artist bios: about us
Soprano Katharine Dain is an active concert soloist and ensemble singer based in New York. Of a recent performance, Steve Smith of The New York Times said, “Katharine Dain sang with rich tone, investing her lines with deep emotion.” She has sung soprano roles in the oratorios of Bach, Handel, Mozart, Purcell, Haydn, Mendelssohn, and Britten as well as Mozart’s Così fan tutte (Fiordiligi), Cavalli’s La Calisto (Calisto), and several premieres of contemporary operas. She has been invited to perform with members of the New York Virtuoso Singers, the Choir of Trinity Wall Street, the Parley of Instruments, and the New England Baroque Soloists, as well as appearing in the Amherst and Brighton Early Music Festivals. As a recitalist, her repertoire is diverse and spans six centuries. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in voice at the Mannes College of Music after completing degrees from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London (M.M. Early Music) and Harvard University, Cambridge (B.A. Music). http://www.katharinedain.com
Jeffrey Grossman has been consistently praised for his impressive and wide-ranging musicality in nearly every style. His extensive experience includes repertoire for the piano, harpsichord, and chamber organ from every period of the classical repertoire. A native of Detroit, Michigan, he holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from Harvard College, where he sang with the Glee Club and conducted the Chamber Singers. He also co-founded and currently serves as artistic director of the Cambridge Early Music Project, an organization which has presented numerous concerts in the Boston area. Recent performances as a conductor cover diverse ground—from Marvin Hamlisch’s A Chorus Line, to Benjamin Britten’s Albert Herring, to an all-baroque concert of music by Bach and Schütz. Jeffrey recently completed a Master of Music degree in conducting at Carnegie Mellon University, where he studied with Grammy-award winning conductor Robert Page. He served last year as the assistant conductor of the Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum, Harvard College’s mixed chorus, and this season looks forward to the release of three compact discs he recorded during the 2007-08 season with various collaborators. Jeffrey currently resides in New York City and Boston, where he is active as a collaborative pianist and harpsichordist. http://www.jeffreygrossman.com/
Jessica Powell, an active bass and viol player in New York City, has been the recipient of critical acclaim and honors for her work as a continuo bass player. “Bassist Jessica Powell played with a natural expressiveness that never broke the regularity of the rhythm” (Montpelier Times Argus). She is a member of the Stony Brook Baroque Players, winners of the 2007 Early Music America Collegium Musicum grant. She is also a member of the New York–based Ensemble Leonarda, and freelances actively throughout the New York area. Jessica is currently pursuing a doctorate in double bass performance from the State University of New York. She is a graduate of Cincinnati College-Conservatory and the Eastman School of Music. Jessica has performed at the Boston Early Music Festival, the Amherst Early Music Festival, the Aspen Music Festival, Music05 and the Lucerne Festival. In addition to her work as a performer, Jessica is a grant writer for Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.
Laurie Rubin recently received high praise from The New York Times chief classical music critic Anthony Tommasini who wrote she possesses “compelling artistry,” “communicative power,” and that her voice displays “earthy, rich and poignant qualities.” Recent career highlights include her United Kingdom solo recital debut performance at Wigmore Hall in London as well as her recent solo recital debut at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. She has given concerts in both the Terrace Theater and The Millennium Stage at The John F. Kennedy Center and The White House in Washington, DC, and performed a number of roles including the title role in Rossini’s La Cenerentola. Among the numerous awards and accolades Laurie has received are the First Place Award for Classical Voice at the Los Angeles Music Center Spotlight Awards. Fellowships include two summers at the Marlboro Music Festival; three summers at the Britten-Pears Young Artists Program; a member of the Aspen Vocal Chamber Music Program in Aspen, Colorado; and two consecutive years at Songfest. Laurie was selected as one of four singers and four composers to attend the Dawn Upshaw/John Harbison Workshop culminating in a performance premiering new works at Carnegie Hall in October 2004. She has recorded a CD of art songs by Mozart, Schubert, Schumann, Beethoven, Brahms, Hahn, Bizet, Copland, and some beloved Yiddish pieces with pianists Graham Johnson and David Wilkinson on the Opera Omnia label. Laurie is a graduate of both the Oberlin Conservatory of Music where she studied with Richard Miller and Yale Opera at the Yale School of Music, studying with Doris Cross and Lili Chookasian. http://www.laurie-rubin.com/
