FORT WAYNE — Heartland announces the hiring of four full-time vocal artists to lead the organization to a new level of artistic and musical excellence.

The vocalists who will be joining Heartland include: Elaina Robbins, coloratura soprano; Betsy Ley, mezzo soprano/alto; Jerome Síbulo, baritone; and Ian Williams, bass-baritone. Presently, Heartland has 24 part-time vocal artists and a volunteer group of approximately 80 choristers.

Heartland’s president and artistic director, Maestro Robert Nance said, “This has been a long held dream of mine that Heartland would become a full-time professional choral group. We are going to give these singers a full-time salary and a place to grow in their profession. It started out with a desire to elevate the choral singer to a full-time profession. To provide full-time work for singers, it has to be sustainable, not donor dependent but rather a partnership with donors. We are on the edge of revolutionizing the whole choral profession and I feel that we can replicate this model all over the country. We are thrilled with the voices that will soon grace the stages of Northeast Indiana.”

Heartland welcomes their new singers for a rehearsal at 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 31, and to their first performance as members of the Heartland Vocal Artist Family at 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 20. Both the rehearsal and the fall season opener, Light Eternal: Mozart Requiem and More will be held at Plymouth Congregational Church, 501 W. Berry St., Fort Wayne.