THE FLORIDA ORCHESTRA | 2019-2020 61
American-Canadian
Zach Finkelstein
has quickly
established himself
as a leading tenor
soloist in North
America and abroad,
from Seattle’s Benaroya
Hall to New
York’s Lincoln Center
to London’s Sadler’s
Wells to the National
Arts Center in Beijing,
China. Finkelstein’s
debut album, Britten and Pears: the Canticles, was
launched on October 1, 2017, with release recitals
in Seattle, Toronto, New York and Vancouver.
In the concert world, Finkelstein is known for his
“refined” and “elegant” (Vancouver Observer) interpretation
of the works of Bach, Mozart and Handel,
among others. In the current season, the Seattlebased
tenor will be heard in Messiah for the Winnipeg
Symphony, the Evangelist in Bach’s St. John Passion
for The Florida Orchestra and the Vancouver
Bach Choir and Haydn’s Creation with the Sequoia
Symphony. Recitals claimed his attention for the
Brooklyn Song Society, Resonance in Seattle and
as a UC Davis artist in residence. Of special interest
was his appearance in Guadalajara in Comala by
Zohn-Muldoon. Highlights of last season also include
Messiah for the Portland Chamber Orchestra,
Haydn’s The Creation for The Florida Orchestra, Elijah
for the Grand River Chorus and Bach’s St. John
Passion for Calgary’s Luminous Voices.
Finkelstein holds an artist diploma in voice from the
Royal Conservatory of Music’s Glenn Gould School
in Toronto and a bachelor’s of arts in political science
from McGill University in Montreal. As a young
artist, he participated in the Tanglewood Music Festival,
Banff Opera as Theatre, the International Vocal
Arts Institute and the Britten-Pears Young Artist
Programme.
Lauded for his luminous
projection, lyrical
sensitivity, and
brilliant coloratura,
American-Canadian
tenor Lawrence Wiliford
is in high demand
in concert, opera,
and recital repertoire.
2019/2020
season highlights
include performances
with the Seattle
Symphony, Rochester
Philharmonic, Quebec Symphony, Pax Christi
Chorale, Hamilton Philharmonic, Florida Orchestra,
Eugene Symphony, and Back Bay Chorale. His performances
during the 2018/2019 season included
performances with Les Violins Du Roy, Chor Leoni
Men’s Choir, the Phoenix Symphony, the Bach Festival
Society of Winter Park, and Luminous Voices.
Wiliford has collaborated with conductors Jane
Glover, Matthew Halls, Nicholas McGegan, John
Nelson, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Peter Oundjian,
Trevor Pinnock, Helmuth Rilling, and Pinchas Zukerman.
He has recorded St. John Passion with Les
Voix Baroques and the Arion Chamber Orchestra
under the direction of Alex Weimann, and his debut
solo recording Divine Musick: The Late Works for
Tenor and Harp by Benjamin Britten, on the ATMA
Classique and NAXOS labels.
Wiliford holds a bachelor’s of music in church music
from St. Olaf College and a master’s of music in
vocal performance from the University of Toronto.
He has studied at Tanglewood, the Internationale
Bachakademie of Stuttgart, the Steans Institute at
the Ravinia Festival, and the Britten-Pears Young
Artist Program. He is a graduate of the Canadian
Opera Company’s Ensemble Studio and is a recipient
of grants from the Canada Council for the Arts
and the Ontario Arts Council. In addition to his performing
schedule, Wiliford is co-artistic director of
the Canadian Art Song Project.
ZACH FINKELSTEIN
Tenor
LAWRENCE WILIFORD
Tenor