Christianne Rushton
Mezzo-soprano Christianne Rushton has delighted audiences with her engaging presence and versatility on both the operatic and concert stages.

Highlights from recent seasons include a return engagement with both Symphony Nova Scotia and the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra in performances of Bach’s B Minor Mass, Mozart’s Requiem, and Handel’s Messiah.

She also made a recent guest appearance, recording, and tour with the Canadian Chamber Choir as soloist in their world premiere of Jeff Enns’ At Sunset.

Highlights of Christianne’s numerous operatic roles have included, Orpheus in Orpheus ed Euridice (Opera Nova Scotia), the title role in Ravel’s L’Enfant et les Sortilèges (Juilliard Opera Center), Cherubino in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro (Opera North), and Filotete in the North American premiere and Italian revival (Spoleto) of Handel’s Oreste (Juilliard Opera Center).

Christianne is a past first prize winner of the Canadian Music Festival, a second prize winner of the prestigious Eckhardt-Gramatté Competition, a two-time grant recipient from the Canada Council for the Performing Arts, and a winner of the Canada Council’s Bernard Diamant Prize in Voice. In recital, she has performed as guest artist for the Royal Society of Canada, toured with Debut Atlantic, sung at the Indian River Festival, and performed at New York’s Alice Tully Hall.

Christianne is Assistant Professor at Acadia University where she is head of vocal studies. At Acadia, she has performed with the University Chorus in Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, with the Shattering the Silence music festival, and with the annual Tom Regan Memorial Concert. Christianne recently completed her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from SUNY Stony Brook.

Jason Robert Davis
Canadian dramatic tenor Jason Robert Davis is rapidly establishing himself as one of Canada’s brightest prospective tenor stars. He has been hailed by critics as "truly a fine tenor" and "one of the most exciting new voices of his generation" possessing a voice of "tremendous beauty, color and power".

His recent concert performances have included Haydn’s Mass in the Time of War (Paukenmesse) (Farmington Valley Orchestra), Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis (Dalhousie Orchestra), Bach’s Christmas Oratorio (Coro Collegium), Vaughn William’s Four Hymns (Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra) and Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion (Kings Chapel Choir).

Jason’s operatic performances have included roles with Opera New Hampshire, Opera Connecticut, The Opera Theater of Connecticut and Opera New Jersey.

Some highlights from recent seasons have included the roles of Soliman in Zaide (Opera Nova Scotia) Tamino in Die Zauberflöte (Opera New Brunswick) and Idomeneo in Idomeneo (Opera Nova Scotia) in which Daphna Levit of Opera Canada Magazine wrote "A powerful tenor, Jason Robert Davis sang the role of Idomeneo beautifully, convincing in his despair".

Along with his busy performing schedule Jason continues to maintain an active teaching schedule both privately and at the Maritime Conservatory where a number of his students have recently gone on to pursue national and international studies in music and voice.

Simon Docking
One of Atlantic Canada’s most visible musicians, Australian-born pianist Simon Docking has performed both as a soloist and chamber musician throughout North America, as well as in Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Europe.

Simon has appeared as a soloist for Toronto’s Soundstreams, the Winnipeg New Music Festival, the Scotia Festival of Music, Australia’s Aurora Festival, the new music group Stroma in New Zealand, the MATA Festival in New York, and with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, the Toronto Philharmonia and the Toronto Wind Orchestra.

His 2008 performance of Messiaen’s epic cycle Catalogue d’Oiseaux at the Scotia Festival was described in the Chronicle Herald as "Herculean… a tour de force".

Simon has often been heard on CBC Radio Two’s Two New Hours, The Signal, and Concerts on Demand. Internationally his performances have been broadcast on ABC Classic FM (Australia), Swedish Radio, and Radio New Zealand.

Active as a chamber musician, Simon has been a founding member of several ensembles, including the Toronto-based group Toca Loca, with pianist Gregory Oh and percussionist Aiyun Huang. Toca Loca has been presented by nearly every new music series in Canada from St John’s to Vancouver, as well as appearances in New York, California and Berlin. They recently released two CDs: P*P (2009) and SHED (2010)

Simon studied piano in Australia with Ransford Elsley, and holds a doctorate in piano performance from SUNY Stony Brook, where he worked with Gilbert Kalish, and upon graduation was awarded New York State’s Thayer Fellowship for the Arts.