Lyyra Ensemble with Greg Zelek, organ

Praised for her “clear soprano” and “tasteful dramatic interpretation”, MaryRuth Miller has appeared throughout North America as a concert soloist and choral artist. Recent performance highlights include solo features with Boston’s Handel and Haydn Society, Bach Akademie Charlotte, Upper Valley Baroque, Pegasus Early Music, San Diego Baroque, the Charlotte Master Chorale, the Baldwin Wallace Bach Festival, and the Oregon Bach Festival. MaryRuth has sung regularly with the Handel and Haydn Society Chorus, New York City’s Clarion Choir, and the Oregon Bach Festival Chorus, and made her debut with the Santa Fe Desert Chorale in 2022. She is an alumna of the VOCES8 US Scholars Program.

A highly sought after and versatile soprano, Shabnam Abedi received her Master’s Degree from The Juilliard School in Jazz Studies, making her the school’s first South-Asian American jazz voice graduate. With a reputation for high-level music making in a wide variety of genres, Shabnam also studied opera at Mason Gross School of the Arts. A recent addition to The Choir of Trinity Wall Street, she was recognized by The New York Times for her solo in last year’s performance of Handel’s Messiah, and was also a featured soloist in their production of Considering Matthew Shepard. Having played and sung Indian Classical Music since the age of five, Shabnam’s first album “Amar Bijon Ghore” was released to wide acclaim in India and Bangladesh.

Anna Crumley is a versatile vocalist, arranger, songwriter, session singer, and music director based in the Los Angeles area. She is a soprano for the choral group Tonality, has toured across the country with the Kronos Quartet, and has sung for Disney, Netflix, DC Comics, HBO MAX and National Geographic. Anna holds bachelor’s degrees in both Jazz Studies Voice Performance and in Choral Music Education from the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music, where she was an Ella Fitzgerald Foundation scholar and a 2022 DownBeat award-winning soloist. She also currently performs as one half a neo-soul inspired guitar-voice duo called DeissMarie, who recently released their debut EP “Dream State”.

Elizabeth Tait is a Houston-based vocalist with roots in choral music. She is currently a staff soprano at Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church and soprano with the Houston early music ensemble Harmonia Stellarum. Elizabeth has sung previously with the Houston Chamber Choir, and performed on their Grammy award-winning album, “Duruflé: Complete Choral Works”. Her performance experience ranges from female a cappella, to jazz, to musical theatre. With a degree in Vocal Performance and Choral Education, Elizabeth has taught choral music in Katy, Texas for nine years.

Deborah Stephens graduated with Honors from Yale University in 2023 with a master’s degree in Sacred Music Vocal Performance, and also holds a bachelor’s degree in Voice Performance from the University of Georgia. She currently sings with an array of professional choirs such as Seraphic Fire, Kinnara Ensemble, Skylark, Artefact Ensemble, and Coro Vocati. Deborah is frequently invited as a soloist for early music, pop, and jazz performances across the US and Nigeria.

Vocalist Aryssa Leigh Burrs is hailed for her “rich sound and thoughtful musical ideas” while “transcending vocal styles and genres with flexibility and ease.” An avid choral artist and soloist, she can be seen with The Crossing, Clarion Society, The Thirteen, and Cathedra. Aryssa has been a Resident Artist with Central City Opera and Opera Columbus. Recent engagements include Orfeo/Speranza (Nightsong of Orpheus), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus), Woman in Sleeve (The Juliet Letters), Baba the Turk (The Rake’s Progress), Captain (Dog Days), and Mame Dennis (Mame). Aryssa has performed as a 2023 American Traditions Competition Semifinalist and with the Charlotte Symphony, and is also the founder/creator of ALB Produces and the concert experience Identify.