Author Archives: Camerata Chicago

2026 Messiah

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The Messiah by Handel November 20 - 22, 2026

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November 20
Oak Park

7:30 pm Friday

Nineteenth
Century Club

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November 21
Wheaton

3 pm Saturday

Gary
Church

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November 22
Hinsdale

3 pm Sunday

Union
Church

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November 20 – 22, 2026
Handel’s Messiah

Camerata Chicago Orchestra & Chorus

Conducted by
Maestro Drostan Hall

Enjoy the outstanding musical artistry of Camerata Chicago and its wonderful chorus performing the Messiah (Part I – Christmas) by Handel with the Hallalujah Chorus and Zadok the Priest. At the heart of our elite chorus are some of the top choristers in Chicago.

We have four wonderful soloists:

Soprano Emily Richter
Mezzosoprano Camille Robles
Tenor Daniel Espinal
Bass Baritone Laureano Quant

Messiah 2026 Soloists Clockwise: Soprano Emily Richter; Mezzosoprano Camille Robles; Bass Baritone Laureano Quant; Tenor Daniel Espinal;

Clockwise: Soprano Emily Richter; Mezzosoprano Camille Robles; Bass Baritone Laureano Quant; Tenor Daniel Espinal;

Hallelujah Chorus: At these concerts the Camerata Chicago Orchestra and Chorus will perform the famous and celebrated Hallelujah Chorus. We’ll perform it twice – the second time giving you the opportunity to join in for a truly rousing finale to this fabulous sacred music performance.

Camerata Chicago Orchestra and Chorus

 

 

Sacred Music 2026 Messiah Artists

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We have four fabulous soloists for the Messiah 2026:

November 20 in Oak Park
November 21 in Wheaton
November 22 in Hinsdale:

Emily Richter – Soprano

Emily Richter, sopranoEmily Richter is a lyric soprano based in Chicago, IL. Having benefited from growing up all over the world from Zimbabwe to Armenia and living in musical centers such as London and Tokyo, Emily truly has a global perspective on what it means to be an artist. Soprano Emily Richter is a 2024 Grand Finals Winner of The Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition. She is thrilled to be joining the Ryan Opera Center at the Lyric Opera of Chicago for the 2025/2026 season and Camerata Chicago for its annual production of The Messiah.

Camille Robles – Mezzo-soprano

Camille Robles, mezzo-soprano

Camille Robles is a Puerto Rican mezzo-soprano and an emerging young artist. She was recently selected to be part of the Ryan Opera Center Ensemble 2025/26 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, starting in May 2025. In November 2024, she was a Puerto Rico District Winner in the Metropolitan Opera’s Laffont Competition, where she was awarded the Culturarte Prize, the Propuesta Clásica Foundation Prize, and the Audience Favorite Prize sponsored by Teatro de la Ópera de Puerto Rico.

Daniel Espinal – Tenor

Daniel Espinal, tenor

A second-year Ryan Opera Center member, the Cuban-Dominican tenor from Sarasota received a 2025 Sara Tucker Study Grant and was a national winner of the 2024 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. In Lyric’s 2024/25 Season he sang Jacquino/Fidelio (debut) and Curzio/The Marriage of Figaro. A graduate of the Manhattan School of Music, Espinal continued his studies at Yale University, where he recently received a Master of Musical Arts degree.

Laureano Quant – Baritone

Laureano Quant, BaritoneA native of Barranquilla, Colombia, Laureano Quant holds a Master of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music and a Master of Musical Arts degree from Yale University. Highlights of his repertoire include Belcore, The Elixir of Love, Guglielmo, Così fan tutte, Figaro, Saverio Mercadante’s I due Figaro, Maguire, Tobias Picker’s Emmeline, Zurga, The Pearl Fishers, Vittorio and The Boarder, Nino Rota’s I due timidi, Demetrius, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and the Captain and Prince Ragotsky, Candide.

2027 Baroque Violin Concerti

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Baroque Violin Concerti with Apollo's Fire Soloists - March 5 - 7, 2027

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March 5
Oak Park

7:30 pm Friday

Nineteenth
Century Club

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March 6
Wheaton

3 pm Saturday

Armerding
Concert Hall

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March 7
Hinsdale

3 pm Sunday

Union
Church

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March 5 – 7, 2027
Apollo’s Fire Soloists

Bach Double Violin Concerto
Bach Violin Concerto in A Minor
Vivaldi Four Seasons Spring Concerto
Vivaldi Concerto for Four Violins

This family event will run for 1 Hour 20 Minutes
including a 20 minute intermission.

Chicago | Wheaton | Hinsdale

Join us for an afternoon of musical excellence!

In a special collaboration with Apollo’s Fire, violin soloists Emi Tanabe and Hanna Bingham perform Baroque Violin Concerti!

Conducted by Maestro Drostan Hall, you will be treated to the famous and iconic double violin concerto by Bach and his violin concerto in A minor.

Joining Emi and Hanna are Guest Concertmaster Eric Gratz and Principal Second Violin Ann Montzka Smelser to perform the Concerto for Four Violins by Vivaldi. Hanna Bingham will play the Spring concerto from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.

Apollo's Fire violin soloists Emi Tanabe and Hanna Bingham

Apollo’s Fire violin soloists Emi Tanabe and Hanna Bingham

Repertoire

Bach Double Violin Concerto
Emi Tanabe & Hanna Bingham

Bach Violin Concerto in A minor
Emi Tanabe

Vivaldi Four Seasons Spring Concerto
Hanna Bingham

Vivaldi Concerto for Four Violins
Emi Tanabe
Hanna Bingham
Eric Gratz
Ann Montzka Smelser

2027 Fauré Requiem

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Faure Requiem April 9 - 11, 2027

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April 9
Chicago

3 pm Friday

Fourth
Church

Tickets Chicago

April 10
Wheaton

3 pm Saturday

Armerding
Concert Hall

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April 11
Hinsdale

3 pm Sunday

Union
Church

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April 9 – 11, 2027

Chicago | Wheaton | Hinsdale

Fauré Requiem
Poulenc Organ Concerto

with Internationally Renowned Organist
Douglas Cleveland

Douglas Cleveland, organ

Internationally renowned organist Douglas Cleveland joins the Camerata Chicago orchestra and chorus in a special collaboration with Wheaton College as part of the Lester W. Groom Endowment Organ Series to showcase the Taylor & Boody organ in the Armerding Concert Hall.

Join Douglas in a fabulous performance of the Fauré Requiem. He will perform the Poulenc Organ Concerto, conducted by Maestro Drostan Hall.

Two superb soloists will perform the Fauré Requiem with our choir which comprises the top choristers in Chicago.

Repertoire at a glance:

Fauré Requiem
Poulenc Concerto for Organ and Strings

 

Douglas Cleveland, Organ

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Organist Douglas Cleveland Photo Credit Debora SpencerDouglas Cleveland is John Delo Faculty Fellow in Organ at the University of Washington.

Douglas was born in Tacoma, Washington and raised in Olympia. He received his bachelor’s degree from the Eastman School of Music where he studied with Russell Saunders, a master’s degree from Indiana University studying with Larry Smith and Marilyn Keiser, and a doctorate from the Graduate Theological Foundation, where he completed his course work and final doctoral project at the University of Oxford School of Theology. He has been on the music faculties of St. Olaf College, Northwestern University, and the University of Washington. For twelve years he served as Director of Music at Plymouth Church in Seattle and is currently director of music at St. Thomas Medina Episcopal Church and Musician in Residence at Temple De Hirsch Sinai in Seattle.

Doug won first prize in the American Guild of Organists National Young Artists Competition in Dallas. Since then, he has performed in all fifty of the United States and in venues throughout Europe and Asia. His performances with American symphony orchestras have included the Chicago Symphony, the St. Louis Symphony, the Milwaukee Symphony and the National Symphony in Washington, DC. In Seattle, he has performed several times on the Seattle Symphony Organ Series at Benaroya Hall. He has performed with Seattle Pro Musica, Choral Arts Northwest, the Seattle Men’s Chorus, and Northwest Chamber Chorus. He has recorded six CDs on the Gothic label, which have received critical acclaim — his most recent being “Douglas Cleveland Plays Rockefeller Chapel at the University of Chicago.” He has performed at the AGO National Conventions of Dallas, Denver, and Kansas City.