Soprano Caroline Jou Armitage is dedicated to performing with the highest standard of musicianship and the most sensitive expressivity in an effort to delight and move the listener. As a soloist, her interpretations have been described as “absolutely beautiful,”and her performance of Bach’s Cantata No. 21, “Ich hatte viel bekümmernis,” with the California Bach Society was delivered with “pitch-perfect clarity and affecting intensity” (San Francisco Classical Voice). She participated in the Baroque Academy at the Amherst Early Music Festival, presented a solo harpsichord recital at the 2018 Berkeley Early Music Festival, and has performed operatic roles in Paris and the Bay Area. Caroline is currently a co-director of Tactus, a Renaissance polyphony chamber choir, and studies voice with Karen Clark and harpsichord with Tamara Loring.
Mezzo-soprano Mindy Ella Chu is capturing acclaim for her interpretations of concert works from composers like Mozart, Bach, and Handel. Praised for her “expressive vigor” (San Francisco Chronicle) and “liquid ornaments and a pleasantly earthy timbre” (San Francisco Classical Voice), Chu made her international solo debut in 2015 performing John Rutter's Magnificat and Handel's Messiah in Tokyo and Osaka. In 2017, she made her Carmel Bach Festival debut as a main stage soloist where she performed Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Mozart’s C Minor Mass, Copland’s American Songs, and Bach’s Ascension Oratorio. Highlights of the 2018–2019 season include Francesca Caccini’s Alcina with Boston Early Music Festival’s Chamber Opera Series, a Bach Collegium San Diego debut season, Handel’s Messiah with La Jolla Symphony, and a Duruflé Requiem recording with the St. Lawrence String Quartet. Chu has performed as soloist and chorister with opera companies, ensembles on both coasts such as Apollo’s Fire, Peninsula Symphony, Voices of Ascension NYC, Yale Choral Artists, Bang on a Can All-Stars, Santa Fe Desert Chorale, Quicksilver, and has worked with conductors Steven Stubbs, Paul O’Dette, Masaaki Suzuki, David Hill, Craig Jessop, Andrew Megill, and Helmut Rilling. Chu’s discography credits include albums with American Bach Soloists and Hyperion Records. Chu received a Master in Music from Yale University in Early Music, Oratorio & Chamber Ensemble. During her time at Yale, she performed as soloist and chorister with Yale Schola Cantorum and Juilliard415 in venues around America and six different countries. Chu was heard live in performance on BBC Radio 3 in the United Kingdom and WQXR New York City. She has recorded solo vocals in Cantonese for Disneyland Hong Kong. She currently resides in Los Angeles. www.mindyellachu.com
Mark Bonney, tenor, is based in London and performs in the UK, the United States, and Europe. His repertoire includes major works from the high baroque and classical periods. Recent stage credits include Tamino in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, the title role in Handel’s Jephtha, Aeneas in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, Mengone in Haydn’s Lo Speziale, and Paulino in Domenico Cimarosa’s The Secret Marriage. In concert, he particularly enjoys interpreting the Evangelist roles in Bach’s Passions. Mark also performs frequently in renowned British ensembles, including the Monteverdi Choir, the Gabrieli Consort, and Britten Sinfonia Voices. Mark recently completed a masters in music and a graduate certificate in historical performance at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. He is also an alumnus of the Berlin Opera Academy, the Franz Schubert Institut and the American Bach Soloists Academy. Mark began his musical training as a treble in the Grace Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys. He went on to study voice and political science at Stanford University and then balanced careers in international development and music for several years before specializing in vocal performance.