NOVEMBER 20, 2022 | 4pm ET
Broadway Presbyterian Church (601 W 114th St, New York, NY 10025)
and on ZOOM

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Presented by The American Opera Project and Opera on Tap, in association with Broadway Presbyterian Church

PROGRAM ORDER & LYRICS
Subject to change

Music as the Message Theme Song**
by Drew Hemenger
Adrienne Danrich, soprano
Drew Hemenger, piano

Stand By Me
by Ben E. King; arr. Paul Greenwood
Adrienne Danrich, soprano
Gary Mitchell, Jr., piano
Alexis Gerlach, cello

Lyrics:

When the night has come
And the land is dark
And the moon is the only light we'll see
No, I won't be afraid
No, I won't be afraid
Just as long as you stand
Stand by me

So darlin', darlin', stand by me
Oh, stand by me
Oh, stand
Stand by me, stand by me

If the sky that we look upon
Should tumble and fall
Or the mountains should crumble to the sea
I won't cry, I won't cry
No I won't shed a tear
Just as long as you stand
Stand by me

And darlin', darlin', stand
Oh, stand
Oh, stand
Stand by me, stand by me

Whenever you’re in trouble
I’ll be standing right next to you
And you’ll stand by me
Oh, stand
Stand by me, stand by me

Welcome
Adrienne Danrich

Medley in Three Parts
arr. by Patrick Dailey
Patrick Dailey, countertenor
Violetta Zabbi, piano

1. All Night, All Day
Traditional spiritual; Otis L. McCoy

Lyrics:

All night, all day.
the Angels watching over me, my Lord.
All night, all day.
the Angels watching over me, my lord

2. There Are Angels Hoverin’ Roun’
arr. by Uzee Brown, Jr.

Lyrics:

There are angels hoverin roun’
There are angels hoverin roun’
There are angels, angels hovering round.

In the new Jerusalem,
In the new Jerusalem,
In the new Jerusalem,

The angels came to tell of the King
To tell of the hope as the joy He’d bring
Listen, chillun to the angels sing
There are angels hoverin roun’

Do you know Him Christ the Lord
Do you know Him Christ the Lord
Do you know Him know Him, Christ the Lord

Let us praise Him, Christ the King
Let us praise Him, Christ the King
Let us praise Him, praise Him, Christ the King

There are angels hoverin roun’

3. God of Our Weary Years, verse 3 of Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing
by J. Rosamond and James Weldon Johnson

Lyrics:

God of our weary years,
God of our silent tears,
Thou who has brought us thus far on the way;
Thou who has by Thy might
Led us into the light,
Keep us forever in the path, we pray

Grateful
by John Bucchino
Adam Richardson, baritone
Gary Mitchell, Jr., piano

Lyrics:

I've got a roof over my head
I've got a warm place to sleep
Some nights I lie awake counting gifts
Instead of counting sheep

I've got a heart that can hold love
I've got a mind that can think
There may be times when I lose the light
And let my spirits sink
But I can't stay depressed
When I remember how I'm blessed

Grateful, grateful
Truly grateful I am
Grateful, grateful
Truly blessed
And duly grateful

In a city of strangers
I've got a family of friends
No matter what rocks and brambles fill the way
I know that they will stay until the end

I feel a hand holding my hand
It's not a hand you can see
But on the road to some promised land
This hand will shepherd me
Through delight and despair
Holding tight and always there

Grateful, grateful
Truly grateful I am
Grateful, grateful
Truly blessed
And duly grateful

It's not that I don't want a lot
Or hope for more, or dream of more
But giving thanks for what I've got
Makes me so much happier than keeping score

In a world that can bring pain
I will still take each chance
For I believe that whatever the terrain
Our feet can learn to dance
Whatever stone life may sling
We can moan or we can sing

Grateful, grateful
Truly grateful I am
Grateful, grateful
Truly blessed
And duly grateful

I’ll Be There
by The Jackson 5, Berry Gordy, Hal Davis, Willie Hutch, & Bob West
Tesia Kwarteng, mezzo-soprano
Gary Mitchell, Jr., piano

Lyrics:

You and I must make a pact
We must bring salvation back
Where there is love
I'll be there (I'll be there)

I'll reach out my hand to you
I'll have faith in all you do
Just call my name and I'll be there (I'll be there)

I'll be there to comfort you
Build my world of dreams around you
I'm so glad that I found you
I'll be there with a love that's strong
I'll be your strength
I'll keep holding on

Let me fill your heart with joy and laughter
Togetherness, girl, is all I'm after
Whenever you need me
I'll be there (I'll be there)

I'll be there to protect you, (yeah baby)
With an unselfish love that respects you
Just call my name
And I'll be there (I'll be there)

You know
I'll be there to comfort you
Build my world of dreams around you

Grandma’s Hands
by Bill Withers
Adrienne Danrich, soprano
Gary Mitchell, Jr., piano

Lyrics:

Grandma's hands
Clapped in church on Sunday morning
Grandma's hands
Played a tambourine so well
Grandma's hands
Used to issue out a warning
She'd say, Addy don't you run so fast
Might fall on a piece of glass
Might be snakes there in that grass
Grandma's hands

Grandma's hands
Soothed a local unwed mother
Grandma's hands
Used to ache sometimes and swell
Grandma's hands
Used to lift her face and tell her
She'd say, Baby, grandma understands
That you really love that man
Put yourself in Jesus' hands
Grandma's hands

Grandma's hands
Used to hand me piece of candy
Grandma's hands
Picked me up each time I fell
Grandma's hands
Chile, they really came in handy
She'd say, Sharon don' you whip that gal
What you want to spank him for?
She didn' drop no apple core
But I don't have grandma anymore
If I get to heaven I'll look for
Grandma's hands

Duetto Buffo di due Gatti (Cat Duet)
by Gioacchino Rossini
Tesia Kwarteng, mezzo-soprano
Patrick Dailey, countertenor
Violetta Zabbi, piano

Lyrics:

Meow!

Mama Bear**
by Ovya Diwakaran
Ovya Diwakaran, vocals
Gary Mitchell, Jr., piano
Alexis Gerlach, cello

Lyrics:

High school always comes with a rough couple of months
But there's always someone to remind me I am enough
when my eyes are blurred with tears
you’ll wipe them away remind me how its not the end
I’ll learn from my mistakes

When you’re sixteen there aren’t always friends you can trust
but there’s always someone with her arms open for a hug
When I’m heart-broken or scared I see my Mama bear run
no other motive than that of protecting her baby cub

Sometimes I don't say thank you
Sometimes I walk away, slam the door fight some more
but in the end, I always say, friends will come and go
People don’t always stay but my Mama bear

Is always there to chase the demons away
I don't make the best decisions but my mama bear is smart
My mama bear is always there with her huge loving heart

There are doctors, there are lawyers, some even do it all
But my Mama Bear’s loving care does just as much as them all
she’s my number one supporter
The one who catches me if I fall
As I stand here singing these lyrics today
She's the reason I stand so tall

Oh sometimes I don't say thank you
Sometimes I walk away
Slam the door fight some more but in the end
I always say friends will come and go
People dont always stay but my Mama bear
Is always there to chase the demons away
I don't make the best decisions but my mama bear is smart
My mama bear is always there with her huge loving heart
In ten years most everyone I know will have their lives moved on
but I'll never drift from you, I always say I love you mom

Child-Like Moment of Joy: Sing!
by Joe Rapaso (Carpenters)
Chris Shelton, tenor
Violetta Zabbi, piano

Lyrics:

Sing, sing a song
Sing out loud
Sing out strong
Sing of good things not bad
Sing of happy not sad.

Sing, sing a song
Make it simple to last
Your whole life long
Don't worry that it's not
Good enough for anyone
Else to hear
Sing, sing a song.

La la do la da

Sing, sing a song
Let the world sing along
Sing of love there could be
Sing for you and for me.

Sing, sing a song
Make it simple to last
Your whole life long
Don't worry that it's not

Good enough for anyone
Else to hear
Just sing, sing a song. La la do la da

A Word About Our Charity Partner, Broadway Community
Chris Shelton

Russian Lullaby
by Irving Berlin
Amy Burton, soprano
John Musto, piano

Lyrics:

Where the dreamy volga flows
There's a lonely Russian Rose
Gazing tenderly
Down upon her knee,
Where a baby's brown eyes glisten
Listen

Every night you'll hear her croon
A Russian lullaby

Just a little plaintive tune
When baby starts to cry

Rock-a-bye my baby
Somewhere there may be

A land that's free for you and me
And a Russian lullaby

Rock-a-bye my baby
Somewhere there may be

A land that's free for you and me
And a Russian lullaby

Laura’s Song
by John Musto
Includes dance duet “With Care and Capacity” by Kinesis Project dance theatre, created in collaboration with the dancers
John Musto, piano
Bree Breeden, dancer
Madeline Hoak, dancer

My Lady, from Love & Trouble
by Adrienne Danrich & Dave Hall
Adrienne Danrich, soprano
Violetta Zabbi, piano

Lyrics:

Blessings come in many guises
and you are the most precious of all.
How I long to hear the sweet smile in your voice
as we talk together across the miles
About Life, About Love, And God and Gratitude

You are a Golden Bright Shining Star!
Illuminating what it means to be gracious
What it means to be a Lady.

One must be taught and guided
On the road to ladyhood.
I am so blest I have you as my guide
You are a blessing to all who come into your presence.
Touching the hearts of all in your quiet, gentle way.

You are a Golden Bright Shining Star!
You are a Lady.

The Lord is My Light ✢
by Lillian Bouknight; arr. Paul Gainer
Kagera Bucker, mezzo-soprano
Kwamina Walker-Williams, soprano

Lyrics:

The Lord is my Light And my salvation
The Lord is my Light And my salvation
The Lord is my Light And my salvation

Whom shall I fear
Whom shall I fear Whom shall I fear
The Lord is the strength of my life
Whom shall I fear

In the time of trouble, He shall hide me
O, in the time of trouble, He shall hide me
In the time of trouble, He shall hide me
Whom shall I fear

You’ll Never Walk Alone, from Carousel
by Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein
Adrienne Danrich, soprano
Violetta Zabbi, piano

Lyrics:

When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don't be afraid of the dark
At the end of a storm
Is a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of a lark

Walk on through the wind
Walk on through the rain
Tho’ your dreams be tossed and blown
Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone
You'll never walk alone

Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone
You'll never walk alone

Remind Me, Beloved
by Anu French
Anu French, vocals & harmonium
Ovya Diwakaran, vocals

(Attendees are invited to speak along, as indicated below)

Lyrics:

Anu sings:
Ananda Swarupa Prema Swarupa Bhagavan
Shanthi Swarupa Sathya Swarupa Bhagavan
Jai Sairam Jai Jai Sairam
Remind me Beloved who I am, really am
Divine Beloved, who I am really am
Remind me Beloved who I am, who I am

Anu and Ovya sing:
I am love love love x3
I am Peace Peace Peace
I am joy joy joy
I am light light light
I am life life life
I am you you you
And you are me me me
We are one one one
All one one one

Anu sings:
Ananda Swarupa Prema Swarupa Bhagavan
Shanthi Swarupa Sathya Swarupa Bhagavan
Remind me beloved who I am,
Jai Sairam

Attendees are invited to sing along with Anu and Ovya:
I am love love love x 3
I am Peace Peace Peace
I am joy joy joy
I am light light light
I am life life life
I am you you you
And you are me me me
We are one one one
All one one one one one

Anu sings:
Ananda Swarupa Prema Swarupa Bhagavan
Shanthi Swarupa Sathya Swarupa Bhagavan
Remind me beloved who I am,
Jai Sairam

Anu ends with:
Om Shanthi Shanthi Shanthi
Om peace peace eternal peace

Closing remarks
Adrienne Danrich

Human Heart, from Once on this Island
by Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty
Anu French, vocals
Ovya Diwakaran, vocals
Adrienne Danrich, soprano
Amy Burton, soprano
Tesia Kwarteng, mezzo-soprano
Patrick Dailey, countertenor
Chris Shelton, tenor
Gary Mitchell, Jr., piano

Lyrics:

The courage of a dreamer
The innocence of youth
The failures and the foolishness
That lead us to the truth

The hopes that
Make us happy
The hopes that
Don't come true

And all the love
There ever was
I see this all
In you

You are part,
Part of the
Human heart
You are part.

Of all who took the journey
And managed to endure
The ones who knew such tenderness
The ones who felt so sure

The ones who
Came before you
The others yet
To come

And those who
You will teach it to
And those you
Learned it from

You are part
Part of the
Human heart
You are part

This is the gift I give
Through your love you'll live

Forever...

You are part
Part of the
Human heart

Forever…
You are part
Tonight
Tonight

Part of the Human Heart.

****

This is the end of the program. Have a wonderful rest of your evening!

Blessings and Peace,
Adrienne Danrich and the Music as the Message Team

✢Zoom Performance
**Commissioned by AOP for Music as the Message

FEATURED ARTISTS

**ADRIENNE DANRICH / CREATOR, HOST, & EXECUTIVE PRODUCER**
As an award-winning singer, writer, composer, and educator, Adrienne Danrich is redefining what it means to be a creative performer. The voice of EMMY® award winning soprano Adrienne Danrich has been described as “fresh liquid-silver”, “radiant”, and having a “sensual timbre and dramatic truth” by Opera News. She has performed, covered, and workshopped leading roles with Lyric Opera Chicago, San Francisco Opera, The Metropolitan Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Tulsa Opera, Opera Pacific, Sarasota Opera, Dayton Opera, Kentucky Opera, Annapolis Opera, Opera Delaware, Baltimore Concert Opera and Fort Worth Opera. She has also performed at the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall & Alice Tully Hall. Danrich also appeared in the NBC broadcast of The Sound of Music, Live! In addition to singing operas, concerts and recitals around the country, Danrich performs her one-woman show, This Little Light of Mine: The Stories of Marian Anderson and Leontyne Price, which she wrote under a commission from Cincinnati Opera. This Little Light of Mine was nominated for an EMMY®, and, additionally, Ms. Danrich was personally nominated and subsequently won an EMMY® for on-camera talent as performer and narrator. Recently, Ms. Danrich debuted her new concert *From Aretha to Aida, An Autobiographical Musical Journey.* Distinctive in her talent and charisma, Adrienne is known for going places other artists have not yet ventured.

Dr. Anu French is an artist, musician, author and Integrative pediatrician. She is passionate about connecting the head and the heart to reveal a more playful, peaceful, and connected world for her daughters and for her patients.

Baritone Adam Richardson is hailed by Opera News for “fielding a gorgeous textured baritone” and is widely recognized for his operatic, concert, and theatre performances. The 2022-2023 season sees Mr. Richardson make his company debut with Catapult Opera as Yoshio in Hanjo, which he’ll reprise the role at Teatro Sociale di Trento, Italy, in the spring. Mr. Richardson will make a house debut with Opera Omaha as the title role of Malcolm X in X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X, a debut with Lyric Opera of Chicago in the world premiere of Factotum, and a return to the role of John Mack at Pittsburgh Opera in We Shall Not Be Moved, which he originated and premiered in 2017.

The 2021-2022 season saw Mr. Richardson in the Off-Broadway cast of Ricky Ian Gordon’s new

opera Intimate Apparel at Lincoln Center Theater, as Sciarrone in Tosca at Cincinnati Opera, a

debut recital with Linton Chamber Music, a Liederabend with Beth Morrison Projects, and a

debut at Barrington Stage Company as Mr. Lindquist in Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night

Music.

Highlights of previous seasons include Mr. Richardson’s 18 months on a Broadway National

Tour, the virtual Night of Black Excellence gala with Fort Worth Opera, THE MOVE Project with

the University of Utah, and a debut recital titled Stand the Storm with Extensity Concert Series.

Additional highlights include Guglielmo in Cosi Fan Tutte with Opera in the Heights, John Mack

in We Shall Not Be Moved at Opera Philadelphia, The Apollo, and the Dutch National Opera. He

made his debut with Amarillo Opera in the title role of Joshua in Joshua’s Boots and has

performed the role of Jake in Porgy and Bess at Alte Oper Frankfurt, Staatsoper Hamburg, and

Opera de Massy. Mr. Richardson has been seen at Central City Opera as Sciarrone in Tosca and

Horace Tabor in The Ballad of Baby Doe. He’s been a studio member at various companies, including Opera Santa Barbara, Caramoor, Cincinnati Opera, Opera North, and The Brevard

Music Festival.

He is well recognized and received several awards, including the New Mexico District Winner from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Competition, Finalist in the Giulio Gari Competition, Encouragement Award from the Gerda Lissner Song Competition, Encouragement Award from the Harlem Opera Theatre, Young Talent Award from the Lotte Lenya Competition, second place from the Pittsburgh National Arts and Letters, and a two-time Benjamin Matthews Competition Finalist.

A native of Smithfield, Virginia, Mr. Richardson holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Carnegie Mellon University and a Masters degree from The Juilliard School.

Meagan Amelia Brus is delighted to return as Creative Content Producer for Adrienne Danrich’s Music as the Message. Ms. Brus also serves as Managing Director of MusicIC, a music and literature festival presented by the Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature, and previously held the position of Director of Marketing & Communications at The American Opera Project (AOP) from 2020-2022. During her tenure with AOP, Ms. Brus carried out additional leadership roles including associate producer, project/program manager, and member of the EDI committee.

As a vocalist specializing in contemporary music, Ms. Brus premiered over three dozen works by living composers (including many written/arranged specifically for her), and led masterclasses, performance lectures, and new music workshops across four continents. As both a vocalist and instrumentalist, Ms. Brus can be heard on the albums Lieder|Canciones (sTem), This May Not Work and Everyone Went Home Alone (ADC), Opera Cowgirls: Always Unplugged (Opera Cowgirls), and the soundtracks for Halo: Spartan Strike / The Fall of Reach / Spartan Assault, Galactic Reign, Tom Clancy’s: Ghost Recon Future Soldier and H.A.W.X. 2. Ms. Brus holds degrees from both the Manhattan School of Music and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music.

*This American soprano,* ***Joelle Lamarre****, is an artist in demand performing new works by today’s renowned composers. She started her 2022 season by making her debut this March in the “Night of Song” concert with the* ***Chicago Symphony Orchestra’****s internationally recognized and critically acclaimed new-music series,* ***MusicNOW****. Curated by CSO’s Composer-in-Residence Jessie Montgomery, this series will be featuring World Premiere arrangements from composers; Ayanna Woods, Dale Trumbore, Shawn Okpebholo and Damien Geter.*

Later, Joelle played the bit role of Verna on the stages of the *Lyric Opera of Chicago in the production of "Fire Shut Up in My Bones".* In spring, with the ***Chicago Opera Theater***, Joelle created the role, Elizabeth Alumond in the World Premiere production of *Quamino’s Map*, music by Errollyn Wallen Libretto by Deborah Brevoort. This summer with ***Long Beach Opera,*** Joelle remounted the production of Anthony Davis Pulitzer Prize winning opera, ***Central Park Five.***

Joelle Lamarre, a 3Arts “Make A Wave” Awardee, is an artist in demand performing new works by today’s renowned composers, like Pulitzer Prize winner Anthony Davis in his opera, ***Central Park Five***; Guggenheim Fellow George Lewis, in his experimental form opera *Afterword: The AACM*; and as Sister Rose in the Chicago premieres of Jake Heggie’s ***Dead Man Walking***, as an alumna guest artist with Northwestern.

Opera News reviewed: *"Joelle Lamarre's soprano has a glorious lyrical bloom that allows her to explore realms of the imagination that lie beyond the everyday.”*

Joelle is the Playwright of the one act, ***The Violet Hour,*** which explores the early beginnings of Leontyne Price’s career up to her final performance of the opera *Aida* in 1985 (*currently being rewritten*). Performing across genres in theatre, musical theater and opera, Joelle is a multi-faceted artist who pushes boundaries as a librettist, poet, artistic advisor, and creative consultant with Music as the Message.

**Bree Breeden** (Kinesis Project dancer/collaborator, they/them) is a freelance performance and media artist. They were born in Cheraw, SC, raised in NJ and now resides in Brooklyn, NY with their wife and son. They graduated from Montclair State University and is currently the managing director and artist with Proteo Media + Performance and is a dance artist with Kyle Marshall Choreography, Michiyaya Dance and Von Howard Project. Bree works primarily in collaboration with project based artists which includes Jessie Young, Janessa Clark, Jordan Demetrius Lloyd and joined Kinesis Project NYC 2022. Outside of performance Bree enjoys filming, baking and exploring new landscapes.

**Alexis Pia Gerlach**’s cello playing is lauded in the press for its "gripping emotion" and "powerful artistry”; qualities which have led to a career striking for its wide range of collaborations and artistic expressions as a solo artist and chamber musician, with performances across the United States and in 15 countries in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and South America.

Among the conductors with whom she has appeared as a soloist are Mstislav Rostropovich at the Evian Festival in France, James DePreist at Avery Fisher Hall, and Peter Oundjian at Caramoor with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s.

As the founding cellist of Trio Solisti, which was described by The New Yorker as “the most exciting piano trio in America,” Ms. Gerlach performed for 19 years at major American venues and series, recorded extensively, and gave the premieres of many new works, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning “Tempest Fantasy” by Paul Moravec. In addition, Ms. Gerlach was a founding member of the sextet Concertante, with which she toured for 15 years throughout the US, and recorded much of the string sextet repertoire.

A frequent collaborator with dancers, Ms. Gerlach collaborated as solo cellist with the Paul Taylor Dance Company on tour in India and at New York’s City Center, and in a duo with New York City Ballet principal dancer, Damian Woetzel.

Ms. Gerlach has performed at many chamber music festivals, including Marlboro, Aspen, Caramoor, Bridgehampton and La Musica di Asolo, and as a guest artist with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. With Musicians From Marlboro, she has toured both in the US and internationally.

Ms. Gerlach’s performances this year include an all-Bach recital with pianist Simone Dinnerstein at the Miller Theatre in New York, the premiere of Richard Danielpour’s “Standing Witness” with mezzo-soprano Susan Graham and Music From Copland House at Tanglewood, and the world premiere of “Forgotten Voices,” a song cycle by 15 award-winning composers using text written by homeless shelter clients, with Music Kitchen at Carnegie Hall.

Ms. Gerlach began cello lessons at school at the age of seven, and went on to study with Nancy Streetman at the Manhattan School of Music Precollege Division, and with Aldo Parisot at The Yale School of Music and The Juilliard School.

**Melissa Riker** (she/her) is Artistic Director / Choreographer of Kinesis Project dance theatre. She is a dancer and choreographer who emerged as a strong creative voice in the NYC performance world. Riker is the Executive Producer of the EstroGenius Festival, Founder and Co-Director of Women in Motion and Founder and Collective Member of Dance Rising. Riker’s dances and aesthetic layer her training in ballet, modern dance, martial arts, theatre and circus. She invents large-scale out-door performances and spontaneous moments of dance for public spaces. "Melissa Riker explores ideas about how vulnerability exists both in people and in structures; it comes to life within an immersive environment of movement and whispers.” -NY-Times. In June 2022 Riker is an Artist in Residence for the Progressive Failure of Brittle Rocks Confer-ence (PRF22) an international conference of Geologists, Geomorphologists and Mechanical Engineers, convened by Dr. Missy Eppes and her colleagues.
**Kinesis Project** is a bi-coastal dance organization that creates dance as public art, facilitates educational programs and produces site-specific performances with diverse communities. The company is at the forefront of art engagement and the cultural imperative of art in public space. Kinesis Project invents large scale, space-changing experiences and has been listed 3 times as a "Top To See" in the NY Times. Riker and Kinesis Project have cultivated the follow-ing of the company into an audience that understands they will be taken on a dance adventure, be offered a view into a space with new framing, and are continuing to grow the outreach and education elements of the company. www.kinesisproject.com

**Julian Singer-Corbin** is a champion for the next generation of story-makers. He believes in the sacred calling to bring about life-changing artistic experiences for creators and audiences alike. His most important accomplishments have been the memories he’s made with family, friends, and even strangers, traveling and exploring what it means to be human. Currently, Juls is the Director of Production for *The Why Collective*, an interdisciplinary arts organization in residence at *Nancy Manocherian’s the cell theatre*, a Recording and Mixing Engineer at *The National Opera Center* of *Opera America*, and an Audio Technician and Crew Chief for *Bentley Meeker Lighting and Sound* in New York City. Recent clients include *Rockefeller Center*, *World Wildlife Fund*, *HERE Arts*, *Gotham Hall* and *Emitha Records*. His teachings, compositions, and talents have recently been featured at *Santa Fe Opera*, *Detroit Youth Symphony*, *ArtPark*, EMPAC, *Collective Conservatory*, *Princeton University*, *and* *The University of New Mexico.* For joy, he travels and performs under the moniker *Julian Wild*, a music producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, actor, and experimental sound artist.

**Caitlin Mead** is an accomplished vocalist and new music performer. A native of Madison, WI, she made her debut as Third Spirit in the Madison Opera's production of The Magic Flute at age 15. Most recently, Ms. Mead’s performance with award-winning exhibition, Bury the Hatchet, was on display at the Portland Art Museum and the Chazen Art Museum. Previously, the exhibit was displayed at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art and the Missoula Art Museum. Other recent performances include Rava in Evan Kassof’s sci-fi opera Ganymede 5, Lisa in La Sonnambula, Giannetta in L’Elisir d’Amore, the iSING International Festival, singing Chinese language concert repertoire in the Jiangsu province of China, and Center for Contemporary Opera's world premieres of Hester by Richard Alan White and Jane Eyre by Louis Karchin, the recording of which was recently released by Naxos.
In 2015, Ms. Mead won the Alsop Entrepreneurship Award for her combination art gallery and recital entitled "Utopian Dream," which centered around Luciano Berio's Folk songs. This award sparked her passion for creative programming and she has since assisted in development for the Mannes Entrepreneurship Program. Caitlin is Co-Artistic Director of the Madison New Music Festival.
She is a graduate of Mannes School of Music- The New School (MM) and Northwestern University (BM) where she holds a degree in music and anthropology.

**Kagera J. Buckner** is a native of St. Louis Missouri and was a soloist for many years at the former All Saints Episcopal Church of St. Louis Missouri, under the direction of her music teacher and Godmother Mrs. Aquila B. Tinglin.
Kagera, an excellent alto, was a student and performer at the Visual and Performing Arts elementary, middle, and high schools. Currently she is an Asset Protection Operations Team Associate at Walmart Inc.
Kagera recorded church music for Pilgrim Congregational Church UCC, during the pandemic for church members who participated in online worship services. She just completed solo and chorus work for the St. Louis premiere of “Music as the Message” which was very well received. In addition, she has done many memorial and wedding services for family and friends.
Kagera is married to George A. Buckner IV. and they have two beautiful daughters, Chelsea A. Wallace and Charity S. Buckner. She loves singing, music, live theater, live concerts, playing bingo, traveling, and spending time with her family.

**Madeline Hoak** (Kinesis Project dancer/collaborator, she/her) made her NYC debut with Kinesis Project in 2006 and has been a steadfast collaborator since. After many years as a core dancer, Madeline choreographed and produced numerous flashmobs and corporate marketing events with KP. She has also danced with Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company, and choreographed for Netflix, Target, and Pixar/Disney+ with ImprovEverywhere. Madeline creates and researches with, through, and about circus. She has performed and presented at international venues and conferences. She is an Adjunct Professor of Aerial Arts (Pace University), a writer (CircusTalk, Cirkus Syd), Editor & Curatorial Director (TELEPHONE), and founder of the Aerial Acrobatics courses at her alma mater, Muhlenberg College, where she taught from 2012 2017. Madeline earned an MA from Gallatin (NYU), where she designed a Circus Studies curriculum focused on spectatorship. She is currently refurbishing her thesis into a full-length book and eyeing movement direction and dramaturgy opportunities. madelinehoak.com

**Chris Shelton** is the pastor of Broadway Presbyterian Church in New York City. and author of the recent collection, *Sing No Empty Alleluias: 50 Hymn Texts* (GIA Publications). Chris grew up in Fort Worth, Texas, studied Drama and Music at Texas Woman’s University, and earned his Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in New York CIty in 2003. As a pastor, Chris has served communities in New Jersey and New York. Chris’ hymns (both texts and original compositions) have been included in several recent hymnals and other publications. Chris journeys through life with his husband, Kevin, and their 6-year-old son, Ciaran.

**Matt Gray** was named General Director of AOP in 2019, assuming leadership of an organization with over thirty years of history creating and defining new American opera theatre. He began at American Opera Projects in 2003 and was promoted from Office Manager to Program Manager to Producing Director, a position he held for the past ten years during a robust time for the organization and for contemporary opera in the United States.
Matt Gray has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film Directing from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. He spent several years in New York City working in both indie film and theatre before joining AOP – having never seen an opera. He quickly relied on his background in film and theatre to develop AOP projects from the point of view of an audience member unfamiliar with opera, but well-versed in popular entertainment and modern storytelling, and continues to lead AOP with the goal of creating works for the stage that welcome new and adventurous audiences.
Operas directed include *As One* (AOP/New York City Opera, 2019; Columbus Opera, 2019; Chautauqua Opera, 2018; International Opera Projects in Berlin, 2016), *Darkling* (Center City Opera Theater, 2008), and opera workshops at AOP including *AbSynth* (Galapagos Art Space), *Ga Sho* (*Numinous City*) (Rubin Museum of Art), and *Semmelweis* (New York Academy of Medicine). In addition, he has directed concerts, cabarets, and plays around NYC, including *Marianna Martines: A Legacy of Her Own* (Sheen Center) and *Bohemian Valentine* (New York Fringe Festival). He is the co-writer and co-director of the 12-part serialized play *Penny Dreadful* which ran at the Brick Theater in Brooklyn for two years and the one-act play *Stand Clear* (2004, Teatro LATEA). He was also one of five directors on the award-winning indie horror anthology film *The Moose Head Over the Mantel* (2017).

Jascha Narveson was raised in a concert hall and put to sleep as a child with an old vinyl copy of the Bell Labs mainframe computer singing "Bicycle Built for Two." He now makes music for people, machines, and interesting combinations of people and machines.

With a voice the New York Times has called, “luminous” and “lustrous,” versatile soprano **Amy Burton** has sung at the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, at the White House, and with major opera companies, orchestras, and concert venues throughout the US, Europe, UK, Japan and Israel.
Recent projects include concerts for Cincinnati Song Initiative (CSI), Lyricfest in Philadelphia, Cole Porter's rediscovered 1928 musical, *The Ambassador Revue* in Paris with Orchestre Padaloup and at New York’s Town Hall with Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks. She also sang the New York premiere of several of John Musto’s works: *Scottish Songs*, *Sarah’s Song* (world premiere) for the AIDS Quilt Songbook 20th Anniversary concert, and *Summer Stars* (world premiere) for the Opera America Songbook and recording. She can be heard as Winnie in the world premiere of Michael Dellaira’s opera, *The Secret Agent* and its recording for SoundMirror. A frequent guest at the Neue Galerie’s Café Sabarsky with Musto, the duo has performed with William Bolcom and Joan Morris in concerts in New York, Los Angeles, Ann Arbor, and Mohawk Trails Concerts in Massachusetts.
Amy Burton has recorded for Bridge, Naxos, Harbinger, Albany, Angel/EMI, and CRI. Awards include major prizes from the Gerda Lissner, George London, and Sullivan Foundations, and the Marian Anderson International Vocal Competition. A leading soprano at New York City Opera, she was honored with the Christopher Keene Award, the Kolosvar Award, and the Diva Award. She is proud to be an active member of the Glimmerglass Opera Artist Advisory Board, New York Festival of Song's Artist Council, and Opera America, which honored her with their first-ever Artist Advocate Award.
A sought-after teacher, Ms. Burton is a member of the voice faculty at The Juilliard School, Mannes College of Music, the CUNY Graduate Center (DMA program), and SongFest at San Francisco Conservatory. She has previously taught French Vocal Literature at Manhattan School of Music, and maintains an active private voice studio in New York City. She has given master classes and residencies throughout the United States and in Paris.
Recent performances included American Songbook at PS21 and a return to Mohawk Trails Concert with John Musto in July. Upcoming are concerts in Mexico and several US cities of *Late Night with Leonard Bernstein* narrated by Jamie Bernstein, the composer’s daughter, with John Musto and Michael Boriskin, pianists.

*Updated September 2022*

**Tesia Kwarteng** is a Ghanaian-American multi-faceted artist equally at home on the operatic stage, on screen and in the studio. She recently led and sang with the vocal ensemble Vox Noire on the recording of the original score by Terence Blanchard for The Woman King film directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood and starring Viola Davis. Tesia also had her first libretto commission titled A Sable Jubilee premiere at the Aspen Music Festival with the music composed by Jasmine Barnes and sung by Will Liverman. Ms. Kwarteng also made her principal debut at The Metropolitan Opera as a Pit Singer in Brett Dean’s Hamlet and made her Off Broadway debut at Lincoln Center Theater in Ricky Ian Gordon and Lynn Nottage's new opera Intimate Apparel where she was seen as Mayme and in the ensemble. Tesia covered the role of Ruby/Sinner Woman in Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up In My Bones at the Metropolitan Opera, sang the role of Woman 5 in Letters That You Will Not Get: Women's Voices from The Great War with The American Opera Project and was also seen as Maurya in What Lies Beneath with On Site Opera. She has participated in the young artist programs at Tri-Cities Opera, Opera Theater of Saint Louis, The Glimmerglass Festival, Virginia Opera and Chautauqua Opera.
www.tesiakwarteng.com

A native of St. Louis Missouri, Kwamina Walker-Williams is a charter member of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra’s IN-UNISON Chorus. With the chorus, she has participated in concert tours to Portugal, Spain, Brazil, and Carnegie Hall.

Mrs. Walker-Williams is a graduate of St. Louis Public Schools’ Visual and Performing Arts High School. She attended many universities and received the following: Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville (Bachelor of Music degree in music education), Northwestern University (Master of Music degree in music education), Lindenwood University (Master of Arts degree in educational administration), and St. Louis University (Specialist in Education degree in educational leadership).

Mrs. Walker-Williams is a retired educator of 35+ years. She taught music for much of her career in the St. Louis Public Schools and in the Normandy School District. In Normandy, she also served as Head Teacher in charge of summer school administration, Substitute Principal, and Library Media Specialist. Mrs. Walker-Williams currently serves as a Substitute Paraprofessional for the Special School District, which serves the needs of students with varying abilities in St. Louis County. She is married to Reginald Williams and is second mom to their three sons – Reggie, Shaun, and Brandon. She is also blessed to share Brandon’s son Amori with his other grandparents. Mrs. Walker-Williams loves singing, live theater and music, volunteering, audiobooks, traveling and spending time with family and friends.

Emerging as a composer with a unique, yet quintessentially American voice, Drew Hemenger's music has been heard all over North America and Europe, as well as across the globe in Russia, Asia and Australia. Described as “potent” (Broadway World), “moving and impressive” (Chicago Classical Review) and even "Unlike anything I’ve heard – in a good way!” (Ned Rorem, referring to Unforgettable Hour), his music has been performed in venues ranging from Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center to intimate churches in the Midwest. Although he now considers himself a New Yorker, Hemenger remains close to his Ohio roots.

His works have been commissioned by distinguished artists and institutions, including The AIDS Quilt Songbook @ 20 (NYC), The Auros Ensemble (Boston), Boulder Philharmonic, Chamber Music Yellow Springs (for Berlin’s Vogler Quartet), Duo Con Forza (Sweden), the Goldman Memorial Band (NYC), The Jones & Maruri Cello/Guitar Duo (Spain), The Lively Arts at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Orion Ensemble (Chicago), pianists Pascal and Ami Rogé, Rogue Valley Symphony (Oregon), Symphony New Hampshire, and the University of Texas at Austin.

An ongoing collaboration with operatic soprano Adrienne Danrich has led to a series of songs on the poetry of Langston Hughes, which have been performed many times in various settings, most notably in the concert-length project Danrich created, “An Evening in the Harlem Renaissance,” commissioned by Indiana University at Pennsylvania. An upcoming recording of Hemenger’s music by Danrich, with pianist Mila Henry, is expected to be released in early 2023. Other projects include an opera based on Anne Sexton’s play Mercy Street, with librettist David Johnston.

Winner of Boston University's 1996 ALEA III International Composition Competition, Hemenger's residencies and fellowships include the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, the Banff Centre, Omi International Arts Center, and the Bowdoin and Aspen Music Festivals. He has also served as Composer-in-Residence for the New York-based dance company, RamosDance.

Commercial recordings include Songs from America recorded by the Jones&Maruri Cello/Guitar Duo on EMEC Discos, an EP of Four Places in New York recorded by pianist Henry Wong-Doe on Hemenger’s own label, and Her Final Show by Anthony Dean Griffey and Thomas Bagwell on GPRecords; produced in collaboration with Sing for Hope, the CD includes music from the AIDS Quilt Songbook @ 20 concert on World AIDS day 2012 at Cooper Union.

A strong believer in artists as entrepreneurs, Hemenger is also a regular speaker at prestigious educational institutions, such as the Curtis Institute of Music, Pace University, The Juilliard School, and the University of Pennsylvania, on a range of topics including artist management, individual entrepreneurship, and career development for performing artists and arts administrators.

Hemenger earned a Bachelor's degree in Trumpet Performance from Ohio Wesleyan University, after which he studied composition at The Juilliard School with Stanley Wolfe. His Master's and Doctoral degrees are from the Manhattan School of Music where he studied principally with Richard Danielpour. Other teachers and mentors include George Crumb, David Del Tredici, Sebastian Currier, and Robert Beaser.

Hemenger's music is published by Seemsa (Madrid), LK Drew Publishing, and Drew Hemenger Music. He is represented by Black Tea Music.

Opera On Tap Marketing Intern Joey Tabasco is completing his last year as an Arts and Entertainment Management student at Drexel University. He is dedicated to making opera--and all art forms--more accessible! @joeytabasco

**Patrick Dailey** has been described as possessing “a powerful and elegant countertenor voice” (Los Angeles Daily News) and a “VOCAL STANDOUT” (Boston Classical Review). His artistry was identified early through the national **NAACP ACT-SO** Competition (2005 and 2006), the **NFAA ARTS**, and **Grady-Rayam Prize In Sacred Music** of the **Negro Spiritual Scholarship Foundation**. Dailey made his professional operatic debut with **Opera Saratoga** as the first countertenor member of the company's Young Artist program and was the first countertenor invited to **Opera New Jersey**'s Victoria J. Mastrobuono Emerging Artist program. Operatic repertoire includes Oberon in Britten's *A Midsummer Night's Dream*, Nerone in Monteverdi's *L'incoronazione di Poppea*, and Belize in Eötvös' *Angels in America*. He performs regularly with **Harlem Opera Theater**, **ALIAS Chamber Ensemble**, **Memphis Symphony Orchestra**, and has appeared with the **Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra**, the **Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra** (NC), **Soulful Symphony**, **Arkansas Philharmonic Orchestra**, and **Baltimore Symphony Orchestra**. On January 19, 2009, Mr. Dailey sang a featured duet with Aretha Franklin as the finale for the annual Let Freedom Ring Celebration at the **John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts**. Additionally, he has been a featured artist with **Cook, Dixon, and Young** (formally Three Mo’ Tenors) since 2012.

Mr. Dailey his west coast operatic debut as Satirino in Cavalli’s *La Calisto* with **Pacific Opera Project** of Los Angeles in 2014. The following year, he debuted with **Opera Memphis** in their historic first production of Purcell’s *Dido and Aeneas* and won first place in **Opera Ebony’**s 1st Benjamin Matthews Vocal Competition. Later that year, Mr. Dailey performed the opening invocation for the 2015 **Trumpet Awards** in Atlanta, GA, the invitation of **Trumpet Foundation** founder/CEO and Civil Right legend, Xernona Clayton.

In the summers of 2015 and 2016, Mr. Dailey was a young artist with the **American Bach Soloists**. Soon after he sang the world premiere *Frederick Douglas: The Making of an American Prophet* composed by Grammy Award winning country songwriter Marcus Hummon and debuted with the **Memphis Symphony Orchestra** under the baton of Robert Moody. Additionally in 2016, Mr. Dailey made international debuts in the UK and Brazilian premieres of Hasse’s *Marc’Antonio e Cleopatra* with the **Woodhouse Opera Festival** and **Il Festival de Ópera Barroca** **de Belo Horizonte** and he made his Subculture NYC debut at the invitation of Tony Award winning composer Jason Robert Brown as a part of Brown’s broadway cabaret residency. In the spring of 2017, he debuted with **Opera Louisiane** as Telemaco in Michael Borowitz’s world premiere jazz-gospel orchestration of Monteverdi’s *Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patri*a and debuted with the **Grand Rapids Symphony** singing Bernstein’s *Chichester Psalms* under the baton of Michael Christie. Soon after, Mr. Dailey returned to the U.K. that fall for the international premiere of Soosan Lolavar’s I.D. Please in the **Tete a Tete New Opera Festival** in London. In the fall of 2018, he sang the role of Mini-B/Boris the Boar in the world premiere of Dan Visconti and Cerise Jacobs’s *Permadeath: A Video Game Opera* with **White Snakes Projects** in Boston, MA to great acclaim. Mr. Dailey became the first countertenor to appear with **Shreveport Opera** singing Kyle in Robert Paterson’s *Three Way: Masquerade* in 2019. The remainder of his 2018/2019 season included debuts and appearances with the **Austin Baroque Orchestra**, **IRIS Orchestra** , **Music By Women Festival**, and **Boston Early Music Festival**. Since then, Mr. Dailey made debuts with the **Chicago Philharmonic** and **Missouri Symphony**, was a featured soloist at the 2020 **ACDA Southern Regional Conference**, and debuted at the historic **Ryman Auditorium**. The recent 2021/2022 season included debuts with **Bourbon Baroque**, **Nashville Symphony, Gotham Early Music Scene’s Open Gates Project,** and the **Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival**.

Mr. Dailey is featured in *Fatherhood*, a documentary directed by award winning London based director, Ben Gregor, which premiered on **FUSE TV** in 2019. He is also a featured on recording projects such as the debut album of acclaimed duo and super producers **Louis York** (Chuck Harmony and Claude Kelly), American Griots (2019), Adrian Dunn’s Redemption Live in Chicago (2020), and the self-titled release from **The Aeolians** of **Oakwood University** under the direction of Dr. Jason Max Ferdinand (2020). Most recently, Mr. Dailey was featured on season 17 of *America’s Got Talent* with **Metaphysic**as the operatic singing voice on Terry Crews in a performance Simon Cowell referred to as the “best of the series”.

Growing in his reputation as a scholar, Mr. Dailey was invited to the **Center for Black Music Research**'s inaugural Black Vocality Symposium in 2013 giving a performative presentation entitled "The Anatomy of the Black Voice: Peculiarities, Challenges, and Regional Differences". Since that time, he been Artist-in-Residence, masterclass clinician, and guest lecturer at **Southern University**, **Prairie View A&M University**, the **University of Arkansas**, **New England Conservatory**, and **Vanderbilt University** among others. Mr. Dailey was lead soloist and vocal music curator of the official *MLK50* Commemoration at the **National Civil Rights Museum** in 2018 in Memphis, TN. In the fall of 2019, he presented at the inaugural *Harry T. Burleigh Week* organized by the **Burleigh Legacy Alliance** of Burleigh’s hometown of Erie, PA and regularly presents lectures and programs in conjunction with the organization. In June 2020, Mr. Dailey curated and presented a virtual clinic and webinar entitled “A Stirring in My Soul: The Negro Spiritual and Social Justice Movements” presented by the **National Museum of African American Music**. He is also visiting artist-in-residence at **St. Luke’s Episcopal-Germantown** (Philadelphia, PA) and recently premiered his curated concert, *Sankofa Project: A Journey Through Black Music and Artistry* in presented by **Opera Philadelphia** and **Price Fest**.

Mr. Dailey is a 2012 graduate of **Morgan State University** and received his master of music from **Boston University.** He currently serves on the voice faculty of **Tennessee State University** where he established the **Big Blue Opera Initiatives (BBOI)** and the annual **Harry T. Burleigh Spirituals Festival**. Additionally, he is the founding artistic director of the **W. Crimm Singers (aka Wakanda Chorale)**, professional ensemble in residence of BBOI, and is a co-founding member of historically informed progressive, crossover ensemble, **Early Music City**.

Mr. Dailey serves on the boards of **ALIAS Chamber Ensemble**, the **International Florence Price Festival, Nashville Rep,** and the Artistic Planning Committee of the **Nashville Symphony.** He also serves as community project curator with **Intersection Contemporary Music Ensemble** and creative arts coordinator of the **NAACP-Nashville Branch.** A passionate advocate for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and education, he is a consultant on HBCU initiatives with Opera America serving on it’s Learning and Leadership Council, **Early Music America,** and New Music USA, as well as an artist ambassador of the Music Inclusion Coalition, and heads Black Opera Alliance’sEducation Taskforce. He is on the faculty of the **Narnia Festival** of Narni, Italy leading a program on African American Concert and Sacred Music, and is the program director of the **Nashville Opera- HBCU Fellowship,** an HBCU initiative of the the company in partnership with TSU and Fisk University. Dailey was named to the 2020 class of the **Nashville Black 40 Under 40** and he was recognized for Outstanding Service from the Coalition for African Americans in the Performing Arts of Washington, DC. Additionally, he is a 2020 recipient of an Individual Artist Fellowship from the **Tennessee Arts Commission**.

Mr. Dailey holds membership in the **National Association of Negro Musicians**, the **National Association of Teachers of Singing**, the **American Choral Directors Association**, and **Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America, inc**
To find out more about Mr. Dailey, visit www.patrickdaileyct.com.
Patrick Dailey *(he/him/his)*
www.PatrickDaileyCT.com

**Gary Mitchell, Jr.**, regularly collaborates with renowned singers, instrumentalists, artists, and ensembles, throughout the world.
Gary debuted as Noah “Horse” T. Simmons in The Full Monty at The Clink Theatre, Port Douglas, Queensland, Australia; portrayed Jasbo Brown in Porgy and Bess at The Royal Danish Opera House-Copenhagen; and has been featured in myriad performances in Japan, Spain, Italy, Germany, and witzerland.
Mitchell has been featured at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The Harlem Opera Festival, Teatro alla Scala, Dance Theater of Harlem, 54 Below, NAACP ACT-SO, Harlem Stage Theatre (Antigone in Ferguson), as Jimmy Powers in Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill, at Portland Stage Theatre, The Cape Playhouse, and he frequents Barrington Stage Theatre.
He has collaborated and performed with PBS, MTV, VH1, Steinway International, as Grammy and Tony Nominee, Phillip Boykin’s Music Director, as well as Music Director for Charlie Brown, who is also a Tony Nominee.
Previously, Gary was a bass vocal artist at Houston Grand Opera and Artist-in-Residence at Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church- Houston, and now serves as Director of Music and Arts Administration at First AME Church: Bethel-Harlem. He also conducts the mellifluous group he founded: Harlem Renaissance
Chorale. He is Artist-in- Residence at Union Theological Seminary, a member of the professoriate: Tougaloo College, Texas Southern University, and Houston's High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, and has been a guest lecturer at Columbia University.
Gary is member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America, Inc., PHA Aurora Lodge, Jackson State University National Alumni Association, The National Association of Negro Musicians (NANM), The American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA), and Actor's Equity Association (AEA).

A native of Odessa, Ukraine, **Violetta Zabbi** (Conductor/Musical Director, Collaborative and solo pianist) is an accomplished pianist, conductor and coach. Dr. Zabbi has been involved in over 100 different opera projects while living in New York for the past 24 years. She is currently on the faculties of Adelphi University, Brooklyn College, Summer program in Kiev, Ukraine, Oyster Bay Festival in Oyster Bay, Long Island. She is the music director and conductor with Vocal Productions NYC, New York Opera Studio and the Delaware Valley Opera. She appears as a pianist and coach with Regina Opera, Hofstra University and Opera Manhattan Repertoire. For the past ten seasons Dr. Zabbi has performed with DCINY International at Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall and other Concert Hall in NYC. Dr. Zabbi teaches piano at Precollege division at Brooklyn College as well at her private studio in Brooklyn.

**Mila Henry** is a music director, pianist and conductor, as well as Artistic Director of The American Opera Project. Hailed “a stalwart contributor to the contemporary opera scene” (Opera Ithaca), she provides musical dramaturgy to AOP works and serves as Head of Music for their *Composers & the Voice* program. She maintains an active and versatile career, leading works spanning folk operas to rock musicals to multi-composer collaborations, and performing at venues such as The Apollo, BAM, Circle in the Square, Dutch National Opera, LA Opera, Library of Congress, Lincoln Center, Opera Philadelphia and Pittsburgh CLO. Her recording credits include *Love & Trouble* (Roven Records, with Adrienne Danrich) and *Voices of Women* (Affetto Records, with Heather Fetrow). She is also a member of the alt-country band Opera Cowgirls. A native of the Philadelphia area, Mila holds degrees from the Manhattan School of Music and Elizabethtown College. milahenry.com

**Ovya Diwakaran**, a junior from St. Louis is thrilled to be a part of Music as the Message! Back home, Ovya acts in community theatre and is president of her schools a cappella group. Favorite credits include company of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Legally Blonde at the MUNY. When not on stage, Ovya can be found writing original music for competitions, most recently winning 1st place in the Missouris Creating Original Music Project. Ovya thanks Adrienne for this amazing opportunity, and her “Mama Bear”, Anu French for always supporting her. You can learn more about Ovyas music career by following her on instagram, @ovya.music.

Composer and pianist **JOHN MUSTO**'s activities encompass orchestral, operatic, instrumental, chamber and vocal music, and music for film and television. His music embraces many strains of contemporary American concert music, enriched by sophisticated inspirations from jazz, ragtime and the blues. These qualities lend a strong profile to his vocal music, which ranges from a series of operas – *Volpone*, *Later the Same Evening*, *Bastianello* and *The Inspector* – to a catalogue of art songs that is among the finest of any living American composer.
As a pianist, he performs frequently as soloist and chamber musician in a broad range of repertoire including his own piano concerti. He appears frequently with his wife, soprano Amy Burton, in recital and cabaret.
Mr. Musto was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for his orchestral song cycle Dove Sta Amore, and is a recipient of two Emmy awards, two CINE Awards, a Rockefeller Fellowship at Bellagio, an American Academy of Arts and Letters award, and a Distinguished Alumnus award from the Manhattan School of Music. He is currently on the piano faculty of the CUNY Graduate Center in New York, where he also serves as Coördinator of the D.M.A. Program in Music Performance.
Musto's work has been recorded by Bridge, Harmonia Mundi, Nonesuch, Cedille, Archive, Naxos, Harbinger, CRI and EMI, Hyperion, MusicMasters, Innova, Channel Classics, Albany, and New World Records.
He is published by Peermusic Classical.

http://www.johnmusto.com/bio.html

**Lisa Anderson** has been a stage manager and production manager for many years in opera, dance and theater. Lisa’s career has included a long time at San Francisco Opera as a stage manager, PSM, Video editor and associate director. Other places have included Theater for a New Audience and touring to Naples as well as Assistant Director for Girl of the Golden West in Belgium. Recent collaborations have included Opera Theater of St. Louis and recently joining the staff at the University of Missouri in Kansas City Conservatory. It feels good coming back after graduating from there-after more years than I care to count.

**ANNE HIATT** is Co-Founder, Artistic and Executive Director of the national organization Opera on Tap, which has the vision of making the drama, beauty, and exhilaration of opera truly accessible to new communities everywhere.
With over 16 years of experience in non-profit management, development and opera production, she currently oversees the programs, and operations of 25 Chapters of Opera on Tap across the nation and world and has acted as executive producer of Opera on Tap’s major new works programs since 2012. She currently oversees the development of The Immersive Opera Project which marries opera and tech industry partners in the creation of new immersive works of opera utilizing emerging technologies.

Under Anne’s leadership, Opera on Tap has grown into a large national network of artist-entrepreneurs, performers, creators, supporters and audiences. It has gained international recognition as an innovative force on the classical music scene with features in such media outlets as The NY Times, NPR All Things Considered, The Wall Street Journal, NY1, USA Today, NHK/ Japan National Public TV, Tagesspiegel, The NY Daily News, WNYC, Boston Globe, Chicago Today, Chicago Reader, the LA Times, LA Weekly, and Seattle Weekly among many others.

Hosted by Adrienne Danrich, and featuring a stellar cast of artists:

Guest Artists:
Kagera Buckner, mezzo-soprano*
Amy Burton, soprano
Patrick Dailey, countertenor*
Ovya Diwakaran, vocals & composition*
Anu French, vocals & harmonium
Tesia Kwarteng, mezzo-soprano*
John Musto, piano
Adam Richardson, baritone*
Chris Shelton, tenor
Kwamina Walker-Williams, soprano*

Dancers:
Melissa Riker’s Kinesis Dancers*
Featuring: Bree Breeden* & Madeline Hoak*

Instrumentalists:
Alexis Gerlach, cello*
Gary Mitchell Jr., piano*
Violetta Zabbi, piano*

Artistic Team:
Adrienne Danrich, creator, host & executive producer
Ovya Diwakaran, commissioned composer
Drew Hemenger, composer of MaM original theme song

Creative Content Producers:
Meagan Brus
Anne Hiatt
Joelle Lamarre

Creative Team:
Joelle Lamarre
Meagan Brus

Production:
Lisa Anderson, production manager
Julian Singer-Corbin, associate producer & stage manager
Patrick Mahaney, technical director
Jascha Narveson, audio engineer & zoom facilitator
Mila Henry, AOP producer
Matt Gray, AOP producer
Anne Hiatt, OOT producer
Caitlin Mead & Joey Tabasco, social media managers

Music as the Message is presented by The American Opera Project and Opera On Tap, in association with Broadway Presbyterian Church.

Original music by Guest Artist, Anu French, is available here:

ABOUT MUSIC AS THE MESSAGE

Created and hosted by Emmy Award-winning soprano Adrienne Danrich, Music as the Message (MaM) is an interactive, virtual series that has been newly reimagined as a hybrid performance experience. Streamed live, MaM celebrates the power of music to unify and to inspire healing, joy, laughter, love and most importantly, community. Adrienne, along with guest artists, the MaM Ensemble, and commissioned composers, leads a program of uplifting songs and spoken word. As we commune through music, attendees are encouraged to sing and speak along, with strong and joyous voices, whether in the Zoom room or in the Sanctuary! Following this musical catharsis, the audience is welcome to speak with the artists, and reflect or listen in support of their fellow participants.

Free to the public, goodwill offerings accepted. Held via Zoom and presented through AOPTV. The Music as the Message series is presented by The American Opera Project and Opera On Tap, in association with Broadway Presbyterian Church.

ABOUT ADRIENNE DANRICH

As an award-winning singer, writer, composer, and educator, Adrienne Danrich is redefining what it means to be a creative performer. The voice of EMMY® award winning soprano Adrienne Danrich has been described as “fresh liquid-silver”, “radiant”, and having a “sensual timbre and dramatic truth” by Opera News. She has performed at major opera houses and art centers around the United States as well as appearing in the NBC broadcast of The Sound of Music, Live! In addition to singing operas, concerts and recitals around the country, Danrich performs her one-woman show, This Little Light of Mine: The Stories of Marian Anderson and Leontyne Price, which she wrote under a commission from Cincinnati Opera. This Little Light of Mine was nominated for an EMMY®, and, additionally, Ms. Danrich was personally nominated and subsequently won an EMMY® for on-camera talent as performer and narrator. Recently, Ms. Danrich debuted her new concert From Aretha to Aida, An Autobiographical Musical Journey. Distinctive in her talent and charisma, Adrienne is known for going places other artists have not yet ventured.
www.adriennedanrich.com

ABOUT THE AMERICAN OPERA PROJECT

The American Opera Project (AOP) is a non-profit organization based in Fort Greene, Brooklyn whose mission is to develop and present new and innovative works of lyric theater, provide resources and opportunities to emerging and established artists, and engage contemporary communities in a transformative operatic experience. The American Opera Project is an unending experiment in storytelling with the central premise that each life is an operatic story waiting to be told, each telling of that story an operatic experience waiting to happen. The American Opera Project’s programming serves the goal of diversifying the operatic canon by investing in emerging creators and centering the process of creation rather than the product. Ongoing programming includes First Chance, AOP’s opera development incubator; Composers & the Voice, AOP’s free, in-house composer and librettist training program; and community-oriented events such as “Music as the Message” that reimagine how to reach the 21st century audience. www.aopopera.org

ABOUT OPERA ON TAP

Opera on Tap (OOT) was born in 2005 in Brooklyn and operates with the vision of making the drama, beauty and exhilaration of opera truly accessible to new communities everywhere. What began as a small monthly gathering of ambitious, classically trained singers looking for more performance opportunities, has grown into a producing and community-based organization that has gained a broad audience base and national recognition as an innovative force on the classical music scene. Through its Chapter program, which now has twenty-eight vibrant national (and international) chapters, OOT has created a large network of performers, creators, and supporters. A predominantly women-led organization, OOT's mission is to engage and enrich communities through culture and the arts, and to empower singers, instrumentalists, composers and other artists through opportunities for paid performance, commissions, leadership, and safe creative practices.

Opera on Tap continues to be headquartered as a national organization in Brooklyn and in NYC presents four programs intended to adhere to our practice of community engagement through opera: PLAYGROUND OPERA/OPERATRONICS, BAR SHOWS/ NEW BREW, OPERACADES, and THE IMMERSIVE OPERA PROJECT (IOP).
www.operaontap.org

ABOUT BROADWAY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Broadway Presbyterian Church is a progressive community that welcomes all people regardless of ethnic heritage, national origin, age, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, or socio-economic standing. Though we may read the Bible with different eyes than our ancestors, we continue to believe that it is the foundation of our faith. Guided by the Spirit, our encounter with Scripture calls us to be people of justice, loving-kindness, humility, and joy in all that we do. We are a part of “the Church reformed, always reforming” – and we look forward to all the ways God will continue to lead the Broadway Presbyterian Church.
www.bpcnyc.org

ABOUT BROADWAY COMMUNITY

The seeds that would become Broadway Community were planted in 1982 with the creation of the Community Lunch program – a combined effort of volunteers from Broadway Presbyterian Church, Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University, and other neighboring organizations. Meals were prepared and provided to the hungry three times a week. In 1992, the organization formally incorporated so that it might expand its reach. For the next decade “BCI” developed as an addiction recovery program, with a variety of companion programs, including support groups, a women’s shelter, arts education, and more. All the while, the soup kitchen continued, serving lunch on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Thousands of people have been fed and nourished at Broadway Community – in body, mind, and spirit.

Broadway Community provides a soup kitchen, community table, food pantry, shelter, showers, clothing, health care, and much more to people in need. All are welcome. www.broadwaycommunity.org

Music as the Message is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and from the generosity of these individuals:

Tony Corey

Megan Englander

Thomas Gibson

Geoffrey Burleson

Rosemary Brunson

Holly Wilson

Rodney Stucky

Geoffrey Trotier

Cyril Blosser

Helen Henry

Margaret O'Neill

Wendy Lamb

Susan Hall

Lauren Savoy

Kristin Gornstein

Brian McLoughlin

Tisha Gholston

Selina Volz

Sadiyah Babatunde

Lorenzo De Los Angeles

Myrdith Leon-McCormack

Steve Crock

Justine Leguizamo

Joelle Lamarre

Phyllis Lewis-Hale

Navin Sivakumar

Aisha Lusk

Alison McConekey

Amanda Sidebottom

Kimberly Reed

Demareus Cooper

Herschel Garfein

Neal Goren

Jan Goldstein

Brynne Mosteller

Robert Scott

Christopher Cooley

Amy Conard

Imogene Crumpton

James Ricci

Peter McCabe

Emily Manzo

Michael Krysl

The Cordell Family

Monica Moore

Cassondra Joseph

Jennifer Davison

Lance Kramer

Scott Tomlinson

Mary Ploeser

Chris Comfort

Sabine Rogers

Mark Campbell

Pamelya Herndon

Cathie Muschany

Eloise Grimes

Craig Reid

Kristin Marting

Drew Hemenger

Dustin Simpson

MaryAnne Osborn

Cathy Adams

Scott Levine

Diana Solomon-Glover

Brian Anderson

Cecelia Martin

Lorraine Whittlesey

Elizabeth Rankin-Fulcher

Gezzelle Harris

Dawn Johnson

Lynn Mark

Kim Howard

Valerie Barnes

Jennifer Trent

Kari Carbone

Zhenel Rawlinson

Olanna Goudeau

Ginny Thiell

Joel Kalow

Lori Brooks

Chauncey Packer

Gina Everly

Sharon Sonnenschein

Dawn Johnson

Eric McKeever

Nadine Carey

Alma Williams

Mark Kalow & Marlene Pitkow

Jaqueline Kelly

Susan Werbe

Angela Owens

Evelyn Justiniano

Gezzelle Harris

Anna Rabinowitz

Astrid Young

Rev. Eugene Palmore

Faye Lewin-Neil

Marilyn Portune

Ted Wood

Aryeh Stollman

Charles Jarden

Gaylan Townsend

Emily Manzo

Virginia Brown

Amy Hutchison

Ellen Manzo

Emily Farrell

LaVerne Riebold

Phyllis Chinn

Caroline Kelsey

Kwamina Walker-Williams

Michele Freeman

Kearstin Brown

Patrick Grant

Joan Ross Sorkin

Siobhan Kolker

Cystal Kendrick

Rima Fand

Irene Silverblatt

David Gordon

Anna Dagmar

Jennifer Trent

Marsha Clark

Seth Wharton

Carol Walker

Harry Diwakaran

Karyn Fowler

Deepa Arun

Chabrelle Williams

Samantha Brown

*Artist appearances sponsored by:
Tony Corey (Melissa Riker, Madeline Hoak, & Gary Mitchell, Jr.)
Chris and Selina O'Neill (sponsoring Ovya Diwakaran)
Tom and Peggy O'Neill (sponsoring Tesia Kwarteng)
Nicole Mitchell (sponsoring Patrick Dailey & Adam Richardson)
Scott Tomlinson (sponsoring Alexis Gerlach)
Richard Cox (sponsoring Kwamina Walker-Williams & Kagera Buckner)
Mark Kalow & Marlene Pitkow (sponsoring Bree Breeden)
Henry O'Neill (sponsoring Violetta Zabbi)

STAFF

Matt Gray General Director
Mila Henry Artistic Director
Joel Kalow General Manager
Takesha Meshé Kizart-Thomas Head of Development and Greater Impact
Caitlin Mead Grant Writer and Social Media Manager
Steven Osgood Composers & the Voice Artistic Director
Charles Jarden Director of Strategic Planning
Rosamund Dyer Administrative Assistant
Jay St. Flono Administrative Assistant

Adrienne Danrich Executive Producer and Creator of the original series, Music as the Message
W. Wilson Jones Resident Stage Manager and Database Manager
Certus LLP Accountants
Naomi Ramirez Accounting Consultant
Arnold & Porter Legal Counsel

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Anthony Roth Costanzo, Sarah Moulton Faux (President), J. David Jackson, Charles Jarden, W. Wilson Jones, Mark Kalow, Emily Manzo, Christina B. Murphy, Kevin R. Myers, Norman Ryan

ARTISTIC ADVISORY COUNCIL

Mark Campbell, Thom Collins, Sasha Cooke, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Alexandra Enyart, Susan Gonzalez, Briana Hunter, J. David Jackson, Laura Kaminsky (Chair), David Michalek, Jessie Montgomery, Ravi Rajan, Kimberly Reed, Huang Ruo, Craig Zobel

The American Opera Project’s current season is made possible by generous support from the following organizations:

The American Opera Project is a member of OPERA America, Fort Greene Association, the Downtown Brooklyn Arts Alliance, the New York Opera Alliance, and Alliance of Resident Theatres/ New York (A.R.T./NY).

The American Opera Project (American Opera Projects, Inc.) is an IRS recognized 501(c)3 non-profit corporation.

American opera Projects (AOP)