Artists

Ben Matus

Caroline Nicolas

Kevin Payne

Alyssa Weathersby

With an eclectic repertory that spans from the Middle Ages to the 21st century, acclaimed cellist/gambist Caroline Nicolas enjoys an active and multifaceted career as one of the outstanding performers in her field. Noted for her “eloquent artistry and rich, vibrant sound” (Gainesville Times), she has been praised as “one of the finest gambists working today” (Gotham Early Music Scene). She regularly appears with leading ensembles as soloist, chamber musician, and music director, bringing her unique ability to combine emotionally rich interpretations with a historically inquisitive spirit.

Ensembles she has worked with include the English Concert, Trinity Baroque Orchestra, Mercury Chamber Orchestra, Ars Lyrica Houston, Juilliard Baroque, Harmonia Stellarum, Philharmonia Baroque, Pacific MusicWorks, Kammerorchester Basel, New World Symphony, and Sinfonieorchester Liechtenstein. She recently completed her tenure as music director of New Baroque Orchestra. Festival appearances include the Boston Early Music Festival, Indianapolis Early Music Festival, Bach Festival Leipzig, and Styriarte Festival in Austria. Notable venues include the KKL Luzern, Berliner Philharmonie, Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall, and Benaroya Hall. Her performances have been broadcast on KING FM in Washington, KUHF in Texas, WDIY in Pennsylvania, and CCTV in China. Notable collaborations include such eminent musicians as Andrea Marcon, Amandine Beyer, Kristian Bezuidenhout, Jordi Savall, William Christie, Rachel Podger, Harry Bicket, and Stephen Stubbs.

Recent performances include concerts with Philharmonia Baroque, Tempeste di Mare, the Victoria Symphony, Victoria Baroque, Early Music Access Project, Emerald City Music, Sonnambula, Yale Voxtet, the Sebastians, Teatro Nuovo, Night Music, Twelfth Night, and Parthenia. Her concert with Emerald City Music was listed in the Seattle Times as a top pick for classical music concerts that season.

Notable distinctions include having been selected as a fellow of The English Concert in America, an award given to young musicians “who appear likely to make significant contributions to the field of early music.”  As the winner of The Juilliard School’s Historical Performance concerto competition, she made her solo debut in Alice Tully Hall, New York City. 

A native of Winnipeg, Canada, Caroline was first introduced to the cello as a young child. Too restless to stick with a single steel strung instrument, she pursued early music studies with Phoebe Carrai at The Juilliard School, and with Christophe Coin and Paolo Pandolfo at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel, Switzerland. Caroline resides in New York City.When not performing, she can typically be found occupying herself with reading, chess, crosswords, or watching Star Trek with her husband, lutenist Kevin Payne. More information is available at www.carolinenicolas.com.

Ben Matus enjoys a varied career in music: bringing to life music regardless of whether it was written in the Middle Ages or yesterday.  Ben performs with early music groups on various bassoons, dulcians, shawms, recorders, bagpipes, and whatever instruments he can get his hands on all along the East Coast—including Alkemie Medieval Music Ensemble, New York Baroque Incorporated, Trinity Baroque Orchestra, The Clarion Society, Opera Lafayette, The Washington Bach Consort, The Handel and Haydn Society, Mountainside Baroque, and more.  In addition to his performances in concert halls, Ben plays and sings for the Chivalrous Crickets, a band focused on the folk traditions of the British Isles, America, Canada, and their early music roots.  With Alkemie, Ben recently prepared and recorded the music for the video game Pentiment.  In his spare time Ben can be found attending his friends’ concerts (pandemic permitting), learning new instruments, developing new hobbies, or recording birds deep in the woods.  

Lutenist Kevin Payne is active as a recitalist, accompanist, and continuo player. Recent ensemble work includes performances with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Blue Heron, Handel and Haydn Society, and Bach Collegium San Diego. Festival appearances include Caramoor, Tanglewood, Spoleto, and Newport Classical. Performance venues include Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., the National Concert Hall in Taipei, Taiwan, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and the Festspielhaus in Baden-Baden, Germany. His playing has been broadcast on a number of nationally syndicated radio programs including Sunday Baroque and Performance Today. 

When not performing, Kevin enjoys cooking, reading, watching Star Trek (P’Tach!) and attempting to delay the inevitable (and often imminent) demise of the houseplants he shares with his wife, cellist Caroline Nicolas.

Alyssa Weathersby is a versatile, award-winning vocalist whose “strong soprano voice” delivers performances deemed “an embarrassment of riches” (Jeanné McCartin). Most recently, she joined Trinity Church’s new music ensemble NOVUS in September for their concert Renewal: Undivided , which featured the world premiere of Andrew Yee’s Trans Requiem. Last season, Alyssa performed the role of Healer in the world premiere of Hildegard, Reborn with the NYPL at the Lincoln Center, as well as the role of Nature in Early Music Access Project’s regional premiere of James Shirley and John Locke’s Cupid & Death at the famed Blackfriars Playhouse, where she previously starred as Venus in their production of Venus & Adonis in 2022.

As a collaborator with Alkemie, Alyssa joined the Verdant Medicine tour in 2022, and she sang the role of Narrator in Markaris’ world premier of Tam Lin at the Five Boroughs Music Festival in 2021. She has also been heard as a soprano soloist singing new music with Theotokos at St. Mary’s on Grand St. and at Trinity Church Boston in their Messiah and Saint Andrew’s Singer Series. 

Favorite and notable roles in opera and musical theatre include Morgana (Alcina), Blanche (Jane Eyre), Blondchen (Die Entführung aus dem Serail), Alice and Comtesse Adele u/s (Le Comte Ory), Sibella and Phoebe u/s (Gentleman’s Guide), Cunegonde u/s (Candide), Elizabeth (Second Nature), Skokànek (Příhody lišky Bystroušky), First Priestess (Iphigénie en Tauride), Fire (u/s) and Nightingale (L’enfent et les Sortilèges), Clorinda (Cinderella), Mrs. Wilkinson u/s and Dance Captain (Billy Elliot), and Second Lady (Die Zauberflöte).

In 2022, Alyssa placed in the Quarterfinals of the prestigious American Traditions Competition for multi-genre vocalists. She received an honorable mention in the 34th Annual Young Texas Artists Music Competition in the classical voice division. After winning the Collegiate Vocal Competition hosted by the Rhode Island Civic Chorale & Orchestra, Alyssa performed as the soprano soloist in Schubert’s Magnificat and Haydn’s Missa Sancti Gabrielis at the Winner’s Concert. Other soloist performances of major works include Haydn’s Missa Sancti Nicolai and Paukenmesse, and Handel’s Messiah. Alyssa has performed a broad range of choral and symphonic masterworks, and has served as the soprano section leader for the Houston Symphony Orchestra and Mercury Chamber Orchestra. 

“Alyssa is one of those rare humans who does a great number of things at a very high level. She has captivated Early Music Access Project audiences with her acting and sings 17th century music with clarity and ease.” —David McCormick

Learn more about Alyssa and her work as an acclaimed director-choreographer at www.alyssaweathersby.com.