Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto

Described as “immaculate, at once refined and impassioned,” (ArtsAtlanta) violinist Blake Pouliot (pool-YACHT) has anchored himself among the ranks of classical phenoms. A tenacious young artist with a passion that enraptures his audience in every performance, Pouliot has established himself as “one of those special talents that comes along once in a lifetime” (Toronto Star).

As a soloist, Blake’s 2025-26 concerto highlights include a return to National Ars Centre Orchestra to open their season with Music Director Alexander Shelley, performing Shostakovich Violin Concerto No. 1. He will make debuts with the Illinois Symphony, performing Rózsa’s Violin Concerto with Music Director Taichi Fukumura, and with Columbus Symphony. Additional concerto appearances include Rochester Philharmonic, as well as a tour with the Prague Philharmonia in Spain and the U.S., culminating with a performance at Carnegie Hall, marking Blake’s Stern Auditorium debut. He continues to expand his presence abroad, performing with the Enescu Philharmonic in Romania and with Symphony Nova Scotia. Recital appearances this season include Newport Classical, Vancouver Chamber Music Society, Artist Series of Sarasota, and Portland Ovations with his long-time collaborator and pianist, Henry Kramer. As a chamber musician, Blake will perform at Bay Chamber Concerts, Spoleto, Cleveland Chamberfest, SummerFest in La Jolla, and Moab Music Festival.

Recent performance highlights include debuts with the LA Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, San Diego Symphony, as well as the Houston Symphony, Grand Rapids Symphony, Rhode Island Philharmonic, and the San Antonio Symphony. In Europe, Blake performed with the London Philharmonic andAlevtina Ioffe, Chamber Orchestra of Europe with conductor Mattias Pintscher and cellist Alisa Weilerstein, KYMI Sinfonietta and Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire. Recital performance highlights from last season included debuts at Carnegie Hall and La Jolla Music Society.

During his time as Soloist-in-Residence of Orchestre Métropolitain in 2020/21, Pouliot and Yannick Nézet-Séguin performed Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5 and Piazzolla’s The Four Seasons which led to Pouliot’s 2022 debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Kimmel Center, performing John Corigliano’s The Red Violin (Chaconne for Violin and Orchestra) with Nézet-Séguin.

Highlights elsewhere include Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal in 2022/23, with Angela Hewitt and Bryan Cheng, as well as performances of the Paganini, Mendelssohn, Saint-Saëns concerti and Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy in subscription series across North America.

Pouliot released his debut album of 20th century French music on Analekta Records in 2019. Featuring Ravel’s Tzigane and Violin Sonata in G, Debussy’s Violin Sonata in G minor and Beau Soir, the recording received critical acclaim including a five-star rating from BBC Music Magazine and a 2019 Juno Award nomination for Best Classical Album.

Since his orchestral debut at age 11, Pouliot has performed with the orchestras of Aspen, Atlanta, Detroit, Dallas, Madison, Montreal, Toronto, San Francisco, and Seattle, among many others. Internationally, he has performed as soloist with the Sofia Philharmonic in Bulgaria, Orchestras of the Americas on its South American tour, and was the featured soloist for the first ever joint tour of the European Union Youth Orchestra and National Youth Orchestra of Canada. He has collaborated with many musical luminaries including conductors Sir Neville Marriner, David Afkham, Pablo Heras-Casado, David Danzmayr, JoAnn Falletta, Marcelo Lehninger, Nicholas McGegan, Alexander Prior, Vasily Petrenko and Thomas Søndergård.

Pouliot has been featured twice on Rob Kapilow’s What Makes it Great? series and has been NPR’s Performance Today Artist-in-Residence in Minnesota (2017/18), Hawaii (2018/19), and across Europe (2021/22). Prior to that, he won the Grand Prize at the 2016 Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal Manulife Competition and was named First Laureate of both the 2018 and 2015 Canada Council for the Arts Musical Instrument Bank.

Katherine G. Burton, violinist, has a story to tell us. It is the story of Gospel Music and she tells it with determination, energy and talent… holding it together with the strings of her violin. It is rare to hear an instrumental performance of Gospel Music on the violin, but innovation is nothing new to this performer and teacher. Burton has conducted Philadelphia’s New Dawn Orchestra which performed a wide repertoire of music. A native of Philadelphia, she has taken her classical training into the realm of gospel music to the delight of her audiences. Katherine Burton has captured the attention of many renowned local and national gospel groups. She has been a featured performer at the Gospel MusicWorkshop of America and the National Convention of Chorus and Choruses. 

Mezzo-soprano Rehanna Thelwell is quickly becoming known for her magnetic performances and expressive vocal power in a wide variety of repertoire. She recently made her mainstage début performing the title role of Carmen at Washington National Opera, in a performance Parterre Box hailed as “a stupendous Carmen,” whose “top-flight voice is distinctive and rangy, the center lithe, silky, and clear, and her chest voice voluptuous and authoritative. She’s a gutsy, energetic actress and her take on Carmen favors high-spirited take immediacy.” 

A recent graduate of the Washington National Opera Cafritz Young Artist program, last season for Ms. Thelwell included her début at Dutch National Opera as Girlfriend/Congregant 3 in Jeanine Tesori and Tazewell Thompson’s Blue, roles which she reprised later in the season at Washington National Opera. She also made role débuts as Dinah/Anna I in Madison Opera’s double-bill of Trouble in Tahiti/The Seven Deadly Sins, returned to South Florida Symphony for Bruckner’s Te Deum, joined Bangor Symphony for Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, débuted with The Washington Chorus for Undine Smith Moore’s Scenes from the Life of a Martyr and the Duruflé Requiem, and reprised Scenes from the Life of a Martyr with Exigence Ensemble (Detroit, MI). This season, she joins San Francisco Opera as Katie Ellen/Caller and the cover of Fatima in Omar, makes her Atlanta Opera début at Hippolyta in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and joins Detroit Opera as the Forester’s Wife/ Owl in The Cunning Little Vixen. 

In her final year as a Cafritz Young Artist, Ms. Thelwell was featured in a performance of the title role in Carmen at The Kennedy Center. She also appeared with Lyric Opera of Chicago as Ruby/Sinner Woman in Fire Shut Up in My Bones, a role she premiered with Opera Theatre St. Louis, for which Opera News praised her as a “standout” among the supporting cast. Additionally, she made her début with Opera Philadelphia as Jocasta in Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex. Other roles at WNO included Third Lady in the Young Artist production of The Magic Flute as well as Conchetta in the American Opera Initiative new work, Night Trip. Along with her mainstage roles, Thelwell had the opportunity to workshop new works with Esperanza Spalding for Iphigenia and Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek for The Listeners. Additional recent engagements include joining the National Symphony Orchestra as the Narrator Portrait of a Queen, recording Blue with Washington National Opera, her mainstage début with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis as Aunt Lou in Highway 1, U.S.A, and Opera in the Park with Madison Opera. 

Other recent engagements include her return to Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in as Giovanna in Rigoletto and Ruby in Fire Shut Up in My Bones and her Carnegie Hall début with the Exigence Vocal Ensemble led by Dr. Eugene Rogers. Thelwell had the immense pleasure of performing alongside Talise Trevigne and Morris Robinson in The University Musical Society’s Porgy and Bess as Maria. She joined the Miami Music Festival Wagner Institute for a second time in their production of the Götterdämmerung prologue as the 2nd Norn. In her first year with the Wagner Institute, Thelwell had the privilege of sharing the stage with soprano Christine Goerke and bass-baritone Alan Held for their rendition of “The Ride of the Valkyries.” She was also invited to sing with the Kenai Peninsula Orchestra for their performance of Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky in Anchorage, Alaska and returned to perform a concert series through the Kenai Musical Society. 

Thelwell began her studies in 2009 at Northern Arizona University under the instruction of Deborah Raymond. In 2014, she was accepted into the graduate program at the University of Michigan, where she joined the studio of Nadine Washington, returning in 2016 for her specialist degree. 

American bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen is in regular demand by the world’s leading opera houses and orchestras for his vibrant and handsome stage presence and distinctive vocalism.  

In the 2023/24 season, Kyle Ketelsen will debut at the Opéra National de Paris in title role in Mozart’s Don Giovanni. Mr. Ketelsen will also return to Staatsoper Hamburg to sing Jochanaan in Richard Strass’ Salome. Kyle Ketelsen will return to the Metropolitan Opera to sing Escamillo in a new production conducted by Daniele Rustioni in Carmen and Richard in a new production by Dimitri Tcherniakov conducted by Kent Nageno in The Hours. His concerts engagements include performances of Mozart’s Requiem with the Lyric Opera of Chicago conducted by Enrique Mazzola. Kyle Ketelsen will also sing Verdi’s Requiem with the Madison Symphony Orchestra.  

In the 2022/23 season, Mr. Ketelsen returned to The Metropolitan Opera for the world premiere of Richard in The Hours opposite Renée Fleming, Kelli O’Hara, and Joyce DiDonato, conducted by Nézet-Séguin, which was broadcasted live in HD. He returned to Wiener Staatsoper in the title role in Don Giovanni. His concerts engagements included performances of Beethoven’s Missa solemnis with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Riccardo Muti. Mr. Ketelsen sung Mozart’s Requiem with the Philadelphia Orchestra at Bravo!Vail Music Festival conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Additional concert engagements included his first performances of Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the Utah Symphony under the baton of Thierry Fischer. Mr. Ketelsen returned to the Los Angeles Opera as Golaud in Pelléas et Mélisande conducted by James Conlon and directed by Sir David McVicar.  

In previous seasons, Kyle Ketelsen made his house debuts at Wiener Staatsoper in the title role of Don Giovanni and at Teatro de la Maestranza as Golaud in Pelléas et Mélisande. He returned to Lyric Opera of Chicago as Dulcamara in L’elisir d’amore, returned to Canadian Opera Company in the title role of Bluebeard’s Castle, and sang Escamillo in Carmen with the RTVE Symphony Orchestra in Madrid. Mr. Ketelsen returned to the Bayerische Staatsoper Munich for his role debut as Kaspar in Der Freischütz in a new production by Dmitri Tcherniakov, and to Dutch National Opera for his role debut as Adahm in Rudi Stephan’s Die ersten Menschen. Mr. Ketelsen sang Leporello Don Giovanni at both Washington National Opera and Staatsoper Hamburg, and returned to Opernhaus Zürich for his role debut as Selim Il Turco in Italia. He was also scheduled to sing the Four Villains Les contes d’Hoffmann at New National Theatre Tokyo, and to make his role debut in the title role of Saint François d’Assise at Grand Théâtre de Genève. He also reprised Leporello with Musica Aeterna under the baton of Teodor Currentzis.  

Other operatic highlights include Golaud Pelléas et Mélisande, Escamillo Carmen, Leporello Don Giovanni and Mr. Flint Billy Budd at the Metropolitan Opera; Conte Rodolfo La Sonnambula, Méphistophélès Faust and Golaud Pelléas et Mélisande at Opernhaus Zürich; Escamillo Carmen at San Francisco Opera; King of Scotland Ariodante, Masetto Don Giovanni, the title role in Le nozze di Figaro and Méphistophélès Faust at Lyric Opera of Chicago; Méphistophélès La Damnation de Faust in Linz and Bonn with Les Siècles; Nick Shadow in The Rake’s Progress at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Dutch National Opera and Festival d’Aix-en-Provence; Figaro Le nozze di Figaro at the Staatsoper Berlin and the Gran Teatre del Liceu; Leporello Don Giovanni at Dallas Opera and Opéra National de Lyon; Golaud at Théâtre des Champs-Elysées; Basilio Il barbiere di Siviglia at the Bayerische Staatsoper; Enrico VIII Anna Bolena at Minnesota Opera; Don Fernando Fidelio at Houston Grand Opera; and Cadmus Semele and Alidoro La Cenerentola  at the Canadian Opera Company.  

Recent concert highlights include performances with Harry Bicket and The English Concert on tour as Zoroastro in Handel’s Orlando, as well as appearances with the St. Louis Symphony and Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Handel’s Messiah under the baton of Bernard Labadie. Other performances include Rossini’s Stabat Mater with Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival conducted by Gianandrea Noseda, Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem with the San Francisco Symphony under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas, Beethoven’s Fidelio with the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Christoph Eschenbach, Mozart’s Requiem with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra conducted by Pinchas Zukerman, Mozart’s Mass in C minor with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra conducted by Masaaki Suzuki, de Falla’s Master Peter’s Puppet Show with The Knights at the Tanglewood Festival, and Rossini’s Moïse et Pharaon with the Collegiate Chorale at Carnegie Hall.  

Mr. Ketelsen made his Carnegie Hall debut with the Oratorio Society of New York in Haydn’s Creation and reprised this work with Music of the Baroque in Chicago. Other career highlights on the concert stage include appearances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in performances of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Berlioz’s Lélio, de Falla’s El Retablo del Maese Pedro, and Kaija Saariaho’s Cinq reflets au l’Amour de loin, under the baton of Esa-Pekka Salonen; with the Philharmonia Orchestra in Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex; with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Stravinsky’s Pulcinella under the baton of Pierre Boulez, for a recording released on CD; with the Seattle Symphony in Mozart’s Requiem under Itzhak Perlman; with the Cleveland Orchestra in Haydn’s Harmoniemesse under Franz Welser-Möst; and with the Orchestre National de France, Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra, and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.  

Mr. Ketelsen has won First Prize in several international vocal competitions, including the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Richard Tucker Music Foundation (Career Grant), the George London Foundation, Licia Albanese Puccini Foundation, Sullivan Foundation, Opera Index, MacAllister Awards, Fort Worth Opera, National Opera Association, Connecticut Opera, and Liederkranz Foundation. He is an alumnus of the University of Iowa and Indiana University.