Amanda Powell, musician and educator, enjoys studying and performing a diverse range of music. She has performed as a pianist and classical singer, as well as jazz and folk artist. Currently, her greatest interest and passion lies in global folk music. She serves as a consultant for the United Methodist Church’s Global Praise Program and leads music experiences and workshops in world music.

Amanda recently moved to Cleveland from Massachusetts, where she served as Choral Director at Wilbraham and Monson Academy. She was a member of the early music ensemble, Novi Cantori, and performed as a soloist throughout New England. These days Amanda makes most of her music with her one-year old twin daughters.

Lisa Rainsong’s musical life integrates composition, education, vocal performance, and natural history. She is a member of the Music Theory faculty of the Cleveland Institute of Music and is the CIM DMA Coordinator. She holds a DMA in Composition from CIM and is member of the Cleveland Composers Guild. She performs 17th‑century solo song repertoire, contemporary vocal music (including her own), and is a choral musician active in several ensembles, including Quire Cleveland, Apollo’s Singers, Cantores Cleveland, and Ensemble Lautenkonzert. She also is a chorister at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist. In addition, she recently completed the Naturalist Certificate Program at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. More information on her musical and naturalist work can be found at her website.

Mezzo-soprano Beverly Simmons is a singer, arts administrator, and graphic designer. Born in Denver, she earned a doctorate in early music at Stanford University, and moved to Cleveland in 1978. Her career includes stints as a Case Western Reserve University music professor, WCLV radio announcer, international artist manager, executive director, and mother of two. She has sung with Apollo’s Fire since its inception; founded the CWRU Early Music Singers, which she directed for 21 years; sang with the Cleveland Opera Chorus and St. Paul’s Episcopal Church Senior Choir; and also sings at Temple Tifereth-Israel. Dr. Simmons is founder/manager of the concert series Chapel, Court & Countryside: Early Music at Harkness and marketing director for Quire Cleveland. She is also half of the cabaret duo, Rent-a-Yenta, about which an admirer said, “I’ve seen worse on Broadway!”

David Simmons-Duffin graduated with an A.B./A.M. in physics from Harvard, and spent a year at Cambridge (UK) studying math and singing with the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge. He is currently a 3rd-year Ph.D. student at Harvard studying theoretical high energy physics.

In addition to Clare Choir, David has sung with the Harvard Collegium Musicum, Harvard University Choir, Apollo’s Fire, and Blue Heron. He also enjoys playing Baroque violin, and bungling through the Well-Tempered Clavier.

When not doing physics or making music, David designs websites (including this one), programs, and writes a blog.

Tyler Skidmore, tenor, is an active music educator and performer. Teaching now at the same high school he attended, Tyler attempts to share the joys and challenges of choral music with the students at Medina High School. He holds a bachelor’s degree in music education from Mount Vernon Nazarene University and is currently completing a master’s in choral conducting and voice performance at Kent State University. Tyler has performed with other area choral ensembles, including Opera Cleveland, The Cleveland Orchestra Chorus and Chamber Chorus, and Apollo’s Singers of Apollo’s Fire. He also sings in a barbershop quartet (“What’s Next,” with fellow Quire member Ian Crane) and directs music at the Wadsworth Church of the Nazarene.

Soprano Gail West has worked with such eminent artists as Julianne Baird, Emma Kirkby, Suzie LeBlanc, Paul Hillier, and Benjamin Bagby. Currently a voice student of Ellen Hargis, she has been a member of Apollo’s Fire since its founding. Gail has been a member of CWRU’s Early Music Singers for over 20 years and is a soprano soloist at Church of the Good Shepherd. She lives in Cleveland Heights with her husband and three children.