Emily Mwila

Emily Mwila is a soprano from New Zealand and Zambia, now based in Chicago, Illinois. She was part of the original revival cast of Anthony Davis’ The Life and Times of Malcolm X with Detroit Opera, Omaha Opera, and the Metropolitan Opera. In 2021, she appeared in the chorus of Porgy and Bess at the Metropolitan Opera. She made her Lyric Opera of Chicago debut singing the role of Evelyn/Fire Shut Up in My Bones (2021/22) and has subsequently sung Lucia Paret in Champion, been the soprano soloist in Lyric Opera’s concert performance of Mozart’s Thamos, King of Egypt, and most recently she played Sina in Missy Mazzoli’s The Listeners .She made her operatic debut in New Zealand at Eternity Opera (Zerlina/Don Giovanni), and other roles include Susanna/Le Nozze di Figaro, Mae Jones/Street Scene, and Euridice/Orfeo ed Euridice. Mwila received a Master of Music and Professional Studies Diploma in Voice at Mannes School of Music in New York.

Bill McMurray

Praised by the Durham Herald Sun as “a baritone with warm, rich tones and superb stage presence,” Bill McMurray has distinguished himself in more than forty operatic roles across the United States. He has portrayed some of the repertoire’s most celebrated characters, including Figaro (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Marcello (La Bohème), Dulcamara (L’elisir d’amore), Count Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro), and Escamillo (Carmen). His performances have been featured with renowned companies such as Florida Grand Opera, Chicago Opera Theater, Opera Carolina, Central City Opera, Opera North, Knoxville Opera, Skylight Music Theater, and Union Avenue Opera.

Recent highlights include his debut with Lyric Opera of the North as Marcello (La Bohème), the Pirate King (The Pirates of Penzance) with Opera San Antonio, and Verdi’s Requiem with Winston Salem Symphony. He has also appeared with Florentine Opera Company in Donizetti’s Viva la Mamma, the Jupiter Project in Jiwon Hahn’s Sneeze, and as the Father in the Midwest premiere of Stefan Weisman’s The Scarlet Ibis. Additional notable roles include Marullo (Rigoletto), Ibn Hakia (Iolanta), the Vicar (Albert Herring), and the Narrator (The Snowman).

On the concert stage, Mr. McMurray has been featured as a soloist in masterworks including Mozart’s Requiem and Mass in C Minor, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Handel’s Messiah, Haydn’s The Creation, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs and Dona Nobis Pacem, Copland’s Old American Songs, Fauré’s Requiem, and Tippett’s A Child of Our Time. He has appeared with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Ravinia Festival, Elgin Symphony, Dupage Symphony Orchestra, Illinois Philharmonic, South Bend Symphony, Waukegan Symphony, and University of Chicago Symphony Orchestra, among others.

A versatile artist, Mr. McMurray has worked with esteemed conductors including former Music Director of the Metropolitan Opera, James Levine at the Ravinia Festival, where he appeared as the bass soloist in the final movement of Haydn’s The Creation. He is a past first prize winner of the National Association Teachers of Singing Competition and was selected to the Winners Circle of The Classical Music Vocal Competition. In 2021, he received a Grammy Award as a member of the Chicago Symphony Chorus for their acclaimed recording of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 13, “Babi Yar.”