HUNTER ENOCH
Bass-baritone Hunter Enoch is making his mark on stages across the United States with his “big, ringing voice and magnetic stage presence.” Last season, Mr. Enoch made his début with San Diego Opera singing Germont in La traviata, of which The San Diego Union-Tribune raved, “…Hunter Enoch was outstanding…Enoch has a huge and perfectly pitched voice that easily fills the 3,000-seat Civic Theatre and his performance of the beautiful second-act aria “Di Provenza il mar” was a show highlight.” He returned to the Dallas Symphony Orchestra for The Ring Cycle under the baton of Maestro Fabio Luisi, singing Donner in Das Rheingold and covering Mark Delavan’s Wotan in performances of Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, and Siegfried after singing Donner and covering Wotan in Das Rheingold and Die Walküre the previous spring. He also made his role début as Sweeney Todd with Holy City Arts & Lyric Opera, performed as the bass soloist for Mozart’s Requiem and Solemn Vespers at Carnegie Hall, and joined D.C. Choral Arts at the Kennedy Center for Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. This season, Mr. Enoch joins Opera on the James to sing Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, the South Dakota Symphony for Messiah, the bass soloist in Pulcinella with the Princeton Symphony, Ping in Turandot with Pacific Symphony, and Marcello in La Boheme with St. Pete Opera.
In recent seasons, he sang Grégorio in Roméo et Juliette with Washington National Opera, Arthur Keller in the world premiere of Touch with Opera Birmingham, and Escamillo in Carmen with Jacksonville Symphony. Mr. Enoch made his début with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis as Scarpia in Tosca and returned the following summer to sing Pope Urban VIII in Galileo Galilei. He joined Pacific Northwest Opera as Iago in Otello and for his role début as Germont in La Traviata. He sang the title role in Le nozze di Figaro, the Mandarin in Turandot, and the Flemish Deputy in Don Carlo with Maryland Lyric Opera. And he performed Scarpia with Anchorage Opera and Donner in Das Rheingold with Miami Music Festival, both in productions which were postponed from 2020 due to COVID-19. Prior to the pandemic, he returned to Washington National Opera as Montano in Otello, he sang the role of Kurwenal in Act 2 of Tristan und Isolde with the National Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Gianandrea Noseda at both the Kennedy Center and at Lincoln Center, and he sang Palémon in Thaïs with Maryland Lyric Opera.
ROBERT SHOUP
The 2026-2027 season will mark Robert Shoup’s 30th as Chorus Master and Staff Conductor of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra. His national and international conducting credits include the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Breckenridge Music Festival Orchestra, ensembles from the Prague Radio Orchestra and Czech State Philharmonic, and numerous choral ensembles. He served as the Music Director of the all-professional Virginia Chorale from 1997-2007.
Critics have described Shoup’s choruses as “totally enthralling” and “completely mesmerizing,” and he has spearheaded numerous collaborations that have included music, dance and visual arts. His ensembles have been featured on numerous recordings, including two discs with the VSO for the Naxos label (Hailstork and Stravinsky). He served as Assistant Music Director for the Virginia Symphony and Virginia Arts Festival’s highly acclaimed production of the Leonard Bernstein “Mass” and coordinated the collaborating choruses for 2012 performances and recording of Mahler’s Eighth symphony known as the “Symphony of a Thousand.” His achievements include the creation and coordination of “American Voices”, a two week-long festival of American choral music with the Virginia Chorale and the VSO. The project earned one of seven major National Endowment for the Arts “American Masterpieces: Choral Music” grants. Shoup also prepared a nationally recruited choir of over 1,800 singers for the 400th Anniversary celebration of Jamestown.
Mr. Shoup is also a singer whom the Pittsburgh Post Gazette called “an especially fine tenor.” His vocal performances have included the role of John Adams in the world premiere performance of Adolphus Hailstork’s Crispus Attucks, and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Fort Collins (CO) Symphony.
As a composer, Mr. Shoup has created vocal works for stage and worship, including commissioned works “Before Us and Beside Us,” “Shine,” and “Teacher,” a special orchestrated commission in honor of conductor Robert Page that was featured as part of the Virginia Arts Festival.
Mr. Shoup is the Music Director at Second Presbyterian Church of Norfolk and the founding Artistic Director of the Norfolk Street Choir Project. The NSCP provides individuals affected by homelessness with both support services and opportunities to express themselves through singing and art. The Norfolk Street Choir was the subject of an Emmy Award winning documentary by WHRO Digital Media entitles “City Voices: Homelessness to Hopefulness.”
He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education (voice) from Duquesne University, and a Master’s degree in Conducting from Carnegie Mellon University where he studied with Grammy Award winning conductor Robert Page.
BRANDON ELDREDGE
Delivering performances of “zest and great beauty” with “highly expressive guidance at the podium,” conductor Brandon Eldredge is a passionate and multi-faceted collaborator, having led musicians across the United States, Germany, and Sweden. He has served as Associate Conductor and Chorus Master of Virginia Opera since 2019, leading a multitude of performances from the orchestra pit, including La Bohème, La Traviata, Carmen, La cenerentola, and Jake Heggie’s Intelligence. He led the company’s Il barbiere di Siviglia in 2023 and will lead their 2027 production of Hansel and Gretel. Eldredge served as Associate Conductor and a Guest Principal Conductor with Central City Opera in Colorado during their 2021-2024 festival seasons, conducting performances of Roméo et Juliette, Die Fledermaus, and Rigoletto and leading productions of Dido and Aeneas, The Pirates of Penzance, and Amahl and the Night Visitors. He returned in 2026 to conduct the company’s “In Concert” series, a program featuring music from Der Rosenkavalier, Tannhäuser, Die fliegende Holländer, La forza del destino, and Falstaff. In 2018-2019, he trained as an assistant conductor with Opera Saratoga in upstate New York. He has regularly guest and cover conducted the Virginia Symphony Orchestra since 2022 as part of their classical, pops, and outreach programming. Eldredge’s early training as a pianist has led to collaborations with opera companies and vocal ensembles such as Sacramento Opera, Opera Southwest, American Lyric Theater, Theater Bonn in Germany and with the Virginia Chorale in Norfolk. He serves as Virginia Opera’s Director of Emerging Artists, having spent many years coaching hundreds of singers both here and abroad and curates musical programming for much of the company’s community engagement and outreach concerts, including their side stage “Variations” series. He lives in Norfolk, Virginia with his wife and daughter.
CYNTHIA VAUGHN
Cynthia Vaughn is a respected singer, teacher, and author. She is co-author with Meribeth Dayme of four editions of The Singing Book, a leading group-voice textbook and song anthology. Cynthia has been a clinician and presenter for regional, national, and international conferences and workshops. She was an invited Master Teacher for the National Association of Teachers of Singing Intern Program and previously taught voice at Colorado State University and Art Connects International summer programs in Urbino, Italy. She lives in Norfolk, Virginia, USA with her husband and two tuxedo cats.