Melvir Ausente, baritone (first summer season) currently resides in Los Angeles where he sings professionally with the LA Master Chorale and St James Episcopal Church Choir. Currently in his 2nd season with the LAMC, he has been a featured soloist in Handel’s Messiah Sing-Along Concert and Merideth Monk’s Night. Melvir has also performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, El Paso Opera and El Paso Chamber singers. Melvir sang with the world-renowned Philippine Madrigal Singers, performing and competing throughout Europe and Asia, and winning the 2007 European Gran Prix for Choral Music in Arezzo, Italy. He also sang with the World Youth Choir in its Summer and Winter Sessions in 2006. Melvir holds a Bachelor’s degree and Diploma in Creative Performance in Choral Conducting from the University of the Philippines.

---

Cameron Beauchamp, bass (fourth summer season) is in demand throughout the country as a soloist and chamber musician. Currently living in Austin, he regularly sings with Conspirare, Boston’s Blue Heron, Miami’s Seraphic Fire, New York’s Roomful of Teeth, Atlanta’s New Trinity Baroque, and is co-director of the Austin based Convergence Vocal Ensemble. Cameron has been an artist in residence at Stanford University, the University of Utah, the University of North Texas, Williams College, College of the Holy Cross, Harvard University, the University of Oregon, Principia College and Mass MoCA. Cameron has recorded on Harmonia Mundi, Pro Organo, GIA, Edition Lilac, Klavier and PBS. He has performed on two Grammy® nominated albums and one Downbeat award winning album. Cameron received his musical training at the University of North Texas, where he studied voice and jazz trombone.

---

Marjorie Bunday, mezzo-soprano (first summer season) is a singer known for her impressive range and musicianship, and described by critics as warm and pure-toned, honey-toned, refined, and a wonderful alto. She has been a vocal fixture in Washington, DC for many years and is active in a variety of recording projects, choir work, and church music, most notably with Washington Bach Consort, Opera Lafayette, and Woodley Ensemble choruses. She is also an ensemble member of Hesperus and Armonia Nova, and cantor at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Though most critically acclaimed as a soloist in early music performance, her solo repertoire also includes contemporary music, and she particularly enjoys performing works of living composers. Marjorie is excited to spend the summer singing with the Desert Chorale.

---

Dr. Andrew Crane, tenor (first summer season) serves as Director of Choral Activities at East Carolina University in Greenville, NC. He performs regularly as a soloist in the choral/orchestral repertoire, having appeared with such groups as the Los Angeles Bach Festival, Lansing Symphony Orchestra, Grand Rapids Bach Festival, Utah Valley Symphony, San Bernardino Symphony, and many others. As a professional chorister, he was a member of the Redlands Choral Artists, and also performed Haydn’s Die Schöpfung with the Carnegie Hall Festival Chorus under the direction of Helmuth Rilling. Crane recently sang the role of Silango in the world premiere recording of Manuel Garcia’s opera Le Cinesi, on the Harmonicorde label. Andrew holds BM and MM degrees from Brigham Young University, and the DMA from Michigan State University, where he studied voice with Richard Fracker of the Metropolitan Opera.

---

Ronald Lee Downs, bass (eighteenth summer season) has sung in various professional choral ensembles for more than 30 years, and currently sings with the Choir of Christ Church, Georgetown, DC, Conspirare, and the Simon Carrington Chamber Singers. Ron actively researches, collects and studies unaccompanied choral repertoire of the Renaissance and Contemporary eras. With a personal library approaching 3000 scores and scholarly editions, he maintains communication with composers such as Tuivo Tulev, Alexander Shchetynsky, and others to seek out their unpublished works for inclusion into the library, and for wider dissemination to interested choral conductors. His diverse work in music engraving, editing and publishing includes such projects as the first modern edition of Franceso Urio's Te Deum in D Major, and a fully edited and engraved performing score of the 6 voice antiphon Gaude Gloriosa Dei Mater by Thomas Tallis.

---

Paul D’Arcy, tenor (third summer season) maintains an active career as a professional choral singer, soloist, and music educator. Originally from New York’s Capital District, Paul now resides in Austin, TX, where he regularly performs with the five time Grammy® nominated Conspirare, ensemble viii, the Texas Early Music Project, Americantiga, the Texas Choral Consort, the Bach Cantata Project at the Blanton Museum, and the Victoria Bach Festival. Paul also performs with Vox Humana of Nashville, and the Tucson Chamber Artists. Paul is co-founder and co-director of Convergence, a dynamic professional vocal ensemble. He currently teaches voice at Westlake High School in Austin.

---

Estelí Gomez, soprano (second summer season) graduated from Yale University in 2008, and is currently a master’s student in voice at McGill in Montreal, studying with Sanford Sylvan. Estelí has performed with Roomful of Teeth, Conspirare, Yale Schola Cantorum, Simon Carrington Chamber Singers, Ensemble Caprice, Bernard Labadie’s Violons du Roy, and Daniel Taylor’s Theatre of Early Music. Recent and upcoming engagements include Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with Trinity Wall Street, Clomiri in Opera McGill’s production of Handel’s Imeneo, soprano solos in the Zelenka Missa Votiva with the Montpelier Chamber Orchestra, concerts in Kansas City with the Simon Carrington Chamber Singers, and Roomful of Teeth’s annual residency at Mass MoCA in the Berkshires.

---

Dianna Grabowski, mezzo soprano (First Summer Season) described as glamorous and glowingtoned by the Dallas Morning News, has been featured with such groups as the Orpheus Chamber Singers, Dallas Bach Society, Texas Vocal Arts Ensemble, and Orchestra of New Spain. Her opera roles have included the title role in Offenbach’s La Périchole (Opéra du Périgord in France), Diane in Rameau’s Zéphyre, and Céphise in Rameau’s Pygmalion (Dallas Bach Society). Dianna recently had the honor of performing excerpts from La Périchole for the French ambassador to the United States and other dignitaries. She is a founding member of the professional ensemble Armonia Celeste, specializing in music of the Italian Renaissance and Baroque. With Armonia Celeste, Dianna was featured in a PBS documentary presented by Early Music Television entitled Culture Wars of Venice and the Birth of Public Opera.

---

Phillip Haynie, baritone (fourth summer season) holds both a Bachelor of Music and Master of Music in Vocal Performance with a choral conducting concentration from Lee University, where he served as assistant conductor to the University Chorale and was a featured soloist in such works as Mozart’sRequiem, Handel’s Messiah, Holsinger’s Easter Symphony and Bach’s Cantata No. 78. Phillip has been a chorister and featured soloist for the Chattanooga Choral Arts Society and the Carolina Concert Choir in works such as Schubert’s Mass in G, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, and Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem. Most recently, Phillip has performed with the Voices of Peace in their debut concert and a solo recital for the Asheville Lyric Opera. Mr. Haynie now resides in Hendersonville, North Carolina and is currently serving as choral conductor for East Henderson High School.

---

Sarah Ihlefeld, mezzo-soprano (third summer season) 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. Ms. Ihlefeld 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. Ms. Ihlefeld 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, Ms. Ihlefeld regularly solos with the Santa Fe Symphony and Holy Faith Episcopal Church.

---

Jeffrey Manns, tenor (sixth summer season) is currently the Director of Music at Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Wilmington, Delaware. Jeffrey is a sought-after soloist and chorister, having sung with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Louisville Chamber Ensemble, and Indianapolis, St. Louis, Columbus (GA), and Flint (MI) Symphony Orchestras. In addition, Jeffrey recently performed with the Tucson Chamber Artists and Princeton Pro Musica (NJ). Jeffrey, a graduate of Ball State University, has previously served on the voice faculties of Goshen College, and Indiana University/ Purdue University of Fort Wayne, as well as Artistic Director of the Fort Wayne Männerchor/ Damenchor. In April, Jeffrey conducted the Delaware premiere of K. Lee Scott’s Requiem with members of the Delaware Symphony.

---

Gitanjali Mathur, soprano (third summer season) finished her higher studies in Voice Performance at Indiana University, Bloomington, along with minors in Mathematics and Computer Science. She has quickly established herself as a master of early music, early opera, chamber music, and oratorio. Gitanjali has sung the role of Serpina in Pergolesi’s La Serva Padrona and the role of Gabriel in The Creation by Haydn. She made her solo Carnegie Hall debut with Helmuth Rilling in J.S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion in 2007. A full time member of Conspirare, she is on several of their Grammy-nominated recordings conducted by Craig Hella Johnson. Additionally, Gitanjali sings with Seraphic Fire in Miami, conducted by Patrick Quigley. In May 2009 & May 2010, Ms. Mathur had the honor to be nominated in the Best Singer category for the Austin Critics Table Awards.

---

Scott Mello, tenor (first summer season) has been praised for his winningly lucid voice (WCLV) and being sonorous and alive to text (Cleveland Plain Dealer). Highlights of the 2010/11 season include performances of Monteverdi’s Vespro della Beata Vergine 1610 with Apollo’s Fire, Bach and Telemann with Dallas Bach Society, Handel’s Messiah with Orchestra Nova San Diego and Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, and debuts with American Bach Soloists in performances of Bach’s Magnificat and Bach Collegium San Diego singing Aeneas in Purcell’s Dido & Aeneas. Highlights of previous seasons include performances of Brahms’s Liebeslieder and Neueliebeslieder Waltzer with the Mark Morris Dance Group, the complete Bach Motets with Bach Sinfonia, the title role in Handel’s Jephtha with American Opera Theater and The Play of Daniel at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

---

Jeb Meuller, house and stage mana (sencond summer season) is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Choral Conducting at the University of Miami. Previously, he earned the Master of Music degree at The University of Texas and his Bachelor of Music Education at Texas Tech University. Mueller taught high school choir in the Houston, Texas area for six years. His choirs earned superior ratings and were twice chosen the Overall Best Choir at state and national choral festivals. In 2007, he was an HEB Excellence in Education state semifinalist and Katy Independent School District’s Outstanding Teacher. Mueller created the Camerata Concert Series at Austin’s First English Lutheran Church and worked as the Assistant Conductor for Houston’s Central Presbyterian Church. He currently conducts the University of Miami Cantilena and Chapel choirs and sings at Key Largo’s Ocean Reef Chapel.

---

Drea Pressley, mezzo-soprano (eighth summer season) earned her vocal degree at Loyola University New Orleans. She has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, New Orleans Opera Association, Operafestival di Roma, Loyola Opera Theatre, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, and the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra. She enjoys success singing with the Los Angeles Master Chorale, both as a chorister and soloist. Drea is also a studio musician in Los Angeles and can be heard as part of the choir on film scores that include X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Earth, The Sorcerer‘s Apprentice, The Rite, Cowboys and Aliens, and Avatar. She is a proud member of the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA) and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). This past February Drea performed with Santa Fe New Music in their production of David Lang’s The Little Match Girl Passion.

---

John Proft, bass (second summer season) makes a career as a chorister and chamber musician. Based in Boston, he regularly performs with Harry Christophers in the Handel & Haydn Society, and also sings with the Boston Early Music Festival, Blue Heron Renaissance Choir, Exsultemus, and Philovox. He also sings with Austin’s Conspirare and Miami’s Seraphic Fire. A Texas native, John began singing professionally while studying at the University of North Texas with choirs in the Dallas area. As a soloist, he appeared twice with the Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum singing Monteverdi and Schütz. He has twice been accepted to sing under Ton Koopman in Carnegie Hall’s Professional Training Workshops, specializing in Bach and Handel choral works. With Conspirare, John appeared in the Company of Voices PBS special and the subsequent Grammy-nominated recording on Harmonia Mundi.

---

Dr. Keely J. Rhodes, mezzo soprano (first summer season) received a Bachelor of Music from Oberlin Conservatory and her Master and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the University of Texas in Austin. In addition to the honor of serving as a Fulbright scholar to Italy during 2006 - 2007, she was the recipient of the Austin Critic’s Table Award for Best Classical Singer - Female, in both 2005 and 2006. Dr. Rhodes taught choirs at the University of Modena-RegEmilia, and at the Accademia Militare of Modena, Italy, and now runs a private voice studio in Northern Virginia. She performs as a soloist and collaborative artist for choral, chamber, and symphonic groups and as an opera singer in the United States, Europe, Central America and South America. Keely will be participating in a West Coast concert tour this fall.

---

Kathlene Ritch, soprano (third summer season) After earning a Bachelor’s of Music Studies degree from the University of Texas at Austin, Kathlene moved to New York City where she sang with such noted ensembles as the New York Philharmonic, London Sinfonietta, Vienna Philharmonic, and the American Symphony Orchestra. 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. She now spends most of her time as a personal chef, but still continues to sing with ensembles around the country including the Grammy-nominated group Conspirare, with whom she is a featured soloist in their PBS special Conspirare, a Company of Voices.

---

Meredith Ruduski, soprano (second summer season) has graced international tages as well as those in her home state of Texas. In addition to performing in Europe, she has performed in a number of productions with the Gilbert & Sullivan ociety of Austin, the University of Texas, and Austin Lyric Opera. Meredith received her Master’s Degree in Music Performance at the University of Houston under the utelage of soprano Cynthia Clayton and her Bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Texas at Austin, where she studied with tenor William Lewis. eredith’s career goals are diverse and include performing in baroque opera, early music, contemporary works, and musical theatre. In addition to singing with SFDC, he sings with the Texas Early Music Project, La Follia, Seraphic Fire, and dabbles in the recording industry.

---

Melanie Russell, soprano (third summer season) and native of New Orleans, holds the Artist Diploma in Voice from Yale University, as well as performance degrees and a French minor from Loyola University New Orleans and Centenary College of Louisiana. She made her NYC debut in August 2008 with Opera Omnia’s The Coronation of Poppea (Virtue/ Damigella) and performed the role of Phoebe in Rousseau’s The Cunning Man with Dorian Bandy and Les Petits Violins in Ithaca, NY. Recent solo experiences include Handel’sIsrael in Egypt, Fauré’s Requiem (Carnegie Hall solo debut), Mozart’s Requiem,Vivaldi’s Gloria, Mozart’s Exsultate,Jubilate, and Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass. Opera and theater credits include Die Fledermaus (Adele), The Magic Flute (Queen of the Night/ Pamina), The Sorcerer (Aline), Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (Belle), and The Music Man (Marian Paroo). Melanie is employed with the professional choir at Trinity Episcopal Church Wall Street in New York City where she continues to explore a variety of creative interests.

---

Gabrielle Tinto, soprano (second summer season) a native of Syracuse, New York, began her vocal studies with the renowned soprano Helen Boatwright. Ms. Tinto received her B.M. in Vocal Performance from Northwestern University and her Master in Music degree from the University of Miami. A versatile solo and chamber artist, Ms. Tinto has performed a wide range of music including Baroque oratorio, French cabaret, comedic operetta, and contemporary art song. Ms. Tinto has appeared as a soloist with the New World Symphony in performances of Steven Reich’s Daniel Variations and Drumming. An active ensemble singer, Gabrielle has performed across the country with Seraphic Fire and Spire Ensemble. Ms. Tinto currently resides in Brooklyn, New York.

---

Dr. Matthew Tresler, tenor and assistant (twelfth summer season) is director of choral and vocal music at Irvine Valley College, in Irvine, California. An active ensemble singer, he sings with Conspirare, Seraphic Fire, Bach Collegium San Diego, and Spire Ensemble. As a soloist, recent performances include Bach’s Mass in B Minor in Texas and Arizona, Magnificat in California, Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 in Mexico and Hawaii. Matt has performed with the New World Symphony, Flagstaff Symphony, Arizona Bach Festival, Victoria Bach Festival, Early Music Hawaii, Master Chorale of South Florida, and Miami Bach Society. He holds a B.M. in voice from Northern Arizona University and M.M. and D.M.A. degrees in choral conducting from the University of Miami.

---

Mitzi Westra, mezzo-soprano (thirteenth summer season) received her B.A. degree in music and religion from Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; her masters and doctoral degrees were completed at the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities. While in Minneapolis, she spent four years performing, touring, and recording with the Dale Warland Singers, and was alto section leader for the DWS Chamber Singers. Since moving to Indianapolis, she has appeared as a soloist with Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra, and New Century String Quartet, as well as performing frequently on the University of Indianapolis Faculty Artist Series. She currently teaches in the vocal department at University of Indianapolis, as well as being the alto section leader and Treble Choir director at Second Presbyterian Church, recording for Aireborn Studios in Zionsville, and maintaining her own private studio.

---

Dana Wilson, tenor (fourth summer season) earned his education at the Loyola College of Music and Fine Arts in his native New Orleans. He now performs throughout the US, and internationally in opera, operetta, oratorio, in recital, and as a chamber music soloist. While enjoying the operatic stage, Dana’s passion is collaborative work in the choral setting. As a solo artist he has performed with the Festival de St. Louis Orchestra in Paris, the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia, the Delaware Symphony, the Choral Arts Society of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Singers and Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Vox Amadeus Ensemble, the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Pensacola Symphony. Mr. Wilson’s performance credits include Handel’s Messiah with The Helena Symphony, the Roasted Swan in Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Lehigh University Philharmonic, and Honegger’s King David with The Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia.

---

Jonathan Woody, bass-baritone (second summer season) is a member of New York’s Trinity Wall Street Choir and performs as chorister and soloist across the U.S. and Canada. Most recently, Jonathan sang the role of the Sorceress in Benjamin Britten’s realization of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas with Opera McGill. During the 2009-2010 season with Opera McGill, Jonathan was also seen as Claudio in Handel’s Agrippina and as Escamillo in Peter Brook’s La Tragédie de Carmen. Jonathan has been seen as well in productions with the Washington National Opera Company, the Washington Concert Opera, Opera Lafayette and the Wolf Trap Opera Company. Other ensembles include Studio de Musique Ancienne de Montréal, Les Violons du Roy and La Chapelle de Quebec, the Theatre of Early Music, the Washington Bach Consort, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Cathedral Choral Society and the Bach SinfoniaWashington, DC.

---