2011-2012 Artists
 Shannon Canavin, general director & soprano
Shannon Canavin, General Director and soprano, founded Exsultemus in 2003 to uncover and present uncommon yet remarkable works of music from the Renaissance and Baroque repertoires. Admired for her “radiant soprano” (Christoph Wolff, The Boston Musical Intelligencer), she has concertized throughout New England and the East Coast with ensembles including Apollo’s Fire, Newport Baroque, Arcadia Players, Amphion’s Lyre, the Choir of the Church of the Advent, and the Connecticut Early Music Festival. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from New England Conservatory in voice and theory and a Master’s degree from Case Western Reserve University in Early Music Performance Practices. An avid student and proponent of historically-informed period performance, Shannon has worked with such esteemed artists as Paul O’Dette, Kenneth Slowik, Ellen Hargis, Julianne Baird, Howard Crook, Judith Malafronte, and Jennifer Lane; she currently studies voice with Pamela Dellal. Shannon worked as General Manager, Marketing Coordinator, and Visa Specialist for the Boston Early Music Festival for eight years, and is director of Artist Visa Services LLC, specializing in preparing non-immigrant visa applications for foreign artists.
 Martin Near, music director & countertenor
Exsultemus Music Director and countertenor Martin Near began his professional singing career at age ten in the Choir of Men and Boys at Saint Thomas Fifth Avenue in New York City, advancing to Head Chorister. In 2008, he appeared as alto soloist with Boston Cecilia in Bach’s Mass in B Minor, and was praised as “winsome and lyrical” in the role of David in Handel’s Saul with the Harvard University Choir and Baroque Orchestra in 2009. A founding member of Boston’s professional early music ensemble Exsultemus, Martin took the post of Music Director beginning in the 2009–2010 season. In 2008, he made his debut as record producer for a recording of sacred music by Josquin des Prez and Marbrianus de Orto with the vocal ensemble Cut Circle. In 2002, Martin served as composer and music director of the one act opera Six Characters in Search of an Opera for Project ARIA (AIDS Response by Independent Artists). Martin is an advocate of the performance of new music, and has been a soloist in numerous world premieres, including Temptation in the Desert by Elliott Gyger for Martin and Seraphim Singers, and Some Reflections by John Eaton, a microtonal piece in 72-note equal temperament composed for the 20th anniversary of the Boston Microtonal Society. Upcoming engagements include the role of Hamor in Handel’s Jephtha with Boston Cecilia in March 2011.
 Matthew Anderson, tenor
Tenor Matthew Anderson has been praised for the warm tenor voice and polished musicality he brings to the repertoire of oratorio, opera, and musical theater. Matthew was the Second Prize winner in the 2010 Oratorio Society of New York Solo Competition. He has also been a prizewinner in the American Bach Society Vocal Competition and a finalist in the Liederkranz Art Song Competition. He sings regularly as a soloist in Boston’s renowned Emmanuel Music Bach Cantata Series and has appeared as a soloist with the Handel and Haydn Society, Cantata Singers, and Boston Modern Orchestra Project. He has appeared recently in Bach’s Saint Matthew Passion at the Aldeburgh Festival, conducted by Masaaki Suzuki; Carousel (as Mr. Snow), “A Richard Rogers Celebration” and “An Evening of Cole Porter” at Boston Symphony Hall with the Boston Pops conducted by Keith Lockhart; Stravinsky’s Renard at Tanglewood, directed by Mark Morris; Haydn’s Creation with Emmanuel Music; John Harbison’s Winter’s Tale with Boston Modern Orchestra Project; Britten’s Saint Nicolas with the chorus and orchestra of New England Conservatory; and Stravinksy’s Pulcinella and Britten’s Serenade with Discovery Ensemble. Matthew will join the Carmel Bach Festival in 2011 as aria soloist in Bach’s Saint John Passion under the baton of the festival’s new artistic director, Paul Goodwin. Matthew studied Classics at Harvard University and voice at the New England Conservatory.
Pamela Dellal, mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano Pamela Dellal is an acclaimed soloist and recitalist whose singing has been praised for her “exquisite vocal color,” “musical sensitivity,” and “eloquent phrasing” (Boston Globe). Pam made her Kennedy Center debut under Julian Wachner in the B-minor Mass, and her Lincoln Center debut under renowned conductor William Christie in Messiah. She has also performed under such acclaimed conductors as Seiji Ozawa, Christopher Hogwood, Paul McCreesh, Bernard Labadie and Roger Norrington. Operatic appearances include leading roles in the operas Alcina, Albert Herring, Dido and Aeneas, La Clemenza di Tito, Così Fan Tutte, Vanessa, The Rape of Lucretia, and Winter’s Tale. Her repertoire encompasses an astonishing range from the 12th to the 21st century, including US, European and Australian tours with Ensemble Sequentia, and a London premiere of a John Harbison chamber work last season. Passionate about chamber music, early music, and contemporary music, she performs frequently with Boston Musica Viva, Ensemble Chaconne, Blue Heron Renaissance Choir, Favella Lyrica, and the Musicians of the Old Post Road. She has been a regular soloist in the Emmanuel Music Bach Cantata series for twenty-five years, having performed almost all 200 of Bach’s sacred cantatas. She has recorded for Arabesque, Artona, BMG, CRI, Dorian, Meridian, and KOCH.
 Paul Guttry, bass-baritone
Bass-baritone Paul Guttry enjoys the variety offered by early music, oratorio, and opera. He has performed throughout the USA and internationally with Sequentia, Chanticleer, the Boston Camerata, and New York's Ensemble for Early Music. In Massachusetts, he has appeared with Emmanuel Music, Boston Early Music Festival, the Tanglewood Music Center, Cantata Singers, Boston Cecilia, Prism Opera, Intermezzo, Boston Revels, and Collage. He is a founding member of the Renaissance choir Blue Heron. During the coming season, Paul will perform the role of Trulove in Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress with Emmanuel Music, appear with The Handel and Haydn Society in numerous concerts with Harry Christophers, and sing in the re-mounting of a widely performed French chanson program at Dumbarton Oaks with Blue Heron, with which he will also perform in New York's Music Before 1800 series in December. Paul has recorded Bach cantatas and the St. John Passion for Koch International, airs de cour and Kurt Weill's Johnny Johnson for Erato, a variety of medieval music for BMG, and both Byrd motets and American spirituals for Harmonia Mundi USA.
 Catherine Liddell, lute & theorbo
Catherine Liddell, theorbo, is in high demand for her skill, sensitivity, and experience as a continuo player. She has performed with many of America’s leading period instrument ensembles, including Boston Baroque, the Handel and Haydn Society, Apollo’s Fire (Cleveland), the New York Collegium, and in the Aston Magna and the Boston Early Music Festivals. She recently performed in the US premiere of Heiner Goebbel’s Songs of War I Have Seen with the London Sinfonietta and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment as part of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra’s 50th Anniversary Celebration. She has recorded for Musical Heritage Society, Titanic, Dorian, Wildboar, and Centaur Records. Her solo recording, La belle voilée, 17th Century French Lute Music by Jacques Gallot and others is available on the Centaur label and her edition, Sacred Music for Lute, Vol. I is available through Lyre Editions. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, Cathy earned the Soloist Diploma from the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel, Switzerland. She is Past-President of the Lute Society of America and a Teaching Associate at Boston University.
 Andrus Madsen, harpsichord & organ
Harpsichordist and organist Andrus Madsen was born in Provo, Utah in 1969. He began his music studies at the piano at the age of nine, and by his early teens he was actively exploring the repertoire of the Baroque. At fourteen he began organ studies with Doug Bush, under whose tutelage he also developed an improvisational style in the language of late 17th-century northern Europe. Andrus studied harpsichord with Arthur Haas and clavichord and fortepiano with Peter Sykes. He holds a BM degree in organ performance from Brigham Young University, an MM degree in musicology and MA and DMA degrees in harpsichord performance from the Eastman School of Music. He currently resides in Newton, Massachusetts where he is the Music Director at Second Church in Newton. He is the director and founder of the ensemble Newton Baroque, and plays with les Tourbillon, Saltarello, La Sylva, and also appears with A Far Cry, and Open Gate. He strives to play written repertoire as if he is improvising, while his improvisations often sound as if they had been notated. His recent recording of music by Pachelbel recorded on organ, harpsichord, and clavichord is available on Raven CD Recordings.
 Owen McIntosh, tenor
Tenor Owen McIntosh holds a Master’s Degree from New England Conservatory of Music. An international soloist featured in the 2009 Festival Ensemble Stuttgart, Owen is quickly gaining recognition at home and abroad. His most recent performances include the Evangelist in Telemann’s Passions of St. Luke and St. John, Coprimario soloist in Opera Boston’s production of The Nose, and a Jordan Hall performance of Benjamin Britten's Serenade for Tenor and Horn. Furthermore he was featured as Dema in the NEC production of L’Egisto, Robert in the Kurt Weill Festival’s Hin und Zurück in Dessau, Germany, Ferrando in Cosi fan tutte, and Rinuncio in Gianni Schicchi with the North Star Opera Repertory Theater. Owen is also a member of various Boston based music organizations including Exsultemus, Boston Baroque, Blue Heron, Juventas New Music, and Opera Boston.
 Jason McStoots, tenor
Jason McStoots, tenor, has performed around the world and throughout the US in the genres of opera, oratorio, recital, and musical theater. He has been described by critics as “a natural, a believable actor and a first-rate singer,” “light and bluff, but neither lightweight nor bland, and with exemplary enunciation” and as having “a silken tenor voice” and “sweet, appealing tone.” He is recently returned from his European solo debut with the Bach Ensemble in Bach’s Christmas Oratorio as well as his Japanese debut in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion where he sang the part of the Evangelist and arias. He has received critical acclaim for his performances in the revival of William Kentridge’s production of Monteverdi’s The Return of Ulysses and for his performance in Handel’s Acis and Galatea with the Boston Early Music Festival (BEMF). For Acis and Galatea, he was singled out by Thomas Garvey of Hub Review as offering Boston one of its best acting performances of 2009. Jason has appeared with groups around the US including Boston Lyric Opera, Pacific MusicWorks, Boston Camerata, Handel Choir of Baltimore, New Haven Symphony Orchestra, OperaBoston, Tragicomedia, Tanglewood Music Center, Granite State Opera, and OperaProvidence. He is a frequent interpreter of the works of J.S. Bach performing regularly as a part of Emmanuel Music’s weekly cantata cycle, where he was honored to be the Lorraine Hunt-Lieberson Fellow for the 2007–2008 concert season. In addition to his solo career Jason is a respected teacher in the Boston area. In 2008 he joined the voice faculty at Brandeis University, in addition his is faculty at the Berkshire Choral Festival. He can be heard on recordings with Blue Heron on the Blue Heron Label and on BEMF’s Grammy-nominated recording of Lully’s Pysché and Charpentier’s Acteon on the CPO label.
Sarah Mead, viola da gamba
Sarah Mead, viola da gamba, is Associate Professor of the Practice of Music at Brandeis University, where she directs the Early Music Ensemble and is a frequent guest choral conductor. In 2007 Early Music America recognized her with the Thomas Binkley Award for Outstanding Achievement by a Collegium Director. Her handbook on 16th-century music theory is used in numerous classrooms, and she is recognized throughout North America as a clinician in historical performance. She has led early music ensembles at Tufts & Northeastern Universities as well as at Trinity College of Music in London, and has taught theory & performance practice in the graduate program in early music at Longy School of Music in Cambridge. Last spring she was the International Tutor at the Australian Viola da Gamba Society’s annual Easter Viol School. She is the former Program Director for Early Music Week at Pinewoods, and recently became Music Director for the Viola da Gamba Society’s annual Conclave.
Vivian Montgomery, organ
Vivian Montgomery is an award-winning harpsichordist/fortepianist and recipient of a Solo Recitalist Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. She earned her Bachelor and Master Degrees in Early Keyboards from the University of Michigan, and received the DMA in Historical Performance from Case Western Reserve University in 2007. Her performing life encompasses concerts throughout the U.S., especially with her acclaimed women-in-music ensemble Cecilia’s Circle, the groundbreaking Galhano/ Montgomery Duo, and the new period instruments initiative, Adastra. Her recordings can be found on Centaur, Innova, and Schubert Club. Vivian has served as Music Director for the Baroque opera company Ex Machina, the CWRU Baroque Orchestra, and the Dickinson College Collegium, and she is now the named director of the Jurow International Performance Competition. Since 2003, she has been on the faculty of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, teaching harpsichord and historical performance. She has also taught at Dickinson College, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Massachusetts-Boston. Vivian’s work as a Visiting Scholar at the WSRC has been supported by fellowships from the American Association of University Women and the Boston Public Library.
 Gerrod Pagenkopf, countertenor
Countertenor Gerrod Pagenkopf has been praised by the Houston Chronicle as having “an elegant bearing and a sweet, even sound,” and by the Boston Musical Intelligencer as “emitt[ing] one gorgeous mellifluousness after another.” Gerrod is a core artist with Grammy-nominated Ars Lyrica Houston, and has performed with ensembles including Mercury Baroque, the Bach Society of Houston, the Houston Chamber Choir, Orchestra X (Houston), the Green Bay Symphony, the Bel Canto Chorus of Milwaukee, Masterworks Chorale of Boston, Exsultemus, Blue Heron, Ensemble Altera, La Donna Musicale, and is a frequent soloist with Ensemble Suave. Gerrod has performed as soloist in such masterworks as Handel’s Messiah and Israel in Egypt; Bach’s Passions, Magnificat, and Mass in B Minor; Vivaldi’s Gloria and Dixit Dominus; as well as numerous other sacred works. He is also a choral scholar with Music at Marsh Chapel, Boston University, where he is a frequent soloist in the Bach Cantata series. A native of rural Wisconsin, Gerrod received a bachelor’s degree in Music Education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a Master’s of Music in Voice Performance from the University of Houston. Gerrod currently resides in Boston and studies with Dr. Rebecca Folsom.
Emily Walhout, lirone & viola da gamba
Emily Walhout grew up playing the cello, but discovered her love for Baroque bass lines at Oberlin Conservatory, where she took up the Baroque cello and the viola da gamba, thus launching an active career in early music. Emily was a founding member of La Luna, and was a member of The King’s Noyse from 1987 through 2004. Emily has played viola da gamba or principal cello for the Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra, Seattle Baroque, Portland Baroque, Les Boreades, Les Violons Du Roy, New York Collegium, and Trinity Consort (Portland, OR). She has toured as a chamber musician throughout North America and Europe, and she has recorded extensively with the Boston Camerata, La Luna and The King’s Noyse. A resident of Waterown, MA, Emily maintains a small studio of private students and coaches several devoted viol consorts.
 Sumner Thompson, baritone
Hailed as “the real thing” (Cleveland Plain Dealer) and praised for his “elegant style” (Boston Globe), Sumner Thompson is one of today’s most sought-after young baritones. His appearances on the operatic stage include roles in productions from Boston to Copenhagen, including the Boston Early Music Festival’s productions of
Conradi’s Ariadne (2005) and Lully’s Psyché (2007) and several European tours with Contemporary Opera Denmark as Orfeo in Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo. He has performed across North America as a soloist with Concerto Palatino, Tafelmusik, Apollo’s Fire, Les Boreades de Montréal, Les Voix Baroques, and many other ensembles and orchestras of both conventional and early music inclinations. Also a noted recitalist, Sumner has sung in Stuttgart, Amsterdam, and Regensburg, and at London’s famed Wigmore Hall.
 Brenna Wells, soprano
With a voice described as “fresh,” “ethereal,” and “elegant,” soprano Brenna Wells is garnering attention for her varied performances. Her recent operatic roles include La Poesie and La Paix in Les Arts Florissants; Galatea in Acis and Galatea; Venus in L’Europe Galante; Sandman in Hansel and Gretel; Anna II in The Seven Deadly Sins; and Première Nymphe de l’Acheron in the Boston Early Music Festival’s production and Grammy-nominated recording of Lully’s Psyché. Brenna has sung and recorded with such acclaimed ensembles as the BEMF Orchestra, Blue Heron, Britten-Pears Baroque Orchestra, Apollo’s Fire, Boston Baroque, Opera Boston, L’Académie, and the Handel and Haydn Society. She has appeared in many festivals and programs world-wide including the London Handel Festival, Aldeburgh Festival, Amherst Early Music Festival, BBC Proms, and in both 2008 and 2009, she was selected to perform in the Early Music Seminars at the Fondazione Giorgio Cini in Venice, Italy. She is also featured on two new BEMF recordings, Marc-Antoine Charpentier's Actéon and John Blow's Venus and Adonis, both on the CPO label. Last season, Brenna made her soloist debut at Symphony Hall under the direction of Harry Christophers and appeared as the First Witch in the BEMF Chamber Opera production of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas. During the 2011-2012 season Brenna will perform as the soprano soloist in Bach's Christmas Oratorio with the Harvard-Radcliff Chorus and will sing the role of La Musique in Charpentier's Les Plaisirs de Versailles with the L'Académie ensemble. She also returns as a BEMF Vocal Ensemble member in their productions of Charpentier's La Descente d’Orphée aux Enfers and La Couronne de Fleurs, singing the roles of Enone and Amaranthe, respectively.
 Zachary Wilder, tenor
Described as possessing a “remarkably clear, flexible lyric tenor,” Zachary Wilder is a much sought after performer on both the operatic and concert stage. He has performed with numerous groups across the United States, including Apollo’s Fire, Boston Early Music Festival, Camerata Ventepane, Emmanuel Music, Harvard Baroque Orchestra, Houston Bach Society, Mercury Baroque, Pacific Musicworks, and Seraphic Fire. He recently made his European debut as Renaud in Lully’s Armide at the Théâtre de Gennevilliers in Paris. He will be returning to France in summer 2011 to perform as Coridon in Händel’s Acis and Galatea at Festival D’Aix en Provence and again at La Fenice in Venice. He was recently named the 2010-2011 Lorraine Hunt Lieberson Fellow at Emmanuel Music and is a former Gerdine Young Artist at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis as well as a Tanglewood Music Center Fellow. Highlights from this season include Schumann’s Das Paradies und die Peri, the evangelist in Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion, a recital of Portuguese song for the Portuguese Consulate of Boston, Mozart’s Requiem, as well as his Carnegie Hall debut in Bach’s Mass in B Minor with L’Ensemble Médical of Münich.
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