Performer Bios

Performer Bios (In order of appearance)

Madeline Cieslak

Soprano Madeline Cieslak has performed across the country in opera and chamber music. Praised for being "a stage animal" by Frederica von Stade, Madeline has performed with Bay Area Summer Opera Theater, The Minnesota Opera, Theatre de la Jeune Lune, American Repertory Theater, Opera for the Young, Dorian Opera Theater, and Opera in the Ozarks. She also performed as the featured soprano in Schoenberg's Second String Quartet at the San Fransico Conservatory of Music. Madeline earned a Postgraduate Diploma in Vocal Performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Minnesota and a Bachelor of Arts cum laude from Wellesley College. A native of St. Paul, Ms. Cieslak currently serves as director of St. Joseph's School of Music.

Chandler Molbert

Baritone Chandler Molbert is a versatile performer who counts numerous opera and oratorio roles in his rapidly expanding repertoire. He holds an M.M. and is currently pursuing a D.M.A. from the University of Minnesota, where his many opera roles include Colline (La Bohéme), Frank Maurrant (Street Scene), and Masetto (Don Giovanni). He has appeared locally with Theatre de la Jeune Lune as Bartolo in their original production Figaro, as well as with Twin Cities group Opera Bob in their successful Fringe Festival production, Secrets Revealed. While pursuing his degrees at the University of Minnesota, Mr. Molbert spent a summer in Italy studying at La Musica Lirica, where he also performed Bartolo in Le Nozze di Figaro. Mr. Molbert’s recent concert performances include opera excerpts with Rochester Aria Group, Handel’s Messiah with the Minnetonka Music Association, Bach’s St John Passion and Faure’s Requiem with the St. Mark’s Cathedral Choir, and Bach’s Magnificat and Mozart’s Requiem with the Minnesota Oratorio Society. His upcoming performances include solos in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 (Choral) with the Minnetonka Music Association, the role of Cascada with Skylark Opera, and a recital series in Iowa and Minnesota with his wife, soprano Tricia Van Ee.

Tricia Van Ee

Still at the beginning of her operatic career, soprano Tricia Van Ee has several major opera roles under her belt, including Donna Anna (Don Giovanni), Mimi (La Bohéme), Miss Jessel (The Turn of the Screw), and Antonia (Les Contes d' Hoffmann), among others. The Duluth News Tribune said of her Mimi, “Her instrument is what you would hear if lilies could sing; pure, dignified and controlled beauty.” While pursuing her M.M. at the University of Minnesota, Ms. Van Ee spent two summers studying and performing in Austria at the world-famous Mozarteum and at the Tyrolean Opera Program. She has also recently completed her tenure with Opera Omaha as one of their Voices in Residence where she appeared as Kate in The Pirates of Penzance. Ms. Van Ee’s recent concert performances include Mahler's Symphony No. 4 with the Minneapolis Civic Orchestra; Handel's Messiah with the Northwest Iowa Symphony Orchestra; arias with Rochester Aria Group; and Poulenc's Gloria, Mozart’s Requiem, and various opera excerpts with The Omaha Symphony Orchestra. Awards include First Place in the Schubert Club's Vocal Competition and First Place in the 2008 District Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. She has also recently performed opera scenes at the Minnesota Fringe Festival with Twin Cities group Opera Bob. Her upcoming performances include a recital series in Iowa and Minnesota with her husband, baritone Chandler Molbert.

KrisAnne Weiss

Praised by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel for her “even, warm sound and facile technique,” KrisAnne Weiss, mezzo soprano, continues to amass regional credits in opera, concert, and recital. She has performed leading roles in L’Italiana in Algeri, The Dangerous Liaisons, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Le Nozze di Figaro, La Cenerentola, Così fan tutte, Carmen, and Madame Butterfly. She has appeared with the Pine Mountain Music Festival, Fargo Moorhead Opera, Opera Omaha, Central City Opera, and the Minnesota Opera. Also an accomplished recitalist and chamber musician, Ms. Weiss has given many solo recitals in the Twin Cities and can be heard in frequent recital collaborations with other local musicians. She has appeared on concert series at Saint Anthony Park Lutheran Church and Unity Church-Unitarian in Saint Paul, and has presented recitals at the Minneapolis Woman’s Club, for the Minnesota Grieg Society, and for the Schubert Club. An advocate of contemporary music and art song, Ms. Weiss has premiered such notable works as Edie Hill’s dramatic concert work Amy Lowell: a Rare Pattern, a piece written for her, in Minneapolis, and David Ryan Moberg’s Notes from Darwin on a concert that also featured her in Copland’s In the Beginning. Most recently, she sang with the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra in the premiere of John Tartaglia’s Dark Night, Glad Day. Ms. Weiss is in the final stages of her Doctor of Musical Arts degree program at the University of Minnesota, where she was the recipient of many honors, including the University Fellowship, the Graduate Research Partnership Program Grant, and the Schuessler Graduate Prize in Voice. She has taught on the voice faculties of the University of Minnesota, Lawrence University in Appleton, WI, and Luther College in Decorah, IA. She teaches voice privately and at the Mount Olivet School of Music in Minneapolis.

Bill Murray

Bill Murray’s career covers a wide range of experiences across the U.S. and Europe. As a singer, he has performed lead roles in The Marriage of Figaro, Gianni Schicchi, The Merry Wives of Windsor, and Carmen, and has worked with The Minnesota Opera, Nautilus Music Theater, and The Tanglewood Music Festival. Mr. Murray now spends most of his time as a stage director and administrator for The Minnesota Opera, where he spent numerous years as a singer and two years as a Resident Artist before joining the company as a professional. He is currently the Artistic Associate and Project Manager for The Minnesota Opera’s New Work Initiative, a six year, seven million dollar program aimed at producing three new opera commissions and three revivals of contemporary American works. As a director and administrator, he has also worked with The University of Minnesota, Boston Lyric Opera, and Glimmerglass Opera. In 2011 he will make his company debut as an director in Academy Award winner Eric Simonson’s production of Rusulka at Opera Colorado. Originally from New York, Mr. Murray holds a Bachelor of Music from Ithaca College, and a both a Master and Doctorate of Music from The University of Minnesota.

Sandy Schoenecker

A native of the Twin Cities, mezzo-soprano Sandra Schoenecker has performed with many local organizations including the Minnesota Opera, North Star Opera, Theatre de la Jeune Lune, the Gilbert and Sullivan Very Light Opera Company and New Breath Productions. Sandra is a section leader and soloist at House of Hope Presbyterian Church in St. Paul. She is also a private vocal instructor at Armstrong, Tartan and Mahtomedi Senior High Schools and lives in Maplewood with her two furry feline friends.

Rob Asklof

Tenor Robb Asklof has sung with companies across The United States including: Santa Fe Opera, The Minnesota Orchestra, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Fargo Moorhead Opera, Skylark Opera, Orlando Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Western Plains Opera and Chautauqua Opera. He has performed roles including Jenik in Smetana’s The Bartered Bride, Ernesto in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, Captain Richard Warrington in Victor Herbert’s Naughty Marietta, Don Ottavio in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Rinuccio in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, Acis in Handel’s Acis and Galatea, and Camille in Lehar’s The Merry Widow. Upcoming events include singing Alfredo in Verdi’s La Traviata with the Western Plains Opera in September. After being brought up in Des Moines, Iowa, Mr. Asklof moved to Appleton, Wisconsin where he received a Bachelor of Music from The Lawrence University Conservatory of Music. He later moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota where he was awarded a Master of Music at the University of Minnesota.

Tracey Gorman

With a voice the Boston Globe called “extraordinary in range, tonal quality, musicianship, and dramatic effect,” soprano Tracey Gorman has gained a reputation for excellence in opera, recital, and concert. In the spring of 2003, Ms. Gorman made her professional opera debut with the Minnesota Opera as Ofglen in the North American premiere of The Handmaid’s Tale by Poul Rouders. Other credits with The Minnesota Opera include roles in Rigoletto and Dominick Argento’s Cassanova’s Homecoming, and numerous chorus assignments. In opera, she has also performed with The Rochester Aria Group, Skylark Opera, Music by the Lake, the Tanglewood Music festival, where she spent two summers as a vocal fellow, and a production of Ainadamar with the Dawn Upshaw and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Ms. Gorman’s extensive concert and song experience has brought her to numerous cities around the country and in Europe. She has worked with The Chicago Chamber Musicians, the St. Olaf Orchestra, the Valley Chamber Choral, the Minnesota Choral Union and Symphony and the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. Ms. Gorman has been honored with numerous singer competition awards, including winner and “audience choice” of the Austin Lyric Opera Young Artist Competition in Austin, Texas and regional finalist in the 2002-2003 Metropolitan Opera Auditions and finalist in the Sun Valley Opera Competition in Seattle Washington. Other awards include 1st place in the Milwaukee Bel Canto Chorus Regional Artist Competition, which earned her the solos in their presentation of Poulenc’s Gloria and Vaughan Williams’ Hodie, the Minnesota NATSAA 1st place award in 2002, and the coveted Schuessler Prize at the University of Minnesota.

Julian Ward

Pianist Julian Ward moved to Minneapolis in 1998 to begin graduate studies in accompanying and vocal coaching with Margo Garrett and Karl Paulnack at the University of Minnesota. Since then, he has enjoyed work as a collaborative pianist and vocal coach in and around the twin cities. He has been a staff pianist with several opera companies, including the Utah Opera, Las Vegas Opera Theater, and Chautauqua Opera; and since 2002 has been a member of the music staff of the Minnesota Opera, working on mainstage productions, as well as playing for the resident artists, and educational programs. Mr. Ward has also maintained ties with the University of Minnesota, where he continues an association with the Opera Theater program in assisting with the musical preparation of some of their productions.