Album Notes

This CD has been nominated for a 2005 Washington Area Music Award (Wammies) under the category Classical Recording.

The Countertop Quartet was formed in the summer of 2004 when four friends, all professional singers living in Washington DC at the time, realized that their combination of voices - two countertenors, a female alto/mezzo-soprano, and a female soprano - was one with a very unique sound. They began to explore the repertoire of music for upper voices and delighted concert audiences with their uncommon blend and unusual voicings.

The countertenors, Chris Dudley and Nick Pepin, hail from Great Britain. Both Nick and Chris received their training in the cathedral choir schools of England; Chris has also studied in conservatories in both England and the United States. The other half of the quartet is American (and US-trained). Soprano Kathryn Mueller is the "top" of the "Countertop," and Marjorie Bunday sings both alto and mezzo-soprano. The ensemble has performed with British organist Neil Weston at the Washington Early Music Festival and the Rock Creek Festival (both in Washington DC), and they plan to expand the English-American connection with a concert tour to the United Kingdom.

The group will donate 30% of the profits generated by the sale of this CD to the Hunger and Homeless Ministries of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, K Street Parish, Washington, DC. For more information, please visit www.stpauls-kst.com/missions.htm