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Dale Auen — Bass
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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Ben Busch — Bass
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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Ciaran Cain — BassCiaran 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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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. Being a part of Lux has always been a treat and something she looks forward to. She is so happy to be able to sing again!
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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 an eleven-season member of Lux. Previously, he sang in choirs at the University of Pennsylvania and at various churches in the D.C. metro area.
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A founding member of the group, Robby Napoli has enjoyed thirteen seasons with Lux. Having studied Music Education and Composition at the Sunderman Conservatory at Gettysburg College, he focused on his love of choral music while working with choirs of all all ages, and is currently the choir director at Chesapeake High School in Pasadena, MD. At Chesapeake, Napoli works with the Concert Choir, Chamber Singers, and award-winning a cappella group Evolve, as well as teaching guitar and piano. On 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 local performances and commissions of pieces for choir and for art song.
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Austin Nikirk is looking forward to her ninth season with Lux. She graduated from the Sunderman Conservatory of Music in 2020, and studied Vocal Performance. At the conservatory, Austin was 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 soprano 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 American Kodály Children’s Chorus under Dr. Alyson Shirk. As a soloist, she has sung in eleven operas, and had roles in six: Albert Herring (Cis), Dido and Aeneas (First Witch), Die Fledermaus (Adele), The Old Maid and the Thief (Mrs. Pinkerton), and Cendrillon (Cendrillon). Austin recently moved to Amiens, France, and feels fortunate to continue singing with Lux over the summer.
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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 is a second-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 fifth season with Lux and has been singing in choirs since she was 10 years old. Emily graduated from the University of Maryland with a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance, where she studied with Carmen Balthrop and was selected for masterclasses with Dawn Upshaw and Maureen O’Flynn. At UMD, Emily 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 served 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. Currently, she works as a Guest Experience Associate at the Clarice.
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Zach Taylor began singing with Lux during the Winter 2018-19 season, and is now in his sixth season. He graduated from Towson University in December 2020, summa cum laude with a degree in Vocal Performance. At Towson, he was a part of the University Chorale, Men’s Chorus, and Choral Society. He was also a part of Baltimore-based men's chamber ensemble Quorus from 2016-2019, where he also served as Outreach Coordinator. 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 and Leaf Coneybear). He also served as the music director for a production of Carrie the Musical in Fall 2019. Operatic credits include The Pirates of Penzance (Frederic) and Le Nozze di Figaro, (Don Basilio) as well as roles in operatic adaptations of the children's tales The Three Little Pigs, Billy Goats Gruff, and Cinderella. Zach is also a brother of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, having served as their Music Director and Vice President of the Sigma Tau chapter during his undergrad. Currently, Zach sings at St. Joseph's Parish in Cockeysville, and spends far, far too much time on social media.
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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 thought he was a music major, he graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in Computer Science and a minor 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 on Twitter. (Probably.)
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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 in 2019 with a double major in Music and History and a minor in Public History. 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. Currently, Abigail lives and works in Washington, D.C. Aside from working and singing, Abigail enjoys working on embroidery projects, watching documentaries, and drinking iced chai lattes.
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Beth Ann Zinkievich is a senior 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. Beth Ann is also an instructor with GloryStar Children's Chorus.
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