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Christopher Dale Auen recently completed his second season with Lux. He is a freshman at the University of Maryland, where he studies Music Education and Vocal Performance and sings in the University of Maryland Chamber Singers. He had the honor of singing in the Maryland All-State Chorus from 2015-2019 and the 2019 NAfME All-Eastern Mixed Chorus. In addition, he sang in the Church Circle Singers from 2016-2018 and spent Fall 2018 through Spring 2019 singing with the National Philharmonic Chorale.
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Andy Boggs is a sophomore Vocal Performance major at the University of Maryland studying with Gran Wilson. He currently sings with the University of Maryland’s Chamber singers and DaCadence, an a cappella group on campus. He is also part of an all-male a cappella group, Embassy A capella, that is active during the summer. He was awarded with the National Choral Award his senior year of high school. Additionally, he participated in the Maryland All State Chorus in 2017 & 2018. In high school, he was involved in theatre, including credits as the leading male roles in The Addams Family and Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. With the University of Maryland's Opera Chorus, he was in Street Scene and Ariodante, and will also star in Down in the Valley as the leading tenor role with UMD's OperaTerps.
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Ben Busch has sung seven seasons with Lux. He is a senior at the University of Maryland, studying instrumental Music Education. He is a horn player, a church pianist and guitarist, and a member of the DMV-based freelance folk trio Goose Train.
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Eby Buscher, soprano, is currently pursuing her Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she studies with Dr. Robert Wells. She recently graduated from the Sunderman Conservatory of Music at Gettysburg College with her Bachelor’s in Music Education, where she studied voice with Dr. Susan Hochmiller. Recent performances include Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus, Belinda in Dido and Aeneas, Filia in Jephte, and a soloist in Handel's Messiah. Ms. Buscher has placed as a winner in the Allegheny Mountain Chapter of the NATS vocal competition for the past four years and as the winner of the North Carolina State Adult Women category for Musical Theatre. She has attended the Young Artist program, Si Parla, Si Canta, under the direction of Jeffrey Gall, Chris Merritt, Nicole Cabell, and Benton Hess, and the Art of Song program, Orvieto Musica in Orvieto, Italy. She is currently performing in UNCG’s spring operas, as Nella in Gianni Schicci, and First Tourierre in Suor Angelica, as well as singing with the UNCG Chamber Singers, and with the Greensboro Symphony Master Chorale for their upcoming performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. During her undergraduate career, she performed with the Gettysburg College Choir, Camerata, Opera Workshop, and as a featured soloist with the Buzz Jones Quintet.
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Ciaran Cain is a ten-season member of Lux. Since graduating from UMBC and thus leaving the school's Camerata choir, he uses Lux as a means of keeping sane after a long day working on telecommunications computers. Ciaran had played the Pirate King from Pirates of Penzance, the Notary from The Sorcerer, and the Commetadore from Don Giovanni. In Lux performances, he is usually found singing the low bass part. No, the lower one. That's not actually an undertone, we promise.
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Tim Crane has been singing with Lux for nine seasons. He is a senior at the University of Maryland studying Kinesiology in the School of Public Health. He has sung with many choirs, including the Maryland Boy Choir (2008-2011), Eleanor Roosevelt Chamber choir (2014-2016), and Praise Youth Schola (2013-present). Most recently, Tim performed with the University of Arizona Kantorei. He is also an active performer at the Franciscan Monastery in Washington, D.C. Tim's most notable performances have been at the Kennedy Center, Camden Yards, and Observatory Circle. Tim is an instrumentalist as well; he plays the piano, trumpet, and baritone. Currently his musical outlet outside of singing is the guitar.
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Tori Delgado just completed her first season with Lux! She is 20 years old, from New York, NY. After privately studying with Dr. Malinda Haslett for four years, she is now studying classical voice and business at Towson University. Tori is also currently performing as Mabel in Towson’s 2020 opera production, The Pirates of Penzance. Despite voice being her primary instrument, she has also studied the violin for the past ten years.
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Amanda Densmoor is first-year student in the Maryland Opera Studio (MOS), studying with Jennifer Casey Cabot. Amanda recently graduated from the University of Maryland where she earned a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance, summa cum laude, studying with Delores Ziegler. As a concert soloist, Amanda has sung in Carissimi’s Jephte, Haydn’s Missa in Angustiis, and Mozart’s Requiem. With MOS, Amanda has sung Mère Jeanne in Dialogues des Carmélites, sung in the chorus of La Clemenza di Tito and Street Scene, and study covered Barbarina in Le nozze di Figaro and Dalinda in Ariodante. Past credits include Suor Angelica (Suor Genovieffa), Gianni Schicchi (Nella), Patience (Patience), The Pirates of Penzance (Kate), Dido and Aeneas (Second Woman), and Trial by Jury (Counsel).
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Taylor Hinds has been a part of Lux since the summer of 2015. She has been involved in the arts her whole life, both as an actress and singer, but has started to take a step back to focus on her career. Being a part of Lux has always been a treat and something she looks forward to.
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Abby Hines is an alto (and occasional tenor) who began her choral career with the Children’s Chorus of Maryland, with whom she sang for 7 years. She was also a member of the American Kodály Children’s Chorus for 3 years. She currently sings with PandemoniUM, a student-run a cappella group at the University of Maryland, for which she is an acting musical director. She began singing with Lux in the summer of 2017.
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Anthony Jones is a versatile singer that has sung tenor and baritone (as needed) with Lux for nine seasons. He studied Vocal Performance at Louisiana State University under the tutelage of nationally sought out operatic baritone Dennis Jesse. Anthony has sung a variety of vocal styles, having recently taken engagements as a guest Gospel artist and teacher in Costa Rica, and as a soloist with Opera Louisiana, Red River Lyric Opera, and the Louisiana State Turner-Fischer Center for Opera.
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John Mullan is a ten-season member of Lux. Previously, he sang in the Maryland Boy Choir from 2009-2012, Voices of DeMatha from 2012-2016, Maryland's All-State Chorus from 2013-2016, and NAfMe's All-Eastern Chorus in 2015. He currently goes to the University of Pennsylvania where he studies history (occasionally). He sings there with Penn's Renaissance Choir, Ancient Voices. Besides choir, John enjoys spending time with his fraternity brothers and searching desperately for usable pianos on campus.
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Robby Napoli has enjoyed ten seasons with Lux. A graduate of the Sunderman Conservatory at Gettysburg College (B.M.E.), where he focused on his love of choral music while working with choirs of all all ages, he is currently the choir director at Chesapeake High School in Pasadena, MD. At Chesapeake, Napoli teaches guitar and piano, as well as working with the Concert Choir, Chamber Singers, and award-winning a cappella group Evolve. On the weekends, he sings with the Choir of Christ Church, Georgetown. Aside from his work as an ensemble musician, Robby has also worked as a soloist, with credits including Alfred (Die Fledermaus), Samuel (The Pirates of Penzance), and solos in Handel’s Messiah and Haydn's Missa in Augustiis. As a composer, he has received many local performances and has been commissioned for multiple pieces for choir and for art song.
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Austin Nikirk is looking forward to her fifth season with Lux. She is a senior at the Sunderman Conservatory of Music, studying Vocal Performance. At the conservatory, Austin is a member of the College Choir and Audeamus treble voice ensemble, and studies in the studio of Dr. Susan Hochmiller. In the Fall of 2018, Austin studied abroad in Paris, France, at the École Normale de Musique, in the studio of Madame Sylvie Valayre. Austin has sung in choirs since she was 5 years old, starting with the Children’s Chorus of Maryland under Betty Berteaux, and, upon graduation, the American Kodály Children’s Chorus. As a soloist, she has sung in eleven operas, and had roles in five: Cis in Albert Herring, the First Witch in Dido and Aeneas, Adele in Die Fledermaus, and Mrs. Pinkerton in The Old Maid and the Thief, and is anticipating the title role of Pauline Viardot's Cendrillon this spring.
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Kimberly Parr is a senior at Washington College, where she studies Anthropology/Primatology and Geographic Information Systems. Kim joined Lux for their summer 2015 season - the first time Lux sang mixed rep together. In high school, Kim sang with the Maryland All-State Choir for three years and sang with NAfME's All-National Choir in Nashville in the Fall of 2014. When not singing in Lux, Kim can be found at the Chestertown Docks or, more likely, sneaking naps in unusual places.
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Collin Power — Baritone |
Thomas Rust — Bass |
Emily Shallbetter — Soprano |
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Collin Power is a first-year baritone in the Maryland Opera Studio, studying with Kevin Short. He is also the organist and music director for the Church of the Ascension and Saint Agnes. Most recently, he sang in the 49th season of the College Light Opera Company, and with Opera Terps including Don Quichotte (Sancho Pansa), The Impressario (Buff), and Dr. Miracle (Mayor). He has also sung with the choruses of the Annapolis Opera Company, Chesapeake Chamber Opera, and the Washington Opera Society. He made his debut in 2009 as Harry in Albert Herring with Opera Vivente and has loved opera ever since. During his undergraduate studies at the University of Maryland, Collin sang with the UMD Chamber Choir, the UMD Men's Chorus, and served as the music director of the student-led group MännerMusik.
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Thomas Rust has been with Lux from the start, all ten seasons. He’s a sophomore Music Education major at Towson University, although he transferred after a year at Anne Arundel Community College. There, he sang with the AACC Chamber Singers and had multiple roles in the college’s presentation of Mozart’s opera, The Magic Flute. At Towson, he sings with the University Chorale and Men's Chorus, as well as a student-led men's group, Quorus.
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Emily Shallbetter recently completed her second season with Lux and has been singing in choirs since she was 10 years old. Emily is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance at the University of Maryland, where she studies with Carmen Balthrop and was selected for masterclasses with Dawn Upshaw and Maureen O’Flynn. At UMD, Emily has performed as a featured soloist with the Chamber Singers and in the School of Music’s Bach Cantata series. She is passionate about performing works by living composers and serves as the Assistant Director for TEMPO, the School of Music’s extracurricular new music ensemble. Emily also served as President of Sigma Alpha Iota’s Gamma Epsilon chapter. In 2019, Emily helped to organize the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center's annual NextNOW Fest as a Student Curator. She plans to use the skills she's gained through these opportunities to pursue a career in Arts Administration after she graduates.
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Zach Taylor just completed his third season with Lux. He is a junior at Towson University studying Vocal Performance, where he studies voice with tenor Dr. Min Jin. At Towson, he has sung with the University Chorale and Men’s Chorus, as well as their Music for the Stage program. He also sang as a part of Childrensong of New Jersey for five years, traveling with them on tours to Denver and Boston. Recently, he performed the role of Don Basilio in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, and will be performing in an operatic production of The Three Little Pigs. He has had experience in musical theatre as well, performing in musicals such as Oklahoma! (Jud Fry), The Addams Family (Uncle Fester), Peter Pan (Smee), The Drowsy Chaperone (Robert Martin), and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (William Barfée twice, Leaf Coneybear once) (Yes, three times!). He is also a brother of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia at Towson, serving as their music director, and sings tenor one in the all-male chamber group Quorus, where he serves as their Outreach Coordinator.
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John-Paul Teti (J-P to those who know him) has been with Lux since the beginning, ten seasons. Despite hanging around the performing arts building often enough that people think he’s a music major, he recently graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in Computer Science and a in Linguistics. In Summer 2018, he worked as a research assistant on a computational linguistics study on child language acquisition. He was a member of the UMD University Chorale and the more select UMD Chamber Singers, and performed with them alongside the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra. When not doing computery, linguisticsy, or musicy things, he can be found being mad on Twitter. (Probably.)
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Bernadette Tirador has sung six seasons with Lux, beginning with the first mixed recording session affectionately referred to as “The Singy Thingy.” She has been singing in choir since 8th grade, including St. Jerome’s Church choir where she first developed a love for sacred music. Bernadette dabbles on the guitar and pretends to play piano, but mostly deafens her family and neighbors with dishwashing arias. She studied voice for four years under Elizabeth Roberts, and is now a student of Michelle Orhan. Bernadette is a senior pre-Physical Therapy Athletic Training major at Wheeling Jesuit University, where she sings in three ensembles, one of which she directs. She was the 3rd recipient of the Mount de Chantal music scholarship at her university, and has been an active member of the theater department since her freshman year. Aside from many plays, Bernadette has appeared in the musicals Cabaret, 42nd Street, and Pippen so far with the Theater Guild, and is very excited to continue doing musical theater for the rest of her college career. (Oh and Lux too).
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Anya Trudeau has been with Lux for nine seasons, and plans on many more. Anya has been singing in school choirs since age 10, but screaming obnoxiously to Bon Jovi since before she can remember. At St. John's College High School, she sang with Advanced Vocal Studies (AVS), which performed in the Bahamas, Carnegie Hall, and won first place at Festival Disney. Outside of school, Anya sang with the Honors Youth Choir of the Choral Arts Society of Washington under Brandon Straub, performing at the Kennedy Center under the direction of Scott Tucker, and at Tanglewood alongside the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Charles Dutoit. Anya currently sings with the University of Maryland School of Music's most select choral ensemble, Chamber Singers. She is an English and Government & Politics double major. Anya studies voice with Michelle Orhan and studied piano under Margaret Bunuan. She also has six piano students of her own. Anya is self-taught on the guitar and ukulele, using those skills mostly to walk around the house strumming on her instruments and purposefully singing off-key to remind her family and her dog that she loves them.
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Abigail Winston recently graduated from Gettysburg College (Class of 2019) with a double major in Music and History and a minor in Public History and is excited to return to Lux for her third season. While at Gettysburg, she studied with Dr. Susan Hochmiller and sang with the Gettysburg College Choir, Camerata, and the Gettysburg College Jazz Ensemble. She has been in many theatrical and operatic productions including The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Rona Lisa Peretti), Gypsy (Electra), Dido and Aeneas (Sorceress), How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (Rosemary), and Into the Woods (Baker’s Wife and Florinda). Abigail spent summer 2018 with fellow Lux singer Amanda Densmoor as a Young Artist in Musiktheater Bavaria’s Musical Theater Studio where she trained intensively in voice, acting, and dance. Abigail is excited to begin her post-graduate life in the DC area working as an intern in Public Programming at the National Air and Space Museum and singing with Lux.
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Beth Ann Zinkievich is a sophomore music education major at the University of Maryland where she studies voice with Martha Randall and organ with Dr. Theodore Guerrant. Over the years, she has been heavily involved with various choral groups not only as a singer, but also as an accompanist. She is currently an active member of many choral ensembles including the UMD Treble Choir, UMD Chamber Singers, and Femmes de Chanson.
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