Written by Mary Dan Eades on May 11, 2014
There will be peace (and music) in the Valley..
Artistic Director JoAnne Wasserman will prepare the Santa Barbara Choral Society singers to host the visiting University of California Berkley Alumni Chorus, under the direction of Mark Sumner, at the 2014 Choral Exchange Project May 30 and 31st. Singers from the two choruses will participate in a weekend masterclass with conductor, Anton Armstrong.
Dr. Armstrong, the acclaimed conductor of the internationally recognized St. Olaf’s College Choir, founded in 1912, will then conduct the combined choirs in an ‘invitation only’ performance at West Ranch Barn in Los Olivos on Saturday May 31. The performance will be followed by a complimentary traditional western barbecue supper (by Cowboy Flavors) on the grounds of the ranch and an opportunity to meet the artists and conductors in the relaxed setting of the Santa Ynez Valley.
(Advance reservations are required to attend the concert and supper.)
This special invitation only performance and supper has limited seating and is open only to friends, family, Advisory Council, and donors, who have supported the Choral Society at the Canto Society level and above during the 2013-14 season. Others wishing to attend can make a donation at the Visionary Friends level or above before May 15th. If you wish to attend, please contact Board Secretary Kate Rees or our office at 805-965-6577 to become a Visionary Friend of the Choral Society and make your reservation to join us for this memorable event
American baritone, Ralph Cato has travelled the world extensively, telling stories in song with his warm, clarion baritone voice.
Tenor, Benjamin Brecher has performed over fifty operatic roles with many of the world’s most prestigious opera companies, specializing in the high lying lyric tenor repertoire. He has performed 16 roles with New York City Opera alone. Career highlights include performances with Opera Orchestra of New York, L’Opera de Nice, Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, L’Opera de Montreal, Santa Fe Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, among many others. His orchestral solo repertoire includes Mozart, Handel, Orff, Bach, Haydn, as well as many performances of Britten. In 2000 he began performing the great Irish Tenor songs in a concert produced for him entitled A Celtic Celebration, Twenty years later, the show has become a North American hit with performances with 45 Symphonies in North America. Ben continues his discography having added his twelfth recording in 2016 Forgotten Liszt, with pianist Robert Koenig, and will record a new release in 2022 entitled “Three Centuries of Thomas Moore” including the music of Britten, Berlioz, and Sarah Gibson on MSR Classics. He is a Professor of Voice at University of California Santa Barbara, where he has served as the Head of Voice.
Tracy Van Fleet is pleased to return to the Santa Barbara Choral Society. As a soloist, she has performed with the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Lüneburg Symphony in Germany, Orquesta Filarmónica de Boca del Río in Mexico, Pasadena Symphony, Naples Philharmonic, Los Angeles Bach Festival, San Diego Chamber Orchestra, Colorado Philharmonic, USC Symphony and Chorus, and others. She has had many appearances with the Los Angeles Opera, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pacific Symphony, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Opera Pacific, San Diego Opera and Opera Colorado.
Born and raised in Southern California, April Amante is a versatile soprano with expertise and facility in repertoire spanning from early music to contemporary musical theater.