Cecilia Duarte, Mezzo Soprano was born in Chihuahua Mexico. She has been an HGO chorus member since 2005. Her outreach experience includes HGO's Opera to Go's for three seasons, where she performed roles such as Stephano in Romeo and Juliet, Berta in Barber of Seville, Jezhibabain Rusalka, Hansel in Hansel and Gretel among others. Last spring, she stared the role of Gracie, in A Way Home, a new opera commissioned by HGO's program Song of Houston written by Ethan Green. She also collaborates with HGO doing  Storybook Opera in Spanish. She participated in summer programs such as TOP Opera where she performed the roles of Carmen and Lucretia in Britten's Rape of Lucretia under the direction of Elizabeth Bachman and Kathryn Wright.  Her solo work includes Beethoven's ninth Symphony with the Doctor's Orchestra of Houston, J.S. Bach's B minor Mass andMendelssohn's Elijah at the Oregon Bach Festival, among others. Cecilia has performed for over then years with Mexican composer and Director Alberto Espino in several productions including the world premiers of Maestro Espino's original musicals with the staring roles. Next engagements include the role of Renata in HGO's world premier of the Mariachi Opera Across the face of the Moon, to celebrate Mexico's bicentennial.     

Mrs. Monica Guehring is a graduate of UNC-Wilmington where she studied voice with Nancy King and worked with voice coach Patricia Ainspac. During her time at UNC-Wilmington, Mrs. Guehring traveled on several occasions to Germany and Austria as a soloist with the UNCW Chamber Singers. She was the 2000 Collegiate Winner of the Richard R. Deas Concerto Competition and while in Wilmington, served for seven years as a staff singer and soloist with St. James Episcopal Church.

Upon her arrival in Houston, Mrs. Guehring auditioned successfully for the Houston Symphony Chorus under the direction of Dr. Charles Hausmann. She was then invited to sing with the University of Houston Choral Artists. It was in Choral Artists where Mrs. Guehring met Amy Solberg, who kindly led the way to CANTARE.

Mrs. Guehring teaches with Alief ISD and also serves as a staff singer and soloist with St. Paul's United Methodist Church. Mrs. Guehring is excited to be starting a new season with CANTARE. Monica enjoys being part of this exquisite ensemble and hopes the music carries and inspires you as much as it does her.

Laura Nielsen lyric mezzo-soprano, resides in Kingwood, TX with her husband Phillip. Ms. Nielsen, a graduate of San Jose State University and a native Californian, began performing professionally with Opera San Jose in 2003. In her role as Abigail Williams in Opera San Jose's premiere production of Robert Ward's The Crucible, Nielsen's performance garnered critical acclaim: "In the tradition of the irresistible 'bad girls' of mainline European opera-Thais, Manon, Salome-we had a marvelous young spinto soprano doing the devious seductress Abigail, Laura Nielsen." -artssf.com  Since then, Ms. Nielsen has continued to perform across the country, delighting audiences with dramatic and comic roles such as Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, Yum Yum in The Mikado, and Mimi in La Boheme. After relocating to Kingwood in 2008, Laura performed the soprano solo with the Kingwood Chorale & Orchestra in their 2009 production of Carmina Burana. In the summers of 2009 and 2010, she performed with the Lonestar College Opera Workshop where she sang the roles of Rosina in The Barber of Seville and Eurydice and Venus in Orpheus in the Underworld. Ms. Nielsen was most recently seen onstage as Carmen in the Lonestar Kingwood College Summer Opera Program's production of Carmen. When not performing, Laura teaches voice and piano students of all ages in the greater Houston area.

Kari Perkins, Executive Director of CANTARE Houston, has actively participated in Houston's choral scene for almost 30 years. Kari has sung with CANTARE since 2005, and has been a member of Congregation Emanu El's professional choir since 1989. Throughout the years, she has sung with Fort Worth Opera Chorus, Concert Chorale of Houston, Houston Symphony Chorus and Houston Masterworks Chorus, and has served as section leader/soloist for several area churches.

Kari received her Bachelor of Music Education degree from Texas Christian University, where she pursued choral conducting with Ron Shirey and studied voice with Ira Schantz and Roger Bryant. Subsequent voice instructors have included Diane Tobola and Virginia Babikian.

For more than 26 years, Kari was the Information Technology Manager for Sullins, Johnston, Rohrbach & Magers, where she remains an active consultant. When she's not singing or working for CANTARE, Kari enjoys reading and tutoring, and is also an amateur astronomer and an avid tennis fan.

Valerie Serice has fifteen years chamber choir and large chorus experience.  She has sung with CANTARE Houston professional chamber choir since 2007, Houston Masterworks Chorus and Chamber Choir (1995 - 2007), and has also served on the Board of Directors of both organizations. In addition, she has performed with the Victoria Bach Festival (Victoria and Austin, TX) and the Berkshire Choral Festival (Sheffield, MA), both under the direction of Craig Hella Johnson. Active for many years as a church cantor and piano accompanist, Valerie currently serves in both capacities at St. Michael Catholic Church in Houston.
 
Valerie received her Bachelor of Music in Piano and Master of Education degrees from Louisiana State University. There she studied both piano and instrumental music (clarinet), accompanying and performing with various university ensembles. As a teacher with the Houston Independent School District in the mid 1990's, she instructed individual and group piano, and coached and accompanied vocal soloists, instrumentalists, choirs, and musical theatre productions. 
 
A recruiting consultant since 1997, Valerie is the owner of Select Search Consultants, located in Houston's Galleria area.   

Amy Solberg is currently the choir director at Bellaire High School. Under her direction the choirs have received sweepstakes at UIL competitions, numerous awards at festivals in New York City, San Antonio, DisneyWorld, Dallas, and Chicago and have been invited to perform at Carnegie Hall and across the country in various festivals and competitions. Most recently, the Bellaire Chorale Women performed at the 2010 TMEA conference in San Antonio.

Ms. Solberg holds a Master of Music degree in choral conducting from the University of Houston and a Bachelor of Music degree in piano and choral education from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota where she was a member of the world-renowned Concordia Choir under Rene Clausen.

Ms. Solberg is an active member of the choral community. In addition to Cantare Houston, she is a staff singer at Christ Church Cathedral. She is listed in Who's Who of American Women, Who's Who in America, and Who's Who in the World and was inducted into the National Honor Roll of Outstanding Teachers of America. Her professional affiliations include ACDA, TCDA, TMEA, MENC, and Chorus America.

Kristin LIkos is in her third season with CANTARE Houston. Kristin also works with Kevin Riehle at Taylor High School in Katy as the Assistant Director of Choral Activities, where she directs three women's choruses and teaches AP Music Theory. Her choirs consistently receive superior ratings at the UIL Concert and Sight Reading competition. An honors graduate of The University of Texas at Austin, she holds a degree in Music Education with emphasis in piano and choral conducting.