A passionate ensemble singer and soloist, soprano Lauren Breden is inspired by performances that push the boundaries of choral music and cast new light on early music. Originally from New Mexico, she has performed in ensembles throughout the state including The New Mexico Philharmonic, Performance Santa Fe, Chatter, New Music New Mexico, and Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico, and served as a soprano section leader at The Cathedral of St. John in Albuquerque for several years. As an experienced church musician, she has also completed choral residencies at St. Paul’s Cathedral, Winchester Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Washington National Cathedral, and Wells Cathedral. Lauren received her B.M. in Vocal Performance from the University of New Mexico and her M.M. in Vocal Chamber Music from the University of Redlands where she studied with former King’s Singer and Phoenix Chorale Artistic Director, Christopher Gabbitas. She is currently based in Philadelphia where she sings with the professional choir at Christ Church Christiana Hundred and regularly performs with The Brandywine Singers, Chester County's premiere chamber choral ensemble. When she’s not singing, Lauren works as the Creative Director for Behavioral Essentials, an organizational psychology company that uses behavioral assessments to help people and organizations thrive. She also loves doing yoga, spending time outdoors, and chilling out to Bossa nova with her tuxedo cat, Tink. 

Hayden Eberhart is a native of Dallas, Texas, and currently lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She has sung with the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, Polyphony New Mexico, Golden Bridge, and fourteen seasons with the LA Master Chorale, where she has been a part of the Lagrime di San Pietro world tour, and soloist in Messiah and Brahms’s Ein Deutsches Requiem. She is also a co-founder and Administrative Director of Los Angeles-based PRISM Choral Ensemble, a nine-voice, conductorless professional choir focused on early music (prismensemble.org). She has appeared as a guest artist with Pasadena Master Chorale, LA Daiku, Hollywood Master Chorale, and the Pomona College Choir and Orchestra. She can be heard on such film soundtracks as Frozen, Big Hero 6, The Conjuring, and Star Wars: The Last Jedi, among others.

Megan Garcia is a born and raised member of the Albuquerque community. She recently graduated from the University of New Mexico with honors, magna cum laude. She received her Bachelor of Music with a concentration in Vocal Performance. During her time at UNM, Megan sang in the treble ensemble, 'Las Cantantes' and in the mixed Concert Choir ensemble. She was also involved in the UNM Opera Program performing in scenes and full productions. She is currently a soprano section leader in the choir at the Episcopal Cathedral of St. John, Albuquerque. She sings with the professional vocal ensemble, Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico and is passionate about creating music with others. In addition to singing music from the sacred choral canon, she also enjoys singing in the barbershop style with her community ensemble, "Route 66 Sound."

Renée Honn is an Albuquerque-based soprano with a Bachelor in Music Education from Eastern Washington University as well as a Performance Certificate from The University of New Mexico.  She is currently completing the first year of her Masters of Music in Vocal Performance at The University of New Mexico. She is currently in preparations for the role of Second Lady in UNM’s production of Die Zauberflöte.

Renée currently serves as the soprano section Leader with choir of the Episcopal Cathedral of St. John. In the past, she has worked with Washington-based groups Spokane Symphony Chorale, Spokane Kantorei Choir and Collegium Orchestra, and Inland Northwest Opera. In Albuquerque, she has performed with the St. Michael’s and All Angels Choir and Quintessence: A Community of Singers. This marks her first season with Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico.

Jennifer Perez holds an M.M. with a concentration in vocal performance from The University of New Mexico. Professional ensemble experience includes performances with the Boulder Bach Festival, Oregon Bach Festival, Santa Fe Desert Chorale, Dallas Choral Festival, and the New Mexico Philharmonic. She is an active member of the New Mexico-based ensembles Chatter, New Mexico Performing Arts Society, and Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico. 

Having a special affinity for vocal chamber music, namely the music of J.S. Bach, she earned the "Honorable Mention" award in the Boulder Bach Festival's online 2020 World Bach Competition. Having also a propensity for new music, she has been featured as a soloist in several contemporary works, including Julián Carillo's Preludio a Colon, Luciano Berio’s Agnus, Arvo Pärt’s Stabat Mater, James MacMillan’s Seven Last Words from the Cross, David Lang's Death Speaks, and the world premiere of Hector Armienta's opera, Bless Me, Ultima. Ms. Perez also enjoys participating in the musical community of Santa Fe as a soprano section leader for the Church of the Holy Faith choir and occasionally performs with the Santa Fe Symphony Chorus and Santa Fe Community Orchestra. Recent performances include a season finale opera concert with the New Mexico Performing Arts Society and a solo appearance in Christopher Tin's To Shiver the Sky with the New Mexico Gay Men's Chorus. 

Born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Jordyn Tatum joined the Cathedral Choristers in 2008, and is now the Chorister Assistant and a soprano choral scholar in the Cathedral Choir. She is currently in her third year at the University of New Mexico, studying Music Education with a concentration in voice, and is taking secondary studies in pipe organ. She has toured with the Cathedral Choir both nationally to Washington D.C and New York City, and internationally to England. She has been a featured soloist on three commercially released CDs through Raven CD, and has had the opportunity to premiere new choral music by composers in residence including Stephanie Martin, Cecilia McDowall, Sarah Quartel, and most recently, Zachary Wadsworth with the Cathedral Choir. Apart from music, she enjoys being in nature, baking, and woodcarving. This is Jordyn’s second season with Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico. 

Darci Balkcom is a voice teacher, Alexander Technique teacher, and mezzo-soprano working in New Mexico. As a professional performer, Darci has sung Oratorio and opera with groups such as Boulder Symphony, New Mexico Philharmonic, Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico, Santa Fe Desert Chorale, and Quintessence. In 2009, she had her international debut with La Musica Lirica in Novafeltria, Italy. Her most notable opera and musical theatre roles include Florence Pike in Albert Herring, Dido in Dido and Aeneas, Mercedes in Carmen, Terentia in Beautiful Bridegroom, Miss Pinkerton in the Old Maid and the Thief, Cherubino in Le Nozze de Figaro. Darci has been the featured mezzo soloist in Mozart’s Mass in C, Hadyn’s Lord Nelson Mass, Bach’s Magnificat, Vivaldi’s Gloria, Bach’s Cantata 161, and Beethoven's Mass in C. Darci completed a Bachelor and Master's degree in vocal performance from the University of New Mexico along with completing a 1600 hour Alexander Technique teaching certification. She has studied with coaches and teachers such as Olga Perez Flora, Michael Hix, Adriana Hardy, Neil Rosenshein, and Nina Hinson.

Mezzo-soprano Carla Bond holds a Master’s Degree in Musicology from Rutgers University in New Brunswick New Jersey and a Bachelor's Degree in Vocal Performance from Georgia State University in Atlanta Georgia. She specializes in both early and contemporary liturgical repertoire, and for many years sang professionally at various churches in New York City, including, amongst others, St. Luke in the Fields and St. Ignatius Loyola. She has also performed with Early Music New York, Parthenia, and the New York Choral Artists. She has recorded with Vox, CRI, and Prospect Classics.

Laurie Fleenor is a native of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and has been a member of the Cathedral Choir at the Episcopal Cathedral of St. John since 2017. More recently, Laurie was appointed a Choral Scholar with the choir, a role they enjoy immensely. As a student at Albuquerque Academy for seven years, they studied music theory and voice. Current interests include singing, piano (which they studied for six years as a child), and photography. In the future, Laurie expects to continue formal studies and lifelong learning in music and the arts.  

Mary Quinn has spent a lifetime singing in choirs. Before moving to New Mexico, she spent many years singing professionally and semi-professionally in choirs in the San Francisco Bay Area, with a special emphasis on early music. She has translated a range of Spanish poetry and zarzuela texts for professional performance and has published articles on early zarzuela, Baroque opera, and vihuela music and poetry. She is an Associate Professor of Spanish at the University of New Mexico, and her current research focuses on the literature, music, and soundscapes of seventeenth-century festivals of the Habsburg Empire. She has been an enthusiastic member of Polyphony since 2010. 

Mezzo-soprano, Autumn Scott Quinto, is a native New Mexican who grew up in Albuquerque. She holds an MM in vocal performance from Baylor University where she graduated in May 2020. She also holds her BM in vocal performance from the University of New Mexico. Her professional experience blends operatic, choral, and concert singing. She now resides in Oregon, but still sometimes sings with the Cathedral of St. John’s choir as well as Polyphony Voices of New Mexico. When not performing, you might catch Autumn eating pizza, playing with her mini dachshunds, baking cookies, hiking with her husband, or playing her lever harp. 

George Case is currently a freelance musician living in Santa Fe, NM. George was formerly an Associate Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Boston Conservatory at Berklee where he directed the choral ensembles and the graduate choral conducting program. George has also been the music director for The Boston Cecilia, a 143-year-old semi-professional chorus in Boston and the Newburyport Choral Society, an 84-year old choral society on the north shore. Previously, George has also been the Director of Choral Activities ad interim at Boston University and the Director of Choral and Vocal Programs at The Cobb County Center for Excellence in the Performing Arts at Pebblebrook High School in Atlanta, GA. George holds Doctoral and Master’s degrees in conducting from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor's degree in vocal performance from Boston University. George is an award-winning educator of young musicians who frequently leads clinics and workshops for high school and collegiate singers, as well as professional development sessions for teachers around the country. As a soloist and professional chorister, George has performed with major ensembles across North America and Europe, including the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, Handel & Haydn Society, Kinnara, Spire Chamber Ensemble, and Skylark Vocal Ensemble. In addition to his work as a soloist, conductor, and educator, George spends his time raising his goats and chickens on his farm in northern New Mexico and volunteering throughout Santa Fe. 

Fred Graham has recently performed as tenor soloist with the New Mexico Symphonic Chorus (Albuquerque), Durango Bach Festival (Durango, Colorado), St. Bede’s Episcopal Church (Santa Fe), and the St. John’s Bach Project (Albuquerque).  He is a staff singer at Holy Faith Church (Santa Fe).  Fred serves as Vocal Coordinator at New Mexico School for the Arts, New Mexico’s free public high school for the arts. In addition to earning a Bachelor of Music degree in voice from Centenary College of Louisiana, he received a Master of Sacred Music degree from Boston University, where he completed a double major in voice and organ.

Nathan Salazar holds a master's degree in collaborative piano from the University of Michigan, where he studied with Martin Katz. Salazar has performed in England, Scotland, Italy, Russia, and in major performance venues throughout the United States. He performed in the International Festival of Spanish and Latin American Music with renowned mezzo-soprano Teresa Berganza and has been featured at Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., Boston’s Symphony Hall, and Carnegie Hall in New York City.

He performed for Marilyn Horne’s 80th birthday celebration at Carnegie Hall, where he worked with the legendary Christa Ludwig. Salazar has worked with such singers as Julia Faulkner, Maria Zifchak, Stephen King, Susanne Mentzer, Luis Ledesma, Wolfgang Brendel, Joyce Castle, Neil Shicoff, Stanford Olsen, George Shirley, Angela Meade, Caroline Worra, Jennifer Johnson Cano, Cecilia Lopez, Kelly Kaduce, Edward Parks, Stephen Powell, Jonathan Burton, Michael Fabiano, and Susan Graham. He has worked and performed with Skylark Vocal Ensemble, Polyphony, the Santa Fe Symphony, Santa Fe Pro Musica, the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, the Santa Fe Opera, The Handel and Haydn Society, The Boston Symphony, and the Boston Lyric Opera, where he worked on the company’s monumental 2019 production of Poul Ruders’ The Handmaid’s Tale.

Salazar performed with Mexican-American soprano Cecilia Violetta Lopez in recital for Austin Opera, Opera Idaho, Opera Orlando, Opera Las Vegas, Opera Southwest, Opera America, Madison Opera, and Opera Colorado, where he now serves as Principal Coach. Most recently, Nathan was coach and pianist for the company’s production of Korngold’s Die tote Stadt. Up next is Salazar’s company debut with San Francisco Opera. 

Curtis Storm is a regular soloist and collaborative musician throughout the Southwestern United States. Described by the New Mexico Review of the Arts as "sonorous", Curtis has been singing in the Southwest since 2010. In that time he has been featured in performances such as a recital by renowned collaborative pianist Robert Spillman, and the world premiere of the American Choral Association's Alice Parker Award-winning Requiem for Eagles by David Lingle with the San Juan Symphony. Since moving to New Mexico he has been featured in performances with New Mexico Philharmonic, the St. John's Bach Project, and Red Rock Strings. Additionally, Curtis has had the privilege of singing with Ensemble Music New Mexico, Quintessence: A Community of Singers, and Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico. Curtis has also appeared in several Opera Southwest productions, including Alì Babà as a cover for Thamar, and an ensemble member in Guillaume Tell and Norma. Most recently, he appeared in the world premiere of Zorro and this spring will sing the role of the 1st Coryphée in Opera Southwest’s production of Le Comte Ory. He is also the co-founder of Opera on Tap New Mexico Curtis currently resides in Rio Rancho, New Mexico with his wife, Nicole, and son Alexander.

Alfredo Beltrán is a freelance professional singer in the Albuquerque Area. Current music positions that Alfredo holds include serving as the Bass Section Leader of the Cathedral Choir at the Episcopal Cathedral of St John (ABQ) and as a staff singer with Quintessence: A Community of Singers. Aside from singing with Polyphony, other local area musical engagements for Alfredo have included serving as a guest soloist with the New Mexico Philharmonic and as a chorister and solo artist with Opera Southwest. Outside of the local area, Alfredo has participated in productions with Heartland Opera Theatre in Joplin, MO, Varna International Opera Academy in Stara Zagora, Bulgaria, Opera in the Ozarks in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, and as a guest soloist with New Mexico State University’s Music Department in Las Cruces. Alfredo has both a Bachelor and Master of Music Degree in Voice Performance, the former from the University of New Mexico, and the latter from the Conservatory of Music at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. 

Praised for ​​”his charismatic voice — a warm, rich tone, which soars with ease from a high top to lush lows” (Albuquerque Journal), British baritone Edmund Connolly is a multi-faceted musician based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In addition to his work as a solo and consort singer, keyboard player and choral director, he is in his tenth year as a member of the performing arts faculty at Albuquerque Academy, teaching chorus, voice and music theory. He also works as a recording engineer for concerts and recitals, and enjoys the creative challenges of composing and arranging music for various forces.

Born in London, England, and raised just outside Oxford, Edmund Connolly earned his BA (Hons) in music at Robinson College, Cambridge, where he was organ scholar, and his MMus in vocal performance at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London. During more than a decade in London, Edmund was an opera soloist and chorus member for companies including English Touring Opera and Glyndebourne Festival Opera, singing and understudying more than 25 roles in several languages. Concurrently, he was a frequent deputy with the BBC Singers, the UK’s only full-time professional chamber choir, and performed and recorded with groups including the Dmitri Ensemble, the Gabrieli Consort, and English Voices, under conductors including Bob Chilcott, David Hill, Paul McCreesh and Donald Runnicles.

Since moving to Albuquerque in 2012, Edmund has served as Assistant Organist-Choir Director at the Episcopal Cathedral of St. John. As baritone soloist, he has appeared with the New Mexico Philharmonic in Bach’s St. John Passion, Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem, and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony; and with Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico in works ranging from Henry Mollicone’s Beatitudes: Mass for the Homeless to James MacMillan’s Seven Last Words from the Cross. As the voice and piano/organ duo Air & Hammers, Edmund and his wife, pianist and organist Maxine Thevenot, continue to explore both new and established repertoire for voice and piano/organ, and released their first duo disc, Desire in Spring, on the Raven CD label in 2015.

Ed Fancovic, bass, began singing when his medical school classmates in St. Louis formed a chorus. In the 40 years since then, he has sung with multiple church choirs and secular groups. Since arriving in Albuquerque in 1998, he has sung with the choir at the Cathedral Church of St. John, de Profundis, the World Vocal Ensemble, Quintessence, and Primae Voces. He is an internal medicine/primary care physician at UNM, where he is also an associate dean at the medical school. 

Jude Harb is a Music Theory and Composition student at the University of New Mexico. He has written pieces for choir, piano (prepared), new music ensemble, woodwind quintet, vocal sextet, and fixed media, with plans for many more kinds of music in the future. He is also a practicing baritone, learning how to hone his musical craft. He has sung in many musical projects around Albuquerque such as Polyphony (Haydn’s Creation), Quintessence (6 th Annual Summer Choral Festival, The Joy of Texts), Opera Southwest (Pelleas et Mélisandre, Chorus), and Musical Theatre Southwest (The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Chorus). He is a regular performer with the UNM Concert Choir and UNM Opera (Signor Deluso, Signor Deluso; Sid, Albert Herring; 1 st Armored & 1 st Priest, Die Zauberflöte). If you catch him on the side of the street, he will often tell you about the many different places he’s been and lived, including Australia, Italy, Japan, Canada, and the United States. Outside of music and studying, Jude loves to spend time with friends, go on walks, make puns, and roughhouse with his dog, Julius. 

Bass-Baritone Javier Ortiz has played over 35 leading and supporting operatic roles and has appeared as a soloist in 15 major orchestral works with opera companies and orchestras across the USA. Internationally, Javier performed "Mozart Arias and Duets" in concert at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, appeared as a soloist for the 25th Anniversary of the Netherlands Opera's residence in the Muziektheater, sang Sarastro's arias from Die Zauberflöte with the Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra, and joined the Rotterdam Opera Days in concert and as Colline in La Boheme. He played the Commendatore in Don Giovanni, Pluton in La Descente d'Orphée aux Enfers, and Colline in La Boheme with Opera Studio Nederland. Javier also toured Mexico with the Chicago Arts Orchestra as the bass soloist in Al Combate by Ignacio Jerusalem in celebration of UNAM’s designation as a UNESCO world heritage site.

Javier recently played Zachariah in an off-Broadway version of Nabucco and Aeneas in Dido and Aeneas with The American Baroque Opera Company. His 2022-2023 season included Man #2 in Frida and Doctor Grenvil with both Opera Southwest and El Paso Opera, Gomez in Zorro with Opera Southwest, and Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro with The Roswell Symphony.