joanna blendulf, Baroque cellist, is considered one of the leading continuo players in the United States. "Poised and confident" while possessing "fire"(San Francisco Classical Voice), she has performed in orchestras and chamber ensembles throughout Europe, North and South America. She has diverse musical interests ranging from the viol consort literature from the seventeenth century to the works of today's composers for both modern and period instruments. Ms. Blendulf was principal cellist of The New World Symphony under Michael Tilson-Thomas and has also performed with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Spending much time in transit, she is currently performing with the Portland, Seattle and Indianapolis Baroque Orchestras, American Bach Soloists, Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra and Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, both as soloist and continuo player. Ms. Blendulf is also an active chamber musician and tours with American Baroque, Ensemble Mirable, the Catacoustic Consort, ViVaCe and the Streicher Trio and was cellist for the ensemble Bimbetta from 1997-2003. She was named runner-up in the 2000 Early Music America/Dorian Competition for her recording of cello sonatas by Jean Zewalt Triemer, and has also recorded for the Dorian and Eclectra labels. Ms. Blendulf's summer engagements have included performances at the Bloomington Early Music Festival, the Boston and Berkeley Early Music Festivals, the Aspen Music Festival and the Carmel Bach Festival, where she is the principal viola da gamba soloist. Ms.Blendulf holds performance degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music and Indiana University, where she studied with Stanley Ritchie, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi and Alan Harris. In 1998, she was awarded the prestigious Performer's Certificate for her accomplishments on Baroque cello from Indiana University.
holly chatham, harpsichordist, is a "leader in the field" (Counterpoint)
possessing "a wonderful improvisational flair" (Atlanta Early Music News) and an "elegantly florid" (San Francisco Classical Voice) style on the keyboard. She is a performer of wide range and skill, sought after especially for her continuo and improvisational skills, and is called on to perform within many genres of music from early keyboard to piano repertoire. She has played under conductors such as Jos van Immerseel, Paul Hillier and Stanley Ritchie, and in such venues as Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Symphony Space and Merkin Hall (New York), Spivey Hall (Atlanta), The Krannert Center at University of Illinois, and Schoenberg Hall at UCLA. She has performed at the Bloomington Early Music Festival and Tropical Baroque Music Festival, among others. As pianist in The Chatham-Wood Duo, she performs regularly with violinist Patrick Wood Uribe, engaging audiences in programs of the chamber music of Latin American composers as well as European chamber music repertoire. The Duo's recent engagements include concerts at the Ugbrooke Chamber Music Festival (UK), The Mexic-Arte Museum (Austin) and Bickford Theatre (Morristown, NJ). The Duo’s live performances of works by Chávez and Ponce, as well as their own transcriptions of Gershwin songs, have been broadcast nationwide in the U.S. on WWFM The Classical Network. Ms. Chatham is also a founding member of Fiat Lux Chamber Players, whose home series is in Summit, NJ. Ms. Chatham toured the U.S. extensively as harpsichordist for the ensemble Bimbetta from 1998 until 2003, performing in major concert series throughout the country and giving workshops and master classes at many colleges and universities. Ms. Chatham received her Master of Music degree in Harpsichord/Fortepiano Performance from the Early Music Institute at Indiana University (Bloomington) where she studied with Elisabeth Wright and Colin Tilney. She was also awarded the prestigious Performer's Certificate. She received her Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance from Clayton College and State University (Atlanta), where she studied with Michiko Otaki and Lyle Nordstrom.
nell snaidas, soprano/Renaissance guitarist, possesses a voice that has been praised as being “remarkably pure with glints of rich sensuality” (Vancouver Sun). Often singled out for her dramatic interpretations, The New York Times described her as having “a voice that can languish, cajole, laugh and pout” while the Cleveland Plain Dealer praised her ability to “embellish melodies with virtuosity and project lyrics like a storyteller”. Recent projects include creating the role "Princess Olga" in the world-premiere of the Boston Early Music Festival’s production of the Baroque opera Boris Goudenow at the Cutler Majestic Theater and Tanglewood, a North American Tour of Three Singing Ladies of Rome with Grammy-award winning lutenist Paul O’Dette and Tragicomedia, debuts with the Seattle Baroque Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Benaroya Hall and the Hollywood Bowl respectively. A graduate of the Mannes College of Music Nell began career singing leading roles in zarzuelas at New York City’s Repertorio Español and starred internationally as Christine in The Phantom of the Opera. Now an accomplished interpreter of Baroque Music, her renditions of the music of the Italy and Spain have taken her all over Europe and North America, where she has been a featured soloist in numerous festivals, operas and concert halls including Lincoln Center Summerfest, Alice Tully Hall, and the Teatro Massimo, Palermo. Italy. This season, under the baton of Gerard Schwartz, she will be returning as a soloist to the Los Angeles Philharmonic, as well as making her debut with the Philadelphia Baroque Orchestra. Ms. Snaidas has recorded for Sony Classical, Koch International with Apollo’s Fire, Dorian with Ex Umbris, as well as the Grammy-nominated Broadway-cast album of Hair on Razor & Tie, and various selections of Operetta on Naxos with the Vienna Chamber Orchestra.
laura heimes, soprano, has been praised for her “sumptuous tone and shimmering clarity” (Philadelphia Inquirer) and hailed for "a voice equally velvety up and down the registers" (Reading Eagle). She is widely regarded as an artist of great versatility, with repertoire ranging from the Renaissance to the 21st century. She has collaborated with many of the leading figures in early music, including Andrew Lawrence King, Julianne Baird, Tempeste di Mare, The King’s Noyse, Paul O’Dette, Chatham Baroque, Apollo’s Fire, The New York Collegium, The Publick Musick, Brandywine Baroque, Trinity Consort, and Piffaro – The Renaissance Band, a group with whom she has toured the United States. She has been heard at the Boston, Connecticut and Indianapolis Early Music Festivals, at the Oregon and Philadelphia Bach Festivals under the baton of Helmuth Rilling, and in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, Brazil in concerts of Bach and Handel. With the Philadelphia Orchestra she appeared as Mrs. Nordstrom in Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music. December 2003 marked her Carnegie Hall debut in Handel's Messiah with the Masterwork Chorus. Highlights of the 2006-07 season include the roles of Belinda in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas with Bach Sinfonia (Washington, DC), Susanna in Stradella’s La Susanna with Magnificat (San Francisco, CA), and Galatea in Handel’s Acis and Galatea (Wilmington, DE). A native of Rochester NY, she holds Master of Music degrees in Choral Conducting and Voice Performance from Temple University. Ms. Heimes has recorded for Dorian, Pro Gloria Musicae, Plectra Music, Sonabilis, and Albany records. Additionally, she has worked with students in the form of clinics and master classes and coachings at Dickenson College, Wesley College, Swarthmore College and Temple University. She currently teaches voice at Westminster Choir College.
elizabeth ronan-silva, guest soprano/Baroque guitarist, is noted for her "delightfully clear fresh singing" (Opera News) "rich voice, deepening embodiment" and "canny use of her wide dynamic range," (San Francisco Classical Voice). She performs a broad range of repertoire that spans many styles including renaissance and baroque, contemporary and country. Since receiving a Master's degree from Mannes College of Music in 1997, she has performed with various early music ensembles including Teatro Lirico, Seattle Baroque, Company of Strings, Lizzy and the Theorboys, and the Camerino Band. Her opera roles include Valletto (L'incoronazione di Poppea), Cherubino (Nozze di Figaro), Nerone (Agrippina), and Venere (Ercole Amante). Elizabeth was a founder and President of Caprock Early Music Association in Lubbock TX, where she performed and taught voice for 4 years. She has recently relocated to Tallahassee Florida.