John Hanulik (oboe) is a native of Westport CT. He attended both the Curtis Institute and the Juilliard School of Music, graduating from Julliard in 1982 with a Masters’s degree in performance. He joined Seele Musicale “because playing chamber music with dear friends is the highest possible aesthetic. One must be both a soloist and an ensemble member – a sublime mix of focus and freedom.” John was introduced to Seele Musicale through meeting Alesia and Jagan Nath and playing oboe for several music services at First Unitarian Church of Worcester over the past 4 years, making the hours-long drive from CT for the sake of his love of this repertoire. He has an extensive library of Baroque oboe concerti. He also plays oboe d’amore and English horn.

Soprano Maria Ferrante has become familiar to audiences world over in recital, oratorio and in over 15 leading operatic roles. A winner of the Mario Lanza Voice Competition, she has received praise by numerous critics including the Washington Post and the Boston Phoenix. Richard Dyer of The Boston Globe has called her “a true singing actress... Maria Ferrante broke my heart last night.” In 2013 sang on the opening concert for The Newport Music Festival. In May she appeared on Swiss TV and sang at the TEDx Talks at CERN. Maria’s performances have delighted audiences from New York to the Virgin Islands, to Prague, Japan, Geneva and London. She appeared live on WGBH-TV in Verdi’s Aida. She was invited to commemorate Boston’s Goethe Institute 250th Gala Celebration with Xavier de Maistre, (Vienna Phil.). Ms. Ferrante has recorded for Naxos, Albany, AFKA and Navona labels and also has four highly praised solo CDs to her credit:  Boston Herald: [Ms. Ferrante] known for her lilting soprano voice and probing mind...brings a supple and colorful approach to a broad variety of repertoire.” The Boston Globe said: “Superb”. Maria has appeared with The Newport Music Festival, The Mohawk Trial Concerts, the Boston Ballet, New England String Ensemble, The Ensemble for the Romantic Century (NYC), the Charleston, Delaware, Queens (NY), Enid (OK), and Florida Northwest Symphony and Cape Cod Symphony Orchestras as well as The Concert Society Chamber Orchestra (CT), The Lane Concert Series (VT), and The Great Waters Festival (NH), Newell Concert Series (FL), Lake Biwa Concert (Japan), The Shakespeare Concert (Boston/Prague) and The National Museum of Women in The Arts (Washington, DC). By special invitation, she received lessons from the renowned soprano, Elly Ameling and studied with Franco and Loretta Corelli in NYC and Italy. An engaging, enthusiastic teacher and coach, Maria has taught Vocal Master Classes throughout and New England and New York. Maria recently completed her fourth year of directing the opera for the world-famous Ig-Nobel Prize Ceremony, broadcast live from Sanders Theatre on YouTube.

Soprano Jean Mancini Gough is musically at home in many styles. With a strong background in classical and jazz, she moves between the two worlds effortlessly, making her a perfect crossover artist. Holding Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in Vocal Performance/Music Education, her training and years of experience have made her a knowledgeable and sensitive performer. Renowned for her impeccable technique and smooth stylings, she has entertained audiences up and down the East Coast in a wide range of genres from jazz, gospel, and new age to classical and sacred literature. These experiences bring a unique intuition to her singing and her one-of-a-kind voice as she crosses genres with both technical and stylistic ease. An avid recitalist, Jean has presented many concerts in the New England area, Philadelphia and New York City. As soloist for the First Unitarian Church, Worcester, MA, for the past 20 years under the direction of organist and pianist Will Sherwood, Jean has performed a vast range of genres from sacred, classical, gospel and new age, to folk and jazz and is featured on numerous CDs with this group.

Praised for her "powerful alto" and ability to "[command] attention on the stage", Mezzo-Soprano Carrie Reid-Knox is a regular performer of operas and concert works. Previous operatic roles include El Gato (El Gato con Botas), Prince Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus), Dorabella (Cosi fan tutte), Giulietta (Les Contes d'Hoffmann), Colline (La Femme Boheme), Milovsor (The Queen of Spades), Ms. Todd (The Old Maid and the Thief), Third Lady (The Magic Flute), and La Badessa (Suor Angelica).  Concert performances include the alto solos in Haydn's “Lord Nelson Mass”, Rossini's “Petite Messe Solennelle”, Mozart's Requiem, Britten's “Rejoice in the Lamb”, and Vivaldi's “Gloria”.  Carrie holds her Master of Music from the University of Houston and her Bachelor of Music from the University of Michigan. While in Houston, she was recognized for her comic character work at the Moores Opera Center, performing roles such as Marchesa Melibea (Il Viaggio a Reims), Donna Rosa (Texas premiere of Catan's Il Postino), Mum (Albert Herring), Mrs. Baines (Elmer Gantry), and the Forester's Wife (The Cunning Little Vixen).

Tenor Ray Bauwens is well known to audiences in the New England area. Some of Mr. Bauwens’ recent performances have included such roles as Nemorino in L'Elisir d'Amore, Alfredo in La Traviata, Rodolfo in La Boheme, Danilo in Merry Widow as well as concert performances of Elgar's Dream of Gerontius, Beethoven's Choral Fantasy, the Requiem by Verdi and J.S. Bach's St. Matthew Passion and Magnificat. 
Mr. Bauwens has performed with the National Symphony of the Ukraine, the Mexico State Symphony Orchestra, the Handel and Haydn Society, Boston Academy of Music, Connecticut Concert Opera, Opera Providence, Boston Civic Orchestra, the Rhode Island Philharmonic, the New Philharmonia Orchestra, and even the Boston Ballet in Lila York’s staging of the final movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. His operatic roles have also included Cavaradossi in Tosca, Dick Johnson in La Fanciulla del West, Riccardo in Un Ballo in Maschera, and Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana as well as Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Matteo in Strauss’ Arabella, Don Alvaro in Giuseppe Verdi’s La Forza Del Destino, Pollione in Norma, Ferrando in Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte and Don Jose in Bizet’s Carmen. His concert and oratorio performances include Elijah, Messiah, J.S. Bach’s B-Minor Mass and St. John Passion. 
Mr. Bauwens has been recorded in his role of Anatol in Samuel Barber’s Vanessa by Naxos Records which was recorded in Kiev. For more information, please visit www.raybauwens.net. 

Bass Scott Taylor has performed with many groups in Central and Eastern Massachusetts over the past 25 years. His involvement ranges from area churches, to small local professional-level groups like Goliard and Diamonds from the Dust, to farcical operas at the Ig Nobel Prize cermonies, to larger choruses including the Salisbury Singers. Scott has also performed with the ACDA National Men's Chorus, and plays the trombone in the 21-piece Compaq Big Band. He works as an engineer for NVIDIA designing custom processors for self-driving cars, and with his wife Christine owns Stageloft Repertory Theater in Sturbridge.

James Haupt is well known in the community and college theaters in the Central Massachusetts area as he has music directed, appeared in, and played for countless productions. His favorite past shows include Music Directing for Seussical (Calliope Productions), and Honk! (Sterling Community Theatre). James has been a regular figure in the music program at First Unitarian for the past six years, and has additionally filled in at numerous congregations around the area. He received his Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering and Music from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and is currently pursuing his Masters Degree in Systems Engineering. During the day, James works as a Systems Engineer at Raytheon in Tewksbury, MA specializing in Electronic Warfare.

Will Sherwood is the Artistic Director for the Mechanics Hall Worcester Organ Concert Series and Principal Organist at Mechanics Hall. He has been Director of Music & Organist at First Unitarian for 30+ years, and is currently Dean of Worcester AGO. He has appeared in concert at Mechanics Hall, as well as guest artist with the Boston Pops, and on organ concert tour in Europe and the U.S. For thirty years, he was a Sr. Engineering Manager at Intel (formerly Digital (DEC) ). Since corporate retirement, he is CTO & Owner of Sherwood Hosting, providing web hosting, web & graphic design & database design, and commercial photography services.