Aine Hakamatsuka, soprano

New York-based Japanese soprano Aine Hakamatsuka is a versatile artist whose vocal flexibility and love for collaborative music-making have led her to a career spanning concert, opera, and choral repertoire. 

Ms. Hakamatsuka’s versatility is evident on the concert stage, where she has appeared as a soloist in a wide range of repertoire. Last season she sang on a tour of Handel’s Solomon with the Clarion Choir and The English Concert under the baton of Harry Bicket. She was also seen as the soprano soloist for François Couperin’s Leçons de Ténèbres in concert at the historic St. Bartholomew’s Church in New York City. A champion of contemporary music, Ms. Hakamatsuka has performed as a soloist in works by 20th- and 21st-century composers including David Lang, Katherine Hoover, and Thea Musgrave. Most notably, she was the soloist in the world premiere of Nina Shekhar’s Blush, a ten-minute-long piece for soprano and choir that explores the sometimes painful, often beautiful experience of transforming from a girl into a woman. Other favorite solo works include Bach’s Magnificat, Fauré’s Requiem, Orff’s Carmina Burana, and Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise Op. 34, No. 14. 

A deep love of chamber music has inspired Ms. Hakamatsuka to pursue a career that is equal parts solo and ensemble. In demand as a choral artist, she is a member of the Choir of Trinity Wall Street, and has appeared with Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity, Musica Sacra, the New York Philharmonic, New York Virtuoso Singers, and St. Bartholomew’s Church Choir, in prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Alice Tully Hall, the Met Museum, and many of New York City’s most beloved churches. 

Described by the Observer as a “pearly soprano” and by The New York Times as having “loads of personality,” Ms. Hakamatsuka has made a mark performing soubrette and lyric coloratura opera roles including Lucy in The Telephone, Blonde in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Madame Silberklang in Der Schauspieldirektor, Barbarina in Le nozze di Figaro, and Gretel in Hansel and Gretel, for which she was invited for a repeat performance at the Kennedy Center. When she is not performing, she enjoys teaching piano lessons and caring for her two cats, Mimi and Momo.

Sarah Nelson Craft, mezzo-soprano

Known for her vibrant and engaging storytelling and the “rich beauty of her voice,” mezzo-soprano Sarah Nelson Craft has been hailed by Opera News as “exquisite . . . glowing . . . and genuine.” As a song recitalist she has been presented by Carnegie Hall, Five Boroughs Music Festival, Brooklyn Art Song Society, and Music Academy of the West, collaborating with renowned pianists including Warren Jones and Martin Katz. Seen and Heard International noted that she “cast a spell over the audience” and is “one of those singers for whom words and tone combine to create a beautiful, bubbling musical flow of emotion.” 

She brought her passion for early music to the title role in Handel’s Solomon with Amor Artis and New York Baroque, Inc., and to the role of Piramo in Hasse’s Piramo e Tisbe with The Little Opera Theatre of NY. Concert highlights include Bach’s Mass in B minor at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall, Mozart’s Coronation Mass at Alice Tully Hall, Vivaldi’s Gloria at Carnegie Hall, Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the New Jersey Festival Orchestra, Debussy’s Trois ballades de François Villon with New York Repertory Orchestra, Canteloube’s Chants d’Auvergne with the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra, and Brahms’ Alto Rhapsody with Princeton Pro Musica. 

Favorite operatic roles include the title role in Rossini’s La Cenerentola and Massenet’s Cendrillon, as well as Cherubino, Hansel, Dido, and Hermia in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Ms. Craft has performed with companies including the Caramoor International Music Festival, New York City Opera, Death of Classical, ChamberQUEER, and the Macau International Music Festival. 

Her 2023–2024 season includes a performance of Berlioz’s La mort de Cléopâtre with New York Repertory Orchestra, Handel’s Solomon with Princeton Pro Musica, and a return to Brooklyn Art Song Society’s New Voices Festival, where she will perform works by Caroline Shaw and premiere a new song cycle by Jessica Meyer.

Alex Guerrero, tenor 

Tenor Alex Guerrero happily celebrates over a decade with Amor Artis since his debut season in 2012.

The New York Times has praised his “apt comic timing” in André Gretry’s Zémire et Azor with American Classical Orchestra, as well as his “solid” performance in Handel’s The Ways of Zion Do Mourn led by William Christie at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall. Mr. Guerrero was also noted for his performance this month as Labano in Antonio Bencini’s Gesù Nato, also with ACO, by New York Classical Review for his “excellent, beautiful sounds,” by Classical Music Network for his “stentorian tenor when necessary,” and by Woman Around Town for his “best grasp on [Italian] diction,” as well as his “sunny and suave voice . . . ideal . . . for Rossini and Bellini.” Other concert credits include several J.S. Bach cantatas, Orff’s Carmina Burana with Monmouth Civic Chorus conducted by Ryan Brandau, the role of Edwig in Vincent d’Indy’s opera Fervaal in concert with American Symphony Orchestra at New York’s Lincoln Center, and the American premiere of Valery Gavrilin’s Russian cantata Chimes with Cantori New York led by Mark Shapiro at National Sawdust. He was also featured on the Tania León Grammy-nominated album Inura for Voice, Strings and Percussion.

As a choral artist, Mr. Guerrero has performed and recorded with leading ensembles that include Trinity Wall Street Choir, St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue Choir, Yale Choral Artists, and Grammy Award-winning True Concord. As a composer, his music has been performed by The New York Virtuoso Singers; the choirs at Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and Park Avenue Synagogue; the former Pro Arte Chamber Singers and Charis Chamber Voices; and just this month, Amor Artis under Ryan Brandau’s outstanding leadership delivered a superb premiere of his setting of “Yehi Has’dekha.”

Mr. Guerrero has also been performing with the Extra Chorus at The Metropolitan Opera since 2017, and debuted with the Core Supplementary Chorus at Lyric Opera of Chicago during the 2019–2020 season. Additionally, he has served on the adjunct music faculty at Borough of Manhattan Community College, CUNY, and is a Doctor of Musical Arts candidate at SUNY’s Stony Brook University. He is also the author of the Classical Singer Magazine article titled “Admitting BIPOC Composers into the Canon.”

Sam Denler, tenor 

Sam Denler, a tenor based in Hamilton, New Jersey, sings in the Philadelphia Symphonic Choir and regularly performs with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Yannick Nézet-Séguin. He also recently sang with Ryan Brandau and Res Facta in a William Byrd concert featured on Sounds Choral, and filmed a scene with Bradley Cooper for the upcoming Netflix Leonard Bernstein biopic “Maestro.” Mr. Denler finished his fifth residency with the Spoleto Festival USA Chorus, and is currently a finalist for Chanticleer. This year, he has been singing and recording with the Voces8 U.S. Scholars as well as startup group Convoco, a small ensemble of young professional musicians, and this summer sang Joby Talbot’s “Path of Miracles” with the Princeton-based Lotus Choir. Mr. Denler earned his Bachelor’s in Music Education at Westminster Choir College, where he sang with the Westminster Choir for three years, touring the U.S., Spain, and China. He was also a member of Kantorei, an elite ensemble specializing in early performance practice, and Symphonic Choir, which performed in premier venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia.