Kaye L. Clements (HW 2001 - 2004, 2006) of Oak Park, flute and recorder virtuoso, is an active performer and teacher throughout the Chicago area.

She has served on the performance faculties of Concordia University and Roosevelt University and is associate professor of flute and music history and chair of the General Education Studies Department at VanderCook College of Music in Chicago. She founded and maintains her own private studio, The Flute Group, in the western suburbs.

Nicci Krebasch (HW 2002 - 2004, 2006) of Wood Dale is an original member of the Handel Week Chorus and sang with New Classic Singers at College of DuPage and New Oratorio Singers, Techney.

She sings solo recitals and is cantor for Grace Episcopal Church and performed in Bach's Magnificat and Faure Requiem with the Northwest Choral Society.

Mezzo Soprano Amelia Fonti (HW 2002-2004, 2006) of Chicago, returns to the Handel Week festival this year as a soloist in Dixit Dominus.

Coming to us from Australia, she received her training in voice and opera at the Queensland Conservatory of Music in Brisbane. She is vocal coach in residence with the Chicago Children’s Choir and assists in traing the Lyric Opera’s Children’s Chorus.

Mezzo Soprano Michelle Wrighte (HW 2004, 2006) of Oak Park returns to the Handel Week Festival singing in Ezio.

Her operatic talent has been honed through the Lyric Opera’s Center for Americas Artists and she has performed at Ravinia and Grant Park, moving outward to the Milwaukee Symphony; Glimmerglass Opera, Cooperstown, NY; Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy; Utah Opera; Indianapolis Opera; and Opera Theatre of St. Louis.

Last year she was featured in the Ned Rorem West Coast song cycle Evidence of Things Not Seen and San Franciscos Other Minds Festival. She has held lead roles at the San Francisco Opera, Tulsa Opera, Tampa Opera, and Pamiro Opera in Italy.

She won critical praise for her portrayal of Emilia opposite Ben Heppner and Renee Fleming in Sir Peter Halls new production of Otello, which opened the 2001-02 Lyric season. In the past two seasons at Lyric, she performed in Carmen, Rigoletto, The Great Gatsby, Jenufa, and Macbeth.

She comes from Des Moines, holds degrees from Drake University, University of Illinois and a certificate of opera studies from Temple University, Philadelphia.

Amy Pickering (HW 2002, 2006) of Chicago, mezzo-soprano, has a blended career of opera, musical theater and concert work.

She has held leads at Grant Park, Light Opera Works, Pamiro Opera, Chicago Opera Theater's student matinee performances, L'Opera Piccola, Muddy River Opera, Sheboygan Symphony, Toledo Symphony, and Central City Opera and Colorado Symphony. She has performed supporting roles with the Chicago Symphony and Ravinia Festival orchestras. She holds an M.A. in music from Northwestern University and a B.A. from DePaul University. She is a member of the voice faculty at UIC, Chicago, and Judson College.

Julia Bentley (HW 2002, 2006) of River Forest, mezzo-soprano, has appeared in leading roles with opera companies throughout America and has been featured as soloist with orchestras led by such notables as Robert Shaw and Pierre Boulez.

In 2001, she appeared to critical acclaim as soloist at Carnegie Hall with Mr. Boulez. This season has included performances of Messiah with the Milwaukee Symphony, and title role in Britten's The Rape of Lucretia with Chicago Opera Theater. She performs in Chicago with Mostly Music, CUBE, Contemporary Chamber Players, Orion Ensemble, Pinotage, Ensemble Noamnesia, Chicago Chamber Musicians, and the MusicNOW series at Symphony Center with Conductor Cliff Colnot. She has been a regular with the Chicago Chamber Musicians' Music at the Millennium Series. She began with apprenticeships at Santa Fe Opera and Chicago Lyric Opera.

Todd Wedge (HW 2006), Tenor, Is joining Handel Week this year as a soloist in Dixit Dominus.

He has recently graduated from the Northwestern University School of Music after having received his undergraduate training from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. His versatile repertoire stretches from Bach to Britten and his passion for the early repertoire has made him a featured artist throughout the United States and Europe. Mr. Wedge is a student of Sunny Joy Langton and has worked with such renowned pedagogues as Lorraine Manz, Richard Miller and Renata Scotto.

Operatically, Mr. Wedge was last seen with Chicago Light Opera and has performed leading roles from: Gianni Schicchi, Alcina, The Bartered Bride, Don Giovanni, The Merry Widow, Idomeneo, West Side Story, The Rape of Lucretia and The Rake’s Progress. Mr. Wedge is currently a studio instructor of singing and class instructor of vocal pedagogy at the University of Notre Dame.

Andrea Holliday (HW 2006), is making her first appearance with Handel Week. Often heard in the larger concert works of Handel, Mozart, Haydn and Vivaldi, she has a particular devotion to the music of Bach. Her performing gamut, however, spans classical new music, show music and a large Romantic repertoire.

She has been guest artist with the Michigan Bach Collegium in several Bach cantatas, most recently the Wedding Cantata #202. She has been a frequent soloist on the Bach Cantata Series at Grace Lutheran Church, River Forest, where she returns this season in the celebrated Cantata 31, "Der Himmel lacht." Among many appearances with the Downers Grove Choral Society will be the April '06 performance of Bach's Mass in B minor.

In Chicago's Auditorium Theatre, she was soprano soloist in Mendelssohn works for a post-September-11 benefit organized by the Joffrey Ballet. In 2004 she was principal soprano soloist in Mozart's Great C minor Mass with the Rockford Bach Chamber Choir. Her performance of the Mozart Requiem with the Muskegon (Michigan) Chamber Choir & Orchestra was noted in the local press.

A busy recitalist, Ms. Holliday has presented dozens of art-song programs at various venues. She continues her recitals during the 05-06 season, accompanied by her husband, conductor and keyboardist Thomas Wikman. She has a web page at www.mthp.org/teachers/Andrea.html

Eric Ashcraft (HW 2006) Joins Handel Week to sing in Ezio this year. He has received critical praise for his resonant and flexible tenor as well as his expressiveness on stage

Mr. Ashcraft's most notable portrayals have been Don Jose with Pine Mountain Opera, Rodolfo with the Erie and Nevada Opera Theaters and Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor with Cleveland Opera. He has performed with the New York City Opera and Greater Buffalo Opera and appeared as Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni with Dublin Grand Opera and Opera Northern Ireland. He made his debut as Antonio in Wagner's Das Liebesverbot with the Wexford Festival Opera.

Musical sensitivity and excellent diction are the hallmarks of Mr. Ashcraft's solo orchestral performances. He has appeared in Beethoven's Ninth, the Stabat Maters of Rossini and Dvorák, and several works by Handel, including Messiah, Judas Maccabaeus and Samson.

Mr. Ashcraft was a New York District winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and received his Master of Music and an Artist's Diploma in Opera from the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. He serves on the faculty of Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois.

Edward Zelnis (HW 2004 - 2005) Returned to the Handel Week Festival last year singing in Judas Maccabaeus.

He is music director of Park Ridge Chorale, Christ the King Roman Catholic Church in Beverly and Congregation Kol Ami in Water Tower Place, Chicago..

Jeri-Lou Zike (HW 2005) Is joining Handel Week this year to play for "The Intimate Handel" Concert.

One of Chicago's busiest musicians, Ms. Zike is Assistant Concertmaster of both the Lake Forest Symphony and Symphony of the Shores, a member of Symphony II, The City Musick, Basically Bach, and the Chicago Baroque Ensemble (she studied with the renowned Baroque violinist Monica Huggett at the Vancouver Early Music Festival). She is the concertmaster for the University of Chicago Baroque Concerts and Bach Week in Evanston, and teaches at the Music Center of the North Shore.

Thomas Dymit (HW 2005) Joined Handel Week in 2005 to sing the lead in Judas Maccabaeus.

A member of the Chicago Symphony Chorus, Dymit was a soloist with the CSO & chorus on their Grammy Award-winning recordings of Arnold Schoenberg's Moses und Aron (with Sir Georg Solti) and works by Barber conducted by Andrew Schenk. The tenor first appeared with the Chicago Symphony in 1983.

ContraltoRuth M. Lidecka (HW 2001, 2003-2004) has appeared in numerous productions in the Chicago area, most recently as Cieska in the Chicago Opera Theater’s production of Gianni Schicchi and Buoso's Ghost.

She is a veteran performer of Gilbert and Sullivan’s operettas, having appeared in all 13 of them. She has also appeared at Chicago Opera Theater, Light Opera Works and in a production of the Breasts of Tiresias by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. Choral experience includes the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Chorus, the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra Chorus, and the Fleur de Lys Chorale.

Tenor Jay Morrissey (HW 2002 - 2004) of Chicago returns to us as Ahasuerus, King of Persia.

He debuted at Handel Week in the 2002 production of Israel in Egypt. He holds a B.A. from Notre Dame, South Bend, and M.A. degree in music from Roosevelt. He has performed with Chicago Opera Theatre in Cosi fan tutte and Handel’s Semele and with the Florentine Opera in Milwaukee.

Diane Ragains (HW 2001 - 2002) of Chicago, lyric soprano, is known for her dramatic coloratura quality, wide vocal range and extraordinary musicianship

Her debut was with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Seija Ozawa in Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. What followed have been many guest appearances with major American orchestras in St. Louis, Cincinnati, Omaha, the Brooklyn Philharmonic and Houston Symphony Chamber Orchestra, then with Edinburgh Festival in Scotland. Locally she is a regular at the Vermeer, Contemporary Chamber Players and at Grant Park. She is currently on the faculty at Northern Illinois University and holds degrees from Indiana University and Chicago Conservatory.

DAVID SOLEM (HW 2000 - 2002) of Chicago is one of this area's finest harpsichordists. He is music director of SS Faith, Hope and Charity Church in Winnetka.

Melody Turner (HW 2001) is organist-music director at the Episcopal Church of Our Savior in Chicago and is an associate of the American Guild of Organists.

She holds a degree from Indiana University in organ performance and a master's degree in sacred music from Union Theological Seminary in New York City, plus additional work at the University of Illinois. Active in the church music scene for more than 30 years, she teaches Suzuki Violin and piano in Oak Park  and plays violin in the Oak Park/River Forest Symphony. 

Lisa Flores (HW 2001) of Evanston, soprano, is emerging locally as a featured soloist and has appeared in young artists' programs at Opera Theater of St. Louis, Glimmerglass Opera, and Chicago Opera Theater.

Her operatic roles include Armina, Adele, Elvira (L'Italiana in Algeri), Frasquita, Gretel, Musetta, Norina, Queen of the Night, Susanna and Zerlina. She has been a soloist in such works as Schubert's Mass in G Major, Handel's Dexit Dominus, Beethoven's Mass in C Major and Mendelssohn's Elijah. She holds a master of music degree and artist's diploma from Northwestern University.

Donald S. Wright (HW 2001) of Park Ridge, organist, is director of music at St. Richard of Chichester Church in the Edgebrook neighborhood of Chicago.

He holds degrees in organ, piano, and church music from the American Conservatory of Music, Chicago, and is a frequent area recitalist and was featured at the national convention of the Organ Historical Society in 1984. His other passion is owning a 1930 Cadillac V-16.
 

Tracy Watson (HW 2000) Has sung numerous featured roles throughout the US and Europe.

She has portrayed many leading rolls at the Theater Oberhausen and has been a featured soloist at the gala opening of Nordrhein Westfalen Festival. She has also performed at the Whitewater-Sorg Opera Companies, Hawaii Opera Theater, Chicago Opera Theater, Light Opera Works, Chamber Opera of Chicago, and the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. She was a member of Lyric Opera’s Center for American Artists.
She has been soloist with the Grant Park Music Festival, the Flagstaff Symphony, Princeton Pro Musica, the Elgin and West Suburban Choral Unions, Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra, the Lake Geneva Opera Festival, the Bach Society of St. Louis, Evanston Symphony, the Sheboygan Symphony, the Fox Valley Symphony, and the Symphony of Oak Park & River Forest. She has appeared on the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series on WFMT-FM, Chicago.
A recipient of many honors, she was awarded first vocal prize in the American Opera Society of Chicago Competition and the Lynne Harvey Award.