B/G Spring Concerts
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B/G MUSIC FUND Spring Concert, Opera and More A voice and organ recital Saturday, April 30th, 5 pm Old South Haven Presbyterian Church, Brookhaven Corner of South Country and Beaver Dam Roads Tickets at the door $25 Michael Douglas Jones, bass Andrew Fuchs, tenor Samantha Pruyn Guevrekian, soprano Carol Weitner, organ Daniel Ragone, piano Performing works by Handel, Mozart, Puccini, Quilter, Schubert and Smetana Michael Douglas Jones is highly regarded for his appearances in works of the 20th and 21st centuries. He won the Canadian Jessie award for “outstanding performance by an actor in a leading role” for his creation of the Marquis in 120 Songs for the Marquis de Sade (Hannan) in the world premiere co- produced by Modern Baroque Opera and Vancouver New Music. Most recently, he performed the role of Tortscheiner in a new piece entitled Enemies, A Love Story by Ben Moore with the Center for Contemporary Opera and the role of Blanck in Bradley Kemp’s puppet opera Triangle. In 2010, he recorded a new opera by Jazz legend Anthony Braxton entitled Trillium E. He made his international debut in Sweden, singing the lead role of Director in Kafka‘s Chimp by Welsh composer, John Metcalf. The production was sung in Swedish, preceded by the world premiere at Banff Music Centre for the Arts and sung in English. He reprised this role in a unique remounting of the opera by Quantum Theatre in Pittsburgh with the Pittsburgh Zoo as the venue. Chosen by Metcalf for continued collaboration, Michael starred in the 2005 premiere of The Love of a Chair as man’s best friend, a dog, in Montreal with performances continuing in Wales and England. Michael developed his role of the Dog over a three-year period in collaboration with the composer, librettist and stage director through improvisations in creative workshops. In 2008, he toured the UK with eleven performances of A Chair in Love, included in the Buxton Arts Festival at the Wales Millennium Center. Michael is the founder and Executive Artistic Director of Companion Star, A Living Laboratory for the Creative Process. www.companionstar.org Andrew Fuchs, originally from Kansas City, Missouri, received his Bachelor of Music in voice from the University of Kansas and his Master of Music in voice from Stony Brook University. His performance credits include Ferrando in Così fan tutte, the title role in Carissimi’s Jephte, Tom Rakewell in an abridged performance of Stravinsky’s The Rake's Progress, Maximinian (Dioclesian), Zotico (Cavalli's Eliogabalo), First Sailor (Dido and Aeneas), Lorenzo (I Capuleti ed i Montecchi), Spalanzani/Pittichinaccio (The Tales of Hoffmann), Will Parker (Oklahoma!), and Tonio in scenes from La fille du régiment. He has sung Saint Nicolas in Britten’s Saint Nicolas Cantata as well as Britten’s Songs from the Chinese and Serenade for Tenor and Horn, Brahms's Liebeslieder Waltzes with Diamond Opera Theater, and has been a soloist with the Stony Brook Symphony Orchestra numerous times, most notably as Obadiah in Mendelssohn’s Elijah alongside Metropolitan Opera soprano Christine Goerke. As a former baritone, he was seen as Vicar Gedge (Albert Herring), Antonio (The Marriage of Figaro), Bob (The Old Maid and the Thief), Mr. Gobineau (The Medium), and Bill Foster in the workshop premiere of Stephen Schwartz’s opera, Séance on a Wet Afternoon. Andrew spent two summers at the Seagle Music Colony and was also a fellow at SongFest in Malibu, CA, working with acclaimed vocal coach/accompanists Graham Johnson and Martin Katz. Andrew is a doctoral candidate at Stony Brook University where he studies with Fred Carama. Upcoming performances include Acis in Handel's Acis and Galatea, the title role in Peter Winkler's opera Fox Fables at Symphony Space in NYC, and the tenor solos in Bach's St. John Passion. Samantha Pruyn Guevrekian, noted for her “pure, sweet-sounding soprano voice,” received her Bachelor of Music degree from Northwestern University in 2007. While there, she performed the role of Sister Gertrude in Dialogues of the Carmelites. Following her graduation, Ms. Guevrekian enrolled in the Master of Music degree program at Stony Brook University, which she has recently completed. Ms. Guevrekian has performed the roles of Belinda in Dido and Aeneas, Filia in Carissimi’s Jephte, and Despina in Così Fan Tutte with Stony Brook Opera. Other operatic engagements include performing Drusilla in Purcell’s Dioclesian at the Amherst Early Music Festival, Inez in Die Drei Pintos with The Bronx Opera Company, Miss Silverpeal in The Impresario with Amadeus Opera, Nedda in Pagliacci with Mercury Opera, Norina in Don Pasquale as well as Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi with The Martha Cardona Theater. In review of Mercury Opera's Pagliacci, The Opera Insider stated, "The vocal star of the evening was, without a doubt, Samantha Pruyn Guevrekian...Her voice shimmered in the high range and showed color and expression throughout her range..." Ms. Guevrekian is also sought after to premier numerous contemporary pieces, which have included Another Dawn by Larry Moss at Gilder Lehrman Hall, O Wondrous Singer!, by Curtis Curtis-Smith at Merkin Hall, and Ed Smaldone’s song cycle, Cantare Amore, at Merkin Hall. The recipient of several prestigious awards, Ms. Guevrekian won first place in the Society of American Musicians Competition, the Bravo Award from the Bel Canto Foundation, was a finalist in the Accadia Competition for Operatic Voice as well as in the New York Lyric Opera Theatre Vocal Competition. She has also received a vocal scholarship from Stony Brook University and won first place in the Paul Straney Vocal Scholarship Competition. She has most recently received an encouragement prize from The Gerda Lissner Foundation International Vocal Competition and has come in second place in the David Adams Art Song Competition, the Marcella Sembrich Memorial Voice Scholarship Competition and the Jenny Lind Competition. Carol Weitner holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree and the Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music, the Master of Music degree from Westminster Choir College, and the Bachelor of Music degree from The Mannes College of Music. She is the organist at St. John’s Church in Cold Spring Harbor, and at First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Huntington. She also teaches piano and organ privately. In the U.S., Dr. Weitner has performed extensively on Long Island, as well as in Chicago, St. Paul, Boston, and New York City. She has also presented recitals in France (at Chartres Cathedral and at La Madeleine in Paris), Germany, the Netherlands, and the Czech Republic. Her first CD, recorded on the Gress-Miles organ at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Bay Shore, features works by nineteenth- and twentieth-century composers including Jongen, Schumann, Langlais, and Vierne. Daniel Ragone, pianist, received his formal education at Penn State University and the University of Illinois. For years a mainstay of the New York City vocal scene and one of its most highly regarded coaches, Daniel recently relocated to Long Island where he opened a vocal studio in Port Jefferson. His reputation as a first rate pianist make him a sought after recital collaborator and recording artist. Mr. Ragone has performed many vocal recitals and chamber music concerts including the Brahms Liebeslieder Waltzes along with major chamber works of Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann and Poulenc. Among his past affiliations are the Carnegie Hall International American Music Competition for Singers, the Rome Opera Festival and The Center for Contemporary Opera. Recent credits include the musical preparation of the world premiere of Stephen Paulus' Hester Prynne at Death at the 92nd Street Y. Since moving to Long Island, he has given performances and guest master classes at Hofstra University, SUNY Stony Brook, Suffolk County Community College and St. Joseph's College. Mr. Ragone is the founder and music director of the newly formed operatic ensemble, OperAlive!. .