Musicians

The San Francisco Bach Choir also performs with many renowned vocal soloists and instrumentalists, as well as with its own orchestra and chamber consort selected from internationally acclaimed instrumentalists. The 2001-2002 season will include return performances by soprano Jennifer Ellis; violinist and concert master, Cynthia Roberts; natural trumpet specialist and orchestra manager, John Thiessen; sackbut master, Richard Cheetham, and many other fine artists whose information will be available to you as concerts approach.

With vocal flair and dramatic mastery, Miriam Abramowitsch is acknowledged as a leading interpreter of both classic and contemporary song in at least ten languages. The San Francisco Chronicle stated that she “...has the rare internal stuff of which the fine Lieder singer is made.” In 1998 she sang the world premiere of David Del Tredici’s Chana’s Story with the composer at the piano. This work on poetry by Chana Bloch was commissioned for Ms. Abramowitsch by Marie Damrell Gallo. The enthusiastic reception of its first performance called for its New York premiere in 1999 at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. Previously she was featured in a performance of Schoenberg’s famed Pierrot Lunaire for its 75th anniversary, presented at the University of Southern California’s Schoenberg Institute. The Los Angeles Herald-Examiner called her an “exceptionally gifted singer-speaker,” and another of her numerous performances of Pierrot Lunaire prompted the San Francisco Chronicle to state that "her affinity is exceptional; no one does it more effectively."

Based in California, Ms. Abramowitsch regularly performs as guest soloist with numerous contemporary music groups such as the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, the Monday Evening concerts series in Los Angeles, and Composers, Inc. She sang the title role in the world premiere of Charles Wuorinen’s opera The W of Babylon with the San Francisco Symphony’s New and Unusual Music series. Other premieres include works by Ralph Shapey, Ursula Mamlok, Gerhard Samuel, Harold Blumenfeld, Tom Cipullo, and many others.

In addition to the song literature, Ms. Abramowitsch has a large and varied orchestral repertoire, from the classic works of Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Brahms, Handel and Verdi, to Mahler, Stravinsky, Durufle, and Berlioz.

On compact disc for the Music & Arts label, Ms. Abramowitsch has recorded Schubert’s Winterreise with George Barth, fortepiano, and songs of Darius Milhaud. A future release is planned of Del Tredici’s Chana’s Story, with Mr. Del Tredici at the piano.

Soprano Jennifer Ellis graduated with a BMA in Voice and History of Art from the University of Michigan, and subsequently completed the Advanced Studies Program in Early Music at the Guildhall School of Music in London. Ms. Ellis has appeared with several leading baroque orchestras including American Bach Soloists, Seattle Baroque Orchestra, Apollo’s Fire (Cleveland, OH), Common Ground Ensemble, Musica Angelica and Magnificat. Opera highlights include Belinda in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, title roles in Handel’s Acis and Galatea and Blow’s Venus and Adonis, Serpina in Pergolesi’s La Serva Padrona, and Haydn’s La Canterina with Musica Aeterna in Bratislava, Slovakia. In addition, Jennifer has sung with the Mark Morris Dance Group and the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Ellis was an Adam’s Fellow at the 1998 Carmel Bach Festival and took part in the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan with Nicholas McGegan. She has recorded the Monteverdi Vespers for Eclectra, Carissimi Motets for Hungaroton and the Vespers of Cozzolani for Musica Omnia.

Baritone Jeffrey Fields is a regular performer with the Carmel Bach Festival. In 1998, he was selected as an Adams Fellow for the festival and has had numerous solo appearances since. He also has sung with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra in recent seasons, and sings throughout California as a concert soloist. Recent and current engagements include Haydn’s Creation in Los Angeles, Salinas and Carmel; Handel’s Messiah in Santa Cruz; and Mozart’s C Minor Mass in Ventura. Mr. Fields did his voice study at the University of Iowa with Albert Gammon and John van Cura, and was an artist fellow for three seasons at the Bach Aria Festival, Stony Brook, New York. His wide repertoire includes Marcello in Puccini’s La Boheme, Papageno in Mozart’s Die Zauberflote, Herod in Massenet’s Herodiade, as well as a broad spectrum of concert works, oratorios and art song.

Bass-baritone Tom Hart is making his third appearance with the San Francisco Bach Choir with this concert. An active singer in the Bay Area, he has appeared as soloist or professional ensemble member with several California organizations including Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Carmel Bach Festival, American Bach Soloists, Baroque Choral Guild, California Bach Society, Sonoma Bach Society and "theatre of voices". As an original member of Chanticleer, he performed over 1,000 concerts in the United States and Europe with that ensemble. He has participated in several recordings with the above emsembles for Harmonia Mundi-USA, Koch and Chanticleer labels as well as live and taped performances on Minnesota Public Radio and Wdr-Koln. He currently holds positions with Temple Emanu-El and St. Ignatius Church, both in San Francisco.

Tenor Daniel Hutchings graduated from Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music, where he studied voice under Richard Miller. Recent solo appearances have included Mozart’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Schubert’s Die Schöne Müllerin, Schütz’s Psalms of David, and some of the Bach arias. Mr. Hutchings has performed with a number of San Francisco Bay Area ensembles including Philharmonia Baroque, American Bach Soloists, San Francisco Bach Choir, and Baroque Choral Guild. He also sings regularly at the National Shrine of St. Francis.

Mezzo-Soprano Ruth Rainero received her Masters in Voice and Voice Pedagogy from the Royal Conservatory of The Hague. She lived in The Netherlands for many years, performing a wide range of styles and periods of music throughout Europe. Conductors included Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Phillippe Herreweghe, and Steve Reich. Since returning to San Francisco, she has primarily concentrated on teaching voice, but has also performed with a number of different ensembles, including performances and a CD of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas with Philharmonia Baroque. Ms. Rainero is particularly fond of chamber music and lieder, and has a wide repertoire extending from the early Baroque to the 20th century. She speaks five languages and sings in five more. Ruth’s background in modern dance and theater has led to her exploration of voice combined with other media, and she has been responsible for the choreography and vocal coaching of other performers as well.

Natural trumpet player John Thiessen performs regularly with period instrument ensembles throughout the US and Canada and has been Tafelmusik’s principal trumpet since 1989. This season he appears in numerous J.S. Bach anniversary performances, including Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 with Concert Royal, Aston Magna and Dallas Bach Society, Easter Oratorio and Magnificat in D with Santa Fe Pro Musica, and B Minor Mass with New York Collegium and Portland’s Trinity Consort. In December, Thiessen also performed Handel’s Messiah at Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall. This summer, he will serve as principal trumpet with the Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra and record music by Purcell in Montreal. A graduate of Eastman School of Music and King’s College, University of London, he is the recipient of grants from the Canada Council for natural trumpet studies in the UK with Crispian Steele-Perkins and Michael Laird. Thiessen presents master classes throughout the US and Canada and serves on the summer faculties of both Oberlin College’s Baroque Performance Institute and the International Baroque Institute at the Longy School in Cambridge, MA. He has recorded for Sony Classical Vivarte, EMI, BMG/Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, London Decca, Denon and REM, and is heard on NPR and CBC broadcasts.