Bio's

 

Darrell Hicks

Tenor Darrell Hicks began pleasing people with his gorgeous voice when he was a young man.

Darrell has since enjoyed many successes. Mr. Hicks is now reputed to be a technically reliable and an artistically vibrant performer. Having performed Tamino from “The Magic Flute” by Mozart several times, Darrell is quickly being recognized as the “perfect tenor for the role” by critics and audiences alike.

As a young tenor, he has already been the soloist in Beethoven’s “Symphony No.9”, under the baton of Peter Oundjion, Handel’s “Messiah”, and Mozart’s “Coronation Mass”. Mr. Hicks has also performed the roles of Il Principe in Respighi’s “La Bella Dormente nel Bosco”, Flute in Britten’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, and The Brazilian in Offenbach’s “La Vie Parisienne”. In the Gilbert and Sullivan repertoire, he has played roles such as Luiz from “The Gondoliers”, Strephon from “Iolanthe”, and Ralph from “H.M.S. Pinafore”. He also enjoys performing in musicals; roles such as Tony from Bernstein’s “West Side Story”, Anthony from Sondheim’s “Sweeney Todd”, and Javert from Schönberg’s “Les Miserables”.

 


 

Michael Toby

Michael Toby has always done things differently. Born in Toronto, he grew up in Trinidad and later returned to Canada. His voice has been described as a “strong lyric tenor voice” that is “specially cultured” with a “lyrical richness.” Onstage he has gone from the lechery of the duke in Verdi’s Rigoletto to the comical farce of the bumbling Rinuccio in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi as well as the ardent romantic Rodolfo in Puccini’s La Boheme.

Michael graduated from McGill University. He has sung extensively in oratorio and concerts: from the tenor solos of Handel’s Messiah to the goose in Orff’s Carmina Burana. Yet opera is his love. He recently sang the role of Cavaradossi in Puccini’s Tosca, and he has performed in concert with Symphony Hamilton, Symphony Scarborough, The Toronto Philharmonia and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.

Michael continues to defy convention. He enjoys life in rural Ontario where he preaches at a small country church.

 

Mitch Seekins


Mitch Seekins has been singing professionally for over 25 years, has studied voice intensely for 13 years, and had been teaching students vocal technique for over 18 years. Among his students are some of Canada's top recording artists. He has performed Pop, Rock, and R&B coast to coast in Canada, the United States, and Europe.

In 1996, he was encouraged to make a crossover into Classical music. His credits include lead roles in such opera as Madama Butterfly, La Traviata, Cosi Fan Tutte, The Magic Flute, Gianni Schicchi, and many others. He was cofounder of a three tenor act called The Legendary Tenors which toured all over North America. He has created “Buble to Bocelli”, another show that has been performing in soft seat theaters with its 15 cast ensemble which celebrates the music of Andrea Bocelli and Michael Buble. He has combined all his producing experience and created a fantastic new show, The International Tenors, complete with a multimedia format which is beginning to tour through the USA and Canada.