Meet the soloists in MESSIAH

So, who are the soloists anyway?

Marie Ashley has been performing opera since the age of sixteen, when she sang the title role in Amahl and the Night Visitors. While earning her Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey, she performed in the Spoleto Festival of Two Worlds both in Charleston, South Carolina, and Spoleto, Italy, where she sang the role of La Novizia in Suor Angelica. While earning her Masters’ Degree in Opera at the University of Hartford, Hartt School of Music, she performed the role of Nella in Gianni Schicchi and Iris in Semele. As a member of the budding Young Artist Program at Palm Beach Opera, Ms. Ashley performed lead and comprimario roles in Madama Butterfly, Tannhäuser, Tosca, Don Carlo, Rigoletto, Carmen, Hänsel und Gretel, Papageno, Il barbiere di Siviglia, and Alice in Wonderland. Most recently, Ms. Ashley participated in concerts in Abingdon, England with the Abingdon Summer School for Solo Singers. As a concert soloist, Ms. Ashley sang Vivaldi’s Gloria and Bach’s Magnificat in Belgorod-Dnistrovsky and Odessa, Ukraine, with a festival chorus of several American and Ukrainian choirs and the Odessa Opera Orchestra. Locally, she has appeared with the Lynn University Community Chorus, and the St. Lucie Chorale. She holds teaching posts at Palm Beach Atlantic University, as well as Saint Andrew’s School in Boca Raton. Ms. Ashley resides in Boynton Beach with her husband, Dr. Carl P. Ashley, a conductor.

Mezzo Soprano Kristin Brouwer continues to gain attention as an up-and-coming performer of both opera and concert works. A graduate of the esteemed Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and the New England Conservatory of Music, Boston, Ms. Brouwer has performed under the guidance of celebrated conductors and stage directors, including Sir Colin Graham, David Effron, David Morelock, Imré Pallo, Matthias Kunsch, and John Poole. Recent operatic roles include Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Dorabella in Così fan tutte, Tisbe in La Cenerentola, and Dritte Dame in Die Zauberflöte. As a concert soloist, Ms. Brouwer has been heard in Handel’s Messiah, Schubert’s Mass in A-flat, Bach’s Magnificat, the Vaughan Williams Magnificat, Gretchaninoff’s All-Night Vigil, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, and Mendelssohn’s Elijah. Ms. Brouwer has been mentored by renowned voice teachers Andreas Poulimenos, Edward Zambara, and Kathleen Kaun. As a student at Indiana University, she received a graduate assistantship and was the recipient of the Kohlmeier Award. Currently, Ms. Brouwer serves as an Adjunct Instructor of Voice at Palm Beach Atlantic University and Palm Beach Community College.

A native of Hazleton, Pennsylvania, tenor Bryon Grohman performs frequently as soloist on both the concert and opera stage. Recent operatic roles include Gilbert in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor and Joe in Puccini’s La Fanciulla del West as part of the esteemed Glimmerglass Opera Young American Artist’s Program, Don Ramiro in Rossini’s La Cenerentola and Don Narciso in Rossini’s Il Turco in Italia with the Indiana University Opera Theatre, Pastore in the Chicago Lyric Opera’s production of Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo, and Spoletta in the Opera Theatre of St. Louis production of Puccini’s Tosca. Mr. Grohman made his Boston Symphony Orchestra debut in Oliver Knussen’s Where the Wild Things Are with the composer conducting. As a Tanglewood Music Center Vocal Fellow, he sang the role of Rinuccio in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi and, at the request of Seiji Ozawa, returned to Tanglewood to perform Fenton in Verdi’s Falstaff. Recent concert soloist engagements have included Handel’s Messiah with the Bloomington Early Music Festival, the Creation with Palm Beach Atlantic University, the Evangelist in Bach’s Johannes Passion, Mozart’s Requiem, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, and Britten’s St. Nicholas Mass. Grohman premiered the role of Nicholas in a performance of Death and the Powers, a new opera by Tod Machover and Robert Pinsky previewed in Monte-Carlo during the 2005 Opera Europa conference. Mr. Grohman has served as choral conductor at Wellesley College, New England Conservatory of Music, and the Church of Our Saviour, Brookline, Massachusetts. Mr. Grohman holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Education and Vocal Performance and a Master of Music in Conducting from New England Conservatory of Music, Boston, and is currently a Doctor of Music candidate in Music Literature and Vocal Performance at Indiana University.


Gordan Longhofer is no stranger to audiences of South Florida. Since coming to West Palm Beach in 1988, he has appeared with numerous organizations in opera and oratorio. His repertoire of more than 35 roles includes dramatic and comedic characters. He has been seen as Bartolo in The Barber of Seville, Monterone in Rigoletto, Timur in Turandot, Daland in Der Fliegende Holländer, and as Merlin in the world premiere of Madeline and Merlin’s Magic at Midnight. Mr. Longhofer currently teaches vocal music and reading for the Palm Beach County School District and enjoys spending spare time with his family in outdoor activities.