RACHEL ALLEN, soprano, comes to the Chicago area from California and has performed here as well as in Italy and the Napa Valley. Recognized for her ingénue roles, she is equally comfortable with comedic opera roles and sacred concert music, with a repettoire spanning works by composers such as Bach, Mozart, Haydn, Puccini, and Britten. Ms. Allen earned her master’s degree in vocal performance at the Chicago College of Performing Arts of Roosevelt University. This is her third concert with the West Suburban Symphony.

THOMAS DYMIT, tenor, is an accomplished singer of works ranging from Bach to Stravinsky and Schoenberg. He has appeared frequently as soloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under many conductors, and is a featured soloist on several Grammy-winning recordings. Mr. Dymit has appeared with the Joffrey Ballet, Champaign-Urbana Symphony, and West Suburban Symphony, and in the Handel Week Festival in Oak Park. He is a resident of Wheaton.

ERIC ASHCRAFT, tenor, has a "rich, supple, powerful voice," along with a masterful musical and dramatic sensitivity, which place him in high demand for far-reaching orchestral works and opera roles. He has earned praise for his portrayals of Don José, Rodolfo, Alfredo and Don Ottavio with opera companies across the country and for his concert performances with orchestras nationwide.

MARK BALDIN, trumpet, is principal in the Rockford Symphony Orchestra, Rockford Wind Ensemble, and West Suburban Symphony Festival Orchestra. He also performs with the Rockford Symphony's Brass Quintet and has active teaching studios in DeKalb and Rockford. He is a co-author of the book The Big Band Reader: Songs Favored by Swing Era Orchestras and Other Popular Ensembles.

STACY ECKERT, mezzo-soprano, is an audience favorite with her warm voice and has appeared in such operatic roles as Carmen, Blitzstein's Regina, Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, Flora in La Traviata and Giuletta in Les contes d'Hoffmann. Also an accomplished concert soloist, Ms. Eckert has been featured with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and with other symphonies across the Midwest.

DEBORAH GUSCOTT, mezzo-soprano, has been acclaimed as a "superb soloist" with a "powerful, unforced voice." She has performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, with whom she has a Grammy-winning recording, and the Grant Park Symphony and Ravinia Festival orchestras. Ms. Guscott is also an accomplished opera singer and art song recitalist.

LYUDMILA LAKISOVA, a Steinway Artist, returns to thrill West Suburban Symphony audiences with her passionate and powerful piano performance. She is a native of Minsk, Belorussia, where she was the official pianist for the Belorussian State Philharmonic. Ms. Lakisova emigrated to Chicago in 1995 and is a member of the Landolfi Piano Trio and appears as a solois t with orchestras throughout the Chicago area; she has also performed on tour in England and Africa. She also serves as Director of Worship and the Arts at Long Grove Community Church.

REBECCA SCHORSCH, soprano, has appeared extensively as a soloist in the Chicagoland area with The Illinois Philharmonic, Bach and Beyond Festival, Northwest Symphony, Salt Creek Synfonietta, Accessible Contemporary Music and the Chicago Civic Orchestra. She also has been heard live on WFMT Chicago on the Pianoforte Foundation Salon series. Ms Schorsch is a member of the voice faculty at Roosevelt University. Her community service projects have included teaching and directing for the Lyric Opera of Chicago's OperaKids! Program and writing and co-producing the Chicago Opera Quiz presented by the Department of Cultural Affairs and broadcast on WFMT. For her many contributions, Ms Schorsch was recognied in Chicago Magazine's prestigious "Best of Chicago" 2008 Edition.