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Christopher Dale Auen will begin his first season of Lux this Summer. He is an incoming freshman at the University of Maryland, where he will study Music Education and Vocal Performance. He’s had the honor of singing in the Maryland All-State Chorus from 2015-2019, the 2019 NAfME All-Eastern Mixed Chorus. In addition, he’s also sung 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 has sung one season with Lux. He is a freshman 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. In 2017 and 2018, he was accepted into Maryland All-State as a junior and senior in high school, respectively. He was also involved in musical theatre in high school, including credits in The Addams Family and Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. He is looking forward to singing in the chorus for Street Scene with University of Maryland’s Opera Chorus in Spring 2019.
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Ben Busch has sung six seasons with Lux. He is a junior at the University of Maryland, studying instrumental Music Education. He exclusively studies French Horn in Professor Greg Miller's studio. In school, Ben has played with the Wind Ensemble and Adequintet, a brass quintet. Outside of class, he takes gigs playing the piano and the guitar, and is looking forward to learning how to teach most of the instruments in the orchestra in the next few years.
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Eby Buscher is currently pursuing a Masters of Music in Performance. She recently graduated from Gettysburg College, where she received a Bachelor's in Music Education, studying voice with Dr. Susan Hochmiller. She sang in the Gettysburg College Choir, Camerata, and Opera Workshop, frequently appeared with the Buzz Jones Quintet, performed in the Gettysburg College Bullets Marching Band, and was an accompanist for worship services, auditions, and musical theatre productions. She has also interned with the Gettysburg Children's Choir. Recent performances include the role of Rosalinde in Johann Strauss Jr.'s Die Fledermaus, Belinda in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, Filia in Giacomo Carissimi's Jephte, and a soloist in Haydn's Nelson Mass.
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Ciaran Cain is a nine-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 eight seasons. He is a junior at the University of Maryland studying Kinesiology in the School of Public Health. He has participated in 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 for Joe Biden. Tim is an instrumentalist as well; having played the piano, trumpet, and baritone in the past. Currently his musical outlet outside of singing is the guitar.
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Amanda Densmoor is a senior Vocal Performance major at the University of Maryland studying with Delores Ziegler. She has been featured as a soloist in Carissimi’s Jephte, Haydn’s Missa in Angustii, and Mozart’s Requiem. Amanda has sung in the chorus of La Clemenza di Tito with the Maryland Opera Studio (MOS) and made her role debut with MOS as Mère Jeanne in Dialogues des Carmélites, becoming the first undergraduate to sing a role with MOS. Other past credits include The Pirates of Penzance (Kate), Dido and Aeneas (Second Woman), and Trial by Jury (Counsel). Amanda worked with opera composer Jake Heggie, and mezzo-soprano Susanne Mentzer at SongFest as a Studio Artist in 2017. Amanda also participated as a Young Artist in Musiktheater Bavaria’s Opera Studio and worked with directors and coaches from the Vienna Staatsoper in 2017.
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Taylor Hinds, a junior at St. Vincent College studying Early Education, has sung in Lux for six seasons. At school, she sings with the concert choir as both a chorister and a soloist, and performs regularly with the theatre department. For five years, she was in color guard in Huntingtown High School's marching band, and was captain of the guard for two years. Taylor has been very involved in theatre for a large part of her life, and has been a part of two theatre groups: Huntington High School's Eye of the Storm Productions and Notre Dame of Maryland's Ye Merry Masquers. Credits include Big Fish (Josephine), Peter Pan (Wendy), The Rover (Helena), Iphigenia and Other Daughters (Electra), and Decision Height (Norma Jean Harris).
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Abby Hines is a junior at the University of Maryland where she studies Behavioral and Community Health and French Language. In the summer of 2017, she started the incredible experience of singing with Lux. She currently sings with the University of Maryland Chorale and is a proud member of PandemoniUM, a student run A Capella group. Prior to her transfer to the University of Maryland, she also sang in Gettysburg College’s Concert Choir - a mixed voice choir - and Audeamus - a treble voices ensemble. Prior to college, she sang with the Children's Chorus of Maryland for 7 years under Betty Berteaux, and toured Hungary with them in 2013. She was also a part of the American Kodály Children's Chorus for 3 years under the direction of Dr. Alyson Shirk.
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Anthony Jones is a versatile singer that has sung tenor and baritone (as needed) with Lux for eight 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 nine-season member of Lux Choir. 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 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, at school John enjoys spending time with his fraternity brothers and searching desperately for usable pianos on campus.
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Robby Napoli is a graduate of the Sunderman Conservatory at Gettysburg College, having studied voice with Matthew Osifchin, and composition with Avner Dorman. At Sunderman, he performed with all available choirs, and was music director for all-male a cappella group, Drop the Octave. Credits include Alfred (Die Fledermaus), Samuel (The Pirates of Penzance), and solos in Handel’s Messiah and Haydn's Missa in Augustiis. Napoli placed twice as a semi-finalist in his division of the NATS Allegheny Mountain Chapter (2015 & 2016), and as a winner in 2017. As a composer, he has been performed by many ensembles on the east coast, and has been commissioned for multiple pieces at for choir and for art song. In the Fall of 2019, he will begin his position as Choral Director at Chesapeake High School in Pasadena, MD.
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Austin Nikirk — Soprano |
Kimberly Parr — Alto |
Collin Power — Baritone |
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Austin Nikirk is looking forward to her fourth season with Lux. She is a junior 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. She studied abroad in Paris, France, at the École Normale de Musique. 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. Austin also was a soprano in the Second Presbyterian choir, under conductor Philip Olsen. As a soloist, she has sung in eight operas, and had roles in three: Cis in Albert Herring, the First Witch in Dido and Aeneas, and Adele in Die Fledermaus.
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Kimberly Parr is a junior at Washington College, where she studies Anthropology. Kim joined Lux for their summer 2015 season - the first time Lux sang mixed repertoire together and has sung five seasons with the group. Throughout her high school career, 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 is excited for his third season with Lux. Collin is a junior baritone studying with Kevin Short at the University of Maryland. In addition to voice, he studies organ with Dr. Theodore Guerrant. 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, the Maryland Opera Studio, and the Washington Opera Society. He made his debut in 2009 as Harry in Albert Herring with Opera Vivente and has been loving Opera ever since. Collin has sung with the UMD Chamber Choir, the UMD Men's Chorus, and is the music director of the student-led group MännerMusik.
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Thomas Rust has been with Lux from the start, all nine seasons. He’s a sophomore Music Education major at Towson University, although he transferred from 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 is beginning her first season with Lux, and has been singing in choirs since she was 10 years old, performing at world-class venues such as Carnegie Hall, Madison Square Garden, the Kennedy Center, the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, and Strathmore Music Center. Emily is pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance at the University of Maryland, where she has been selected for masterclasses with Dawn Upshaw and Maureen O’Flynn. At the University of Maryland, Emily has performed as a featured soloist with the University Chorale, the UMD Chamber Singers, the all-female student-led Femmes de Chanson, and in the School of Music’s Bach Cantata series. Emily is passionate about performing works by living composers and serves on the executive board for TEMPO, the School of Music’s extracurricular new music ensemble. Emily also serves as President of Sigma Alpha Iota’s Gamma Epsilon chapter. After she graduates, Emily plans to pursue a career in Arts Administration, which she is currently getting a jump-start on as a Student Curator for the NextNOW Festival at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center.
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Zach Taylor is entering his second season as a part of 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 this fall and winter. He has had past 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 the music fraternity Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia at Towson, serving as their music director, and also 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, nine seasons. Despite hanging around the performing arts building often enough that people think he’s a music major, he’s actually a senior Computer Science major and a Linguistics minor at the University of Maryland in College Park, and spent summer 2018 as a research assistant on a computational linguistics study on child language acquisition. He’s a member of the UMD University Chorale and the more select UMD Chamber Singers, and has 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 online 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 eight 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 second 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), The Crucible (Mary Warren and Susanna Walcott), 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. She has sung with choirs from a young age, performing with the Minnesota All-State Lutheran Choir (2013-2014), North Central-ACDA Mixed Honor Choir in Des Moines, Iowa (2014), and the ACDA National College/Community Latin American Honor Choir in Salt Lake City, Utah (2015) prior to college. 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 excited to be entering her second season with Lux. She is a sophomore music education major at the University of Maryland where she studies voice with Martha Randall. She has also studied piano for 14 years under Dr. Phyllis Kaplan and Mrs. Janice Puckett respectively. Over the years, she has been heavily involved with her school choirs, not only as a singer, but also as an accompanist. She has also been a member of many ensembles outside of school, including the Church Circle Young Singers. Currently, she sings with the University of Maryland’s Treble Choir, University Chorale, and Femmes de Chanson.
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