Artists (2025; partial list)
Described as a “fine and quite serious musician, with excellent technical command”, Trinidadian conductor and pianist Andrew Samlal has appeared as associate conductor and coach with the Des Moines Metro Opera and Guest Conductor with the Canton Symphony Orchestra. Samlal was also music director of the Delaware Valley Opera Company’s Le nozze di Figaro, assistant conductor of the Prague Summer Festival’s Le nozze di Figaro and also conductor for Independent Sounds Festival’s La Traviata and Le nozze di Figaro. Praised for his “skilled technique at the keyboard but also for his acute sense of the classical and baroque period styles” Samlal was also an apprentice conductor and school pianist with the Philadelphia Ballet and served on faculty as a conductor and pianist at Temple University.
Samlal has worked as Music Director of The University of Maryland’s University Orchestra and Assistant Conductor with the Maryland Opera Studio (MOS) where he assisted with MOS’s productions of Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte and Otto Nikolai’s The Merry Wives of Windsor. Samlal has a Master's Degree in Collaborative Piano and Opera Coaching from Temple University and is currently pursuing a doctorate in orchestral studies at The University of Maryland where he is a student of David Neely. Some artists Samlal has worked with include Markand Thakar, Beatrice Affron, Lambert Orkis, Sara Davis Buechner and Joyce Lindorff.
Angela Gilbert was born in Cape Town, South Africa and is an accomplished international interpreter of the Bel Canto repertoire.
She has performed the title roles in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor and Maria Stuarda for San Diego Opera under the batons of Richard Bonynge and Edoardo Müller, respectively. The title role in Lucia has also taken her to the Anna Livia International Opera Festival in Dublin, Ireland; Cape Town Opera, South Africa; Connecticut Grand Opera, Kentucky Opera, Palm Beach Opera, and she has covered the role for Natalie Dessay at the San Francisco Opera. She has also performed Norina in Don Pasquale with Cape Town Opera and Wolf Trap Opera, Adina in L’Elisir d’Amore with the Bar Harbor Festival, and Inez in La Favorita for Opera Orchestra of New York at Carnegie Hall.
An alumna of the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at the Metropolitan Opera, Angela is a versatile performer, particularly relishing her ongoing relationship with Mozart and Verdi. Angela is a graduate of the University of Cape Town and is the recipient of numerous awards and prizes including the VITA award, the Oudemeester Music Prize, the Adcock Ingram Music Prize and the Chiappini Opera Trust, and in 2003 she represented South Africa in the 'Cardiff Singer of the World' Competition.
Angela is passionate about vocal instruction and creating authentic opera performance experiences for young singers. She is currently a voice teacher in the College House Instruction program at the University of Pennsylvania and leads a private voice studio from her home in Point Breeze, South Philadelphia.
A preeminent exponent of the Natural Horn in America, Todd Williams is an active performer and educator based in South Philadelphia.
In high demand, he currently serves as Principal Horn of numerous ensembles across the country including Philharmonia Baroque, the Handel & Haydn Society, Boston Baroque, Trinity Baroque, Apollo’s Fire, Mercury, Opera Lafayette, Tempesta di Mare, and more. He’s appeared as guest Principal with The English Concert (London), Tafelmusik (Toronto), American Bach Soloists (San Francisco), Bach Collegium San Diego, and Musica Angelica (Los Angeles).
Prominent solo and chamber engagements include performances with the Smithsonian Chamber Players, the Boston Early Music Festival, the Aston Magna Festival, and the Connecticut Early Music Festival, to name a few. On the topic of the Natural Horn, he has conducted lectures and master classes at the music schools of Curtis, Eastman, and Oberlin and in 2018, joined the faculty of The Juilliard School.
Equally comfortable on the modern valve horn, he is a staple of the Philadelphia music scene regularly performing with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Chamber and Opera Orchestras, the Philly Pops, and the Philadelphia Ballet where he is currently Acting Principal.
Bridging the gap of the period and modern instrument worlds, Todd has had the distinct privilege of performing under the baton of many notable conductors including Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Sir Simon Rattle, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Gianandrea Noseda, Christoph Eschenbach, Lorin Maazel, Joshua Bell, John Williams, Harry Bicket, Harry Christophers, Richard Egarr, Nicholas McGegan, Masaaki Suzuki, Jonathan Cohen, Kristian Bezuidenhout, Václav Luks, Bernard Labadie, David Stern, and others.
He’s recorded for Deutsche Grammophon, RCA/Sony Records, CPO, Atlantic Records, CORO, Naxos, Musica Omnia, Chaconne/Chandos, NASCAR/Paramount, Warner Brothers, and Apple TV. Todd is a graduate of Indiana University.
Lisa Wooldridge is thrilled to be returning to IndependentSounds! Past festival appearances include Le Nozze di Figaro (Countess) and La Traviata (Marchese, Violetta u/s). A busy choral soprano year-round, she also sings with the Mendelssohn Chorus of Philadelphia and is a section leader at the Church of St Martin-in-the-Fields in Chestnut Hill. Lisa harbors a particular fondness for early music, first cultivated as a student at Middlebury College. She has sung with several early music ensembles in the northeast including the Middlebury Bach Festival, Oriana Consort, and Penn Collegium Musicum. Outside of drilling her IDS! rep, Lisa recently earned her PhD in neuroscience from the University of Pennsylvania, and will join the Temple University Center for Substance Abuse Research in September. In her copious free time, Lisa can be found exploring nature in the Wissahickon with friends, trying to convince her nieces that science and classical music are cool, and snuggling her cat, Rosie (named for both Rosalind Franklin and the Countess Rosina).
Priscilla Herreid plays oboes, recorders, and a multitude of renaissance wind instruments with some of the finest ensembles in the US and abroad. In 2022, she became Artistic Director of Piffaro, after many years as a member of the preeminent ensemble. Other appearances include The Handel + Haydn Society, Trinity Baroque Orchestra, The Metropolitan Opera, Tenet Vocal Artists, The Newberry Consort, The Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra, Portland Baroque, Venice Baroque, Les Delices, The Waverly Consort, The Gabrieli Consort, The City Musick, Philharmonia Baroque, Boston Baroque, New York Baroque Inc., The Sebastians, and Mr. Jones and the Engines of Destruction. She also accompanies silent films with Hesperus, sings the Latin Mass around New York City, and was part of the onstage band for the Broadway productions of Twelfth Night and Richard III.
Priscilla is former director of the Early Music Ensemble at Temple University, and frequently coaches renaissance and baroque ensembles at Yale University and The Juilliard School. She teaches baroque oboe at the Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute and renaissance winds and recorder at the Madison and Amherst Early Music Festivals.
Priscilla's playing has been called “downright amazing” by The Philadelphia Inquirer, and The New York Times has praised her “soaring recorder, gorgeously played...” She is a graduate of Temple University and The Juilliard School.
Eric Rodríguez López is originally from Ponce, Puerto Rico. He has a bachelor’s degree in biomedical sciences from the University of Puerto Rico at Ponce, and he recently graduated with a PhD in Immunology from the University of Pennsylvania. After graduating, Eric continued to be fascinated by clinically-relevant science, which led to him starting a career as Senior Medical Writer at the medical communications agency “Calcium+Company” (starting mid-August) In addition to his scientific background, he is an avid performer in the greater Philadelphia area. His repertoire has ranged from beloved early choral music to compelling contemporary works by present day composers. He has actively performed in a variety of choral ensembles both amateurly and professionally, including Penn Collegium Musicum, the Mendelssohn Chorus of Philadelphia, and the Philadelphia Orchestra’s Symphonic Choir. As a choral tenor, he has sung under the direction of world-renowned conductors, such as Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Nathalie Stutzmann, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Fabio Luisi, among others. In addition, he serves as a tenor staff singer at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Old City, Philadelphia. As a soloist, he has had the pleasure of doing recital work and staged productions of opera scenes with the group IndependentSounds! Some of his notable roles include Alfredo Germont in “La traviata”, Danilo Danilovitsch in “The Merry Widow”, and Don Curzio in “Le nozze di Figaro.” Eric is one of the IDS! founding singers, having participated with us since we were just an idea!
Cellist Rebecca Humphrey lives and works in the Philadelphia area where she is an active freelancer, performing with many US early music ensembles. While attending Oberlin College, Rebecca was introduced to the world of early music. Based on this newfound passion, she moved after graduation to Minneapolis, Minnesota and joined the Lyra Consort as principle cellist for 12 years, performed with a handful of Midwest baroque ensembles and orchestras and continued her studies at University of Minnesota. She has lived in Switzerland and Australia and has participated in the riches of the international music scene, mostly notably with Kammerensemble Luzerne, Capriccio Basel, and Latitude 37 in Melbourne, Australia. As a Bach specialist, Ms. Humphrey’s crafting of bass lines, solos and vocal accompaniment makes her a sought-after ensemble player. Becca’s greatest passion is playing chamber music with its intimate and collaborative dynamic. She is a founding member of many smaller ensembles including Belladonna Baroque Quartet, which has performed extensively in the US and Brazil. The vibrant musical life of Philadelphia has inspired Ms. Humphrey to help form many chamber groups including Kleine Kammermusik, Night Music, Sylvan Viols, The Merion Trio and Franklin Quartet.
Olivia Broderick (she/her) is a performer, writer, and three garden gnomes stacked on top of one another masquerading as an adult woman. She is thrilled to be making her IDS! debut this summer. Other notable roles include: Second Lady (The Magic Flute), Gretel (Hansel and Gretel), Geraldine (A Hand of Bridge), and Barbarina (Le Nozze di Figaro). She has performed as a soprano soloist for Fauré’s Requiem and Part I of Händel’s Messiah, and in scenes as Marguerite (Faust), Zweite Dame (Die Zauberflöte), Mimi (La Boheme), and Fiordiligi (Cosi Fan Tutte). In addition to her work as a soprano, Olivia is a writer whose works have been published by MyrtleHaus Books & Publishing, Armstrong Literary, Hyacinth Review, and more. Scenes from Whatever in Me is Of Heaven, her operatic collaboration with composer Caroline Hawthorne, were workshopped and performed with Off-Brand Opera's [lab] showcase in May 2025. Olivia holds a Bachelors of Music from the Boyer College of Music and Dance at Temple University, a certificate in Teaching English as a Second/Other Language from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a Masters of Arts in English Rhetoric and Composition from Carnegie Mellon University. She currently studies in the voice studio of Bryce McClendon. When she is not singing, she can be found riding her bike along the Schuylkill Trail, patronizing her local pickle vendor, and doting on her beloved feline child.
Ed Matthew has served as guest-principal clarinetist with Tafelmusik, Philharmonia Baroque, The American Classical Orchestra, Opera Lafayette, Washington National Cathedral, Pacific MusicWorks, and Musica Angelica. He has performed with Apollo’s Fire, Handel & Haydn Society, Portland Baroque Orchestra, Washington Bach Consort, and other period ensembles. He is on Bach Choir of Bethlehem’s premiere recording of Felix Mendelssohn’s reconstruction of J.S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion. He was in the orchestra of Broadway’s The Phantom of the Opera for two decades, followed by the Tony Award-winning revival of Parade. The New York Times praised his “seductive saxophone work” with the Pit Stop Players. He premiered Joan Tower’s Island Prelude with the award-winning Quintessence. For the 150Music label, he recorded Passages, Gary William Friedman’s clarinet concerto and is on RCA, Naxos, and other labels. He designs original soundscapes for New York City theater companies.
Emily Kane is a Philadelphia-area native, Gritty enthusiast, and mezzo-soprano covering the role of Carmen for this festival! When not singing with the IDS crew, Emily performs with the Mendelssohn Chorus of Philadelphia - the 2025-2026 season marks her 14th year with the group.
Gabrielle Rinkus (she/her) is elated to be making her IndependentSounds! debut. Gabrielle is a classically trained pianist and choral music enthusiast. She sings with the Mendelssohn Chorus of Philadelphia and sits on the chorus’ Board of Directors. Outside of music, Gabrielle is a dynamic fundraising professional. She works to build meaningful partnerships centered in community and compassion to advance pediatric healthcare. She shares a home filled with music, greenery, and joy with her spouse, Kris, their rescue chihuahua, Gus, and a flourishing collection of houseplants. This festival marks an exciting new chapter in Gabrielle’s artistic path!
Bass-baritone Steven Berlanga lives in Philadelphia, PA where he freelances and maintains a private studio. He earned his Doctor of Music at Indiana University in Choral Conducting, and has also studied at College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati, California State University – Long Beach, and Cabrillo College. As a soloist in opera, oratorio, musical theater, and concert repertoire, Mr. Berlanga has worked with organizations including Choral Arts Philadelphia, Musica Tevere, Bach Choir of Bethlehem, West Bay Opera, Cabrillo Stage, New Voices Opera, Arizona Philharmonic, and the Santa Cruz Symphony. As a choral artist, has sung with professional chamber choirs in the United States, including The Crossing, Santa Fe Desert Chorale, The Thirteen, Kinnara, and Exigence. As an educator he has worked with the Snyder School of Singing, Youth Orchestra Salinas, the Williston Northampton School Choirs, Indiana University Choirs, University of Cincinnati Cabaret Singers, CSULB Bel Canto Chorus, and Cabrillo Youth Chorus. Passionate about accessibility in classical music, Dr. Berlanga often works with organizations and programming centered around change within the industry, such as BorderCrosSing, El Sistema, the Sphinx Organization, Santa Cruz Opera Project, and Convoco Ensemble.
Acclaimed by the Washington Post for his “sterling performances”, baritone Brian Ming Chu has established himself onstage as a dynamic interpeter of music from the Baroque to the Great American Songbook. Hailed for his “rich, authoritative tone" (Kansas City Metropolis), and “range, agility, and expressive storytelling ability” (Monterey Herald), he has been a regular soloist with the Bach Choir of Bethlehem, Brandywine Baroque, the Dryden Ensemble, La Fiocco, The King’s Noyse, Piffaro, the Choral Arts Society of Philadelphia, Portland Baroque Orchestra, Washington Bach Consort, as well as the Caramoor and Carmel Bach music festivals. As a lecturer in voice at Muhlenberg for fifteen years, he brings critical thinking from the performer’s perspective to his analytical approach to pedagogy.
A specialist in oratorio and choral music, he has given numerous performances in the title role of Mendelssohn’s Elijah, the Bach Passions, Haydn’s Creation, the Brahms, Mozart and Verdi Requiems, and Handel’s Messiah on three continents. Additional credits include Orff’s Carmina Burana, Finzi’s In terra pax, Vaughan Williams’ Dona nobis pacem, and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. He premiered the role of Rudyard Kipling in John Muehleisen’s A Kipling Passion for the WWI centenary in Kansas City, and performed the role of Martin Luther in Ludwig Meinardus’ 1876 oratorio, Luther in Worms, with the Bach Choir Eisenach and Dresden Singakademie, for the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. Mr. Chu made his Kennedy Center debut in Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 with the Choral Arts Society of Washington. On the operatic stage, he has performed with opera companies around the country, in signature roles including Marcello in La Bohème, the Count in The Marriage of Figaro, Figaro in The Barber of Seville, and Silvio in Pagliacci. With the Bethlehem Bach Choir, he premiered multiple roles in their newly-commissioned (2014) opera, Young Meister Bach. Recent appearances include the title role of Anton Rubinstein's Russian opera, The Demon, at the Academy of Vocal Arts, and Mahler’s songs from Des Knaben Wunderhorn in Philadelphia.
A passionate advocate for contemporary art song, Mr. Chu has been cited for “vocal and interpretive confidence” (Philadelphia Inquirer) in repeat appearances with the modern ensemble Network for New Music, collaborating with eminent American composers, such as Aaron Jay Kernis (Brilliant Sky, Infinite Sky), Lori Laitman, Daniel Asia (Amichai Songs), Steven Stucky, and music theater composer Adam Guettel. He has appeared in recital at Carnegie’s Weill and Merkin Halls in New York, the Annenberg Center for the Arts, Washington's Phillips Collection, and as a US Embassy Cultural Artist in French West Africa and Vienna, Austria. Mr. Chu did his graduate work in voice and opera at the Peabody Conservatory of Music, and holds a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Cornell University. He has taught additionally on the voice faculties of Haverford and Swarthmore Colleges, Lehigh University, and Rowan University.
Ravi Ramanathan is a graduate of Yale Law School and Brown University. He currently serves as a director for the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, where he leads an office focused on bringing civil enforcement actions against irresponsible members of the gun industry. He lives right over the river in Collingswood, NJ with his husband Matt and their dog James.
Michael Carson has been a musician since way back in the fourth grade. He is a bass-baritone who enjoys singing opera, art songs and choral music. Michael sings with the Mendelssohn Chorus of Philadelphia, Philadelphia Symphonic Choir Sine Nome and IndependentSounds! He recently attended the Sarteano Choral Workshop in Italy. In addition to his work as a singer, Michael performs Imrpov Comedy with Philadelphia based Indie Improv team the Inside Jokers. He works in Business Development and maintains a private hypnotherapy practice online and in Northern Liberties.
Nathanael Oster has very little to tell you about his performance history as he is indeed debuting in this year’s festival. Always an an avid consumer, patron and enthusiast of music, he has had a tune in his ear or on his lips as far back as anyone who knows him can remember, yet never was able to carve out time to study or perform music. During the COVID pandemic, as many stories now begin, his thoughtful husband gifted to him virtual singing lessons for his birthday. After a year of virtual lessons with Christna Pezzarossi Ramsey and Colin Ramsey of Vox Ops Vocal Studio, Nathanael transitioned to in-person lessons in Philadelphia and was introduced to Angela Gilbert, thus, Italian opera. While singing for only two years, Nathanael has been active otherwise professionally for many more. After an undergraduate career committed to both pre-medical and German studies at Vanderbilt University, he completed a Masters of Arts in German Language and Literature, where he came slightly closer to performing music while serving as the German intern at the American Institute of Music in Graz, Austria, in 2005, serving additionally as master of ceremonies for a show traveling the Austrian countryside featuring American standards. With this under his belt, he subsequently completed a VMD at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine in 2012 and an MBA at Temple University’s Fox School of Business in 2020. Currently he enjoys working with veterinarians across southeast Pennsylvania and New Jersey as a Senior Professional Services Veterinarian for Boehringer-Ingelheim Animal Health and as a member of the Alumni Board at Penn Vet. Nathanael has made it his mission to foster an early appreciation of music and confidence of voice in his 3-year-old, Phineas, whom he has already caught - on occasion - composing and singing his own songs.
Christina Sanclemente is excited to return for her second year performing at the IDS! Festival. After a 20-year hiatus from the stage, Christina made her comeback at last year’s festival and is delighted to once again be a part of the IndependentSounds! community. Christina, a soprano, studied voice throughout high school and college, performing both as a soloist and as a member of various choirs. Her love for music has been a constant, and she is thrilled to reconnect with it through performance. Outside of music, Christina lives in West Philadelphia with her husband Djallal. She is the owner of Christina Sanclemente Beauty, an on-location makeup and hairstyling company, and is passionate about empowering women to feel confident and radiant in their own skin. In her free time, Christina enjoys staying active with cycling, yoga and Pilates, spending quality time with family and friends, and cheering on her beloved Philadelphia Eagles, Sixers and Phillies.
Kyle Chastulik (they/them) is a singing actor, concert artist, and songster based in West Philadelphia. Locally, Kyle has appeared with Wilmington Concert Opera, the Haverford-Bryn Mawr Chorale, and Prismatic Arts Ensemble. Kyle regularly performs with the Philadelphia Orchestra as a member of the Philadelphia Symphonic Choir. 2025-2026 appearances include The Four Villains (cover) in “Les contes d’Hoffmann” with Wilmington Concert Opera, a solo recital with Liberty City Arts, “Alice Tierney” with Opera on Tap Philadelphia, and the world premiere of the choral opera “Sleepers Awake” with Opera Philadelphia. Ever interested in bringing new audiences to classical music, Kyle is an administrator for Opera on Tap Philadelphia, and promotes accessible opera/concert programming. In recital, Kyle frequently performs with self-accompanying classical guitar.
Michael J. Hogan has been a performer and producer of campus and community opera productions since 2008.
While in college at Brown University, Mike served President and Publicity Manager of the Gilbert and Sullivan troupe on campus, where he also performed in six opera productions. In 2010, he was stage director of The Gondoliers, and in 2011 he was Italian coach for Gianni Schicchi, produced by Brown Opera Productions.
Mike went on to pursue a PhD in molecular biology at the University of Pennsylvania, during which time he performed in several more opera productions with the Penn Singers and the Rodin Opera Scenes concert series (2015 - 2017).
Mike is a tenor and currently studies voice in the studios of Jack LiVigni and Angela Gilbert. Along with Angela and Todd, Mike was one of the founding members of IndependentSounds! when we were inaugurated in 2023. In our 2024 festival, Mike had the pleasure of playing Alfredo in La Traviata, one of his dream roles, and is beyond excited to sing Don José in Carmen this year!
While a passionate amateur of music, Mike is also career scientist and is currently an Assistant Professor of Pathobiology at the University of Pennsylvania, where he runs a laboratory investigating the immune response to viral infections and vaccines. Mike is thrilled to be able to repurpose his scientific grant-writing, budget-balancing, and managerial skills to also support a fabulous performing arts organization like IndependentSounds!
After her meeting with Angela Gilbert who introduced her to lyrical singing, Claire Feintrenie studied in the conservatoire George Bizet in Paris, in Sylvie Sullé’s class. Today, she continues her technical improvement and interpretation studies with Maarten Koningsberger in Amsterdam.
She has performed on stage in La Veuve Joyeuse (Lehar), Les Noces de Figaro (Mozart), L'Etoile (Chabrier), Isoline (Messenger), The Adventures of King Pausole (Honneger) and in Oratorio such as Tomasi's Liturgical Fanfares, Gounod's Requiem, Palmeri’s Misa Tango, Pergolese's Stabat Mater, Couperin's Lessons of Darkness and the Petite Solemn Mass of Rossini.
She created alongside Pierre Gillet the Theodora ensemble, with whom she recorded "L'Élan Dionyssiaque " and produces several shows (Handel’s English oratorio’s duets, The Sacred Hour, Mahler/Markeas).
She has participated in several creations, including Jean-Christophe Marti (Chansons de Commune mémoire), Claude Barthelemy (Phèdre, Venezia), Jean-Claude Wolf (5 Songs). She collaborates with french ensembles such as CBarré (dir Sebastien Boin), the Pincées Musicales (dir Florentino Calvo), the French Capriccio (dir Philippe Lefèvre), the company Nadine Beaulieu, Traces d’aujourd’hui (dir JC Wolf). She also performs in recital with Claude Barthelemy (guitar), Violaine Debever (piano), Pierre Gillet (trumpet). She created the duo of French melodies, the Mésange Bleue, with pianist Sophie Théron, with whom she sings the Nuits d'Eté (Berlioz), the Songs of Bilitis (Debussy), Les Études latines (Hahn) or the Three Poems (Messiaen).
In 2024, she was called to give Ravel's Madecasses Songs at the Tilly Festival. In 2025, she is interpreting the Kindertoten lieder and the Eines Fahrenden Gesellen by Mahler (reprise in 2026). In July 2023 and 2024, she played the roles of Valencienne and Susanna at the Independent Sound festival in Philadelphia.
