A Mass for Christmas Eve

Robert Eisenstein (Artistic Director, viol, violin,recorder) has led over 200 productions and performances with Folger Consort over the past 40 years include Measure + Dido at the Kennedy Center and Napa Valley Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice at Strathmore, The Fairy Queen, and Hildegard Von Bingen’s Ordo Virtutum at the Washington National Cathedral.  Director of the Five College Early Music Program; Music Director for the Five College Opera Project production of Francesca Caccini’s La Liberazione di Ruggiero. Faculty member of Mount Holyoke College, where he teaches music history and performs the viola de gamba, violin, and medieval fiddle.  He is an active participant in the Five College Medieval Studies. Recipient of Early Music America’s Thomas Binkley Award for outstanding achievement in performance and scholarship by the director of a college early music ensemble. 

Christopher Kendall (Artistic Director) is founder of the Folger Consort. He has recently become dean emeritus of the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance after serving the two-term limit of 10 years as the school’s dean, where he was responsible for establishing the University of Michigan Gershwin Initiative, for re-instituting international touring, for the funding and design of a $30M expansion/renovation of the music building, and for launching the interdisciplinary enterprise ArtsEngine and its national initiative a2ru (Alliance for the Arts at Research Universities). In Washington, in addition to his work with Folger Consort, since 1975 he has been Artistic Director and conductor of the 21st Century Consort, the new music ensemble-in-residence at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Mr. Kendall served as Director of the University of Maryland School of Music from 1996 to 2005 during a period of rapid development at the School and its move to the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. Associate Conductor of the Seattle Symphony from 1987 to 1992 and Director of the Music Division and Tanglewood Institute of the Boston University School for the Arts from 1993 to 1996, Mr. Kendall has guest conducted many orchestras and ensembles in repertoire from the 18th to the 21st centuries. His recordings can be heard on the Bard, Delos, Nonesuch, Centaur, ASV, Arabesque, Innova, and Smithsonian Collection labels.

Rhianna Cockrell, (Mezzo-soprano), has captivated audiences with her interpretations of Renaissance and Baroque works as well as her passion for contemporary works. Her singing has been hailed as “luscious” (Washington Classical Review) and “beautifully controlled…breath-taking…otherworldly” (Early Music America). As a frequent and award-winning interpreter of J.S. Bach’s music, Cockrell’s performances have been described as “unforced” and “resolute” (Oregon ArtsWatch). Her 2024–25 season includes her solo debut with Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in Handel’s Messiah and J.S. Bach’s Magnificat, and with Washington Bach Consort in J.S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion. Recent solo features include an album release of Bach’s B Minor Mass with Cantata Collective, an artist residency with the Cornell Department of Music featuring a commission premiere of Amelia Brey’s ALL THE FLOWERS WERE MINE, Bach’s St. John Passion with True Concord Voices & Orchestra, Bach’s B Minor Mass with The Thirteen, and Bach’s Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir BWV 29 with Oregon Bach Festival. Cockrell holds degrees from Yale University, University of Minnesota, and George Mason University.

Wade Davis (Basse de Violo) is in high demand as a solo performer and chamber music collaborator. He regularly performs with the Washington Bach Consort, the Folger Consort, as a guest with the Smithsonian Chamber Music Society, and his own baroque ensemble, S’amusant, co-founded with Patrick Merrill, harpsichordist in 2013. Other appearances include Piccolo Spoleto Early Music Festival, Indianapolis Early Music Festival, The MOJA Festival, The Spire Series, and Bach Ascending. Known for wide variety of styles, he’s also featured on popular indie music concert series such as So Far Sounds Baltimore and has guested with New York-based band Reserved for Rondee and Baltimore-based band Outcalls in addition to the “Swans for Relief” project video curated by Misty Copeland to raise funds for dancers whose companies had been affected by the 2020 pandemic shutdowns. Wade maintains a private studio of cello students in both Baltimore and Washington, D.C. He holds both a master’s degree in Baroque Cello Performance and a Graduate Performance Degree in Historical Cello from Peabody Conservatory as a student of John Moran.

Nina Falk (Viola) is a Fulbright scholar in London and Rome, has played for years with the Bach Choir of Bethlehem, Boston’s Handel and Haydn Society, Opera Lafayette, the Carmel Bach Festival, Apollo’s Fire, and her ensemble, Arcovoce. She is the founder and director of A Musical Heart, which brings live music to the bedsides of hospice patients. 

Crossley Hawn (Soprano) is a DC-based soprano, known for her ability to perform across various musical styles. She has been a soloist with a number of ensembles, including The Folger Consort, The Washington Bach Consort, Chatham Baroque, Musica Spira, The City Choir of Washington, Cathedral Choral Society, Choralis (winner of 2018 Young Artist Competition), The Thirteen, Cathedra, Musica Spira, The Reston Chorale, Maryland Choral Society, and Maryland Summer Chorus. Crossley is also an active ensemble singer, and a member of Eya Medieval Music, an award-winning female ensemble specializing in early music. In addition to the previously mentioned ensembles, Crossley has also appeared chorally with the U.S. Air Force Singing Sergeants, Kinnara, True Concord, EXO Choir, Chorosynthesis, Chantry, and The District Eight.

In opera, Crossley has performed such roles as Dido/Dido and Aeneas, Giannetta/L’Elisir d’Amore, Drusilla/L’Incoronazione di Poppea, and Susanna/Le Nozze di Figaro. Other operatic highlights include Adele/Die Fledermaus, Suor Dolcina/Suor Angelica, Amahl/Amahl and the Night Visitors, and Serpina/La Serva Padrona. She has participated in numerous noteworthy events throughout her career, including performing for a wedding at the White House, singing David Lang’s the little match girl passion with the composer in attendance, performing in chamber choirs for two Popes, and serving as cantor at Justice Antonin Scalia’s funeral.

Crossley has performed across seven different countries throughout her career. She is currently employed at The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and the Washington National Cathedral. In addition, Crossley served as Project Manager and ensemble singer for Experiential Orchestra’s GRAMMY-winning premiere recording of Dame Ethel Smyth’s The Prison. She is an Artistic Director of Bridge Voices, a vocal chamber ensemble specializing in new works for voices, and winner of three film festival awards for the original film, America, You’re Beautiful.

Susan Lewis Kavinski (Soprano) is a vocalist and active-duty service member with the United States Navy Band, Washington, D.C. For two decades, Susan has been privileged to perform as a member of the Navy Band Sea Chanters chorus. As a featured soloist and ensemble member, she has sung for presidents, vice presidents, high-ranking military leaders, Cabinet members, popes, and an array of foreign and domestic leaders and dignitaries. Her military career highlights run the gamut from the soloing at the White House, to performing with renowned operatic soprano Renée Fleming at the 48th Super Bowl. As a service member, Susan has toured throughout the contiguous United States, performing for large public audiences at prestigious venues. She is frequently featured as a soloist with the Navy Concert Band, and her recording of Dvořák’s Song to the Moon remains one of the most-viewed classical solo performances in the U.S. Navy Band YouTube channel.

Patrick Kilbride (Vocalist) Praised for his “beautiful”, “sweet-voiced” tone, and “superbly acted” portrayals, Patrick Kilbride, tenor, is enjoying an international career. He is a graduate of Northwestern University and the University of Maryland Opera Studio, with fellowships from the Aspen Music Festival, Tanglewood Music Festival and L’Académie du Festival Aix-en-Provence. He was the winner of the 24th International Concours de Chant in Clermont-Ferrand, France, making his European debut in opera houses throughout France in Handel’s Acis and Galatea with Damien Guillon and Le Banquet Céleste (Rennes, Clermont-Ferrand, Chaise-Dieu, Avignon). He has sung roles with Festival Aix-en-Provence in Cavalli’s Erismena with Leonardo García Alarcón and Cappella Mediterranea in the opera houses of Paris, Saint-Denis, Luxembourg, and Versailles, and with the Britten-Pears Aldeburgh Festival at Snape Maltings Concert Hall in Handel’s Theodora with Christian Curnyn and Sarah Connolly.

Paula Maust (Organ) is a performer, scholar, and educator dedicated to fusing research and creative practice to amplify underrepresented voices and advocate for social change. She is the creator of Expanding the Music Theory Canon, an open-source collection of music theory examples by women and composers of color. A print anthology based on the project will be released with SUNY Press in December 2023. Paula also researches the pejorative language used to describe early modern women on stage and harmony books by nineteenth-century women. She has published articles in Women and Music and the Journal of the International Alliance for Women in Music, and she is an Early Modern Area Editor for Grove Music Online’s gender and sexuality revision project.

Dan Meyers (Multi-instrumentalist) A versatile multi-instrumentalist, Dan Meyers is a flexible and engaging performer of both classical and folk music; his credits range from premieres of contemporary chamber music, to headlining a concert series in honor of Pete Seeger at the Newport Folk Festival, to playing Renaissance instruments on Broadway for Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre Company. He is a founding member of the early music/folk crossover group Seven Times Salt, and in recent seasons he has performed with the The Newberry Consort, Hesperus, The Henry Purcell Society of Boston, Early Music New York, Amherst Early Music, The 21st Century Consort, In Stile Moderno, and the Cambridge Revels, making concert and theatrical appearances in NYC, Washington DC, Chicago, Minneapolis, Memphis, Santa Fe, at the Yellow Barn Festival in Vermont, and at at the “La Luna e i Calanchi” festival in Basilicata (Italy).

Patricia Ann Neely (Instrumentalist) has appeared with many early music ensembles including, Tempesta di Mare, Opera Lafayette, the Folger Consort, TENET, North Carolina Baroque Orchestra, Smithsonian Chamber Players, the New York Collegium, the Washington Bach Consort, Amor Artis, ARTEK, Glimmerglass Opera, New York City Opera, the Boston Camerata, Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra, The Newberry Consort, The New York Consort of Viols, and Early Music New York, among others, and was a founding member of the viol consort Parthenia. For many years she was the principal violone player for Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity. She spent three years touring with the acclaimed European-based medieval ensemble, Sequentia as the medieval fiddle player, performing throughout Europe and North America, at festivals including, Oude Muziek – Utrecht, Bach Tage – Berlin, Alte Musik – Herne, Wratislavia Cantans – Poland, Music Before 1800, and The Vancouver Early Music Festival. Ms. Neely began playing the viol at Vassar College and continued her studies, earning an MFA in Historical Performance at Sarah Lawrence College, with additional studies in Belgium with Wieland Kuijken.

A native of Washington, DC, Leslie Nero was professionally active for 15 years in Ontario and Quebec, Canada, playing in several orchestras.  Upon returning to the Washington metropolitan area, she began playing as a freelance violinist and violist with both modern and baroque ensembles.  She often performs with Opera Lafayette, Modern Musick, the Folger Consort, and the Washington Bach Consort.  She also enjoys teaching violin to many eager fourth and fifth grade students in the Alexandria City Public Schools.

Corbin Phillips (Vocalist) Labeled a “standout baritone” by the SF Gate, Corbin Phillips is a classical singer with a passion for early music. His most recent solo appearances have included the role of Aeneas in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas with newly-founded baroque opera company based in Baltimore, Opera Henriette, bass soloist in Handel’s Dublin Messiah with Tempesta di Mare, and Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 with Baltimore Choral Arts. Other appearances have included performances with Boston Early Music Festival, Mountainside Baroque, Opera Lafayette, Concerto Romano, Big Mouth Society, and Quicksilver Baroque.