Dr Christopher Burton - Musical Director
Canadian Christopher Burton's musical interests are diverse. He studied both violin and piano at the University of Ottawa, receiving his Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance,and a Master of Music, also in Piano Performance from McGill University. He earned a Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Accompanying and Chamber Music from the Eastman School of Music. His major teachers were Jean-Paul Sãvilla, Charles Reiner and Jean Barr, and as a chamber musician has worked with many distinguished instrumentalists and singers. For many years he was a member of the music faculty at Marygrove College in Detroit, teaching piano and coaching voice students. Dr. Burton taught piano, theory and Canadian Music History at the
University of Windsor as well as Acadãmie Ste. Cãcile in Windsor. He has served on the faculty of the Michigan Opera Theater's summer programs, was an official pianist for the National Flute Association, and a member of the faculty of the Bowdoin
International Summer Music Festival.

As a performer, Christopher Burton is equally at home on stage as a solo pianist and collaborator, and has appeared on stage in Canada, the U.S., Japan and the Czech Republic. Recently, Dr. Burton's career has branched out in new directions, including publication and conducting. He has collaborated on arrangements of sacred music for flute and piano. As a writer he has contributed programme notes for the Windsor Symphony. He made his choral conducting debut leading the Marygrove College Chamber Singers in the U. S. national anthem at a Detroit Tigers' baseball game, live at Comerica Park. He conducted the world premiere of the sacred oratorio, Bayt Lahm, by Canadian composer, Peter Skoggard.

Currently, Dr. Burton is Director of Music at Forest Grove United Church in Toronto and teaches for the Merriam School of Music in Oakville, Ontario. Dr. Burton is Artistic Director of the series, Borderless Song, a performance and educational programme based in Toronto.

Michael Ciufo - Tenor
Winner of the “Most Promising Junior Singer Award” at the NATS competitions in 2005, Michael Ciufo is enjoying success as a young, promising tenor. In early 2007, Michael completed a nine show tour across Canada, where he was the featured performer in Bravo Honours our Best of 2006, a series of Gala events sponsored by the Bank of Montreal. In March of that year, Michael was featured in the Amazing Canadian Magazine; the issue was the first to be distributed across Canada at Chapters, Indigo, and select newsstands.

Most recently, Michael’s performing credits include the title role in the premier of Hamlet, a new opera written by Toronto-born composer Mark Richards, and Il Buffone in the Canadian premier of La Belle dormente nel bosco (Sleeping Beauty) by Ottorino Respighi with the Glenn Gould School. In addition, Michael had the privilege of performing as an ensemble member with Opera Atelier in their 2006/2007 production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute. Michael has also performed the roles of Joseph in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat; (A.L. Webber), and Conrad Birdie in Bye Bye Birdie; (M. Stewart, L. Adams, C. Strouse).

For the 2007/2008 season, Michael will have the honour of performing with the Orpheus Choir of Toronto under the direction of Maestro Robert Cooper, as a Sidgwick Scholar. In May of 2006 Michael released his first classical recording. Vieni sul mar – A Collection of Italian Songs contains the music of some of Italy’s most prominent song composers, including F.P. Tosti, Stefano Donaudy, and Eduardo di Capua.

Michael consistently performs abroad. During the past two years, Michael has been featured and performed alongside Canadian vocal group The Nylons, Michael Burgess, The Mississauga Symphony, Jackie Richardson, and Bob Egan from Blue Rodeo. In May of 2003, Michael was honoured to have been given a surprise opportunity to perform at the Pantheon in Rome, Italy; a performance which was truly inspiring for the young artist. A student of Donna Sherman, Michael continues to enjoy his studies at The Glenn Gould School. He is entering his fourth year of undergraduate studies and is planning on completing a bachelor’s degree in vocal performance.

Romulo Delgado - Tenor
Romulo Delgado is a professional guitarist, saxophonist and a classically trained tenor, with an extensive background in world music. His versatility as a performer is quite remarkable as he performs Latin Jazz, World music, Salsa, Classical music, R&B, Pop, Dance music and even Opera on a regular basis. 
 
As a performing artist he has recorded for E.M.I. and Sony Records, performed in Canada’s main entertainment venues and in many government functions for various Prime Ministers.  His operatic roles include Pinkerton (in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly) Alfredo (in Verdi’s La Traviata and Manrico (in excerpts from Verdi’s Il Trovatore).  He has also appeared as tenor soloist in Theodore Dubois’ The Seven Last Words of Christ andMendelssohn’s Elijah.
 
Mr. Delgado was an Ontario Provincial winner at the Kiwanis Music Festival and undoubtedly is one of Canada’s youngest and most promising tenors.

Suzanne Kilgore - Soprano
Soprano Suzanne Kilgore made her European debut in 2000 with Opera Theatre of Lucca as Ruggiero in Handel's Alcina. She performed the lead role of Dorabella in Mozart's Cosi fan tutte, Hippolyta from Britten's Midsummer Night's Dream, and Bianca in Puccini's La Rondine. This season, Ms. Kilgore will perform the lead role of Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni with Opera Lirica Italiana and will give a recital of works by Schumann and Barber. Suzanne premiered Augeries of Innocence by Canadian composer Penelope Walcott and was a finalist in the 2003 Anton Guadagno International Palm Beach Opera Competition. In the series “Operatic Gems,” she performed roles from Verdi’s Ernani and Aida and sang excerpts from the role of Rosalinde from Die Fliedermaus at the Columbus Centre in Toronto last year. Ms. Kilgore studied at the Glenn Gould Professional School and is a graduate of the Opera Performance Program at the University of Toronto.

Sophie Louis Roland - Mezzo-Soprano
Sophie Louise Roland received her early training in piano, voice and drama in Quebec. She holds an Honours BMus from Wilfrid Laurier University, an MA in Musicology and MMus in Vocal Performance from the University of Western Ontario, and is now completing a DM in Voice Performance under the tutelage of Ms. Constanza Cuccaro.

Hailed for her “excellence, purity of voice and emotional intensity,” Mrs. Roland recently sang the title role in Carmen IU Opera.  Other appearances include La Prieure in Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites, Dame Quickly in Falstaff, La mère in Les Contes d’Hoffman and Luna in the North American premiere of Jeppe. She also appeared in Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky under the baton of Maestro Erick Kunzel.  In addition to her operatic credits, Ms. Roland was selected to participate in the Song Fest 2004 Festival in Malibu, as a professional artist where she worked with international pianist and coach Martin Katz.  Future engagements will see Ms. Roland again as the title role in Carmen, as well as Mamma Lucia in Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana and Suzuki in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly.

As a Mezzo-Soprano soloist, she has also appeared in concert with ensembles such as the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra, The Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, Symphony Hamilton, London Fanshawe Symphonic Orchestra, the Windsor Symphony and the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony.  Mrs. Roland was selected to participate in a master class given by Marilyn Horne at Carnegie Hall for the celebration of her 70th birthday.

Ms. Roland currently holds the rank of Assistant Professor of Music in the Don Wright Faculty of Music at the University of Western Ontario. 

Upcoming performances in 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 seasons include debuts at the Grand Theatre de Reims, Opéra de Vichy, Opéra Théâtre de Metz, Opéra National de Montpellier, Opéra National de Lorraine, Opéra de Nice, Opéra Théâtre de Saint-Étienne, Opéra Toulouse, Opéra de Marseille, and Opéra National de Bordeaux as Cavaliere Belfiore in Rossini's Il Viaggio A Reims. Moralez also makes his Opéra de Nice debut as Count Almaviva in Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia in 2009. He returns to Fujiwara Opera in 2009 as Ramiro in Rossini's La Cenerentola, and at Emerald City Opera as Almaviva in Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia. Moralez makes his Beijing debut as Tenor Soloist in Coleridge-Taylor's Hiawatha's Wedding Feast at the Forbidden City Concert Hall with the International Festival Chorus in October 2008, and sings as Tenor Soloist with the Hong Kong Bach Choir in Ramirez's Misa Criola in December 2008.

Terrance Shawn - Baritone
A native of Toronto, Baritone Terence Shawn has performed Figaro in “Il barbiere di Siviglia” and the Count in “Le nozze di Figaro” with the New Opera and Concerts Centre in Toronto. He has appeared in recital several times in Cuba, most recently in 2003, when he sang excerpts from “i. barbiere di Siviglia” and “La traviata” with leading members of the Teatro Lirico Nacional. He recently sang Rodrigo in “Don Carlo” with Operesque Classical Concerts in New York City, and has been invited to sing Gerard in “Andrea Chenier”, Di Luna in “Il trovatore” and the title role in “Rigoletto”with the same company next year.

Todd Wieczorek - Baritone
Todd Wieczorek's musical training started in his home town of South Bend, IN.  From there, he went on to earn his BM in Voice Performance at Wheaton College’s Conservatory of Music and his MM from the University of Kansas, and is currently a doctoral candidate at Indiana University’s Jacob’s School of Music (Bloomington).

Known for his versatility as a performer, Mr. Wieczorek’s has performed with such organizations as the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Indiana University Opera, Symphony Hamilton, the Marion Philharmonic Orchestra, The Bloomington Early Music Festival, and the Western Suburban Choral Union (Wheaton, IL).  His performance credits are varied with such roles as Eddie in Bolcom’s A View from the Bridge, Dick Deadeye in Gilbert and Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore, Angelotti in Tosca, and Bhaer in Adamo’s Little Women, working with such conductors as Robert Wood, Imré Pallo, David Effron, Ward Holmquist, and Ted Taylor. Other credits found him as the title character in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Mikado, Turpin in Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd, and Cold Genius in Purcell’s King Arthur.  In 2004, he was selected as Professional Artist for Songfest 2004, in which he worked with Martin Katz and composer John Harbison.  Upcoming performances will see Mr. Wieczorek as Alfio in Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana and the title character in Mozart’s Don Giovanni.

In addition to his performance credits, Mr. Wieczorek holds a deep love for teaching.  He is currently on faculty at the University of Western Ontario, where he teaches private voice lessons and Italian Diction for Singers.  Prior to Western Mr. Wieczorek taught at Taylor University (Indiana), Indiana University’s Jacob’s School of Music, and the University of Kansas.  He is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing.

Marianne Zin-Orlowski - Soprano
An accomplished performer, Marianne Zino-Orlowski has appeared in a number of operatic roles including Prince Orlofsky in Brampton Lyric Opera Die Fledermaus, Countess Ceprano in Rigoletto with Opera Mississauga, Dyankonissa in Opera in Concerts production of Krol Roger, Mercedes in SOLT’s production of Carmen and was a featured soloist in the roles of Mother & Friend in the Armenian Opera Anoush with the Komitas Choir. Most recently she toured Italy with the Palestrina Chamber Choir and sang the role of Violetta from La Traviata. She also sung the role of Violetta with Cammac  under the baton of  Maestro Sabatino Vacca. She has also appeared in the Canadian Opera Production of Turandot. This year she will be performing the role of Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana and Madama Butterfly with Opera Lirica Italiana.

Ms. Zin-Orlowski is equally at home on the concert stage where she has been heard as a soloist In Handel’s Messiah, Vivaldi’s Gloria, Mozart’s Coronation Mass with Members of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and as a Gershwin Soloist with Arcady Yanikver, TSO Violinist. She has worked under the baton of several prominent conductors such as Sir Andrew Davis,  & Stephano Mastrangelo. Marianne can also be heard in a recording of Rusalka’s aria Mesicku na nebi hlubokem, with the Onyx Wind Quintet, produced by CBC’s Anton Kwiatkowski. For more information visit www.mariannezinorlowski.ca