Songs of War and Peace

Baritone Jeremy Ludwig performs regularly on concert and opera stages across the country. As a concert soloist, he has appeared with Masterworks of Oakville, the Bach Elgar Choir, the Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra, and the Kingston Chamber Choir in performances of much of the standard concert repertoire including Handel’s Messiah, the Requiems of Mozart and Fauré, and Brahms’ Ein Deutches Requiem.

A long-time lover of artsong and lieder, Jeremy recently co-founded of The Linden Project, a Hamilton based concert series now in its second season dedicated to presenting art song recitals to new audiences. Recent opera credits include Bartolo in Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia with Opera5 and BrottOpera, and Ned Travers in Ethel Smyth's The Boatswain's Mate also with Opera5.

Other favourite roles include Marcello (La Bohème – Puccini) Schaunard (La Bohème), Il Conte (Le nozze di Figaro - Mozart), Guglielmo (Così fan tutte - Mozart ), and Belcore (L’elisir d’amore - Donizetti).

An avid performer of new music, Jeremy has collaborated with a number of composers and producers in the creation and presentation of new operatic and concert works, making repeated appearances with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, the Toy Piano Composers, Spectrum Music, and Essential Opera.

Suzy Smith freelances as a music director, vocal coach, and collaborative pianist based out of Toronto, Canada. She is active at the University of Toronto, playing workshops, masterclasses, and concerts. Suzy is a regular music director at Summer Opera Lyric Theatre, often performing the Canadian content of the festival.

Suzy’s past highlights include San Francisco Opera’s Merola Opera program as apprentice coach; a fellow at Marilyn Horne’s Music Academy of the West; as well as, music direction for the Centre for Opera Studies in Sulmona Italy (COSI), the Southern Alberta Vocal Experience (SAVE), and the Canadian Operatic Arts Academy (COAA).

Suzy earned her Master of Music Degree at Western University and her Bachelor of Music at the University of British Columbia. She has also trained at The Banff Centre, Opera NUOVA, and Morningside Music Bridge programs.

Hamilton tenor Bud Roach began his musical career as an oboist, studying at the University of Western Ontario and earning a Master of Musical Arts degree from Yale University. He performed frequently with the orchestras of the Canadian Opera Company, the National Ballet of Canada, Phantom of the Opera, and ensembles throughout Ontario, and later held positions with the Toledo Symphony, the Michigan Opera Theater, and the Buffalo Philharmonic until 2004.

Upon embarking on a singing career, Bud joined the Elmer Iseler Singers (2005-2012), and sang regularly with the Canadian Opera Company Chorus, Choir 21, and La Chapelle de Quebec. In frequent demand as a soloist, Bud has appeared with orchestras and vocal ensembles across Canada in both concert settings and opera, most recently with Soundstreams Canada, reprising the leading role of Weesageechuck the Trickster in Two Odysseys (Dora Award, Best Ensemble, 2019).

With an affinity for music of the baroque era, a major focus of Bud’s concert work involves the revival of self-accompanied performance practice on the theorbo (bass lute) and baroque guitar. He has produced two internationally-acclaimed solo recordings on the Musica Omnia label, as well as two projects with his vocal ensemble Capella Intima--most recently the release of the youthful Scarlatti opera, “Gli equivoci nel sembiante”.

Recent recital and lecture appearances include Venice, New York, Boston, Berkeley, Columbus, Bloomington, Toronto, and Hamilton. In addition to performance activities, Bud continues as Founder and Artistic Director of Hammer Baroque, the monthly series for historical performance on Locke St., and serves on several governance boards connected to the Hamilton arts community. He and his long-time partner, Mike, have understood for many years that a house is not a home without a couple of big dogs. Those positions are currently filled by Kaiser and Pukka--both shepherds of dubious pedigree--and applications are now closed.