Synopsis

PROLOGUE: THE MUSIC OF THE AINUR (a tone poem) Eru the One, called by the Elves Ilúvatar, of his thought made the Ainur, and he bade them make music before him, and gave them themes to improvise and harmonize upon. Melkor, given a part of the understanding of all the other Ainur, was most akin to Eru - but because of this he desired greatly to make things of his own, though all things derive from Eru. Thus discord arose and the music became a raging torrent of sound, until Eru caused it to cease.

Between the Prologue and Scene One Eru creates the Music in vision and then in form as Arda (the Region) inside Eä (the World that Is), and many of the Ainur enter it to prepare it for the Children of Ilúvatar, that are Elves and Men - who are mostly alike except that Men's corporeal lifespans are limited and Elves' are not. Melkor strives with the other Ainur for dominion of Arda, and the Noldorin Elves name him Morgoth, the Black Enemy, and make war upon him for the theft of the Silmarils, jewels made by Fëanor that captured the Light of the Two Trees, the last unsullied light from Arda's beginning.

As SCENE 1 starts, the hopeless war has largely been lost, and the Elves hold dominion over a few hidden strongholds - Gondolin, Nargothrond and Doriath among them - and by the shores of the Sea. We trust that the Narrator's part, augmented for this concert version, will give sufficient information for a further synopsis to be unnecessary. We are after all, singing in English. If you want even more detail, read The Silmarillion.

SCENE 1: A glade beside the river Esgalduin. Beren meets Lúthien for the first time.

SCENE 2: The Royal Halls of Menegroth. Thingol demands Beren pay him a Silmaril for Lúthien's hand.

INTERLUDE: Beren travels to Nargothrond.

SCENE 3: King Finrod Felagund agrees to aid Beren whose father had saved his life. Celegorm and Curufin, two of the sons of Fëanor, incite rebellion among Finrod's subjects. Beren and Finrod leave with only ten companions.

SCENE 4: Sauron interrogates the captured band and removes their disguises, but does not discover their names or purpose.

SCENE 5: Lúthien escapes her imprisonment at the hand of the sons of Fëanor with the help of Huan, the Hound of Valinor.

SCENE 6: Finrod fulfills his oath by doing deadly battle with a wolf intended for Beren, who then, hearing Lúthien singing outside, answers with his own song before collapsing upon the dead Finrod.

SCENE 7: Sauron tries to capture Lúthien for delivery to Morgoth, but Huan defeats him. Lúthien at last finds Beren still lying upon Finrod; he revives, and they celebrate their reunion.

Will Beren wrest the Silmaril from Morgoth's Crown? Will Lúthien really wed a Mortal, even a great one such as Beren? To find out, stay tuned for Part 2, which we hope to bring you in the future.

An Interview with the Composerby Tami Swartz

Interviewer's note: The idea of this interview was conceived in order to cheerfully pass the time being stuck in traffic heading towards the Lincoln Tunnel.  As it proved a productive exercise, we are adding it to the program for your enjoyment. 

                Cheers ­ Tami Swartz

TS: Adam, why Tolkien? 

AK: Why not? But seriously, I read the stories way before even the cartoon version of the Lord of the Rings came out... and it went something like this: I would start The Fellowship of the Ring on a Tuesday afternoon and allowing short breaks for meals and sleep I would finish The Return of the King by Thursday evening. Then The Silmarillion was published.  When I read in The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien (put out around a few years after The Silmarillion) that Tolkien had always hoped his stories would inspire composers to write music based on his stories, I felt I had to do something.

TS: What do you think of Peter Jackson's interpretation of The Lord of the Rings trilogy?

AK: Tolkien himself said that The Lord of the Rings did not lend itself to theatrical interpretation. When I formed the plot for my opera I chose not to do The Lord of the Rings because of the difficulty of representing 3 foot tall adult hobbits on an opera stage with real opera singers. I chose Leithian ­ which is only one tale within The Silmarillion ­ because I felt I could include the whole story and all the characters in an opera of reasonable length. Considering the sheer mass of material in The Lord of the Rings, I think Jackson was brave to attempt it at all and on balance I was not severely disappointed in the choices he had to make in shortening it. I was, however, angry at certain creative choices he made, for instance, giving Hobbits, who are essentially small humans and related to the people of Rohan, pointed ears.

TS: So...we have both the extended and regular versions in letter box for Jackson's The Lord of the Rings because you are angry at him?

AK: No. I like the music.

TS: Ah...(pregnant pause)...Speaking of music, how would you describe the musical language of your opera?

AK: I have been asked that question many times, and the best answer I can come up with is tonal. When I studied composition in college I listened to a lot of "new music" concerts and soon realized that apart from choosing 2nds, tritones and 7ths over 3rds, 5ths and 6ths as their harmonic lexicon, the students were writing music that was in no way different from anything by Wagner or Hindemith. So I decided that if I was writing "old music" anyway I wanted my music to be aesthetically rather than intellectually attractive.

TS: So, for us mere mortals who don't understand music terminology, this means we can leave the theater humming tunes?

AK: Yes.

TS: Cool!  My last question for this particular interview is about your wish list. How would you envision producing performances of this opera if you had serious backing?

AK: I have often thought it would make a great full length, animated movie and certainly some parts such as Sauron changing shape would work better on film. But nothing in Leithian is more difficult to do than what Wagner put in his Ring cycle, so my ultimate vision of the piece involves a large opera house with all the modern technical wizardry at its disposal.

TS: I sincerely hope we get to see this vision in the near future. That concludes our interview. See you after you find a parking space. (Hey, what's for dinner?)

The Cast - Principals

Adam Klein (Beren/composer/instruments), of Setauket, N.Y., has sung opera since childhood, when he was chorister and soloist at the Metropolitan Opera, appearing as Yniold in Pelléas et Mélisande and Zweiter Knabe in Die Zauberflöte. Career highlights since then include Steva in Jenufa, Elemer in Arabella with the Metropolitan Opera (opposite Renée Fleming) and Chevalier Delaforce in Dialogues des Carmélites with the Metropolitan Opera; Don José in Carmen, Cavaradossi in Tosca, Polo in Marco Polo, and Prologue/Quint in The Turn Of The Screw with New York City Opera. He has also portrayed, with opera companies across North America, the roles of Otello, the Duke of Mantua, Cavaradossi, Rodolfo, Pinkerton, Luigi, Canio, Don José, Werther, Des Grieux, Hoffmann, Sam, Judge Danforth, Peter Grimes, Erik, Tamino, and Bacchus.

Concert highlights include Siegmund in Die Walküre (Act I) with the Princeton University Symphony; Tenor Solo in Mahler's Symphony #8 with the Boston Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall and many appearances with The New York Choral Society. Recordings include Mime in Siegfried (forging scene) with the State Symphony of Russia on the Naxos label and the Doctor in Robert Ashley's Improvement: Don Leaves Linda on the Elektra/Nonesuch label.

Not confined to the classical vein, Mr. Klein has concertized extensively at festivals and in schools performing traditional Appalachian music, for which he builds his own instruments, some of which are being used in tonight's performance. On the creative side of the musical coin, apart from the opera you hear this evening, he has written a children's opera about tolerance called Goldie Locks And The Three Bears and many songs that could best be categorized as "acoustic". He is currently preparing a libretto for an opera about Darwin's theory of natural selection. Klein also takes a keen interest in African and Japanese drumming and Tuvan throat singing. Future projects include a world music fusion duo with his fiancée, Tami Swartz.

Hailed by The Washington Post as "A lithe soprano...especially clean and well modulated", Tami Swartz (Lúthien/instruments) is an "American Soprano" with a varied career in opera, musical theater, new music and jazz. She played the role of Heloise in the American premiere of Offenbach's Bluebeard with Connecticut, Fort Lauderdale and Long Beach opera companies. Other credits include Musetta in La Bohème with Late Evening Productions (The Dallas Opera), Elizabeth Tilton in the world premiere of Mrs. Satan with The Center for Contemporary Opera in New York City and Cho-Cho-san in Madama Butterfly with Harrisburg Opera. She made her Off-Broadway debut as Polly Peachum in Duke Ellington's Beggar's Holiday with Tony winner, La Chanze, at The York Theatre Company. Regional theater credits include Lady Thiang in The King and I with Music Theatre of Wichita, Tuptim in The King and I with Allenberry Playhouse and Sharon in Master Class with Caldwell Theatre Company.

Also enjoying the challenges of new music, her credits include soloist in Round for a Plague Year by Ted Rosenthal with the BMI New York Jazz Orchestra at Merkin Hall and Greenwich House with jazz greats Ray Anderson and Chris Potter. Additionally she was featured soloist with Randy Sandke and The Bern Festival All Stars in a tribute to Duke Ellington at the Bern Jazz Festival in Bern, Switzerland. Jazz performances include concerts with Al Grey, Christian McBride, Valery Ponomarev, Ira Sullivan and many others. Upcoming engagements include her first Gilda in Rigoletto with Harrisburg Opera and Smith Opera House in Geneva, NY. She holds Masters and Bachelors degrees from The Juilliard School and Northwestern University respectively, and is thrilled to be premiering her fiancé's opera this evening.

David Gagnon (Finrod) holds audiences spellbound with his dynamicperformances and charismatic singing, acting and good looks. A versatile artist, he will be singing the role of Grendel Shadow in Elliot Goldenthal's new opera Grendel with Lincoln Center Festival and Los Angeles Opera. Recently he performed Jake in Most Happy Fella with New York City Opera and Ferrando in Giorgio Strehler's production of Così fan tutte in Athens, Moscow and Recacati, Italy, Filch in The Beggar's Opera with Teatri di Bari, Belmonte in The Abduction from the Seraglio at Skylight Opera Theatre, the Prince in A Student Prince with Opera Columbus, and Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance at Michigan Opera Theater. In recent concert seasons he was acclaimed for his appearance as Lysander in John de Lancie's innovative production of A Midsummer Night's Dream with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.

Theater credits include Lesgles and Enjolras in Les Miserables on Broadway for several seasons, Ragtime (First National Tour), H.M.S. Pinafore, Utopia Limited, The Sorcerer, and Jinx in Forever Plaid (Chicago and Milwaukee). In New York, David participated in the development of new musicals/operas with NYU's Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program (Don Imbroglio, Dreamland) and American Opera Projects (To scratch an Angel, Before Night Falls).

Recently praised by Opera News for commanding the stage and singing with stirring and overwhelming power, C. David Morrow (Sauron) is acclaimed in the U.S. and Canada for both the thrilling warmth of his voice and his insightful acting. His most recent New York appearance was as King Melchior in Chelsea Opera's production of Amahl and the Night Visitors.  Other roles include Count di Luna (Il Trovatore) with One World Symphony, Dancaïro (Carmen) with New York mainstay Regina Opera, and the Foreman (Jenufa) with The Vertical Player Repertory Brooklyn, NY. Equally at home in musical theatre, David has performed such diverse roles as Gerard Carriere in the Yeston-Kopit Phantom, Colonel Pickering in My Fair Lady, Andrew MacLaren in Brigadoon and Dr. Scott in The Rocky Horror Show in regional, stock and touring companies across North America as well as Hong Kong, Bangkok and Singapore.

The West Texas native received his degree in Vocal Performance from Texas Tech University.  He continued acting training at the National Shakespeare Conservatory in New York, where he was also a member of the voice and speech faculty. Under the auspices of the National Choral Council, David has served as Artist-in-Residence in the New York public schools, teaching vocal music to elementary- and middle-school students in Queens and The Bronx. He enjoys cooking, reading (especially British murder mysteries), camping and hiking.  Upcoming engagements include Don Alfonso in Così fan Tutte with Long Island Opera Workshop.

Walter Du Melle (Thingol) has been engaging and entertaining audiences across the U.S. and abroad. With over 50 roles in his arsenal he can be seen and heard performing the Mozart characters Figaro, Don Alfonso, Osmin & Sarastro, along with Colline (La Bohème), Alidoro (La Cenerentola), Capellio (I Capuleti e i Montecchi), Mr. Page (The Merry Wives of Windsor), and Grandpa Moss (The Tender Land) with companies and festivals including Des Moines Metro Opera, Central City Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Natchez Opera Festival, Intermountain Opera, Bronx Opera, Connecticut Grand Opera, Utah Festival Opera, Ash Lawn Opera Festival and the Opera Theaters of Chicago, Rochester and Connecticut. Operetta and musical theater credits include: the Mikado in The Mikado (NY G&S Players; National Savoyards), Dick Deadeye in H.M.S. Pinafore (Natchez Opera Festival) and the Usher in Trial by Jury (San Diego Comic Opera), Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris (Chautauqua Opera) and recently was lauded as the "comic highlight" with his portrayal of the First Gangster in Cole Porter's Kiss Me Kate with the Ashlawn Opera Festival. Du Melle earned his MM in Opera from the Eastman School of Music.

David Adam Moore (Celegorm) made his Seattle Opera debut in 2001 as the Novice's Friend in Britten's Billy Budd. Later that season, he sang the title role in the same production for New Israeli Opera, where he returned to sing Mercurio in Monteverdi's Incoronazione di Poppea and Ned Keene in Britten's Peter Grimes.  As a member of Seattle Opera's Young Artists Program, he appeared as Mozart's Don Giovanni and Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro. He returned to Seattle Opera in 2003 as an Esquire in Wagner's Parsifal and Jake Wallace in Puccini's La Fanciulla del West. Other roles for this American baritone include the title roles of Purcell's Dido and Aeneas and Milhaud's Malheurs d'Orphée with Gotham Chamber Opera in a nationally televised production. Moore made his New York City Opera debut as Papageno in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte. In Europe, he has sung Rossini's Figaro and Mozart's Don Giovanni at Staatsoper Hannover, and Don Giovanni at Oper Kiel and Nationaltheater Mannheim. This season, he sang Mercutio in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette for both Opera Theatre of St. Louis and Utah Symphony and Opera.

In addition to his classical career, Moore has also delved into the new music forum both as performer and composer. He has collaborated with Adam Klein on several projects over the past decade. Their best known work is the epic improvisational cantata 'Yer thang's gonna hang down to yer knees', which garnered enormous obscurity among critics and the listening public during the late 1990s.

Dianna Dollman (Melian) is very excited to be a part of this project.  Recent credits include her debut with the New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players at City Centre as Katisha in The Mikado. She has also sung Amneris and Filipevna with the New York Opera Studio in their summer intensive at Vassar College.  Upcoming engagements include her first ever Azucena in Il Trovatore in October.  Dianna is also excited to be in preparation for the American debuts of her solo cabaret shows, "This One's For You", and "Opera for People who Hate Opera". If you want to be kept up on the dates and time for these shows, please e-mail her at divawannabe@hotmail.com. Dianna hopes you enjoy seeing this evening's concert as much as she will enjoy singing in it. Thank you for coming.

George Kasarjian (Curufin) is making his third appearance at the Liederkranz Club. Previously he was featured in two Freeestyle Friday performances, first as a tenor, and more recently as a countertenor. Last October he began retraining as a countertenor and recently made his operatic debut in that vocal range as Tolomeo in scenes from Giulio Cesare with One World Symphony. Other credits include Tamino and Don José with New Jersey Opera Theater's Educational Outreach Program. Mr. Kasarjian is also a founding Member of Opera Collective (www.operacollective.com), a vocal performance group dedicated to making vocal music more accessible to the public. Upcoming engagements include scenes from Giulio Cesare with the Centro Studi Lirica in Nova Feltria, Italy. Mr. Kasarjian studies with Kent Smith.

Keith Harris (Huan) has performed with such companies as Seattle Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Opera Theater of Saint Louis, Nevada Opera, Opera East Texas, Skagit Opera, and NOISE. Recent engagements include Figaro with Skagit Opera, Morales and Dancaïro with Opera East Texas, the Bach B minor mass and the Five Mystical Songs of Vaughan Williams with the Canterbury Society of New York City. Mr. Harris' repertoire consists of roles such as Dandini in La Cenerentola, Figaro in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, Malatesta in Don Pasquale, the title role in Billy Budd, and concert roles in Elijah, Carmina Burana, Messiah, Bach's Magnificat, the Mozart and Faure Requiems, among others.

Mr. Harris was a recent finalist in the National Opera Association and Shreveport Opera competitions. Additional awards include first place in the Regional Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions held in Seattle in March 2003 and winner in the 2001 Ellen Faull Gordon Vocal Competition in Portland OR. Mr. Harris received his Bachelor of Music at Lawrence University and a Master of Music Degree at the University of Washington and currently resides in New York City.

Frances Devine (Daeron/flute) is known for her versatility in the operatic forum. Recently she sang Dorabella in Così fan tutte and Olga, in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin (in Russian) with Bourgas Philharmonic Orchestra Society. Additional roles include Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro with Classical Productions in Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, Annio, La Clemenza di Tito, Mecerdes in Carmen, Dryade in Ariadne auf Naxos and Bertha in Il Barbiere di Siviglia. Her concerts include the world premiere of Davide Zannoni's Efrem Songs, accompanied by James Howe. Upcoming engagements include featured concert artist with the Music in Chelsea series and Emilia in Amici Opera's Otello ( Verdi). Miss Devine currently studies with Dr. Michael Warren.

Scott Lefurgy (Draugluin/wolf) made his New York City singing debut at the 2nd Annual Gala Benefit Classical Concert of the Hellenic Music Foundation at Merkin Concert Hall in 2001 and has been actively performing since that time. Last season included a last minute performance of Col. Blagden in the New York stage premiere of Robert Ward's Claudia Legare. Erik Meyers from the international journal Opera boasted that, "baritone Scott Lefurgy heroically sang the part...".  Other notable roles performed include: Marco (Gianni Schicchi), Grosvenor (Patience) and Samuel (Pirates of Penzance).  Currently, Mr. Lefurgy sings with the St. James' Schola Cantorum of New York City. He has performed solo recitals with esteemed accompanists such as Martin Katz, Howard Watkins and Grant Wenaus. He is also featured on the recently released HMF recording Romantic Greek Nights with his wife, soprano Christina Rohm. He received his Bachelor of Music from the University of Michigan. Additionally, Mr. Lefurgy is an emerging scientist who completed a degree in biochemistry at Michigan and is presently pursuing a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences at Columbia University in the chemical biology laboratory of Virginia Cornish. He recently authored a chapter in "Enzyme Assays: High-throughput Screening, Genetic Selection and Fingerprinting" distributed by Wiley Publishing.

Mary Louise Mooney (Narratrix) made her Off-Broadway debut as Green in Carol Polcovar's SisterMusic . Recent appearances include Bonnie Lee in Theatre for the New City's production of Follies of Grandeur.  Favorite roles include Philia in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Donna in The Dreamer Examines His Pillow, Grace in Bus Stop and Mrs. Hardcastle in She Stoops to Conquer. In the realms of producer and director she is a member of TASOS II, New York's premier gay and lesbian theater company where she is co-director of the Chelsey-Chambers Playwrights Project. Additionally, she produced the infamous, unsold television pilot multiple orgasms...and other things to know about relationships. When not performing, Ms. Mooney works as a freelance editor, is a liquor bootlegger - and Prioress and Relquarian of St. Jones Mission.

Ensemble

Elizabeth Fagan (Mezzo/violin) has never previously been in a performance in which she played and sang simultaneously, but is very happy to have such an opportunity. Elizabeth graduated from the University of Chicago and performed with the Chicago Symphony Chorus and the Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Society of Chicago, in addition to playing in local and regional orchestras. Last year she was the recipient of a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship to study music and Italian in Rome, Italy. Most recently, she was the Hansel cover in Liederkranz's April production of Hansel and Gretel. This summer she will be appearing with New York Summer Opera Scenes as Octavian and Haensel in scenes from Der Rosenkavalier and Haensel und Gretel.

For the performance Dena Holland (Mezzo/flute) gave of Octavia in the Connecticut Early Music Festival's production of The Coronation of Poppea, The Day of New London, CT called her a "standout of the cast" and "especially dramatic." Additional opera roles include La Ciesca in Gianni Schicchi, Octavia in The Coronation of Poppea with the Lyric Opera Theatre of Arizona State University and of Dido in Dido and Aeneas at University of Idaho. Versatile in musical theater, her roles include Sister Robert Ann in Nunsense and Cassie Cooper in Rumors with Peck Summer Theatre, Hodel in Fiddler on the Roof and Nettie Fowler in Carousel. She has also performed as a member of a three-person Classical Music Comedy show entitled "Opera Seria ­ NOT!" As a guest soloist Holland has sung with the Washington-Idaho Symphony in four performances as a two-time winner of their Young Artist Competition. Dena also sang the world premiere of the work "Four Phrases from Psalm 91" by internationally acclaimed composer Daniel Bukvich with the University of Idaho Wind Ensemble. Her guest solo appearances include Brahms' Alto Rhapsody with American Landmark Festivals. She has a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from Arizona State University and a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Idaho.  She currently resides in Manhattan and studies there with David Jones and Dixie Neill.

Christina Rohm (Soprano) was seen last season performing the title role in the production of Robert Ward's Claudia Legare for the New York stage premiere at the Dicapo Opera Theater, overseen by the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer. The international journal Opera boasted that Ms. Rohm's "large-scale soprano showed promise" and the Ibsen News and Comment said that she "was in fine voice". This season Ms. Rohm will make her debut with the New York Metro Vocal Arts Ensemble as Rosalinda in their November production of Die Fledermaus. Highlights from Ms. Rohm's opera credits include Mimi (La Bohème) with Cantiamo Opera, Leonora (Il Trovatore), Vitelia (Clemenza di Tito), and Marguerite (Faust) with One World Symphony; Claudia (Claudia Legare), Pamina (The Magic Flute), Estrella (La Perichole). Ms. Rohm has toured extensively as a soloist with the Moody Chorale in England, Ireland, Scotland, Canada, Hong Kong, Korea, and Taiwan and is featured on several recordings including Handel's Messiah (Moody Productions), Light Everlasting (Moody Chorale), and Romantic Greek Nights (Hellenic Music Foundation). Ms. Rohm is a proud recipient of the 2005 Giardina Family Memorial Award for an Outstanding Young Artist. She also won 2nd Place in the 2003 Dicapo Opera Vocal Competition, was a finalist in the 2006 Liederkranz Competition and the 2005 Center for Contemporary Opera's International Opera Singers Competition. Ms. Rohm earned her Bachelors and Masters of Music in Vocal Performance.

Anita Lyons has been a sought after freelance artist in the Twin Cities since 1999.  Prior to relocating to the New York area, she has been active in regional opera and oratorio throughout the Midwest.   Highlights of recent seasons include roles such as Mimì in La Bohème, Gretel in Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel, Bastienne in Mozart's Bastien und Bastienne, Julie in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel, and Flora in Verdi's La Traviata. Having made several appearances on Minnesota and Peoria Public Radio, she has also been seen with the Brevard Music Festival in North Carolina, Indianapolis Opera, the Bach Society of Minnesota, North Star Opera in St. Paul, Minnesota, and the Twin Cities Chamber Orchestra.  Ms. Lyons holds a Master's degree in Vocal Performance from Indiana University School of Music.

Mary Thorne (Soprano), from Washington State, was most recently heard as Königin der Nacht in the Opera Company of Brooklyn's Die Zauberflöte as a part of the company's BYOB Series and additionally with One World Symphony. Other roles include: Papagena in Die Zauberflöte and Mademoiselle Silberklang in Der Schauspieldirektor with New York Metro Vocal Arts Ensemble, Barbarina in Le Nozze di Figaro with the Bronx Opera Company and Gretel in Hansel and Gretel with New York Metro Vocal Arts Ensemble. An advocate of American opera, Ms. Thorne's repertoire includes performances as the Soprano in The Four Note Opera by Tom Johnson and Sarah Good in The Crucible by Robert Ward with the Liederkranz Foundation as well as Greta Fiorentino in Kurt Weill's Street Scene. Mary Thorne holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, a Master of Music degree from Mannes College of Music, and is a candidate for the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the City University of New York Graduate Center.

Eowyn Driscoll, (Soprano/Tenor) is pleased to be able to sing in the world premiere of Leithian. Eowyn has previously appeared as Octavia in Monterverdi's The Coronation of Poppaea and in the Aaron Copland School of Music student concert series. She made her off-off broadway debut in Samuel Beckett's Catastrophe for Yaclev Havel as The Assistant in 2003. Upcoming engagements include scenes with the Crittenden Operaworkshop Boston, and Agathe in scenes from Der Freischütz with Long Island Operaworkshop, of which she is a founder. Eowyn is a member of the City University of New York Baccalaureate Program, where she is pursuing degrees in Opera and English Literature. She also was responsible for bringing in Stefan Paolini to sing and also play keyboard.

Stefan Paolini (Tenor/keyboard) learned the brass parts to play on keyboard in this show in one day. He aspires one day to portray the part of Beren.

David Mayfield (Tenor/keyboard), arguably accomplished accompanist and talented tenor, accurately acclaimed for his acoustic acumen. plays piano (but not banjo) in the New York City area.

Artistic Personnel

Elizabeth Hastings (Music Director/piano) An active conductor and accompanist, Ms. Hastings has conducted orchestras throughout the country including the New York City Opera National Company. A highly regarded coach, her credits include the Boston Lyric Opera, Central City Opera, Wolf Trap, Sarasota Opera where for three years she was head of their apprentice program and an assistantship at the Casals Festival in Puerto Rico for four seasons. Ms. Hastings is a member of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra as harpsichordist and performs regularly at Carnegie Hall with Mid-America Productions. She maintains a busy studio as a vocal coach in New York City where she resides.

Ms. Hastings is responsible for the occurrence of this concert, and was able to take a piano vocal score that was never meant for performance and make sense out of it.

Patricia Hope Windrow (Cover Art) is a realist painter who works in oils. Her paintings include portraits, landscapes, seascapes, floral and other still lifes, murals and surrealist works.  She has also illustrated books including It's In Your Power, a book about alternative energy, and My Best Friends Are Dinosaurs, a children's book. Her work has been recognized by a Cable Ace Award for her educational television series "The Cable Easel," broadcast weekly in New York, and she won an Award for Editorial Excellence from the New York State Newspaper Publishers for her weekly editorial cartoon "Windrow Panes" in the Three Village Herald of Setauket, New York. Her paintings are in various collections, including the Minnesota Museum of Art, the Parrish Museum in New York, the New Jersey Miniature Art Society and the Catherine Lorillard Wolff (Arts Club of New York). Galleries in New York, Washington, D.C. and Palm Beach have represented her work. In 2000, she spearheaded a project to create and install on the commons of Front Royal, Virginia a large sundial celebrating the Millennium and Front Royal's past. She designed and supervised the execution of the iron sundial, the largest in Virginia. She designed the set for the Harrisburg Opera Association of Madama Butterfly in 2005.

Praised by Leonard Feather as "a major new soloist" upon his arrival to the US from Russia and later by the New York Times as "the most provocative soloist in the group... who combines bristling attack with dazzling execution and a very neat, compact, controlled development of his solos", jazz legend Valery Ponomarev has a rich history in this country.  He originally worked with Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers for 4 years. With the Messengers, he performed at major concert halls, clubs, and festivals all over the world, recorded eleven record albums and also made numerous television appearances with the Messengers in Europe, Japan, and Brazil. In the United States he has made television appearances on "To Tell The Truth", on PBS network, National Geographic Today and on CNN. Mr. Ponomarev returned to Russia in 1990 after a 17 year absence to participate in the First International Jazz Festival in Moscow along with many of the world's greatest jazz superstars. Since then Mr. Ponomarev regularly travels to Russia with American musicians, including Benny Golson, Curtis Fuller, Bobbie Watson, Evelyn Blakey, joining local stars for concerts and tours of the major cities in Siberia, Moscow and St Petersburg.

As a solo artist, Mr. Ponomarev has completed two tours of Australia, China and numerous European tours, including a special tour with Harold Land featuring the music of Clifford Brown. As a leader, his group, Universal Language, performs in concerts, festivals, clubs, schools, and colleges. As a sideman he can be heard in live performances and recordings with: Joe Morello quintet, Frank Foster concert band, Joe Farrell, Pepper Adams quintet, Paquito D'Rivera, Jack Mcduff, Harold Land, Lou Donaldson, Walter Bishop, Charles Mingus "Epitaph", Lionel Hampton orchestra (solo chair), Mercer Ellington orchestra, Paul Ellington orchestra, Warne Marsh, the Lee Konitz nonet and many others.

Join us for Part Two!