For our final event of the season, we will host our annual Bach competition for young artists on May 17th, 2025. Seven finalists have been invited to travel to Colorado and participate in the competition concert. Upon arrival, the soloists will sing Bach’s beloved arias from other cantatas and large works. At the conclusion of the concert, judges will select one first prize winner and one runner-up. The winner and runner-up will receive cash prizes, and each competitor will have an opportunity to perform with CBE in future seasons at the discretion of the Artistic Director. We invite you to join us for this special concert, followed by a reception to show appreciation for our loyal supporters.

Meet the Finalists

Soprano Isabel Barbato • Soprano Kristina Butler • Mezzo Soprano Jeannette Lee • Soprano Sua Lee • Mezzo Soprano Janae Peterson • Baritone Christopher Short • Soprano Maura Tuffy

Isabel Barbato, soprano, is currently pursuing a Master of Music at the Institute of Sacred Music at Yale, where she is a member of the Yale Voxtet Ensemble. A native Floridian, Izzy recently graduated summa cum laude from Stetson University, where she studied a diverse repertoire of music, including classical opera, Baroque concert repertoire, musical theatre, and new music composed by her own peers. Izzy also has a passion for leadership and education in the arts. She is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honor Society and has been teaching voice since she was in high school, both privately and in co-directing many Jr. musicals. She spends her summers as an activity director at the Oregon Bach Festival, where she finds new musical inspiration each year. In her free time, Izzy enjoys reading and writing, spending quality time with her family and friends (usually somewhere outdoors), cooking all sorts of experimental dishes, and practicing yoga and meditation.

Kristina Butler, soprano, is a 2025 graduate of the University of Colorado in Boulder with a Master’s degree in Vocal Performance. While at CU, she appeared as Lady Valerie in Cabildo, Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel, Edith in Pirates of Penzance (2025), was a Graduate Division Finalist for the 2024 Concerto Competition, and was selected to sing for CU NOW’s 2024 Composer Fellows’ Initiative. Last summer, Kristina was a Festival Singer with the Berlin Opera Academy where she role-studied Pamina (Die Zauberflöte) and appeared as Lay Conversa in Suor Angelica. Other operatic roles include Ida in Die Fledermaus, Littler Daughter in Proving Up, Billie Jean King in Balls, and Nella (cover) in Gianni Schicchi. Kristina is a 2021 recipient of the Fulbright Research Grant to Ecuador, where she produced a new music album, Sueños de Zazá, alongside collaborators at the Universidad de las Artes in Guayaquil.

Lauded by the Boston Musical Intelligencer for her “warm mezzo tone”, Hong Kong mezzo-soprano Jeannette Lee is a sought-after versatile performer who has been a prizewinner at Concurso Internacional de Canto Linus Lerner, the William C. Byrd Young Artist Competition, and the George Shirley Vocal Competition. She has appeared as a soloist in Bach’s Mass in B minor and Cantata BWV70 & 130, Beethoven’s Chorale Fantasy, Handel’s Dixit Dominus and Messiah, Britten’s Cantata Academica, Monteverdi’s Marienvespers, and Osvaldo Golijov’s Oceana. Jeannette is an inaugural member of TENET Trailblazers and will perform at St. Ignatius of Antioch in collaboration with the Juilliard Historical Performance program. This summer, Jeannette will join Teatro Nuovo as a Resident Artist.

Sua Lee, soprano, is currently pursuing a Master of Music degree at the New England Conservatory, studying under Professor Michael Meraw. She completed her undergraduate studies in vocal performance at Yonsei University (Seoul, South Korea) where she built a strong foundation in classical singing. With the support of the Kumho Cultural Foundation, Sua held solo recitals as part of the 14th Annual Kumho Junior Concert Series and the 52nd Kumho Young Artist Series in 2023. That same year, she was awarded a Special Prize at the 16th Gwangju Vocal Competition and won 3rd place at the 36th Lee Dae-Woong Vocal Competition. Sua was also selected as one of the eight Rising Artists by Vocal Art Korea and has since been actively serving as an ambassador for the program, promoting classical music and supporting young artists.

Janae Peterson is a mezzo soprano from De Pere, WI. They are currently pursuing a Masters in Vocal Performance at Boston University’s College of Fine Arts under the tutelage of Dr. Thomas Cannon as well as a certificate in Arts Management at the Boston University Metropolitan College. Recent performances include chorus in Florencia en el Amazonas by Daniel Catán (Boston University, 2025), Idamante in Idomeneo by W.A. Mozart (BU OT Scene Program, 2024) and chorus in the re-discovered opera El Caminante by Eduardo Sánchez de Fuentes. They were featured as the alto soloist while touring in Italy with the Marquette Choral Society under the direction of Dr. Erin Colwitz in 2022, as well as domestic recruitment tours in 2018 and 2020. Upcoming performances include La Conversa II in Suor Angelica, and alto soloist in Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms.

Christopher Short, bass-baritone, is a musician, arts administrator, and teaching artist from Raleigh, North Carolina. He hopes to use music as a bridge to connect people with their surrounding community through artful storytelling in performance, localized philanthropic efforts, arts administration, and educational outreach work. Christopher graduated from the East Carolina University School of Music with a double major in Vocal Performance and Music Theory/Composition. During the 2020-2023 seasons, Short was a member of the US VOCES8 Scholars program and now serves as a teaching artist with the
US VOCES8 Foundation, leading educational workshops nationwide. In addition to performing, Christopher is an active arts administrator, serving as the Executive Director for the Raleigh Youth Choir and as the Executive Director and co-founder of the professional choral ensemble Servire. In his free time, Christopher has a passion for cooking extravagant meals, traveling, spending time with his wife and dog, and watching his favorite sports teams. In addition to performing with Servire, notable recent engagements include performances with Three Notch’d Road, GRAMMY-nominated True Concord Voices & Orchestra, Harmonia Stellarum Houston, the world premiere of Christopher Tin’s The Lost Birds with VOCES8, the Handel and Haydn Society alongside the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center, the VOCES8 Foundation Choir on the LIVE From London series, and as a soloist with the North Carolina Master Chorale and Duke Bach Cantata Series.

Praised for her ability to produce “monumental” work (New Classic LA), conductor and soprano
Maura Tuffy has established herself as a dynamic artistic leader. This season, she made her guest conducting debut with Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity Lutheran NYC. Recently, she conducted the Los Angeles workshop performance of Derrick Skye’s Song of the Ambassadors and two performances of Joby Talbot’s Path of Miracles. The latter earned third place in the 2023–2024 San Francisco Classical Voice Audience Choice Awards: Best Choral Performance in Los Angeles. An avid ensemble singer, Tuffy has appeared with the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Conspirare, Seraphic Fire, Yale Choral Artists, Bach Collegium San Diego, Ensemble Altera, and Cincinnati Vocal Arts Ensemble. She holds two master’s degrees in Choral Conducting from the Yale School of Music and bachelor’s degrees in Vocal Arts and Choral Music from the USC Thornton School of Music. She currently serves as Adjunct Faculty at Fullerton College and Citrus College.