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Manhattan School of Music Announces 09-10 Season Opera and Vocal Concerts

September 22, 2009 | By Debra Kinzler
Director of Public Relations
This season, Manhattan School of Music President Robert Sirota invites audiences to come uptown to experience Manhattan School of Music’s more than 500 public performances offering orchestral concerts, opera, orchestra with chorus, chamber music and jazz. President Sirota says about this year’s opera offerings, “This season we offer insightful and imaginative interpretations of both familiar works and cutting-edge music for every taste. This year you will find our young artists rising to new challenges, such as tackling Fauré’s rarely performed opera, Pénélope, to staging beloved works such as Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro.”

Manhattan School of Music Opera Theater

Recognized as one of the foremost opera training programs in the world, Manhattan School of Music’s Opera Program attracts some of the most talented young singers from the US and more than forty countries. The program is led by Dona D. Vaughn, Artistic Director of Opera Production and Gordon Ostrowski, Assistant Dean of Opera Studies. Students in the program refine their technique and develop their artistry under the guidance of a faculty of eminent artist-teachers while gaining exposure before New York City audiences through performances in opera scenes, community outreach programs, and two-fully staged productions each year.

The Manhattan School of Music Opera Program has a long and proud tradition of producing some of the finest operatic artists in America and abroad. The School’s opera productions have been praised by The New York Times “as a significant contribution to operatic life in New York City,” and many students have gone on to major careers. Among notable alumnae are Sopranos Pamela Armstrong, Elaine Alvarez, Alexandra Deshorties, Lauren Flanigan, Olivia Gorra, Catherine Malfitano, Tonna Miller and Dawn Upshaw; Mezzo-Sopranos Beth Clayton, Jennifer Dudley, Susan Graham, and Dolora Zajick; Countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo; Tenors Matthew Chellis and Brandon Jovanovich; and Baritone Scott Altman. Another noted alumnus is Conductor George Manahan, Music Director of the New York City Opera. Margaret Juntwait, the first woman announcer who is the voice of the Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts and Cori Ellison, Dramaturg at New York City Opera are also Manhattan School graduates. The Manhattan School of Music Opera Theater has issued CDs of Ned Rorem’s Miss Julie, Benjamin Britten’s Albert Herring, Gaetano Donizetti’s Il campanello di notte, Leonard Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti, Gustav Holst’s Savitri, Nicolas Flagello’s The Piper, Ludwig Spohr’s Beauty and the Beast, the world premiere recordings of Daniel Catan’s Rappaccini’s Daughter, William Mayer’s A Death in the Family, Scott Eyerly’s The House of Seven Gables, Robert Ward’s Roman Fever, Thomas Pasatieri’s The Seagull, Lee Hoiby’s A Month in the Country, and most recently, John Musto’s Later the Same Evening.

Wednesday, December 9 and Friday, December 11 at 7:30 pm Saturday, December 12 at 2:30 pm; John C. Borden Auditorium

GABRIEL FAURÉ PÉNÉLOPE Libretto by René Fauchois Laurent Pillot, Conductor; Lawrence Edelson, Director

Pénélope, a drame lyrique in 3-Acts, was composed by Gabriel Fauré in 1907. Rarely heard, (two recordings exist – Regine Crespin in the 1950s and Jessye Norman in the 1980s) the opera showcases the composer’s mastery of combining music and drama. Pénélope received its first performance by the Opéra de Monte Carlo on March 4, 1913.

The story tells the tale about Ulysses’ return to his home Ithaca, following the Trojan War and his plan to kill the suitors who have been tormenting his wife, Pénélope. Pénélope puts the suitors off by using the tapestry that she is weaving as a guise, promising to decide which suitor she will pick when the weaving is completed. However, at night she unravels the work completed on the tapestry during the day. Her secret is discovered and she is forced to agree to choose a suitor. Ulysses returns disguised as an old beggar and only the old shepherd Eumee and the nurse Euryclee recognize him. The suitors agree to Pénélopes’s condition that they try with Ulysses’ bow to shoot through the rings of axes. One by one they all fail and a disguised Ulysses takes his bow and succeeds, disposes of the suitors, and is reunited with Pénélope.

Laurent Pillot, Music Director of the Lyon-Villeurbanne Symphony Orchestra since 1986, was Associate Music Director of the Los Angeles Opera from 2003 to 2006 where he conducted performances of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, La Bohème, and Tosca as well as Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos. Among orchestras that he has worked with include the New York City Opera Orchestra, l’Orchestre National de Lille, Orchestra del Teatro Regio di Torino, I Pomeriggi Musicali de Milano and Spain’s Seville and Valencia Orchestras, among others. He conducted two productions at Manhattan School of Music -- Berlioz' Beatrice et Benedict and Massenet's Cendrillon. During 2006, he was Music Director for a new European Opera Centre production of L'enfant et les Sortileges, which has recently toured to Greece and Cyprus. Laurent Pillot was asked by Kent Nagano to direct the various language versions for the Centre's award-winning animated film of The Cunning Little Vixen. For five years he served as Assistant Conductor of L’Opéra National de Lyon where he led acclaimed productions of Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore, Prokofiev’s The Love for Three Oranges, Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Mozart’s Così fan tutte, and the Prokofiev ballet Cinderella among others. Laurent Pillot has also been Assistant Conductor at Covent Garden, Théâtre du Châtelet, Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Brooklyn Academy of Music, and the festivals of Salzburg, with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, and Aix-en-Provence. Lawrence Edelson’s work has been praised by Opera Now magazine as a “splendid job of making (opera) relevant and understandable.” He received his bachelor’s degree in stage direction from New York University, and has served as a staff director for Glimmerglass Opera, where he taught the Young American Artists Program, and was Assistant Director on multiple productions. He is a guest member on the directing staff of New York City Opera, where he restaged Little Women twice – for its Lincoln Center premiere, and for New York City Opera’s tour to Japan. Among other directing credits are original productions of La Voix Humaine; the world premieres of Salome’s Flea Circus and Travels with Gulliver for the New York New Music Ensemble at Symphony Space; the American Premiere of Telemann’s Orpheus for Wolf Trap Opera; Carmen for Toledo Opera; a new production of Il Barbiere di Siviglia for Hawaii Opera Theater; and The Toymaker, a new musical, at The York Theatre in New York City. Prior to directing, Mr. Edelson held a diverse performing career in both ballet and opera. He originally studied voice and musicology at The University of Ottawa, and dance at The Joffrey Ballet School. As a dancer, he performed diverse repertoire with Boston Ballet, Ballet West, and BalletMet Columbus, and in 1991, founded the New Choreographer’s Workshop at The Joffrey Ballet School. He has choreographed for ballet and opera companies internationally including Bedtime Stories for BalletMet Columbus; Symphonic Etudes for the Joffrey Concert Dancers; Patience for New York City Opera; Carmen for Opera Columbus; and productions of Chérubin and Le Coq d’Or in Tel Aviv, among others. As a singer, Mr. Edelson appeared in opera, oratorio and musical-theater. Also an arts administrator, he has consulted on projects for Opera Orchestra of New York, New York City Opera, and on the cultural development of Lower Manhattan for New York City councilmember Alan Gerson. In 2005, Mr. Edelson founded American Lyric Theater in New York City, and serves as its Producing Artistic Director. Wednesday, April 28 and Friday, April 30 at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, May 2 at 2:30 p.m.; John C. Borden Auditorium Wofgang Amadeus Mozart LE NOZZE DI FIGARO (The Marriage of Figaro) Giovanni Reggioli, Conductor; Dona D. Vaughn, Director Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), one of W.A. Mozart’s most successful works, is an opera buffa composed in 1786 and set to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its story is based on the 1784 stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro, that was first banned from Vienna due to its satire of the aristocracy. Mozart selected the play and approached Da Ponte to turn it into a libretto, which he did in six weeks, rewriting it in poetic Italian and removing all of the original political references. Le nozze di Figaro was the first of three collaborations between Mozart and Da Ponte; their later collaborations were Don Giovanni and Cosí fan tutte. Le nozze di Figaro received its premiere at Vienna’s Burgtheater on May 1, 1786, under the baton of its composer who conducted seated at the keyboard. This first production was given eight performances. Le nozze di Figaro recounts a single “la folle giornata” or “a day of madness” in Count Almaviva’s palace located near Seville, Spain. Its plot is a continuation of the The Barber of Seville story. Rosina is now the Countess and the Count is a scheming middle-aged baritone who is seeking the favors of Susanna, Rosina’s maid and confidante, who is about to marry Figaro, the Count’s valet. The Count is charged to perform the civil part of the wedding of his two servants to take place that day, and in order to keep his amorous designs on Susanna keeps giving excuses not to perform the marriage. When the Count finds out about the adolescent page Cherubino’s interests in the Countess, he tries to get rid of Cherubino by giving him an officer’s commission in his regiment. Figaro, Susanna and the Countess conspire to embarrass the Count. However, in the meantime, Figaro has been in a dispute with Bartolo and Marcellina, which ends when it is revealed that he is their long lost, out-of- wedlock son. The Count and Don Bartolo are helped by Don Basilio, the music teacher, who constantly intervenes spreading gossip. The evening comes with a comic series of cases of mistaken identity and misunderstandings resulting in humiliating the Count. The opera ends with the Countess forgiving the Count.

Thursday, April 1, Friday, April 2 and Saturday, April 3, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, April 4, 2:30 p.m.; Ades Performance Space Handel IL PASTOR FIDO Senior Opera Theater Presentation Jorge Parodi, Conductor; Dona D. Vaughn, Director George Frideric Handel’s opera in 3-Acts, Il Pastor Fido (“The Faithful Shepherd”) will be staged as the Manhattan School of Music Senior Opera Theater’s Production, conducted by Jorge Parodi and the Manhattan School of Music Senior Opera Theater’s Production, conducted by Jorge Parodi and staged by Dona D. Vaughn. This opera, Handel’s seventh and first written after he permanently moved to London in 1712, is set to a libretto by Giacomo Rossi based on the famed pastoral poem, Il Pastor Fido by Giambattista Guarini. Handel composed Il Pastor Fido in 1712, giving it its first performance, to a hostile reception, on November 22, 1712. Il Pastor Fido was revised and given a second reading during the spring of 1734 to a much more successful reception. For this rendition, Handel kept only seven of the original arias, and those cut were replaced by arias from his earlier cantatas or operas. Il Pastor Fido would be revised again with a newly-composed prologue, Terpsicore, consisting of solo arias, choral movements, and orchestral writing for dance. Jorge Parodi serves as a vocal coach at Manhattan School of Music, is vocal coach and Assistant Conductor of the Brooklyn College Opera Theater, a vocal coach at the Juilliard Pre-College Division, an adjunct professor at New York University, and faculty member of the International Vocal Arts Institute working regularly at the Israel Vocal Arts Institute in Tel Aviv. At NYU, he conducted the New York premiere of Giovanni Bononcini’s Camilla, for which he reconstructed, orchestrated and edited the score. Mr. Parodi has worked as a coach and repetiteur at the Teatro Col Buenos Aires, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Connecticut Grand Opera, has collaborated with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and Lake George Opera Festival. He is also the Music Director at Saint Paul’s Church in Manhattan where he produced and conducted Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors. Mr. Parodi was a prizewinner at the Bienal de Arte de Buenos Aires in 1993 and completed his piano studies in piano performance and conducting at the National Conservatory in Buenos Aires, and his Master of Music degree at the University of Michigan where he studied accompanying and chamber music with Martin Katz.

Dona D. Vaughn, a member of the MSM faculty since 1994, was appointed Artistic Director of Opera Productions at Manhattan School of Music beginning July 2008. She previously served as Director of MSM’s Opera Workshop, the Undergraduate Opera Theater, and the Muraco/Vaughn Seminar. In addition, she has served as PORTopera’s Artistic Director for the past six years as well as being that company’s Resident Stage Director. For ten years was a Stage Director/Acting Coach for The Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. A graduate of Brevard College (she is a member of the board of trustees) she received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Wesleyan (Outstanding Alumni Award) and a Master of Arts in theater directing from Hunter College. She studied acting with Lee Strasberg and Uta Hagen, and dance with Martha Graham. Ms. Vaughn began her career as a performer in the original Broadway productions of Company, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Seesaw. She was Assistant to the Producer Kermit Bloomgarden for the Broadway productions of Equus and Hot L. Baltimore, Associate Producer for Pavel Kohout’s Poor Murderer and ABC Television’s All My Children, and Dramaturge for the O’Neill Conference on Opera and Musical Theater, HB Playwright’s Unit, and the University of Kansas New Play Season. Ms. Vaughn was Assistant Director for Tennessee William’s Red Devil Battery Sign starring Anthony Quinn and Claire Bloom, and subsequently directed that play and the public premiere of William’s Spring Storm for New York’s Ensemble Studio Theater. For seven years she was Hostess and Drama Critic for “Spotlight on the Arts,” a radio interview program syndicated throughout the Greater New York Metropolitan area. She also was Head of Theater Development for Sir Lew Grade’s ITC/Marble Arch Productions. Ms. Vaughn’s directing credits include New York City Opera, Wolf Trap, Michigan Opera Theater, Berkshire Opera, Dayton Opera, Syracuse Opera, Lincoln Center, New York Repertory Company, Kennedy Center, Minerva Productions, Peterloon Festival, Heritage Theater (Calgary, Canada), DiVivreVoix (Vionne, France), Florida Arts Festival, and many colleges and universities throughout the country. She directed the premieres of Roberto Hazon’s L’Agenzia Matrimoniale, Francis Thorne’s Mario and the Magician, Ray Luc’s Droane’s Wooden Image and the Bullfrog, New York premieres of Milton Granger’s Talk Opera and The Proposal, off-Broadway production of Murphy Guyer’s World of Mirth, and the European premier of Carlisle Floyd’s The Flower and the Hawk. A former Artist-in-Residence for the State University of New York, she served on the voice faculties of SUNY-Plattsburgh and Marymount Manhattan College. Ms. Vaughn often serves as an adjudicator for vocal competitions including The Metropolitan Opera National Council, Denver Lyric Opera Competition, The Richard Tucker Foundation, and Palm Beach Opera Vocal Competition.

Tickets, priced at $20, $10 for seniors and students, are required for both main stage opera productions – Gabriel Fauré’s Pénélope and W. A. Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro – taking place in John C. Borden Auditorium.

Handel’s Il Pastor Fido is $5; and takes place in the Ades Performance Space.

For information on all opera performances, call 917.493.4428, email at concertinfo@msmnyc.edu or visit the MSM website at www.msmnyc.edu.

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Master Classes Each year, Manhattan School of Music offers guest artists in master classes. Among the master classes to be given specifically for singers this season will include: Mira Zakai -- Wednesday, October 7 at 4:00 p.m.; Greenfield Hall Frank Corsaro, Acting for Singers – Wednesday, October 21 at 4:00 p.m.; Greenfield Hall Benita Valente – Wednesday, November 4 at 4:00 p.m.; Greenfield Hall Cynthia Hoffman – Thursday, December 3 at 4:00 p.m.; Greenfield Hall Marcello Giordano – Tuesday, January 19 at 4:00 p.m.; Borden Auditorium Lauren Flanigan – Wednesday, January 20 at 4:00 p.m.; Borden Auditorium Johanna Meier, Movement & Characterization for Singers – Wed., Jan. 27 at 4:00 p.m.; Greenfield Sherrill Milnes – Wednesday, February 3 at 4:00 p.m.; Borden Auditorium Marta Eggerth – Wednesday, February 17 at 4:00 p.m.; Greenfield Hall Marilyn Horne – Wednesday, March 31 at 7:00 p.m.; Borden Auditorium For a complete list of all master classes, including location and time, please visit www.msmnyc.edu. Master classes are free and the public is invited to attend.

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MSM SINGERS showcased in ORCHESTRAL CONCERTS Friday, October 30, 7:30 p.m.; John C. Borden Auditorium Manhattan School of Music Philharmonia David Gilbert, Conductor; Jeanine De Bique, Soprano David Gilbert joins the MSM Philharmonia to lead a program that opens with Stravinsky’s The Song of the Nightingale. Cantata, by the obscure African-American Composer John Carter (b. 1932, St. Louis – 1981) will showcase Soprano Jeanine De Bique, the winner of the 2009-10 Manhattan School of Music Vocal Concerto Competition. This stirring work, composed in 1963 during the height of the civil rights movement, consists of a five movements beginning with a Prelude followed by arrangements of four spirituals that are designated with Baroque-sounding titles. The movements to Cantata include the Prelude, followed by Rondo (“Peter go ring dem bells”), Recitative (“Sometimes I feel like a motherless child”), Air (“Let us break bread together”), and Toccata (“Ride on King Jesus”). Ernest Chausson’s Symphony in B-Flat Major, op. 20 concludes the concert.

Soprano Jeanine De Bique, a native of Trinidad, received her Bachelor of Music degree in 2006 and her Master’s in 2008 from MSM, studying with Marlena Malas and Hilda Harris and coached by Warren Jones, Christopher Cano, and Tom Muraco. At MSM she has appeared as Adele in Die Fledermaus, Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi, Sister Constance in Les Dialogues des Carmelites, and Girl in Trouble in Tahiti. Ms. DeBique appeared with Lorin Maazel and the New York Philharmonic in Mahler’s Eighth Symphony in June 2009. During the 2009-10 season she will perform debut recitals in the Young Concert Artists Series in New York and Washington, D.C., and in 2010 will be an artist-in-residence with the Dallas Opera. Ms. DeBique was awarded 1st Prize in the 2008-09 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, where she was also awarded the Paul A. Fish Memorial 1st Prize. She was also a winner of the 2009 Gerda Lissner Vocal Competition, was a regional finalist and study grant winner in the 2007 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, a finalist and winner of the Lys Symonette Award in the Kurt Weill Foundation’s 2007 Lotte Lenya Competition, a 1st Prizewinner in the 2006 National Association for Negro Singers Competition as well as recipient of a study grant from the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation.

As resident conductor at Manhattan School of Music, David Gilbert, a faculty member since 1983, has conducted many orchestral and opera performances, including the U.S. premiere of Martinu’s Mirandolina and Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He has led the New York premieres of Shostakovich’s The Nose and Hans Werner Henze’s The English Cat; productions of Ned Rorem’s Miss Julie (released on Newport Classics), Busoni’s Arlecchino, Stravinsky’s Le Rossignol, and Britten’s Albert Herring (released on Vox); William Mayer’s A Death in the Family and the world premiere of Scott Eyerly’s The House of the Seven Gables (both released on the Albany label); as well as Robert Ward’s Roman Fever and Thomas Pasatieri’s The Seagull. Formerly principal conductor of American Ballet Theatre, he has also been guest conductor of the New York Philharmonic and is currently music director of the Greenwich Symphony in Connecticut, the Bergen Philharmonic in New Jersey, and the Senior Concert Orchestra of New York. He spent two seasons as principal guest conductor at the Central Philharmonic in Beijing in 1980, the first American to hold such a post. After winning 1st prize in the Dimitri Mitropoulos Competition for Conductors, Mr. Gilbert was assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic from 1970 to 1979 and in 1976 was selected by Pierre Boulez to be chief assistant conductor for the Bayreuth Festival.

Thursday, January 28, 7:30 p.m.; John C. Borden Auditorium MSM Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Chorus Philippe Entremont, Conductor; Heather Johnson, Mezzo-Soprano The MSM Symphony Orchestra performs under the baton of Conductor Philippe Entremont presenting a program focusing on the music of France. Featured will be two works by Berlioz – Overture to Le Corsaire and Les Nuits d’été (Summer Nights), op. 7. Mezzo-Soprano Heather Johnson will join as guest soloist for Les Nuits d’été, Berlioz’s song cycle for voice and orchestra with texts by Théophile Gautier. The six songs include: Villanelle, Le spectre de la rose, Sur les lagunes (Lamento), Absence, Au cimetière: Claire de lune (Lamento), and L’ile inconnue (Bacarolle), and are among the best texts that Berlioz ever set to music. The song cycle was originally written for voice and piano (1840-41) with the orchestration done in early 1856. Maurice Ravel’s Suites No. 1 and No. 2 from Daphnis et Chloé follows, showcasing the MSM Symphony Orchestra joined by the MSM Chamber Chorus. Mezzo-soprano Heather Johnson, a 2002 Metropolitan Opera Nation Council Semi-Finalist, has received critical acclaim both on the opera and on the concert stage. Ms. Johnson has performed roles including Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, the title role in La Cenerentola, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Lisetta in Il mondo della luna, Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, Dinah in Trouble in Tahiti and Lola in Cavallaria Rusticana. Among the opera companies and orchestras with which Ms. Johnson has appeared are Glimmerglass Opera, Minnesota Opera, Boston Pops Orchestra, EOS Orchestra, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Nashville Opera, Opera Lafayette, Portland Opera Repertory Theater, the New Hampshire Music Festival and the Midcoast Symphony. In 2004, the Minnesota native made her New York City Opera debut singing the role of Soraya in the world premiere of Charles Wuorinen's Haroun and the Sea of Stories. The 2004-05 season also brought Ms. Johnson's Carnegie Hall debut in Der Freischutz with Opera Orchestra of New York. Heather Johnson returned to New York City Opera in 2005-06 singing Saphir in Gilbert and Sullivan's Patience and Mercedes in Carmen as well as singing Hedwige in Rossini's Guillaume Tell and Mallika in Lakme with the Opera Orchestra of New York at Carnegie Hall, and Mozart's Mass in C Minor with the New York Choral Society also at Carnegie Hall. Philippe Entremont came to international attention at age 18 when he performed Jolivet’s piano concerto and Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in Carnegie Hall. Since then, he has pursued a top international career as a pianist, and for the last 30 years, as a conductor. As Principal Guest Conductor of the Munich Symphony Orchestra, he has led tours, including to the United States, conducting from the piano as well as the podium. In 1997, Maestro Entremont founded the biennial Santo Domingo Music Festival, of which he is Artistic Director and Conductor. In addition, he is also Principal Guest Conductor of the Orquestra de Cadaqués, taking that orchestra on a tour of Asia. Among other orchestras that he has held an association with include the New Orleans Philharmonic (Music Director); Denver Symphony (Music Director); Netherlands Chamber Orchestra (Chief Conductor); Vienna Chamber Orchestra (Music Director and Chief Conductor for nearly 30 years, now Conductor Laureate); and the Israel Chamber Orchestra (Music Director and now Conductor Laureate). Among his honors are an Officer of the French Legion of Honor, Commander of the Order of Merit, Commander of the Order of Arts et Letters, and the Arts and Sciences Cross of Honor of Austria. Philippe Entremont was among the 10 pianists chosen to perform in the “Piano Extravaganza of the Century” held at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Friday, November 13, 7:30 p.m.; John C. Borden Auditorium Manhattan School of Music Chamber Sinfonia with MSM Symphonic Chorus & MSM Chamber Chorus Kent Tritle, Music Director

Kent Tritle conducts the Manhattan School of Music Chamber Sinfonia joined by the MSM Symphony Chorus and MSM Chamber Chorus in two vocal masterpieces -- Mozart’s Requiem, K. 626 and Schubert’s Mass in G, D. 167. Kent Tritle, one of America’s leading choral conductors and organists, was appointed Director of Choral Activities at Manhattan School of Music in August 2008. He is founder and Music Director of Sacred Music in a Sacred Space, the acclaimed concert series now entering its twentieth season at New York City’s Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, where he has conducted a broad repertoire of sacred works, from Renaissance masses and oratorio masterworks to important premieres by notable living composers. In 2008, Mr. Tritle was appointed Music Director of Musica Sacra and in 2006, took on the role of Music Director for the Oratorio Society of New York. He also serves as Organist of the New York Philharmonic, and has appeared often as a guest artist with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

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MUSICAL THEATER OFFERINGS to include

BEAUTIFUL GIRLS, Stephen Sondheim’s Songs for Women

Monday, January 18, 7:30 p.m.; John C. Borden Auditorium Manhattan School of Music Chamber Sinfonia Paul Gemignani, Conductor; Lonny Price, Director with Zoe Caldwell, Jenn Colella, Marin Mazzie, and Donna McKechnie

The MSM Chamber Sinfonia will be part of a special musical tribute to Stephen Sondheim showcasing Beautiful Girls a compilation of Sondheim songs for women honoring the composer, written by Lonny Price, who will be the show’s director. Paul Gemignani conducts the program joined by four of Broadway’s leading ladies – Zoe Caldwell, Jenn Colella, Marin Mazzie and Donna McKechnie. This Sondheim musical tribute was given at the World Festival of Theatre in Colorado Springs, and starred all of the four leading ladies who will be performing in the MSM production. Paul Gemignani is an award-winning American musical director with a career on Broadway and West End theatre spanning more than thirty years. He began his career in 1971 as a replacement musical director for Stephen Sondheim’s Follies, eventually leading the cast on the subsequent tour. Since then, among productions that he has led, including Tony Award-winning productions such as A Little Night Music (1973); Sweeny Todd (1979); Evita (1979); Passion (1994); Kiss Me Kate (1999); Into the Woods (2002); and Assassins (2004). He has recorded numerous cast albums and albums featuring musical theatre. In addition, he has been a guest conductor with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, New York City Opera and New York City Ballet, among others. He has conducted films including as Kramer vs. Kramer (1979); Reds (1981); and Sweeny Todd (2008). Mr. Gemignani is the recipient of a 1989 Drama Desk Special Award, a 2001 Tony Award for Special Lifetime Achievement, a 2006 Emmy Award for “best musical direction” for the PBS/Great Performances’ Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific in concert from Carnegie Hall. At Manhattan School of Music, he directs the MSM Summer Musical Theater Workshop held at the school each May.

Lonny Price, born in New York City, began his early career performing in off-Broadway productions. His first major Broadway credit was the Sondheim musical Merrily We Roll Along. He made his directorial debut with the off-Broadway revival of The Education of H*Y*M*A*N*K*A*P*L*A*N, followed by The Rothchilds and Juno, both of which received Outer Critics Circle nominations for Best Revival. Hi most significant off-Broadway performing credit is the William Finn-James Lapine musical Falsettoland. Among his work with the New York Philharmonic has been a 2001 staging of Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd with Patti LuPone, George Hearn and Audra McDonald, for which he shared an Emmy Award for the television broadcast; and a 2005 staging of Bernstein’s Candide. Zoe Caldwell is a four-time Tony Award stage winning actress for her performances in Slapstick Tragedy (1966), for her title role in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1968), Medea (1982), and as opera diva Maria Callas in Master Class (1995). Born in Australia, she began her professional career at age 9 in a production of Peter Pan and went on to find radio work in her teens. She was one of the original members of Melbourne's Union Theatre Repertory Company (1954-1957) and appeared for two seasons with the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre Company in productions of Pericles and Much Ado About Nothing. In 1963 she helped launch the Tyrone Guthrie Theatre, and in 1965, briefly replaced Anne Bancroft in the Broadway production of The Devils. Among other performances have been Eve in The Creation of the World and Other Business and Lillian Hellman in Lillian. As a stage director, she made her Broadway debut in 1977 with An Almost Perfect Person, and later helmed productions of Richard II,Othello, Macbeth and Vita and Virginia starring Eileen Atkins and Vanessa Redgrave. She and husband, producer Robert Whitehead, have maintained a long and successful private and professional partnership first working together on The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and later with Medea. Their son, Charles Whitehead, was the producer of The Play What I Wrote which briefly featured Ms. Caldwell in New York in 2003. Jenn Colella has starred on Broadway in the musical High Fidelity. She also garnered an Outer Critics Circle Award nomination for the role of Sissy in Urban Cowboy (Outstanding Leading Actress in a Musical.) Ms. Colella starred in the world premiere of the Twyla Tharp/Bob Dylan project, The Times, They Are A-Changin, at the Old Globe Theatre. Off-Broadway credits include Don't Quit Your Night Job (Ha! Comedy Club), Slut (The Actor's Theatre), and The Great American Trailer Park Musical (NYMF). She appeared on the Oxygen Network as the co-host of "Can You Tell?" and recently shot an episode of ABC's "The Cashmere Mafia" (guest star). Film credits include: Lay It Down For Good (Lead); and Uncertainty. Prior to coming to New York in 2003, Ms. Colella was a stand-up comedienne at the world-famous Laugh Factory and at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles.

Marin Mazzie, has been heard in many of the country's major symphony halls, cabaret and concert venues, seen in some of the most memorable musicals on Broadway, appeared in London's West End, and has released her first album, Opposite You, with husband Jason Danieley. She most recently starred on Broadway and in London's West End as the Lady of the Lake in Monty Python’s Spamalot. Ms. Mazzie received Tony and Drama Desk nominations and an Outer Critics Circle Award for her performance as Lilli/Katharine in the hit revival of Kiss Me Kate, and later received an Olivier Award nomination when she made her West End debut in the show. Other Broadway credits include: Ragtime (Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics nominations), Passion (Tony nomination), Man of La Mancha, Into the Woods, Big River, Out of This World, and Kismet (Encores!). In addition, she has done extensive concert work across the country from Carnegie Hall to the Hollywood Bowl under the batons of Michael Tilson Thomas, Marvin Hamlisch, Skitch Henderson, Keith Lockhart, Paul Gemignani, Peter Nero, John Mauceri, and Doc Severinson to name a few. Marin Mazzie holds an honorary doctorate and has a musical theater scholarship in her name from her alma mater, Western Michigan University. Donna McKechnie, the Tony Award-winning star of A Chorus Line, is regarded internationally as one of Broadway's foremost dancing and singing stars. In London she had a successful "out of town" tryout with her cabaret show, Gypsy in My Soul. Her cabaret show, My Musical Comedy Life, which received unanimous raves from New York theater critics, won a Mac Award Nomination for Best Female Singer and the Backstage Bistro Award for Outstanding Major Engagement. Ms. McKechnie’s full-length auto-biographical theatrical show, Inside the Music (with text by Christopher Durang) captives audiences wherever it is performed. Among her Broadway credits include: How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying; A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (national tour); Sondheim - A Musical Tribute (which she also choreographed); On The Town; Promises, Promises; Company and State Fair for which she received the Fred Astaire Award for Best Female Dancer for the 1995-1996 season. Ms. McKechnie played the lead in Bob Fosse's last production, a national tour of Sweet Charity, for which she was nominated for a Helen Hayes Award. She has performed extensively on the concert stage, in cabaret and with symphony orchestras. She made her opera debut in December 1996, guest starring in the San Francisco Opera's production of Die Fledermaus. Tickets, priced at $20; $12 for seniors and students are required for Beautiful Girls. Visit the MSM web site at www.msmnyc.edu or call 917-493-4428 for information.

Tuesday, May 11; Wednesday, May 12; and Thursday, May 13 at 7:30 p.m. MSM AMERICAN MUSICAL THEATER ENSEMBLE STEPHEN SCHWARTZ GODSPELL Shane Schag, Musical Direction and Carolyn Marlow, Director

The MSM American Musical Theater Ensemble will be offering three performances of Godspell by Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak. Musical direction will be by Shane Schag, and direction by Carolyn Marlow. Godspell is based on the Gospel according to Matthew, and follows the story of Jesus from his Baptism by John the Baptist to his crucifixion. It opened off-Broadway at the Cherry Lane Theatre on May 17, 1971, later moving to the Promenade Theatre where it became one of off-Broadway’s longest-running musicals. Godspell originated in 1970 as Tebelak’s thesis project for his master’s degree while he was a student at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its songs, “Day By Day” from the original cast album, reached #13 on the Billboard pop singles chart in the summer of 1972.

Manhattan School of Music’s American Musical Theater Ensemble, founded in 1990, has become a vibrant part of the education and training offered at the School. The curriculum of the Ensemble is designed especially to provide specialized training in all areas of musical theater performance. Led by Carolyn Marlow, artistic director, the program culminates in a professional production. Students also learn audition techniques; how to work with directors, manag¬ers, and agents; terminology and traditions of theater; résumé construction; and the building of repertoires. The performances presented in the American Musical Theater Ensemble are a valuable educational experience for the students. The second semester of the program is devoted to rehearsing for a final musical theater production. Past shows include Into the Woods, Side by Side by Sondheim, The World Goes ’Round, September Songs: The Legacy of Kurt Weill, A Grand Night for Singing (Rodgers and Hammerstein), Defying Gravity, The Magical World of Stephen Schwartz and The Rhythm of Life: A Cy Coleman Celebration. All these shows have included works of composers and lyricists who have made major contributions to the Broadway stage. Shane Schag, a native from Ohio, has performed in recital both as soloist and ensemble performer throughout the United States and Europe. He has won several awards and scholarships, including the Gwendolyn Koldofsky Memorial Award, given to “a musician who demonstrated outstanding professionalism in collaborative piano,” has worked as a vocal coach for Centro Studi Italiani Opera Festival and as an Assistant Conductor for the Gotham Chamber Opera. In 2007, Mr. Schag made his debut at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall. He currently serves as staff pianist for the Lotte Lenya Competition in Rochester, New York, and Carnegie Hall’s Musical Explorers concert series. Recently, Mr. Schag appeared on PBS SundayArts in a showcase for rising young opera singers. He has been the pianist and musical director for numerous recitals and cabaret acts including the up-coming one-woman show, Songs My Mother Never Taught Me, by Deborah Karpel. Mr. Schag serves on the faculty of Manhattan School of Music and of Operaworks in Los Angeles.

Carolyn Marlow has written, directed, and produced a musical revue performed at Manhattan School of Music by the students in her American Musical Theater Ensemble every year since 1992. Many of these revues have also been performed in other venues in and around New York, including Music for Montauk, the New York Botanical Gardens, the Cosmopolitan Club, and others. She has taught at The Juilliard School, in the Professional Musical Theater Workshop with Paul Gemignani, her audition workshop at Musical Theaterworks, and a master class in audition technique to students in the musical theater department at the University of Oklahoma through the technology of videoconferencing. Her present role as teacher and director is supported by an extensive performing background. Operatically, she has performed leading roles with the Opera Company of Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania Opera Theater, and Fargo/Moorhead Opera. Ms. Marlow made her Broadway debut in the Hal Prince production of Sweeney Todd and was last seen on Broadway as Jack’s Mother in Into the Woods. On tour she has performed the role of the Beggar Woman in Sweeney Todd with Angela Lansbury, June Havoc, and Karen Morrow. She has performed many other leading roles on national tours, off-Broadway, and regionally. Carolyn Marlow received her Bachelor and Master degrees in voice perfor¬mance from Indiana University. She then continued her opera studies at the Curtis Institute of Music.

Tickets, $15 for adults; $10 for seniors and students are required. For information, visit the MSM web site at www.msmnyc.edu or call 917-493-4428.

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For a complete calendar of concerts and events, visit the Manhattan School of Music web site at www.msmnyc.edu.

Manhattan School of Music is located at the northwest corner of 122nd Street and Broadway, and is accessible by public transportation. Several MTA bus lines stop within two blocks at Broadway and 122nd Street: the M5 arrives at Riverside Drive, the M4 and M104 arrive at Broadway, and the M60 and M11 arrive at Amsterdam Avenue. From the 116th Street stop the No. 1 subway line. If arriving via Metro North, stop at Harlem-125th Street and board the M60 bus from any subway line with a 125th stop. Most Manhattan School of Music concerts are free to the public and do not require a ticket. Concerts requiring a ticket include most orchestra concerts, our two main stage opera productions, and the American String Quartet series. The Manhattan School of Music Concert Office is open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and one hour before curtain for ticketed events. For a recorded, up-to-date concert schedule, call the Concert Line at 917-493-4428.
 

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