Soloists for Messiah

We are pleased to introduce you to our exceptional cast of soloists for Messiah. Katharine Dain, Ian Howell and Steven Brennfleck are making their debuts with Handel Choir of Baltimore this season. You may remember Craig Phillips from his outstanding performance in Handel Choir's Haydn Creation two years ago.

KATHARINE DAIN
Soprano Katharine Dain has been praised by The New York Times for her "rich tone," "deep emotion," and "lovely, passionate" performances.  She has sung solo roles in the oratorios of Bach, Handel, Mozart, Purcell, Haydn, Mendelssohn, Britten and Stravinsky, in the operas of Mozart (Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte) and Cavalli (Calisto in La Calisto), and in premieres of several contemporary works including those by Stockhausen and Gervasoni.  She has been a soloist with the Collegiate Chorale, Mark Morris Dance Group, New York City Ballet, New York Virtuoso Singers, Choir of Trinity Wall Street, Parley of Instruments, and New England Baroque Soloists in venues ranging from Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center to the Stone, the French Consulate, and the Austrian Cultural Forum. She has co-founded two critically acclaimed chamber groups in New York:  Callisto Ascending, a period-instrument ensemble, and Lunatics at Large, a group with a focus on contemporary music lauded by senior Times critic Allan Kozinn as “young, energetic and highly polished.”  She holds degrees from Harvard University, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and Mannes College of Music.

IAN HOWELL
Praised by The New York Times for his "clear voice and attractive timbre" and San Francisco Classical Voice for his "flawless singing," countertenor Ian Howell has performed on major concert stages across five continents and thirty-five U.S. states.  In 2006 Howell took First Prize at the American Bach Soloists International Solo Competition and Third Prize at the Oratorio Society of New York's Competition.  Recent roles include the alto soloist in Handel's Messiah at Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium, Solomon in Handel's Solomon, Endimion in Cavalli's La Calisto, and Lichas in Handel's Hercules.  Future opera and concert engagements include performances with American Bach Soloists, Choir of St Thomas 5th Ave. (NYC), Vancouver Chamber Choir, Philadelphia Bach Festival, Staunton Music Festival, and Princeton University Glee Club. A native of Blacksburg,VA, he can be heard with the all- male chamber choir Chanticleer on  the Grammy award-winning CD Lamentations and Praises and on a newly released debut solo CD with American Bach Soloists featuring repertory by J.S. Bach, D. Scarlatti, and Handel.  Howell is committed to increasing awareness of the countertenor voice and is an active teacher and clinician.  He maintains a studio in the New Haven area and teaches regularly in New York City.  In 2006 Howell received a Master of Music Degree in Voice offered jointly by the Yale Institute of Sacred Music and the Yale School of Music.

STEVEN BRENNFLECK
Tenor Steven Brennfleck has been recognized as a young singer with great potential and praised for his consistency of tone and acute sense of musicality.  He has competed in Classical Singer Magazine’s AudComps (2nd Place/Young Artist Division 2008), the Marion Anderson Prize for Emerging Classical Artists (2007 Finalist), and the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (New Jersey District Winner 2006).  Brennfleck is currently a member of the Portland Opera Studio Artists Program in Portland, OR.  His performances with that company this season include Cegeste in Phillip Glass’ Orphée, Testo in Monteverdi’s Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda, Parpignol in Puccini’s La Bohème, and the Officer in Rossini’s The Barber of Seville.  In the summer of 2009 he was a member of the Young American Artist Program at Glimmerglass Opera where he performed Giuseppe in Verdi’s La Traviata.  In January 2008 he portrayed the role of Dr. Binch in the regional première of Robert Aldridge’s Elmer Gantry at Montclair State University produced by Nashville Opera.  Brennfleck has also appeared as a soloist in the Spoleto Festival USA’s productions of Delibe’s Lakmé and Respighi’s La Bella Dormente.  He holds degrees in Sacred Music (BM) and Choral Conducting (MM) from Westminster Choir College and served for three years as Director of Choral Activities at DeSales University in Center Valley, PA.

CRAIG PHILLIPS
Praised by The New York Times for his "handsome, elegant bass," Craig Phillips is in steady demand on opera stages and in concert halls throughout the U.S.  He has appeared with the New York City Opera as Nardo in Mozart’s La finta giardiniera and with Glimmerglass Opera for six consecutive seasons in a wide range of repertoire where he distinguished himself as a gifted singing actor.  Other notable engagements include appearances with Sarasota Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Nashville Opera and Pensacola Opera.

As a concert soloist Phillips' credits include Bach's St. Matthew Passion with The Washington Bach Consort, New York Collegium, and Musica Angelica Los Angeles with Orchestra Wiener Akademie; Dvořák's Stabat Mater with the Oakland East Bay Symphony; Handel's Messiah with the American Classical Orchestra, Concert Royal, and The Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys; Handel's Israel in Egypt with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra; and Stravinsky’s Requiem Canticles with Gotham City Orchestra and Vox Vocal Ensemble.  He previously appeared with the Handel Choir of Baltimore as Raphael/Adam in Haydn's Die Schöpfung.

An active performer in the early music scene, Phillips is a founding member of the male quartet New York Polyphony, which.specializes in early and new music.  The group’s debut CD, released in 2007, garnered high praise both in the U.S. and U.K.  Gramophone Magazine called the disc “one of the season’s best” and noted the group’s “expert musicianship and fine vocal resource.”