Sumner Thompson, baritone

Described as possessing “power and passion,” and “stylish elegance,” baritone Sumner Thompson is in high demand on the concert and opera stage across North America and Europe. He has appeared as a soloist with many leading ensembles and orchestras, including the Britten-Pears Orchestra, the Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra, Apollo’s Fire, Pacific Baroque Orchestra, Portland Baroque Orchestra, The Handel and Haydn Society, Tafelmusik, and Gli Angeli Genève.

Recent engagements include a repeat performance of Handel’s Messiah with Boston’s Handel and Haydn Society (hear an excerpt here) and performances of Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers with the critically acclaimed Green Mountain Project, Britten’s War Requiem with the Boston Philharmonic, Bach’s St. John Passion at the National Cathedral, the title role in Britten’s Saint Nicolas with Philadelphia Choral Arts, and a Venetian Christmas Program for Early Music Vancouver at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts.

Mr. Thompson can be heard on the Boston Early Music Festival’s Grammy-nominated recording of Lully’s Psyché on the CPO label, with the Handel and Haydn Society on their recording of Handel’s Messiah on the Coro label, and also with Les Voix Baroques on “Canticum Canticorum,” “Carissimi Oratorios,” and “Humori,” all on the ATMA label.

Mark Bonney, tenor

British-American tenor Mark Bonney performs internationally. He is in Glasgow this 2020-2021 season, where he is completing the Advanced Opera Course at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Recent roles have included Tamino in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte (Berlin Opera Academy), Count Barigoule in Pauline Viardot’s Cendrillon (Wexford Opera Festival), Jonathan in Handel’s Saul with Laurence Cummings (Dartington International Festival), the Evangelist in Bach’s St. John Passion (Amsterdam), the title role in Handel’s Jephtha (Iford Arts & Bath Choral Society) and Paolino in Cimarosa’s Il Matrimonio Segreto (Pop-up Opera).

In addition to his work as a soloist, Mark has performed in the chorus at Opera Holland Park, Wexford Festival Opera, Bury Court Opera, Iford Arts, with the Monteverdi Choir, and with Barbara Hannigan at the Aldeburgh Festival. He is often invited to perform with leading ensembles including the Gabrieli Consort, Britten Sinfonia and Le Concert d’Astrée.

Mark grew up in San Francisco. Before embarking on his career as a classical singer, Mark worked in socio-economic development in Egypt—before, during, and after the Arab Spring. In addition to a masters in music from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, he holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Stanford University. He also studied at the Berlin Opera Academy, the Franz Schubert Institute and the American Institute of Musical Studies.

Nalini Ghuman, soprano, and Paul Flight, countertenor

Our artistic director Dr. Paul Flight and his wife, Dr. Nalini Ghuman, will be joining from their home in the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition to leading the workshop and supporting the “practice” sessions with expert live piano accompaniment, Paul and Nalini will delight us with the soprano-alto duet, sung live from their home. As many of our patrons know, Paul Flight is an accomplished countertenor. Find his biography here.

Nalini Ghuman is a professor of music at Mills College, as well as a highly regarded pianist, accompanist, and soprano. Nalini was a choral scholar at The Queen’s College, Oxford, and sang on the choir’s first, critically acclaimed, CD recording of the music of Howells and Leighton. She has also sung and performed solos with The Oxford Chamber Choir, the UC Berkeley Chamber Choir (Schütz’s Musikalische Exequien), the University Chorus at UC Berkeley (Kodály’s Missa Brevis), and Schola Cantorum San Francisco. With California Bach Society, she appeared in performances of Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610, Schütz’s Symphoniae Sacrae, Buxtehude’s Membra Jesu Nostri, and Rosenmüller’s Weihnachtshistorie. Nalini holds an MMus in Historical Musicology from King's College, London, an MA in Music from Queen’s College, Oxford, and a PhD in History and Literature of Music, and Ethnomusicology from UC Berkeley. Since the birth of their son, Nalini feels most comfortable singing lullabies and folk songs in her native Welsh language, but is happy to step up!

Nalini and Paul met making music together at UC Berkeley when Paul was directing the top choral ensembles and Nalini was the accompanist and conducting assistant. On any given day they can be heard singing canons, improvised domestic ditties, and children’s songs together with their young son.

REGISTER FOR OUR WORKSHOP HERE