WORLD PREMIERE
A Nation of Others
by PAUL MORAVEC and MARK CAMPBELL
also featuring ROBERT PATERSON Whitman’s America
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall
November 15, 2022 at 8 PM
Kent Tritle conductor
Susanna Phillips soprano • Maeve Höglund soprano
Raehann Bryce-Davis mezzo-soprano
Martin Bakari tenor • Steven Eddy baritone
Joseph Beutel bass-baritone
Orchestra of the Society
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The Oratorio Society of New York is very excited to present the world premiere of A Nation of Others, by Paul Moravec and Mark Campbell, the Pulitzer Prize-winning team that created the enormously successful Sanctuary Road. In a moving and dynamic score, A Nation of Others explores the experiences of immigrants—many of them also refugees—arriving at Ellis Island on a single day in 1921. Individual stories of people from Sicily, Ukraine, Ireland, Sweden, Poland, Armenia, and Spain show the struggles immigrants can face, but also celebrate the fusion of diverse cultures that give our country its identity.
New York Classical Review called Moravec’s and Campbell’s previous OSNY-commissioned oratorio, Sanctuary Road, “a contemporary work that needs to be heard.”
Also on the program is Robert Paterson’s “quasi-fantasia” Whitman’s America, six poems that praise nature and our role in it as both individuals and Americans.
The commission and performance of A Nation of Others are made possible through the generous support of Joanne Spellun
KENT TRITLE, Music Director and Conductor
Photo credit: Jennifer Taylor
Kent Tritle is one of America’s leading choral conductors. Music Director of the Oratorio Society of New York, he is also Director of Cathedral Music and Organist at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, and Music Director of Musica Sacra, New York’s elite professional chorus.
Kent is a member of the graduate faculty of The Juilliard School. Also an acclaimed organ virtuoso, Kent Tritle is the organist of the New York Philharmonic.
Highlights of the 2022-23 season include two world premieres: A Nation of Others, a new oratorio for six soloists, chorus and orchestra by Paul Moravec and Mark Campbell about immigrants’ arrival at Ellis Island in 1921, with the Oratorio Society of New York at Carnegie Hall, and a setting of the Stabat Mater for organ, soloists, chorus, and orchestra by David Briggs at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Kent also leads Robert Paterson’s Whitman’s America (2016) and Bach’s Mass in B Minor with the Oratorio Society; music from 14th-century England and France and a program featuring music of women composers spanning more than five centuries with Musica Sacra; and “Venice: City of Light,” a collaboration with Rose of the Compass, holiday programs, and two organ recitals at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Kent also leads his annual performances of Handel’s Messiah, with Musica Sacra and the Oratorio Society of New York, at Carnegie Hall.
Among Kent’s recent notable performances: at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Verdi’s Requiem, Mahler’s “Symphony of a Thousand,” and Britten’s War Requiem performed by the Oratorio Society of New York and the Symphony and Symphonic Chorus of the Manhattan School of Music; and with the Cathedral Choir, the New York premiere performance by the Cathedral Choir of Einojuhani Rautaavara’s Vigilia (called by Opera News “a choral concert for the ages”). With Musica Sacra, world premieres of music by Juraj Filas, Michael Gilbertson, and Robert Paterson and an acclaimed performance of Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil. And with the Oratorio Society of New York, the world premieres of the Paul Moravec/Mark Campbell oratorio Sanctuary Road (the recording of which received a Grammy nomination) and Juraj Filas’s Song of Solomon, and Mozart’s arrangement of Handel’s Messiah.
Kent has created high-profile collaborations for his groups with other major players in the New York music scene, directing the Manhattan School of Music Symphonic Chorus for performances of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the New York Philharmonic led by Alan Gilbert; Musica Sacra for the New York Philharmonic’s live score performances of 2001: A Space Odyssey, also led by Gilbert, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind; and the Oratorio Society of New York for Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s led by Sir Roger Norrington, and Carnegie Hall’s 125th Anniversary Gala. He also led the “Mass Appeal Mass” of the “Make Music New York” festival for three years, including the 2012 premiere of a work by Philip Glass in Times Square.
Kent Tritle is renowned as a master clinician, giving workshops on conducting and repertoire; he leads annual choral workshops at the Amherst Early Music Festival, and recent years have included workshops at Berkshire Choral International, Summer@Eastman and at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. As Director of Choral Activities at the Manhattan School of Music from 2008 to 2022, Kent established the school’s first doctoral program in choral conducting. A Juilliard School faculty member since 1996, he currently directs a graduate practicum on oratorio in collaboration with the school’s Vocal Arts Department.
In more than 150 concerts presented by the Sacred Music in a Sacred Space series from 1989 to 2011, Kent Tritle conducted the Choir and Orchestra of St. Ignatius Loyola in a broad repertoire of sacred works, from Renaissance masses and oratorio masterworks to premieres by notable living composers, earning praise for building the choir and the concert series into one of the highlights of the New York concert scene. From 1996 to 2004, Tritle was Music Director of the Emmy-nominated Dessoff Choirs. Kent hosted “The Choral Mix with Kent Tritle,” a weekly program devoted to the vibrant world of choral music, on New York’s WQXR from 2010 to 2014.
As an organ recitalist, Kent Tritle performs regularly in Europe and across the United States; recital venues have included the Leipzig Gewandhaus, the Zurich Tonhalle, the Church of St. Sulpice in Paris, Dresden’s Hofkirche, King’s College at Cambridge, Westminster Abbey, and St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague. With the Philharmonic he has performed Saint-Saëns’s Organ Symphony conducted by Lorin Maazel, Andrew Davis, Antonio Pappano, and David Robertson, and recorded Brahms’s Ein Deutsches Requiem, Britten’s War Requiem and Henze’s Symphony No. 9, all conducted by Kurt Masur, as well as the Grammy-nominated Sweeney Todd conducted by Andrew Litton. He is featured on the DVDs The Organistas and Creating the Stradivarius of Organs.
Kent Tritle’s discography features more than 20 recordings on the Telarc, Naxos, AMDG, Epiphany, Gothic, VAI and MSR Classics labels. Recent releases, including the Grammy-nominated 2018 world premiere performance of the Paul Moravec/Mark Campbell oratorio Sanctuary Road with the Oratorio Society of New York; the 2016 performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 8, David Briggs’s organ-choral version, and Eternal Reflections: Choral Music of Robert Paterson with Musica Sacra, have been praised by NPR Music, Gramophone, and The American Organist.
Kent is the 2020 recipient of Chorus America’s Michael Korn Founders Award for Development of the Professional Choral Art. Other recent honors include the 2017 Distinguished Achievement Award from Career Bridges and the 2016 President’s Medal for Distinguished Service from the Manhattan School of Music. Kent is on the advisory boards of the Choral Composer/Conductor Collective (C4) and the Clarion Music Society, and was the 2016 honoree at Clarion’s annual gala.
Kent Tritle holds graduate and undergraduate degrees from The Juilliard School in organ performance and choral conducting. He has been featured on ABC World News Tonight, National Public Radio, and Minnesota Public Radio, as well as in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. He was featured in Episode 6 of the first season of the WIRED video series “Masterminds,” an installment titled, “What Conductors Are Really Doing.”
www.kenttritle.com.
PAUL MORAVEC, Composer
Photo Credit: Joanna Eldredge
Paul Moravec, recipient of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize in Music, is the composer of over 200 orchestral, chamber, lyric, choral and operatic works. The premiere of A Nation of Others marks his fourth association with OSNY, following Songs of Love and War (2008), and the oratorios The Blizzard Voices (2013) and Sanctuary Road (2018). Recent and upcoming productions of collaborations with librettist Mark Campbell include The Shining with Opera Parallele in San Francisco, and with the opera companies of Minnesota, Colorado, Kansas City, Portland (OR), and Hawaii; Sanctuary Road with Columbus Symphony, Chautauqua Symphony and North Carolina Opera; and Light Shall Lift Us for Opera Orlando and OPERA America.
Frequently commissioned by notable ensembles and music institutions, Mr. Moravec’s most recent premiere is The Wings of the Morning for Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival. His extensive discography includes Northern Lights Electric and The Blizzard Voices on BMOP Sound; Music, Awake! with the Bach Society Chorus; Amorisms on Delos/Naxos; and six albums for Naxos American Classics: Tempest Fantasy, The Time Gallery, Cool Fire, Useful Knowledge, Violin Concerto, and the Grammy-nominated Sanctuary Road. A graduate of Harvard and Columbia universities, he holds the distinguished rank of University Professor at Adelphi University, and has served as Artist-in-Residence at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton as well as Composer-in-Residence at the American Academy in Rome. His website is www.paulmoravec.com and his works are published by www.subitomusic.com.
MARK CAMPBELL, Librettist
Photo Credit: Steven Tracy
The Pulitzer Prize and Grammy Award-winning operas of librettist/lyricist Mark Campbell are among the most successful in the contemporary canon. A prolific writer, Mark has created 40 opera librettos, lyrics for 7 musicals, and text for 8 song cycles and 4 oratorios. His works include Silent Night, The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, The Shining, As One, Stonewall, Sanctuary Road, A Thousand Acres, Edward Tulane, A Year to the Day, The Manchurian Candidate, Stone Soup, Some Light Emerges, A Sweet Silence in Cremona, Later the Same Evening, The Nefarious, Immoral but Highly Profitable Enterprise of Mr. Burke & Mr. Hare, The Other Room, The Inspector, The Secret River, The Soldier’s Story, Approaching Ali, A Letter to East 11th Street, Dinner at Eight, Volpone, and Bastianello/Lucrezia, and the musicals, Songs from an Unmade Bed, The Audience and Splendora.
Mark has received many other prestigious prizes for his work, including the first Kleban Foundation Award for Lyricist, two Grammy nominations for Best Classical Recording, two Richard Rodgers Awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, three Drama Desk nominations, a Jonathan Larson Foundation Award, a New York Foundation for the Arts Playwriting Fellowship, the first Dominic J. Pelliciotti Award, and a grant from the New York State Council of the Arts.
Recordings of his works include Silent Night (Naxos), The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs (Pentatone), Sanctuary Road (Naxos), As One (Bright Shiny Things), Volpone (Wolf Trap Records), Bastianello/Lucrezia (Bridge), Rappahannock County (Naxos), Later the Same Evening (Albany) and Songs from an Unmade Bed (Ghostlight).
Mark is also an advocate for contemporary opera in this country and serves as a mentor for future generations of writers through such organizations as the American Opera Project, American Lyric Theatre, and Washington National Opera’s American Opera Initiative. In 2020, he created and is funding the only award for librettists in the history of opera: the Campbell Opera Librettist Prize, administered annually by OPERA America. He also co-created the True Voice Award to help with the training of transgender singers, overseen by Washington National Opera.
Upcoming premieres include Émigré for the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra (Aaron Zigman, composer); The Cook-Off for Chicago Opera Theatre (Shawn Okpebholo, composer), Unruly Sun for Orchestre Classique de Montréal (Matthew Ricketts, composer) and All Shall Rise for OSNY (Paul Moravec, composer).
www.markcampbellwords.com
ROBERT PATERSON, composer
Photo Credit: Daniel D’Ottavio
Described by the press as “a modern-day master” and “often the highlight of the program” (The New York Times), Robert Paterson’s music is well-known for his reverence for nature, his puckish sense of humor, as well as consistent praise that comes from audiences and artists alike. Named Composer of The Year by The Classical Recording Foundation, his music is often found on playlists on National Public Radio as well as NPR’s Performance Today. Paterson’s music has been performed by the Nashville Opera, Opera Memphis, Minnesota Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic, Vermont Symphony, Delaware Symphony, Louisville Orchestra, Austin Symphony, Musica Sacra, Chamber Choir of Europe, and many more. Recent & upcoming performances include the Oratorio Society of New York’s Carnegie Hall debut of Whitman’s America, the New York Choral Consortium’s “Big Sing” premiere of Look to the Sky, the Ember Choral Arts premiere of Listen, and the New Amsterdam Singers premiere of I Go Among Trees. Paterson’s awards include the A.I. duPont Composer’s Award from the Delaware Symphony, a three-year Music Alive grant from the League of American Orchestras and New Music USA. His favorite residencies include Yaddo, The MacDowell Colony, and the Aaron Copland House. Robert is the artistic director of the Mostly Modern Festival (USA) and Mostly Modern Festival | The Netherlands. He is a lifelong vegan and resides in New York City and Saratoga Springs, NY with his wife, Victoria, and son, Dylan. For more information, visit robertpaterson.com
SUSANNA PHILLIPS, Soprano
Photo Credit: Dario Acosta
Alabama native soprano Susanna Phillips continues to establish herself as one of today’s most sought-after singing actors and recitalists. Ms. Phillips is a recipient of the prestigious Metropolitan Opera 2010 Beverly Sills Artist Award and holds both a Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School.
She’s sung at the Met Opera for 12 consecutive seasons in roles including Musetta and, most recently, Countess Almaviva. Role highlights include Fiordigili, which The New York Times called a “breakthrough night”, and Clémence in the company’s premiere of Kaija Saariaho’s
L’amour de Loin.
Desired by the world’s most renowned orchestras, Ms. Phillips has appeared with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Santa Fe Symphony, and Oregon Symphony. She is dedicated to oratorio works with credits including Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, and the Fauré and Mozart Requiems. Other career highlights include Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare and the title role of Agrippina with
Boston Baroque, Stella in Previn’s A Streetcar Named Desire opposite Renée Fleming, and Birdie in Blitzstein’s Regina.
A Huntsville native, Ms. Phillips frequently returns to her native state for recitals and orchestral appearances.
MAEVE HÖGLUND, Soprano
Photo Credit: Jason Homa
The New York Times praised Maeve Höglund as “a striking soprano,” and Opera News quoted her having “a wealth of dynamic control and formidable florid technique.” Her current and future engagements include Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro (Vlaamse Opera in Antwerp), Strauss’ Vier letzte Lieder (Oregon Symphony) and Vaughn Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem and Haydn’s The Creation (Grant Music Festival in Chicago). Recent work includes her Opera Philadelphia debut as Lola in the world premiere of David Hertzberg’s award-winning opera The Wake World, her Michigan Opera Theatre debut as Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, Leïla in Les pêcheurs de perles with Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Lucia di Lammermoor (title role) with Maryland Lyric Opera, Susanna in Marriage of Figaro with Opera Maine, Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail with Maryland Lyric Opera, Gretel in Hansel and Gretel with Oregon Symphony, Messiah with Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, and Mahler Symphony No. 4 with Portland Symphony Orchestra.
Recordings include: David Hertzberg’s opera, The Wake World, released by Tzadik Records, Stefan Weisman’s opera, Darkling, released by Albany Records, as well as a collection of works for the voice by Mira J. Spektor, Summer and Winter Songs, released by Navona Records.
Distinctions include winner of a Opera Awards Foundation Grant, Giulio Gari Foundation Scholarship, Gerda Lissner Award recipient and Bel Canto Vocal Scholarship Competition winner.
RAEHANN BRYCE-DAVIS, Mezzo-soprano
Photo Credit: Matthew Karas
Raehann Bryce-Davis has been hailed by The New York Times as a “striking mezzo-soprano” and by the San Francisco Chronicle for her “electrifying sense of fearlessness.” In the 2021-2022 season, Ms. Bryce-Davis made notable house debuts at the Metropolitan Opera in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress, at La Monnaie de Munt, Brussels, as La Zia Principessa in Suor Angelica, and at the Glimmerglass Festival singing Azucena in Il trovatore. Additionally, she returned to both Los Angeles Opera and the Staatstheater Nürnberg as Azucena in Il trovatore, and to Opera Ballet Vlaanderen as Der Komponist in Ariadne auf Naxos. On the concert stage, she joined Chineke! for a BBC Proms performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony conducted by Kevin John Edusei, and sang solo recitals at both the Tuesday Musical Club in San Antonio, TX, with pianist Heeyoung Choi, and for the Merola Opera Program with pianist Jeanne-Minette Cilliers. Concert highlights include the world premiere of Paul Moravec’s Sanctuary Road at Carnegie Hall.
Bryce-Davis is a 2018 recipient of the prestigious George London Award at the George London Competition and holds a Master of Music and Professional Studies certificate from the Manhattan School of Music. Bryce-Davis has also produced and performed in critically acclaimed digital works, is a co-founder of the Black Opera Alliance, and is an advocate for social justice in opera.
MARTIN BAKARI, Tenor
Photo Credit: Tatiana Daubek
Praised by Opera News as a “vocally charismatic” performer with a “golden tenor,” Martin Bakari’s recent engagements include the title role in Charlie Parker’s Yardbird (Atlanta Opera, Arizona Opera, Pittsburgh Opera), the tenor soloist in Carmina Burana (Cecilia Chorus of New York – Carnegie Hall), Don Basilio in Le nozze di Figaro (Seattle Opera and Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival), Goro in Madama Butterfly (Dallas Opera), Prince Claus in Mark Adamo’s Becoming Santa Claus (Chicago Opera Theater), Count Almaviva in The Barber of Seville (Intermountain Opera Bozeman), The Cartography Project (Washington National Opera and the Kennedy Center), and a United Kingdom recital tour with Mirror Visions Ensemble. Internationally, he has also appeared at major venues in Dresden, Hamburg, Munich, Frankfurt, Cologne, Tel Aviv, and Bari. Mr. Bakari’s 2022-23 season includes the tenor soloist in the world premiere of Paul Moravec’s A Nation of Others (Oratorio Society of New York – Carnegie Hall), Charlie Parker in Yardbird (New Orleans Opera and Dayton Opera), Frederic in Pirates of Penzance (Virginia Opera), the tenor soloist in Messiah (Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra), Pong in Turandot (Opera Colorado), Jalil/Wakil/Guard in A Thousand Splendid Suns (Seattle Opera), the tenor soloist in Carmina Burana (Symphony San Jose), and a recital at Seattle’s Benaroya Hall. In the 2023-24 season, Mr. Bakari will join Houston Grand Opera for two productions to be announced. A 2018 George London Competition award winner, Mr. Bakari’s recording of Grigory Smirnov’s Dowson Songs (Naxos) was featured by Opera News as a “Critic’s Choice” album.
STEVEN EDDY, Baritone
Photo Credit: Michael Yeshion
An accomplished concert artist and Baroque music specialist, baritone Steven Eddy has garnered praise as a soloist and professional choral singer with such ensembles as Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Seraphic Fire, True Concord Voices and Orchestra, Spire Chamber Ensemble, Clarion Music Society, The Thirteen, Variant Six, American Classical Orchestra, Sacred Music in a Sacred Space, American Bach Soloists Academy, Choral Arts Philadelphia, Handel Choir of Baltimore, and Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity.
Equally adept on the opera stage, Mr. Eddy made his New York Philharmonic debut in the 2019 world premiere of David Lang’s prisoner of the state. Other roles in his repertoire include Raimbaud (Le comte Ory), Pablo Picasso (After Life), Dandini (La
Cenerentola), Charlie (Three Decembers), Dancaïre (Carmen), Aeneas (Dido &
Aeneas), Schaunard (La bohème), and Harlekin (Ariadne auf Naxos). He has had the
pleasure of performing with such companies and festivals as Fort Worth Opera, Opera
Saratoga, Opera Birmingham, LoftOpera, Chelsea Opera, Aspen Opera Theater
Center, Tanglewood Music Center, American Lyric Theater, Center for Contemporary
Opera, Arbor Opera Theater, and the Seagle Music Colony.
Mr. Eddy was the 1st Prize winner of the 2019 Oratorio Society of New York’s Lyndon
Woodside Competition. He is also the winner of the 2015 Joy in Singing Music
Sessions, which led to his New York solo recital debut at Merkin Hall, and was a
Regional Finalist of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.
Mr. Eddy is currently an Adjunct Instructor of Voice at The College of New Jersey and
Swarthmore College, and holds degrees from New York University, the Indiana
University Jacobs School of Music, and the University of Michigan School of Music,
Theatre & Dance.
Upcoming projects in the 2022-2023 season include his debut with the Oratorio Society
of New York in the world premiere of Paul Moravec and Mark Campbell’s A Nation of
Others, Monteverdi’s Vespro della Beata Vergine with The Thirteen, a recital of works
by George Butterworth and other British composers with Brooklyn Art Song Society, and
concert projects with Seraphic Fire, Variant Six, and Choral Arts Philadelphia.
For more information, please visit Mr. Eddy’s website at www.steveneddybaritone.com
JOSEPH BEUTEL, Bass-baritone
Photo Credit: Matt Simpkins
“An imposing bass-baritone,” as reviewed by Opera News, Joseph Beutel, is often praised for his “deep well-rounded tone,” and overall richness of voice and versatility on stage. Making his career across 5 continents, Beutel enjoys performing traditional operas and originating roles in new and experimental works. He also has had the privilege of a concert career in oratorio and other concert works. Some roles of note include originating the role of the British Major in Silent Night, Kevin Puts and Mark Campbell’s Pulitzer Prize-winning opera, and in 2018 originating the role of Sir in Mila, an opera commissioned by Asia Society Hong Kong. Most recently he made his Figaro Debut in Marriage of Figaro with Intermountain Opera in Bozeman, MT. Beutel has performed with companies, which include Santa Fe Opera, NYCO, NY Philharmonic, New York City Ballet, Mark Morris Dance Company, English Concert, Seattle Opera, Minnesota Opera, and Sarasota Opera. He also enjoys performing musical theater with credits from Encores! at City Center and Live at Lincoln Center featured on PBS. Recordings include Grammy nominated Alexander Kastalsky’s Requiem, Memory Eternal to the Fallen Heroes, performed live on the 100th anniversary of the Armistice to WWI in National Cathedral, Washington D.C. on the Naxos label.
BLAKE FRIEDMAN, Tenor
Photo Credit: Matt Madison-Clark
Tenor Blake Friedman has been cited by the New York Times for the “plummy fullness and dusky hue” of his voice and by New York Classical Review for his voice’s “buttery top.” Notable performances include his feature on the New York City Ballet 2021 Spring Gala Film directed by Academy Award Winning Director Sofia Coppola, his Chicago Opera Theater Debut singing the role of Marc in the World Premiere of Freedom Ride by Dan Shore and his critically acclaimed portrayal of Irving Tashman in the New York City Premiere of Morning Star by Ricky Ian Gordon with On Site Opera. He has performed leading roles and soloist concerts with with Dallas Opera, St. Pete Opera, Bel Canto at Caramoor, Ash Lawn Opera, New York Choral Society, New York City Ballet, Ensemble for the Romantic Century, Canterbury Choral Society of New York, Key Chorale, Choral Artists of Sarasota and York Symphony.
MARCUS JEFFERSON, Tenor
Photo Credit: Nadine Sherman
Tenor Marcus Jefferson is originally from Wayne, New Jersey and has worked with several opera companies including Chautauqua Opera, Opera Columbus, Janiec Opera Company and the Oswego Opera Theater. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Eastman School of Music and a Master’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music.
ROSS MACATANGAY, Baritone
Photo Credit: Adam Sisler
Ross Macatangay is a 22-year-old baritone studying under the tutelage of Mark Schnaible at Manhattan School of Music. Currently in his first year of his master’s degree, his experience includes Boniface in Ibert’s Angelique, Papageno in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, as well as Marcello in La Bohème and Dancaïro in Carmen.
HENRY GRIFFIN, Baritone
Photo Credit: Adam Sisler
Henry Griffin is a 22-year old baritone pursuing his Bachelor’s in Classical Voice at the Manhattan School of Music with Marlena Malas. His recent roles include Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro at the Castleton Festival, covering the role of the Commentator in Derrick Wang’s opera Scalia/Ginsburg at the Chautauqua Opera Company in 2021 and returning in 2022 to sing the role of The Forester in Janacek’s The Cunning Little Vixen at the Chautauqua Opera Conservatory.
ANDREW W JURDEN, Bass
Photo Credit: Michael Elliott
Kansas native, Andrew Jurden sings in a number of musical mediums, from the bass solo in Mozart’s Requiem with the Manhattan School of Music Symphonic Chorus to backing up Madonna at the Met Gala music performance with Clarion Choral Society. He sang and shot the virtual, world-premiere of The Oval Portrait, a new micro-opera by Felix Jarrar for Opera Elect’s New Works Concert Series. He is a bass in The Cathedral Choir of St. John the Divine in New York.
Mark Hanke, tenor
Photo Credit: Taylor Hooper
Mark Hanke enjoys a career as a choral singer in New York City, including a recent performance at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Mark serves as Executive Director of Musica Sacra, and was the founder and librettist of Opera-Tunity.
