David Stoneman is known for his work in both classic and modern opera. The California native has sung with opera companies from Santa Barbara to Boston in repertoire ranging from Henry Purcell to Philip Glass and in roles from Figaro to Scarpia. After studying locally (OCC, Chapman, and USC), he spent two decades in Boston and New York singing opera and oratorio. Locally, David has appeared over two dozen times in concerts with Pacific Symphony. His oratorio repertoire includes works as diverse as the requiems of Mozart, Brahms, and Verdi, Stravinsky’s Mass, and Orff’s Carmina Burana. Under the baton of Eliza Rubenstein, he has sung the solos in Bach’s Mass in B Minor, Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem, and Mendelssohn’s Elijah. Though opera has been the main focus of his singing career, on the lighter side, David has enjoyed roles in Follies, South Pacific, Six Degrees of Separation, Forty-Second Street and Sweeney Todd. His recently released recordings include The Juniper Tree by Philip Glass and 2116, a new musical by the late science fiction writer Ray Bradbury. David is also a Registered Piano Technician.

Men in Blaque, formed in 1997 at the University of California, Irvine, sings 15th – 21st century choral music in original voicing. Over 350 selections are in the repertoire of this eclectic repertory ensemble. Following the lead of Chanticleer and the King’s Singers, Men in Blaque performs music from many eras and genres. The singers include computer specialists, dancers, clergy as well as students majoring in music, biology, physics, history, computer science and business. In February 2005, Men in Blaque collaborated with the internationally-acclaimed ensemble, Chanticleer, on a workshop at UC Irvine.

Men in Blaque has competed in a number of invitation-only choir competitions and won numerous awards, including in China, Slovakia, Mexico, Serbia, and Wales.

Men in Blaque have recorded five CDs, the most recent being released in 2015. They have also commissioned 15 new works to date. Vytautus Miskinis, Javier Busto and Imant Raminsh are among noted composers writing for the award-winning ensemble.

Katie Franklin Ledsinger earned her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of California at Irvine, and her Master of Arts degree from the City University of New York, Queens College.  Active as a collaborative pianist, vocal coach, music director, piano instructor, and organist for more than thirty years, Ms. Franklin Ledsinger has served on the faculties of several institutions, including the City University of New York at Queens College, Orange Coast College, and the Orange County High School of the Arts.  Ms. Franklin Ledsinger currently accompanies the Men in Blaque, and has been a featured pianist with the South Coast Symphony, the Long Beach Chorale, the Orange County Women’s Chorus and the African American Art Song Alliance.  Her proficiency in contemporary music has paved the way for her to play for many internationally-renowned composers, including John Corigliano, Ricky Ian Gordon, Jake Heggie, and Pulitzer Prize winner John Harbison.  Outside of music, she has been a librarian, a preschool teacher, a horse wrangler, a fitness instructor, and now serves as personal assistant to her and her husband’s senior cat, Clint.

Michael Ushino, Artistic Director of Men in Blaque, is also the director of the Choral/Vocal Arts Department at San Juan Hills High School and heads the program’s Vocal Music Conservatory. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Business Economics from UC Irvine before receiving his Masters in Music in Choral Conducting at the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at CSU, Long Beach. He has performed as a singer and choralist throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, and the United States. He has also performed and conducted on stage with internationally acclaimed performers such as Kronos Quartet and the Rolling Stones.

The late Joseph Huszti was the founding Artistic Director of Men in Blaque, and was a Professor Emeritus of Music in the Claire Trevor School of the Arts, where he taught and mentored both Eliza Rubenstein and Michael Ushino. This performance is offered in memory of Joseph and his wife, Melinda.

During his tenure at Irvine, twenty-seven international concert tours included prize-winning performances at the International Musical Eisteddfod, Llangollen, Wales (1979, 1986, 1992, 1997, 2008, 2017), Béla Bartók International Choral Competition, Debrecen, Hungary (1988, 1994, 2000), the Koorfest, den Haag, Holland (1979), World Choir Games (2006, 2010) and Bratislava, Slovakia (2014). The University of California, Irvine choirs under his direction have performed concerts in the cathedrals of York, Sterling, Westminster, Coventry, Canterbury, Ely, Burgos, Liverpool and Boston as well as presenting formal concerts in London, Tokyo, Burgos, Shanghei, Beijing, Hong Kong, Seoul, Taipei, Budapest, Warsaw, Prague, and Vienna.

Before coming to California, Huszti headed the choral activities at Boston University’s School for the Arts and directed the Young Vocalists Program from 1972-1977 in Lenox, Massachusetts at the Tanglewood Festival. His earlier achievements include directing the Bakersfield College Choir to a historic first prize at the International Musical Eisteddfod in 1965, the first American choir to win in the Adult Mixed Choir Division.He collaborated with internationally renowned musicians including Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland and Norman Dello Joio.