Meet our Fall 2018 Soloists

On November 18, we will present our Fall Concert with Orchestra, featuring Bach’s Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf, BWV 226 and Haydn’s Missa Cellensis, "Cecilia Mass," Hob XXII:5. These complex and beautiful pieces will feature four top-tier soloists. Tickets are now on sale.

Rebecca Farley

Rebecca Farley, soprano, has been praised for her poise (Opera News), her "fine, flexible soprano" (Parterre Box), and her "filigree phrasing" (Scoop NZ). She received her master's degree from The Juilliard School in New York City where she was a Kovner Fellow and now as an alumna is a proud recipient of the Novick Career Advancement Grant. At Juilliard she appeared as Bubikopf in Ullman's Der Kaiser von Atlantis and as the stratospheric Controller in Jonathan Dove's Flight. She was also featured in a showcase as the title character of Manon in Massenet's sensuous St. Sulpice scene and appeared at Songfest with Brian Zeger in a recital of obscure Liszt lieder. Ms. Farley premiered Sherry Wood's Mara: A Chamber Opera at The Rubin Museum. January brought her Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra debut in a staged concert of Mozart favorites. Ms. Farley took on Fiordiligi, Countess, and Donna Anna all in one night in scenes from Così fan tutte, Le nozze di Figaro, and Don Giovanni. Just last month she made her David Geffen Hall debut with The National Chorale in Angela Rice's oratorio Thy Will Be Done. This performance included an aria written specifically for Ms. Farley and was the New York premiere of the work. Ms. Farley made her Carnegie Hall debut December 2016 singing the soprano solo in Bach's Magnificat with The Cecilia Chorus of New York. She returned with the same ensemble as the soprano soloist in Bach's Christmas Oratorio. Another Carnegie highlight from last season was Monteverdi's Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda in which she sang the role of Clorinda.

Kara Dugan

Mezzo-Soprano Kara Dugan has been praised by the New York Times for her “vocal warmth and rich character.” In the 2019/19 season, Ms. Dugan looks forward to performing Michael Tilson Thomas’ Four Preludes on Playthings of the Wind with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and again at Carnegie Hall with the New World Symphony. She has performed with major orchestras like the San Francisco Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Buffalo Philharmonic. Ms. Dugan has spent summers with the Marlboro Music Festival, Ravinia Steans Institute, Boston Early Music Festival, Wolf Trap Opera, Aspen Music Festival and School, and Mainly Mozart Music Festival. KaraDugan.com

James Reese

James Reese is an avid ensemble, chamber, and solo musician whose singing has been praised for its “intensity and sensitivity...spirituality and eloquence.” Highlights of James' 2018–19 season include his Canadian and Austrian debuts with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and Gallicantus, and his solo debuts with TENET Vocal Artists, Bourbon Baroque Orchestra, Delaware Choral Society, St. George’s Choral Society, and the Duke Chapel Evensong Singers.  In addition this year, James will appear with The Crossing, Santa Fe Desert Chorale, True Concord, and Variant 6. Earlier this season, James sang an all-Mozart program with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, about which Michael Anthonio of Parterre wrote, “the biggest discovery of the night for me was tenor James Reese. His clear voice was so effortless.” Previously, James has appeared in concerts with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Bach Collegium Japan, the American Classical Orchestra, and at the Ad Astra Music Festival. He recently made his Carnegie Hall solo debut in Bach's B Minor Mass with the New York Choral Society, about which the New York Classical Review wrote, "the high, easy tenor of James Reese...floated beautifully on its own over the long, gentle lines of the Benedictus." An advocate for new music, James is a founding member of Philadelphia vocal sextet Variant 6. He appears on The Crossing's release of Gavin Bryars' The Fifth Century, which won a Grammy for Best Choral Performance in 2018. He is also a soloist on 2016 Grammy-Nominated Bonhoeffer, released by the Crossing. He holds degrees from Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music and the Yale School of Music.

William Guanbo Su

New York City-based opera singer William Guanbo Su, bass, is currently pursuing his Master’s degree at The Juilliard School under the guidance of Cynthia Hoffmann. In 2018, he was a member of GYA young artists at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and a voice fellow at The Aspen Music Festival and School, where he played as the principle role of Don Basilio in Il barbiere di siviglia. Other roles that he has performed include Pluton in Hippolyte et Aricie; Herr Reich in Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor; and Seneca in L'incoronazione di Poppea. He has also concentrated on German Lieder at the Franz Schubert Institute in Vienna, where he was coached by Emmy Ameling, Helmut Deutsch, Robert Holl and others. In December, 2017, Mr. Su has made his Carnegie Hall Solo debut with The Cecilia Chorus of New York, and also the 1st prize winner for the Gerda Lissner Lieder competition the same year.