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 is a performer of wide range and skill, sought after for her continuo and improvisational skills on early keyboards as well as her virtuosity on the modern piano. An "elegantly florid" (San Francisco Classical Voice) player and a "leader in the field" (Counterpoint), Ms. Chatham is hailed as possessing "a wonderful improvisational flair" (Atlanta Early Music News) on the keyboard. She has played under directors such as Jos van Immerseel, Paul Hillier, Stanley Ritchie, Andrew Megill and Patrick Gardner, and in major concert halls and series throughout the U.S., U.K. and Mexico, including such venues as Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Symphony Space (New York) and Merkin Hall (New York), to name but a few. She has been a feature performer in festivals such as the Ugbrooke Chamber Music Festival (UK), Bloomington Early Music Festival, Miami Bach Festival, Festival Dr. Alfonso Ortiz Tirado (Mexico), Festival San Luis (Mexico), and Music in the Vineyards in Napa Valley. Each summer, Ms. Chatham is a keyboardist in the five-week Carmel Bach Festival (CA). Ms. Chatham toured the U.S. extensively as harpsichordist for the ground-breaking ensemble Bimbetta from 1998 to 2003, performing in major concert series throughout the country and giving workshops and master classes at many colleges and universities. Bimbetta was chosen to be honored by Chamber Music America as one of the ensembles to have changed the face of chamber music in America. As pianist in The Chatham-Wood Duo (www.chathamwoodduo.com - click here to visit) , she performs regularly with violinist Patrick Wood Uribe. The Duo's recent engagements include concerts at 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 and Mr. Wood Uribe are also founders of the Lile Piano Trio (www.lilepianotrio.com - click here to visit) , along with cellist Adam Grabois. The trio is Ensemble-in-Residence in the Lile Hall Concert Series at Christ Church in Summit, NJ. Ms. Chatham is an active performer in the New York area, performing with ensembles such as Riverside Choral Society, Trinity Choir, Summit Chorale, Fuma Sacra, and Westminster Kantorei, as well as with many singers and instrumentalists in recital. She has been heard on NPR's programs “Performance Today,” “Harmonia,” and “Soundcheck.”
Ms. Chatham is currently a Doctor of Musical Arts candidate in Collaborative Piano at Rutgers University. She received her Master of Music degree in Harpsichord and Fortepiano Performance from the Early Music Institute at Indiana University (Bloomington) where she studied with Elisabeth Wright and Colin Tilney. At IU she was awarded the prestigious Performer's Certificate, the highest honor bestowed upon a music student at IU, and was a winnder of the Baroque Concerto Competition. She received her Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance from Clayton State University (Atlanta), where she studied with George Lucktenberg, Michiko Otaki and Lyle Nordstrom.
nell snaidas, soprano/Artistic Director, 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.
