Bach Magnificat & Lauridsen Lux Aeterna
Saturday, September 27, 2025 – 7:30 PM
First United Methodist Church
501 N Tryon St, Charlotte, NC
The Charlotte Master Chorale opens its 75th Anniversary Season with the powerful pairing of Bach’s Magnificat and Lauridsen’s Lux Aeterna, performed in partnership with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra. This program honors our legacy of musical excellence and our commitment to both timeless masterworks and vibrant contemporary voices.
This special performance is presented in partnership with the Charlotte Symphony and is made possible, in part, with support from the Sally Ann and Joe Hall Fund of the Charlotte Symphony’s Endowment.
Charlotte Master Chorale Main Chorus
MaryRuth Miller, soprano
Ingrid Johnson, mezzo-soprano
Jordan Taylor, tenor
Robert Harrelson, bass-baritone
Charlotte Symphony Orchestra
Kenney Potter, conductor
Free parking is available in First UMC’s parking garage located at 163 W. Ninth Street between Tryon and Church Streets.
Our Soloists

MARYRUTH MILLER
Soprano
Praised by the Boston Musical Intelligencer for her “clear soprano” and “tasteful dramatic interpretation,” MaryRuth Miller has appeared throughout North America as a concert soloist and choral artist. Recent and upcoming performance highlights include solo features with Boston’s Handel and Haydn Society, Bach Akademie Charlotte, Upper Valley Baroque, Pegasus Early Music, Bach Collegium San Diego, San Diego Baroque, the Charlotte Master Chorale, the Baldwin Wallace Bach Festival, and the Oregon Bach Festival.
An equally passionate choral singer, MaryRuth is one of six members of the newest VOCES8 Foundation ensemble, Lyyra. In 2024-2025, she has joined VOCES8 as a substitute soprano for performances in the US, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Singapore, Australia (Sydney Opera House) and the UK (BBC Proms with the Kings Singers, Royal Albert Hall). She also sings regularly with the Handel and Haydn Society Chorus, New York City’s Clarion Choir, and the Oregon Bach Festival Chorus, and she made her debut with the Santa Fe Desert Chorale in 2022. Also in 2022, she could be seen singing backup for Ellie Goulding on the internationally televised Earthshot Prize award ceremony.
Originally from West Columbia, South Carolina, MaryRuth holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Winthrop University and a Master of Historical Performance degree from Boston University. She lives in San Diego, California.

INGRID JOHNSON
Mezzo-Soprano
Praised for her sensitivity and style, mezzo-soprano Ingrid Johnson captivates from soaring high notes, to intimate, emotional portrayals that feel unapologetically authentic. As a performer, scholar, and discoverer, Ingrid is always seeking new adventures in music. She strides confidently and intuitively into the worlds of opera, choral music, early music, education outreach programs, and is enthusiastic about making the arts available and accessible to everyone. From Bach, to Beech, to behind the scenes, she is a deeply passionate, hard-worker, with the drive and skills to thrive in the music world.
In the 2024–25 season, Ingrid is proudly joining the VOCES8 Foundation’s newest professional ensemble, Lyyra. She sings regularly with the Colorado Bach Ensemble and St. Martin’s Chamber Choir and travels around the US as a Teaching Artist with the VOCES8 Foundation providing workshops and musical development with schools and choirs. As an avid advocate of arts outreach, she is a founding member of the brand new vocal ensemble, Quorum, which seeks to sing music that reflects the diverse reality of our world, share music with listeners who cannot otherwise access live singing, and create a collaborative, non-hierarchical structure in not only music making, but also business practices. Ingrid is particularly excited to be joining the North Carolina-based ensemble Servire whose “Sing & Serve” mission strives to bring communities together through music.
Her recent engagements include work with the Oregon Bach Festival Chorus, Aspen Music Festival with the Seraphic Fire Professional Chorus Institute, continued work with world premier recording projects, and a summer scholarship position with Quintessense in Albuquerque. In 2022, she joined the VOCES8 US Scholars Program for their season which included the world premiere performance of Christopher Tin’s Grammy nominated work The Lost Birds), was a Fellow in Emmanuel Music Inc’s Bach Institute, travelled to Germany to join the chorus of the JSB Ensemble with the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart, and made her debut with Opera Colorado as a chorus member in Turandot. She was also a finalist in the Colorado Bach Ensemble’s 2023 Competition for Young Artists.
She has also sung with groups around Canada and the US including Seicento Baroque Ensemble, the Montreal Bach Festival, Boulder Bach Festival, Opera McGill, the Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul, the Orchestre Philharmonique et Choeur des Mélomanes, and the Colorado Music Festival.
Born and raised in Colorado, Ingrid is a graduate of McGill University where she attained a Master’s degree in Music with a focus on Early Music Performance. She is an alumnus of Colorado State University where she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of the Arts degree in Music and a minor in Fashion Merchandising.

JORDAN TAYLOR
Tenor

ROBERT HARRELSON
Bass-Baritone
Robert Harrelson is a bass-baritone originally from Boiling Springs, North Carolina. During his 20-year career with the U.S. Air Force Singing Sergeants in Washington, D.C., Robert performed for five U.S. presidents, as well as numerous U.S. and international political, diplomatic, and military leaders. His hundreds of performances across the U.S. have been seen and heard by millions around the world in person, on television, and via the Internet. Recent opera roles performed include Escamillo, Méphistophélès, Rocco, Il Commendatore, and the Physician (Opera Carolina’s Macbeth). Recent solo oratorio engagements include Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Great Mass in C Minor (both with the Richmond Symphony), Beethoven’s Mass in C and Ninth Symphony, Faure’s Requiem and Haydn’s “Lord Nelson” Mass. Robert studied voice at Indiana University with Giorgio Tozzi and Roy Samuelsen, and received his D.M.A. from the University of Georgia, where studied with Frederick Burchinal. He retired from the Air Force in 2018 and is currently an adjunct instructor of voice at Gardner-Webb University.







