Guest Artists

Tharanga Goonetilleke, soprano

Tharanga Goonetilleke, a native of Sri Lanka, gave her solo debut in 1998 with The Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka. She has performed in leading operatic roles ranging from Offenbach's Orfée aux Enfers to Mozart's The Magic Flute to Verdi's Falstaff. Her solo appearances includes a broad range of contemporary repertoire, including Carmina Burana by Carl Orff, The War Requiem by Solbong Kim and In Sweet Music by William Schumann.

Ms. Goonetilleke was a winner of the 2003 Palmetto Opera Competition as well numerous state and regional competitions of the National Association of Teachers of Singing. She is the 1997 recipient of the Trinity College of Music's Yamaha Trophy, Performance Certificate and Certificate for Special Achievements. After receiving her Bachelor of Music from Converse College in South Carolina, Ms. Goonetilleke studied with Marlena Malas at The Juilliard School, where she received a Master of Music in Voice and Opera. She also earned an Artist Diploma in Opera Studies from The Juilliard Opera Center, and is an Associate of the Trinity College of Music in London.

This summer Ms. Goonetilleke is performing in Puccini's Il Trittico with the Castleton Festival under the direction of Maestro Lorin Maazel, as well as the role of Mimi in La Boheme at the Aspen Music Festival. She has been invited to be on the roster of New York City Opera starting this fall.

Jonathan Yates, conductor

Jonathan Yates has earned high praise as a conductor, solo pianist and collaborative artist for his musicianship, intellect and the remarkable variety of his musical endeavors. He made his professional orchestral conducting debut at 23, leading the National Symphony Orchestra in a Millennium Stages Concert. The following year he made his Carnegie Hall debut as a participant in the Isaac Stern Chamber Music Workshop. He has also been heard as a chamber musician at the 92nd Street Y, Miller Theater, Bargemusic and Merkin Hall, as well as at the Caramoor Festival and on the Ravinia Festival Rising Stars Series. He has performed as a concerto soloist with orchestras in North America, Europe and Asia, and has given solo recitals for the La Jolla Music Society, at the National Museum of American History (on fortepiano), and on the University of Chicago Concert Series. He served as Apprentice Conductor of the Chicago Youth Symphony, and for two years as Music Director of the Harvard University Bach Society Orchestra. As a past and founding member of the Amelia Piano Trio, he was presented by Isaac Stern in Weill Recital Hall and at Hill Auditorium at the University of Michigan, and was a finalist for the Walter F. Naumburg Chamber Music Prize. He can be heard in chamber music of Hindemith on Cedille Records.

Jonathan is becoming increasingly sought after for his operatic work. He conducted the world premiere of Michael Webster's Hell at Performance Space 122, and Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice and Paride ed Elena at the California Music Festival. He also led the world premiere of the first act of Adam Silverman's Korczak's Orphans at the Austrian Cultural Forum. He teaches French, German and Italian vocal diction at Sarah Lawrence College, and worked for two years as an accompanist at the Lyric Opera Center for American Artists. As an ardent devotee of new music, he has been involved in numerous premieres, was the recipient of an ASCAP award for adventurous programming, and participated as a pianist and conductor in Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble Tanglewood Workshops. Yates received his Graduate Diploma in conducting from the Juilliard School, where he studied with James DePreist and Otto-Werner Mueller, and was the holder of the Bruno Walter Memorial Scholarship. He received his Masters. of Music from State University of New York, where he worked with Gilbert Kalish, and his Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University, where he studied with Robert Levin. He currently serves as conductor of the Sarah Lawrence College Orchestra.