Meet our Mozart Requiem Soloists
Shelby VanNordstrand (’04) has appeared as a soprano soloist from the United States to Indonesia, China, Japan, Hawai’i, Lithuania, and Oman. She is especially passionate about new art song and opera and loves to be involved in the creation of new works. You can hear her on the album Storms & Stars, songs for soprano and piano by Jodi Goble, available for streaming on all major platforms. She was awarded an honorable mention in The American Prize, Women in Art Song in 2023. As a teacher, her students have been named winners of the National Association of Teachers of Singing Student Auditions at the state, regional, and national levels and winners of the National Opera Association's Collegiate Opera Scenes Competition. As a clinician, she has presented at the National Collegiate Music Society Conference, the National Opera Association Conference, and other state and regional conferences. She currently serves as Vice President for Conferences with the National Opera Association and serves in regional leadership with the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Shelby joined the faculty of the Department of Music and Theatre at Iowa State University in the fall of 2024. Previously, she served as Associate Professor of Voice at the University of Nebraska Omaha.
Mezzo-soprano, Samantha Schmitz, (’20) is known for her rich and full, yet flexible voice and vibrant character on both the concert and operatic stage. Frequently making the jump from stage to studio, Samantha is a sought-after educator as well as performer. On the stage, she has been seen in roles such as Hänsel (Hänsel und Gretel), Le Prince Charmant (Cendrillon), Mercédès (Carmen), Flower Woman (A Streetcar Named Desire), Dritte Dame (Die Zauberflöte), Public Opinion (Orpheus in the Underworld), and Maria (The Sound of Music). Ms. Schmitz holds an MM in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy from the University of North Texas where she studied under the tutelage of mezzo-soprano Molly Fillmore. Additionally, she has earned a BM in Vocal Music Education, graduating summa cum laude from Iowa State University. Samantha currently teaches 6-12th Grade Vocal Music at Riverside Community School District and maintains an active voice studio in Southwest Iowa.
Lauded for his “handsome, potent tenor and vivid, expressive delivery” (Dallas Morning News), Alex Longnecker (’13) specializes in Baroque concert works and vocal chamber music. He currently serves as a member of the Choir of Men and Boys at St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue in New York. Professional choral credits include Ensemble Altera, the Oregon Bach Festival Chorus, Apollo’s Fire, Voices of Ascension, True Concord Voices and Orchestra, The New Consort, Bard Festival Chorale, The Thirteen, Dallas Bach Society, and the Verdigris Ensemble. Alex has recently sung operatic roles with American Baroque Opera Company, Opera in the Rock, Cedar Rapids Opera Theater, Pittsburgh Festival Opera, University of North Texas Opera, and the Tanglewood Music Center. Alex made his Lincoln Center solo debut with Yale Schola Cantorum and Juilliard 415 in Telemann’s Tag des Gerichts, under the baton of Masaaki Suzuki. Numerous other engagements include repertoire spanning from Schumann’s Dichterliebe to the Passions of J.S. Bach. Alex can be heard as a featured soloist on recordings of works by Calvin Hampton with the St. Thomas Choir to be released this coming year and a self-titled album with the New Muses Project. Other notable recording releases include works by Frank La Rocca, Francis Poulenc, William Byrd, and Kenneth Leighton.
Bradley Wilson (’07) is a bass from West Des Moines, Iowa, with an extensive career in choral, operatic, and solo performance. He has performed with renowned ensembles, including the Grammy Award-winning Kansas City Chorale, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Kantorei of Kansas City, Vocal Artists of Iowa, and Des Moines Choral Society. In addition to his performance career, Wilson is an accomplished educator and conductor. He currently teaches at Waukee Trailridge School. During his tenure at Center Point-Urbana High School, he led the All-State and Opus programs to record numbers of student acceptances, including multiple All-State soloists. His choirs consistently earned superior ratings, and his jazz choir won the 2023 Iowa Vocal Jazz Championships. In recognition of his contributions to choral education, he received the inaugural East Central Iowa Choral Directors Association Honors Initiative Award in 2022. Wilson holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music and a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Iowa State University, as well as a Master of Music Education from the University of Kansas.