Erik Clack is a senior at the University of New Mexico. He is currently pursuing his Bachelors degree in Music with an emphasis in Vocal Performance, studying under Sam Shepperson. Most recently, he portrayed the young musical genius Mozart in Rimsky-Korsakoff’s Mozart and Salieri and the equally humorous and menacing Monostatos in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. Besides opera, Erik is also active in oratorio and art song. He is aggressively preparing for two student recitals which will include works such as Robert Schumann’s Dichterliebe and Benjamin Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Strings, and Horn. Erik is a member of the Barbershop Harmony Society and is also activly participates in barbershop quartet singing. He serves as assistant director of the Duke City Chorus, a male barbershop chorus in Bernallio County. Erik plans to graduate in May of 2009 and then pursue a Master’s degree in Music. Erik is thrilled to be a part of Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico and share timeless music with the community.

Jay Hill holds an undergraduate degree in voice performance from Baylor University, where he graduated from the Honors Program with Distinction. He also holds a law degree from Duke University and maintains a private practice with the Albuquerque firm of Vogel Campbell & Blueher, P.C. Other performance credits include the Desert Chorale, Santa Fe Pro Musica, Música Antigua de Albuquerque, and Albuquerque Baroque Players. He also appeared in the Santa Fe Opera’s 2005 production of Peter Grimes. Mr. Hill is a familiar voice to many at The Cathedral Church of St. John, Albuquerque, having sung as a chorister and soloist with the Cathedral Choirs and having presented numerous solo recitals. A sold-out benefit performance of music by Noel Coward and Cole Porter has led to a return engagement for the Friends of the Desert Chorale; the program in this election year will feature songs relaying a political message, sometimes with humor and sometimes not. Other future performance plans include cabaret shows in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, and performances as soloist in Benjamin Britten’s St. Nicholas cantata in Chicago and surrounding areas. He is pleased to join Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico in its first program of music for mixed voices.

Christopher Ihlefeld received his undergraduate degree in vocal performance from Rollins College. He began his professional singing career early with the Orlando Opera Company in the soprano role of “Shem” in Benjamin Britten’s oratorio Noye’s Fludde. Christopher has performed several major choral works with Santa Fe Pro Musica, Canticum Novum, Coro de Cámara, Sangre de Cristo Chorale, Cara Musica, Santa Fe Desert Chorale, and New Mexico Pro Coro. This is his twelfth year as cantor and bass section leader at Holy Faith Episcopal Church in Santa Fe. When Christopher is not singing, you’ll find him managing municipal bond portfolios at Thornburg Investment Management Company. This marks his debut with Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico.

Nick Jones is a senior at St. Pius X High School. He plays a variety of instruments including guitar and piano, but his instrument of choice is voice. He has participated in choir since his freshmen year of high school under the direction of Mr. Aaron Howe .He has auditioned for and made the last three years of New Mexico Allstate Choirs. He had a part in ALT’s High School Musical, and has had parts in many school musicals in the past few years. He currently is taking music classes at SPX where he sings in the Show Choir, Breath of Heaven and the Advanced Vocal Ensemble. He will attend EMSU in the fall, majoring in Music Performance and Education. This marks his debut season with Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico.

Stephen Lewis is a recent transplant to Albuquerque. Born in the tiny northeastern Tennessee town of Erwin, he moved to Amarillo, Texas with his family at the age of five. After graduating from Amarillo High School, Stephen matriculated to Dallas Christian College where he completed a bachelor’s degree in Bible and Church Music. Heading back to the paradise of west Texas, Stephen enrolled in a graduate choral conducting program at the outstanding Texas Tech University. There in Lubbock, he studied conducting with Drs. John Dickson, Pamela Elrod, Gary Lewis and John Hollins; studied voice with Karl Dent and Gerald Dolter; and sang in the Texas Tech University Choir, the Lubbock Chorale and Madrigal Singers. In Lubbock, Stephen caught the music theater bug and performed roles in West Side Story, The Music Man, Beauty and the Beast, Annie Get Your Gun, and finally, Oklahoma! After four years in Lubbock, Stephen moved to the renaissance hill town of Asolo, in northern Italy, to study business. Completing his MBA last summer, Stephen then found his way to the gorgeous desert climate of Albuquerque. Currently, Stephen works as a banker for Wells Fargo Bank and sings in the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra Chorus, and also as a section leader in the Cathedral Choir at the Cathedral Church of St. John. This marks his debut season with Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico.

Joshua McDowell holds a Bachelor of Vocal Performance from New Mexico State University where he studied voice with Dr. Martha Rowe and choral conducting with Dr. Jerry-Ann Alt. While studying he had an active voice studio in the Las Cruces community and after graduating he was the Assistant Choral Director and Voice Teacher at Las Cruces High School where he worked with Dr. Diane Schutz. He then moved to Philadelphia where he sang countertenor at St. Peter’s Church with Director Tom Whittemore and in The Mendelssohn Club under the direction of Alan Harler. After deciding to move to New York City, Josh started studying with Shirlee Emmons, the renowned vocal pedagogue, and sang in several church choirs in Brooklyn. His travels then took him to Madrid, Spain where he spent the past five years teaching Voice and English. He’s fluent in Spanish and has worked for the British Council in both Spain and the Middle East. Recently, Josh has returned to his native New Mexico to pursue a Masters in Speech and Language Pathology as well as further his singing experience. He is currently a section leader as countertenor at The Cathedral Church of St. John in Albuquerque. He has also lectured at UNM about the male voice and its registers, focusing highly on the countertenor. This marks his debut season with Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico.

Lee J. Rickard is an astronomer by trade, and is currently the Executive Project Director for the Long Wavelength Array, working out of the Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development at the University of New Mexico. He has a Ph. D. in astrophysics from the University of Chicago. He began singing in the choir at St. Andrew Episcopal Church in Arlington, Virginia, about 15 years ago. Until his move to Albuquerque last year, he also sang with the Master Chorale of Washington (originally the Paul Hill Chorale) and studied with Anne Hurley. This marks her debut season with Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico.

Gilbert Sanchez is a senior at St. Pius X High School, and is very involved in the performing arts program. He has also performed with the Albuquerque Little Theatre, Musical Theatre Southwest, and Opera Southwest. He recently was enrolled in the Santa Fe Opera Young Voices program where he studies with Kathleen Clawson and Michael Wilson. He regularly studies with Sandra Neel of Bel Canto studios. He'd like to thank his parents, family and friends for al the support they give him! Love you guys! This marks his debut season with Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico.