Nico Muhly has composed a wide scope of work for ensembles, soloists and organizations including the New York Philharmonic, American Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops, Chicago Symphony, Carnegie Hall, New York City Ballet, Paris Opéra Ballet, soprano Jessica Rivera, countertenor Iestyn Davies, violinist Hilary Hahn, choreographer Benjamin Millepied, and designer/illustrator Maira Kalman. Recently, the Los Angeles Master Chorale and Decca released an entire disc of Muhly’s choral music, A Good Understanding. The Aurora Orchestra recorded his Seeing is Believing, and with choreographer Stephen Petronio, Muhly created the evening-length I Drink the Air Before Me, both of which were also released on Decca. His chamber opera, Dark Sisters, commissioned by the Opera Company of Philadelphia, Music Theatre Group, and the Gotham Chamber Opera, premiered in New York in the fall of 2012. Muhly’s film credits include scores for Joshua (2007), Margaret (2009), and Academy Award Best Picture nominee The Reader (2008); all have been recorded and released commercially.

As a trumpet player, french hornist, and keyboard player, CJ Camerieri has enjoyed an active, diverse, and exciting career since completing his classical trumpet training at Juilliard in 2004. He has become an indispensable collaborator for numerous indie rock groups as a performer, arranger, improviser, and soloist and is a co-founder of the contemporary classical ensemble yMusic. yMusic’s debut record was named Time Out New York’s #1 Classical Record of 2011, the same year that Camerieri won two Grammys as a member of Bon Iver for the band’s sophomore record, which later reached gold status. CJ began working in alternative music as the trumpet player and keyboard player for Sufjan Stevens in January of 2006. He then went on to tour the world as a member of Rufus Wainwright’s band in 2007-2008 before starting yMusic with Rob Moose in the spring of 2008 and later joining Bon Iver in 2011. C.J.’s discography includes well over 100 recordings, including current and forthcoming releases by Bon Iver, yMusic, Sufjan Stevens, Rufus Wainwright, David Byrne, Antony and the Johnsons, Martha Wainwright, Loudon Wainwright III, Gabriel Kahane, The National, Julia Stone, My Brightest Diamond, A Fine Frenzy, Baby Dee, Diane Birch, Joan Osbourne, Sean Lennon, Yuka Honda, GOASTT, Jesse Harris, She and Him, Harper Simon, Chris Garneau, Clare and the Reasons, Welcome Wagon, Anthony Coleman, ACME, New York Trumpet Ensemble, Argento New Music Ensemble and the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra.

Iestyn Davies has sung Creonte in Steffani’s Niobe for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Ottone in L’incoronazione di Poppea for Zürich Opera and Glyndebourne Festival Opera; Arsace in Partenope for the New York City Opera and English National Opera; Oberon in A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Houston and London; Hamor in Jephtha for Welsh National Opera; Apollo in Death in Venice for ENO and at La Scala, Milan; Eustazio in Rinaldo for the Lyric Opera of Chicago; and Unulfo in Rodelinda for his debut with The Metropolitan Opera. His performance last season in the Met premiere of Adès’s The Tempest was seen in movie theaters across the world as part of the The Met: Live in HD. In concert he has performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan with Dudamel, the Concertgebouw and Tonhalle with Koopman and appeared at the Barbican, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Lincoln Center, and at the BBC Proms. His recordings include Handel’s Messiah, Chandos Anthems, and Flavio, Porpora Cantatas with Jonathan Cohen and Arcangelo, arias written for castrato Gaetano Guadagni, and his debut solo recording, Live at the Wigmore Hall, with his own Ensemble Guadagni. This season, Davies returns to the Metropolitan Opera in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He is the recipient of the Royal Philharmonic Society’s 2010 Young Artist of the Year prize.

Joseph Kaiser has bowed at the Metropolitan Opera in a diverse array of leading parts including the title role of Roméo et Juliette opposite Anna Netrebko and conducted by Plácido Domingo, Tamino in Die Zauberflöte conducted by Kirill Petrenko, and Flamand in Capriccio opposite Renée Fleming and conducted by Sir Andrew Davis. His performances of Narraboth in Salome and Grimoaldo in Rodelinda were seen internationally as part of The Met: Live in HD. This season he appears at the Met as Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream conducted by James Conlon. Kaiser regularly sings with the world’s leading opera companies, including Bayerische Staatsoper, Washington National Opera, Opéra National de Paris, Royal Opera House, Vienna State Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, and the Salzburg Festival. In 2007, he starred as Tamino in the Kenneth Branagh film adaptation of The Magic Flute, conducted by James Conlon.

Kathleen Kim, who sings regularly at many of the world’s premiere opera houses and concert halls, made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 2007. Ms. Kim’s extensive career at the Met includes performances as Olympia in Bartlett Sher’s production of Les Contes d’Hoffmann, conducted by James Levine; as Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos conducted by Kirill Petrenko in 2010 and Fabio Luisi in 2011; and as Oscar in Un Ballo in Maschera, conducted by Gianandrea Noseda in 2007 and by Fabio Luisi in 2012. She was hailed by critics for her role as Chiang Ch’ing in the Met premiere of John Adams’s Nixon in China, directed by Peter Sellars and conducted by Adams. Kim opens her 2013/2014 season as the enchanted Tytania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Met under the baton of James Conlon. Kim has been recognized with numerous prizes and awards, including a Sullivan Foundation Award, Sarasota Opera Guild’s Leo Rogers Scholarship, and the Rose Ann Grund Scholarship of the Union League Civic & Arts Foundation voice competition in Chicago. She was a prize winner of the Mario Lanza Competition, a National Finalist of the MacAllister Awards, and a prize winner of the Liederkranz Competition.

Patricia Racette has appeared in the most acclaimed opera houses of the world including the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Royal Opera House, La Scala, Paris Opera, Theater an der Wien and the Bayerische Staatsoper. She has gained particular acclaim for her portrayals of the title roles of Madama Butterfly, Tosca, Jenůfa, Kátya Kabanová, and all three lead soprano roles in Il Trittico. Her performances of Madama Butterfly and Peter Grimes at the Metropolitan Opera were seen in movie theaters across the world as part of the The Met: Live in HD, and both were subsequently released on DVD. With the release of Diva on Detour, her breakout first cabaret album, Racette officially adds the cabaret genre to her performance platform. Her cabaret show has been heard live in New York, Washington D.C., San Francisco, Dallas, and Santa Fe. This season, Racette returns to the Metropolitan Opera for Tosca (which will be broadcast around the world as part of the The Met: Live in HD), and Maddalena in Andrea Chenier. Among her honors are the Richard Tucker Award, the Marian Anderson Award, and most recently a 2010 Opera News Award.

Dan Saunders is becoming increasingly well known to audiences around the world as an accomplished conductor and pianist. An assistant conductor to James Levine and Seiji Ozawa and a recitalist with many of the world’s finest soloists, Saunders served as the Associate Conductor of the Virginia Opera from 2000 until 2006 and is currently an Assistant Conductor with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Met credits include a new production of Hansel and Gretel, the Met premiere of Armida with Renée Fleming, Salome with Karita Mattila, and serving as a Musical Assistant to Fabio Luisi for Rigoletto and Tosca. Other Met credits include a new production of Don Giovanni, in which he played harpsichord recitatives under the baton of Louis Langrée, and the world premiere of Jeremy Sam’s The Enchanted Island, starring Plácido Domingo, Danielle de Niese, Joyce DiDonato, David Daniels, and Luca Pisaroni. This season he is the Assistant Conductor for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Der Rosenkavalier, and a new production of Die Fledermaus.