73rd ANNUAL BACH FESTIVAL GUEST ARTISTS
Soprano TAMARA MATTHEWS has risen to the forefront of the international music scene through her outstanding performances in opera and on concert stages around the world. Noted for her “purity of tone and agility” (Fanfare Magazine), she won first prize at the Musica Sacra Bach Vocal Competition and made her Carnegie Hall debut in 1994. She has worked with many esteemed conductors, including Leonard Slatkin, Joseph Flummerfelt, Luis Biava, Robert Page, Richard Westenburg, and Joshua Rifkin. She made her debut as soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra in Beethoven’s Mass in C and Choral Fantasy. Upcoming and recent engagements include a Kennedy Center debut with the Bach Choir of Bethlehem in Bach’s B Minor Mass, as soloist with the Washington Bach Consort, and appearances with the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia and the Philharmonic Orchestra of Mexico. Matthews has over fifteen recordings to her credit. Her output in works by J.S. Bach can be heard on Koch International Classics, Dorian, and Pro Gloria Musicae. Other recordings include those on Angel EMI Classics, Lyrichord, and Musical Heritage Society, as well as a current project with the Boston Baroque on Telarc.
CHRISTINE ABRAHAM, mezzo-soprano, has sung with the New York City Opera, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Santa Fe Opera, the Boston Lyric Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, and others. Recently she sang the role of Bradamante in Alcina with Boston Baroque, of Blanche in Dialogues of the Carmelites with Palm Beach Opera, and of Sesto in Giulio Cesare with Utah Opera. Her Bach performances include major works with the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra, the Bethlehem Bach Festival at Carnegie Hall, and the Baldwin-Wallace College Bach Festival where she makes her fourth appearance. Opera News has hailed her as “alluring and musically sensitive” while the Washington Post noted her “warmth, clarity, and expressive power.” Recent appearances include ones with the Metropolitan Opera (as Ida in Die Fledermaus), Toledo Opera, Bard Festival, Philadelphia Orchestra, Boston Lyric Opera, ProMusica Chamber Orchestra, the Santa Barbara Grand Opera, and the Vermont Symphony. She sang the role of Diana in Cavalli’s La Calisto; a recording of this performance was released by the BBC.
Tenor BENJAMIN BUTTERFIELD, regarded as a “musically arresting presence” by the San Francisco Chronicle, returns to our stage for his third appearance in the Bach Festival. He has performed extensively in Europe, the Far East, Israel, New Zealand, Canada, and throughout the U.S. Butterfield has appeared with the London Symphony Chorus, State Orchestra of Thessaloniki, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Toronto International Choral Festival, The English Concert with Trevor Pinnock, RIAS Kammerchor of Berlin, Les Musiciens du Louvre, L’Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, Les Violons du Roi, Saito Kinen Festival with Seiji Ozawa, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Carmel Bach Festival, Bach Choir of Bethlehem, Handel & Haydn Society of Boston, Opera Ontario, Festival Vancouver, Calgary Philharmonic, and the symphony orchestras of Toronto, Vancouver, San Francisco, Washington, New Jersey, Houston, Detroit, and Chicago. His recordings can be found on CBC, Koch International, Marquis, and Dorian. Two have been recognized by the Juno Awards. Butterfield has radio, film, and TV credits, including Bach’s B Minor Mass with the Bach Choir of Bethlehem for PBS.
Baritone CHRISTÒPHEREN NOMURA has been praised for his “subtle and direct” musical delivery (Boston Globe). Known for song recital and chamber music, he has performed over 250 concerts in North America, Europe, Asia, South America, and Africa with orchestras that include the Boston Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony, and the Boston Pops under internationally renowned conductors such as Leonard Bernstein, Seiji Ozawa, James Conlon, Roger Norrington, Christopher Hogwood, Ton Koopman, Andrew Parrott, and Martin Pearlman. A noted Bach specialist, Christòpheren Nomura has been a frequent performer with the Bach Choir of Bethlehem, the Carmel Bach Festival, Handel & Haydn Society, Boston Early Music Festival, and Boston Baroque. He has received a Grammy nomination, a Fulbright Grant, and First Prize in the 1992 Young Concert Artists International Auditions. His discography includes recordings on the Sony, Dorian, Teldec, Telarc, London, Denon, TDK, L’oiseau Lyre, Nonesuch, Center Stage Records, and Well Tempered labels.
Violinist MONICA HUGGETT is described by Early Music America as a "prominent violinist in the early music world since the 1970s." Huggett was introduced to the Baroque violin in her teens and felt an immediate empathy with the instrument. She has toured throughout the world as soloist, director, and chamber musician and has been guest director of the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, Ensemble Arion Montreal, Tafelmusik Toronto, City Orchestra of Granada, and the Seville Baroque Orchestra. Huggett has recorded with the Hanover Band, Raglan Baroque Players, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Academy of Ancient Music, and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra (which she formed with Ton Koopman in 1980). She currently directs the Portland Baroque Orchestra and performs with her ensemble, Sonnerie, dividing her time between the United States and her native England. In 2002 Sonnerie won a "Best Instrumental Recording" award for an ASV-label CD of music by Biber. Huggett performs on a violin made in 1618, in Cremona, Italy, by Hieronymus and Antonius Amati. Her many recordings can be found on the EMI, Harmonia Mundi, Philips, Virgin, Erato, Decca, ASV, Avie, and CPO labels.
73rd ANNUAL BACH FESTIVAL INFORMATION LINKS
2005 Guest Artist Biographical Information
2005 Schedule of Events
2005 Conservatory Alumni Events (open to the public)
Bach Festival Overview
Tamara Matthews appears by arrangement with Robert Gilber & Co., 889 Ninth Avenue, Suite No. 3, New York, NY 10019(212)397-5299.
Christine Abraham appears by arrangement with Herbert Barrett Management, Inc.,
266 West 37th Street, New York, NY 10018, (212) 245-3530.
Benjamin Butterfield appears by arrangement with IMG Artists, 825 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10019, (212) 489-8300.
Christòpheren Nomura appears by arrangement with California Artists Management, 41 Sutter Street, San Francisco, CA 94104, (415) 362-2838.
Monica Huggett appears by arrangement with Clarion Seven Muses, 47 Whitehall Park, London , England, N19 3TW (+44(0)20 7281 9687
275 Eastland Rd.