Artist Profiles

DAPHNA MOR, recorder and vocals, has performed throughout Europe and the United States as a soloist with the New York Collegium, the New York Early Music Ensemble and Little Orchestra Society, and as an ensemble player with the New York Philharmonic, New York City Opera, and Orchestra of St. Luke’s. She was awarded First Prize in the Settimane Musicali di Lugano Solo Competition and the Boston Conservatory Concerto Competition, and has appeared in a duo with Joyce DiDonato on that singer’s promotional tour for the album In War and Peace. She is co-director, with Nina Stern, of the ensemble East of the River. Also active in the world music community, she has performed in festivals and on stages worldwide, including New York’s Summer Stage and Munich’s Gasteig. She serves as the Music Director of Beineinu, a New York initiative dedicated to the modern cultivation of Jewish culture, and is a performer and teacher of liturgical music of the Jewish diaspora.

ASHLEE FOREMAN, soprano, made her solo debut with Apollo’s Fire in October 2020 and was hailed as “a real discovery... an important new singer” (SEEN & HEARD INTERNATIONAL). She is currently a Master’s candidate at the University of Akron where she studies with Dr. Laurie Lashbrook. She holds a degree in vocal performance from Cleveland State University, where she studied voice with Amanda Powell. Ms Foreman has received African American Spiritual performance scholarships named for the late A. Grace Lee Mims. While an undergrad, she served as AF’s first Artistic Outreach Intern, singing in AF’s school workshops and performances. She has performed with the Akron Symphony and Cleveland Opera. In 2020 she joined AF’s professional chorus, Apollo’s Singers.

DANIEL MOODY, countertenor, praised as having a “vocal resonance, [which] makes a profoundly startling impression” (THE NEW YORK TIMES) and for his “vivid and powerful” voice (THE BOSTON MUSICAL INTELLIGENCER), has appeared in the title opera roles of Handel’s Giulio Cesare & Rinaldo, Oberon in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Nerone in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea with Cincinnati Opera. Mr. Moody has performed with the Atlanta Symphony, Les Violons du Roy, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra in a duet concert with famed mezzo-soprano Anne Sophie von Otter, Apollo’s Fire, Mark Morris Dance Group, and several other groups, orchestras, and festivals in America.

Recent highlights include Carnegie Hall performances with Oratorio Society of New York and Musica Sacra, Minnesota Orchestra, Opera Lafayette, and an Off- Broadway debut in a production of Hans Christian Andersen. Mr. Moody gave an “eerie yet forceful” (BROADWAY WORLD) world premiere of the leading role Man #1 in Hannah Lash’s opera, Desire, and the American premiere of George Benjamin’s intricate work Dream of the Song at the Festival of Contemporary Music at Tanglewood.

JACOB PERRY JR., tenor, based in the Washington Metro Area, receives praise for his “gorgeous and stylish” interpretations of Renaissance and Baroque repertoire. He has been featured as a soloist with Apollo’s Fire, Handel Choir of Baltimore, Mountainside Baroque, Tempesta di Mare, The Thirteen, Washington Bach Consort, and The City Choir of Washington. Mr. Perry was selected as the tenor participant of the Virginia Best Adams Masterclass of the 2020 Carmel Bach Festival (postponed).

Deeply immersed in vocal chamber music, Mr. Perry enjoys playing with Les Canards Chantants, a soloist-ensemble based in Philadelphia, as well as engagements with ensembles such as The Thirteen, the Art of Early Keyboard, New Consort, and Cathedra. Additionally, he can be heard singing with larger choirs such as Yale Choral Artists, The Clarion Choir, Washington Bach Consort, and the Choir of Washington National Cathedral. He has explored vocal works by contemporary composers through engagements with Third Practice, hexaCollective, and Great Noise Ensemble. As Co-Artistic Director of Bridge, a genre-defying vocal ensemble based in Washington, he draws on his instincts for theatricality and story-telling, as the group explores the connections between early masterpieces and ground-breaking new works.

JEFFREY STRAUSS, baritone, an “authoritative artist” (CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER) whose performances have been praised as “captivating” (CHICAGO TRIBUNE) and “serenely beautiful” (THE 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 twenty-fifth with Apollo’s Fire. He made his professional debut at age 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; Bach’s St. John Passion; and Apollo’s Fire’s most recent CD release, Christmas on Sugarloaf Mountain.

ALAN CHOO, concertmaster, made his solo debut with Apollo’s Fire at the Tanglewood and Ravinia Music Festivals in 2017, and currently serves as Artistic Leadership Fellow for the group, where he takes on the roles of soloist, concertmaster, and guest director. He is also Founder and Artistic Director of Red Dot Baroque, Singapore’s first professional period ensemble, which has received critical acclaim since its formation in 2018. He is currently pursuing a Doctorate in historical performance at CWRU under Julie Andrijeski.

KIVIE CAHN-LIPMAN, viola da gamba & lirone, is the founder and lironist of ACRONYM and a founding member of LeStrange Viols and the International Contemporary Ensemble. His more than fifty recordings on over a dozen labels include the complete cello suites of J.S. Bach, which have been praised for their “eloquent performances,” “fresh thinking,” and “energy and zeal” (THE STRAD). He holds degrees from Oberlin, Juilliard, and the University of Cincinnati, has served on the faculties of Smith and Mount Holyoke Colleges and The College of New Jersey, and currently teaches cello at Youngstown State University.

ANDREW FOUTS, violin & viola, has been noted for his “mellifluous sound and sensitive style” (WASHINGTON POST). In 2008, he won first prize at the American Bach Soloists’ International Baroque Violin Competition. He is co-artistic director of Pittsburgh’s Chatham Baroque, a frequent concertmaster of the Washington Bach Consort, and performs regularly with Apollo’s Fire, Opera Lafayette, the Four Nations Ensemble, and Ars Lyrica.

BRIAN KAY, theorbo & percussion, is a modern-day troubadour. He is the first Artistic Leadership Fellow of Apollo’s Fire and in 2019, won a Grammy® Award for his work on the CD Songs of Orpheus. He has performed throughout the world at venues such as the National Concert Hall of Dublin, Belfast Castle (Ireland), Carnegie Hall, and the Kennedy Center. His live radio appearances include NPR, WYPR and 98ROCK (Baltimore), WGBH (Boston), and WCLV (Cleveland). He has recorded for AVIE and Sono Luminus labels, and has been heard on more than ten album releases. He is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, arranger, traditional and historical music specialist, poet, and painter.

CARRIE KRAUSE, violin, has performed extensively across the U.S. with early music groups including Chatham Baroque, New York State Baroque, Portland Baroque, Passamezzo Moderno, Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado, Clarion, Pacific Baroque, New Trinity Baroque, and as visiting Artistic Director of Seattle Baroque. She has also performed as a soloist with Juilliard 415 in Jordan Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Duke’s Hall, and the Thomaskirche. As a modern player, she serves as Concertmaster of the Bozeman Symphony and has performed as a soloist with the Fairbanks, Casper, Bozeman, and Billings Symphonies, and String Orchestra of the Rockies. She is Artistic Director of Baroque Music Montana and the Period Performance Workshop, and teaches a large studio of award-winning students. She holds degrees in violin performance from Carnegie Mellon University, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and The Juilliard School.

RENÉ SCHIFFER, viola da gamba & cello piccolo, is praised for his “interpretive imagination and patrician command of the cello” (THE CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER). He is a native of Holland where he was a protégé of Anner Bijlsma. He later studied baroque cello with Jaap ter Linden and viola da gamba with Catharina Meints. As a member of Sigiswald Kuijken’s La Petite Bande for sixteen years, he toured four continents and appeared many times on European television. He has also performed with the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, Les Musiciens du Louvre, and in over forty projects with Tafelmusik of Toronto. As a concerto soloist, he has appeared throughout North America and Europe, and can be heard on acclaimed CD recordings of the Vivaldi Concerto for Two Cellos and the Tango Concerto for Two Gambas (his own composition) on British label AVIE. He can be heard on more than forty CD recordings, on the Harmonia Mundi, Philips, Virgin Classics, Erato, Sony, and AVIE labels. He serves on the faculty of the Cleveland Institute of Music as Teacher of Baroque Cello, and has given masterclasses and coachings for the New World Symphony (Miami), the University of Michigan, Oberlin Conservatory, and Cincinnati College-Conservatory.

WILLIAM SIMMS, theorbo, performs regularly with Apollo’s Fire, Tempesta di Mare, and the Washington Bach Consort, among others. He has performed operas and choral works with such groups as the Washington National Opera and Opera Philadelphia and at venues including the National Cathedral and the Kennedy Center. He has recorded with Apollo’s Fire, the Baltimore Consort, and Ronn McFarlane. Mr. Simms holds a Master’s Degree from Peabody Conservatory, and is Instructor of Guitar at Mt. St. Mary’s University and Hood College, where he is founder and Director of the Hood College Early Music Ensemble.

EMI TANABE, violin, holds a Professional Diploma from Roosevelt University and a Master’s degree in music from the University of North Texas. She is an adjunct faculty member at Benedictine University in Chicago, IL. Ms. Tanabe enjoys a multifaceted career; she performs not only with Baroque ensembles but also with Jazz/Latin groups, world music groups, Cirque du Soleil type of dinner shows, and more.