Cynthia Cole
Founder, Artistic Director, Soprano
Cynthia Cole, a full lyric soprano, is the founder and artistic director of the 7 Sopranos®.
Cynthia has performed in opera, musical theater, recitals and oratorio in the Virginia/DC area as well as Fairbanks, Alaska; North Carolina, Ohio, Georgia and Italy. In 2005 – 2007, she was a finalist in the Northern Virginia Music Teachers Voice Achievement / Adult Division Award. After graduating with a music degree from Mars Hill College, NC., she attended Sessionie senese per la musica e l' Arte, Siene, Italia, the University of Washington, WN, and Kent State University, Ohio for graduate study. Cynthia has also attended and performed with the Fairbanks Fine Arts Festival; Crittenden Opera Workshop Company; Opera International, DC.; and George Washington University Opera Theater, DC.
In 2007, Cynthia created the 7 Sopranos® ensemble to perform classical programs which weave arias and songs together into a kaleidoscope of sight and sound. We draw inspiration from comedy and drama, secular and religious music. The result is a powerful performance and uniquely engaging experience. Our passion is for the audience to enjoy and have as much fun listening as we have performing.
Adrienne D. Neal
Soprano, Adrienne D. Neal, is among the new genre of artists from the Washington, DC area. She has delighted audiences with her appearances with the Aria Club of Greater Washington from the 2002 to present seasons including her most recent role of Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro. In the 2005 season, Ms. Neal debuted with Bel Cantanti as the Sandman in Hänsel and Gretel. She has also appeared as a guest artist with the Maryland Opera Society in their Annual Christmas Gala for the 2001 and 2002 seasons and has been presented in recital at the Charles Sumner School Museum. Through her affiliations with the Crittenden Opera Studio, she performed scenes from Don Giovanni (Zerlina), The Dialogues of the Carmelites (Sister Constance), La Rondine (Lisette), and The Old Maid and the Thief (Leticia). She is a former member of The Master Chorale of Washington (formerly The Paul Hill Chorale); she was a soloist at Luther Place Lutheran Church, Washington, DC and is currently on the musical staff of Asbury United Methodist Church of Washington, DC.
Ms. Neal's vocal abilities have been recognized by a number of organizations. In 2005 she was a finalist in the Paul Robeson Vocal Competition sponsored by the Urban Philharmonic. In 1997 she won second place in the Leontyne Price Vocal Arts Competition sponsored by the Washington Chapter of the Century Club, in 2003 she was awarded the third place in the Gretchen M. Hood Vocal Competition, and in 2004 she was a semi-finalist in the Maryland Opera Society's Marie Crump Vocal Competition.
A graduate of the University of the District of Columbia, Ms. Neal has studied with Jane White, Dr. Kay Song, and Nelda Ormond. She is currently studying under the auspices of Shirley Taylor-Moore.
Nicole Lamm
Nicole Lamm, soprano, received her Master of Music decree in Vocal Performance at Catholic University of America while studying with Sharon Christman. She has also received extensive training with the Crittenden Opera Workshops and the International Vocal Arts Institute where she studied with some of the world's most renowned conductors, coaches, and singers. Over the years she has sung with Opera Roanoke, Maryland Opera Society, Bay Area Summer Opera Theatre Institute, La Fabbrica, Hawaii Performing Arts Festival, New York Opera Society, Master Works Choral, and Catholic University of America. She has performed throughout the Washington, DC Metropolitan area, San Francisco, Hawii, and New York City as well as internationally in Italy, France, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Her operatic roles consist of Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Adina (L'elisir d'amore), Mimì (La Bohème), Laurie (The Tender Land), Monica (The Medium), and Ms. Pinkerton (The Old Maid and the Thief).
Nicole has also been teaching voice lessons, performance practice, music theory and diction at Dance Etc School of the Performing arts for the past seven years. Her studio is comprised of some impressive singers both teenagers and adults. She enjoys teaching and sharing her knowledge of singing and performance practices with her students.
To learn more about Nicole Lamm or to book an event/schedule a voice lesson, visit www.nicolelamm.com.
Susanna R. Lauer
Susanna R. Lauer, a Washington, D.C. native, graduated from the Benjamin T. Rome School of Music at Catholic University with a BM in Vocal Performance, where she studied with Mrs. Elizabeth Kirkpatrick Vrenios. Ms. Lauer attended West Virginia University where she graduated with a Master's in Vocal Performance. Ms. Lauer just returned from Hannover, Germany where she was studying intensive German and German Operatic Repertoire. Ms. Lauer currently studies with Neil Semer in New York City.
Other programs she has attended include, Boston University at Tanglewood and The American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria where she sang the role of Musetta in excerpts from La Bohème with concerts in Vienna and Graz. Roles she has sung in English are Mrs. Nolan, The Medium at Catholic; and Lady Billows, Albert Herring at West Virginia, where she also sang Fiordiligi, Cosi fan tutte. She has won first place awards at competitions held by the NATS and the Folger Shakespeare Theater. At age 16 she became focused on a musical career after singing the title role in the Washington Opera's North American premier of Brundibar, a children's opera.
Ms. Lauer enjoys working with young people, and has directed musicals and operas and enjoys teaching privately. Ms. Lauer is a full member of the NATS, the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Ms. Lauer is excited to be back in her hometown of Washington DC, which has an energized opera scene. To contact Ms. Lauer about voice lessons or to learn more about her please visit her website at www.SusannaReckordRaymer.com
Angeli Ferrette
Native Washingtonian Angeli Ferrette has performed across the US and abroad, appearing in concert, oratorio and opera. She has performed in works such as Haydn's The Creation, DuBois' Seven Last Words of Christ and De Cormier's Shout for Joy! Ms. Ferrette collaborated with Maestro Robert Schafer in the City Choir of Washington's debut performance as the 2nd lady in Handel's Solomon. The Washington Post described her performance as "electric". She was the soprano soloist for the Urban Philharmonic's performance of Messiah, performed the role of Tebaldo in the Repertory Opera Theater of Washington production of Verdi's Don Carlos, and the role of the First Lady in Mozart's Die Zauberfl with the Aria Club of Greater Washington and has concertized with the musical organization The Artist Group of Washington. She was one of the finalists in The National Association of Negro Musicians - Ben Holt Chapter Competition -2011. She received her education at the University of Northern Iowa and The Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University.
Bharati Soman
Virginia native, Bharati Soman, recently returned to the East Coast after six years in Northern California. Described as having a "lovely, ornamented soprano" and praised for her "silken renderings of Mozart's legato arias," she performed leading roles with companies throughout Northern California. Repertoire includes Mimì (La Bohème), and the title roles in Madame Butterfly and Semele with Pocket Opera, Hanna Glawari (The Merry Widow) with Livermore Valley Opera, Diana in (Emperor Norton) with California Chamber Opera, the Countess (The Marriage of Figaro) with Cinnabar Theater, and Zerlina (Don Giovanni) with Sacramento Opera. Other repertoire includes Léïla (Les pêcheurs de perles), Gretel (Hansel and Gretel), Mabel (The Pirates of Penzance), and Yum-Yum (The Mikado).
Also active as a concert soloist, Bharati has performed works with the UC Davis Symphony, Kensington Symphony Orchestra, Camellia Symphony Orchestra, and given recitals for Oakland Lyric Opera. In addition to performing, Bharati was on the voice faculty at UC Davis for three years, and currently maintains a private studio in Falls Church, VA. She holds a Bachelor of Music from James Madison University, and a Master of Music and Performer Diploma from Indiana University. You can learn more about Bharati at www.bharatisoman.com.
Eriko Tokura Murray
Japan-born Eriko started her singing career at the age of 10, performing with Kurashiki City Children Choir as a soloist.
At age 15 she won first prize for singing at the Sanyo Music Competition, Japan. While living in Sri Lanka, she had voice training and singing. Eriko was the soloist in the world premiere of a work, Beyond The Horizon for Voice and Orchestra by late Dr. Premasiri Khemadasa, a Sri Lankan composer. This was sung at Temple Tree (the presidential mansion) in Colombo (2007). Eriko also sang solo in another world premier work, Paths in The Forest for Eight Solo Strings and Voice by Stephen Allen (2008). Eriko sang the ending theme song of an award winning Sri Lankan movie Akasa Kusum (2008).
She has variety of repertoires including Sri Lankan and Japanese songs. Eriko studied with Ms. Menaka Sahabandu (Sri Lanka), Noriko Kimura (Weimar, Germany) and Barbara Segal (England). She had her debut in Colombo with the Sri Lanka Symphony Orchestra (2004) and sang with the Chamber Music Society of Colombo(2007).
Eriko has performed regularly in Colombo,Tokyo, Osaka and Okayama.
Laura E. Bass
The Washington Post recently heralded emerging artist Laura E. Bass as having "Lit up the Stage" in her portrayal of a "passionate" Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni this past October– capping a host of Fall performances in the D.C. area with Repertory Opera Theater of Washington, Victorian Lyric Opera Company, and Bel Cantanti Opera, among others.
Laura holds her Master of Music degree in Voice from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where she studied with famed opera veterans Timothy Noble, Carol Vaness, and Sylvia McNair. Laura completed her undergraduate work at the Wheaton College Conservatory of Music. In the Spring of 2010, Laura was invited to share the stage with fellow Wheaton Alumni – Grammy Award Winner, Sylvia McNair and resident mezzo-soprano of the Metropolitan Opera, Wendy White – as part of the Wheaton College Conservatory Artist Series.
Laura's singing career has taken her all over the world, including cities such as Rome, Paris, London, Vienna, Moscow, Prague, New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Her operatic performance repertoire includes: Princess Ninetta in Prokofiev's The Love for Three Oranges; Helen in Ned Rorem's We are Three Sisters, Who are not Sisters; Yum-Yum in The Mikado; First and Second Lady in Die Zauberflöte; Lia in Debussy's L'Enfant Prodigue; Suor Genovieffa and Suor Dolcina in Suor Angelica; and Fanchette in Mlle. Modiste. Laura has also been featured as the Soprano Soloist with several orchestras in works such as: Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, the Brahms Requiem, Schubert's Mass in G Major, and the Poulenc Gloria. Upcoming engagements entail a Christmas Concert with Repertory Opera Theater of Washington (www.repopera.org), and performing the role of Pamina in Die Zauberflöte with the Hub Opera Ensemble of Hagerstown, MD (www.huboperaensemble.org) in the Spring of 2012.
Ruth Locker
Accompanist
Award winning pianist Ruth Locker made her debut with the Pittsburgh Symphony at age 13. The Pittsburgh Concert Society, Carnegine Awards, Passamaneck Award, Garrigues Award, and Obenshain Award are but few of the honors she has Received. After graduating from Carnegie Mellon University, Ruth began a career of diverse perfomances including solo recitals, concertos, and chamber music. As a collaborative pianist, Ruth continues working frequently with both vocalists and instrumentalists.
Ms. Locker's multifaceted career remains quite active. Most recently, she has concertized in Boston, Washington State, and Oregon. She has been fortunate to have worked regularly in the voice studios of Todd Duncan and George Gibson, and as a frequent performer with The Potomac Valley Opera Company.
As a much sought after free-lance pianist and teacher, Ruth is honored to work with all of the people who want to collaborate with her.
Ms. Locker has recorded on the Amerimusic, Incorporated recording label.
Sophia Kim Cook
Accompanist
Sophia Kim Cook is thrilled to have joined 7 Sopranos®. Born in Montréal, Québec, Sophia began studying piano at age 6 at École de musique Vincent d'Indy and quickly defined her talent, winning the Canadian Music Competition just one year later. As her ability continued to grow, she decided to pursue piano studies first at the Conservatoire de musique de Québec, and finishing at McGill University. Ms. Kim Cook excelled in competition including, as a soloist, winning the McGill Symphony Orchestra Competition and as an accompanist, the Eckhardt-Gramatté Competition.
Sophia has since relocated to the United States with her husband. Ms. Kim Cook is a sought out pianist having played for the Mid-Atlantic Flute Competition, the Eastern Trombone Workshop, and many more. She had accompanied soloists and ensembles, including the Washington Concert Opera, National Gallery of Arts Orchestra, members of San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra and the United States Army Band. She has played in such venues as the Kennedy Center, the National Gallery of Arts, and the Lyceum.