From a competitive field of nearly 50 applicants, Berkshire Choral International is pleased to present our 2022 class of Choral Apprentices. These outstanding young artists are undergraduate or graduate students with their sights set on careers as conductors, vocal soloists, or educators. During their all-expense paid apprenticeship with BCI, they will not only sing the repertoire of the week with our choristers, but also coach and study with our vocal faculty and conducting staff. This program is made possible by generous gifts from BCI’s singers and supporters.
Sadie Cheslak, mezzo-soprano, holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Concordia College and a Master of Music in Voice Performance and Literature from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Soprano Allison Yablonski is a vocal performance student at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia and serves as Conducting Assistant for VCU Commonwealth Singers and Choral Arts Society.
Ryan Rogers graduated from the University of Houston Moores School of Music, majoring in Piano Performance and Choral Music Education. He is pursuing a Masters of Music in Choral Conducting at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music.
John Verkuilen is a DMA candidate in Choral Conducting at the Manhattan School of Music and the Assistant Conductor of the Oratorio Society of New York. He holds degrees from The Boston Conservatory (MM) and Macalester College (BA).
Conductor, composer, pianist, and vocalist Yiran Zhao is a candidate for the Master of Music in Choral Conducting at Yale School of Music. She holds a Bachelor of Music Degree in Piano and Theory & Composition from Westminster Choir College.
Contralto Hanna Yiu has sung for Helmuth Rilling, Vladimir Jurowski, and Kent Tritle. She holds her undergraduate degree from Manhattan School of Music and is completing her Masters at The Hartt School, University of Hartford.
Gil Wermeling is a student of choral conducting in the studio of Dr. Tony Thornton at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He previously completed B.A.s in Music and Biology (he likes plants a lot) at Amherst College.
Sergey Tkachenko is working on his Masters degree in Choral Conducting at Indiana University, Jacobs School of Music. He received his Bachelor of Music Education from Westminster Choir College. A collaborative pianist and chamber musician, Sergey coaches ensembles in Russian and Ukrainian diction.
Grace Ellen Thompson is a soprano originally from Boston and currently living in Chicago. She holds degrees in Voice Performance from Ohio Wesleyan University and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Claire Burreson is a soprano currently studying Voice Performance at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee. She is from Seattle where she was a member of Seattle Opera’s Teen Vocal Studio and Youth Opera Project. Claire recently earned first place in the NATS Boston Auditions,
Holding degrees in Vocal Arts from USC and Choral Conducting from Yale University, Nate Widelitz was also a Fulbright Scholar to Bulgaria. Following a successful tenure as Assistant Conductor of Pacific Chorale, he returned to Yale to pursue his DMA degree in Choral Conducting.
Isiah Maxey is an Albert C. Yates Fellow at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where he studies Choral Conducting with Joe Miller and Brett Scott. He was most recently a 2022 Vocal Fellow with the D.C.-based professional ensemble, The Thirteen.
