Ryan James Brandau brings to the podium broad experience conducting a variety of choral and orchestral ensembles. He is Artistic Director of Amor Artis, a 35-voice chamber chorus and Baroque orchestra in New York City; Princeton Pro Musica; and the Monmouth Civic Chorus. Dr. Brandau serves on the faculty of Westminster Choir College, where he has prepared the Westminster Symphonic Choir for performances with the Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, and the New Jersey Symphony. Formerly, he was Director of Choral Activities at Santa Clara University and Artistic Director of the Santa Clara Chorale and Choirmaster of the acclaimed all-professional choir of Christ Church, New Haven. As a professional singer, Ryan has been heard with ensembles in the US, Europe, and Asia, including the American Bach Soloists, the Choir of King’s College Cambridge, the Arcadia Players, Yale Schola Cantorum, and the Choir of Clare College Cambridge. He remains active as a choral arranger, composer, and clinician. His arrangements and compositions have been featured by choral ensembles across the globe. Brandau holds the Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees from the Yale School of Music, where he studied conducting with Simon Carrington and Marguerite Brooks and received the Horatio Parker Memorial Prize. Prior to pursuing graduate study in conducting, Ryan attended the University of Cambridge in the UK as a Gates Scholar, earning an M.Phil. in historical musicology. He received his B.A. in music, magna cum laude, from Princeton University.

Claire is a New York-based singer and actress, with an extensive background in the operatic, oratorio, and musical-theater repertoire. She is a recent graduate of Williams College, where she graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Music and English. Recent and upcoming performances include Marian Love (The Enchantress) with the Victor Herbert Renaissance Project LIVE!, Flora (La Traviata) at the Axelrod Performing Arts Center, Nella (Gianni Schicchi) and Suor Genovieffa (Suor Angelica) at the Narnia Festival in Italy, Valencienne (The Merry Widow) with New Rochelle Opera, Despina (Così fan tutte) with Divaria Productions, and Aline Sangazure (The Sorcerer) with the College Light Opera Company.

She is the 2016 recipient of the prestigious Hubbard Hutchinson Memorial Fellowship in Music and has also won prizes from the Berkshire Symphony, Hudson Valley Music Club, and the Chaminade Music Club of Yonkers. www.ClaireLeyden.com

Jordan has been recognized for his "heroic," "passionate" and "tender" performances both on the operatic stage as well as in concert. He has received critical acclaim from such publications as The Boston Globe, Early Music America Magazine, and The New York Times. Upcoming appearances include a leading role in Opera Saratoga’s Opera to Go production of The Ugly Duckling, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni with DiVaria productions, Melot in Tristan und Isolde with the New York Opera Collaborative, and Arturo in Lucia di Lamermoor with the Hudson Opera Theatre. In 2017 Jordan was seen with New York City Opera in Puccini's La Fanciulla del West, as Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi at Teatro Communale di Narni in Narni, Italy, as Alfredo in La Traviata, as Goro in Madama Butterfly with two separate companies, and as Younger Thompson (Cover) in Tom Cipullo's Glory Denied with Opera Upper West. Other roles include Oronte (Alcina), William Lyons in the world premiere of Darryl Glenn Nettle's The Fall of Stag Lee with The Buffalo Opera Unlimited, Spoletta (Tosca) with LoftOpera, The Narrator (Britten's Owen Wingrave) with the Boston University Opera Institute, Vittellozzo (Lucrezia Borgia) with LoftOpera, King Kaspar (Amahl and the Night
Visitors), Gastone (La Traviata), Davey Palmer in Jonathan Dove's Siren Song, Joe in Richard Wargo's Ballymore, Spalanzani in Les Contes d'Hoffmann, and Don Basilio/Don Curzio (Le Nozze di Figaro).

Andrea hails an international career in Europe and the US as a leading soprano. Theaters include the Scottish National Opera, Munich State Opera, Liege Opera, Opera Bonn, Edmonton Opera, Austin Lyric Opera, DiCapo Opera Theater and Arizona Opera. Her verismo roles include the Puccini and Verdi heroines alongside renowned artists such as Placido Domingo, Johan Botha, Sherill Milnes, Alexei Steblianko, and Nicola Martinucci. Andrea has been a featured concert soloist at Boston’s Jordan Hall and WGBH's “Morning Classics” in Richard Strauss’s Four Last Songs. Andrea’s diverse talents led to numerous international recording contracts in over 200 major films and animated features in Rome with Walt Disney/Buena Vista, RAI television and Sundance Films. Andrea currently serves as Founder and Director of New York Opera Collaborative, Director of Vocal Arts at the Narnia Festival in Narni, Italy, and Vocal Director at the Neighborhood Playhouse of the Theater in New York City. She recently made her directing debut at the Axelrod PAC with La Traviata, which will make its European debut in summer 2018 in Italy. She look forward to directing Carmen at the Axelrod this summer.

Andrea is one of the most-sought-after voice teachers in New York City. Her students are currently engaged nationally and internationally at the Metropolitan Opera, Chicago Lyric Opera, Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall in New York City, Vancouver Opera, Seattle Opera, Paris Opera, and beyond. Andrea is touring with her 2018 International Masterclass series in Hawaii, Berlin, Italy and New York City. She is also adjunct voice faculty member at Columbia University. 

Logan is a versatile singer with a rich warm vocal quality. In September 2017, Logan received first place in the New York Classical Music Society’s Artist International Competition and in October 2017 Logan was won the Choralis Young Artist Competition. Logan regularly performs as a soloist around the US. He made his New York City debut with the New York Repertory Orchestra in November 2017 in Merkin Hall. His 2018 engagements include a concert with the Philharmonic of Southern New Jersey, soloist in Handel’s Messiah with Choralis and orchestra, and a concert debut with the Henry Purcell Society of Boston as soloist in Purcell’s “Come Ye Sons of Art.” Logan will also appear in several solo recitals around the country.

Additionally, Logan will perform the role of Ruggiero in the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival 2018 production of Alcina and will also make his Canadian debut this August when he performs the role of Oberon, King of the fairies, in Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, in Halifax, Nova Scotia.