BWV 111, / Was mein Gott will, das g’scheh allzeit

Maria Rist is the Director of Sacred Music at the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul in Chattanooga, where she established the Gloria Dei Schola and the Jubilate Deo Youth Schola. Her focus of study is early music from Gregorian chant to Baroque oratorio. A founding member of Knoxville’s Harmonia Vocal Quartet and a frequent recitalist with the Knoxville Early Music Project, Maria performed with the Knoxville Choral Society and the Knoxville Chamber Chorale for over a decade, and she has also sung with the Tennessee Chamber Chorus. Maria has performed as a soprano soloist in choral works that span the history of Western religious music, from J. S. Bach to John Rutter. She is delighted to return as a guest soloist with the Chattanooga Bach Choir. Maria lives in Chattanooga with her husband, Bo, and their two daughters, Elena and Silvia.

Sara Snider Schone holds a degree in bassoon performance but is most regularly seen onstage as a lyric mezzo. She is a frequent soloist for concert and oratorio works across the Southeast in works such as Handel’s Messiah, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Mozart’s Coronation Mass, and Mozart’s Mass in C Minor. Her true passion is for opera, with recent roles as Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, and the Secretary in The Consul. Sara is a champion for new works and has most recently been involved with Tim Hinck’s Cardboard Opera, which was created and performed at Walker State Prison in January 2023. Sara Snider Schone is the Founder and Artistic Director for Opera Tennessee, which produces both full operas and the open mic series Divas and Drinks. She is Executive Director for the Chattanooga Girls Choir and in her spare time enjoys working with The Chattanooga Music Club, Chorus Angelorum, Symphonic Tales, and Scenic City Bassoon Ensemble in various capacities. Sara lives in Chattanooga with her German Shepherd mix appropriately named Figaro.

American tenor Christopher Tenor Christopher Reames enjoys an engaging career as a concert artist and recitalist. He is a recent finalist in national competitions with the Joy in Singing, NY Oratorio Society, Art Song Preservation Society of NY, and NATS organizations. Christopher has performed operatic roles in Oberon, Lucia di Lammermoor, The Turn of the Screw, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Zaide, and Die Zauberflöte. Concert performances include The Creation, Elijah, Messiah, J. S. Bach’s Magnificat, Christmas Oratorio, St. John and St. Matthew Passions, as well as several sacred cantatas, often with the Chattanooga Bach Choir. Christopher is a former fellowship recipient at the Tanglewood and Aspen Music Festivals. Visit christopherreames.com for more.

Matthew Hoch, bass, is professor of voice at Auburn University. His professional oratorio experience includes many works by J. S. Bach—including the B Minor Mass, St Matthew Passion, St John Passion, and Christmas Oratorio — Haydn’s Paukenmesse, Mozart’s Coronation Mass, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem, Fauré’s Requiem, Duruflé’s Requiem, Puccini’s Messa di Gloria, Vaughan Williams’s Five Mystical Songs, Fantasia on Christmas Carols, and Dona Nobis Pacem, Stainer’s Crucifixion, Dubois’ Seven Last Words of Christ, Maunder’s Olivet to Calvary, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, Dvořák’s Te Deum, Saint-Saëns’ Oratorio de Noël, and Orff’s Carmina Burana. He is the author or editor of nine books and has published numerous articles in professional and academic journals. In addition to his academic life, Dr. Hoch serves as choirmaster and minister of music at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Auburn, Alabama. He holds the BM from Ithaca College, MM from the Hartt School, and DMA from the New England Conservatory.