Featured Soloists & Musicians

Kimberly Gunderson

Kimberly Gunderson, soprano, is thrilled to be back
performing with the Elmhurst Choral Union. Making music
as a Chicago-based musician has offered Kimberly many
incredible opportunities to sing with some of the country’s,
if not world’s best musicians. Kimberly made her Chicago
Symphony debut as the soprano soloist in Verdi’s Quattro Pezzi
Sacri under the baton of Maestro Riccardo Muti. Her other
solo appearances include Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Mozart’s Mass in C Minor,
Schubert’s Mass No. 2 in G Major, Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Ravel’s
Sheherazade, Vivaldi’s Gloria, and Fauré’s Requiem. Kimberly has also performed
with many of Chicago’s top ensembles, including the Chicago Symphony Chorus,
the Grant Park Chorus, Music of the Baroque, Chicago Sinfonietta, Bach Week
Festival, the William Ferris Chorale, the morning choir at Fourth Presbyterian
Church, and the chamber ensemble, Mode. Kimberly also enjoys collaborating with
talented musicians all over the city in recitals, new music collaborations, chamber
ensembles, cabarets, and recording projects.

Stacey Eckert

Mezzo-soprano, Stacy Eckert, has performed throughout the
United States and Europe. With a “stunning voice” she brings
“vocal and physical fire” to her performances. Locally, she
has performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Lyric
Opera of Chicago, Music of the Baroque, Chicago Opera
Theatre, Elgin Symphony Orchestra, Evanston Symphony
Orchestra, Midwest Youth Symphony Orchestra, Rockford
Symphony Orchestra, West Suburban Symphony Orchestra, and The Chicago
Ensemble, among others. Ms. Eckert made her Carnegie Hall debut with the
Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Strauss’ Elektra. Her operatic repertoire includes Carmen, Regina, Die Walküre, Cosi fan tutte, and
Cavalleria Rusticana. In concert, she has been in demand as soloist for numerous
works including Verdi’s Messa da Requiem, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, and Mahler’s Symphonies No. 2 and No. 3.

James Judd

James Judd is an active interpreter of concert and stage repertoire. He was born in Unadilla, NY, and currently lives in Chicago, IL. Recent stage credits include Lt. Joseph Cable in Rogers & Hammerstein II’s South Pacific with New Philharmonic, Puccini’s La Bohème with Niagara Arts and Cultural Center, the Midwest premiere of Verdi’s Il Corsaro with Opera Festival of Chicago, Bernstein’s beloved West Side
Story with New Philharmonic, Holiday Pops with Northwest Indiana Symphony,
the WNED-PBS television broadcasts of Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah with Buffalo
Opera Unlimited, and Handel’s Messiah with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.
He also performs with various choral ensembles, including Chicago Symphony
13 Chorus, Grant Park Festival Chorus, and Constellation Men’s Ensemble.
Mr. Judd has held lecturer positions at SUNY Fredonia and Buffalo State College,
and has been a masterclass clinician at SUNY Adirondack, Goshen College, and
Western Carolina University. He also enjoys collaborating with his academic
colleagues in recital, having recently presented the entirety of Schubert’s song cycles
with Joe Dan Harper and Dr. Anne Kissel Harper, and a community outreach series
featuring Barber’s Hermit Songs and several selections by Stephen Sondheim with
Dr. Leonidas Lagrimas. James participated as a Young Artist at the Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute, The American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria, Opera Saratoga, and Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre. He holds an MA in Vocal Performance from The University of Iowa and BM in both Music Education and Vocal Performance from SUNY Fredonia.

David Govertsen

Chicago native, David Govertsen, has been active as a professional singer for nearly twenty years, portraying a wide variety of opera’s low-voiced heroes, villains, and buffoons. Mr. Govertsen has appeared as a soloist with numerous local and regional opera companies, including Lyric Opera of Chicago, Santa Fe Opera, Tulsa Opera, Chicago Opera Theater, and the Haymarket Opera Company. He is a
member of the vocal chamber quartet Fourth Coast Ensemble, performing art song
in Chicago and throughout the Midwest. As a concert soloist Mr. Govertsen has performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Grant Park Orchestra, Santa Fe Symphony and Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival among many others. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2011 as the Herald in Otello with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Riccardo Muti. He is an alumnus of the Ryan Opera Center and the Santa Fe Opera and Central City Opera apprentice programs and holds degrees from Northwestern University, Northern Illinois University and the College of DuPage. Mr. Govertsen is currently on faculty at North Park University, Lewis University and the College of DuPage.