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NEXT
CONCERT: Brahms Requiem ... |
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Shana Blake Hill, Soprano
Cynthia Jansen, Mezzo-soprano
Robert MacNeil, Tenor
In Joon Jang, Baritone |
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Angeles Chorale
Azusa Pacific University
Oratorio Choir and Orchestra
John Sutton, Conductor
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SUNDAY · APRIL 6, 2008 · 4 PM
LAKE AVENUE CHURCH · PASADENA
Download the Stabat Mater Flyer (PDF) |
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Soprano Shana Blake Hill continues to excite audiences and critics alike this as she proves
herself a multifaceted performer in both the operatic and orchestral
repertoires. Of her recent debut singing composer Bright Sheng’s “The Phoenix” with The Philadelphia Orchestra under Charles Dutoit, The Saratogan exclaimed, “Shana Blake Hill was amazing in this very difficult soprano role…her richly colored tone lent dignity and a sense of awe to the tale ... she was a mesmerizing presence”. Profiled in the Los Angeles Times as "an intense young soprano ... a standout,” and by The Forum as “a future opera superstar ...” Shana Blake Hill is a powerful young artist embarking on an exciting career. Ms. Hill has appeared as a principal artist with such opera companies as: The Los Angeles Opera, Savonlinna Festival Opera (Finland), Dayton Opera, Long Beach Opera, Santa Barbara Opera, Durham Triangle Opera, Fargo Moorhead Opera, San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival Opera, Stockton Opera, West Bay Opera, and Opera Nova. She has also been featured as a solo artist with orchestras such as; The Philadelphia Orchestra, The Los Angeles Philharmonic, The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, The Pacific Symphony, Berkeley Symphony, The New West Symphony, Pacific Chorale, The Florida Philharmonic, The Naples Philharmonic, The Pasadena Symphony, and the California Philharmonic. Especially at home with contemporary music, some of Ms. Hill's World Premiers and projects include: Bright Sheng’s The Phoenix for soprano and orchestra, Sakagawea in Michael Ching’s opera Corps of Discovery on the Louis and Clark expedition, Sally Hemings in Glenn Paxton's opera Monticello on the controversial personal life of Thomas Jefferson, Ticie in On Gold Mountain, an opera by Nathan Wang commissioned by Los Angeles Opera on the novel by best selling author Lisa See, Sara's Diary: 9/11, a dramatic song cycle on prose by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Leroy Aarons for live radio broadcast, Grammy award winning composer Peter Boyer's On Music's Wings for soprano, orchestra and 300 children and both the roles of Rosalba and Florencia Grimaldi in Daniel Catan’s acclaimed opera Florencia en el Amazonas.
In the genre of film Ms. Hill was chosen by legendary film composer Jerry Goldsmith to record the title track "The Mission" which opens Paramount's Blockbuster film The Sum of All Fears, starring Ben Affleck and Morgan Freeman. Amazon.com remarks in their review of the soundtrack CD, "what sets it apart is the operatic performance of Shana Blake Hill ... a stirring opening which proves to be the highpoint of the score." Ms. Hill’s performance of “The Mission” was recently chosen to be part of Paramount Studio’s newly released 90th Anniversary Favorite Soundtrack Compilation CD. Other media credits include solos on the soundtracks of the feature film “Red Dirt” and the Sci-Fi Series “Seven Days to Midnight”.
Highlights of Ms. Hill’s 2006 season and notable upcoming engagements include: Bright Sheng’s The Phoenix with The Philadelphia Orchestra and Charles Dutoit, Bright Sheng’s The Phoenix with The Seattle Symphony and Gerald Schwartz (recording), Berlioz Romeo and Juliet with Louisville Symphony, Bruckner's Te Deum with The New West Symphony and Boris Brott, Der Hirt auf dem Felsen with The Pasadena Symphony, Mahler 4 and Canteloube’s Chants D’Auvergne with Jorge Mester and the Pasadena Symphony (also with The Naples Philharmonic), Beethoven's Symphony #9 with the California Philharmonic at Disney Hall, a New Year’s Eve Gala with The Naples Philharmonic, opera arias with the Durham Symphony, Sacagawea in Michael Ching’s Corps of Discovery with Fargo Moorhead Opera, Countess in Le nozze di Figaro with Opera Southwest, and Fiordiligi in Cosi fan tutte with the Bryan Symphony. Ms. Hill also appears in recital, in North Carolina, Maine, Pennsylvania and Vermont, with The Jacaranda Series in Los Angeles, and as a Coca Cola Artist in Residence at Emory University in Atlanta.
Born in North Carolina and raised in the Philadelphia area, Ms. Hill received her Bachelor of Music degree from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, her Master of Music from The University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, and is an Alumna of The Los Angeles Opera’s Resident Artist program.
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Mezzo-Soprano Cynthia Jansen is steadily garnering critical praise for her performances in both the U.S. and Europe. Possessing a "rich, warm mezzo" (Los Angeles Times) noted for its "individual timbre and lively dramatic range" (Financial Times), she recently made an impressive debut with Munich's Bavarian State Opera in the title role of Arnaldo de Felice's Medusa (world premiere); the Neue Zürcher Zeitung hailed her performance as "unbelievably well sung" and described her voice as "wide-ranging, multi-faceted, with enormous tonal scale".
Since joining the roster of the Bavarian State Opera in 2005, Ms. Jansen remains one of the company’s regular featured artists. In the past three seasons her performances in Munich have included Eduige in Rodelinda, Annina in Der Rosenkavalier, Third Lady in Die Zauberflöte, Clotilde in Norma opposite Edita Gruberova (a production recently released on Deutsche Grammophon DVD), the First Norn in Götterdämmerung, Mary in Der Fliegende Holländer, Marcellina in Le nozze di Figaro, Berta in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, and The Duchess in the 2007 world premiere of Unsuk Chin’s Alice in Wonderland, among many others.
In addition to her ongoing engagement in Munich, Ms. Jansen appeared in 2006-07 with the Orquestra Simfònica de Balears in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, as the alto soloist in Mahler's Symphony No. 2. She also returned to the U.S. to sing the role of W.A. Mozart in Letters, Riddles and Writs by noted film composer Michael Nyman as part of Long Beach Opera's production entitled No Mozart. In 2008-09 Ms. Jansen will make her Seattle Opera debut as the First Maid in Elektra, returning later in the season to cover multiple roles in Seattle Opera's production of The Ring. She will also debut with Opera Pacific singing the Page in Salome, and covering the role of Herodias.
Previous operatic appearances include Carmen with Mobile Opera and the New West Symphony, the title role in La Périchole and Juno in Semele with Long Beach Opera, Hermia in A Midsummer Night's Dream with England's Aldeburgh Festival, Nicklausse in Les Contes d’Hoffmann with Baltimore Opera, Fort Worth Opera and Tulsa Opera, Maddalena in Rigoletto with the San Francisco Opera Center and Opera Columbus, Lola in Cavalleria Rusticana with the Columbus Symphony, and the Page in Salome with Finland’s Savonlinna Festival.
During her tenure as a Los Angeles Opera Resident Artist, Ms. Jansen was featured as Tisbe in LA Cenerentola, Marcellina in Le nozze di Figaro, Siébel in Faust, and the High Priestess in Aida. Subsequent appearances with Los Angeles Opera have included Second Lady in Die Zauberflöte, Antonia's Mother in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, and Lily in The Grand Duchess.
Recent concert engagements include Bernstein’s Symphony No. 1 “Jeremiah” with the Helsinki Philharmonic and Lisbon’s Gulbenkian Symphony Orchestra, excerpts from Carmen with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Handel’s Messiah and Dvorák’s Stabat Mater with the Pacific Symphony and Pacific Chorale, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Florida Philharmonic, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with the Angeles Chorale, and Verdi’s Requiem with the Modesto Symphony, Redlands Symphony, and Angeles Chorale.
A native of Southern California, Ms. Jansen earned her both Bachelor and Master of Music from the University of Southern California, and received additional training in San Francisco Opera's Merola Opera Program, England's Britten-Pears School, and as a member of Glimmerglass Opera's Young American Artist Program. In 2000 she was a national semi-finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and a finalist in the Loren L. Zachary Society National Competition. |
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Tenor Robert MacNeil has been praised by the Los Angeles Times for possessing a voice that is “clarion” and “clear”. Having performed roles in Tannhäuser, Der Rosenkavalier and Il Trovatore, he returns in 2007-2008 to solo with Los Angeles Opera in Fidelio and La Boheme. The tenor made his debut with the famed Ojai Festival under Kent Nagano in Orff’s Die Kluge and recorded the role of Martin in Copland’s opera The Tender Land, which was released on the Koch International Label.
An accomplished concert artist, the tenor has been soloist in more than fifty performances of Handel’s Messiah. He has soloed with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in performances of Elijah, the Sydney Choral Festival in the Berlioz Requiem and in Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Central Union Philharmonic in Beijing. He made his Carnegie Hall solo debut in Britten’s The World of the Spirit and appeared in Rome with the Orchestra Roma Symphonia in Verdi’s Requiem. He has appeared as a guest artist with the Oregon Symphony, Aspen Chamber Orchestra, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Pacific Symphony, Oregon Festival of American Music, Pacific Chorale, Long Beach Opera, Pasadena Symphony, California Philharmonic, Angeles Chorale, Opera Santa Barbara, New West Symphony, Santa Barbara Symphony, Bozeman Symphony and numerous concerts with the San Diego Chamber Orchestra, Third Angle New Music Ensemble, William Hall Master Chorale, Bakersfield Symphony, California Master Chorale and the Cascade Music Festival.
The tenor, a National Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, has his B.M. from Chapman University and M.M. from the University of Southern California. At the University of Southern California, he was a Marilyn Horne Scholar and was named Most Outstanding Graduate Student from the Thornton School of Music. |
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Bass In Joon Jang is a native of Korea, having received a Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance at Kei-Myung University. He is currently a doctoral student in voice at UCLA, studying with Timothy Mussard. He has been seen with Opera UCLA as Mr. Director and Presto in Poulenc's Les Mamelles de Tiresias, Simone in Gianni Schicchi, Olin Blitch in Carlisle Floyd's Susannah and the title role in Don Giovanni. Last summer he sang the role of Bonzo in Madama Butterfly with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl.
Since 1999 he has sung with the Los Angeles Opera Chorus and covered a number of roles. He has performed the roles of Fisherman in Peter Grimes and Schaunard in the student matinee performances of La Boheme.
His oratorio credits include Bach's Magnificat, Beethoven's Missa Solemnis and Ninth Symphony, Haydn's Third Mass (The Imperial) and Puccini's Messa de Gloria.
Mr. Jang performed the Verdi Requiem with the Chorale in 2005.
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