The Art Song Discovery Series
Washington area singers are presented at venues around the community in this series. They are selected via juried competition each spring. The programs are introduced by the Vocal Arts Society Education Coordinator, Elizabeth Daniels.

The Vocal Arts Society invites you to attend one of our Discovery series concerts to explore the world of art song and the vocal recital.

Laura Choi Stuart

Hailed as "a lyric soprano of ravishing quality" by the Boston Globe, soprano Laura Choi Stuart is at home on the operatic, concert, and recital stage. This season she performs the roles of Gilda in Rigoletto with Commonwealth Opera, Frasquita in Carmen with Annapolis Opera, and Pamina in Die Zauberflote with Opera North as well as appearing in Haydn's Nelson Mass at Dartmouth College. With pianist Tanya Blaich, she won the David Adams Art Song Competition, and performed a series of recitals of songs by Strauss, Debussy, and Libby Larsen. In 2007, she appeared with the Lake George Opera as Musetta in La Boheme and created the title role of Pocahontas for the Virginia Arts Festival in a new opera by Linda Tutas Haugen, as well as performing in concert and educational appearances as a member of Virginia Opera's Spectrum Young Artist Program. In 2006 she was a member of the Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Program for Singers and covered the role of Micaela in Carmen. Laura made her professional debut in 2004 with Boston Lyric Opera where she performed the roles of Elvira in L'ltaliana in Algeri and The Rose in Rachel Portman's The Little Prince, as well as receiving the 2005 Stephen Shrestinian Award for Excellence from that company. Other appearances in Boston have included Anna Gomez in Opera Boston's The Consul, Miriam in Intermezzo Chamber Opera's The Scarf, and, while completing her Master of Music degree at The New England Conservatory, the roles of Pamina in The Magic Flute, Calisto in La Calisto, Gretel in Hansel and Cretel, and Lady Billows in Albert Herring. Laura has performed frequently with the Berkshire Opera, both as a member of the Resident Artist Program in the roles of Laetitia in The Old Maid and the Thief and Carolina in The Secret Marriage, and on the mainstage as Giannetta in L'Elisir D'Amore. Laura received additional training during her undergraduate career at Dartmouth College and with Opera North, where she was a studio artist. She was born in Germany and grew up in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

Laura has performed extensively in concert and chamber settings, both in traditional repertoire such as Berlioz's Les Nuits d'Et6, Canteloube's Chants d'Auvergne, the Haydn Nelson Mass, Faure Requiem, and Bach B-minor Mass, and also in progressive works such as Louis Andriessen's Trilogy of the Last Day, Canterbury Tales.

In addition to 1" place in the David Adams Art Song Competition, Laura has been a finalist in the Liederkranz Competition (Lieder division), the New England Region Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, the Portland Opera Eleanor Lieber Competition, and a semi-finalist in the Houston Grand Opera Studio Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers.

Steven Combs

As an established singer of both early and contemporary concert music, Steven has appeared with many musical organizations including the National Cathedral Choral Society, the Washington Bach Consort, the Washington Chorus, the National Philharmonic, Choral Arts Society and .the Master Chorale of Washington. Among the many places he has performed are Lincoln Center, Washington National Cathedral, the National Gallery of Art and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

As a proponent of early music, he has performed the role of Jesus in a rare performance of Johann Theile's "St. Matthew Passion" at the National Gallery of Art, where he is a resident member of the NGA Vocal Ensemble. This past fall this group was also featured in concerts with the Chatham Baroque Ensemble of Pittsburgh. Steven has performed Handel's "Messiah" on numerous occasions, most notably with the National Philharmonic, the Handel Choir of Baltimore and this spring with the Charlottesville Oratorio Society. Of his many Bach performances Steven has performed the arias and roles in Bach's St. John and St. Matthew Passions with the Washington Bach Consort, the Washington Choral Arts Society, Fairfax Choral Society, The Cantate Singers of Washington, Charlottesville Oratorio Society and most recently as bass soloist in the St. Matthew Passion with the Rockbridge Choral Society of Virginia. At the National Cathedral he performed the role of "Adam" in a National Public Radio broadcast of Haydn's "Creation" under the baton of Leonard Slatkin. Also at the Cathedral, Steven was a featured soloist in the North American premiere of Stale Kleiberg's "Requiem" for the victims of Nazi persecution.

At the Kennedy Center with the Master Chorale of Washington, he was also featured in the debut performance and recording of Donald McCullough's highly acclaimed "Holocaust Cantata: The Voice of Poland". Steven accompanied the Chorale on a tour of Poland and Germany in performances of that same work. His most recent performance with that group included Ralph Vaughan Williams' "Mystical Songs" with chorus and orchestra. Other appearances at the Kennedy Center have included Mozart's "Requiem" with the Washington Chorus and acclaimed performances this spring of Orff s "Carmina Burana" with the Washington Ballet.

On the opera stage, Steven made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1991 under the baton of James Levine in the world premiere of John Corigliano's "The Ghosts of Versailles". In 1993 Steven sang the title role in Colin Graham's first staging of Britten's "Billy Budd" at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis. He has performed other principal roles with the Metropolitan Opera, The Minnesota Opera, the Florentine Opera and the Boston Lyric Opera.

Steven holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Delaware and a Master of Music from the University of Minnesota. He is the recipient of a Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation study grant and a Sullivan Award, and is a winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.