I want to go home
Artist biographies
Sarah Joyce Cooper
Sarah Joyce Cooper is an award winning soprano known for her “passionate power” (Parterre Box) and “meltingly beautiful” (Opera News) singing. Recent highlights include her debut with Seattle Opera as Minnie Tate in the world premiere of Tazewell Thompson’s Jubilee; Carnegie Hall appearances as the soprano soloist in Mozart’s Requiem and Vesperae solennes de confessore with the New England Symphonic Ensemble; and the title role in James Kallembach’s American Jezebel:The Trial of Anne Hutchinson, a world premiere performance commissioned by Harvard University that tells the story of theologian, midwife, and co-founder of Rhode Island, Anne Hutchinson. Performances for the 2025-26 season include a return to Rochester Oratorio Society as the soloist in the highly anticipated Rochester premiere of Will Todd’s Mass in Blue, her debut with the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra as the soloist in Mahler’s Fourth Symphony, an appearance with the Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra as a soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, and a soloist appearance in the world premiere performance of Mark Hayes’s Psalmos at Carnegie Hall. This summer she looks forward to making her debut with Opera Acadia as Violetta in La Traviata.
Ramsey Reyes
Ramsey Reyes is a collaborative pianist, vocal coach, and conductor. Fluent in five languages, Ramsey has largely focused on coaching languages with singers. Ramsey has worked at a number of opera organizations, including the Academy of Vocal Arts, Opera North, Opera Orlando, Vienna Summer Music Festival, and others. Currently Ramsey is the music and choir director at St. Agatha-St. James Church, an apprentice conductor for the Philadelphia Ballet, an assistant conductor for the University of Pennsylvania Symphony Orchestra and Soli Deo Gloria Chorale, music director for the Penn Singers Light Opera Company, and a piano instructor at the University of Pennsylvania. This summer, he will be a faculty member at Varna International, where he will be a pianist and cover conductor for Carmen. He also is the founder of the Virtú Institute, a summer program for middle school students. Ramsey holds degrees from Temple University and the University of Pennsylvania.
About the choir
The St. Agatha-St. James Choir, comprised of college students and young adults and led by Ramsey Reyes, is the primary choir at the St. Agatha-St. James Parish. They sing a variety of liturgical styles, ranging from medieval chant to gospel music. The choir emphasizes the value of singing in different languages and time periods as a way of highlighting the universality of the Church. In addition to their presence on Sundays, they also sing periodically at the Cathedral Basilica of Philadelphia and perform an annual Christmas concert with orchestra.