Voice

Praised as “a gale-force” (Time Out New York) with a “dark-hued and sizable voice” (New York Times), mezzo-soprano Rachel Calloway is especially recognized as an interpreter of new and contemporary music.Highlights of the 2024 - 2025 season include “Cherubino” in Le Nozze di Figaro with the Greenville Symphony; performances with the cutting-edge vocal ensemble Ekmeles in Cologne, Stuttgart, and Freiburg, Germany; the USC-Castleton Immersion at The Castleton Festival; the world premiere of Rachel m’vaca by Meira Warshauer and Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the USC Symphony. Duo Cortona will be featured in performance and educational residencies at Clemson University, Penn State University, Duke University and Florida State University.

Ms. Calloway is recognized as a leading interpreter of Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire, which she has performed with Ensemble Signal at the Library of Congress, with the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players at the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center, with the Cortona Collective at the Akousticum in Ede (The Netherlands), and at Alice Tully Hall (NY). She has appeared as the alto soloist in major works of Gustav Mahler with The Orlando Philharmonic, The California Symphony, and The Omaha Symphony. Ms. Calloway has appeared in concert with the Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Series, the New York Philharmonic, Berkeley Symphony, Ojai Festival, San Francisco Girls’ Chorus, BAM Next Wave Festival, Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival, Cal Performances, and Lincoln Center Festival.  She is a frequent collaborator with today’s leading ensembles including the Amernet Quartet, JACK Quartet, and Third Coast Percussion. Ms. Calloway has appeared at the Kennedy Center under the auspices of Pro Musica Hebraica.  Alongside her brother, cellist Jason Calloway, she is a founding member of Shir Ami: Song of our People, an ensemble dedicated to the preservation and performances of lost and unknown Jewish art music. 

Ms. Calloway serves on the faculty of the University of South Carolina as Assistant Professor of Voice and Director of Spark: Music Leadership at Carolina. She joined the faculty of the Cortona Sessions for New Music (Italy & The Netherlands) in 2014, and the Chautauqua Opera Conservatory in 2023. Ms. Calloway holds degrees from The Juilliard School (BM) and Manhattan School of Music (MM). 

Jean-Paul Björlin is a singer, pianist, and hornist working in New York City, and originally from Sweden. He teaches classical, popular, and world music at Barnard College. He is a Music Director and Voice Teacher to actors and musical theater students at Circle in the Square Theater School. As Guest Faculty, he has also taught at University of South Carolina in Columbia, SC and Manhattan School of Music. In the summers of 2008-2016, Jean-Paul worked as a pianist and vocal coach at the voice program of Marlena Malas at the Chautauqua Institution. Two favorite memories are co-teaching students a recital of Swedish art songs with Margo Garrett at The Juilliard School and with Craig Rutenberg at Chautauqua. 

Jean-Paul joined the voice faculty of Summer Performing Arts with Juilliard in 2017. He attended high school at Interlochen Arts Academy as a hornist, pianist, and singer. He completed his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees at The Juilliard School, studying voice. Jean-Paul has completed his certification as a yoga instructor and is married to Caroline Fermin, a wonderful person and dancer. They have two children, Asa and Mathilda.

Critically acclaimed soprano, Tharanga Goonetilleke’s performances have been praised by the Washington Times as ‘Magical’ and her voice by The New York times as ‘appealingly rich’. Tharanga is the only Sri Lankan woman to attend The Juilliard School where she received her Artist Diploma for Opera and Master of Music degree.  She received a Bachelor of Music degree with a minor in Biology from Converse College, SC. She is also an Associate of the Trinity College of Music, London. She has over a dozen major operatic roles under her belt including Mimi (La boheme/Puccini), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte/Mozart), Ginevra (Ariodante/Handel) and Blanche (The Dialogues of the Carmelites/Poulenc). She made her New York City Opera debut in 2011. 

As a performer of oratorio her soprano solo renditions of Carmina Burana have been a particular favorite of most. Tharanga’s performances have taken her all over the world - Italy, France, England, Scotland, Korea, India, Sri Lanka, Canada and the United States. In 2015 Tharanga was names a TED Fellow. Tharanga is currently a performer, visual artist and illustrator. She runs her own music studio as well as is on the faculty of the Wharton institute for the performing Arts. 

Dr. Julie Yu (She/Her/Hers) is Professor of Music and Director of Choral Studies at the Wanda L. Bass School of Music at Oklahoma City University and the Artistic Director of Canterbury Voices, Oklahoma’s premier symphony chorus.

She holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from the University of Central Oklahoma, Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting from Oklahoma State University, and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Choral Conducting from the University of North Texas. Before joining OCU and Canterbury Voices, she taught at Norman North High School in Oklahoma, San José State University, and Kansas State University.

She has given presentations, conducted, and/or her choirs have performed for state and regional conferences of the American Choral Directors Association, National Association for Music Education, and the European Music Educators Association. She is the past president of the Southwestern Region of the American Choral Directors Association and served as an International Conducting Exchange Fellow to Kenya in 2019. Her favorite area of research and performance is working as a guest clinician/conductor for various honor choirs and professional organizations.