Current Artists

Micah Behr received his Doctorate in Viola Performance at UW Madison where he studied viola with Sally Chisholm and collaborative piano with Martha Fischer. His original compositions and transcriptions have been premiered by the Madison Bach Musicians and the Stoughton Chamber Music Players. He also composes music for Geneva Campus Church where he serves as Worship Director and Artist-in-Residence.

After over 40 years as Director of Music at Luther Memorial Church in Madison WI, Bruce Bengtson retired in 2018.  Beginning organ study in Salem, Oregon, at the age of 11, he earned degrees in organ performance at Southern Methodist University and Valparaiso University, winning state and national competitions during his college years.  Bruce has been featured in concerts in the U.S., Mexico, Canada, and Europe.  He continues to play services and concerts, accompany vocalists/instrumentalists, teach organ lessons,  and is a member of the Organ Historical Society, the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians, and the American Guild of Organists.  He taught organ lessons at Lawrence University, Appleton, WI 2019-2020, and assists in playing for Masses at Pastorate XXII of the Diocese of Madison.

Praised for her “sparkling, fluid soprano with admirable flexibility” (Opera News), Kristin Knutson Berka enjoys portraying characters from early music to contemporary musical theatre. Recent engagements include L’Incoronazione di Poppea (Drusilla/Fortuna) and Susanna (Daniele) with Chicago’s Haymarket Opera, Messiah with the Sheboygan Symphony, J.S. Bach’s Coffee Cantata with Great Lakes Baroque, Clérambault’s Orphée with Indy Baroque Chamber Players, and Scarlatti’s L’Orfeo with the Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble. Additional appearances include Candide (New York Philharmonic), A Tribute to Gilbert and Sullivan (Florentine Opera), Magic Flute (Skylight Theatre), the modern day premiere of Ariane et Bachus (Haymarket Opera), A Fireside Christmas (Fireside Theatre), and Wallace Shawn’s The Music Teacher (The New Group, Off-Broadway). Mrs. Berka holds a Bachelor of Music from The Juilliard School, with graduate studies at Manhattan School of Music. She is a founding member of the New Milwaukee Consort with whom she sings and plays Baroque guitar.

Dr. John Bragle is the Director of Community Programs at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, where he supports teaching artists providing weekly music instruction to more than 12,000 students around southeast Wisconsin. Bragle served from 2005-2022 as the Director of Choirs and Instructor of Voice at the Interlochen Arts Academy and Camp. While at Interlochen, choirs under his direction performed with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Traverse Symphony Orchestra, and Interlochen’s World Youth Symphony Orchestra in venues such as Lincoln Center, DAR Constitution Hall, and Detroit’s Orchestra Hall. Bragle graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Michigan State University, where he also earned a master’s degree in Choral Conducting. In 2021, he received his doctorate in Music Education from Boston University, and was recognized by the Music Education faculty with a departmental award for his scholarship and contributions to the community. An active performer of a wide variety of repertoire in concert and recital, he has a particular passion for the music of Bach, German Lieder, and the art songs of Gerald Finzi.  

GRAMMY Award-winning soprano Sarah Brailey, a co-founder of Just Bach, enjoys a versatile career that defies categorization. Praised by The New York Times for her “radiant, liquid tone,” and by Opera UK for “a sound of remarkable purity,” she is a prolific vocalist, cellist, recording artist, and educator. Sarah’s numerous career highlights include performing Handel’s L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato with the Mark Morris Dance Group, serenading the Mona Lisa with John Zorn’s Madrigals at the Louvre in Paris, and performing the role of The Soul in the world premiere recording of Dame Ethel Smyth’s The Prison, for which she received the 2020 GRAMMY Award for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album. Other notable project includes performing Julia Wolfe’s Her Story with the Lorelei Ensemble and the Boston, Chicago, Nashville, National, and San Francisco Symphony Orchestras.

Dr. Brailey is a member of Beyond Artists, a coalition of artists that donates a percentage of their concert fees to non-profit organizations. Through Beyond Artists, she supports the Natural Resources Defense Council, Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness, and the Animal Welfare Institute. Dr. Brailey is the Director of Vocal Studies at the University of Chicago, the Artistic Director of the Handel Aria Competition, and serves on the board of Just Bach.

Baritone Ryne Cherry’s past season highlights include performances of Purcell’s The Fairy-Queen with Portland Bach Experience, a national tour of Wayne Shorter and Esperanza Spaulding’s jazz-opera Iphigenia, regular appearances with Handel and Haydn Society including Bach’s Magnificat with Raphael Pichon and Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion with Bernard Labadie and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Carnegie Hall, and his debut with Miami-based Seraphic Fire in concert of music for men’s voices. He spent this past summer as a Virginia Best Adams Fellow at Carmel Bach Festival in California. Solo oratorio appearances include Fauré’s Requiem (Nashoba Valley Chorale), Beethoven’s Mass in C and Mendelssohn’s Die erste Walpurgisnacht (Back Bay Chorale), Dvořák’s Te Deum and Orff’s Carmina Burana (Symphony Pro Musica), plus premieres of several new works by living composers. Ryne is the current Vocal Co-Director of Just Bach. http://www.rynecherry.com

Brian Ellingboe is Lecturer of Bassoon and Chamber Music at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.  He holds music degrees from Luther College, University of Massachusetts Lowell, University of Oregon and University of Wisconsin-Madison from which he received his DMA in bassoon. He has studied with Marc Vallon, Steve Vacchi and Judith Bedford. Before moving to Madison to pursue his DMA he was previously bassoon faculty at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon and Southern Oregon Community College in Coos Bay Oregon.

Active as an orchestral player, Brian is principal bassoon of the Sheboygan Symphony, The Central Wisconsin Symphony Orchestra , and the Beloit Janesville Symphony. He is active as a chamber musician performing frequently with Con Vivo as a member of the woodwind quintet. He also enjoys playing in theater pit orchestras (where he gets to dust off his old saxophones and clarinets) with Madison Savoyard Players, Capitol City Theater and Four Seasons Theater.  Brian is also interested in period performance, performing on Baroque bassoon with Just Bach and the Lyra Baroque Orchestra.

This season, Jeni Houser returns to the Metropolitan Opera to cover the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute, joins the Florida Orchestra and Madison Symphony for Carmina Burana, and performs recitals in Madison and Laguna Beach, California. She has sung the Queen of the Night with numerous companies including the Met, Dallas Opera, Los Angeles Opera, and Opera Theatre of St. Louis. Other favorite performances include the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor with Madison Opera and in Seoul, South Korea, world premieres at Vienna State Opera and Fort Worth Opera, and Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos with Austin Opera and Minnesota Opera.

Harpsichordist and historical performance enthusiast Sean Kleve is dedicated to the wide world of historical keyboard instruments and what they can tell us about the repertoire of the past. As a long-time performer of Bach on modern and non-traditional instruments, Sean recently dove into the wide world of harpsichord and historical performance. Sean’s particular interests center upon an understanding of figured bass improvisation, historical tuning, the music of J.S. Bach, and early Italian Baroque music from the 17th century.

Sean performs solo recitals and chamber works on the harpsichord. He was a participant at the 2022 and 2023 Madison Bach Musicians Summer Workshops and is the owner of an Italian Cristofori/Ferrini Harpsichord built by David Sutherland in 1984. Sean’s principal harpsichord teachers are Trevor Stephenson and Jason Moy.

As a Percussionist, Composer, and Conductor, Sean Kleve founded Madison Wisconsin’s premiere experimental percussion ensemble, Clocks in Motion.  The group is dedicated to performing new and classic works for percussion instruments while promoting and supporting the education and future of new music.

Soprano Amanda Lauricella has been described as a voice with an “arching thrill to it” (Isthmus.com). Previous roles include Tytania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Gretel in ​Hansel and Gretel, Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance, and Rosina in The Barber of Seville.

Ms. Lauricella recently received her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Voice Performance with a minor in Theatre and Drama at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Ms. Lauricella was the 2021 recipient of the Charles and Helen Loeb Voice Award, a national semi-finalist for the 2021 NATS Artist Awards, and a finalist for the Musicians Club of Women 2023 Vocal Competition. She is currently working as an Adjunct Professor of Voice at Carroll University and Beloit College and is touring with Opera for the Young as Beauty in Grétry’s Beauty and the Beast.

Violinist Benjamin Lenzmeier studies with David Perry at the Mead Witter School of Music at UW-Madison. He performs with Madison Bach Musicians and The Lyra Baroque Orchestra, and can be found playing early music around the Midwest.  Mr. Lenzmeier hopes to continue his exploration of historically informed performance into his graduate studies and beyond.

Eric Miller performs as a viola da gambist, cellist, and occasional trumpeter around the Midwest, currently performing with the Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble, ViolMedium, and frequently giving solo recitals. Previous performance credits include the Arbor Vitae String Quartet, the Madison Choral Project, the Madison Chamber Choir, Madison Youth Choirs, and American Players Theater as well as countless chamber music projects, mostly centered around historical performance. As an improviser, he is known for his skill and sensitivity in collaboration with songwriters and has collaborated on several albums with songwriter Katie Burns. As an explorer in experimental music, he has recorded several hours of lo-fi electronic music with his duo, Basidium. Trained in the Suzuki method, Eric has taught cello, trumpet, and viola da gamba lessons to students all ages and abilities at his home in Madison, Wisconsin since 2009. He holds degrees from Northern Illinois University and the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

Charlie Rasmussen is a cello faculty member and Suzuki area chair at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music in Milwaukee. He performs historical cello and viola da gamba with the Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble and the New Milwaukee Consort. He is the Instrumental Director at Just Bach and serves on the board of Early Music Now. Mr. Rasmussen has recorded Tommaso Giordani’s Cello Duos (Centaur Records, 2020) and 11 Capricci by Joseph Dall’Abaco (Centaur Records, 2018). As an early music teacher, he has served on faculty at the Madison Early Music Festival and currently teaches viol at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Derek Reeves is the Principal Violist of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic Orchestra, a position that he has held since 2003. He has been the violist of The Freimann Quartet for the same length of time. He also performs with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra. 

As soloist, Mr. Reeves has been heard with The Oak Ridge Symphony Orchestra, The Bryan Symphony Orchestra, The Erie Chamber Orchestra, The Niagara Symphony Orchestra, The Fort Wayne Philharmonic, The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, The Columbus Indiana Philharmonic, The Indianapolis Philharmonic Orchestra, The Carmel Symphony Orchestra and The Gateways Festival Orchestra. He is a viola faculty member at the Brevard Music Center and is also an avid chamber musician, educator, recording artist, composer and arranger.

Mezzo soprano Jessica Schwefel has performed in over 35 operatic productions with Madison Opera, Opera for the Young, Fresco Opera Theatre, UW Opera, Music By The Lake, among others. Her involvement with the Florentine Opera Chorus resulted in a GRAMMY award nomination in 2020, and three GRAMMY awards in 2012 and 2013. This season, Jessica will be presenting recitals on Korean Art Song, and appearing with Four Seasons Theatre as well as Madison Choral Project.

An accomplished solo singer, she has had recent engagements with the Green Bay Symphony Orchestra, Madison Bach Musicians, Present Music, Oshkosh Chamber Singers, UW Summer Choir, and many more.

Jessica’s articles have been published in the VOICEPrints Journal of the NYSTA, the NATS Journal of Singing, as well as the Wisconsin School Musician (WSMA). She resides in McFarland, WI where she maintains her private voice studio, the Timman Music Studio. Jessica has taught studio voice previously at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Madison College, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, and University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Double bassist and collaborative artist Phillip W. Serna has emerged among our nation’s leading advocates of the viola da gamba. Co-founding Black Tulip, New Comma Baroque, ViolMedium and the Spirit of Gambo – a Chicago Consort of Viols, he’s collaborated with a myriad of distinguished historical-performance ensembles, most notably the Bella Voce Sinfonia, Burning River Baroque, the Chicago Early Music Consort, Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra, Les Touches, and the Newberry Consort. He can be heard on WFMT Chicago, Wisconsin Public Radio, Milwaukee Public Radio, and on releases from Clarion, Cedille, Midweſt415 and Varèse Sarabande Records. Holding degrees from Northwestern University and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Dr. Serna teaches at Valparaiso University, North Central College, the Music Institute of Chicago and served as co-director of Illinois’ first public-school period-instrument program at Adlai E. Stevenson High School. Furthermore, he serves as music director of Viols in Our Schools, an education initiative that earned him Early Music America’s 2010 Laurette Goldberg Award for Early Music outreach. 

Mark Brampton Smith holds degrees in Organ Performance from the Eastman School of Music and the University of Michigan. Currently the organist at Grace Episcopal Church, on Capitol Square in Madison, Mark has served on the music staff of churches in seven states. A prize winner in several national organ competitions, he has given solo concerts in numerous churches and auditoriums, including Overture Hall. As a collaborative pianist, Mark has worked with singers, instrumentalists, and choral ensembles, including the University of Michigan choirs, Ann Arbor Cantata Singers, Colgate University Chorus, and, since 2012, the Wisconsin Chamber Choir.

T. Jared Stellmacher is Director of Worship and Music at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Madison/Verona, WI, where he oversees the large and diverse music program across two campuses. Jared is also organist with the Chicago Gargoyle Brass and Organ Ensemble. Previous positions include Director of Music at Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Watertown, WI; Director of Music at Redeemer Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Hinsdale, IL; Interim Director of Music at First Church Congregational in Fairfield, CT; Accompanist for the critically acclaimed 100+ voice Fairfield County Chorale; Assistant Organist at the historic Riverside Church in New York City; Associate Organist at the First Presbyterian Church in New Canaan, CT; and Assistant Choral/Vocal Administrator at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music. Jared has received many awards for his performance excellence, most notably first place in the American Guild of Organists Region VI Competition for Young Organists held at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs; he then performed as a “Rising Star” at the National AGO Convention in Chicago. Jared received his MM from the Yale Institute of Sacred Music and Yale School of Music and BMus from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music.

Trevor Stephenson–harpsichordist, fortepianist, and pianist–is the artistic director and founder of the Madison Bach Musicians. He received a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Historical Performance of 18th-Century Music from Cornell University, where he studied fortepiano with Malcolm Bilson. With his colleague, Norman Sheppard, he has made and refurbished a series of historical keyboard instruments ranging from Italian Renaissance harpsichords to Victorian pianos. He has released sixteen recordings on the Light & Shadow label and tours throughout the United States as performer and lecturer. Information and tour schedule at trevorstephenson.com.

Daniel Sullivan began studying piano at the age of six at the Cleveland Institute of Music with William Kurzban and James Tannenbaum, then entered Baldwin-Wallace College Conservatory as a piano performance major studying with George Cherry. While studying piano, Daniel began studying the harpsichord with William Tinker. Dan obtained a Master of Music degree in Harpsichord from Yale University where he studied with Albert Fuller, then lived in The Hague and studied privately with Gustav Leonhardt. Early in the 80s, Dan moved to the Chicago area to pursue a Master of Management degree at Northwestern University. He quickly fell into the early music scene in Chicago playing with the Chicago Baroque Ensemble, Jubal’s Lyre, and Basically Bach amongst other early music groups. Long involved in church music, Dan served at Bethel Presbyterian Church (OPC) in Wheaton, Illinois, and Westminster Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Elgin, Illinois, and at Christ Covenant Presbyterian (OPC) in Crystal Lake, Illinois. Now residing near Madison, Wisconsin, Dan has performed with Sonata à Quattro, Just Bach, the La Crosse Symphony, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, and the Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble.

Anton TenWolde (baroque cello) has had a special interest in performing baroque music since the early 1970’s. While a student in the Netherlands, he performed twice with Ton Koopman, and toured with the Netherlands Student Chamber Orchestra and the Netherlands Student Baroque Orchestra. In 1973 he moved to Madison, Wisconsin, where he worked for 27 years as a Research Physicist at the USDA Forest Products Laboratory. For many years he played with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra. He is a founding member of the Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble, and regularly performs with the Madison Bach Musicians and the Bach Collegium of Fort Wayne, Indiana.