FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Katlyn Morahan | Morahan Arts and Media
katlyn@morahanartsandmedia.com | (646) 378-9386

Gotham Early Music Scene Presents Open Gates Project Concert
C3: Countertenors, a Consort, and Continuo

Featuring Countertenors Biraj Barkakaty, Wei En Chan, Patrick Dailey, Iván Maria Feliciano, and Jonathan May; Violists Motomi Igarashi, Larry Lipnik, Rosamund Morley, and Pat Neely; and Harpsichordist Dongsok Shin

Friday, February 11, 2022 at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Manhattan;
Livestream of Concert Also Available

www.gemsny.org

New York, NY (January 13, 2022) — Gotham Early Music Scene (GEMS) continues the inaugural season of its Open Gates Project with C3: Countertenors, a Consort, and Continuo, a program featuring a roster of countertenors of color alongside a consort of viols, on Friday, February 11, 2022 at 7:00pm at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church (3 W 65th Street). The concert will also be livestreamed.

Featured artists in this unique program include countertenors Biraj Barkakaty, Wei En Chan, Patrick Dailey, Iván Maria Feliciano (special guest young artist), and Jonathan May, with viol consort composed of Motomi Igarashi, Larry Lipnik, Rosamund Morley, and Pat Neely, with Dongsok Shin on harpsichord. The program includes Gabrieli’s Vieni, Vieni, Himeneo, Handel’s Ombra mai fu, Monteverdi’s Pur ti miro, Cavalli’s Pur Ti Stringo, and consort songs by Purcell and William Byrd, in addition to Trevor Weston’s O Maria.

GEMS’ Open Gates Project offers a rich variety of music performed by distinguished professional artists at locations throughout New York City. The series is dedicated to creating greater access to stages for musicians of color in Early Music, while also seeking to create greater access to Early Music for underserved communities. The Project aims to see increased diversity on the stage and in the audience.

Gene Murrow, executive director of Gotham Early Music Scene, engaged bass-baritone Joe Chappel and soprano Michele Kennedy as co-directors of the Open Gates Project, curating concerts, engaging artists, and exploring exciting new venues, all in order to broaden the reach of Early Music. The Open Gates Project presented its inaugural concerts in November 2021. Entitled The Divine Feminine: Centering Women of Color in Early Music, these well-attended performances enjoyed much acclaim by audiences and the Early Music community at large. View the full concert here.

Concert Information
C3: Countertenors, a Consort, and Continuo
Friday, February 11, 2022 at 7:00pm
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church | 3 W 65th St | New York, NY 10023
Tickets: $30: General Admission; $15: Under 30/Fixed Income General Admission; $5: Students (ID required)
Link: https://gemsny.org/opengatesseason 
Livestream and in-person options available

Program:
WILLIAM BYRD:
     Ambitious Love 
     Ye Sacred Muses 
     Who Made Thee, Hob 
     Viol Consort Selections
HENRY PURCELL:
     Sound the trumpet
     Sing, Sing, Ye Druids 
     Sorceress scene (Dido and Aeneas)
     Viol Consort Selections
ANDREA GABRIELI:
     Vieni, Vieni, Himeneo
TREVOR WESTON:
     O Maria
GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL:
     Ombra mai fu
CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI:
     Pur ti miro 
FRENCESCO CAVALLI:
     Pur Ti Stringo 

Countertenors:
Biraj Barkakaty
Wei En Chan
Patrick Dailey
Iván Maria Feliciano (special guest young artist)
Jonathan May

Viols:
Motomi Igarashi
Larry Lipnik
Rosamund Morley
Pat Neely

Harpsichord:
Dongsok Shin

Please note: COVID vaccinations and masks are required to attend in person. Read GEMS’ full Covid Protocols here.

About Gotham Early Music Scene
Since 2007, Gotham Early Music Scene (GEMS) has been a 501(c)(3) non-profit New York corporation promoting and supporting “early music” (medieval, Renaissance, baroque, and classical) in New York City. Among our activities are Midtown Concerts, a series of weekly free daytime concerts at the Church of the Transfiguration on East 29th Street; GEMS Live!, a booking agency securing paid concert engagements for New York-based ensembles; GEMS Concert Services, serving organizations and ensembles with marketing, box office, and front-of-house functions; Notes on the Scene, a semi-monthly newsletter emailed to about 8,500 subscribers; collaborations with major New York cultural institutions including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Trinity Church Wall Street, The Juilliard School, Americas Society and others for special events such as The Play of Daniel and the GEMAS series of early music in the Americas concerts; and IRS fiscal sponsorship and administrative services to 21 established and emerging ensembles and organizations.  

GEMS is supported by fees for services; grants from The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, The New York State Council on the Arts, The Howard Gilman Foundation and other private foundations, and generous individual donors. Learn more at https://gemsny.org.

About Biraj Barkakaty
A native of London, Biraj Barkakaty has held positions with some of the world’s leading choral ensembles including St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, and the Washington National Cathedral Choir. Whilst specializing in the music of baroque and renaissance composers, he has also sung roles in many new and contemporary operas, most recently the role of Fidele in Diary of a Madman with Seattle’s LowBrow Opera Collective last November, and the role of Merlin in the staged world premiere of The Loathly Lady at the Vienna Summer Music Festival in Florida last June. In October 2021, Biraj performed with the London based Siglo de Oro Ensemble at the Tage Alter Musik Festival in Regensburg. He is also a member of the newly formed professional ensemble The Union in Cincinnati. Future engagements include Bach Cantata 12 with the Heifetz Institute in March, and the role of the Shepherd in Blow’s Venus and Adonis with Fireside Theatre in Cambridge, England. www.birajbarkakaty.com

About Wei En Chan
Wei En Chan is a Singaporean countertenor whose singing is lauded for its “time-stopping” beauty and technical finesse. He leads an active career in Asia and North America performing the major works of Bach and Handel and has appeared in leading roles with numerous organizations including the Singapore International Festival of Art (SIFA), The Opera People (TOP, Singapore), Bachfest Malaysia, Red Dot Baroque (RDB), First Lutheran Church of Boston, Boston Opera Collaborative, the American Bach Soloists, and others. Highlights include the title role in Handel’s Oreste with SIFA, conducted by Tian Hui Ng, Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with Bachfest Malaysia, conducted by Dr. David Chin, and Ruggiero in Handel’s Alcina with TOP & RDB. Wei En earned his Masters in Music in Voice Performance from New England Conservatory, studying with Dr. Ian Howell, and his Bachelors in Music from Ithaca College, studying with Prof. Carol McAmis. www.weienchancountertenor.com Facebook: @ChanWeiEnCountertenor, Instagram: @weiencountertenor

About Patrick Dailey
Patrick Dailey has been described as possessing “a powerful and elegant countertenor voice” (Los Angeles Daily News) and as a “vocal standout” (Boston Classical Review). He has appeared with the Grand Rapids Symphony, Opera Memphis, Pacific Opera Project, Tete a Tete New Opera Festival (UK), Austin Baroque Orchestra, Shreveport Opera, Chicago Philharmonic, Opera Louisiane, Woodhouse Opera Festival (UK), Il Festival de Ópera Barroca de Belo Horizonte (Brazil), among others. A versatile artist, Dailey has performed with the likes of Jason Robert Brown and Aretha Franklin and featured in Ben Gregor’s film, Fatherhood (FUSE TV) as well as recording projects from Louis York (American Griots), Adrian Dunn (Redemption Live in Chicago), to The Aeolians of Oakwood University. Patrick is on the voice faculty and director of the Big Blue Opera Initiatives at Tennessee State University, founding director of the W. Crimm Singers (aka Wakanda Chorale), and co-founder of Early Music City. www.patrickdaileyct.com

About Iván Maria Feliciano
Iván Maria Feliciano Jr. is an operatic countertenor of Afro-Puerto Rican descent, and is regarded as a rising star in both Baroque Opera and Oratorio. Audiences recently heard Iván as the Sorceress in Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas at the Aaron Copland School of Music. Iván Maria has been described as having a voice that is dramatic in size, that is full, and rich with an extraordinary range. He has made appearances with the SouthWest Symphony Orchestra of Naples, Florida and was a primary soloist within the chamber choir of Ave Maria University. He has also performed scenes from Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito, and made his debut as the first countertenor soloist to perform Mozart’s Requiem in D Minor in Southwest Florida. Iván Maria has a profound adoration for Early Music and its abundant musical repertoire. Outside of performing, he also has an avocation for transcribing obscure baroque repertoire and aspires to be an archivist and baroque specialist. He is currently completing his degree in vocal performance with the Aaron Copland School of Music. 

About Jonathan May
Jonathan May, countertenor, performs regularly with ensembles such as Early Music New York, Mark Morris Dance Group, Ensemble VIII, and The Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys. He was most recently featured as a soloist in Cantatas BWV 70, 147 and Bach’s Magnificat with Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity. He appeared with New York City’s TENET Vocal Artists in unconducted performances of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, featuring only twelve singers and the instrumental ensemble The Sebastians. He also appeared as Testo in Academy of Sacred Drama’s modern premiere of Vincenzo de Grandis’ Il Nascimento di Mose. Other highlights include appearances as alto soloist in C.P.E. Bach's Magnificat with American Classical Orchestra and in Handel’s Dixit Dominus with Canticum Scholare; singing the role of Spirit in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas with Mark Morris Dance Group; singing Philip Glass' Madrigal Opera at National Sawdust; and performing Tallis' Spem in alium with The Tallis Scholars. He holds a degree in music from Dartmouth College.

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