The Forces of Virtue, Ensemble

Biography

The early music ensemble The Forces of Virtue displays the wealth of important music from
the Renaissance and the Baroque, with an emphasis on neglected sacred and
dramatic compositions of the 15th through 18th Centuries. The Forces of Virtue,
founded in 2003 by director Alexander
Bonus, structures its programs to reflect contemporary life, issues,
and culture, proving that great art of the past can have profound relevance to
modern society. The name of the ensemble is drawn from the opera la Forza
della Virtú by Baroque composer Reinhard Keiser. 

Soprano Michelle
Areyzaga, a graduate of the Chicago
College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, made her professional debut
with Chicago Opera Theater, and has gone on to perform with Lyric Opera Center
for American Artists, Chicago Opera Theater, Opera Theatre Highland Park,
DuPage Opera Theatre, Light Opera Works, and Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de
México.   She appeared in recital with
Susanne Mentzer performing duets, and with The
Forces of Virtue, sang the title role in Mattheson's Cleopatra.  

Soprano
Julia Davids, originally from
Ontario, Canada, has degrees from the University of Western Ontario and the
University of Michigan.  She is
currently enrolled in the doctoral program at Northwestern University where she
conducts the Women's Chorus.  Ms. Davids
is an avid performer and recitalist, having appeared with Opera Atelier, the
Vancouver Cantata Singers, the Toronto Chamber Choir, and the Toronto Consort.  She is also Director of Music at Trinity
United Methodist Church in Mt. Prospect, IL.  

Baroque
violinist Martin Davids received a
Performer Diploma from Indiana University, and a Masters degree from the
University of Michigan.  He directs the
Callipygian Players, Chicago's new Baroque orchestra, and is concertmaster of
the Bach Chamber Orchestra, and Publick Musick.  He regularly performs with Brandywine Baroque, Indianapolis
Baroque Orchestra, Bach Collegium of Ft. Wayne and the Bach Institute.  He has also played with Chicago Opera
Theater, Aradia, and the Toronto Consort. 

Alexander
Bonus is the founding director of The
Forces of Virtue.  As a performer,
he specializes in both the cornetto and baroque trumpet, and is regularly
engaged by organizations such as the Boston Early Music Festival, the
Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Apollo's Fire,
the Newberry Consort, Santa Fe Pro Musica, Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra, and
Chicago Opera Theater. He holds MM and BM degrees from the Eastman School of
Music.

Craig Trompeter,  a graduate of
the Cleveland Institute of Music, has appeared with the Newberry Consort, the
Chicago Baroque Ensemble, Chicago Opera Theater, and Music of the Baroque.  He has performed with the Ensemble Musical
Offering of Milwaukee, the Madison Early Music Festival, the Baldwin Wallace
Bach Festival, the Oberlin Consort of Viols, and the Catacoustic Consort of Cincinnati.  He can be heard on the Newberry Consort disc
"A Candle in the Dark" on the Harmonia Mundi label.

Harpsichordist,
organist and pianist, David Schrader has
performed with the Chicago, Dallas,San Francisco, and Colorado Symphony Orchestras. 
He performs regularly with Music of the
Baroque, the Newberry
Consort, and Bach Week in
Evanston. Mr. Schrader has recorded with Grant Park Symphony and
the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and has many releases on the Cedille label. He
serves on the faculty of Roosevelt
University, and serves as organist of the Church of the Ascension in
Chicago.