2007-2008 Season Opener:
Uptown vs. Downtown
Benefitting The Coalition for the Homeless
Sung Jin Hong, Artistic Director & Conductor
Heidi Lauren Duke, Stage Director
Jihwan Kim, Collaborative Pianist
| LA
BOHÈME SOLOISTS |
Nov 16, 2007 | Nov 18, 2007 |
| Mimi: | Michelle DeCoste | Roseanne Ackerley |
| Musetta: | Kathryn Janssen | Kate Oberjat |
| Rodolfo: | Jean-Paul Bjorlin | David Katz |
| Marcello: | James Trainor | Shannon Devine |
| Schaunard: | Jonathan Keeley | Kian Freitas |
| Colline: | Peter Campbell | Darren Walker |
| Alcindoro: | Darren Walker | Jonathan Keeley |
Sung Jin Hong is the artistic director
and conductor of One World Symphony in New York City. The 2007-08
season includes debut guest engagements at the University of
Redlands, CA and at Dallas conducting members of Dallas Symphony.
Highlights of Hong's conducting engagements with One World
Symphony include Stravinsky's revolutionary Le sacre du printemps
and new and complete productions of Britten's Peter Grimes and Strauss' Ariadne
auf Naxos with One World Symphony.
Abroad, Hong's guest conducting engagements have included Stadt Wien Konservatorium Orchester in Vienna, Royal Northern Conservatory of Music in Manchester, UK, and "Lyrique-en-mer"- Festival de Belle-Île, in France, where he conducted full productions of Mozart's Così fan tutte. In Vienna, he served as Principal Conductor of the IES Singverein. In the U.S., Hong has guest conducted the Manhattan School of Music Symphony, Mannes Orchestra, Manhattan Opera Ensemble, Western Illinois University's Cello Choir, Illinois Wesleyan's New Music Players and "Great Music for a Great City" in New York City. His most recent guest conducting engagement was at the Tulsa Symphony conducting complete productions of The Nutcracker with the Tulsa Ballet. Hong has also served as Music Director and Conductor of Peoria Sinfonietta, apprentice conductor at The Bard Music Festival, and assistant conductor of Jupiter Symphony and Twin Cities Ballet Company.
Hong has always embraced the opportunities to creatively interact with audience members, no matter what their musical experience. During recent Town Hall concerts, he has inspired the sold-out audiences to be active performers in Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story, shared the magic of Stravinsky's The Firebird through engaging musical demonstrations, and delighted his audiences with the performance of music from Star Wars with the thrilling collaboration with The New York Jedi. Upcoming dynamic collaborations with audience members will include a world premiere arrangement of Queen's magnum opus Bohemian Rhapsody for audience and symphony.
An advocate of performing music by living composers, Hong has conducted works by award-winning composers such as John Corigliano, George Crumb, Michael Daugherty, George Perle, Steve Reich, and Joan Tower. Committed to supporting up and coming composers, Hong has conducted numerous world premieres by Keith Bailey, John Craven, James Cross, Kyle Gann, Peter Gilbert, Stanley Grill, Sean Hickey, Jihwan Kim, Carleton Macy, Masashi Mori, Takeshi Ota, and Margarita Zelenaia.
His opera-conducting credits with full orchestra include Venus and Adonis, Dido and Aeneas, Giulio Cesare, Orfeo ed Euridice, Don Giovanni, Le Nozze di Figaro, Così fan tutte, La Clemenza di Tito, Die Zauberflöte, La Bohème, Gianni Schicci, Suor Angelica, Carmen, Samson et Dalila, Otello, Aïda, La Traviata, Falstaff, Il Trovatore, Hansel and Gretel, The Merry Widow, West Side Story, Richard Strauss' ground-breaking music-drama Salomé, and Knossos, a world premiere opera by James Cross.
Hong earned his B.A. in music at Illinois Wesleyan University. He earned his Master's in Conducting at Bard College, where he conducted Bard Chamber Orchestra, Vocal Ensemble, and Institute Orchestra. He went on to earn an Artist Diploma in orchestral conducting at Stadt Wien Konservatorium, where he won the Maria Theresia Silver Medal Award. In 2004, Hong had the honor of being chosen by Kurt Masur to participate in a series of master classes and conduct in concert with Manhattan School of Music Symphony. In 2005 he made his international recording debut with classical music's largest record label, Naxos, which made the the Billboard Classical Chart on its very first week of release -- a rarity in new music. During the last two seasons Hong led One World Symphony to sold-out concerts at New York City's historic Town Hall produced by The Town Hall.
Heidi Lauren Duke (Stage Director) is
currently preparing for her fourth season as Artistic Associate
with
Azuriales Opera in Nice, France, where she has directed an
international ensemble of singers. As a director and choreographer
for opera,
theatre, and musicals here in the US, her work has been seen
here in New York and in Chicago, Atlanta, Rochester, and Washington.
Please visit her website at www.heidilaurenduke.com
Michelle DeCoste (Mimi), who made her
One World Symphony debut in the title role in Suor Angelica in
2005, returns as Mimí in La Bohème (November
2007). This
year Ms. DeCoste will also perform Donna Anna in scenes from
Don Giovanni at the Liederkranz Foundation in Manhattan.
Michelle's roles include Marguerite in Faust, Nedda
in Pagliacci, Liu
in Turandot and Cio Cio San in Madama Butterfly.
Ms. DeCoste earned a BM in vocal performance from Ithaca College,
where
she also studied acting and broadcast journalism. Michelle
currently enjoys living with her husband Grant in Westchester,
NY and is a private voice student of Martina Arroyo.
Roseanne
Ackerley's (Mimi) 2007 engagements include
Brahms' Ein Deutsches Requiem and Mozart's Requiem with
the Westchester Chorale. Previous engagements include Zerlina
in Don Giovanni with Connecticut Grand Opera, Rosalinde
in
Die Fledermaus with Atlantic Coast Opera Theatre and
Opera in the Heights in Houston, TX, Micaëla in Carmen with
Treasure Coast Opera, FL and Mimì in La Bohème with
New Rochelle Opera and with the International Vocal Arts Institute
in Tel Aviv. Liù in Turandot with Union Avenue
Opera in St. Louis, Marenka in The Bartered Bride with
Bronx Opera and Hanna in The Merry Widow with New Rochelle
Opera round out her roles. Ms. Acklerley was awarded the Richard
Gold Career Grant upon graduation at Mannes College of Music's
Master
of
Music
degree.
In 2006, she was awarded the New York Foundation of the Arts
Career grant which was renewed in 2007.
Kate
Oberjat (Musetta) has sung with New York Opera
Society, One World Symphony, Dicapo Opera Theatre, La Jolla
Symphony,
San Diego Master Chorale, Queens Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles
Opera Guild and Los Angeles Opera. Roles performed include
Blanche in Dialogues of the Carmelites, Valencienne
in The Merry Widow, Musetta in La Bohème,
Micaela in Carmen, Ophelia in Hamlet, Nella
in Gianni Schicchi, Nannetta in Falstaff, Kriemhild
in The Merry Nibelungs, Susanna in The Secret of
Susanna and Genovieffa in Suor
Angelica. Ms. Oberjat performed the soprano
role of Carmina Burana with San Diego Master Chorale in 2005
and premiered Stan Grill's
Ophelia Songs with One World Symphony in 2006. Upcoming
engagements for this "impressive soloist" (Voice
of San Diego)
include Gabriel in Haydn's Creation with One World Symphony,
Soprano in the world premiere of Carlos Franzetti's Gauchito and
the Pony with Queens Symphony Orchestra, and Josephine in Nashville
Opera's production of H.M.S. Pinafore in 2008.
In
2004 David Katz (Rodolfo) was the tenor soloist
in Carmina Burana with the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra
and in 2006 he sang
the tenor part in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.
Other performances have been the title role in Faust with
the Amato Opera of New York, Fenton in Falstaff with
One World Symphony of
New York, Fidelio excerpts concert with the same company,
Rodolfo in La Bohème at the Urbania Summer
Opera Festival with the Orchestra di Commune Urbania and the
Orchestra di
Commune Macheratta, tenor soloist in Mendelssohn’s Elijah with
the Oratorio Society of Queens and Max Helfman’s
Yiddish version of Judas Macabeaus with the Los Angeles
Jewish Symphony. He has sung with the Atlanta Symphony, the
Orange
County Symphony, and the Houston Grand Opera Symphony under
such conductors as Marvin Hamlisch and Paul Adler. He performed
the roles of Rodolfo in La Bohème and Alfredo
in La
Traviata with
Opera in the Hamptons in three consecutive seasons and
has been asked to return for special concerts and recitals.
In Musical Theater he sang the roles of Ralph in Pirates
Of Penzance, NankiPoo in Mikado, Huckleberry Finn
in Big River, Woof in Hair and Riff Raff in the
original stage version of
The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Said The New York
Times, "...the
music was by Verdi, La
Traviata, and the
voices were those of the most accomplished opera singers...Mr.
Katz in the role of Alfredo sang the opening lines of 'Un
di Felice,' the audience froze, enraptured by the aria's
poignant yearning."
Hailed by The New York Times as "a
promising young singer," bass Peter Campbell (Colline)
has garnered praise throughout the United States and Europe
in
concerts and roles
as various as Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor and Colline
in
La Bohème to Sam in Trouble in Tahiti and
Olin Blitch in Susannah. He began his career as an actor,
and studied with Stella Adler. He recently sang the roles of
Simone (Gianni
Schicchi), Sparafucile (Rigoletto) and The Pirate
King (The
Pirates of Penzance), all for OperaDelaware, as well as
the Marchese (La Traviata) and Bogdanovich (The Merry
Widow) for
Jefferson Performing Arts Society in New Orleans. Mr. Campbell
was apprenticed at The Sarasota Opera and Des Moines Metro
Opera.
Kian Freitas (Schaunard), Baritone, holds
a B.A. in Piano Performance from the University of California,
San
Diego. Recent
roles include Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro with
Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble, Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro and
Papageno in
The Magic Flute with New York Metro Vocal Arts Ensemble,
Bob in The Old Maid and the Thief at the Delphi Theater,
and Guglielmo in Cosi Fan Tutte, Ben in The Telephone,
and Dr. Gregg in Gallantry with Cantiamo
Opera Theater in New York City. In California, Mr. Freitas
has performed the role of Orfeo in Monteverdi's
L'Orfeo and has sung in the San Diego Opera Chorus.
In 2006, he was invited to create the role of Stephano in the
world
premiere of La Tempesta, an operatic adaptation of Shakespeare's
The Tempest presented in Città della Pieve, Italy.
Friday, November 16, 2007
St. Ann and the Holy Trinity
Brooklyn Heights, New York
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Ansche Chesed Synagogue
Manhattan, New York
