All material found in the Press Releases section is provided by parties entirely independent of Musical America, which is not responsible for content.
Press Releases
Acclaimed Soprano Katie Van Kooten Featured in Hometown Christmas Special
For Immediate Release
Contact: Mark Gresham, Lux Nova Press
bfm@luxnova.com or 404-654-3960
BELLINGHAM, WA— Lynden, Washington native and acclaimed soprano Katie Van Kooten is the featured artist for a special Christmas/Holiday concert entitled Katie – Home for Christmas, benefitting the Bellingham Festival of Music.
The concert takes place on December 17, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. in Western Washington University's PAC concert hall. Ticket prices range from $10 for children and students (to age 18), $25-$35 for adults, and $75 for a special “Patron” package which includes admission to a post-concert reception at WWU. The concert is underwritten by and benefits the Bellingham Festival of Music, and is sponsored by Saturna Capital. Tickets over $10 are tax deductible.
Other featured artists include the Bellingham Children's Chorus directed by David Post, San Francisco pianist, composer and arranger Brett Strader, and harpist Krista Strader.
Ms. Van Kooten's repertoire for the evening will include selections from well-known traditional Christmas carols such as “O Come, All Ye Faithful,” “Away in a Manger,” seasonal classical favorites such as “O Holy Night” and “Ave Maria,” and time-honored popular songs including “I'll Be Home for Christmas” and “White Christmas.”
Ms. Van Kooten will perform some of the evening's selections with the Bellingham Children's Chorus.
For more information, visit the official concert web page online at www.bellinghamfestival.org/christmasspecial.htm or the concert's Facebook event page at www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=179128361355
High-resolution photos of Ms. Van Kooten are available to media. For these, and other media inquiries, please contact: Mark Gresham, Lux Nova Press. e-mail: bfm@luxnova.com ; tel. 404-654-3960.
ABOUT KATIE VAN KOOTEN
A recent graduate of the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden American soprano Katie Van Kooten, has been noted by The Daily Telegraph as “a major operatic talent. Her singing has something of the same glow radiated by Te Kanawa or Freni, and her endearing charm and bright smile make her a winning stage personality.”
Recently Ms. Van Kooten made her house debuts at the Metropolitan Opera in the acclaimed Nicolas Joël production of La Rondine as Magda and at Houston Grand Opera as Helena in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This season she also returned to the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden for performances of Antonia in Les Contes d’Hoffmann opposite Rolando Villazón and led by Antonio Pappano.
Ms. Van Kooten made her debut at the Royal Opera House in 2004 as Magda, and she has since gone on to perform Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Mimi in La Boheme, and Marguerite in Faust there. She recently made her Japanese debut singing Micaëla in Carmen under the direction of Seiji Ozawa and her United States debut performing Marguerite with the Metropolitan Opera in Central Park.
In concert, Katie Van Kooten has sung Mozart’s Requiem with the London Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Vladimir Jurowski and Strauss’ Four Last Songs with the Halle Orchestra led by Edward Gardner.
A graduate of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, Ms. Van Kooten studies voice with Rudolf Piernay. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance from Biola University where she studied with Dr. Jeanne Robison and is a graduate and perpetual member of the Torrey Honors Institute.
ABOUT THE BELLINGHAM CHILDREN'S CHOIR
Celestial Voices is an auditioned thirty-voice ensemble of young ladies ages 9 to 14. The choir meets for one hour a week at the Bellingham Arts Academy for Youth, is conducted by David Post and is accompanied by Steven Barnes. Students learn how to sing in a healthy way during the fast-paced rehearsals of music appropriate for these changing voices. The group is dedicated to creating a culture of excellent singing in a joyful atmosphere. The group has been in existence since 2005. Auditions are held each semester for new members, with admission being based on the ability to match pitch well, having a good vocal range, pleasant tone and a positive attitude. Other choirs in the program include the Happy Singers for ages 5-7, Junior Singers for beginning singers ages 7 to 14, the Bellingham Boys' Choir for ages 8 to 15 and the Musical Theatre Vocal Ensemble for ages 8 to 15.
ABOUT DAVID POST
David Post holds a Bachelors degree in music education from U.O.P. Conservatory of Music and a Masters degree in choral conducting from Northern Arizona University. Career highlights include being the Chair of Repertoire and Standards for Middle School Vocal Music, State of California Choral Conductors Association, head judge of music festivals, California Music Educators Association, and conductor/commissioned composer for the C.M.E.A. Bay Section conference choir. Mr. Post's choirs have performed in a combined concert at Carnegie Hall, sung our national anthem for the San Francisco Giants and performed at Disneyland and Disneyworld. Locally, David runs the Bellingham Arts Academy for Youth, conducting the Bellingham Children's Choirs and staging theatrical productions such as Beauty and the Beast at the Mount Baker Theatre in 2009. David remains active as a jazz singer and pianist on the Vancouver and Seattle scene.
ABOUT THE BELLINGHAM FESTIVAL OF MUSIC
The Bellingham Festival of Music, in its seventeenth season of orchestral and chamber concerts July 1 – July 18, 2010, features artistic director Michael Palmer leading the Bellingham Festival Orchetsra and Chorus, along with guest artists Horacio Gutiérrez, Stefan Jackiw, Heidi Grant Murphy, and Joshua Roman.
Under the direction of maestro Michael Palmer, the Bellingham Festival Orchestra brings together principal players from major American and European orchestras and exceptional musicians from regional and national ensembles to present concerts of classical music at the highest caliber of artistic excellence.
Season and individual ticket prices will be announced and tickets will go on sale in the spring of 2010.
For more information online, please visit www.bellinghamfestival.org.
Complete electronic media kits for the Festival will be available in mid-January 2010. E-mail bfm@luxnova.com to subscribe to the Bellingham Festival of Music's direct media alert e-list.
# # #
Contact: Mark Gresham, Lux Nova Press
bfm@luxnova.com or 404-654-3960
BELLINGHAM, WA— Lynden, Washington native and acclaimed soprano Katie Van Kooten is the featured artist for a special Christmas/Holiday concert entitled Katie – Home for Christmas, benefitting the Bellingham Festival of Music.
The concert takes place on December 17, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. in Western Washington University's PAC concert hall. Ticket prices range from $10 for children and students (to age 18), $25-$35 for adults, and $75 for a special “Patron” package which includes admission to a post-concert reception at WWU. The concert is underwritten by and benefits the Bellingham Festival of Music, and is sponsored by Saturna Capital. Tickets over $10 are tax deductible.
Other featured artists include the Bellingham Children's Chorus directed by David Post, San Francisco pianist, composer and arranger Brett Strader, and harpist Krista Strader.
Ms. Van Kooten's repertoire for the evening will include selections from well-known traditional Christmas carols such as “O Come, All Ye Faithful,” “Away in a Manger,” seasonal classical favorites such as “O Holy Night” and “Ave Maria,” and time-honored popular songs including “I'll Be Home for Christmas” and “White Christmas.”
Ms. Van Kooten will perform some of the evening's selections with the Bellingham Children's Chorus.
For more information, visit the official concert web page online at www.bellinghamfestival.org/christmasspecial.htm or the concert's Facebook event page at www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=179128361355
High-resolution photos of Ms. Van Kooten are available to media. For these, and other media inquiries, please contact: Mark Gresham, Lux Nova Press. e-mail: bfm@luxnova.com ; tel. 404-654-3960.
ABOUT KATIE VAN KOOTEN
A recent graduate of the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden American soprano Katie Van Kooten, has been noted by The Daily Telegraph as “a major operatic talent. Her singing has something of the same glow radiated by Te Kanawa or Freni, and her endearing charm and bright smile make her a winning stage personality.”
Recently Ms. Van Kooten made her house debuts at the Metropolitan Opera in the acclaimed Nicolas Joël production of La Rondine as Magda and at Houston Grand Opera as Helena in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This season she also returned to the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden for performances of Antonia in Les Contes d’Hoffmann opposite Rolando Villazón and led by Antonio Pappano.
Ms. Van Kooten made her debut at the Royal Opera House in 2004 as Magda, and she has since gone on to perform Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Mimi in La Boheme, and Marguerite in Faust there. She recently made her Japanese debut singing Micaëla in Carmen under the direction of Seiji Ozawa and her United States debut performing Marguerite with the Metropolitan Opera in Central Park.
In concert, Katie Van Kooten has sung Mozart’s Requiem with the London Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Vladimir Jurowski and Strauss’ Four Last Songs with the Halle Orchestra led by Edward Gardner.
A graduate of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, Ms. Van Kooten studies voice with Rudolf Piernay. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance from Biola University where she studied with Dr. Jeanne Robison and is a graduate and perpetual member of the Torrey Honors Institute.
ABOUT THE BELLINGHAM CHILDREN'S CHOIR
Celestial Voices is an auditioned thirty-voice ensemble of young ladies ages 9 to 14. The choir meets for one hour a week at the Bellingham Arts Academy for Youth, is conducted by David Post and is accompanied by Steven Barnes. Students learn how to sing in a healthy way during the fast-paced rehearsals of music appropriate for these changing voices. The group is dedicated to creating a culture of excellent singing in a joyful atmosphere. The group has been in existence since 2005. Auditions are held each semester for new members, with admission being based on the ability to match pitch well, having a good vocal range, pleasant tone and a positive attitude. Other choirs in the program include the Happy Singers for ages 5-7, Junior Singers for beginning singers ages 7 to 14, the Bellingham Boys' Choir for ages 8 to 15 and the Musical Theatre Vocal Ensemble for ages 8 to 15.
ABOUT DAVID POST
David Post holds a Bachelors degree in music education from U.O.P. Conservatory of Music and a Masters degree in choral conducting from Northern Arizona University. Career highlights include being the Chair of Repertoire and Standards for Middle School Vocal Music, State of California Choral Conductors Association, head judge of music festivals, California Music Educators Association, and conductor/commissioned composer for the C.M.E.A. Bay Section conference choir. Mr. Post's choirs have performed in a combined concert at Carnegie Hall, sung our national anthem for the San Francisco Giants and performed at Disneyland and Disneyworld. Locally, David runs the Bellingham Arts Academy for Youth, conducting the Bellingham Children's Choirs and staging theatrical productions such as Beauty and the Beast at the Mount Baker Theatre in 2009. David remains active as a jazz singer and pianist on the Vancouver and Seattle scene.
ABOUT THE BELLINGHAM FESTIVAL OF MUSIC
The Bellingham Festival of Music, in its seventeenth season of orchestral and chamber concerts July 1 – July 18, 2010, features artistic director Michael Palmer leading the Bellingham Festival Orchetsra and Chorus, along with guest artists Horacio Gutiérrez, Stefan Jackiw, Heidi Grant Murphy, and Joshua Roman.
Under the direction of maestro Michael Palmer, the Bellingham Festival Orchestra brings together principal players from major American and European orchestras and exceptional musicians from regional and national ensembles to present concerts of classical music at the highest caliber of artistic excellence.
Season and individual ticket prices will be announced and tickets will go on sale in the spring of 2010.
For more information online, please visit www.bellinghamfestival.org.
Complete electronic media kits for the Festival will be available in mid-January 2010. E-mail bfm@luxnova.com to subscribe to the Bellingham Festival of Music's direct media alert e-list.
# # #
FEATURED JOBS
RENT A PHOTO
