Matthew Adams began his violin studies at the age of five in Cincinnati, Ohio. There he studied with Jacquie Fennell and later with Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Principal Second Violin Gabriel Pegis. Matthew currently studies at the University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theatre, and Dance with Professor Aaron Berofsky. He finished his undergraduate studies in 2022, graduating with High Honors. Matthew is pursuing a Master's Degree in Violin Performance under Professor Berofsky’s tutelage.

Matthew served as co-concertmaster of the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra in 2017. At the University of Michigan, he served as principal second violin of the University Symphony Orchestra during his senior year. Matthew was the winner of the 2017 Blue-Ash Montgomery Symphony Orchestra’s concerto competition. He also performed as a soloist with the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra as the second of two prizewinners that year in their concerto competition. In 2016, Matthew was a semifinalist in the Sphinx Competition, and in 2017 made his solo debut with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in their Young People’s Concerts. Matthew’s instrument was provided by a scholarship grant from the Virtu.

Writer and soprano Taylor Mackenzie Adams believes everyone deserves an education that allows them to pursue their passions and secure their livelihoods. She hopes to help increase the accessibility of training and opportunities for persons of all backgrounds within music academia through thoughtful administration and performance. Currently studying at Bard College Conservatory of Music, Taylor recently appeared with the Conservatory Orchestra in Beethoven’s Symphony No.9. She is a proud member of the Detroit-housed Sphinx Organization’s vocal ensemble, EXIGENCE, which highlights Black and LatinX artists. In addition to her performance work, she serves as Education Manager for Hear Us, Hear Them, a vocal ensemble devoted to diversifying the canon of choral music. Taylor holds a B.M in voice performance and a B.A. in cognitive science from the University of Michigan. Her praised fiction piece “Five Chapters, in Black” can be found in the Michigan Quarterly Review.

Dario Amador-Lage is a singer and actor based in Chicago, IL, and a 2022 alumna of the Vocal Fellowship program at Grant Park Music Festival. Additional singing credits include performing as the tenor soloist in the upcoming 2023 Handel Week Festival in Oak Park, as well as engagements with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Chorus, Constellation Men's Ensemble, and Montana-based ensemble, Roots in the Sky. Dario is also premiering a Julia Wolfe piece with Grammy award winning ensemble The Crossing in concert with the New York Philharmonic in June of 2023.

This past year, Dario's primary artistic goals have been focused on his acting career. As a professional actor, he has appeared on NBC's Chicago Med, as well as multiple commercials, including one for Enterprise Car Rentals. He is also a featured performer in an upcoming gala for Timeline Theatre. Dario is represented by Gray Talent Group.

2016 Grant Park Music Festival String Fellow, Rita Andrade, has made a home in Los Angeles playing viola for film, tv and orchestral recording sessions. Alongside studies in viola performance, Rita was a grassroots member of the chamber pop band Mother Falcon which later inspired her in the formation of ATLYS string quartet. Together the quartet has performed with Yo-Yo Ma and the Civic Orchestra, sailed the seas representing Lincoln Center of NYC, shared the stage with Oprah and released an acoustic album with EDM artist, Seven Lions. Rita’s recent performance experiences include the Hollywood Bowl with Kayne West and the Matt Jones Orchestra, The Oscars with singer-songwriter Celeste, The Emmys with John Legend, Jimmy Kimmel Live with Chris Martin, Encanto Live at the Hollywood Bowl, Red Rocks and The Gorge Amphitheater with ATLYS and Seven Lions. Rita’s playing can also be heard in the viola section of the score to Avatar: The Way of Water, Praise This, Days of Our Lives, The Orville, Stargirl, The Murder of God’s Banker and PBS short documentary LAYQA. In her down time, you can find Rita hiking sunny trails or perusing the local farmer's markets!

Mexican American tenor Eric Botto is best known for his vocal and dramatic versatility onstage. He has triumphed in roles as Rodolfo in La bohème, Alfredo in La traviata, the title role in Roméo et Juliette, and Nadir in Les pêcheurs de perles. 2023 holds multiple house and role debuts for Eric, including Gennaro in Lucrezia Borgia with New Amsterdam Opera, Satyavān in Sāvitri and Toby in The Medium with First Coast Opera, Benvolio in Roméo et Juliette with Opera San Antonio, and cover the role of Prunier in La rondine with Opera on the James. Eric experienced two summers as a young artist with Chautauqua Opera, which included role debuts as Spoletta in Tosca, Andrew Johnson in The Mother of Us All, and as a soloist in the world premiere of the a capella song cycle In Our Silence. He has received accolades in various competitions including 2nd place in Lyra New York’s International Vocal Competition, the Career Advancement Award from Pikes Peak Opera League, and he was a finalist in the 2022 Lotte Lenya Competition. Eric holds an Artist Diploma at the University of Colorado, and music degrees from Colorado State University and the University of Mobile.

Mexican-American cellist David Caplan began his musical studies at the age of ten and has just concluded his master’s degree at the University of Michigan, studying under Professor Amir Eldan. Previous teachers include Daniel Mcdonough, Dmitry Kouzov, Jonathan Pegis, Benjamin Whitcomb, and Adelaide Hagari. As an avid chamber musician, David, along with Quartet Bellezza, won first prize at the 2017 Discover Chamber Music Competition, first prize in the junior division of WDAV's Young Musician's Chamber Competition, and the junior division gold medal at the 2017 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. David was also a finalist in the 2020 Coltman Chamber Music Competition. David has appeared as soloist and chamber musician on NPR's From the Top as a Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist in Longview, Texas, and Reno, Nevada. Recent chamber music engagements include concerts with the St. Petersburg String Quartet, Yaron Kohlberg, Fabiola Kim, Yizhak Schotten, Nicholas Walker, and Amir Eldan. David has a burning passion for teaching others and showcasing the power of music and has been a guest clinician and lecturer at Midwest Young Artists’ Conservatory, ArtsAhimsa Chamber Music Festival, and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. He has made appearances at the Chautauqua, Aspen, and Taos summer music festivals.

2016 Grant Park Music Festival String Fellow, Caitlin Edwards, is a classically trained violinist, arranger, recording artist, and teacher based in Chicago. She began her musical journey at the age of eight within a non-profit organization in her hometown of Birmingham, Alabama. She later attended the University of Louisville (BM) and DePaul University (MM). Caitlin is a 2022 Esteemed Artist Award recipient from the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, a 2021 3Arts/Walder Foundation awardee, 2018 Gateways Music Festival Rising Star, a co-curator with the Fulcrum Point New Music Project, and a former fellow with the Chicago Sinfonietta. In addition, she has received Grammy certificates for recordings on Disney's "The Lion King" with the Re-Collective Orchestra and for albums by John Legend and PJ Morton. She released her debut album, "Exhale," in 2021. Caitlin is a classically trained violinist, but she's inspired by gospel, jazz, hip-hop, and neo-soul. She composes original music and intentionally performs the works of Black composers to help ensure that these composers and their compositions are remembered and spotlighted for aspiring young BIPOC musicians and the world as a whole. Caitlin is a proud member of D-Composed and Ensemble Dal Niente.

Filipino-American tenor and Grant Park Music Festival Vocal Fellowship Alum, Jared V. Esguerra, is a dedicated performer of vocal works ranging from opera to concert repertoire and musical theater. The Chicago native has been praised for his “substantial tenor” (Opera Today) and continues to be in high demand.

This season, Jared returns to the Madison Symphony Orchestra as the tenor soloist in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. He also joins Lyric Opera of Chicago in the world premiere of Will Liverman and DJ King Rico’s The Factotum as Bootleg Joe (cover) in February 2023. Mr. Esguerra will also make his Cincinnati Opera debut singing the role of Yakuside and covering the role of Goro in their new production of Madama Butterfly.

During his 2021-2022 season, Jared made several notable company debuts. He first covered the role of Giovanni in La hija de Rappaccini in his return to Chicago Opera Theater. He then made his debut with Chautauqua Opera as Scalia (cover) in Scalia/Ginsburg, and with the Madison Symphony Orchestra as the tenor soloist in A Madison Symphony Christmas. He then spent the winter at Opera San José as a resident artist in their productions of Carmen as Remendado and West Side Story as Chino. The tenor rounded out his spring at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in their productions of Awakenings (world premiere) as Frank and Leonard Lev (cover), Carmen as Don José (cover), and Harvey Milk (world premiere of the new performing edition). There, he was awarded the Richard Gaddes Career Award in recognition of his important contribution to the success of the recent season and for his extraordinary vocal potential.

Other recent season highlights include A-Rab in West Side Story at the Edinburgh International Festival, Greenhorn (cover) in Moby Dick at Chicago Opera Theater, Fenton in Falstaff at the Crested Butte Music Festival, and Miles in The Turn of the Screw with Chicago Fringe Opera.

On the concert stage, Jared recently appeared as the tenor soloist with the Chautauqua Symphony in their Opera Pops concert, with Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Now Let's Sing, and with Chicago Sinfonietta in its MLK Tribute concert series.

Mr. Esguerra has been a member of many notable young artist programs, including Grant Park Music Festival's Vocal Fellowship, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Chautauqua Opera, Crested Butte Opera Studio, Bel Canto at Caramoor (now Teatro Nuovo), and Sarasota Opera. He is also a proud alumnus of DePaul University.

Violist Wilfred Farquharson, who grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, always loved hearing music from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker. He loved it so much that when he had the opportunity to join his school orchestra in the fifth grade, he leaped at that chance. Wilfred was a participant in the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s Talent Development Program and later went on to earn his bachelor's degree at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. Wilfred currently lives in Los Angeles and is a Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra Fellow. He attends the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California.

Costa Rican born cellist Diana Flores is an active orchestral/chamber musician and educator, currently based in Cincinnati, OH. She has performed with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops, Grant Park Music Festival, and Sarasota Orchestra, among others. She was a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and has participated in summer festivals such as Tanglewood Music Center, Pacific Music Festival in Japan, The Orchestra of the Americas, and Campos do Jordão in Brazil. Diana has studied at the Longy School of Music (BM), the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University (MM), and the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati (AD). Her primary teachers include Mihail Jojatu, Richard Hirschl, and Ilya Finkelshteyn. She has performed in masterclasses for Yo-Yo Ma, and has studied chamber music with Emanuel Ax, Roger Tapping, and the Pacifica Quartet. Diana was a String Fellow with the Grant Park Music Festival in 2016.

When not behind her cello, Diana enjoys cooking, listening to podcasts, and yoga.

Gabriel Garcia currently lives in Harlem, NYC, where he is pursuing a Master’s Degree in Contemporary Performance at the Manhattan School of Music. Gabriel seeks to be a true arbiter of change by working to increase representation on our stages as well as seeking out or commissioning works by people of color. Gabriel previously attended Carnegie Mellon and grew up in the Connecticut area.

Asian-American mezzo-soprano Miya Higashiyama (pronounced Mee-ya) was recently seen at Des Moines Metro Opera this past summer where she sang Moth in A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Britten as part of their 50th anniversary season. This spring, Miya makes her Lyric Opera of Chicago debut in Lyric Unlimited’s The Scorpions’ Sting as Molly Brown. In January 2022, Miya sang the role of Rachel in the Midwest premiere of Jake Heggie’s new opera If I Were You with Northwestern Opera Theatre. A recent graduate from Northwestern, she also sang Dorabella in Cosi Fan Tutte and Sesto in Giulio Cesare, covered Orlovsky in Die Fledermaus, and sang La Messaggiera in a virtual video production of Monteverdi's L'Orfeo. Miya has won Encouragement Awards in the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, and placed as one of thirteen national semifinalists in the NATS Classical Singing Competition in 2021. She has also participated in masterclasses with Joyce DiDonato, Stephanie Blythe, and Gil Kalish. Miya currently resides in Chicago and sings regularly with Church of the Ascension under the direction of Benjamin Rivera. 

Born in Venezuela and a former student of "El Sistema," the very intensive musical programs made famous by conductor Gustavo Dudamel, Gabriela Lara has been a very busy musician. As a teenager, she had the opportunity to travel across the world with the National Children’s Symphony Orchestra working with conductors such as Gustavo Dudamel and Simon Rattle, taking masterclasses with Ray Chen and Midori, and most recently winning 2nd place in the 25th Sphinx Concerto Competition. She recently graduated from Roosevelt University and is a student of Almita Vamos.

Audrey is a violinist in the Austin Opera, first violinist of the Kahlo String Quartet and an adjunct faculty member at Southeastern Oklahoma State University. Prior to these positions, she performed frequently with the Austin Symphony and New World Symphony.

Audrey has performed at many international music festivals including Aspen Music Festival and School, National Repertory Orchestra, Castleton Festival, and Brevard Music Center. She has performed as a soloist with the National Repertory Orchestra, the Clear Lake Symphony, and the ECHO Chamber Orchestra.

A passionate music educator, Audrey has directed orchestra programs, coached chamber music ensembles, and designed beginning string curricula for K-12 students. She has taught masterclasses at Texas Lutheran University, Suzuki Strings of Austin, and Orpheus Academy, as well as a seminar on “Performance Anxiety and Practice Strategies” for PMAY artists in Philadelphia. Audrey has taught and mentored students through El Sistema USA programs both in Austin, TX and Philadelphia, PA. Prior to joining Southeastern Oklahoma State as an adjunct instructor, Audrey taught and performed as an adjunct faculty member at Chestnut Hill College.

Audrey studied with Kenneth Goldsmith in the Michael P. Hammond preparatory program at the Shepherd School of Music. She studied with Cornelia Heard at Vanderbilt University, receiving a BM in violin performance and psychology, and completed her MM with Miro Quartet member (and fiddle champion) William Fedkenheuer at the University of Texas at Austin.

A native of Venezuela, Jesus started early in the famous “El Sistema” program and is currently working toward a Bachelor of Performance degree at the Chicago College of the Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. He is studying with Almita Vamos. As a youth, Jesus performed at the Sazlburg Festival in 2013 with the National Youth Orchestra of Venezuela under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle. He has performed as a soloist with the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra with Gustavo Dudamel and was the winner of the 2021 Chicago Violin Competition.

The Venezuelan violinist Allison Lovera has been recognized as a versatile violinist whose performance has been described as a blast of emotions and colors combined with a sincere and honest approach to the music. She was a student of Almita Vamos at the Chicago College of Performing Arts and previously a student of the Latin American Academy in Venezuela. Ms. Lovera has been awarded first prize at the Maurice Hasson Violin Competition in Venezuela, the Excellence Award from the Young Aragueno Artist Competition, Winner of the Concerto Competition at the Chicago College of Performing Arts in 2017, Farwell Trust Award of Musicians Club of Women 2018, and Luminarts Cultural Foundation String Fellowship Award 2018, Semi-finalist at Sphinx Competition 2018 and 2019,  Winner of the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music Concerto Competition in 2020, and winner of the Iscart International Competition Category E 2021. 

Mrs Lovera has performed as soloist with the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, Teresa Carreño Symphony Orchestra, Aragua Symphony Orchestra, Los Llanos Symphony Orchestra in Venezuela, and the CCPA Symphony Orchestra in Chicago. In addition, she has performed multiple solo recitals around the Chicago area in important venues like the Chicago Cultural Center “Preston Bradley Hall”, the Steinway Piano gallery in Hinsdale, and Ganz hall Roosevelt University.

She was part of the first violins of the Venezuelan National Youth Symphony Orchestra, and also served as Concertmaster of several orchestras in Venezuela like the Maracay Youth Orchestra, Jose Felix Ribas Youth Orchestra, Chacao Youth Symphony Orchestra, and Teresa Carreno Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela (TCSOV). As member of the TCSOV, Ms. Lovera has had the opportunity to go on several tours around Europe and Asia.

Allison Lovera was also a sub in the first violins of the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra, and Venezuela Symphony Orchestra, and has worked with world-renowned conductors including Gustavo Dudamel, Sung Kwak, Claudio Abbado, Sir Simon Rattle, Diego Matheuz, and Christian Vazquez. Mrs. Lovera has also been Concertmaster at the CCPA Symphony Orchestra since 2016, and has been invited to sub as Concertmaster of the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra. Allison has participated in recognized music festivals including Chautauqua Music Festival and the Aspen Music Festival and School. In addition, she has participated in collaborative chamber music recitals as a fellow of Nexus Chamber Music Chicago, with 5th Wave Collective, along with CCPA faculty, and with the Pacifica Quartet. 

Mrs Lovera have participated in masterclasses with world-renowned maestros like Mihaela Martin, Marylou Speaker Churchill, Donald Weilerstein, Sergiu Schwartz, Vadim Gluzman, Ilya Kaler, Toby Appel, and Sylvia Rosenberg. Allison Lovera is currently a member of Sphinx Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, a Fellow at the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Sinfonietta, and a member of Civic Orchestra of Chicago. In addition, she is part of the recently formed Kanaas Duet, and is working on building her first private studio with Latin American Violinists. 

Originally from Singapore, Evangeline Ng is a recent graduate of Manhattan School of Music and is currently based in New York City. She has sung with New Opera Singapore, Chicago Summer Opera, and recently partnered with a group to open an “opera-themed” Boba Tea shop called “Teava”. Evangeline won the Project Inclusion Vocal Fellowship in 2020 and has been eagerly awaiting the return of the program ever since.

Cole Randolph is a Posse Foundation Leadership scholar, and May 2020 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison with degrees in music performance and economics. Cole was born and raised in Washington DC, and began playing the cello at the age of five. He has performed in many venues including the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and The White House. Cole's undergraduate cello study was under the tutelage of Uri Vardi. Cole is currently serving as an African-American Fellow with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

Matthew Perez was born in San Antonio, Texas, and completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Vocal Performance at the University of Texas at San Antonio before moving to Bloomington, Indiana. He is currently pursuing his Master’s Degree at the prestigious Jacobs School of Music. Matthew most recently won the UTSA Aria and Concerto Competition in 2021.

A Texas native, Edwardo Rios began the viola at age eleven and was self-taught until the age of seventeen. Edwardo has mainly pursued a career in orchestral studies as he progressed through his training. He has participated in festivals such as the Round Top International Music Festival where his quartet was selected to perform at the Best of Five Chamber Concert performing Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 7. Edwardo was selected as a section member of the National Repertory Orchestra where he was trained for consistency and endurance through learning great orchestral works in short periods of time. Edwardo has also had success as a soloist as he went on to win the principal position of the National Repertory Orchestra and performed Britten’s Lachrymae as a soloist alongside his colleagues. He was also selected as a winner of the University of North Texas Concerto Competition performing the first movement of Bartok’s Viola Concerto. Edwardo later returned to the National Repertory Orchestra as an artist in residence for the 2020 season. He has studied under teachers such as the principal violist of the Houston Symphony, Wayne Brooks, and his former mentor Susan Dubois at the University of North Texas. Edwardo has also participated in masterclasses with Sheila Browne, principal violist of the London Symphony Paul Silverthorne, the Boehmer Quartet, and the Faure Quartet. Edwardo attained his Bachelor’s Degree in music performance from the University of North Texas.

Born in Buffalo, New York, baritone Anthony Pilcher completed his Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance & Music Education at Ithaca College and recently completed his Master of Music in Voice Performance at Boston University under the tutelage of James Demler. He has performed with the BU Opera Institute, Odyssey Opera, Bay View Music Festival, and the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra, and is thrilled to be a Vocal Fellow for the 2023 season.

Puerto Rican mezzo-soprano Nicole Rivera is a versatile performer whose previous roles include Friedericke in Straus's Ein Walzertraum and Third Lady in Die Zauberflöte. After performing at the InterHarmony International Music Festival in Germany, she was a featured soloist in the festival’s Heartstrings in a Chord concert at Carnegie Hall in 2016. In 2019, Nicole was seen as Baba in The Medium with Chicago Summer Opera. Nicole holds a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from North Park University, where she studied with bass-baritone Sam Handley. While there, Nicole performed the role of Gingerbread Witch in Hänsel und Gretel and was the alto soloist in Mozart’s Requiem. She also holds both a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance and a Bachelor of Art in Psychology from Stetson University. Nicole was awarded a Vocal Fellowship with the Grant Park Music Festival in 2022. She currently resides in Chicago and studies with Anna Laurenzo.

Violinist Esther Roestan made her solo debut at the age of 9 with the Surabaya Symphony Orchestra, and was the youngest-ever assistant concertmaster of the Indonesian Gita Bahana Nusantara Orchestra, the national Indonesian Orchestra. At age 14, she earned a full scholarship to the Manhattan School of Music to study in its pre-college program. She has also studied violin at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, the Oberlin Conservatory, and The Orchestra Now. Her abilities and achievements have earned recognition from Addie MS, internationally-known Indonesian conductor, composer, and producer; Leon Botstein, President of Bard College and Music Director of the American Symphony Orchestra; and Grammy-award-winning violinist Sibbi Bernhardsson. Ms. Roestan has performed as concertmaster and principal player for some of the top institutions in the world, including The Orchestra Now, Music Academy of the West, and the Oberlin Conservatory Chamber Orchestra. Ms. Roestan has also played a lead role as a principal musician in distinguished productions, including principal second violin in the West Coast premiere of Cold Mountain, winner of the 2016 International Opera Award, and the first opera by 2021 Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Jennifer Higdon.

Rafael Pablo Gargate Santamaria has made music from an early age, playing percussion instruments and guitar in the Orchestra and Choir of Jesus Nazarene. Later he began his violin studies with the teacher Edgar Gargate Ostos, and at age 13, chose the viola as his principal instrument. At 16, he entered the National Conservatory of Music as a student of Roberto Gonzales. 

In 2012 he won the competition for soloists of the National Symphony Orchestra of Peru. In 2016 he was invited as a soloist to the opening concert of the Arequipa Symphony Orchestra. Take classes with the teachers Stefan Fehland of the Vogler Quartet, Roland Glassl of the Mandelring Quartet, Lawrence Dutton of the Emerson Quartet, Roberto Díaz, and others. 

He participates in music festivals in Brazil and the United States. Rafael earned his Artist Diploma in 2020 under the tutelage of Marylene Gingras-Roy at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. In the year 2019, he joined the viola section of the Johnstown Symphony Orchestra, the Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra, and Altoona Symphony Orchestra. In 2021 he started teaching for YADO, SOHO, and Prelude Strings in the city of Erie, Pennsylvania. Rafael completed his master’s degree in performance in May 2022 with Marylene Gingras-Roy at Duquesne University.

Cellist and 2022 Grant Park Music Festival String Fellow, Lindsey Sharpe is an active performer, teacher, and administrator based in Chicago, IL. Raised in Atlanta, GA, she began playing cello at age 7 and piano at age 10. In 2007, Lindsey was accepted into the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s Talent Development Program and studied with Martha Gerschefski until she graduated high school in 2015. Lindsey holds degrees from the University of Michigan and Rice University, studying with Anthony Elliott and Norman Fischer, respectively. Currently, she is a Fellow in the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and a Freeman Fellow with Chicago Sinfonietta.

An active orchestral musician, Lindsey has performed with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Music of the Baroque, Grant Park Orchestra, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Chicago Philharmonic, New World Symphony, Chicago Sinfonietta, and Civic Orchestra of Chicago. Other recent performances include the 2020 BET Awards and recent “Child of God” debut with Chance the Rapper at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. Lindsey’s most recent performances include joining Chineke! Orchestra’s North American tour in March 2023.

With a passion for education, Lindsey is a faculty member for the Merit School of Music and coaches for Chicago Symphony Youth Orchestra. Lindsey is also a mentor for the Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative. As an arts administrator, Lindsey has held positions with the University Musical Society, University of Michigan School of Music, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and the Sphinx Organization. Currently, she is the Business and Memberships Manager for El Sistema USA.

Lindsey plays a cello made in the workshop of William Harris Lee in 1994 by Gary Garavaglia.

Mexican-American violinist Alexandra Switala began her musical studies at the age of four in Texas and moved to Chicago in 2010 to study with Roland and Almita Vamos. She made her solo debut with the Ft. Worth Symphony at the age of 13 and has since performed as a soloist with orchestras including the New World Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, and The Cleveland Orchestra as well as many orchestras in the greater Chicago area. A featured artist on NPR’s ‘From the Top’, ‘Performance Today’, and Chicago’s WFMT’s ‘Introductions’, Alexandra is a top prize winner at the Sphinx Competition, the Cooper International Competition, and the Klein International Competition, where she won special awards for her performances of both Bach and a commissioned work by Richard Festinger. Allie is currently an Acting Member of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra for the 2022-2023 Season.

In addition to being a Violin Fellow with the Grant Park Music Festival in 2016, Allie has participated in international festivals such as the Perlman Music Program, the Aspen Music Festival, and the Kronberg Academy Masterclasses and is a recent graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music where she studied with Ida Kavafian and Pamela Frank.

Robert Alvarado Switala began his musical studies at age 6 on violin and began playing viola at 14. In 2006, he appeared on the NPR radio show “From the Top”, as well as the PBS television show, “From the Top: Live at Carnegie Hall”. Robert was awarded 1st prize at the 2007 National SPHINX Competition and has soloed with the SMU, TCU, Florida, New World, Hartford, Colorado, Nashville and Fort Worth Symphony orchestras. He is a recipient of the 2008 Texas Young Masters Grant and the 2009 Bayard H. Friedman Scholarship. 

He has studied with Itzhak Perlman, Paul Kantor, and Jan Sloman and has had master classes with Ani Kavafian, Stephanie Chase, Elmar Oliveira, Rudolf Koelman, Shlomo Mintz, Donald Weilerstein, Michael Tree, Patinka Kopec, Pinkas Zukerman, James Dunham, Joel Krosnick, Ronald Copes, Robert Macdonald, Robert Vernon, Barbara Westphal and Midori Goto. As an active chamber musician, he has attended numerous chamber festivals, including Perlman, Chautauqua, Keshet Eilon, Mimir, Sarasota and Kneisel Hall music festivals at which he has worked with numerous members of the Guarneri, Juilliard, Cavani, Cleveland, and Takacs string quartets. 

Formerly first violin of the El Paso and Las Cruces symphony orchestras, Robert is now co-principal Viola of the SPHINX Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, Concertmaster for the Thompson Street Opera Company, and faculty at the Des Plaines School of Music. He studied under Almita and Roland Vamos at Roosevelt University. Rob was a Violin Fellow with Grant Park Music Festival in 2017 and freelances in Chicago on both violin and viola equally. 

Veronica Mak is a Chinese-American Soprano based in New York City. Her operatic credits include Bastienne from Bastien und Bastienne, Gilda from Rigoletto, Monica from The Medium, Nancy from Albert Herring, Lauretta from Gianni Schicchi, and the title role of L’enfant et les sortilèges. Ms. Mak has also been featured in concert solo works of Mozart Requiem, Brahms Requiem, and an English abridgment of The Creation by Haydn. Ms. Mak is a regular performer for Regina Opera’s seasonal concerts as well as Fresh Squeezed Opera’s showcases. Outside of her solo engagements, she is a recurring member of EnsembleNYC under the direction of Ronnie Oliver Jr. Earlier this year, Ms. Mak participated in The Thirteen’s Diversity Initiative: Vocal Fellows Program. She also regularly cantors at St. Joseph’s in Greenwich Village in New York City. Veronica holds both her Masters of Music & Bachelor of Music degrees from the Manhattan School of Music for Classical Voice/Opera.

Emily Amesquita is a mezzo-soprano from Seattle, WA who excels in operatic, concert, and choral settings. As an alumna of St. James Cathedral's Jubilate! Young Women's Ensemble, she continues to cantor regularly and has performed in many large choral works, including: the Duruflé Requiem, the Mozart Requiem, the Fauré Requiem, Mahler's Second Symphony, and Pergolesi's Stabat Mater (Soloist). In 2018, she traveled with the St. James choirs on a tour in Rome, Vatican City, Florence, and Assisi, Italy, where she was the soprano II soloist in Fauré's "Tantum Ergo." She has also performed with Seattle Opera on the mainstage - in the children's chorus of Humperdinck's "Hansel and Gretel" (2016) and as Zweite Knabe in Mozart's "Die Zauberflöte" (2017). Other past roles include Mrs. Hildebrand in Kurt Weill's "Street Scene," Isabel in Gilbert and Sullivan's "Pirates of Penzance," and Erste Dame in Mozart's "Die Zauberflöte" as a participant in Pacific Lutheran University's Summer Opera Workshop; Odysseus in Ben Moore's youth opera "Odyssey" performed with Seattle Opera's Teen Vocal Studio (TVS); and Cupid in Offenbach’s “Orpheus in the Underworld,” The Old Lady in “Candide,” and Prince Charming in Massenet’s “Cendrillon” with Northwestern’s undergraduate opera company, Opera Projects For Undergraduate Students (OPUS). She has had the immense pleasure of working under such incredible professionals as Kelly Kitchens, Nicole Sonbert, Paul Thornock, Joseph Adam, and her voice teacher, Nancy Zylstra. She currently attends Northwestern University, studying English Literature and Vocal Performance under the tutelage of Karen Brunssen.

Mexican-American tenor Alexi Ortega Chavez, originally from Illinois but later raised in Atascocita, Texas, is set to graduate in June from Northwestern University, where he has pursued a degree in vocal performance under the guidance of Theresa Brancaccio. At the Bienen School of Music, Alexi has taken on numerous roles such as the title role in Bernstein’s Candide, Florville in Rossini’s Il Signor Bruschino, Gernando in Haydn’s L’isola disabitata, and A Soldier in Viktor Ullmann’s The Emperor of Atlantis. This past fall, he directed a student-led production of Massenet’s Cendrillon. Throughout his tenure at Northwestern, Alexi has been co-president of OPUS, the university's premier student-run opera company, since his freshman year. He has also been a member of Bienen’s Contemporary/Early Vocal Music Ensemble for three years and The Renaissance Singers for two years. Beyond his endeavors in performance, Alexi has designed their plan of study in stage direction for opera, where he has assisted in directing and stage managing several OPUS productions.

I was born in Shenzhen, China, and came to the U.S. for school at 15. A graduate of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH, with a B.S.E. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, and a B.A. in Music (Classical Voice), I am now a second-year M.M. student in Voice and Opera at Northwestern University Bienen School of Music.

Alba Layana Izurieta is a violin student from Ecuador born and raised in a multigenerational musical household. She is currently pursuing her Master of Music in Strings Performance at Northwestern University under Desiree Ruhstrat. She earned her undergraduate degree from Louisiana State University, where she studied with Espen Lilleslåtten. She is currently an Associate Member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. She recently performed as concertmaster for the recording ensemble in the independent film Down Below by Observatory Media and for Humperdinck's opera Hansel and Gretel under The Metropolitan Opera conductor Patrick Furrer at Northwestern University. In 2021, she debuted on American television as a guest artist in the Louisiana Public Broadcasting educational puppet show Ziggy's Arts Adventures. In 2019, she appeared on Mexican television TVeo Canal Regional and TV Guanajuato Canal 8 as a member of the Orchestra of the Americas. Layana was a soloist with the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional del Ecuador and Orquesta Sinfónica de Guayaquil from 2012-19. She served as a section violinist from 2017 through 2018. To honor the musical legacy of her cultural heritage, she performed Ecuadorian, Latin American, and other underrepresented music with her mother and sister on the piano in several music venues in Ecuador.

A native of Illinois, violinist Janani Sivakumar is currently a co-concertmaster of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. Previously, she was a section violinist at the Carmel Symphony Orchestra and a substitute violinist at the New World Symphony. Janani holds bachelor's and master's degrees in violin performance from Indiana University, where she was a Barbara and David Jacobs Scholar and concertmaster of the Conductors' Orchestra.

Janani's primary teachers include Simin Ganatra, Grigory Kalinovsky, Bernardo Arias, and Clara Takarabe. She has performed in masterclasses for Yo-Yo Ma, Rachel Barton-Pine, and Melissa White and attended notable festivals, including the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival and the National Orchestral Institute and Festival.

In addition to her musical pursuits, Janani earned a bachelor's degree in computer science and received a Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship to study Mandarin Chinese at Indiana University. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and playing chess.

Harper Randolph first encountered the viola at age five through the D.C. Youth Orchestra Program in her hometown of Washington, D.C. She has since garnered numerous awards in competitions, including Third Prize in the 2022 Sphinx Competition and First Prize in the 2019 NYU Concerto Competition. Harper currently serves as an African American Orchestra Fellow with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. She has performed at acclaimed venues, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the White House, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and Palffy Palace in Prague, Czech Republic. Harper recently completed a Specialist in Music degree from the University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theatre & Dance and holds a Bachelor and Master of Music from New York University. Her teachers include Stephanie Baer, Karen Ritscher, and Caroline Coade.

Cellist Gabriel Hightower is an active orchestral and chamber musician and educator based in Columbia, Maryland. Gabriel began playing the cello at the age of 7 and started taking lessons at the age of 14. Gabriel holds degrees from the University of Maryland, College Park (B.M.) and Carnegie Mellon University (MM). Gabriel’s previous teachers include Dr. Benjamin Myers, Dr. Eric Kutz (a member of the Grant Park Orchestra), Anne Martindale Williams, and David Premo. In May 2021, he was awarded the Iris Artist Fellowship and worked with members of the Iris Collective, Michael Stern, and the Memphis Music Initiative.

Gabriel has performed with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Delaware Symphony Orchestra, National Philharmonic, Orchestral Lumos, National Repertory Orchestra, Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra, and the Igmar Thomas Revive Big Band. Gabriel has performed in masterclasses for Norman Fischer, Amit Peled, Zlatomir Fung, members of the St. Lawrence String Quartet and the Harlem String Quartet. He has also participated in music festivals, such as the National Repertory Orchestra in Breckenridge, Colorado, Brevard Summer Music Festival, and Sphinx Performance Academy. When he’s not performing, you can find Gabriel at Howard Community College, where he teaches the Cello Ensemble.