ABOUT US
VINCE DORE
Baritone
Vincent is a Chicago-based lyric baritone who has performed for audiences both nationally and internationally. He has recently returned from his eighth European tour. Most recent opera and musical theater credits include: Ko-Ko (The Mikado), The Judge (Trial by Jury), Bob (The Old Maid and the Thief), Benoit (La Boheme), Jamie (The Last Five Years), Papegeno (The Magic Flute), and Billy Bigelow (Carousel). Vincent also made his debut in Scotland at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and Bath Theater Festival.
Known for his dynamic personality onstage, Vincent is a frequent soloist with professional regional and touring choirs throughout the Chicagoland area. Most frequently, he has been the Baritone Soloist for Beethoven's 9th Symphony and the soloist in Carmina Burana by Carl Orff. Vincent has been a featured artist as a writer, comedian, and improv performer and has been in a number of plays including: Romeo in Romeo and Juliet; Mr. Smith in Take the stage, Mr. Smith, and George in Actor's Nightmare.
Vincent serves as a full-time public school music educator, a professional master of ceremonies, and a comedian for hire. He is a member of multiple professional educator organizations, and was granted the Lifetime Achievement Award for Teaching from the National Parent/Teacher Association in 2018.
EMILY COX
Soprano
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Known for her work in modern music, opera and MT, Emily has firmly established herself as an active performer throughout the Chicagoland area since 2014. Performance credits include the Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company, Chicago Chamber Opera, the “”D:Activate”” concert series with the City of Chicago, Chicago Folks Operetta, Music for Theatre Chicago, Petite Opera, Davenport’s Piano Bar, and Classical Revolution. Emily is an active member of Opera on Tap, Chicago Cabaret Professionals, Chicago Opera Theatre’s Educational Subcommittee, Illinois Theatre Professionals, and Chicago Vocal Arts Consortium. She was honored to be selected as a 2020 Chicagoland Stratera Artist Mentorship Mentee.
Her appearance in 2019 as The Patient in the world-premiere of the electronic opera, Open Wide, received ample praise from critics and audiences alike. Following on its heels, Emily went on to world-premiere pieces written for her by local composer Elizabeth Rudolph in the inaugural 2019 SongSLAM Competition. This past fall, Emily returned to work with Rudolph to world-premiere works written specifically for her, entitled Litany. Emily also world-premiered the role of Ruby Stella in La Trout Lilly, a new operatic work by Chicagoland composer Paul Schafer, which was released this past fall for distribution. As comfortable in the writing room as she is onstage, Emily’s one-woman show, Swipe Left: Dating In the Windy City Blows, was an Audience Favorite recommendation of both the 2018 Chicago Fringe Festival and the 2018 Elgin Fringe Festival. It was selected as a featured production in the inaugural 2020 Chicago Cabaret Week.
Emily is currently the Artistic Director of Acting Out, a nonprofit organization that produces social justice and political works and events. She currently writes, produces and directs new musical works throughout the Chicagoland area.
GREGORY SMITH
Accompanist
A recent transplant to Chicago from the Pacific Northwest, Gregory Smith has been delighting audiences across the US since 2012. Known for his ‘intuitive and emotionally-charged’ playing, Gregory served as a dance accompanist for many years with Pacific Northwest Ballet School, Cornish Preparatory Dance, Joffrey Academy of Dance, the Ruth Page Dance Company, and Tacoma City Ballet.
Outside of dance, Gregory has worked extensively in Opera and Musical Theatre. He had the pleasure of serving as the Staff Accompanist for Seattle Opera from 2013-2018, playing for community performances and touring productions alike. Gregory also served as the Classical Voice Accompanist & Coach at the Cornish College of the Arts from 2012-2018.
Making use of his training in improvisation beyond ballet, Gregory studied harpsichord with Bryon Schenkmann in Seattle. He has played continuo for numerous chamber music performances, workshops, and vocal performances, and has premiered new works for historical instruments with Ensemble Audax.