06/20/2026
Charles Blandy, tenor. Charles Blandy has been praised as “a versatile tenor with agility, endless breath, and vigorous high notes" (Goldberg); “breathtaking” (Boston Globe); “fearless” (New York Times). He made his Boston Symphony Orchestra and Carnegie Hall debut in Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk. He has sung works of Bach at BachFest Leipzig with Emmanuel Music; with Orchestra Iowa, American Bach Soloists (SF), the Bach Choir of Bethlehem, and American Classical Orchestra (NYC). With Emmanuel Music he has also performed lead roles in Stravinsky’s Rake’s Progress; Britten’s St. Nicolas, and Mozart’s Abduction from the Seraglio. Other appearances include Tanglewood Festival of Contemporary Music, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Portland Baroque Orchestra, Boston Early Music Festival, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Upper Valley Baroque, and Handel and Haydn Society. He studied at Tanglewood, Indiana University, and Oberlin College. He is originally from Troy NY.
Julie Bowdren Biffle, originally from Kittery, Maine, is a soprano whose work spans early music, major choral repertoire, and contemporary chamber music. She performs with professional ensembles throughout the United States, with appearances across Texas, the Midwest, and New England, including Verdigris Ensemble, Orpheus Chamber Singers, Dallas Chamber Choir, Orchestra of New Spain, Kentucky Bach Choir, Vox Seraphim, Vermont Chamber Artists, and Zenith Ensemble. Selected performances as soprano soloist include Mozart’s Requiem, Vivaldi’s Gloria and Magnificat, Monteverdi’s Magnificat a 6, Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, Carissimi’s Jephte, Schütz’s Musikalische Exequien, Howells’ Requiem, and Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb. In contemporary repertoire, she has appeared as soprano soloist with Verdigris Ensemble in Anthony Maglione’s Dust Bowl, Nicholas Reeve’s Betty’s Notebook, Sarah Kirkland’s Mass for the Endangered, and Sahba Aminikia’s award-winning SHAMS.As a poet, Julie was commissioned by composer Mari Esabel Valverde to write an original text for a new choral work premiering at BLINK in October 2026. Her poetry has also been featured in new works premiered by loadbang and Quince Ensemble.
