, and Olga in The Merry Widow. Performing in the musical theatre genre, Zaro-Mullins has been featured in the roles of Lady Thiang in The King and I with the Eugene Musical Theatre, Maria and Antonia in The Man of La Mancha, with the Coachlight Dinner Theatre in New York, and Iris in The Tempest at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angelas. She has performed for several seasons with the Sacramento Music Circus in California.

Her chamber music includes international recitals with chamber series, encompassing Italy, Taiwan, South America and the USA, presenting the traditional and contemporary vocal repertoire. Zaro-Mullins' versatility can also be heard in the early music genre. For several years, she has performed with the Oregon Baroque Ensemble and with the Spencer Baroque Consort of Kansas. Zaro-Mullins is presently a member of the Minneapolis-based octet, The Trapp Singers, where she performs the music of Bach.

A scholar and performer, Zaro-Mullins received her doctorate from the University of Oregon in vocal performance and pedagogy, completing her dissertation on the Jugendlieder of Alban Berg. This extensive research led to a premier CD recording of the complete Jugendlieder as well as The Seven Early Songs of Berg. Zaro-Mullins has taught on the faculties of the University of Oregon, Oregon State and Lane Community College in Eugene, and at the University of Kansas. She is presently on faculty at the University of Minnesota and at the North Central University in Minneapolis.

Zaro-Mullins earned her bachelor and master degrees from the University of Southern California. She attended the Juilliard School and the Conservatorio di G. Verdi in Milan, Italy. She was a member of the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera Workshop where she received extensive training in musical theatre performance. Zaro-Mullins adjudicates nationally at vocal competitions and conducts master classes on interpretation and vocal technique throughout the country. Her major teachers and coaches included Daniel Ferro, Gwendolyn Koldofsky, Exine Bailey, James Miller, Margaret Schaper, Natalie Limonik and Esther Andreas.