“Angelic” is the word most often used to describe the silvery, pure, sweet tone of Esther Heideman’s voice.  A winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the Lucia Albanese Competition, Esther Heideman continues to impress audiences around the world with her dynamic stage presence.  Ms. Heideman has even been described as having Stradivarius vocal cords. 

Esther took her first voice lesson when she was 18 and already attending college.  Her passion for performing emerged quickly, and she has dedicated her life to it ever since. In 2001, she made her Metropolitan Opera debut singing Pamina in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte.  That performance was immediately followed by her debut with the New York Philharmonic, and her European debut with the Prague Radio Symphony.

Ms. Heideman’s career began with the Minnesota Orchestra, where she sang in more than 20 concerts.  She moved to NYC and the very next day received word she was scheduled to make her Carnegie Hall debut, singing Handel’s Messiah.  Since this time, she has performed with major orchestras throughout world, such as the Baltimore Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Philadelphia Pops, Daejeon Philharmonic Orchestra, Beijing New Music Ensemble, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Aspen Music Festival, Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Jacksonville Symphony, National Philharmonic, Buffalo Philharmonic, Milwaukee Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Boston Baroque, Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra, Orquestra Simfònica del Gran Teatre del Liceu, the U.S. Naval Academy, and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. 

In addition to performing the staples of traditional concert repertoire, such as Beethoven’s Symphony # 9, Mahler’s Symphony #4, Mozart’s C minor Mass, Handel’s Messiah and Orff’s Carmina Burana, Esther Heideman has featured prominently in the premieres of some of today’s most respected contemporary composers.  These have included the role of Jenny Lind in Libby Larsen’s opera Barnum’s Bird, Sister Angelica in The Three Hermits by Stephen Paulus, Madame V in Casanova by Daniel Schnyder, The Revelation of St. John by Daniel Schnyder, and Deus Passus by Wolfgang Rihm.  Ms. Heideman also performs regularly with the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble, and has sung works by Szymanowski, Schoenberg, Essa-Pekka Salonen, Perrera, Druckman, Ravel, Delage, and Albert, to name a few.

During the 2020 Covid lockdown Esther provided free streamed music for online funerals and services, so families would know the healing power of music. 

Sylvia Leith, mezzo-soprano, is a soloist and consort singer. She has appeared as a soloist with the Baltimore Symphony, Winston-Salem Symphony, Lancaster Symphony, Washington Bach Consort, Oregon Bach Festival, St. Thomas Fifth Avenue, Bach Choir of Bethlehem, American Classical Orchestra, Bach Akademie Charlotte, New York Choral Society, Riverside Choral Society, Cantata Collective, and Baroque Music Montana, among others. Known primarily for her performances of the high baroque works of Bach and Handel, she is equally at home singing repertoire of the Romantic era including Mahler, Elgar, and Brahms, as well as 20th-century and newly composed works. Solo engagements in the 2025–26 season include Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with Washington Bach Consort, Bach’s Magnificat at the Washington National Cathedral, Handel’s Messiah with Tempesta di Mare, a new album recording with ACRONYM, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Great Falls Philharmonic, the modern premiere and recording of Bradbury’s Esther with Dakota Pro Musica, and Bach secular cantatas with Jos van Veldhoven at the Oregon Bach Festival.

Equally dedicated to ensemble singing, Sylvia’s choral credits include Ensemble Altera, Skylark, Seraphic Fire, True Concord, TENET, Lorelei, Bach Collegium San Diego, Ekmeles, the Oregon Bach Festival Chorus, the Crossing, and the Choir of Trinity Wall Street. In 2020 she co-founded the Polyphonists, a versatile vocal quartet, alongside her husband, bass-baritone Edmund Milly.

Her operatic roles include Nerone in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea, the title role in Handel’s Giulio Cesare in Egitto, Hänsel in Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel, and Nancy in Britten’s Albert Herring.

Sylvia won first prize in the 2024 Bethlehem Bach Aria Competition, and was a 2024 Virginia Best Adams vocal fellow at the Carmel Bach Festival. She holds a bachelor’s degree in German from Yale and a master’s in Voice from Boston University.

Bradley King is quickly establishing himself as one of the most versatile young singers on the East coast. As an early-music tenor, he has performed with the Boston Early Music Festival, the Rose Ensemble, the renowned renaissance vocal ensemble Pomerium, and the period ensemble Mountainside Baroque (Maryland), among others. He joined the Apollo’s Fire chorus in 2021 for Messiah performances in collaboration with the New York Philharmonic. On the opera and musical theatre stage, he has performed diverse roles ranging from Colin in the 18th-century opera Le Devin du Village by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, to Anthony in Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd. Bradley holds degrees in vocal performance and choral conducting from DePauw University and the University of North Texas.

Bass-Baritone Edmund Milly is sought after for his “annunciatory power” (New York Times), “perfect diction” (Los Angeles Times), and distinctive “delicacy and personal warmth” (Boston Classical Review). This season saw his solo debuts with the Baltimore Symphony (in Stravinsky’s Renard) and the Lancaster Symphony (in Handel’s Messiah). Other recent solo engagements include Britten’s War Requiem with the Yale Symphony, Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with the Washington Bach Consort, Haydn’s Creation with Princeton Pro Musica, and Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs with the Baltimore Choral Arts Society. In 2024 he was nominated for a GRAMMY award as a soloist on Benedict Sheehan’s Akathist.

Edmund’s education began with cello lessons at age 3 and continued at the American Boychoir School, where he became steeped in the concert repertoire while singing under conductors such as Seiji Ozawa, Kurt Masur, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, and André Previn. Edmund holds degrees from McGill University and the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, where he studied with James Taylor.

Since his Lincoln Center debut as Jesus in Bach’s St. John Passion with Yale Schola Cantorum led by Masaaki Suzuki, Edmund has been frequently engaged as a soloist in Bach’s Passion settings, with performances at the Oregon Bach Festival, Bach Akademie Charlotte, Trinity Wall Street, and the Staunton Music Festival. He has also performed over 100 of Bach’s cantatas. Edmund “stole the show” (Seen and Heard International) in his Bachfest Leipzig debut in 2024, and cherishes his work with many of the organizations around the country committed to bringing Bach’s music to life, including the Bach Choir of Bethlehem, Gamut Bach Ensemble, and Cantata Collective.

A veteran of the U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own,” Edmund has been a soloist at the White House, the Pentagon, and the U.S. Supreme Court. His recorded work includes solo credits on the BBC and CBC, and appearances on several GRAMMY-nominated albums. Edmund often performs alongside his wife, mezzo-soprano Sylvia Leith, including in their work with the Polyphonists, a vocal quartet they co-founded which recently made its Lincoln Center debut in Richard Einhorn’s Voices of Light.