Blake Friedman

October 20, 2026 Canterbury Choral

Tenor Blake Friedman has been cited by The New York Times for the “plummy fullness and dusky hue” of his voice and by New York Classical Review for his voice’s “buttery top.” His “talent for a wide range of musical needs” (Chicago Reader) has appeared on concert, operatic and musical theater stages across the United States. As a regular soloist with Canterbury Choral Society, Blake has sung a wide range of musical offerings, from baroque masterpieces to newly rediscovered works. His Canterbury Choral Society highlights include: tenor soloist in Bach’s B-minor Mass, Christmas Oratorio, and St. Matthew Passion, the title role in Handel’s Judas Maccabaeus, as well as Jonathan in Saul, Nicolas in Benjamin Britten’s St. Nicolas, Verdi’s masterful Messa da Requiem. and the title role in the rediscovered Oratorio di San Francesco by Adriano Ariani. His most recent performance with Canterbury was last fall, in Puccini’s Messe a Quattro Voci

Other notable concert performances include tenor soloist in Liebeslieder Walzer with New York City Ballet, which was also featured on the New York City Ballet 2021 Spring Gala Film directed by Academy Award-winning director Sofia Coppola; tenor soloist in Bruckner’s Te Deum and Beethoven’s Mass in C with Key Chorale; tenor soloist in Carmina Burana and Hayden’s Lord Nelson Mass with York Symphony; tenor soloist in Verdi’s Requiem with Concert Artists of Sarasota; and featured soloist for the world premiere of A Nation of Others by Grammy Award-winning composer/librettist duo Paul Moravec and Mark Campbell at Carnegie Hall.

Notable operatic roles include Marc in the World Premiere of Freedom Ride by Dan Shore with Chicago Opera Theater, Irving Tashman in the New York City Premiere of Morning Star by Ricky Ian Gordon, Iago in Rossini’s Otello with LoftOpera, and Almaviva in both Il Barbiere di Siviglia by Rossini and The Ghosts of Versailles by John Corigliano with Chautauqua Opera where his “romantic and funny” portrayal “proved a highlight.” Other companies Blake has performed with include Dallas Opera, Anchorage Opera, St. Pete Opera, American Opera Projects where he served as resident tenor for the Composer’s and the Voice Symposium from 2015-2018, Bel Canto at Caramoor, Ash Lawn Opera, Bronx Opera and others.

On the musical theater stage he has performed Dr. Gordon in the National Tour of Saw: The Unauthorized Musical Parody, Tony Candolino in Masterclass with The Human Race Theater, The Magistrate/Man 3 in A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder with Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theater, understudy of Tony in West Side Story Suite with New York City Ballet, and understudy of Marcellus Washburn in The Music Man with Ash Lawn Opera.

https://www.blakefriedmantenor.com

Sidney Outlaw

October 20, 2026 Canterbury Choral

Brevard native Baritone Sidney Outlaw is described by The Washington Post as a “generous & expressive singer,” and The New York Times as a “terrific singer” with a “deep, rich timbre,” and an internationally acclaimed vocalist for his “weighty and forthright” singing (San Francisco Chronicle). Since winning the Concurso Internacional de Canto Montserrat Caballé in 2010, he has performed widely in the US and abroad.

In the 2024-25 season, Mr. Outlaw performed recitals with pianist Warren Jones at the Brooklyn Art Song Society and The Manhattan School of Music. He debuted with the California Symphony, singing Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, and with the Bozeman Symphony, singing Mozart's Requiem. He also returned to the Jacksonville Symphony for Handel's Messiah. On the operatic stage, he reprises the role of Mozart in Le Nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni with Pensacola Opera and Opera Philadelphia. In 2026, he was a featured presenter at the 37th International Society for Music Education (ISME) World Conference, where he presented "Shared Voices, Shared Learning: Cultivating a Community of Practice in an After-School Singing Program."

Last year, Sidney released his album, Black Pierrot, featuring music by William Grant Still and Dr. B.E. Boykin, including the world premiere of 26 Ways of Looking at a Black Man with text by poet Raymond Patterson (Commissioned by Merola Opera), which was recently nominated for a Grammy Award in 2026. His 2022 debut album, Lament, and 2024 EP Brahms Zwei Gesänge op. 91 were also released by Lexicon Classics. Mr. Outlaw's recent highlights include performances with Boston Baroque, Chattanooga Symphony, Toledo Opera, and the National Symphony, as well as appearances at Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall. Mr. Outlaw currently holds voice faculty positions at the Manhattan School of Music, The Conservatory at Brooklyn College (CUNY), and Teachers College, Columbia University, where he is pursuing his PhD in Music Education.

Samantha Long

October 16, 2026 Canterbury Choral

Manhattan-based soprano Samantha Long enjoys a growing career on the opera stage, with a wide range of repertoire from the baroque to the contemporary. Samantha is a frequent performer with the Bronx Opera, most recently performing the roles of Elettra in Idomeneo and Fiordilgi in Cosi fan tutte. Before that, she starred as the titular witch in Operativo’s production of Handel’s Alcina in Houston, TX. A lover of contemporary American opera, she has performed the role of Rose in Jake Heggie’s At the Statue of Venus and Jo March in Little Women with the Vanderbilt Opera Theater, as well as Customer/Queer Kid/Congregant in Kamala Sankaram's Taking Up Serpents at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. Other career highlights include the title role in Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah (Rice University), Pamina in Die Zauberflöte (Miami Music Festival), to the title role in Iolanta (Russian Opera Workshop), and Contessa Almaviva in the Prague Summer Nights production of Le nozze di Figaro; in its review of the production, OperaWire.com reported, “as Countess Almaviva, Samantha Long’s portrayal elicited the tears to accompany the laughter of the evening.”

A native of Des Moines, Iowa, Ms. Long obtained her Bachelor of Music degree from Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music, and her Master of Music Degree from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music under the tutelage of Dr. Stephen King. In her free time, she loves painting, exploring local wine bars, and belting show tunes at her beloved dog, Bumi.

Hannah Spierman

October 29, 2024 Canterbury Choral

SSoprano and multi-faceted artist Hannah Spierman is excited to return to the role of Vox Tentationis, which she first sang for Canterbury’s 2018 performance of Ariani's Oratorio di San Francesco. Her other solo appearances with Canterbury Choral Society include the Requiems of Brahms, Mozart, and Verdi, as well as Orff’s Carmina Burana, Handel's Saul, Saint-Saëns’ Oratorio de Noel, Bach’s Magnificat, Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb, and Vaughan Williams’ Dona nobis pacem. She has been honored to serve as the Soprano 1 Section Leader since 2017.

With Oswego Opera Theater, Hannah recently created the role of Mrs. Aron in the world premiere of Charles Abeles' The Golden Cage, which was written in 1945 during the composer's internment at the Fort Ontario Emergency Refugee Shelter, America's only such shelter for refugees of the Holocaust. A frequent performer with the Bronx Opera, her roles with the company include the New Prioress in Dialogues of the Carmelites, Agathe in Der Freizchütz, Alice Ford in both Verdi’s Falstaff and Vaughan Williams’ Sir John in Love, Birdie Hubbard in Marc Blitzstein’s Regina, Countess Almaviva, Musetta, both Donna Anna and Donna Elvira, and many others. Hannah's other roles, performed both in the New York area and regionally throughout the United States, include Tatyana (Eugene Onegin), Mimì (La bohème), Echo (Ariadne auf Naxos), Giorgetta (Il tabarro), First Lady (The Magic Flute), Maria Boccanegra (Simon Boccanegra), and Rosalinda (Die Fledermaus).

On the concert stage, recent highlights include appearances with Death of Classical's Crypt Sessions in the New York City premiere of Nico Muhly's The Street, and soloing in the world premiere of A Festival of Psalms by David and Kerensa Briggs. An accomplished choral singer, Hannah has performed with such ensembles as American Classical Orchestra, American Symphony Orchestra, Bard Festival Chorale, Litha Symphony Orchestra, the Stephen Black Singers, Tanglewood Festival Choir, Vermont Symphony Orchestra Chorus, and Voices of Ascension. A graduate of the New England Conservatory, Hannah resides in The Bronx with her husband and frequent artistic collaborator, stage director Benjamin Spierman.