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Bach Index Master Class Overview 2004 2003 2001 2000 Roster 1993-2006 Festival Website David's Website Photos!! August 3 Concert Review
 Jenni Samuelson - soprano Soprano Jenni Samuelson has delighted audiences across the country with her vivid portrayal of roles including Susanna (The Marriage of Figaro), Despina (Cosi fan tutte), Musetta (La Boheme), Rosina (The Barber of Seville), Nanetta (Falstaff), Princess Lenore (Many Moons), Betsy (Sweet Betsy from Pike), Josephine (H.M.S. Pinafore), Emma (Wise Man of the West), Laoula (L Etoile), Nanetta (Falstaff), Belinda (Dido and Aeneus,) and Adina (The Elixer of Love). She has appeared with San Francisco Opera Center, Cinnabar Opera, San Francisco Opera Guild, Chicago Light Opera Works, San Francisco Pocket Opera, West Bay Opera, Palm Beach Opera, Opera San Jose, Western Union Theater, Skylight Opera Theater and Eugene Opera. In addition to her operatic activities, Ms. Samuelson has been a featured soloist in Bach's Christmas Oratorio, Handel's Messiah, Mozart's Requiem and Monteverdi's Vespers 1610 with Sonoma Bach Society. She is the recipient of several awards, most recently third prize at in Metropolitan Opera Pacific Regional finals.In the fall of 2002 she will return to Sonoma State University where she will serve with David Gordon on the voice faculty. Email: jennisam@ev1.net  Elspeth Franks - mezzo-soprano(San Francisco, CA) British-born Elspeth Franks is one of the West Coast's busiest young singers. A noted exponent of the "trouser-role" repertoire, Ms. Franks includes such roles as Cherubino, Hansel, Octavian, Sesto, Nerone, Teseo, Isolier, Lazuli, and Prince Orlofsky in her extensive repertoire. Not averse to wearing a skirt when absolutely necessary, Ms. Franks also portrays the roles of Mrs. Grose, The Secretary, Meg Page and Berta, as well as Suzuki. Recent engagements have included the Bear Valley Music Festival (Cherubino, Orlofsky and Berta); the San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival (Cherubino); the West Mann Music Festival (Ernesto - Ii mondo della luna; Israelitish Man - Judas Maccabeus); Rogue Opera (OR) as Orlofsky and Suzuki; West Bay Opera and Pocket Opera. As a Young Artist with Florida Grand Opera, Ms. Franks was heard as Bianca (The Rape of Lucretia), the Aunt (Madama Butterfly), and Mrs. Nolan (The Medium). 2001 marked her debut New York debut as Commere in "Four Saints in Three Acts" with the Mark Morris Dance Group, and as soloist with Philharmonia Baroque and Berkeley Symphony under the batons of Nicholas McGegan and Kent Nagano. Upcoming engagements include Mrs. Ott (Susannah) with Eugene Opera, and the role of Ruggiero in Handel's "Alcina" with Pocket Opera. Ms. Franks is also an active performer on the concert stage, both in recital and oratorio work, and has performed recitals throughout the United Kingdom and the United States featuring the music of contemporary English, French and American composers. Email: TheElspeth@aol.com
Ryan has a career equally devoted to oratorio, opera, and recital. He has been a featured artist with the Handel & Haydn Society, Kings Noyse, Ensemble Abendmusick, the Emmanuel Music Bach Cantata Series, Coro Allegro, The Orchestra of New Spain, Boston College, Harvard University, the El Paso Chamber Orchestra, and the Granite State Symphony. Festival appearances include Tanglewood, Holland Festival Oude Muzieke, and the Boston Early Music Festival. In Boston Symphony Hall, he was a soloist in Israels 5Oth Birthday Celebration and was seen on the A & E Television Network's "Salute to Stephen Sondheim." He made his New York debut in 1998 at the Buxtehude Festival. His operatic repertoire spans several centuries and includes music from Cavalli to Gilbert & Sullivan, Johann Strauss, and Stephen Sondheim. Ryan is also an accomplished recitalist, and has been especially praised for his interpretations of Schumann, Vaughan-Williams, and Ravel. Some of Ryan's upcoming performances include Haydn Theresienmesse conducted by Paul McCreesh, Brahms Liebeslieder Waltzes under Harry Bickett and Haydn Lord Nelson Mass led by John Finney with the Handel & Haydn Society, Handel Brockes Passion with Emmanuel Music conducted by Craig Smith, and concerts in San Francisco and throughout New England with the Cambridge Bach Ensemble. In addition, he will be performing two recitals of Schumann Dichterliebe at Boston College and Plymouth State College. This summer he portrays Nemorino in L 'Elisir d'Amore with Ralynmor Opera. Email: rturner@uri.edu
Baritone Brian Chu has garnered critical acclaim for his interpretations of music from the 17th century to the present, having worked with noted conductors and exponents, including William Christie, Malcolm Bilson, and Peter Schreier. He has collaborated with numerous choral ensembles, in repertoire including Monteverdi's 1610 Vespers with Boston's The King's Noyse, Bach's St. John Passion and Handel's Messiah with the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra of New York, Mozart's Requiem and Handel's Israel in Egypt at Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore, and the American premiere of Telemann's oratorio Die Auferstehung in Pittsburgh. Mr. Chu has been a featured soloist with diverse groups along the eastern seaboard, including The Dryden Ensemble's series of Bach cantata concerts in Princeton and Pennsylvania, the Handel Choir of Baltimore, The Philadelphia Singers, Washington's Orchestra of the 17th Century and the Capitol Hill Chorale. An avid recitalist, he has given concerts at Weill and Merkin Recital Halls in New York, and most recently was heard at the Phillips Collection in Washington for a program of song premieres. His collaborations with contemporary composers over the years have promoted the work of emerging talents, including Aaron Jay Kernis, Alan Mandel, and Richard Einhorn. Brian's operatic credits encompass a wide range of styles, from French (Charpentier's Medee) and Italian (Cavalli's Egisto) baroque, to more standard roles including Aeneas, Belcore, Lescaut, Demetrius, and Rossini's Figaro. He has also appeared at the Caramoor Music Festival in New York in concert performances of bel canto opera. Trained as a concert pianist, Mr. Chu studied to be an architect before pursuing his first love of music. Recent performances this season in the Washington metro area include Carissimi's Jephte, Handel's Messiah, Orff's Carmina Burana, and Brahms' Requiem. Upcoming engagements include a program of Dvorak and Martinu songs at the Czech Embassy, a tour of the orchestral songs of Sibelius in Bulgaria, and Mahler's Songs of a Wayfarer with the Hopkins Symphony in Baltimore. Email: bmingchu@yahoo.com
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Ryan Turner - tenor
Brian Ming Chu - baritone