Meet Our Artists
FANASTICUS: Bach & Before
Hannah De Priest, soprano
Soprano Hannah De Priest is a fearless performer especially renowned for her “masterful” (Olyrix) performances of Baroque repertoire. Consistently described as a “standout” and praised for her “bright, ideally-focused sound, allied to a probing expressive intelligence” (Chicago Classical Review), the young soprano enjoys a fast-rising career in North America and Europe. Recent highlights include debuts with the Wrocław Baroque Orchestra (Bach’s Johannes-Passion), the Innsbruck Early Music Festival (Gilde, L’amazzone corsara), and her Kennedy Center debut with Opera Lafayette (Serpina, La servante maîtresse).
With the storied Boston Early Music Festival, Hannah has performed lead roles across multiple productions. Her 2025-26 season includes three operatic tellings of the Orfeo myth; Gluck’s Orfeo (Amore, Music of the Baroque), Jacopo Peri’s Eurydice (Proserpina, Haymarket Opera), and Monteverdi’s Orfeo with Ars Lyrica Houston (Proserpina). She also returns to the Boston Early Music Festival for her first title role with the company in Provenzale’s La Stellidaura vendicante. Recent and upcoming concert engagements include Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with the Washington Bach Consort, Handel’s Messiah with the St. Louis Bach Festival, and Handel’s Ode to St. Cecilia with the Baroque Festival of Corona del Mar. In April, she will headline a concert and tour of Handelian cantatas with Les Délices.
Her debut solo album with the ensemble, Arcadian Dreams, will be released in March 2026. Hannah has earned acclaim at numerous international competitions, winning 2nd Prize at the Cesti Competition for Baroque Opera in 2021. She is also a laureate of the London Handel Competition, the Handel Aria Competition, Le Concours Corneille, the Bethlehem Bach Festival, and the Luminarts Cultural Foundation Competition. Though Hannah recently relocated to Philadelphia, she remains deeply connected to the Chicago music scene and is thrilled to perform with Bach in the City.
Ryan Belongie, countertenor
American countertenor Ryan Belongie has been praised for his "oft-astounding vocalism" by San Francisco Classical Voice, for possessing a "remarkably warm, evenly produced voice whose supple phrasing included many an exquisite shade," by Opera News, and by the Chicago Tribune for musicianship that "brought wonderfully stylish singing,” in repertoire spanning early music and baroque to contemporary and new music.
On the operatic stage, Belongie has appeared with Lyric Opera of Chicago as the Mago Cristiano in Rinaldo and Canadian Opera Company as Athamas in Semele. He has returned to Lyric Opera of Chicago to cover Leonardo in El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego, to Canadian Opera Company to cover Lychas in Hercules and to San Francisco Opera to cover Leonardo in El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego and Armindo in Partenope as well as appearing as Summer alongside Frederica Von Stade as Winter in Luna Pearl Woolf's Angel Heart at Festival Napa Valley. Other recent and upcoming operatic engagements include the title role in Tamerlano, Megabise in Artaserse, Arcetro in Peri's Euridice, and Mardocheo in Stradella's Ester with Haymarket Opera Company, Oberon (cover) in A Midsummer Night's Dream at Atlanta Opera, the Page / Emcee / Chanteuse in an immersive production of Salome at Tulsa Opera, Tolomeo in Giulio Cesare and Athamas in Semele at St. Petersburg Opera, Ottone in L’incoronazione di Poppea at Boston Baroque, First Angel / Boy (cover) in George Benjamin's Written On Skin at Opera de Montréal, Lysander in The Fairy Queen with Long Beach Opera and Chicago Opera Theater, Ottone in Agrippina with West Edge Opera, Pirro in Pietro Andrea Ziani's La Circe at Ars Minerva in San Francisco, Angel in the world premiere of Aleksandra Vrebalov's Abraham in Flames in San Francisco, the Tree and the Student in the concert world premiere of Carlos Carrillo's Remedios Varios at Chicago Opera Theater, and soloist in the Hart Institute for Women Conductors concert at The Dallas Opera.
Recent and upcoming concert engagements include Carmina Burana with Alabama Symphony, San Diego Symphony, and Utah Symphony, Messiah with Kansas City Symphony and Lexington Philharmonic, MacMillan's Quickening with the Grant Park Orchestra, a Midwest tour of St. John Passion with the Leipzig Baroque Orchestra, a return to Music of the Baroque for Dettingen Te Deum, a return to the Classical Music Chicago sing-a-long Messiah, St. John Passion with the Apollo Chorus of Chicago and Elmhurst Symphony, Bach's St. Mark Passion with Bach in the City, and Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass and Mozart's Requiem with the St. Cecilia Orchestra.
Previous engagements include Carmina Burana with St. Louis Symphony, Messiah with Alabama Symphony, Apollo Chorus of Chicago, and Seattle Symphony, St. Matthew Passion with Utah Festival Opera and Grand Rapids Symphony, Chichester Psalms and Bach Cantata 170 - Vergnügte Ruh with the Grant Park Orchestra at the Pritzker Pavilion in Millenium Park, Ottone in L’incoronazione di Poppea at West Edge Opera, Katte in the Metropolitan Opera's workshop of Scott Wheeler's The Sorrows of Frederick, and B minor Mass with the American Festival Chorus at Utah State University and Bach Institute at Valparaiso University.
Earlier career highlights include Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream with Wolf Trap Opera, Didymus in Theodora with Opera Bergen, Norway, Arsamene in Xerxes with both San Francisco Opera (cover) and with Alan Curtis at West Edge Opera, Lychas (cover) in Hercules with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Gesualdo’s Responsoria with Il Complesso Barocco in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, Bernstein's Missa Brevis with the Grant Park Music Festival, Purcell’s Ode to St. Cecilia, Spirit in Dido and Aeneas, and Secresie / alto soloist in The Fairy Queen at Music of the Baroque, and soloist with Alonzo King's LINES Ballet in Lyon, France. Mr. Belongie has been heard on Chicago’s classical music station WFMT in numerous performances with Music of the Baroque in addition to a solo recital on the network’s series, “Live from WFMT,” and has appeared on PBS across the United States in A Renaissance Christmas.
Born in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, Mr. Belongie is a graduate of San Francisco Opera's Merola Opera Program and Adler Fellowship, and the Vocal Honors Program at Northwestern University. In addition to being a two-time national semi-finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, he was the first place winner of the Igor Gorin Memorial Award, the recipient of a career grant from the Metropolitan Opera, a Shouse Career Grant from Wolf Trap Opera, two Richard F. Gold Career Grants from the Shoshana Foundation, and the Lola Fletcher Award from the American Opera Society of Chicago.
Ryan Berndt, trumpet
Trumpeter Ryan Berndt is acclaimed for his artistry on both modern and baroque trumpet, praised by Gramophone Magazine as “versatile, superb, and committed.” He currently serves as Principal Trumpet of Chicago’s Haymarket Opera Company and performs regularly with Apollo’s Fire, bringing stylistic precision and expressive depth to historically informed performances.
Ryan’s career spans chamber music, orchestral playing, and studio recording. He spent eleven seasons with the Gaudete Brass Quintet, performing nationally and internationally, and has since become an active freelancer and recording artist. His trumpet playing is featured on Netflix and Amazon Prime, most notably in American Traitor: The Trial of Axis Sally starring Al Pacino. He has also collaborated with ensembles such as the Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma, Tempesta di Mare, the Zohn Collective, and the Baroque Performance Institute at Oberlin College.
As an educator, Ryan has presented masterclasses and performances at leading institutions, including the Juilliard School, Eastman School of Music, Colburn Conservatory, and the Manhattan School of Music. He has also taught at Roosevelt University, Interlochen Arts Camp, and the Merit School of Music in Chicago, where he is dedicated to mentoring the next generation of musicians.
Ryan is a recording artist with Cedille Records, a Schilke Artist, and an Ambassador for Denis Wick. His principal teachers include Mark Ridenour (Chicago Symphony Orchestra) and Dale White (St. John’s University). He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Trumpet Performance and Music Education from St. John’s University, a Master of Music in Performance and Literature from the University of Notre Dame, and an Artist Diploma in Orchestral Studies from Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts.
Amelia Sie, violin
Based in Chicago, violinist and violist Amelia Sie is a virtuosic and adventurous performer on both Baroque and modern instruments. As a historical performer, she has appeared on stage with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Les Arts Florissants, and Carmel Bach Festival, among others. Equally comfortable on the modern violin, Amelia made her first public appearance with the Seattle Festival Orchestra at the young age of 8 and has since performed as a soloist with orchestras including the Seattle Symphony and the Coeur D’Alene Symphony.
Along with Alyssa Campbell, Jimmy Drancsak, and Chelsea Bernstein, Amelia is a founding member of the Arrow Quartet, a historically informed ensemble that explores and performs music across genres with the goals of expanding the historical performance music canon and creating a more inclusive concert experience. Engagements include performances for the MidSummer Music Series in Nova Scotia, GEMS Midtown Concerts, Roger Williams University, and The Cambridge Society for Early Music.
Amelia is sought-after for her exuberant, fiery performances and diverse programming. Previous engagements include solo recitals with Gotham Early Music Scene, Early Music America, and The Bohemians: Musician’s Club of New York, as well as solo performances with the Albany Symphony and Juilliard415. This 2025-26 season, Amelia looks forward to performances with Ars Musica Chicago, Bach in the City, Handel and Haydn Society, and Smithsonian Academy Orchestra.
Amelia received her BM and MM in Violin Performance from New England Conservatory, where she studied with Paul Biss, Miriam Fried, and Soovin Kim. She graduated from the Juilliard School in 2023 with a MM in Historical Performance, where she studied with Cynthia Roberts, Elizabeth Blumenstock, and Rachel Podger. Amelia is honored to have been named a Mercury Chamber Orchestra Mercury-Juilliard Fellow for the 2023-24 concert year, as well as a Handel+Haydn Society Stone Fellow for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 concert years.
Amelia proudly performs on a Peter Westerlund modern violin and a Timothy Johnson baroque violin.
Alyssa Campbell, violin
Alyssa Campbell is an American violinist based in Paris, France. She performs with ensembles across the United States and Europe, including Les Arts Florissants, Arcangelo Ensemble, The Handel & Haydn Society, Teatro Nuovo, Le Consort, Insula, and ARTEK Early Music. Alyssa has been heard at festivals such as Tanglewood, The BBC Proms, Dans de Jardins de William Christie, Oude Muziek Festival Utrecht, and Gotham Early Music Scene, and is a founding member of The Fooles, a 17th-century string band based in New York City specializing in music from the early modern period. Additionally, Alyssa performs as one half of Duo Serrano, who have been featured at the Oude Muziek Festival Fringe series, Musica Antica of The Hague, and the Societeit de Witte, where they perform 19th century works for violin and piano.
Alyssa holds a Masters Degree in Historical Performance from The Juilliard School and a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance from the University of Michigan. In 2023, she was selected as the winner of Early Music America’s Margriet Tindemans Early Strings Scholarship, which allowed her to move to The Netherlands where she received an Artist Certificate from the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague in 2024.
Alyssa also maintains a private studio for violin and viola, teaching students of all ages and experience levels. When not playing music, Alyssa enjoys collecting vintage sheet music, eating spicy food, and kayaking.
Kiyoe Matsuura, violin & viola
Kiyoe Matsuura enjoys a vibrant freelance career performing baroque violin and viola with orchestras and chamber ensembles across the United States. Recent engagements have included Ensemble Affect, Apollo’s Fire, Haymarket Opera Orchestra, Philharmonie Austin, Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra, and the Madison Bach Musicians. Based in Chicago, Kiyoe also performs locally with Bella Voce Sinfonia, Music of the Baroque, The Newberry Consort, Callipygian Players, the Bach and Beethoven Experience, and Ars Musica Chicago. As a chamber musician, one of her main projects is Ensemble Vitelotte, a duo dedicated to showcasing works by historical women composers. The duo has performed recitals for the Landowska Harpsichord Society, the Northbrook Library, and the Marilyn Horne Museum, and was recently awarded a grant by Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.
Kiyoe’s skills are the product of extensive training, having studied historical performance at institutes including ‘Juilliard at the Piccola Accadamia,’ the Chamber Music Collective, American Bach Soloists Academy, Amherst Early Music Festival, and Oberlin’s Baroque Performance Institute. She received professional training and lessons as an Apollo’s Fire Young Artist Apprentice and as a Callipygian Players Apprentice. Kiyoe holds a Master’s Degree from DePaul University’s School of Music, where she studied violin with Ms. Janet Sung. With fellow DePaul students, Kiyoe co-founded DePaul’s first period-instrument ensemble, which was featured on the Pegasus Rising Young Artist concert series in Rochester, New York. Prior to that, she earned her Bachelor of Music degree from California State University, Long Beach, studying on a full scholarship under the guidance of Dr. Lorenz Gamma. During her time there, she was a member of the University String Quartet and served as concertmaster of the University Symphony Orchestra. Kiyoe further honed her orchestral skills as a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and in American Youth Symphony and Debut Orchestra in Los Angeles.
In addition to performing, Kiyoe enjoys sharing her knowledge with others. She completed Suzuki teacher training in violin units one through six under the guidance of Rolando Freitag. Her dedication to teaching has yielded notable successes, with her students achieving acceptance into the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra and winning prizes in the Illinois Music Association Bach Video Competition and the Chinese Fine Arts Society violin competition. For seven years, Ms. Matsuura served on the violin faculty of DePaul University’s Community Music Division, where she taught both individual and group classes. Along with in-person teaching, Kiyoe has created over 200 YouTube videos about violin student repertoire, which have received hundreds of thousands of views.
Timothy Holman, viola
Timothy Holman received a B.M. in music composition from Wheaton College in 2023 where he studied with Shawn E. Okpebholo, Xavier Beteta, Misook Kim, and Howard Whitaker. He studied viola under Rose Griffin. Passionate about the historical performance practices of the 18th and 19th centuries, he received a M.M. in Early Music at McGill University, and is currently pursuing an A.D. where he studies viola with Olivier Brault.
As a violist and composer, Timothy regularly performs with chamber ensembles and orchestras across the U.S. and Canada. He is a member of Twisted Pearl, a new baroque ensemble of composer-performers dedicated to composing music written in baroque, classical, and early romantic styles and for period instruments. Two of Timothy’s works were featured during Festival Montréal Baroque 2026 with Twisted Pearl in a program of all newly composed music written by ensemble members and associates.
Anna Steinhoff, viola da gamba & cello
Anna Steinhoff is a Chicago-based cellist specializing in baroque cello and viola da gamba, praised by critics as "soulful" and "the rhythmic heart of the ensemble” (Chicago Classical Review).
Steinhoff has served as principal cellist with Haymarket Opera Company, Music of the Baroque, Bella Voce Sinfonia, Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra, Chicago Opera Theater and Madison Bach Musicians, and as viola da gamba soloist with the Milwaukee Symphony, Madison Bach Musicians and Music of the Baroque. She performs regularly with Apollo's Fire, Newberry Consort, Austin Philharmonie and Second City Musick, and appears at the Staunton Music Festival and Nebraska Crossroads Music Festival. A founding member of Wayward Sisters, she won the 2011 EMA/Naxos Competition with the ensemble.
Beyond the early music world, Anna has recorded with modern ensembles including Mysteries of Life, Saturday Looks Good To Me, MONO, and children's artist Justin Roberts, showcasing her versatility across genres.
Anna holds degrees in cello performance from Oberlin Conservatory and Northwestern University, where she studied with Peter Rejto and Hans Jensen.
Jerry Fuller, double bass
Jerry Fuller began studying the double bass at age 16 and was invited to join the Lyric Opera of Chicago orchestra three years later. Within two years he was promoted to first desk of the double bass section in addition to performing with the Santa Fe Opera. Mr Fuller has also served as Principal Bassist of The Musikkollegium Winterthur Switzerland. While in Europe, Mr. Fuller became interested in historically-informed performance practice and has achieved international recognition for his work with period instruments receiving awards from Early Music America and the International Society of Bassists. A Chicago Artists Abroad grant recipient, Mr. Fuller’s performances in London, Rome, Geneva and Edinburgh have been broadcast worldwide. In addition, Mr. Fuller has performed at the Ravinia and the Aspen Music Festivals and both the Boston and Berkeley Early Music Festivals. His recordings on the Musical Arts Society, Cedille and Centaur labels have been hailed by both critics and colleagues earning him membership in the Recording Academy. Mr. Fuller also writes on period instruments and performance practice for The Strad, Double Bassist, and Bass World magazines, and has served on the editorial board of the Online Journal of Bass Research. Mr. Fuller served as an officer of the Board of Directors of the International Society of Bassists and has perfomed with the American Bach Soloists of San Francisco, the Handel and Haydn Society of Boston and the Newberry Consort of Chicago. Jerry is Principal Bassist of the Haymarket Opera Company.
Brandon Acker, Lute
Brandon Acker is a classical guitarist and specialist on early plucked instruments such as the Baroque guitar, theorbo, lute, and archlute who plays regularly with Music of the Baroque. Brandon’s performance career has varied from starting out playing electric guitar in metal bands to his current main focus researching and performing on early plucked instruments from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. He has toured extensively through England, Canada, Scotland and Wales, and performed with notable groups such as the Leipzig Baroque Orchestra, Piffaro, the Joffrey Ballet, the Chicago Philharmonic, the Newberry Consort, Haymarket Opera Company, Third Coast Baroque, Opera Lafayette, and Bella Voce. Viva Vivaldi! on October 15 and 16 marks his soloist debut with Music of the Baroque.
Brandon Acker's latest passion has been to run his successful YouTube channel which now has over 400,000 subscribers and 30 million views. His channel provides educational content about historical lutes and guitars, guitar tutorials, and performance videos.
Brandon Acker's interest in education has led him and his wife to found a new online music school for “All things that go pluck,” Arpeggiato.com. Since opening it 2020, in reaction to the Covid pandemic, the online school has taught thousands of lessons on Zoom to students in over a dozen countries. The school has also hosted two online student recitals and raised over $2,000 for music charities.
Brandon Acker's recordings include “A Wanderer’s Guitar,” Schubert lieder arranged for guitar and baritone; “Favorites,” featuring his dearest solo repertoire; and “Strung Up,” minimalist music arranged for harp and guitar.
jason J. moy, harpsichord, organ & director
Jason J. Moy is Associate Music Director of Bach in the City, Artistic Director of Ars Musica Chicago, and one of the most sought-after Early keyboard specialists in the Midwest. He serves as Artist-Faculty of Early Keyboard Instruments at Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts, and as Director of the Baroque Ensemble at DePaul University, where he was awarded the School of Music’s first-ever endowed chair as the Monsignor Kenneth J. Velo Distinguished Professor of Music. Jason received his Early Music training at McGill University and counts Hank Knox, Ketil Haugsand, Andrew Lawrence-King, and the late Bruce Haynes among his most influential mentors and teachers. He is a founding member of the award-winning baroque ensemble Trio Speranza, principal keyboardist of the Bach Week Festival Orchestra, and is a frequent guest soloist and continuo player with such esteemed ensembles as the Newberry Consort, Haymarket Opera Company, Grant Park Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, South Bend Symphony Orchestra, and Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra.