Guest Artists

Jennie Such, soprano

Canadian soprano Jennie Such has garnered praise for the “glowing conviction” she brings to her performances in a variety of repertoire embracing both the concert and opera stage.  Operatic highlights include the roles of Janine/Ofwarren in the Canadian premiere of The Handmaid’s Tale and First Niece in Peter Grimes (Canadian Opera Company), Johanna in Sweeney Todd (Calgary Opera) and Yum Yum in The Mikado (Edmonton Opera). She has also appeared with Opera Ontario, Pacific Opera Victoria, Broomhill Opera (U.K.) and Vancouver Opera. A popular artist with Opera Atelier, she was featured in Dido and Aeneas in the company’s appearance in Seoul, was well received for her performance as Amor in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice, and performed numerous other roles.

On the concert stage, Jennie made her debut with the Vancouver Symphony and the Vancouver Chamber Choir in Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem, eliciting critical praise. She has performed with the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, Mississauga Choral Society, Elmer Iseler Singers, Chorus Niagara, Symphony Nova Scotia, Aldeburgh Connection, Grand River Baroque Festival, Kingston Symphony, Orpheus Choir, and Victoria Symphony in works ranging from Handel to Holman. With the Mittel Deutsche Rundfunk Choir and Orchestra, she was soprano soloist in the first European performance and broadcast of Mozart’s adaptation of Handel’s Judas Maccabaeus at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig and at the Handel Festival in Halle. 

Jennie was featured as Sister Sophia in the Mirvish production of The Sound of Music in Toronto. Her discography includes “Earth Chants” (CBC Records) as soloist in Imant Raminsh’s Missa Brevis in C minor with the Vancouver Chamber Choir and the CBC Radio Orchestra.  She is also the soprano soloist on the National Ballet of Canada Orchestra’s recording of Michael Torke’s The Contract, and was featured in Kevin Sullivan’s film project based on Mozart’s The Magic Flute. 

 

Carolynne Davy Godin, alto

Mezzo-soprano Carolynne Davy Godin’s experience covers a wide variety of music both in teaching and performing.  A native of Kingston, Ontario, she received her Bachelor of Music and Masters of Education from Queen's University, and attended the University of Toronto Opera School.  She performed as a member and frequent soloist with the Elmer Iseler Singers for a number of years before developing her current diverse career as soloist in both the concert and theatre worlds. As well as having been soloist with numerous orchestras and choral societies across Canada and the U.S., and at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, she has also performed at the Guelph Spring Festival, the Toronto International Festival, and with Toronto's Opera in Concert.   Presently a member of the Guelph Chamber Choir and the BlackCreek Festival Chorus, Carolynne continues her great interest in teaching, and works with numerous private voice and piano students. She is an examiner with Conservatory Canada for both voice and piano and is an accomplished pianist, often accompanying her students and choirs, and conducting musical theatre shows from the keyboard.  As well as having worked with various schools and the community in the Toronto area as an Artist in the School, she has been vocal music director for numerous theatre productions and conducted children's choirs.

She is currently the president of the North York/York Region branch of the Ontario Registered Music Teachers' Association, served on the Board of Directors for Choirs Ontario for many years, and continues to adjudicate numerous music festivals as both voice and piano specialist.  She is also music director and cantor at a church in downtown Toronto.

 

Chris Fischer, tenor

Tenor Christopher Fischer has earned a reputation as a flexible and intelligent interpreter of a great variety of roles in opera, oratorio and recital. He has appeared as a soloist in Handel’s Messiah more than eighty times, with choirs and orchestras throughout Ontario, including the Guelph Chamber Choir, the Guelph Symphony Orchestra, Arcady, the Grand River Chorus and the National Academy Orchestra of Hamilton.

Recent critical and audience successes include Monteverdi’s virtuosic Vespers of 1610,  with both the Guelph Chamber Choir and Brantford’s Grand River Chorus; the role of Don Basilio in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, with the Guelph Symphony Orchestra; Bach’s Cantata #62, Nun komm der Heiden Heiland, with the Spiritus Bach Ensemble of Kitchener-Waterloo; Stainer’s The Crucifixion, with Michael Bloss and the Chancel Choir of Guelph’s Dublin Street United Church; the role of the Swan in Orff’s Carmina Burana, with both Orchestra London and Masterworks of Oakville; and Mozart’s Requiem, with Arcady and the Brantford Symphony Orchestra. This season, Chris has been engaged to perform Cunningham’s Requiem and Carissimi’s Jephte with the Grand River Chorus; Messiah with Masterworks of Oakville and the Milton Choristers; and Beethoven’s Symphony #9 with the Brantford Symphony Orchestra.

Chris is a versatile musician, with professional experience as an organist, choral conductor and accompanist. He holds an Honours Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance from Wilfrid Laurier University, a Master of Music degree in choral music education from Arizona State University, and diplomas from Conservatory Canada and the Royal Canadian College of Organists. A section leader in the Guelph Chamber Choir since 2002, Chris is involved professionally with several regional ensembles, including Arcady, the Spiritus Bach Ensemble and Tactus, in addition to his work as a private music teacher and as Director of Music Ministries at Guelph’s Knox Presbyterian Church.

 

Jason Nedecky, bass

Jason Nedecky has won acclaim for his expressive and meticulous artistry as a soloist in concert and recital engagements. This bilingual baritone has appeared with the International Bach Festival Toronto, Talisker Players, the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, Toronto Consort, Toronto Chamber Choir, Aldeburgh Connection Recital Series, Brantford Symphony, Bach Elgar Choir of Hamilton, and the Ottawa Valley Music Festival.

On the operatic stage, he has performed roles with the Canadian Opera Company, Saskatoon Opera, Toronto Masque Theatre, Opera Nuova (Edmonton), the Brott Summer Music Festival in Hamilton, and in Opera Atelier productions of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro and The Magic Flute. While in the Opera Diploma program at the University of Toronto, Jason sang the lead role of Gianni Schicchi.

Jason is featured on several Baroque recording projects with the Aradia Ensemble on the Naxos label: he sings the role of Corrado in Vivaldi's opera Griselda, is a soloist in Handel's Israel in Egypt and sings the role of the wealthy plantation owner Ducat in Samuel Arnold's Polly. Jason can be seen in Lully's Persée, released on DVD by EuroArts.

Recently, Jason was a soloist with Consort Caritatis in Mozart's Requiem on the Dalmatian Coast and in northern Italy, was a guest artist with Toronto’s Aldeburgh Connection's "Thé chantant" and performed on Calgary's Mountain View Connection Concert Series. Oratorio performances include Bach's Christmas Oratorio with Winnipeg’s Canzona/Musick Baroque, Bach's B Minor Mass with Orillia's Cellar Singers, Dvorak's Stabat Mater with Toronto Philharmonia, and Messiah with Grand River Chorus and Aradia Ensemble.