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Jennings, lyric tenor, is a native of Washington, D.C. A graduate of the Duke Ellington School of the Performing Arts and has been called “one of the Nation’s top young talents” by the Washington Free Voice and the Washington Post.

Mr. Jennings has performed nationally and internationally in operas, concerts, and recitals. He made his international operatic debut in 2009 at the Amalfi Coast Music and Arts festival in Italy as Rinuccio in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi under the baton of Maestro Joe Walsh. Mr. Jennings is in high demand as soloist throughout the United States and abroad. His oratorio repertoire includes Rossini’s Stabat Mater, Beethoven’s An Die Freude, Haydn’s Third Mass, Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s Magnificat, Saint-Saëns’ Christmas Oratorio, Schubert’s Mass in G, and Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music. He was also the featured soloist in Adolphus Hailstork’s I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes, R. Nathaniel Dett’s The Ordering of Moses, and Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess under the baton of Maestro Stanley J Thurston. Mr. Jennings is a frequent artist with the Washington National Opera, Maryland Lyric Opera, the Heritage Signature Chorale, Washington Concert Opera, the International Opera Theater, and the Dallas Opera.

Mr. Jennings was also a regional finalist and first place winner in the National Association of Teachers of Singing Competition, the Leontyne Price Competition for Emerging Artists, Paul Robeson Competition and the Omega Psi Phi Competition. In addition, he is a recipient of the Merit Award for the National Foundation for the Arts.

Mr. Jennings serves as the coordinator for the Coalition for African Americans in the Performing Arts — CAAPA “Opera for Fun Youth Outreach Program,” and teaches private voice at the Bullis School in Potomac, MD. He has furthered his vocal training at George Mason University and at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in the Institute of Voice Performance and Pedagogy with the late Richard Miller. He was also an artist in residence with the Ebony Classical Music Society and the New York City Opera’s Jeunes Solistes.

Marquita Raley-Cooper, a native of Washington D.C., has toured internationally, singing repertoire spanning the Baroque through 21st Century.

She has debuted in recitals at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Avery Fisher Hall with the New York Philharmonic in New York City, and with the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Her most recent performances have been as a featured soloist with the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra, the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, and the National Symphony Orchestra.

Darrick Speller, Baritone, is a native Washingtonian and graduate of Boston University’s Master of Music program.

Set on singing opera and becoming a classical recording artist, Speller embarked on creating his project First Impressions, a compilation of German art and folk songs. This project is so meaningful to Darrick as it is dedicated to the ones who helped guide him throughout his career. It can be found on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube.

Alia Waheed, a native of Washington D.C., began her training at The Duke Ellington School of the Arts H.S., The Interlochen Center for the Arts, her B.S. in Music at Morgan State University, and Masters in Music from George Mason University.

She made her operatic debut with Washington National Opera in 2007 in their production of Strauss’s Elektra where she performed the role of Klytaemnestra’s Trainbearer and the role of Viola Lee Jackson in the WNO’s world premiere opera Appomattox. Ms. Waheed has been a regular chorister/soloist with the Washington National Opera since 2003. She is an auxiliary chorister/soloist with the Metropolitan Opera since 2019 where she won a Grammy Award® for Gershwin’s production Porgy and Bess.

The College Park Chorale is a 60-member community choir based in College Park, MD. We perform a wide variety of choral music in concerts as well as at local community events. The Chorale was founded in 2013 as a program of the College Park Arts Exchange. The focus of the groups remains to welcome all who wish to sing and to create community through music. The Chorale is directed by Allison Hughes, an active performer and voice teacher in the metro D.C. area.

The NOVA Community Chorus is a part of the Music Program at the Northern Virginia Community College under the leadership of Dr. Mary-Hannah Klontz and Dr. James Wolter. The ensemble, comprising singers from both the college and the surrounding community, is open to all interested singers without audition. The chorus has distinguished itself both locally and internationally.

Originally formed in 1972 as Rockville Chorus, the group has been newly incorporated within the State of Maryland and is working towards obtaining their 501(c)3 non-profit status this fall of 2024.

Rockville Chorus, Inc. has been performing for audiences of all ages within the Rockville regional community, and surrounding areas, in the state of Maryland. Rockville Chorus, Inc. is a vibrant and dedicated musical organization consisting of 75 adult singers who are currently under the musical direction of Linda Garrettson with Cindy Fullerton as their long-standing president. The group is focused on developing a wide range of musical genres and styles of choral music with repertoire performed consisting of classical choral canon, Broadway musical songs, classical jazz arrangements, and original compositions from contemporary composers. Since the late 1990s, Rockville Chorus, Inc. has been organizing and performing, annually, a benefit concert for the Rockville Emergency Assistance Program which supports the most vulnerable citizens of Montgomery County. Additionally, in 2010, Rockville Chorus traveled and sang in a European Tour, and in 2023, we began singing the National Anthem at minor league baseball games during the summer season!

Vocal Arts of Fairfax provides community-focused, accessible, and inclusive choral performances.

We seek to build unity among our singers and to create an inspired environment for our audiences. Directed by Michael Ehrlich, our mission includes community care outreach initiatives as part of its core.

This adult chorus of 120 singers performs a variety of genres, including traditional choral literature, American folk songs and spirituals, music of different cultures, vocal jazz, and Broadway.

Along with bringing choral music to the community, the ensemble embraces the true meaning of community by seeking diversity in its make-up and in its repertoire. Additionally, the ensemble will embrace all elements of our community to foster inclusiveness, to help those in need, and to share our love of the choral art.