Celebrated not least for the invention of their original genre, the reed quintet, Calefax is known internationally for their virtuosic playing and their “pop” sensibility as they arrange, recompose and interpret music from eight centuries to suit their unique constellation. From early music to classical and jazz to world premières, in the hands of Calefax it all sounds fresh and new. The Amsterdam-based ensemble has received many prestigious awards, including the 1997 Philip Morris Arts Prize, the 2001 Kersjes van de Groenekan Prize, the 2005 VSCD Classical Music Award, and the 2012 German Junge Ohren Prize for the family musical show De Muziekfabriek. They perform frequently throughout Europe, as well as in Russia, China, India, Turkey, Japan, South Africa, Brazil, and the USA. The Times (UK) has called them “five extremely gifted Dutch gents who almost made the reed quintet seem the best musical format on the planet.”

David Jolley has thrilled audiences throughout the world with his “remarkable virtuosity” (New York Times), and has been hailed as “a soloist second to none” by Gramophone Magazine. He has traveled extensively in North and South America, Europe, East Asia, and Japan, sustaining an active performance career. A chamber artist of unusual sensitivity and range, Mr. Jolley has frequently collaborated with such groups as the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio, the Guarneri Quartet, the American String Quartet, the Beaux Arts Trio, Musicians from Marlboro, and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Mr. Jolley is currently a member of the virtuoso wind quintet Windscape; Trio Valtorna, with violinist Ida Kavafian and pianist Gilles Vonsattel; and The New York Brass Arts Trio (BAT), with trumpeter Joe Burgstaller and trombonist Haim Avitsur. Mr. Jolley was for five years a member of the Fleisher-Jolley-Tree-O, with violinist Michael Tree and pianist Leon Fleisher. He was also a founding member, now Emeritus, of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, with whom he toured widely and made over two-dozen recordings for the Deutsche Grammophon label.

American mezzo-soprano Barbara Rearick has been lauded by Opera News for her “tonal beauty” and Gramophone for her “charm and finesse.” Since her Carnegie Hall debut in Handel's Messiah, she has performed internationally with such orchestras as the Houston, Indianapolis, Buffalo and Baltimore symphonies, and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Her 2017-18 season currently includes soloist in Messiah with the United States Naval Academy and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Symphony Orchestra Augusta. Recent successes include Handel’s Messiah with the Wichita Symphony; de Falla’s El amor brujo and Copland’s Old American Songs with the Southwest Florida Symphony; performances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in their MusicNow series; Verdi’s Requiem with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic and Huntsville Symphony; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Bozeman, Colorado, Syracuse, and Wichita symphonies; Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with the Canterbury Choral Society; Mozart’s Coronation Mass at the Spoleto Festival USA; Messiah with the symphonies of Baltimore, Buffalo, Indianapolis, Memphis, Nashville, Orange County and Syracuse; Mozart’s Requiem with Symphoria (Syracuse, NY); Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the South Dakota Symphony; Bach’s Magnificat and St. Matthew Passion with Voices of Ascension; Bach’s St. John Passion with the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park, and Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Costa Rica; and Mahler’s Rückert Lieder at Princeton University.

Since winning the Young Concert Artists International Auditions, baritone Anton Belov has expanded his career to reach major opera houses and concert halls across the United States. Recently he sang the title role in Eugene Onegin with Eugene Opera, Escamillo in Carmen with OperaBend, Verdi’s Requiem with the Anchorage Concert Chorus, and Carmina Burana with the Eugene Ballet Company. In 2017-18 he sings with Allied Concert Services.

Olanna Goudeau, sopranoAshley Renée Watkins, soprano The unique opera duo ACTE II was suddenly launched into national prominence after delivering a captivating performance on NBC’s #1 summer show “America’s Got Talent.” The duo received a standing ovation by the celebrity judges who then selected it as one of 10 acts to perform live at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The duo has quickly become known for pushing the boundaries of classical music with exciting and original concerts. ACTE II’s programming, which has been described as “something close to perfection,” runs the gamut of vocal music ranging from art songs, opera and musical theater, to jazz, spirituals, gospel and popular music. In the 2017-18 season, ACTE II will travel abroad for performances at Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic, and performs in the Midwest for the Bethany Arts Series in Crystal Lake, Illinois.