Emily Wood (MM vocal performance, Baylor University, ’21) is a soprano and composer from Aliso Viejo, CA. As a soloist, she has sung Poppea and Fortuna in L’incoronazione di Poppea, given several recitals, and sung concert solos in Bach’s Magnificat, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, and Bach’s BWV 150. She has enjoyed a variety of roles in church music, having served as soloist, choral singer, worship leader, and children’s choir director.

Lauren Lestage is a native Texan soprano, recently moved to Denver in 2019. She attended the University of North Texas, and received her BM in Vocal Performance and Music Education. She is an active choreographer having choreographed for performances with UNT Opera, as well as many highschool and middle school choral and theatre programs. Outside of school, she has sung with the Houston Chamber Choir, Dallas Choral Festival, Elus Vocal Ensemble, and Opera Colorado. She is a first year VOCES8 US Scholar.

Soprano Jess Huetteman has performed in Europe, the United States, and China. As a chorister, she has performed under the batons of Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Pablo Heras-Casado, Simon Carrington, and Julian Wachner. Currently, Jess sings with the VOCES8 US Scholars and Collegium Ancora, teaches voice at the RI Philharmonic Music School, and directs the choir at Bell Street Chapel. Jess holds an MM in Voice Performance and Pedagogy from Westminster Choir College and a BA in Music and Psychology from UMass Amherst.

Jenna Hernandez, alto, is passionate about ensemble singing and music education. She served as a choir director at South Salem High School where her advanced treble chorus was invited to perform at the regional NAFME convention. Jenna also performed with In Mulieribus, a treble ensemble devoted to performing early and contemporary works for treble voices. Currently, Jenna is pursuing her master’s degree in choral conducting at Baylor University under the tutelage of Dr. Lynne Gackle and Dr. Stephen Gusukuma. She also serves as a principal musician at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Waco, TX.

Australian-born, Cincinnati-based mezzo soprano Grace Kiver is a sensitive performer equally at home on both the choral and operatic stages. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Penn State University and a Master’s degree in Vocal Performance from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. In addition to solo, choral, and operatic performances at the collegiate level, Grace has also been professionally contracted by Cincinnati Opera, Queen City Opera, Collegium Cincinnati, Coro Volante, and is a two-year member of VOCES8’s US Scholars Program.

Michael Skarke, praised for his “exquisite, ethereal tone quality,” is quickly making a name for himself as one of America’s top young countertenors. His professional experience includes performances with American Baroque Opera, Haymarket Opera, Opera NEO, and Pacific Opera Project, as well as appearances with the GRAMMY® award-winning Houston Chamber Choir and the South Dakota based ensemble Transept. Michael is honored to have been chosen as one of the first four returning VOCES8 Scholars, where he will serve as the alto section-leader of the 2020-2022 groups.

Maxwell Ary is a tenor from Dallas, and an enthusiastic choral musician. Max graduated from the University of North Texas in 2019 and continues to work as both a soloist and a collaborative choral musician around North Texas. Beginning in the fall of 2021, Max will start a graduate program in Voice Performance at UCLA in California.

Noted for his “ease of production” and “excellent treatment of the Baroque tenor,” Aaron Cates is an active ensemble performer, and has been a featured soloist with the Baylor Symphony Orchestra and the Canterbury Cathedral Choir-in-Residence. Recently, Aaron has received vocal fellowships for his participation in the Charlotte Bach Akademie, and has participated as a young artist in the Seraphic Fire Professional Choral Institute. Aaron is a native of Charleston, South Carolina, and holds a Master’s degree in Vocal Performance from Baylor University.

Logan Combs (he/him/his), from Haysville, Kansas currently attends St. Olaf College in pursuit of a BM in Choral Church Music. Logan sings Tenor with the St. Olaf Choir and the St. Olaf College Chamber Singers, and studies voice under Professor Tesfa Wondemagegnehu. He is a Music Research Tutor, the St. Olaf Choir Student Manager, and the Music Coordinator for the St. Olaf Student Congregation. He is very interested in all things choral music, musicology, music history, arts management, and performance. Logan is making plans to pursue graduate studies in Choral Conducting or Vocal Performance.

Adrien Redford is the President/Co-founder and Co-Artistic Director of PRISM (prismensemble.org). Adrien works most often with the Los Angeles Master Chorale and is an active chorister in the LA choral scene. They've recently completed recording projects with J. Aaron McDermid and Constellation, and with Eric Whitacre for The Sacred Veil (available from Signum Records and on Spotify). Adrien is a proud returning member of the VOCES8 USA Scholars Program, sponsored by the highly-acclaimed British ensemble VOCES8.

Christopher Short is a 23-year-old freelance musician from the Raleigh, North Carolina area. Christopher graduated Magna Cum Laude from the East Carolina University School of Music as a double major in Vocal Performance and Music Theory/Composition. Christopher has traveled internationally as a choral musician, performed regionally in a variety of operatic and oratorio performances, is an award-winning composer, and enjoys regularly performing as a singer/songwriter in the Raleigh area.

Ross Tamaccio is a baritone based in Baltimore, Maryland. He is a well known soloist with the Baltimore Choral Arts Society, Central Maryland Chorale, and Bach in Baltimore. As a highly sought-after professional chorister, Ross has performed with the Oregon Bach Festival Chorus, The Thirteen, The Basilica of the National Shrine of The Immaculate Conception, Washington National Cathedral, and Handel and Haydn Society. He is a graduate of Peabody Conservatory.