Region Finals Concert 2019 - February 6th @ 2pm Baruch Performing Arts Center - The Rosalyn and Irwin Engelman Recital Hall Mission: The purpose of the Metropolitan Opera National Council is “to discover exceptional young talent and provide a venue for young opera singers across North America at all levels of development, to be heard by representatives of the Metropolitan Opera and to assist those with the greatest potential for operatic careers.” Each year, over 100 singers on the Met roster have participated in the National Council Auditions; and this season Eastern Region Alumni Samantha Hankey, Will Liverman and Brian Michael Moore made their debut on the Met stage. Organization: The auditions consist of four levels; the District and Regionals are organized by local volunteers, while the Semi-Finals and Grand Finals are run by the Met. More than a thousand singers from all over the world apply each year to one of the 41 Districts, which then funnel into 12 Regions. One of the hallmarks of the National Council Auditions is the feedback provided to the singers at each level of the competition, an invaluable asset provided by our judges who take on this role free-of-charge and who hail from all facets of the music business. New York: The Eastern Region is a special case, being both a District and a Region. Just like every other District and Region, we are responsible for fundraising all the money necessary to organize the auditions and to award prizes…times two. Today’s singers were selected from a group of ninety applicants who auditioned in November in front of a distinguished panel of judges consisting of Paul Hopper, Ted Taylor and Scott Guzielek. In addition to the Region Finalists, they also selected Michael Anderson, Tianchi Zhang and Erik van Heyningen as Encouragement Winners, a prize awarded to those who show great potential but who might not be completely ready for the next round of auditions this year. Cash: MONC Eastern Region is a 501(c)3 which is entirely run by volunteers and supported by donations from attendees like you. We keep our costs as low as possible (hence the small print and layout of this program), so the bulk of our budget can be used as prize money for the singers. Being an opera singer is a costly vocation - from music lessons to wardrobe purchases and travel arrangements - so money awarded at competitions like this is very helpful in furthering a young singer’s career. “I want to tell the donors how much they mean to me and all the singers that they help. They are a lifeline for us and I can personally say that, through the Met competition, they helped me to just keep going in an extremely difficult industry. Through their giving, they gave me the means to be able to put food on the table, keep studying, and keep singing. I will always, ALWAYS be grateful for their generosity.” — Tenor Joseph Dennis - 2015 Grand Finals Winner ~ In addition to the prize money provided by the Eastern Region and fundraised through the generosity of attendees like you, we are also able to hand out the 1st Place Mrs. Edgar Tobin Award(s) provided by the Tobin Endowment, and the Mrs. Rohatyn Encouragement Award(s). We say award(s) because it is never known beforehand how many people will move on or receive awards; the number of winners and awards is entirely up to the judges’ discretion, as long as at least one person is selected to move on. Our First Prize(s), and thus the people who will be moving on to the Semi-Finals, are given in honor of Dr. and Mrs. Brereton, whose continued support throughout the years has been invaluable to this organization. We will also be handing out an Audience Award; to vote, fill out a form in the lobby during deliberations or go to surveymonkey.com/r/M6PX9LG. The winner of the Audience Award will only be moving forward to the Semi-Finals if they are also selected as a 1st Prize Winner by the judges. ~ Region Finals Concert 2019 - February 6th @ 2pm Baruch Performing Arts Center - The Rosalyn and Irwin Engelman Recital Hall Many thanks to our donors, judges and volunteers; none of this would be possible without you. ~ To make a donation, learn more about us or sign up for our newsletter, go to nycmonc.org. It is the best way to stay up-to-date on upcoming events (Grand Finals Concert at the Met on March 31st!) and keep informed on the next generation of opera talent. ER Committee: Stefanie Van Steelandt - Chair, Lara Marcon - Treasurer, Tom Cannon Jr., Lisa Litwin, Peter Agnone Ruane National Council Organization: Carol E. Domina - President, Camille LaBarre - National Auditions Chairperson, Melissa Wegner - Executive Director, Brady Walsh - Administrator, Eric Owens - National Advisor ~ Currently Senior Director and Artistic Adviser for Carnegie Hall, Jeremy Geffen will assume the position of Executive and Artistic Director of Cal Performances at the University of California at Berkeley on April 1, 2019. His responsibilities at Carnegie Hall include overall program planning and thematic development for the entirety of the approximately 150 performances comprising the Carnegie Hall concert season, as well as the creation of a wide range of audience education programs. A passionate advocate for giving emerging talent the defining opportunities necessary for high-level careers as performers and educators, he is part of the team responsible for the auditioning, selection, programming and creation of career development curriculum for Ensemble Connect, Carnegie Hall’s two-year fellowship program for the highest-caliber young artists-advocates. Jennifer Ringo is known internationally as a language coach and teacher of vocal diction. She has prepared productions for the Houston Grand Opera, New York City Opera, The Atlanta Opera, The Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, Cincinnati May Festival, Aspen Opera Theater, USC Thornton School of Music . Ms Ringo taught French, Italian, German and English vocal diction at Bard College Conservatory of Music from 2005 to 2008. An internationally acclaimed soprano, she has sung leading roles with the San Francisco Opera, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Houston Grand Opera, and the Canadian Opera Company, among others. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Iowa and continued graduate studies in voice at The Juilliard School. Melissa Wegner joined the artistic staff of the Metropolitan Opera in 2011 and currently serves as Executive Director of the National Council Auditions (MONC). She auditions hundreds of young singers annually and is passionate about assisting them with their career development. Ms. Wegner hears artists in stage and screening auditions at the Met and is responsible for casting the Met’s New Opera Commissions workshops. In addition to judging the District, Region and National rounds of MONC, Ms. Wegner has also adjudicated the Belvedere Competition in South Africa and Russia, the SAI Vocal Competition, and the McCammon Voice Competition. She is a faculty member at Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute Program for Singers, has been visiting faculty for Bard College’s Graduate Vocal Arts Program, and is a frequent guest speaker at conservatories, universities and summer festivals. As a soprano, Ms. Wegner performed opera, concerts and recitals in the United States and Europe. Full judges’ and singers’ bios are available @ nycmonc.org/news. Share your experiences with #OperaIdols on Twitter (opera_idols), Facebook and Instagram (operaidols). Today’s Concert The schedule and aria list is tentative and subject to change. The singers will announce their name and first aria choice once they come on stage, then it is up to the judges’ discretion to ask for a second aria of their choice. Enjoy the performance, make sure your cell-phones are turned off, and feel free to applaud! Singers are accompanied on the piano by Doug Martin. Region Finals Concert 2019 - February 6th @ 2pm Baruch Performing Arts Center - The Rosalyn and Irwin Engelman Recital Hall Daniel Moody Countertenor - Age 29 - Hometown: Cincinnati, OH Stille amare ---- TOLOMEO ---- Handel In un orito prato ---- L'ORFEO ---- Monteverdi Furibondo spira il vento ---- PARTENOPE ---- Handel Dawn, still darkness ---- FLIGHT ---- Dove I know a bank ---- A MIDSUMMER NIGHTS DREAM ---- Britten Praised as having a “vocal resonance, [which] makes a profoundly startling impression” (The New York Times) and for his “vivid and powerful” voice (The Boston Musical Intelligencer), Countertenor Daniel Moody has appeared in the title roles in Handel’s Giulio Cesare and Rinaldo, Arsamene in Handel’s Xerxes, Oberon in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and most recently, Nerone in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea with Cincinnati Opera alongside Anthony Roth Costanzo. Mr. Moody has performed with renowned groups Les Violons du Roy (w/ Bernard Labadie) in Québec City, Apollo’s Fire, The Cleveland Baroque Orchestra (w/ Jeannette Sorrell), Portland Baroque Orchestra (w/ David Hill) and at the Boston, Indianapolis and Washington Early Music Festivals. A graduate of the prestigious Yale Voxtet at Yale’s Institute of Sacred Music – he has performed as soloist at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, London’s St. John’s Smith Square and, Cambridge’s Trinity College, with conductors Masaaki Suzuki, Simon Carrington, and Matthew Halls with performances broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in the United Kingdom, on Boston’s WGBH, Indiana’s WFIU, and WSHU’s Sunday Baroque. (Continued Online) Joowon Chae Soprano - Age 27 - Hometown: Seoul, South Korea Je suis encor tout étourdie ---- MANON ---- Massenet Signore, ascolta! ---- Turandot ---- Puccini Deh vieni non tardar ---- LE NOZZE DI FIGARO ---- Mozart Moon Aria (Cocachin's Aria) ---- THE RED SILK THREAD: AN EPIC TALE OF MARCO POLO ---- Sung Wo bin ich? ---- HÄNSEL UND GRETEL ---- Humperdinck Korean Soprano, Joowon Chae, was most recently awarded rst place in the New Jersey Association of Verismo Opera Competition in January 2019.