John Orfe is Temporary Assistant Professor of Music at Bradley University and has taught at Dickinson College and Yale University. As a pianist, he has earned critical acclaim for his interpretations of five centuries of keyboard repertoire ranging from the canonic to the arcane. As a composer, he has fulfilled commissions for Duo Montagnard, Dez Cordas, Alarm Will Sound, the NOVUS Trombone Quartet, the Two Rivers Chorale and the Northwestern College Choir, Ludovico, the Music Institute of Chicago, the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Lila Muni Gamelan Ensemble. He is a winner of a Jacob K. Javits Fellowship, a Tanglewood Fellowship, the William Schuman and Boudleaux Bryant Prizes from BMI, and ten Standard Awards and the Morton Gould Award from ASCAP. His works for solo, chamber, choral and orchestral ensembles have been performed in Russia, Denmark, Canada, Germany, the Baltics, the United Kingdom, Australia, Thailand and throughout the United States, earning praise from The New York Times, LAWeekly, San Francisco Chronicle, Boston Globe, Die Welt, and Hamburger Abendblatt. In 2008 he was awarded the Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and in February 2009 a Doctor of Musical Arts was conferred upon him by the Yale School of Music. In 2010 the Peoria Symphony Orchestra appointed him as it's first-ever Composer-in-Residence and, most recently, his "O Crux" for tenor trombone and a cappella choir won first prize in the 2011 Eastern Trombone Workshop National Composition Competition.

For the Peoria Bach Festival 2011 he will present a concert of the transcriptions of Bach's music made by the virtuso pianist Ferruccio Busoni (12:05 p.m. on Monday, June 6).

Jonathan Wessler has just completed a Doctor of Musical Arts in Organ Performance from the Eastman School of Music. He previously earned the Bachelor of Music degree in organ performance from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the Master of Sacred Music degree from the University of Notre Dame. Past teachers include Sherry Seckler, Christiaan Teeuwsen, David Boe, and Craig Cramer. In addition, he has performed in master classes with Marie-Louise Langlais, Daniel Roth, Olivier Latry, Michel Bouvard, Hans Fagius, and Jon Laukvik. Jonathan holds the Colleague certificate from the American Guild of Organists and was a finalist in the 2007 Arthur Poister Organ Competition.

He serves as the assistant organist at Third Presbyterian Church in Rochester, New York, and as the principal continuo player for the Peoria Bach Festival in Peoria, Illinois, where he also has been a featured performer on the organ and the harpsichord. Jonathan is a six-year alumnus of the acclaimed Lutheran Summer Music Academy and Festival. He lives in Rochester with his wife, Joy, and their four-month-old daughter, Julia. Jonathan is a Peoria native having attended Concordia Lutheran School (www.concordiapeoria.com) and Woodruff High School.

For the Peoria Bach Festival 2011 he will present an organ recital entitled "Arisen is the Holy Christ" based on the theme of the resurrection of Christ and featuring the music of Johann Sebastian Bach.(8:00 p.m. on Monday, June 6).

The mission of Tango Espejo is to perform the music of Astor Piazzolla (1921-92) in the style of Piazzolla. Piazzolla was an was an Argentinian tango composer and bandoneón player. His oeuvre revolutionized the traditional tango into a new style called nuevo tango, incorporating elements from jazz and classical music. A virtuoso bandoneónist, he regularly performed his own compositions with a variety of ensembles.

For the Peoria Bach Festival 2011 they will perform music by Piazzolla that was inspired by the music of Bach (5:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 9). Musical selections will include the Four Seasons of Beunos Aires, Suite del Angel, and more.

Kathryn Reed has an Instructor in Music at Luther College, Decorah, Iowa, since 1995 where she teaches piano, harpsichord, ear training, music history, and directs the Collegium Musicum. She moved to Decorah from Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she studied and taught musicology and early keyboard instruments. She has also taught Music Appreciation, a study abroad course in London and Vienna, and a course on the music of J.S. Bach. In addition, she maintains a studio of private piano students ranging in age from 11 to adult.

Kathryn has performed as a harpsichord soloist and continuo player throughout the Midwest and in New York's Carnegie Hall. In 2009 she served as the Peoria Bach Festival harpsichordist and continuo player. She returns this year to perform the Harpsichord Concert in D minor and Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 (7:30 p.m. on Friday, June 10).

Kyle Dzapo is a Professor of Music at Bradley University where she teaches flute and Music History. She is principal flutist with the Peoria Symphony Orchestra and performs frequently both here and abroad. Since 1996 she has served as a pre-concert lecturer for the Chicago Symphony and has served in the same capacity for the New York Philharmonic. She is active in the National Flute Association and in 2005 served as the Program Chair for its convention in San Diego. Kyle earned a Doctor of Music degree from Northwestern University where she was a student of Walfrid Kujala. She holds a Master of Music degree with Distinction in Performance from New England Conservatory and a Bachelor of Music Education degree with High Distinction from the University of Michigan. She was the featured flutist in the performance of Mozart's Concerto for Flute and Harp on last year's candlelight concert.

Kyle has been a frequent performer on both the Trinity Concert Series and the Peoria Bach Festival. On this year's festival she will perform the Sonata in B minor for flute and harpsichord (12:05 p.m. on Friday, June 10).

Gerard Sundberg's compelling baritone voice is celebrated internationally for its beauty and clarity. He is active both here and abroad having distinguished himself as a concert artist with his mastery of bass/baritone repertoire. Recent performances include the St. John Passion conducted by John Nelson in Paris at the Notre Dame Cathedral. He has appeared as soloist with the Robert Shaw Festival Singers, and with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra under the direction of the late Robert Shaw. For many seasons he has captivated audiences with his performances of Handel's Messiah with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Following another Messiah performance, a critic declares, "His recitatives and arias remained focused and filled with energy.... He demonstrated excellent range, control and diction." He maintains an impressive presence in the Chicago area, frequently appearing as soloist with the West Suburban Choral Union, recently for a performance of Vaughan Williams' A Sea Symphony. He also has sung extensively with the Oregon Bach Festival under the artistic leadership of Helmuth Rilling. Rilling praises Mr. Sundberg for his "exceptionally stunning high range" and "perfect command of the German language and high musicality". He is a graduate of Bethel College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and holds both Master of Fine Arts and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the University of Minnesota where he studied voice with Clifton Ware and Roy Schuessler. He is presently Professor of Voice at Wheaton Conservatory of Music in Illinois where he teaches studio voice and vocal pedagogy. He remains active as a church musician and vocal and choral clinician. His two recordings are Singer on a Journey, including four sacred song cycles by Brahms, Beethoven, Vaughan Williams and Carlisle Floyd, and Songs for the Journey including arrangements by Edwin Childs of sixteen hymns and gospel songs.

For the Peoria Bach Festival 2011, Gerald sing the bass/baritone arias for the performance of the Easter Oratorio (7:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 11).