About the Artists

Maurice Cohn, conductor

A two-time recipient of the Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award, Maurice Cohn currently serves as Assistant Conductor for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. He is a regular guest conductor with the Chicago-based contemporary ensemble Zafa Collective and is also the Assistant Conductor of the Aspen Music Festival for the 2022 season.

Recent and upcoming engagements include the Cincinnati Symphony, Utah Symphony, Amarillo Symphony, Colorado Music Festival, Symphoria New York, and the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra. Highlights of last season also include two world premieres, Mason Bates's Philharmonia Fantastique with the DSO, and Liza Sobel’s chamber opera I DID, DID I? with the Zafa Collective. In September 2022, Maurice was a finalist in the Guido Cantelli Conducting Competition, where he received the Orchestra Award.

Maurice spent two summers as a conducting fellow at the Aspen Music Festival, where he received the Robert J. Harth Conducting Prize (2019) and the Aspen Conducting Prize (2021). He recently received an M.M. from the Eastman School of Music, where he worked frequently with the Eastman orchestras and OSSIA New Music Ensemble. He holds a B.M. in cello performance from Oberlin Conservatory and a B.A. from Oberlin College, where he studied history and mathematics. When not conducting or playing cello, you can find him reading mystery novels, playing tennis, or continually searching for the best podcast app.

Chanáe Curtis, soprano

American soprano Chanáe Curtis made her debut at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, singing the role of Curra in Verdi’s La forza del destino and she recently returned to Welsh National Opera to perform the roles of Bridget/Emelda in Will Todd’s ambitious new opera Migrations. She made her debut in Jeanine Tesori’s Blue at English National Opera.

In 2022, Chanáe made two role debuts, as Violetta in Wolf Trap Opera's production of La Traviata and Nedda in I Pagliacci with Memphis Opera. She also returned to the Metropolitan Opera to perform the roles of Countess Ceprano in Rigoletto, and 2nd Pit Singer in Hamlet having made her house debut there during the 2019/20 season as Annie and cover Lily in Porgy & Bess.

Concert highlights include Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with Orchestre Nationale de Bretagne in Rennes, a performance of Strauss’s Four Last Songs at St. David’s Hall, as well as a guest appearance at Buckingham Palace, performing for His Royal Highness, King Charles III. She also created and performed a recording of an original sound work to accompany an exhibition celebrating the life and work of the artist Gwen John.

Chanáe holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Ashland University, a Master of Music from the Manhattan School of Music, and a Master of Arts in Opera, with distinction, from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.