MEET OUR ARTISTS

Geoffrey Hill is thrilled to work as a performer and educator in Boise, ID. Raised in Portland, OR, he started playing violin at age 11. He attended the College of Idaho, where he studied with former Boise Phil concertmaster, Geoffrey Trabichoff.  In addition to being a member of the Boise Baroque Orchestra, he is Principal Second Violin of the Boise Phil, and regularly plays with Opera Idaho, the McCall SummerFest Orchestra, and 208 ensemble. Besides performing, he also teaches private violin students of all ages and works with pre-K students as music teacher at Garabatos Spanish Preschool.  When he doesn’t have a rehearsal or concert, you can find Geoff hiking, biking, and cooking with his wife or playing with his wonderful corgi, Finlay.

With nearly sixty roles to his credit, baritone Jason Detwiler has become well-known for his magnetic and energizing stage performances. His voice and acting have been described as emotionally fervid, richly expressive and commanding, embodying characters ranging from the comedic Gianni Schicchi to the dramatic Renato (Un ballo in maschera). Among his most widely acclaimed roles are Eugene Onegin,Il conte di Luna (Il trovatore), Zurga (Les pêcheurs de perles), and Nick Carraway (The Great Gatsby).

His most recent engagements include debuts of Tom/John (The Face on the Barroom Floor) with his Opera Idaho and as Ugo in Jake Landau’s new opera, Pietà with the Narnia Festival at the Teatro Comunale di Narni in Italy. This season, Mr. Detwiler will reprise the villanous Il conte di Luna in an outdoor concert version of Il trovatore with Opera in the Field as well as Marcello (La bohème) with Light Opera of New Jersey. In

the spring, he sings Owen Hart in Dead Man Walking with Opera Idaho, marking his 36th production with his hometown company.

Jason has performed nationally with San Diego Opera, Virginia Opera, Wichita Grand Opera, Opera Santa Barbara, Opera Parallèle, Center for Contemporary Opera, Syracuse Opera, Opera San Jose, Sacramento Opera, Shreveport Opera, Festival

Opera of Walnut Creek, West Bay Opera, Opera Idaho, Inland Northwest Opera, Vallejo Symphony Orchestra, the American Philharmonic Sonoma County, the Idaho State Civic Symphony, the Boise Philharmonic & Master Chorale, Boise Baroque, and in France with the Opéra Théâtre, Avignon.

His concert credits include: Bach St. John Passion, Cantatas 40/82, Haydn Creation, Mozart and Faure Requiem, Handel Messiah, Beethoven Ninth Symphony, Dvorak Te Deum, Schubert Mass in G-minor, Saint-Säens Christmas Oratorio,

Mollicone Beatitude Mass, staged versions of Schubert Die Winterreise, Ahab (Bernard Herrmann  Moby Dick) and Jim Cockey premier of Shalom: a Holocaust Memorial.

Mr. Detwiler has continued to expand his repertory with the musical leads in Carousel, The King & I, Oklahoma! and South Pacific.

Currently, he resides in Boise, Idaho with his wife, mezzo-soprano Michele Detwiler and studies with New York City’s Andrea DelGiudice.

Ms. Detwiler has sung over thirty roles with regional companies on the West Coast, favoring Mahler, Strauss, Bel Canto and French repertoire. Critics have described her instrument as “amber-voiced”, “a velvety mezzo soprano voice with excellent range”, with performances being cited as “riveting” and holding “center stage commandingly”.

Since moving to Idaho in 2007 she has performed over a dozen characters with Opera Idaho.  Some of her favorite roles include Bloody Mary (South Pacific), Suzuki (Madama Butterfly), Augusta (The Ballad of Baby Doe), Mother (Hansel & Gretel), Dinah (Trouble in Tahiti), Anna (The King and I), Maddalena (Rigoletto), and Third Lady (Die Zauberflöte). She returns in the 2021-2022 season to debut Jade Boucher in Dead Man Walking.

From 2001-2007, she was a Principal Artist and Guest Artist with Opera San Jose where she sang in eighteen productions ranging from lyric to dramatic repertoire. While there she garnered much praise for her portrayal of Elizabeth Proctor (The Crucible), and took on the roles of Suzuki, Rosina (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Dorabella (Cosí fan tutte), Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Stephano(Romeo et Juliette), and the title roles of Carmen and La Cenerentola. In addition, the mezzo has sung with Sacramento Opera, MidAtlantic Opera, West Bay Opera, Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra, the Boise Philharmonic, Auburn Symphony, the Boise Master Chorale, Boise Baroque and Symphony Silicon Valley.  This past summer Ms. Detwiler joined the vocal faculty of the Narnia Vocal Festival in Narni, Italy to advance the skills of young emerging artists and debuted Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater.

Chad Spears, a native of Boise, ID, has performed across the US, with additional appearances in Canada and Mexico. A winner of numerous young artist competitions, he made his orchestral debut at the age of eighteen playing Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A Minor with the Treasure Valley Youth Symphony. Since then he has been featured with the Washington-Idaho Symphony and the Coeur d’Alene Symphony as the soloist for Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3, with the Spokane Symphony for Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G Major and with the University of Idaho Orchestra performing Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2. Chad earned his Doctor of Music Degree in Piano Performance at Florida State University under the tutelage of Dr. Read Gainsford.

A highly sought-after collaborative pianist, Chad was invited to perform at the Encuentro Internacional de Flauta y Piccolo at the Escuela Superior de Música y Danza in Monterrey, Mexico, where he played in several recitals with the festival’s students and faculty members. He has also been a guest artist in Toronto, Canada, a number of times, performing with flutist Alheli Pimienta, the duo Flautas del Fuego, and collaborating with composer Adam Sherkin. Chad’s performance of Sherkin’s Daycurrents is featured on the website of the Canadian Music Centre. Chad’s chamber music repertoire is extensive and covers a range of styles from the Bach flute and keyboard sonatas to César Franck’s Sonata for Violin and Piano and Olivier Messiaen’s Quatour pour la fin du Temps. He is a proponent of new music, having performed works by the Japanese-American composer Hiroya Miura, Ukrainian composer Oleg Bezborodko and Dutch composer Louis Andriessen, among others.

A passionate teacher, Chad is dedicated to inspiring the next generation of musicians. He has served as a group piano instructor at Florida State University and the University of North Florida, and has maintained active piano studios in Moscow, ID and Tallahassee, FL. Chad currently serves as an accompanist and adjunct instructor of class piano for Boise State University’s Department of Music. He works with several Boise State choral ensembles, voice students, and on occasion with the Symphonic Winds and Symphony Orchestra. He is the pianist for the Boise-based group Tree City Chamber Players and also collaborates with local area school choirs, Alley Repertory Theater, and Opera Idaho.

Lindsay Bohl is a violist in Boise, Idaho. She currently serves as the Associate Principal Viola of the Boise Philharmonic and member of the

Boise Philharmonic String Quartet. Prior to her position in Boise, Lindsay was a member of the New World Symphony in Miami, under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas. An active performer, Lindsay has also played with orchestras around the country including the Hawaii Symphony, the American Ballet Theatre, Phantom of the Opera on Broadway, and others. She is a founding member of Classical Revolution:Boise and has served on the faculty of Young Musicians and Artists summer camp since 2011.  In addition to her performance career, Lindsay maintains an active private studio of violin and viola students. She enjoys teaching students of all ages and has training in traditional and Suzuki pedagogy. Lindsay’s students have had success in festivals, Youth Orchestra auditions, All-State auditions, and college entrance and scholarship auditions. Lindsay previously served on the faculty of George Fox University in Oregon, and taught and directed high school orchestras in Arizona.  Lindsay holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Viola Performance and Music Education from the University of Arizona and a Master’s Degree from Northwestern University in Viola Performance.

Kate Jarvis is a violinist and music educator based in Boise, Idaho. A native of Boise, Kate began her violin studies at the age of seven and is currently the assistant concertmaster of the Boise Philharmonic and principal second violin of the Boise Baroque Orchestra. She is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music (BM) and the University of Minnesota (MM), and has studied under leading professors including Charles Castleman, Lynn Blakeslee, and Sally O’Reilly.  An active performer, Kate has played in venues across the United States and Austria and enjoys working with a diverse range of musicians and artists. Most recently, she was able to play with the Oregon Symphony as a substitute violinist.An avid chamber musician, Kate has had the opportunity to be coached by members of the Ying Quartet, Takács Quartet, and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and has spent many a happy summer studying and working with students at the Castleman Quartet Programs. She has performed as a guest artist on the Boise State University faculty chamber music recital, with Classical Revolution:Boise, and is a member of 208 Ensemble, Boise’s contemporary music ensemble.

Cellist Stephen Mathie, an Idaho native, is a veteran member of the Boise Philharmonic having joined in 2003 at the age of 20. Stephen is an avid player and has held positions in the Boise Baroque Orchestra, Opera Idaho orchestra, is a founding member of the Boise Cello Collective, and is a contributor to Classical Revolution: Boise. Mathie has attended several renowned music festivals including Marrowstone, Interlochen,

the National Symphony Orchestra Summer Music Institute, and Tanglewood. He comes from a lineage of professional musicians who have played in major orchestras such as the Detroit Symphony, the Metropolitan Opera, and the New York Philharmonic. Mathie obtained a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Boise State University and enjoys his career as a Software Engineer. His loving wife, Jennifer, and two young boys, Flynn and Logan, occupy his time outside of his busy work life.

Melanie Keller is Principal Flutist & Personnel Manager of the Vallejo Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Napa Valley and Opera Idaho Orchestra and performs regularly with the Boise Philharmonic. She has spent recent summers performing at the Sun Valley Music Festival and with the McCall Summerfest Orchestra. A frequent prizewinner at national flute competitions, she won 1st Place in the 2005 Mid- Atlantic Flute Fair Young Artist Competition. She earned her MM in the studio of Timothy Day at the San Francisco Conservatory and her BM in the studio of Mark Sparks at the Peabody Institute. A passionate educator, she serves as the Flute Instructor at the College of Idaho and the Dunkley School of Music. Her students have enjoyed participating in the All-Northwest Band and Idaho All-State Band and other national competitions. When not playing her flute, Melanie loves spending time with her husband Blaise and their sons, Owen & Jacob.

Dr. Arthur Joseph Houle’s professional career spans a half century as a longstanding academic professor (now emeritus), founder/artistic director of the International Festival for Creative Pianists, critically acclaimed soloist and collaborative pianist, recurring presenter for national/regional/state music conferences, adjudicator for festivals/competitions, recipient of several prestigious teaching accolades, and published writer, composer, arranger, scholar/editor and recording artist.

His versatile talents are evident in his YouTube channel – https://www.youtube.com/@arthurjosephhoulepianist