Written by Mary Dan Eades on January 23, 2017
Enjoy Tea and Meet the Royal Chef, Darren McGrady – THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT!!
Ever wonder what it’s like to have tea with the Queen? Join Conductor JoAnne Wasserman and members of the Choral Society Board on March 1, 2017 fro 4 to 6 pm at the beautifully renovated Music Academy of the West Marilyn Horne Main House and find out for yourself. Chef Darren McGrady, former royal chef to her majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, and to the late Princess Diana and her charming sons, known to the world as Wills and Harry, will be on hand to give us all the inside scoop about the royal preferences for afternoon tea.
Sup on some of the royal favorites of splendid sweets and savories, and tea, of course, learn about tea etiquette at Buckingham Palace, and hear delightful stories of Chef McGrady’s time in their majesty’s service.
Tickets: $100 available online here or by calling 805-965-6577
Reserved tables for 8 also available: $800 — please simply purchase 8 tickets at one time online or call us at 805-965-6577.
Proceeds support the General Operating Fund.
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.