Soloist Profiles

Amanda Powell

AMANDA POWELL, soprano, has been praised as “the star of the evening” (SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL, UK) and “charismatic and theatrically arresting” (SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE). A highly versatile musician, she is at home in repertoire from Monteverdi to Mozart to Ravel, and has toured internationally as soloist in baroque opera, oratorio, and crossover folk programs. Her tour performances with GRAMMY®-winning baroque orchestra Apollo’s Fire (Jeannette Sorrell) include such venues as the National Concert Hall of Ireland in Dublin, the Irish National Opera House, the Aldeburgh Festival (UK), the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the National Gallery in Washington, and Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley, among others. Her 2019 debut as Messiah soloist with the Calgary Symphony won kudos as “the soloist of the night... singing to perfection”.

As a recording artist, Ms. Powell has been featured on several Apollo’s Fire albums including Sugarloaf Mountain, Sephardic Journey, and Christmas on Sugarloaf Mountain, all of which received rave reviews on both sides of the Atlantic and debuted in the top ten on the BILLBOARD Classical Chart. Her 2015 solo debut album, Beyond Boundaries, is an intimate program of folk, jazz, and global music. She is a fluent improvisor and has collaborated with such artists as Bobby McFerrin and Sheila Jordan.

Ross Hauck

ROSS HAUCK, tenor, grew up in Ohio, but currently lives in Seattle with his wife and four children. He specializes in early music, sacred oratorio, and premieres of new works. A regular with Apollo’s Fire, Mr. Hauck has been heard as a soloist in Messiah, as Tamino in The Magic Flute, and as Johnny in the Come to the River tour, as well as being featured in the 2012 and 2013 Irish Countryside Concerts and Sugarloaf Mountain. He has sung with the symphonies of Seattle, Dallas, Phoenix, Chicago, Baltimore, Portland, Grand Rapids, Kansas City, and the National Symphony. An alumnus of Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, he undertook further training at the Tanglewood, Ravinia, and Aspen Festivals and at the Wolf Trap Opera Company. He can be heard on the AVIE label on the Apollo’s Fire recording of Messiah and on the Naxos label in the world premiere of the song cycle Vedem by Lori Laitman. He is also a cellist and serves as a professor of voice on the faculty of Seattle University. He frequently programs sacred concerts for churches and Christian universities, and leads an arts ministry at his church in the Northwest.

Jeffrey Strauss

JEFFREY STRAUSS, baritone, an “authoritative artist” (CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER) whose performances have been praised as “captivating” (CHICAGO TRIBUNE) and “serenely beautiful” (NEW YORK TIMES), has appeared with period-instrument ensembles including The Consort of Musicke with Emma Kirkby, the Taverner Consort under Andrew Parrott, Tafelmusik, the Handel & Haydn Society (Boston), the Newberry Consort (Chicago), Seattle Baroque, and Tempesta di Mare (Philadelphia). This season marks his 25th with Apollo’s Fire. He made his professional debut at 17 with the Buffalo Philharmonic and studied voice in Paris with Gérard Souzay. An accomplished stage actor, favorite projects have included the title role in Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo, Jesus and Pilate in the Bach Passions, Méphistophélès in Berlioz’ Damnation of Faust, and Apollo in Handel’s Apollo e Dafne. His 2014 portrayal of Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof was hailed by the BUFFALO NEWS as “masterful.” His longstanding commitment to contemporary music includes numerous appearances with the Contemporary Chamber Players (Contempo) in Chicago and performances of Ned Rorem’s song cycle Aftermath, Lawrence Axelrod’s The Immanence of Angels and Ophélia, Paul Schoenfield’s Camp Songs, a jazz oratorio with the Dave Brubeck Quartet, and premieres of works by Bernstein, Babbitt, Shapey, and Cipullo. CD recordings with Apollo’s Fire include the Monteverdi 1610 Vespers; Handel’s Messiah; Sephardic Journey, which debuted in 2016 at #2 on the Billboard World Music chart; Bach’s St. John Passion; and Apollo’s Fire’s most recent CD release, Christmas on Sugarloaf Mountain.

Aaron Keeney

AARON KEENEY, baritone, is a first year Resident Artist with Minnesota Opera in Minneapolis. Pre- Covid, he was scheduled to cover both the title role in Eugene Onegin and Dandini in La Cenerentola at Minnesota, as well as to sing Horace Derwent in Paul Moravec’s The Shining. Last season, he finished his master’s degree at Juilliard, where he covered Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte, and he was scheduled to sing Schaunard in La Bohème in April. Favorite roles from previous seasons include Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, Ping in Turandot, and both Count Almaviva and Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro. On the concert stage, he has been a bass soloist in Bach’s Mass in B Minor, Handel’s Messiah, Hayden’s Lord Nelson Mass, and Mozart’s Requiem, and he was fortunate enough to join Apollo’s Fire for their Christmas on Sugarloaf Mountain concert series in 2018.

Michael Temesi

MICHAEL TEMESI currently studies voice under Amanda Powell. Having performed as a treble in Sugarloaf Christmas, he is now a baritone and has has sung with the Case Western Early Music Singers and the Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute. Outside of voice, Michael studies private piano, viol, and music theory. Michael is a freshman at Hawken Upper School, where he is currently founding his own historical music group. He is also a passionate angler and golfer.