Music Team

Mark Feldhusen joined Commonwealth Chorale as rehearsal pianist in 2009. He is also accompanist at Temple Israel in Boston, Temple Beth Elohim in Wellesley, Rivers School Conservatory, and Perkins School for the Blind. Praised for his “sensitive accompaniment” (The Arts Fuse, 3/14/12), Mr. Feldhusen has also appeared in concert with the Heritage Chorale as well as numerous concerts of secular and sacred Jewish music. He is active in the Boston chamber music scene and annually attends the Bennington Chamber Music Conference. He has studied with Darryl Rosenberg and Kevin McGinty. A talented sight-reader and quick study, he has also been known to step out of the audience, take the place of an indisposed pianist, and save middle school performances of The Pajama Game.

Laura Beth Couch is delighted to be returning for her third season with the Commonwealth Chorale. Originally from New Jersey, Laura recently completed her Performance Diploma at Boston University. She earned her Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Rutgers University, and her Master of Music in Voice Performance at Shenandoah University. Laura has performed in operas, recitals, concerts, competitions, church services, and musicals. Most recently, she performed with The Bay Music Festival as La Ciesca in Gianni Schicchi, La Zelatrice in Suor Angelica, and Babette in Beauty and the Beast. At Boston University, she performed as Friedrich Bhaer in Little Women and covered Bradamante in Alcina. Last year, she was the mezzo-soprano soloist for Commonwealth Chorale’s performance of Mozart’s Coronation Mass and Marianna Martines’s Dixit Dominus. She also was the soloist for Charles River Chorale’s performance of Vivaldi’s Gloria. 

In addition to performing, Laura is a caring and dedicated music teacher. For over eight years, she has taught voice, musical theater, early childhood music, music theory, and piano. She teaches after-school music at Wellan Montessori School and voice lessons to Boston University undergraduates. Additionally, she maintains her own private voice studio. As a teacher, Laura strives to create life-long music lovers. She wants her students to feel that they are special, worthy, and capable of creating beauty through art.  For more information visit www.laurabethcouchmezzo.com

Leo Balkovetz is a performer and librettist in the Boston area. He has performed in the world premieres of You Reap What You Soul (Guy) and Bedbug (The Reporter) with Promenade Opera Project and the world premier of NIGHTTOWN (Buck Mulligan) with Lowell House Opera and a touring production of Mister Twister (Bobby) an opera for children. As an oratorio soloist, Leo has performed across the state in Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem, Coronation Mass and Beethoven’s Mass in C. As a writer, Leo has written the libretto for Quinn Gutman’s Violetta a queer re-telling of Verdi’s La Traviata and a modern treatment of Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito for Opera del West’s 2023 season.
 

William Farrell has been singing with Commonwealth Chorale a section leader since 2016, and he is excited to be joining the group for another season. Since moving to the Greater Boston area in fall 2015, he has performed with various professional groups, including The Boston Camerata, The Tanglewood Festival Chorus for the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Pops, Capella Nova Mundi, Canto Armonico, and St. Paul's Choir School. In 2019, he had the unique opportunity to perform at the activation Bleed for the Throne by HBO, Game of Thrones, and the American Red Cross at SXSW.

William graduated with a Master of Music in Early Music from the Longy School of Music in 2017. He loves to explore all types of historical performance, especially Renaissance polyphony and Baroque opera. Over the past year he has been on an endeavor with a few other professional singers to present rarely performed or unperformed Franco-Flemish polyphonic choral settings—one on a part—for St. Clements Eucharistic Shrine. They approach settings with liturgically appropriate texts in an attempt to survey a large portion of the repertoire that gets ignored. Outside of singing, William is an avid cyclist and loves to take any opportunity to return to New Hampshire where he can cycle on the beautiful mountain roads.