Acclaimed by the Washington Post for his “sterling performances,” baritone Brian Ming Chu has established himself onstage as a dynamic interpreter of music from the Baroque to the Great American Songbook.  Hailed for his “rich, authoritative tone” (Kansas City Metropolis), and “range, agility, and expressive storytelling ability” (Monterey Herald), he has been a regular soloist with the Bach Choir of Bethlehem, Brandywine Baroque, the Dryden Ensemble, La Fiocco, The King’s Noyse, Piffaro, the Choral Arts Society of Philadelphia, Portland Baroque Orchestra, Washington Bach Consort, as well as the Caramoor and Carmel Bach music festivals.  

A specialist in oratorio and choral music, he has given numerous performances in the title role of Mendelssohn’s Elijah, the Bach Passions, Haydn’s Creation, the Brahms, Mozart and Verdi Requiems, and Handel’s Messiah on three continents.  Additional credits include Orff’s Carmina Burana, Finzi’s In terra pax, Vaughan Williams’ Dona nobis pacem, and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.  Mr. Chu made his Kennedy Center debut in Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 with the Choral Arts Society of Washington.  On the operatic stage, he has performed with opera companies around the country, in signature roles including Marcello (La Bohème), the Count (The Marriage of Figaro), Figaro (The Barber of Seville), and Silvio (Pagliacci).  With the Bethlehem Bach Choir, he premiered multiple roles in their newly-commissioned (2014) opera, Young Meister Bach.  

He has appeared in recital at Carnegie’s Weill and Merkin Halls in New York, the Annenberg Center for the Arts, Washington’s Phillips Collection, and as a US Embassy Cultural Artist in French West Africa and Vienna, Austria.  Mr. Chu did his graduate work in voice and opera at the Peabody Conservatory of Music, and holds a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Cornell University.  He has taught additionally on the voice faculties of Haverford and Swarthmore Colleges, Lehigh University, and Rowan University.

Hakeem Henderson has performed such works as Saint-Saëns’ Christmas Oratorio, Hannibal Lokumbe’s Healing Tones, and Handel’s Messiah. In 2019, Henderson made his international debut in Edinburgh, Scotland, performing as “Big Deal” in the Edinburgh International Festival’s Production of Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story. Henderson has also performed the roles of Don Curzio, (Le Nozze Di Figaro/RNCM, 2022), Spoletta (Viva Verismo/Maryland Opera, 2019), and Beppe (Viva Verismo/Maryland Opera, 2019). Henderson is the 3rd Place Winner and the Audience Favorite Award Winner of the Boulder Bach Festival’s 2020 World Bach Competition, the 2016 CAAPA Scholarship recipient, and a Finalist in the 2022 Joyce and Michael Kennedy Award for the Singing of Strauss Competition. In 2021, Henderson received his Bachelor’s Degree in Vocal Performance at Morgan State University under Dr. Lester Green. That same year, Henderson was awarded a scholarship from Waverley Fund Scholarships to study at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England. Henderson was also a Young Artist in the 2022 Buxton Festival Young Artists Programme. Currently, Henderson studies at the Royal Northern College of Music, where he studies under Michael Harper, baritone.

Tanya Ruth Langlois, mezzo-soprano, enjoys an active performing career in the D.C. region, with recent season highlights including the title role in Bizet’s Carmen, the alto soloist in Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, and A Little Night Music: a cabaret of crossover and musical theater repertoire. As a recitalist, Tanya has sung programs in many concert series and will be presenting her award-winning Fairy Tales and Children’s Songs program in the Montpelier Arts Center concert series this spring. An avid advocate of new music, Tanya has performed in numerous world and regional premieres with the D.C. New Music Coalition, the University of Maryland’s TEMPO series, and at the Capital Fringe Festival.

Amy Cassiere is a captivating up-and-coming oboist based in Baltimore, MD. Praised for her lush sound and charming musicality, Cassiere is a consummate artist, and has performed at the Round Top Music Festival, the Alba Music Festival in Italy, as well as the Miami and Sewanee Summer Music Festivals. Cassiere has been heard in China, Cuba, Italy, and France, and in 2019 she performed the Goossens Oboe Concerto with The Orchestra Now in New York. A graduate of the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins and the Bard College Conservatory of Music, her teachers and mentors include Elaine Douvas, Melissa Hooper, Nicholas Stovall, Alexandra Knoll, Harrison Linsey, and Jane Gabka. In her free time, Cassiere is passionate about baking and spending time with her cats, Aliya and Nikita.