Season Schedule

About the Featured Artists

Yulia Van Doren has thoughtfully cultivated a career as one of the foremost concert singers of her generation and has been a guest artist at a majority of the premiere North American orchestras and festivals.

Performance highlights include the world premiere of Shostakovich’s Orango with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, directed by Peter Sellars and released on Deutsche Grammophon; the modern revival of Monsigny’s Le roi et le fermier at Opera de Versailles, the Kennedy Center and Lincoln Center; Alessandro Scarlatti’s Tigrane at Opera de Nice; Handel’s Acis and Galatea in Macau with Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, and at the Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam; eclectic 20th-century repertoire as the featured soprano of the 2013 Ojai Music Festival; several world premieres at Carnegie Hall; and nationally-televised performances at the Cartagena International Music Festival with soprano Dawn Upshaw. Since 2007 she has sung many national and international performances with the Mark Morris Dance Company.

Ms. Van Doren’s graduate degree was supported by a PD Soros Fellowship, postgraduate study in Paris by a Beebe Fellowship, and she is an Astral Artist laureate. Yulia is also the founder of a holistic wellness brand, and author of three award-winning international bestsellers, with over a quarter-million copies sold in eight translations.

Mezzo-soprano Abigail Nims is regarded as a musician of integrity and versatility for her performances of repertoire spanning from Monteverdi, Bach, and Mozart to Crumb, Ligeti and premieres of contemporary works. Particularly praised for her expressive interpretations and tonal beauty in the concert repertoire, her career as a soloist has highlights of Stravinsky’s Pulcinella, Haydn’s Harmoniemesse, and Crumb’s Night of the Four Moons with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. Top highlights of Nims’ performances as an opera singer include Veruca Salt in Peter Ash’s The Golden Ticket at the Wexford Opera Festival and Atlanta Opera, Melanto in Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria with Boston Baroque, and Lazuli in L’Étoile with New York City Opera.

She has received awards from the Fritz and Lavinia Jensen Foundation Competition, Santa Fe Opera, the Carmel Bach Festival, the American Bach Society/Bach Choir of Bethlehem Competition, and Yale School of Music.

Praised for his “impressive clarity and color” (The New York Times) and described as a “superb vocal soloist” (The Washington Post), tenor Steven Soph performs as a soloist with major orchestras and ensembles across the United States.

He has appeared as soloist in Mozart’s Requiem with the Cleveland Orchestra and Handel’s Messiah with the Seattle Symphony, and with organizations including Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, the Handel + Haydn Society, American Classical Orchestra, and Apollo’s Fire. His repertoire spans the Baroque and Classical canon alongside contemporary works.

A frequent interpreter of Bach’s vocal works, he has developed particular distinction as an Evangelist in the Passions, a role he has made a “national specialty” (The Dallas Morning News). Critics have praised his ability to “expertly inhabit” the role (Chicago Classical Review), noting his precise diction and dramatic sensitivity.

His performances include Stravinsky’s Threni with the Cleveland Orchestra under Franz Welser-Möst, as well as projects with the New World Symphony, Roomful of Teeth, and Yale Choral Artists in collaboration with Yale Philharmonia. His discography includes GRAMMY® Award–winning and nominated recordings with True Concord Voices and Orchestra and Conspirare, and a Latin GRAMMY® Award–winning album with the Mexican rock band Maná. He recently recorded the role of Job in Judith Weir’s In the Land of Uz with Yale’s Schola Cantorum under David Hill; the composer described him as a “fine successor” to Mark Padmore and Adrian Thompson, and Gramophone praised his portrayal as “very moving.”

In the 2026–2027 season, he returns as Evangelist in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with True Concord Voices and Orchestra and sings Handel’s Messiah with American Bach Soloists in San Francisco and Mozart’s Mass in C minor with ProMusica Chamber Orchestra in Columbus, Ohio.
He has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Boston’s Symphony Hall, and the Kennedy Center, and holds degrees from the University of North Texas and the Yale School of Music.

Kevin Deas has gained international renown as one of America’s leading bass-baritones. He is perhaps most acclaimed for his signature portrayal of the title role in Porgy and Bess, having performed it with the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, National Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Pacific Symphony, as well as the most illustrious orchestras on the North American continent, and at the Ravinia, Vail and Saratoga festivals.

Kevin Deas’ 2025-2026 season includes performances of Handel’s Messiah with the New York Philharmonic, National Cathedral and Seattle Symphony, Mozart’s Requiem with Apollo’s Fire, Haydn’s The Creation with Missoula Symphony, Bach’s Mass in B Minor with the Portland Symphony in Maine, and Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with Music Worcester. Other notable performances include an appearance as Dick Halloran in Paul Moravec’s critically acclaimed opera The Shining with Nashville Opera.

Recent performances include Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Oregon Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, Portland Symphony in Maine and Vista Philharmonic, and Handel’s Messiah with the National Cathedral, and New Jersey Symphony. Other notable performances in the season include Mark Adamo’s Lysistrata with Odyssey Opera, Mozart’s Requiem with Orchestra Iowa, and Walton Belshazzar’s Feast with Bach Festival Society of Winter Park. Other recent highlights include performances with the New York Philharmonic, Houston Symphony, Boston Baroque, Pacific Symphony, Vermont Symphony, Des Moines Symphony, Mobile Symphony, Baton Rouge Symphony and Long Beach Symphony.

A proponent of contemporary music, Kevin Deas has performed Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors at Italy’s Spoleto Festival, Derek Bermel’s The Good Life with the Pittsburgh Symphony, and Hannibal Lokumbe’s Dear Mrs. Parks with the Detroit Symphony. He also enjoyed a twenty-year collaboration with the late jazz legend Dave Brubeck.

Kevin Deas has recorded Wagner’s Die Meistersinger (Decca/London) with the Chicago Symphony under Sir Georg Solti and Varèse’s Ecuatorial with the ASKO Ensemble under Riccardo Chailly. Other releases include Bach’s Mass in B Minor and Handel’s Acis and Galatea (Vox Classics); Dave Brubeck’s To Hope! with the Cathedral Choral Society (Telarc); Haydn’s Die Schöpfung with the Virginia Symphony and Boston Baroque (Linn Records); and Dvorák in America (Naxos).

The Capital University Chapel Choir, established in 1929, is renowned for its Lutheran choral tradition and national and international acclaim as a premier collegiate choral ensemble. Under the direction of Dr. Lynda Hasseler, the Chapel Choir is known for their performance of a broad and inclusive range of choral literature, flexible and expressive choral tone, and commitment to storytelling with song. Invited to prestigious conferences and competitions worldwide, the choir has garnered recognition and accolades, including a world premiere at the American Choral Directors Association National Conference, winning gold medals at the World Choir Games, the 2018 American Prize for the Performance of American Music and frequent collaborations with renowned composers and conductors. The choir’s extensive touring history has fostered cultural connections across continents, promoting the transformative power of music, most recently in the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain.