Recital Overview
American Tapestry explores the evolution of American vocal music. From early hymns and folk songs to 19th-century parlor music and contemporary art song, this recital celebrates the voices, styles, and cultures that have shaped America’s unique musical identity—honoring its past while imagining its future.
When?
Sunday, December 7th, 2025 at PS21 Center for Contemporary Performance in Chatham, NY
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE: https://ps21chatham.org/event/bard-graduate-vocal-artist-program-2-dec7/
Who are we?
We—Madelin, Benjamin, Tim, Imani, and Kyeongji, our pianist—are students at the Bard College Conservatory of Music in Annandale-on-Hudson, NY. We are members of the Graduate Vocal Arts Program.
IMANI OLUOCH VAP ‘26: Kenyan-Tanzanian American mezzo-soprano Imani Oluoch is a versatile artist with eclectic origins. She holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. While at UNC-Chapel Hill, she performed as The Knowledge of God in Hildegard von Bingen’s Ordo Virtutum, Fortuna from Claudio Monteverdi’s L'incoronazione di Poppea, and Mother in Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel.
While at Bard Conservatory of Music, Imani has performed as a soloist in The Kurtag Festival and Broadway Revue. She also has performed scenes from Strauss II's, Der Zigeuenerbaron and von Weber's Euryanthe. In 2026, she will perform as Amelia's Friend in Menotti's Amelia al ballo and Pinenello in Puccini's Gianni Schicci. Imani was also a youth division finalist of Opera Ebony’s 2025 Benjamin Matthews Vocal Competition.
Imani is a second year student of the Graduate Vocal Arts Program at the Bard Conservatory of Music where she studies under Michaela Martens.
TIM WIDNER VAP ‘26: Bass-baritone Tim Widner has performed in concerts, operas and recitals in California as well as upstate New York. In Fall of 2024, he began his graduate studies at Bard Conservatory and has since appeared in Bard’s Broadway revue alongside Stephanie Blythe, as well as a winter cabaret also starring countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo.
This spring, he will appear as Amelia’s husband in Menotti’s Amelia al Ballo. Other operatic stage experience includes Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro, the Forester in The Cunning Little Vixen, Papageno in The Magic Flute, the father in Hansel and Gretel, and Antonio in Le nozze di Figaro. He has sung in many opera excerpts, such as Golaud in a scene from Pelléas et Mélisande, Enrico in the Act 2 duet from Lucia di Lammermoor, and Rangoni in the Act 3 duet from Boris Godunov. He is also passionate about outreach, and hopes to bring opera and art song to a broader, more diverse audience. At Bard, Mr. Widner is a student of Lucy Fitz Gibbon.
MADELIN MORALES VAP ‘26: Noted for her “sensitively sung” (Classical Voice North America) performances, Cuban-American mezzo-soprano Madelin Morales believes music is the most powerful storytelling tool.
In 2025, Madelin was a Studio Artist at Central City Opera, where she was recognized with the Lew Cady Memorial Award for artistic excellence. Madelin also made her Northern Dutchess Symphony Orchestra debut as the “Broadway Gala” mezzo soloist. In January, Madelin looks forward to taking part in Carnegie Hall’s SongStudio.
Madelin won First Place at the 2025 Carolyn Bailey Argento Competition, and received an Encouragement Award at the 2024 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition Connecticut District. She is a 2023 Schmidt Undergraduate Competition winner, and a 2019 U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts.
Madelin is an alumna of Tanglewood Music Center (2024) and Music Academy of the West (2023). A graduate of the Eastman School of Music, she is pursuing her Master of Music at Bard Conservatory.
BENJAMIN TRUNCALE VAP ‘26: Tenor Benjamin Truncale, from Malverne, NY, is a versatile performer whose artistry spans opera, oratorio, art song, and musical theatre. Guided by a deep love of text and storytelling, he aims to bring expressive sincerity and poetic sensitivity to every performance.
This past summer, Benjamin was a Vocal Fellow at Tanglewood Music Center, where he sang the role of Le Petit Vieillard in Ravel’s L’Enfant et les sortilèges and was the tenor soloist in Bach’s Lutheran Mass in G Major, in addition to other chamber and recital appearances.
This season at Bard, where he is pursuing his master’s degree, Benjamin will sing the roles of L’Amante in Menotti’s Amelia al Ballo and Gherardo in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi. Last season, he sang Fauré’s Shylock Suite with The Orchestra Now and Leon Botstein at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and also appeared with TŌN as a soloist in A Broadway Celebration.
At Juilliard, where he completed his undergraduate degree, Benjamin performed as Il Dottore Sinisgalli in Nino Rota’s I due timidi, Momo (cover) in Luigi Rossi’s Orfeo, and in scenes as Nemorino (L’elisir d’amore) and Alfredo (La Traviata). He studies with Lorraine Nubar.
KYEONGJI KOH CPF ‘26: Kyeongji Koh is a collaborative pianist, chamber musician, and organist from South Korea, with a particular focus on art song and choral repertoire. Her work reflects a thoughtful approach to musical collaboration, grounded in careful listening and attention to detail.
She is currently a Collaborative Piano Fellow at the Bard College Conservatory of Music. She previously earned her Master of Music in Collaborative Piano from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, studying with Kenneth Griffiths, Donna Loewy, and Sandra Rivers. She has performed in both South Korea and the United States and has received several merit-based scholarships, including the Koehler, Hallen, Kolze-Rasmussen, Lovering, and Baker Memorial Scholarships.
Koh continues to collaborate with singers and ensembles in a variety of settings, with an interest in repertoire that values clarity of text, ensemble balance, and shared interpretation.