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Emma Battel is a soprano from Kingston, Ontario. She is completing her Post-Graduate Artist Diploma at McGill University where she received her Master’s of Music in 2024 with Tracy Smith Bessette.
Upon graduating Western University with a Bachelor of Music Emma was awarded the University of Western Gold Medal in Music for Honours Performance Voice.
Her performed roles include Blanche (Dialogues des Carmélites), Cendrillon (Cendrillon), and Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni).
She can be heard alongside her sister Sophia Battel as part of their soprano/cello sister ensemble Battel Duo.
Emma is grateful to Joel Peters and the Ascension choir for welcoming her back for her third year as the soprano section lead.
Kathryn Riopel is a soprano (sometimes alto) from Chicago, IL. After studying voice performance and dance at Northwestern University, she came to McGill University to further her vocal studies. She has completed her Master of Music, studying with soprano Dominique Labelle.
Kathryn performs a wide array of repertoire, including musical theater, opera, and art song.
Daniel Ginga is a Moldovan American tenor born in Wisconsin, raised in Washington D.C. and educated in Canada. He completed his Bachelor of Music at McGill University under the tutelage of Stefano Algieri and is now working towards a Graduate Diploma in Performance at McGill.
At McGill he has helped out with several opera productions, as both an Assistant Stage Director and as a member of the choir for several years.
The Ascension Choir has been his favorite job to date, and he is grateful for the wonderful experience it's been.
Australian baritone Ziggy Harris is currently undertaking his Master’s of Music (Voice & Opera) at the Schulich School Of Music within McGill University, having received fellowship scholarships, and under the tutelage of baritone Brett Polegato.
His staged roles include Il Conte in Le nozze di Figaro (Mozart), title in Don Giovanni (Mozart), Papageno in Die Zauberflöte (Mozart), and Dandini (cover) in La Cenerentola (Rossini).
Ziggy has appeared at La Maison Symphonique, Montreal, as the baritone soloist in Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem, in concert with the McGill Symphony Orchestra and Schulich Singers, conducted by Dr. Jean-Sébastien Vallée. Ziggy has featured in the Montreal Bach Festival as the baritone soloist in Fauré’s Requiem, in concert with Les Muses Chorales, conducted by Dr. Gohar Manvelyan. In December, Ziggy will be performing as the bass soloist in Handel’s Messiah, in concert with the choir and players of Christ Church Cathedral, Montreal, conducted by Dr. Nicholas Capozzoli.
His other performed concert repertoire includes Pilate and arias in Johannespassion (J. S. Bach), bass soloist in Petite Messe Solennelle (Rossini), Liederkreis Op. 24 & Op. 39 (Schumann), Rückert-lieder & Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Mahler), Schwanengesang (Schubert), and Histoires Naturelles (Ravel).
In April of 2024, Ziggy performed the world premiere of Canadian composer Sylvie Rickard’s song cycle Answering The Call, alongside guitarist Razvan Bezna and clarinetist Peter Perez Rojas.
A graduate of the Sydney Conservatorium Of Music, Ziggy earned his Bachelor of Music (Voice) studying with baritone Dr. Simon Lobelson, having been awarded the Pete Davidson and Patricia Long Scholarships.
