Otto Tausk, conductor

Internationally recognized for his dynamic musicianship and insightful interpretations, Dutch conductor Otto Tausk has worked with leading orchestras and opera houses worldwide, conducting repertoire ranging from core symphonic works to contemporary compositions. He is Music Director of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and Artistic Advisor to the VSO School of Music, collaborating with soloists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Renée Fleming, Itzhak Perlman, Daniil Trifonov, Gidon Kremer, James Ehnes, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Hilary Hahn, Khatia Buniatishvili, and Hélène Grimaud. 

Recent and upcoming engagements include debuts with the Taipei Symphony Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Arts Festival, Belgian National Orchestra at the Klara Festival, and NDR Philharmonie Hannover, along with returns to the Residentie Orkest, Philharmonie Südwestfalen, West Australia Symphony Orchestra, OSPA Oviedo, Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, and Staatskapelle Weimar. 

Tausk has also guest-conducted the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, New Jersey Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi, Stuttgart Philharmoniker, and several UK orchestras, including BBC Scottish Symphony and BBC National Orchestra of Wales, with whom he performed Ein Heldenleben at the 2018 BBC Proms. 

Highlights include the 2023/24 tour of Thomas Adès’ Powder Her Face with the Reisopera and the world premiere of Het Pand der Goden by Johannes Helstone with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Tausk’s recordings include works with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony, Danish National Symphony, and Norwegian Radio Orchestra, with awards including Classica France’s Choc du Mois and BBC Music Magazine Concerto Disc of the Month. 

Born in Utrecht, Tausk studied violin and conducting and served as Assistant Conductor to Valery Gergiev at the Rotterdam Philharmonic. He received the De Olifant prize for his leadership at Holland Symfonia. 

Yulia Van Doren, soprano

Soprano Yulia Van Doren is celebrated for her distinctive artistry and dedication to unusual repertoire, particularly in Baroque music. She has performed with leading North American orchestras and festivals, is the only singer to receive top prizes in all U.S. Bach vocal competitions and appears on two GRAMMY-nominated Boston Early Music Festival recordings. 

Her diverse career includes the world premiere of Shostakovich’s Orango with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the revival of Monsigny’s Le roi et le fermier at Opera de Versailles and the Kennedy Center with Opera Lafayette, Monteverdi concerts in Venice with Sir John Eliot Gardiner, and Alessandro Scarlatti’s Tigrane at Opera de Nice. Other highlights include Handel’s Acis and Galatea with Radio Kamer Filharmonie and Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin in Macau, world premieres at Carnegie Hall, and performances with Dawn Upshaw at the Cartagena International Music Festival. 

A frequent collaborator with choreographer Mark Morris, Van Doren also performed at Africa’s Essaouira World Music Festival with Hassan Hakmoun. Born in Moscow and raised in the United States, she studied at the New England Conservatory and Bard College Conservatory, supported by Soros and Beebe Fellowships. She is also an author and founder of a holistic wellness brand. 

Danielle Reutter-Harrah, soprano

American soprano Danielle Reutter-Harrah earned her Bachelor of Music from the University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music and her Master of Music from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Known for her “youthful and light timbre” (Classical Voice North America) and “compassionate calm and warm, glowing tone” (Boston Globe), she is a sought-after performer of Baroque, classical, and contemporary repertoire. 

She has appeared with the Boston Early Music Festival, American Bach Soloists, Seattle Symphony, Early Music Vancouver, California Bach Choir, Alabama Symphony, and more. She is a founding member of the duo Jarring Sounds, releasing a self-titled album in 2012, and appears on a 2015 recording of Haydn’s Nelson Mass with the Stanford Chorale. 

Notable roles include the Sorceress in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Melanto in Monteverdi’s Ulisse, and Ruggiero in Handel’s Alcina. She has performed in J.S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion and Magnificat with leading ensembles across North America. She currently freelances in Seattle and resides in Edmonds, Washington. 

Sara Couden, alto

Praised for her “unusually rich and resonant voice” (Opera News), Contralto Sara Couden is a sought-after interpreter of opera, concert, and song repertoire. 

In 2024, her engagements include Baba the Turk with Lakes Area Music Festival and her San Francisco Opera debut as Rita in The Handmaid’s Tale (also covering Serena Joy). Concert appearances feature Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Seattle Symphony, Mass in B Minor with Santa Cruz Symphony, Duruflé’s Requiem with Berkeley Community Chorus and Orchestra, and art songs with Jenny Lin and Philip Setzer at the Manchester Music Festival. 

Recent seasons saw Couden as Ottavia in L’incoronazione di Poppea, Catiscià in Il Ducato, and Osmiro in Olimpia vendicata, as well as alto soloist in Mozart’s Requiem, Alma Mahler’s Five Songs, and Messiah with major U.S. orchestras. She has debuted at the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Symphony, and Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, toured Japan with Masaaki Suzuki, and completed the Lindemann Young Artist Program at the Met. Couden holds an MM in Opera from San Francisco Conservatory and an AD from Yale Institute of Sacred Music.  

James Reese, tenor

Tenor James Reese sings with a voice The Washington Post calls “bright, agile, and full of heart.” Acclaimed for his emotional immediacy in repertoire from Bach to contemporary music, he has quickly established himself as a compelling soloist and ensemble singer. 

In 2025–26, Reese performed Messiah with the Kansas City and Baltimore orchestras, St. Thomas Fifth Avenue (NYC), and the Apollo Chorus of Chicago; gave recitals with soprano Maya Kherani at Opera Lafayette; celebrated Bach with Tafelmusik alongside Myriam LeBlanc; and presented recitals with lutenist Brandon Acker. He also recorded and premiered Gregory W. Brown’s Rural Hours with the Apple Hill String Quartet. 

A noted interpreter of early music, he has been praised as “splendid” (San Francisco Chronicle) and “captivating” (Broad Street Review). An advocate for new music, Reese has premiered works by Daron Hagen, Gregory W. Brown, Reena Esmail, and James Primosch, and performs with leading ensembles including Tenebrae, Blue Heron, Seraphic Fire, and The Crossing, with whom he won a GRAMMY. Reese holds degrees from Northwestern University and Yale School of Music. 

Sumner Thompson, baritone

Sumner Thompson is widely regarded as one of the finest interpreters of concert repertoire of his generation, and performs repertoire ranging from medieval to modern, with special emphasis on the musics of J.S. Bach, Benjamin Britten, and Claudio Monteverdi.

He has appeared in North and South America, Europe, and Asia with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Tafelmusik, the Handel & Haydn Society, Blue Heron, Gli Angeli Geneve, L’Harmonie des Saisons, the Boston Early Music Festival, Theatre of Voices, the Hague Philharmonic, the symphonies of Charlotte, Victoria, Memphis, and Indianapolis, Bach Collegium San Diego, Pacific Baroque Orchestra, Boston Baroque, Rosa Barocca, and the Portland Baroque Orchestra, among many others.

On the operatic stage he has appeared as Dr. Caius in Vaughan Williams’ “Sir John in Love” with Odyssey Opera, The Count in “Le Nozze di Figaro” with the Commonwealth Opera, the title role in Monteverdi’s “L’Orfeo” with Contemporary Opera Denmark, and as El Dancairo in “Carmen” with the Cincinnati Opera.

As a bassist and vocalist he has appeared on many projects including the album “In Motian” by avant-garde jazz bassist Andrew Dow, “Dhara” by Evren Ozan, and “Poesia” with Ghost Circle.

He also appears regularly with Singularity, a musicians collective dedicated to the art of improvised live music.

He is also an avid instrument builder, specializing in electric bass guitars.

Vancouver Chamber Choir

Artistic Director Kari Turunen began leading the Vancouver Chamber Choir — Canada’s longest-running professional choir — in September 2019, its 49^th concert season.

Jon Washburn founded the choir in 1971 and it has become an amazing success story, ranking with the handful of North America’s best professional choruses and noted for its diverse repertoire and performing excellence. The choir has presented concerts to audiences at home in Vancouver and on tour across Canada. International excursions have taken the them to the USA, Mexico, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Finland, France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Ukraine.

Honoured with the Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence by Chorus America, the choir has performed countless concerts and broadcasts, released 36 recordings and received numerous awards. Foremost supporters of Canadian music, they are responsible for commissions and premieres of 334 choral works by 145 composers and arrangers, most of whom are Canadian. Over the years the choir has sung over 4,000 performances of works by Canadian composers, in addition to their extensive international repertoire.

The choir’s award-winning educational programs include the Conductors’ Symposium for advanced choral conductors, Interplay interactive workshops for choral composers, Focus professional development program for student singers, OnSite visitations for school choirs, the biennial Young Composers’ Competition, and many on-tour workshops and residencies.