Cantata Collective & Nicholas McGegan
Biography Cantata Collective & Nicholas McGegan
Sherezade Panthaki
Panthaki’s international success has been fueled by superbly honed musicianship; “shimmering sensitivity” (Cleveland Plain Dealer); a “radiant” voice (The Washington Post); and vividly passionate interpretations, “mining deep emotion from the subtle shaping of the lines” (The New York Times). An acknowledged star in the early-music field, Ms. Panthaki has ongoing collaborations with leading early music interpreters including Nicholas McGegan, Simon Carrington, the late John Scott, Matthew Halls, and Masaaki Suzuki, with whom she made her New York Philharmonic debut. Highlights of her past and current seasons include Messiah with Bach Collegium Japan, the National Symphony Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic, and the Nashville and San Antonio Symphonies; Saul with the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra; Belinda in Dido and Aeneas and Galatea in Acis and Galatea with the Mark Morris Dance Group; Solomon with the Radio Kamer Filharmonie; Handel at Carnegie Hall with William Christie; Christmas Oratorio with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s; Mozart’s Exsultate jubilate and Requiem, with the Washington Bach Consort; and St. John Passion, St. Matthew Passion, and Brahms Requiem with St. Thomas Fifth Avenue. Ms. Panthaki’s repertoire extends well beyond the music of the Renaissance and Baroque to Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Houston Symphony, Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise and Strauss lieder at the Bari International Music Festival, Britten’s War Requiem with Louisville Choral Arts Society, as well as solos in Stravinsky’s Les Noces, Poulenc’s Stabat Mater and Gloria. Ms. Panthaki holds an Artist Diploma from the Yale School of Music.
Rhianna Cockrell
mezzo-soprano, has captivated audiences with her interpretations of Renaissance and Baroque works as well as her passion for contemporary works. Her 2022–2023 season sees her as a soloist in Bach’s Weihnachts-Oratorium with Kentucky Bach Choir, as well as in Bach’s B Minor Mass with Cantata Collective. Recently, Cockrell won the Colorado Bach Ensemble’s 2020 Young Artist Competition and an encouragement award in the 2021 Audrey Rooney Bach Competition. As a champion of contemporary music, she appeared in Nasty Women Connecticut’s 2021 online art exhibition Silent Fire in a performance of Joel Thompson’s After, as well as in Prototype Opera’s 2021 virtual festival in Thompson’s Clairvoyance. She also recently premiered Amelia Brey’s the night i died again, which she commissioned. Previously, she has performed with the St. Peter’s Bach Collegium as a soloist in part two of Handel’s Messiah, as well as with True Concord Voices & Orchestra, Apollo’s Fire, The Thirteen, the Oregon Bach Festival Choir, The New Consort, and Musica Sacra. Cockrell holds degrees from George Mason University (BM), University of Minnesota (MM), and Yale University (MMA).
Thomas Cooley
is an internationally acclaimed tenor with an expansive repertoire, ranging from the Renaissance to Contemporary music, in concert, oratorio, opera, chamber music and art song. He collaborates internationally with conductors, orchestras and festivals both in the U.S. and abroad. He is particularly in demand as an interpreter ofthe works of Handel and Bach, working with renowned ensembles such as the Thomanerchor and GewandhausOrchestra Leipzig, the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, the Göttingen and Halle Handel Festivals, Les Violons du Roy, MusicAeterna, Tafelmusik, Boston Baroque, and the Carmel and Oregon Bach Festivals.
Paul Max Tipton
Described by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution as a dignified and beautiful singer, bass-baritone Paul Max Tipton has soloed under such notable figures as Leonard Slatkin, Matthias Pintscher, Helmuth Rilling, Nicholas McGegan, Paul Hillier, Craig Hella Johnson, and Martin Katz. Recent collaborations include Haydn’s Creation with Pacific Symphony, Britten’s War Requiem with Lincoln Symphony Orchestra, Christus in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion at the Spoleto Festival USA, Plutone in Monteverdi’s Orfeo with Göteborg Baroque, a Grammy-nominated recording of Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem with Seraphic Fire*,* and a recording for the BIS label of Nicolaus Bruhns’ solo cantatas for bass with Masaaki Suzuki. He studied on full-fellowship at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and Yale University
Nicholas McGegan
“An expert in 18th century style” (The New Yorker), Nicholas McGegan is in his sixth decade on the podium. Following a 34 year tenure as Music Director of Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Chorale, he is now Music Director Laureate. He is also Principal Guest Conductor of Hungary’s Capella Savaria. McGegan’sapproach—intelligent, infused with joy and never dogmatic—has led to appearances with many of the world’s major orchestras, including Cleveland, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Hong Kong, Sydney, and the Royal Concertgebouw, and regular collaboration with choreographer Mark Morris on numerous projects. His discography includes more than 100 releases spanning five decades, including more than 40 with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Chorale and close to twenty with Capella Savaria. He was made an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) “for services to music overseas”. McGegan is committed to the next generation of musicians, frequently conducting and coaching students in regular engagements at Yale, Juilliard, Harvard, the Colburn Schoool, Aspen Music Festival, and more.
