Gina Beck has been teaching voice at Emerson College for nine years, and is also a Master Lecturer of Voice Technique at Suffolk University in Boston. She is known as a “vocal technician” as she brings a deep understanding of physiology and voice science to her teaching of both classical and CCM (Contemporary Commercial Music) vocal pedagogy. Ms. Beck also runs a private voice studio in Shrewsbury, MA during the school year, and a summer Musical Theatre Intensive during which she organizes, directs and produces a “Broadway Review” at the end of each session. She is a proud member of the Musical Theatre Educators Alliance.

Ms. Beck has a Master's Degree in Opera Performance from the Boston Conservatory of Music. She has performed in the Spoleto Vocal Arts Symposium, in Spoleto, Italy, the Phyllis Curtin Vocal Seminar at the Tanglewood Music Center in Lenox, MA, and the Aspen Summer Music Festival in Colorado. Ms. Beck is currently a freelance soloist throughout New England and has performed as a soloist with the Newton Symphony Orchestra, Worcester Chorus, Worcester Mastersingers, Consortium of Worcester Colleges, Melrose Symphony Orchestra, Wellesley Community Orchestra, the Cambridge Lieder and Opera Society, Operafest of New Hampshire, the Greater Pittsfield Community Chorus and Orchestra, and the Fine Arts Chorale, as well as the Santa Fe Desert Chorale in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Upcoming performances include the Mozart Coronation Mass with the Worcester Mastersingers in October, 2008.

Mezzo-soprano D'Anna Fortunato has long been an admired favorite on the American orchestral-concert scene, while establishing herself as a respected operatic artist as well. Of her New York City Opera debut in Handel's Alcina, The New Yorker called her “a Handelian of crisp accomplishment.” She has performed Handel's operas in such venues as Merkin Hall, Carnegie Hall, Emmanuel Music, and Monadnock Music, while singing major roles in eight premiere Handel CDs for Albany, Newport Classics, and Vox.

Much of D'Anna Fortunato's musical life has been devoted to the works of J.S. Bach. To this end, she has sung on numerous occasions with the Bethlehem, Winter Park, Carmel, Boulder, and Rome Bach Festivals and at the 92nd Street Y with John Gibbons. She was a longtime soloist with Emmanuel Music (13 seasons) and Cantata Singers (10 seasons). At present she is a member of the Bach Aria Group, touring, recording, and teaching summer seminars at S.U.N.Y. Stony Brook (15 years).

Fortunato's list of festival appearances is lengthy, and includes Marlboro, Tanglewood, Casals, Blossom, Rockport, Newport, Vaison-la-Romaine, and Berlin's Spectrum Festival. She has been a frequent visitor with such chamber organizations as the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Boston Chamber Music Society (which awarded her a citation of merit), the Northeast Harbor Chamber Festival (Composer's String Quartet), and the Marblehead Chamber Music Festival.

D'Anna Fortunato has researched and performed extensively the little-known works of Amy Beach, Clara Schumann, Fanny Mendelssohn, Franz Liszt, and Charles-Martin Loeffler. Composers John Harbison, Stephen Jaffee, Stephen Albert, and John Heiss have chosen her to debut their compositions. Ms. Fortunato was brought up in Charleston, SC, and studied primarily at the New England Conservatory of Music, where she is now a Professor of Voice.

American born tenor Stanley Wilson is an exciting and versatile singer whose career is on the ascent.His clear tone pleases audiences as he effortlessly sings opera, oratorio, art song and cabaret-style music.A vast repertoire, ranging from Mozart and Handel to Verdi or an intimate cabaret setting of the songs of Cole Porter showcases the breadth of Stanley's talent and facility. John Zeugner of the Worcester Telegram and Gazette praised his singing with alto D'Anna Fortunato as one of the "high points" during a presentation of Handel's Israel in Egypt with the Master Singers of Worcester.

Robert Osborne has sung over forty roles in operas from Bernstein to Weill with companies in Paris, Berlin, New York, Houston, Santa Fe and Los Angeles. His concert career has taken him to Royal Albert Hall in London, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Victoria Hall in Singapore, the Gran Teatro in Havana, Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York, and Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow where he has sung under such distinguished conductors as Bernstein, Ozawa, Spivakov, Tilson Thomas, John Williams and Russell Davies. He has appeared with the Tanglewood, Schleswig-Holstein, Nakamichi, USArts/Berlin, Aspen and Marlboro Festivals as well as on several celebrated telecasts for the BBC, PBS, Russian and European television. He has appeared in four City Center Encores! musicals, in the Bernstein at 70! Gala from Tanglewood, and in the BAM Salutes Sondheim Gala.

Professor Douglas Weeks has directed the concert band, orchestra, and brass ensemble at Worcester Polytechnic Institute since 1980 and served as the Administrator of Applied Music since 1987. He has degrees in music and education and a doctorate from Boston University. Under his direction WPI ensembles have performed on tour in the United States and throughout Europe, Russia, and Egypt at such venues as Westminster Abbey, Notre Dame Cathedral, Radio Belgium, and Washington’s National Cathedral.

As a trombonist, he is founder and director of the Worcester Brass Consort and Worcester Trombone Consort. He is currently principal trombonist with the Massachusetts Symphony Orchestra and trombonist with the Claflin Hill Symphony. He has also performed with numerous ensembles throughout New England that include the New Bedford Symphony, Plymouth Symphony, New Haven Symphony, Indian Hill Symphony, and New Hampshire Philharmonic. He has presented several solo recitals, including performing the opening program for the “White Nights Music Festival” in Pushkin, Russia, in 1997 and also played in orchestras for Luciano Pavoratti, Christopher O’Reilly, Henry Mancini, Leon Fleischer, and numerous other performers. He has performed with the Cracow Orchestra of Cracow, Poland, on its tour in the United States and with the Concord Orchestra on its 1998 eastern European tour. In 1999 he performed and conducted at the nationally televised memorial service for the Worcester firefighters held in Worcester, Massachusetts. In January of 2002, Dr. Weeks presented a recital of music for Trombone and Friends at the Worcester Art Museum and in 2003 presented the same program on WGBH radio. Dr. Weeks is a frequent conductor, clinician, and adjudicator at school festivals.

A graduate of Rimsky-Korsakov College of Music in St.Petersburg (Russia) and the Academy of Music in Tel-Aviv, Marina’s journey has taken her from the operatic stage to the synagogue bimah. Her unique voice and exceptional musicality have won her glowing reviews and an impressive international reputation, but it is her love for Jewish music and the Jewish people that have enabled her to find her true calling. The training at the H.L. Miller Cantorial School of the Jewish Theological Seminary has prepared Marina for a life committed to Judaism, the Jewish community and the fulfillment of her dream of becoming an inspiring and motivating Cantor.

Marina Shemesh was born in Leningrad, USSR. In 1991 she made her aliah to Israel, where she started her operatic career. In 1999 she was for the first time introduced to the Synagogue music when she started working in the Congregation Beth Tzedek in Toronto and was inspired by cantor Paul Kowarsky who supported her desire to study to become a cantor. Marina served as a part-time Cantor at Congregation Mevak’she Derekh in Scarsdale, NY. She also performs as a concert artist at different venues around the country and around the world.

In addition to staged operas, Ms. Shemesh performed in Opera in Concert, Recitals and Oratorio with major Israeli and American orchestras. She has received a number of impressive musical awards and prizes from vocal competitions in Montreal, Bilbao, Athens, and Tel-Aviv. She has been the recipient of a varied list of scholarships, including America-Israel Cultural Foundation, Israel Vocal Arts Institute Foundation, Jewish Foundation for Education of Women, Toronto Cantorial Fund, and L. Krupnick Cantorial Student Fund.

Ms. Shemesh served as a Rosh Tefilah and Hebrew Teacher at Camp Ramah in Canada, performed in the UJF Women’s League Metrowest Annual Meeting, at the Cantors Assembly Convocation, at the presentation of the Anthology “Yiddish Literature in America” and has participated in the JTS documentary “Faith First: Second Career Clergy.” She is constantly performing around the country at the fundraising events for the Jewish Theological Seminary. Mrs. Shemesh was invited to participate in the Conference of Jewish Music in Russia in December 2003 where she made a presentation and performed in the concert. Her recent performances also include the world premiere of “The Challenge of the Muse” by S. Adler at the International Conference of Jewish Music “Only in America” in November 2003 at Lincoln Center in New York City with Hazzan Alberto Mizrahi. Cantor Shemesh was also selected to perform at the USCJ Convention in Dallas, TX in October 2003.

Ms. Shemesh joined Beth Israel with her husband David in August 2004, and they are very happy to make Worcester their home together with their children Michael and Daniel.

Mezzo-soprano D'Anna Fortunato has long been an admired favorite on the American orchestral-concert scene, while establishing herself as a respected operatic artist as well. Of her New York City Opera debut in Handel's Alcina, the New Yorker called her “a Handelian of crisp accomplishment.” She has performed Handel's operas in such venues as Merkin Hall, Carnegie Hall, Emmanuel Music, and Monadnock Music, while singing major roles on eight premiere Handel CD's for Albany, Newport Classics, and Vox. She was heard in Les Noces with the Nashville Symphony and in Les Nuits D’Été with Pro Arte. She performed Julia Child at the Smithsonian in November 2003.

Much of D'Anna Fortunato's musical life has been devoted to the works of J. S. Bach. To this end, she has sung on numerous occasions with the Bethlehem, Winter Park, Carmel, Boulder, and Rome Bach Festivals and at the 92nd Street Y with John Gibbons. She was a long-time soloist with Emmanuel Music and the Cantata Singers. Presently, she is a member of the Bach Aria Group, touring, recording, and teaching summer seminars at S.U.N.Y. Stony Brook.

Ms. Fortunato's list of Festival appearances is lengthy, and includes Marlboro, Tanglewood, Casals, Blossom, Rockport, Newport, Vaison-la-Romaine, and Berlin's Spectrum Festival. Newly released CD's include Handel's Deidamia (role of Achille) for Albany, and a New York Philharmonic CD of Honegger's Jeanne d'Arc au Bucher (Heavenly Voice). D'Anna Fortunato has researched and performed extensively the little-known works of Amy Beach, Clara Schumann, Fanny Mendelssohn, Franz Liszt, and Charles-Martin Loeffler. Composers John Harbison, Stephen Jaffee, Stephen Albert, and John Heiss have chosen her to debut their compositions. Ms. Fortunato was brought up in Charleston, S.C., and studied primarily at the New England Conservatory of Music, where she is now a Professor of Voice.

Daniel Mutlu is a graduate of New England Conservatory in Boston Massachusetts, where he received a bachelor's degree in vocal performance. In Boston and Worcester, Daniel sang as a soloist at King's Chapel and St. Paul's Cathedral respectively, as well as serving as a cantorial soloist for numerous services at Temple Emanuel in Worcester. After commencing study at Hebrew Union College, where he is pursuing a Cantorial degree at the School of Sacred Music in New York city, Daniel took the role of Student Cantor at Temple Emanuel, becoming the chief musical officiate of services and life cycle events at the synagogue. Also an avid composer, Daniel has premiered original works in Boston and Jerusalem. Presently a third year student at Hebrew Union College, Daniel has recently joined the prestigious Trinity Choir at Trinity Church on Wall Street in New York. Daniel also sings for the choir at Park East Synagogue in the city.

A native Texan, Solomon Moses Cross studied at the University of Houston's Moores School of Music where he received his bachelors in vocal performance in 2005. Currently he is in his last semester at the New England Conservatory of Music where he is getting his MM in vocal performance. In April, Mr. Cross was the baritone soloist for Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass performed in Jordan Hall, conducted by Amy Lieberman. He was also the soloist in Bach cantata 78 Jesu, der du meine Seele, performed in Brown Hall at New England Conservatory.

Solomon Cross loves to perform works for the concert stage such as Oratorios, cantatas, sacred songs and spirituals. He collaborated with Conductor Peter Lea-Cox of the Lecosaldi Ensemble of London as the baritone soloist in Bach cantata 182 Himmelskonig, sei willkommen at Christ Lutheran Church in Falmouth, Ma. A guest soloist at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Weston, Mr. Cross performed Lord God of Abraham from the Oratorio Elijah.

He currently resides in the Greater Boston area with his beautiful wife Lauren.

William Ness is currently the Minister of Music & Arts at First Baptist Church, an American Baptist Church, of Worcester, Massachusetts where he conducts three singing choirs and two bell choirs. He has two degrees from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and has done further study at the University of Iowa. His organ teachers have been Jennie Satre, Robert Speed, Robert Clark, Robert Glasgow, and Delbert Disselhorst. While at the University of Michigan he won the Graduate Concerto Competition in 1971. Mr. Ness taught at Andrews University from 1979 to 1982 as a sabbatical replacement for C. Warren Becker. Following that position he and his wife were Co-Directors of Music at First Presbyterian Church, Ottumwa, Iowa where they chaired the National Undergraduate Organ Competition.

Upon moving to Massachusetts he assumed the position of Minister of Music at The College Church at Atlantic Union College, South Lancaster in fall 1987. Other churches he served during this time were Village Congregational of Whitinsville and First Baptist of Lexington. He remained at The College Church until January of 2001 when he became Minister of Music & Arts at First Baptist Church of Worcester. While at The College Church he developed five vocal choirs and two bell choirs.

He has performed on Iowa Public Television, 3ABN, National Public Radio as well as in Australia, Europe and the Caribbean. As an accompanist he has performed with many choral organizations. During 2003-2004 he completed a three recital series of 20th century organ music at First Baptist of Worcester and also performed Howard Hanson’s Concerto for Organ and Harp with the Atlantic Union College Orchestra under the direction of Stephen Tucker. Mr. Ness appears on the recent 2CD set of Great Organs of Worcester. Mr. Ness played Rheinberger’s two Organ Concertos with orchestra in October 2006 at Memorial Congregational Church of Sudbury as well as the Poulenc Organ Concerto at First Baptist, Worcester in April. He recently performed in Wyoming and California. As a member of the Worcester Chamber Music Society he performed in their inaugural season 2006-2007. He is also in Synergy, a harp, flute and organ trio premiering commissioned works for harp and organ, and flute and organ. This fall a new work by Lynn Trapp of Minneapolis, MN for all three players was commissioned.

Ian Watson, Director of Music at St. Paul's Cathedral, is a world-renowned conductor and performer. Ian is the Founder and Director of the St. Paul's Music Festival and Artistic Director of the acclaimed period-instrument ensemble, Arcadia Players and Chorus. Ian is a prominent figure at the highest levels of the international music scene, and played an important role in the British Baroque revival which brought such renowned orchestras into prominence as the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, the English Chamber Orchestra, the English Baroque Soloists, the Monteverdi Choir and The Sixteen - all with whom he has performed as organist, harpsichordist, solo pianist and/or director. Ian's versatility is revealed in the equal ease with which he performs the roles of orchestral conductor, choir director, organist, harpsichordist, pianist, teacher and public speaker.

Among Ian's many prestigious conducting engagements are: Monteverdi's Vespers at St. James's Palace in the presence of Her Majesty the Queen; Bach's B Minor Mass at the Rheingau Festival with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Orchestra and Chorus; the opening concerts of the newly renovated Châtelet Theater in Paris with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra; Christmas Eve at the Royal Albert Hall with the Mozart Festival Orchestra; Nigel Kennedy tour and video with the English Chamber Orchestra; and assistant conductor to Sir John Eliot Gardiner in the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage.

Ian has been the leading keyboard player with most of the major English ensembles, with whom he toured and recorded extensively, as well as being featured on numerous film soundtracks and broadcasts including Amadeus, Mr. Holland's Opus and Restoration. In the field of opera, Ian has worked at Glyndebourne, and conducted productions throughout England, and internationally at Bremen Opera, Giessen Opera, the Komische Opera, Berlin, and as a Principal Conductor with the Darmstadt State Opera in Germany.

Ian was born in England in the Buckinghamshire village of Wooburn Common. He won a scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music in London, at the age of 14, where he won all the prizes for organ performance and others for piano accompaniment. Ian also received the coveted Recital Diploma, the highest award for performance excellence. As a distinguished graduate, he was honored in 1993, with an Associateship of the Royal Academy of Music, in recognition of his services to music. Ian also has a Fellowship of the Royal College of Organists. His first organ appointment was at St. Margaret's, Westminster Abbey, at the age of 19, a position he held for ten years. Ian also held a number of prestigious positions in London including Organist of St. Marylebone Parish church, and Music Director of the historic Christopher Wren Church, St. James's Piccadilly. Ian is now committed to enriching the cultural life of his new home in Massachusetts, his inspiration for founding the St. Paul's Music Festival.