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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, February 13, 2008
GUEST SOLOISTS WILL PERFORM DURING MESSIAH FESTIVAL AT BETHANY
LINDSBORG, Kan.—Virtuoso soloists will perform with community members during the 2008 Bethany College Messiah Festival of Music and Art.
Soloists for performances of Handel’s “Messiah” and Bach’s “St. Matthew Passion” include soprano Bonnie Draina, mezzo soprano Quinn Patrick, tenor Eduardo Alberto Tercero and baritone Gregory Gerbrandt. In addition, bass baritone Jeff Keele will sing bass arias and roles in the “St. Matthew Passion.”
“The music performed during the Messiah Festival calls for soloists to have great skill in technique, stamina, and interpretation, and we have chosen our soloists accordingly,” said Daniel Mahraun, D.M.A., conductor of the Bethany Oratorio Society. “This is a rare opportunity for audiences to see and hear excellent music performed by virtuosos, especially in Bach’s ‘St. Matthew Passion,’ which is seldom performed because of its level of difficulty.”
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| Bonnie Draina |
Draina teaches studio voice and vocal pedagogy at the University of Colorado at Boulder and plays an integral role in the college’s Musicians’ Wellness Initiative. While earning her doctorate in voice performance and pedagogy at the University of Colorado at Boulder she sang seven operatic roles, ranging from Despina in “Cosi fan Tutte” to Widow Glock in the world premiere of “Sara McKinnon.” Other credits include performances with Opera Festival of New Jersey, Boheme Opera, Hudson Opera Theater and Delaware Valley Opera. An avid performer of American art song, she sang the Rocky Mountain premiere of “Sonnets and Soliloquies,” a cycle for soprano and string quartet by Lee Hoiby, on the Pendulum New Music Series and on Colorado Public Radio’s “Colorado Spotlight.” As a winner of the 2006 Notes at 9,000 Emerging Artist Competition, she has been featured in several collaborative productions, most recently performing selections from Granados' “Tonadillas” with Helander Dance Company at the Mad Cow Arts Festival in Boulder. In April 2006 she was featured on Colorado Public Radio’s “Colorado Spotlight,” singing new songs by Lee Hoiby.
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| Quinn Patrick |
Patrick received her training at Trinity University in San Antonio and the University of Colorado at Boulder, followed by participation in the Glimmerglass Opera Young American Artists Program and the Baltimore Opera Studio. She has been a finalist in numerous competitions, including the 2006 National Association of Teachers of Singing Artist Award Competition and the 1997 National Society of Arts and Letters Voice Competition. Last season she made her Lincoln Center debut with the National Chorale singing Copland’s “In the Beginning” and Beethoven’s “Symphony No 9” and her debut with the Jacksonville Symphony, as well as her annual series of “Messiah” appearances in the greater upstate New York area. Recently she made her Carnegie Hall debut in Mozart’s “Coronation Mass” and a rare performance of Brusa’s “Missa Pro Defunctis” with the New England Symphonic Ensemble. Some of her many other engagements have included singing the role ofMeg in Adamo’s “Little Women” at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music; Hansel in the Buffalo Philharmonic’s annual holiday production of “Hänsel und Gretel”; and Mercedes in “Carmen” at Artpark and Ashlawn. This season, she will debut with the Syracuse Symphony singing “Messiah” and return to Mercury Opera Rochester as Zerlina in “Don Giovanni.”
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| Eduardo Alberto Tercero |
Tercero has upcoming performances as a “Messiah” soloist in debuts with the Des Moines Symphony and the La Cross Symphony. He also has performed as a soloist for Bach’s “Magnificat” and Monteverdi’s “Vespro della Beata Vergine 1610.” His concert credits include the world premiere of “Nicholas of Myra” by Robert Nelson in the role of Marcus and the role of Piacere in the U.S. premiere of Handel’s “Il Trionfo del Tempo e della Verita.” He has portrayed the roles of Adamo in “Il Primo Omicidio” by Scarlatti and Obidah in Mendelssohn’s “Elijah.” A native of Panama, Republica de Panama, he holds degrees from Moores School of Music at the University of Houston and is a regular soloist with the Houston Chamber Choir. In 2004 he was a semifinalist in the Oratorio Society of New York Vocal Competition. He recently completed a recording of Swedish music, including works by Lars Werle and Otto Olsson, and he also can be heard on the Newport Classic recording of Dominick Argento’s “Cassanova’s Homecoming.”
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| Gregory Gerbrandt |
Gerbrandt comes to Lindsborg from New York City, where he regularly performs with American Opera Projects. His recent roles include Figaro in “The Barber of Seville” and Silvio in “Pagliacci,” both with Opera Fort Collins; the Revival Worker in Nashville Opera’s world premiere of “Elmer Gantry”; Marcello in “La bohème” with Ash Lawn Opera in Virginia; and Belcore in “L’elisir d’amore” with Opera Idaho. He also has sung Mahler’s “Das klagende Lied” with the Colorado MahlerFest, Haydn’s “Paukenmesse” with the Nebraska Choral Arts Society, and Mendelssohn’s “Elijah” and Handel’s “Messiah” with the Greeley Chorale & Orchestra. Other credits include performances of “The Pirates of Penzance” with Glimmerglass Opera, “The Mikado” with Central City Opera/Colorado Symphony Orchestra and also with Opera Idaho, “Pagliacci” with Sarasota Opera and “Die Fledermaus” with Opera Fort Collins, and performances as a soloist in Faure’s “Requiem” and Rutter’s “Mass of the Children” with West Nebraska Masterworks Chorale and Orchestra. His upcoming engagements include Figaro in “Il barbiere di Siviglia” with Asheville Lyric Opera and Marcello in “La bohème” with Opera Fort Collins.
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| Jeff Keele |
Keele made his professional opera debut in 2000 and has performed on many opera stages throughout the United States, including a performance as bass soloist for Handel’s “Messiah” with Abendmusik. Recently he sang the role of Dulcamara in “The Elixer of Love” at the Southern Illinois Music Festival and appeared as Dr. Bartolo in “Le Nozze Di Figaro” with Opera Southwest. He sang the roles of John Potts in “Corps of Discovery” and the Sacristan in “Tosca” with Fargo-Moorhead Opera during their 2006-2007 season, and in 2004 and 2005 he was a resident artist at the Pine Mountain Music Festival, where he performed the roles of Don Magnifico in “La Cenerentola,” Colline in “La Bohème” and the title role in “Don Pasquale.” He also has sung leading roles in two world premiere operas: the Bass in Randall Snyder's “The Divine Madness” and Frank in Tyler White's “O Pioneers!” The Nebraska District Metropolitan Auditions winner from 2005 through 2007, he has taught voice at Concordia University in Seward, Neb., since 2005, and also is on the music faculty at Doane College in Crete, Neb. A native of Lincoln, Nebraska, he earned his B.A. and M.M. from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.
In addition to “Messiah” and “St. Matthew Passion,” Draina, Patrick, Tercero and Gerbrandt will perform in recital March 18 at 7:30 p.m. in Presser Hall auditorium. The recital is free and open to the public.
The 127th consecutive annual season of Handel’s “Messiah” by the Bethany Oratorio Society will be held March 16 and 23 at 3 p.m. in Presser Hall auditorium on the Bethany College campus. The Bethany Oratorio Society will perform Bach’s “St. Matthew Passion” March 21 at 7:30 p.m. The Messiah Festival of Music and Art also includes art exhibitions, theater performances and ensemble concerts. For a full schedule of events, visit www.bethanylb.edu/messiah.
Tickets for Bethany College’s performances of Handel’s “Messiah” and Bach’s “St. Matthew Passion” are now on sale. Tickets can be purchased at Presser Hall Box Office on Bethany’s campus, open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.–2 p.m.; by phone at (800) 585-3737; or online at www.starticketsplus.com. Special rates are available for students, seniors, churches and tour groups by calling (785) 227-3311.
Bethany College, established by Swedish Lutheran immigrants in 1881, is a college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The mission of Bethany College is to nurture and challenge individuals in their search for truth and meaning as they lead lives of faith, learning and service. Bethany College is on the Web at www.bethanylb.edu.
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