Meet the featured soloists for Tulsa Chorale’s March 29th performance of Haydn’s The Creation

“Sung fetchingly” was the description The New York Times gave MERAY BOUSTANI’S performance of Berlin Songs, composed by fellow native Tulsan Noam Faingold. She has been engaged as a soprano soloist with Tulsa Chorale, Canterbury Voices, Bartlesville Chorale, and the Oklahoma Bach Choir in performances including Mozart’s Requiem and Great Mass in C Minor, The Celestial Country by Charles Ives, Handel’s Messiah and Solomon, Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen by J. S. Bach, and Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem. Other concert performances include Haydn’s Mass in Time of War, Fauré’s Requiem, Vivaldi’s Gloria, and Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater. An enthusiastic recitalist, some recital highlights include Buxtehude’s Singet dem Herrn, Heil’ge Nacht and Osterlied by Josef Rheinberger, Songs and Sonnets to Ophelia by Jake Heggie, Louis Spohr’s Sechs Deutsche Lieder, Three Shakespeare Songs by Amy Beach, Ned Rorem’s Last Poems of Wallace Stevens, and Emerald Songs by Romanos Melikian. Ms. Boustani has had the opportunity to collaborate with some of Eastern Oklahoma’s finest artists including the late poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko in Between the City of Yes and the City of No, musicians from the Tulsa Symphony and Philbrook Museum of Art in Music on Exhibit, Whitney Hollis and Cathy Venable in Saint John’s Music at Midday series, and Lyndon Meyer in the University of Tulsa’s Brown Bag It series.

Oklahoma American tenor JEREMIAH TYSON, from Dallas, TX, recently played the role of Ferrando in Cosi fan Tutte with Brigham Young University. Other recent performances include Don Curzio in Le Nozze di Figaro, The Lamplighter/The Drunkard in The Little Prince, and Tenor Soloist in The Messiah with The Utah Symphony. Tyson has performed with Opera Theater of St. Louis, The Glimmerglass Festival, Opera Saratoga, New Orleans Opera-on-Tap, American Baroque Opera Company, Dallas Opera, Fort Worth Opera, The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, The Austin Symphony Orchestra, Austin Civic Orchestra, The Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and Chorus Austin. Off-stage, Tyson can be found enjoying the fresh air on a hiking trail or in the kitchen whipping up flavorful dishes to share with family and friends.

KEVIN ECKARD, bass-baritone, is a native of South Carolina and has performed frequently throughout the United States, as well as in Italy, China, Mexico, Austria, Poland and Great Britain. He recently performed with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic as Sacristan in its production of “Tosca” as well as the role of Raimondo with Painted Sky Opera in its production of “Lucia di Lammermoor”. Kevin has performed as a soloist with the Enid Symphony, the Messiah Festival in Lindsborg Kansas, the International Choir Festival in Chester, England, Indianapolis Opera, Tulsa Opera, Denver Opera, Wichita Grand Opera, Bartlesville Choral Society, Tulsa Oratorio Chorus, Colorado Symphony, National Repertory Orchestra, Augusta Opera, Opera Carolina, and Lyric Theater of Oklahoma City. Among his many concert credits Kevin has performed St. John’s Passion, B minor Mass, Christmas Oratorio and the Magnificat by J.S. Bach. He has also performed Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem, Faure’s Requiem, Haydn’s Creation, Mozart’s Requiem, Mendelssohn’s Elijah and Handel’s Messiah. Kevin was also a three-time winner of the South Carolina District Metropolitan Opera Competition and a regional finalist. He currently teaches voice and is the head of Vocal Arts at the University of Central Oklahoma.