Critically acclaimed by virtually every major outlet covering classical music, American mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton is increasingly recognized for how she uses her powerful instrument offstage – lifting up women, queer people, and other marginalized communities. Her lively social media presence on Instagram and Twitter (@jbartonmezzo) serves as a hub for conversations about body positivity, diet culture, social justice issues, and LGBTQ+ rights. She is proud to volunteer with Turn The Spotlight, an organization working to identify, nurture, and empower leaders among women and people of color – and in turn, to illuminate the path to a more equitable future in the arts.
Multi-Grammy Award winner and 2018 Olivier Award winner for Outstanding Achievement in Opera, Kansas-born Joyce DiDonato entrances audiences across the globe, and has been proclaimed “perhaps the most potent female singer of her generation” by the New Yorker. With a voice “nothing less than 24-carat gold” according to the Times, Joyce has soared to the top of the industry both as a performer and a fierce advocate for the arts, gaining international prominence in operas by Handel and Mozart, as well as through her wide-ranging, acclaimed discography. She is also widely acclaimed for the bel canto roles of Rossini and Donizetti.
Internationally-Acclaimed "Orchestra of Voices"
Led by Music Director, Tim Keeler, The GRAMMY® Award-winning vocal ensemble Chanticleer has been hailed as “the world’s reigning male chorus” by The New Yorker, and is known around the world as “an orchestra of voices” for its wide-ranging repertoire and dazzling virtuosity. Founded in San Francisco in 1978 by singer and musicologist Louis Botto, Chanticleer quickly took its place as one of the most prolific recording and touring ensembles in the world, selling over one million recordings and performing thousands of live concerts to audiences around the world.
Awarded "Most Influential African American in the Bay Area" in 2005 and "Best Jazz Group" in 2013, vocalist Kim Nalley is already being called "legendary" and "San Francisco institution. Kim Nalley was discovered by Michael Tilson Thomas singing to packed audiences live with no amplification and invited her to sing with the San Francisco Symphony. Subsequently, she became a Rounder Records recording artist and went on a worldwide tour gracing concert halls from Moscow to Lincoln Center and festivals from Umbria Jazz to Monterey Jazz garnering effusive international press, awards and ranking high on the Jazz charts and Gavin Report for her many albums. Nalley's many philanthropic endeavors include founding the Kim Nalley Black Youth Jazz Scholarship.
Praised for his "commanding stage presence" and "rich, resonant bass, Kenneth was born and raised in Washington, D.C, music has been a part of his life since grade school. Nurtured in the public school system by amazing music teachers, he participated in choirs throughout the city and began formal training at the Duke Ellington School of the Performing and Visual Arts as a Vocal and Visual Arts student. Among his roles are staples of opera repertoire: The title role, in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, as well as Leporello and Il Commendatore, Mephistopheles in Gounod’s Faust, Don Alfonso in Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte, Ramfis and Il Re in Verdi’s Aida, Colline in Puccini’s La Boheme, and Tazewell Thompson's opera Blue was written for him. It was named the best new opera of 2020 by the Music Critics Association of North America.
Alex Taite, an Oakland California native, has abundant performance experience including Opera, Spirituals, Choral, Barbershop, Jazz, Blues, Renaissance/Baroque, and Hip-hop. In 2005, he was selected to participate in a summer program to study opera in Germany with renowned tenor Dr. Henry Price III. He has performed with the San Francisco Opera chorus since 2008. He has performed roles with Livermore Valley Opera, Walnut Creek Festival Opera, Berkeley Chamber Opera, San Francisco Parlor Opera, Berkeley Opera, Virago Opera, Island City Opera, and Berkeley Chamber Opera. He was a finalist in the James Toland Vocal Arts competition and in the East Bay Opera League vocal scholarship program. Alex has also been a producer, musical director, vocalist, and vocal percussionist for local rap/hip-hop group Laced Out Crew.
Christabel Nunoo is a Young Musicians Choral Orchestra 2012 graduate and recently graduated from the University of Michigan with her Bachelor's Degree in vocal performance. During her career as an undergraduate, Christabel sang in masterclasses led by artists such as Jesse Blumberg and Reri Grist. She performed role of Blanche in a reduced version of Francis Poulenc's Dialogues of the Carmelites for the U-M Opera Workshop. She is also the recipient of a scholarship from the East Bay Opera League Competition. Her most recent work includes Jazz Musician Marcus Shelby's new opera, Harriet's Spirit premiered by San Francisco's Opera Parallele and Rachel Portman's The Little Prince. She also starred in "Bill and Flicka: Generous Spirits" on September 19, 2019 alongside William Burden and world-renowned superstar, Frederica von Stade. With her passions for music and helping others she hopes to eventually institute a comprehensive music program within Children’s Hospitals across America to secure music’s place in society.