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Page 20 Thursday, September 24, 2009 The Westfield Leader and The Scotch Plains – Fanwood TIMES A WATCHUNG COMMUNICATIONS, INC. PUBLICATION Public Can Enjoy An Operatic Opening Night at the Symphony By GREG WAXBERG rected by Wayne Mallette. Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem, Specially Written for The Westfield Leader and The Times “Collaboration” is the key word Haydn’s The Creation and Bach’s St. As He Continues to Grow, WESTFIELD — To continue its not only for this concert, but also for Matthew’s Passion with the New York tradition of performing operas, the the orchestra’s season, which is the Oratorio Society at Carnegie Hall, Westfield Symphony Orchestra second half of “Sound Partnerships,” and Verdi’s Requiem with the Na- (WSO), conducted by Music Direc- in which most of the programs fea- tional Chorale at Avery Fisher Hall. Reid Starts Escaping Shadows tor David Wroe, will open its 2009- ture partnerships with other organi- Her first recording of “Four Seasons By MAGGIE DIGGORY Queens College- CUNY. velop towards such a level of self- 10 season on Saturday night with zations. in Korea” with I Musici was released Specially Written for The Westfield Leader and The Times Mr. Reid, when asked to describe awareness with a technical, multi-lay- Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butter- “WSO has successfully presented in 2004. WESTFIELD – Benny Reid, a his experience playing the jazz clubs ered but smooth modern-jazz sound. fly. opera in concert for much of its 27- Mr. Rivero made his professional fulltime jazz musician originally from of Manhattan – including venues such “My compositions are very intro- The performance, which begins at year history,” Mr. Wroe told The debut in 2003 with Baz Luhrman’s Westfield, spoke over the phone from as the Jazz Standard, the Blue Note spective. I am a melodic, thoughtful 8 p.m. at Summit High School, fea- Westfield Leader and The Times. “Col- Broadway production of Puccini’s La Manhattan with The Westfield Leader and the Plaza Hotel – said, “New York virtuoso. My drummer says he can see tures the orchestra in collaboration laborating with New York Opera So- Boheme in New York City. His inter- and The Times about his more than 15 City is a great place for learning. You what I’m thinking in these composi- with the New York Opera Society, ciety allows us to add more of a national opera career includes the years in the jazz-music scene in New do have to play at your best all the tions all the time,” Mr. Reid concluded. directed by its founder and executive theatrical element due to their theat- roles of Don Jose in Carmen, Alfredo York City that began with Mr. Reid time. If you mess up in front of all Escaping Shadows is available on director, Jennifer Cho, and the Sum- rical input and, for the first time, the in Verdi’s La Traviata, Romeo in performing in jazz clubs in Manhattan these people, you can still fix it.” iTunes and Amazon.com. mit High School Concert Choir, di- use of subtitles. This frees the audi- Gounod’s Romeo et Juliette and while still a high school student at Mr. Reid described his sound as “a ence from their program books and Pinkerton. He has also received nu- Westfield High School. fusion modern sort of sound.” He ad- allows more visual focus on stage, merous awards. His roots to Westfield are similar to mits that emotionally, he has grown up thus linking the audio and visually- Recent engagements for Mr. those he is laying down in Westbury, significantly between his first album, dramatic elements more universally.” Ahualli, a native of Argentina, have N.Y., with his wife, Kim, whom he Findings, which he self-financed and Madama Butterfly is often per- included Papageno in Mozart’s The married this past spring. “Westbury marketed. He is now represented by formed by opera companies, and for Magic Flute, Marcello in La Boheme, reminds me a lot of Westfield, and this Concord Music Group, which he de- good reason. Puccini’s score includes Figaro in Rossini’s The Barber of is where my wife’s family lives,” he scribed as “the largest independent Butterfly’s universally-beloved aria Seville, Germont in La Traviata, Eu- said. record label in the world, and the larg- “Un bel di,” the ethereal women’s gene Onegin and Don Giovanni. He The compositions in his recently est jazz label.” chorus that accompanies the Japa- has also sung in Bach’s Magnificat, released second album, Escaping Mr. Reid said his work for Escaping nese geisha’s first appearance, the Verdi’s Requiem and Beethoven’s Shadows, were drawn in part from Shadows, released on September 15, wedding night love duet between Ninth Symphony. memories of his sister, who passed shows that he “was a lot happier for the Butterfly and Lieutenant Pinkerton “We, at the Westfield Symphony, away as a teenager. second album.” that closes Act I, the “Flower Duet” have built a reputation of presenting “Kim and my sister are my main His ensemble includes himself on for Butterfly and her maid Suzuki, visceral, dramatic and vivid profes- sources of inspiration,” said the soon- alto saxophone and keyboard, Rich- the “Humming Chorus” and the or- sional performances. We think that to-be 29-year-old sax player. ard Padron, acoustic and electric gui- chestral introduction to the final act. opera, with its intense artistic and He specifically created track six, tars; Pablo Vergara, piano; Fender “Stage-wise, the presentation will dramatic emotional impacts, suitably “The Most Beautiful Girl I Ever Knew,” Rhodes, keyboards; Daniel Loomis, be given in the traditional ‘opera-in- sets the stage for a series of sym- in memory of his sister. bass and electric bass; Kenny concert’ style,” Mr. Wroe said. phonic and vocal experiences that “I make melodies that honor her Grohowski, drums; Jeff Taylor, vo- Saturday’s cast includes soprano make up the varied offerings in WSO’s memory,” he said. cals; and Ryan Fitch, percussion. Yunah Lee as Cio-Cio-San (Butter- season,” Mr. Wroe said. Mr. Reid’s compositions go as far The group has performed at venues David Samsky for The Westfield Leader and The Times fly), mezzo-soprano Hai-Ting Chinn The WSO’s season continues on THE 25TH MUSIC DIRECTOR…Alan Gilbert received five curtain calls back as his undergraduate days at the throughout the northeast, including after his debut performance as the New York Philharmonic’s music as Suzuki, tenor Gaston Rivero as October 24 (“Dracula” and Saint- University of Indiana, where he ma- most recently at the Tanglewood Jazz director last week at Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center. As PBS Pinkerton, baritone Gustavo Ahualli Saens’ Organ Symphony), December jored in music. On breaks from col- Festival, on Labor Day weekend. Mr. broadcasted the event live, Mr. Gilbert began with “Expo,” a work as Sharpless and Ms. Cho as Kate 31 (American Songbook), February lege, he would come back and net- Reid described performing at composed by Magnus Lindberg expressly for this new era of innovative Pinkerton (Pinkerton’s American 20 (including Tango and work in the city and play gigs there to Tanglewood as a “beautiful, grand plat- music. Soprano Renee Fleming graced the Philharmonic, now in its 168th wife). Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. stay connected. form for my compositions.” season, by singing Messiaen’s rarely performed song cycle, Poemes pour Among her national and interna- 2), April 11 (Grand Finale of the “Being close to the city, growing up “My band has a large sound, and my Mi, a set of love songs by the French composer for his wife. tional operatic credits, Ms. Lee, a “Stars of Tomorrow” concerto com- in Westfield, was always a great op- compositions are meant to be played native of Korea, made her New York petition, plus “The Firebird” and portunity I took advantage of,” he said. in a larger atmosphere. [Performing] City Opera debut in 1998 as Micaela “Young Person’s Guide to the Or- in Bizet’s Carmen and returned to chestra”) and May 8 (Beethoven’s Bonneau to Be Featured City Opera as Mimi in La Boheme Symphony No. 9 and the “Yellow and Zerlina in Don Giovanni. She has River Cantata”). sung Butterfly for Boheme Opera, Summit High School is located at In NJWA Concert Band Opera Roanoke, Virginia Opera, 125 Kent Place Boulevard in Sum- MOUNTAINSIDE – On Sunday, France and is a former member of the Longview Opera and Lyric Opera of mit. For more information, call the September 27, at 2 p.m., the New French Air Force Band. San Antonio. WSO at (908) 232-9400 or visit them Jersey Workshop for the Arts (NJWA) Mr. Bonneau, a professional chem- In concert, Ms. Lee has sung in online at westfieldsymphony.org. Concert Band under the direction of ist, currently oversees a French chemi- conductor Howard Toplansky will cal company in the United States that perform a fall concert at Our Lady of manufactures and supplies bulk for- Lourdes Church, located at 300 Cen- mulations such as nail polish for many Reversing the Reverse tral Avenue in Mountainside. of the famous cosmetic lines around This is the first of a five-concert the world. series for the 2009-2010 concert sea- The “Sun Valley Mountains” over- At Kent Place Gallery son. The event is open to the public, ture by composer Gene Ogden will SUMMIT – Kent Place Gallery with grids that either mimic or con- and admission is $10 per person, $5 be the main selection on the first half will present an exhibition of new trast with the surrounding canvas.

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