The Thirteen offers vocal fellowships to early career singers who have experienced obstacles in their pursuit of their musical aspirations and career. With this program The Thirteen aims to provide fellows with a high-level music making experience, mentorship, and connections within the field. This fellowship will be an inclusive, welcoming experience and is aimed at singers who are enrolled in or have recently completed their undergraduate or graduate education and aspire to be professional vocal ensemble and oratorio singers. Fellowship recipients will rehearse, perform, and tour (if applicable) with The Thirteen from February 1 - February 8, 2026. They will be an integral part of this concert week, performing with the singers of The Thirteen in performances of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom.
OUR FELLOWS WILL RECEIVE
A high-level music making experience preparing and performing a concert of music with The Thirteen.
Mentorship from The Thirteen’s Artistic Director and The Thirteen’s Fellow Mentor(s).
Compensation of $1,200.00.
Travel stipend and per diem if located outside of the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area
APPLICATION PROCESS | Complete applications are due October 1, 2025
A resume/curriculum vitae that describes the applicant’s experience singing in ensembles and training in music, including graduation or matriculation dates (if applicable).
A letter of interest describing in specific terms (1) why the applicant is interested in the program, (2) why the applicant is a good fit for the program, (3) how the applicant has experienced obstacles in their pursuit of their musical aspirations and career, and (4) the applicant’s interest in a career as a professional singer of classical and oratorio music.
Contact information for two references which must include a professional conductor and a private voice teacher. A third professional reference is welcome but not required.
Two solo oratorio, opera, or art song recordings, of which one must be a recording of a work from the Baroque.
All the materials above must be submitted electronically no later than 11:59 pm Eastern Time on October 1, 2025. Please ensure that your name and “Vocal Fellow Application” is in the title of the file. Please fill out the online application form by clicking the button below.
SELECTION
This program is open to anyone currently preparing for or embarking upon a career as a professional singer of classical and oratorio music. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or residents with rights to employment in the United States. The Artistic Director of The Thirteen will select finalists based on the applications and accompanying materials and will invite each finalist to participate in a virtual interview and audition.
Artistic criteria are exceptional musicianship, an interest in the vocal ensemble field, strong sight-reading skills, and an ability to work well with others.
CONTACT INFORMATION
For more information contact info@TheThirteenChoir.org.
2025 Mentors:
ERIC ALATORRE | MENTOR
Eric Alatorre is the Bass best associated with Chanticleer, where he was a member for nearly 30 years, and is well known for his deep and rich voice. During his tenure with Chanticleer he saw the ensemble grow from a group known best in the United States to an internationally acclaimed ensemble. He has performed in many of the world’s major concert venues on 6 continents, and made nearly 60 recordings which have garnered 3 Grammy awards. Since then he continues to be engaged with many exceptional groups such as Seraphic Fire, Skylark, and Conspirare, the Leonids, and the Thirteen.
STEVEN BERLANGA | MENTOR
Active as a conductor, soloist, and ensemble singer, Bass Steven Berlanga performs with the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, The Thirteen, Kinnara, Exigence, Chorosynthesis, Brevitas, and has sung with the Vocal Arts Ensemble of Cincinnati, and Border Crossing of Minneapolis. He has received a MM degree in choral conducting at Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati, and a BM degree in vocal performance from California State University – Long Beach. As a soloist in oratorio and opera he has performed with New Voices Opera, IU Opera, Cabrillo Stage, the Santa Cruz Symphony, Cabrillo College, Westfield State University, the Illuminati Vocal Ensemble, and the Raven Consort. Among his roles on stage he has sung Caiaphas in Jesus Christ Superstar, Villains in Tales of Hoffmann, Dick Deadeye in H.M.S Pinafore, and Colline in La Boheme. In 2014 he performed the role of Boris in The King in Yellow with New Voices Opera, and he returned in 2016 to perform as Stranger in The Forest of Dreams. In 2011 Mr. Berlanga performed the baritone solos in Hindemith’s When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d with the Cabrillo Summer Chorus, and he returned in 2012 to perform the baritone solos in Vaughan Williams ’Dona Nobis Pacem with the Santa Cruz Symphony and Cabrillo Symphonic Chorus.
MICHELE KENNEDY | MENTOR
Soprano Michele Kennedy is a versatile specialist in early classical and new music. Praised by The Washington Post as “a fine young soprano with a lovely voice" possessing "a graceful tonal clarity that is a wonder to hear" (SF Chronicle), Michele's recent venues include Carnegie Hall, Davies Symphony Hall, Bard Summerscape, Getty Museum, Lincoln Center, Powell Symphony Hall, and Washington National Cathedral.
Michele's recent highlights include the Bach Magnificat and St. John Passion, with San Francisco Symphony Chorus, Handel Messiah with Trinity Wall Street, NYC, Poulenc Gloria with The Bach Society of Saint Louis, and Undine Smith Moore's Scenes from the Life of a Martyr at UC Berkeley. She's presented The Monteverdi Vespers with Dark Horse Consort & Voices of Ascension, Bach Cantatas w/ American Classical Orchestra, and Caccini/Strozzi works with Folger Consort, alongside Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night's Dream with SF Ballet. This past season she debuted with Agave Baroque (In Her Hands), Shenandoah Bach Festival, Berkeley Early Music Festival, and Portland Baroque Orchestra in June of 2022 for some Handelian Fireworks.
Michele's new music adventures include Aaron Siegel's I Will Tell You The Truth About This at NYC's Schomburg Center and Florence Price + Dina Shilleh songs in recital with Mimesis Ensemble at Carnegie Hall. In 2020-21, she debuted with Ars Minerva, Les Délices, Alexander String Quartet, and Opera Lafayette in trailblazing digital forums. Most recently, she debuted with NYC's Five Boroughs Music Festival in a spring 2022 Songbook premiere. After singing Julia Wolfe's Fire In My Mouth with The Crossing & New York Philharmonic in 2019, Michele will join Lorelei Ensemble for a 2022-23 world premiere tour of Wolfe's Her Story with The Nashville, SF, Boston, Chicago, & National Symphony Orchestras.
A graduate of Yale University and NYU, Michele is committed to working toward greater equity and representation for BIPOC and female voices across the field. A lover of redwoods and bay vistas, Michele lives in Oakland with her husband, visual artist Benjamin Thorpe, and their daughter, Audra May. Please find more at www.michele-kennedy.com
TIANA SORENSON | MENTOR
Tiana Sorenson is a Chicago-based soprano who enjoys performing a myriad of repertoire in the classical canon. She frequents Philadelphia to sing and record with new vocal music ensemble The Crossing, happy to celebrate with them their 2023 Grammy in Best Choral Performance for their album Born. In addition, she’s been seen with ensembles such as Alarm Will Sound, Cincinnati’s VAE, Chicago groups Bella Voce, William Ferris Chorale, and Newberry Consort, and Boston all-women ensemble Lorelei. Locally she can be found singing with Grant Park, Chicago Symphony, and Hearing in Color, and has been afforded opportunities to cover and prepare roles with Chicago Opera Theater and Lyric Opera of Chicago. Later this year she’s eager to join Conspirare in singing Considering Matthew Shephard, and cover the role of Girlfriend/Nurse in Blue at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Meet our 2025 Vocal Fellows
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