NOVEMBER 14, 2021 | 4pm ET
Broadway Presbyterian Church (601 W 114th St, New York, NY 10025)
and on ZOOM
Presented by The American Opera Project and Opera on Tap, in association with Broadway Presbyterian Church
PROGRAM ORDER
Music as the Message Theme Song** . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Drew Hemenger
Adrienne Danrich, soprano
Drew Hemenger, piano
“Dich, teure halle” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Richard Wagner
from Tannhäuser
Adrienne Danrich, soprano
Violetta Zabbi, piano
Welcome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Adrienne Danrich
I Love Being Here with You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Peggy Lee, Bill Schluger
Patrice P. Eaton, mezzo-soprano
Dwight Howard, arranger
Pre-recorded audio track
Touched By An Angel*✢ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maya Angelou
Victoria A. Davis, soprano
Dwight Howard, arranger
Pre-recorded audio track
(Attendees are invited to speak along)
My One and Only Love✢ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Robert Mellin, Guy Wood
Andrew Garland, baritone
Dwight Howard, arranger
Pre-recorded audio track
Muse of Memory** . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Adrienne Danrich, Paul Moravec
Adrienne Danrich, soprano
Violetta Zabbi, piano
"Una furtiva lagrima"✢ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Felice Romani, Gaetano Donizetti
from L’elisir d’amore
Cameo Humes, tenor
Violetta Zabbi, piano
And I Have You* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nikki Giovanni
Blythe Gaissert, mezzo-soprano
(Attendees are invited to speak along)
"Habanera" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Henri Meilhac, Ludovic Halévy, Georges Bizet
from Carmen
Blythe Gaissert, mezzo-soprano
MaM Ensemble
(Victoria A. Davis, soprano; Patrice P. Eaton, mezzo-soprano;
Cameo Humes, tenor; Scott Tomlinson, bass)
Peter Seidenberg, cello
"Deh vieni alla finestra"✢ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lorenzo Da Ponte, W. A. Mozart
from Don Giovanni
Andrew Garland, baritone
James Moore, guitar
Child-Like Moment
Love is Something if you Give it Away . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Malvina Reynolds
Chris Shelton, tenor, guitar
(Any children in attendance are invited to participate)
A Word from our Charity Partner, Broadway Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chris Shelton
In This Very Room . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ron and Carol Harris
Adrienne Danrich, soprano
Patrice P. Eaton, mezzo-soprano
Victoria A. Davis, soprano
Violetta Zabbi, piano
SOPRANO* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rita Dove
Andrew Garland, baritone
(Attendees are invited to speak along)
"Ave Maria" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pietro Mascagni
from Cavalleria Rusticana
Victoria A. Davis, soprano
Violetta Zabbi, piano
"Vissi d’arte" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Luigi Illica, Giuseppe Giacosa, Giacomo Puccini
from Tosca
Marsha Thompson, soprano
Brian Shankar Adler, percussion
✢Zoom Performance
*Spoken Word
**Commissioned by The American Opera Project 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.
Andrew Garland, baritone has performed recitals at Carnegie Hall, the New York Festival of Song, the Ravinia festival, The Cleveland Art Song Festival, Camerata Pacifica, Andre-Turp Society Montreal, Voce at Pace, Cincinnati Song Initiative, Tuesday Morning Music Club, The Phillips Collection, Vocal Arts DC, college campuses around North America, and venues in Italy, Croatia, Greece, and Turkey.
He has premiered works by Jake Heggie, William Bolcom, Stephen Paulus, Steven Mark Kohn, and had works written for him by Lee Hoiby, Tom Cipullo, Thomas Pasatieri, and Gabriela Frank.
He has performed in concert with the Atlanta Symphony, Boston Baroque, Handel and Haydn, Washington Master Chorale at the Kennedy Center, and National Chorale at Lincoln Center and leading opera roles at Seattle Opera, New York City Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Cincinnati Opera, Minnesota Opera, and many others. Garland is a member of the voice faculty at the University of Colorado, and is a mentor with Bel Canto Boot Camp.
“Totally enchanting, inspired performances, brimming with natural, spontaneous musicianship”, raves Gramophone Magazine about cellist Peter Seidenberg. Mr. Seidenberg has played in major halls throughout the US, Europe, and Asia. He made his solo debut with the Chicago Symphony, and has since appeared as soloist with many orchestras including Century Orchestra of Osaka, New American Chamber Orchestra, De Paul Chamber Orchestra, New York Chamber Soloists, and the Eastman-Rochester Philharmonic.
For four years he served as principal cellist with the Century Orchestra of Osaka. He was founding member of the critically acclaimed Elements Quartet which created groundbreaking commissioning projects involving over 30 composers. He has collaborated with members of the Cleveland, Tokyo, Juilliard and Emerson Quartets and has participated in the Marlboro, Aspen, Caramoor, Casals and Norfolk festivals.
His numerous recordings can be found on the Pantheon, RCA, EMF, CRI, Albany, and Lyrichord labels. He has been featured on PBS, NBC, NHK, New Zealand Public TV, Air Espania and European Broadcast Union (EBU) broadcasts.
Currently, Peter Seidenberg is the cellist for the Oracle Trio, the Queen’s Chamber Band, and the New York Chamber Soloists. Peter also concertizes frequently in collaboration with pianist Hui-Mei Lin. The duo have performed together throughout the US to much acclaim.
Brian Shankar Adler is a multidisciplinary drummer, percussionist and composer. With a background in Indian music, a conservatory training and over fifteen years of professional experience, Adler has been described as: "a polyrhythmic force... New York City gritty yet still somehow capable of evoking the delicacy of a summer breeze..." by Brad Cohan, JazzTimes. Adler has worked with Bomba De Tiempo, Bob Brookmeyer, Chelsea Clinton, Elizabeth Swados, Guillermo Klein, Kamala Sankaram, Kate McGarry, Sheila Jordan, among others and has been featured in Modern Drummer Magazine, DownBeat, and NPR's New Sounds. His recent project, Fourth Dimension won best music video at Transcinema International Film Festival in Peru and at the 2020 Independent Music Awards. Adler has toured four continents and has been recorded on more than 35 albums.
Dwight Howard, arranger
Chris Shelton, A native of Fort Worth, Texas, Chris came into the Presbyterian family while studying Drama and Music at Texas Woman's University. Chris, who had grown up Baptist, was a scholarship choir member at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Denton, TX. The creative Spirit was particularly alive at Trinity, and the worlds of theology, the arts, justice, curiosity and imagination found new life for Chris – and an unexpected journey began. After college, Chris made the leap from Texas to New York City, earning his Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary. Chris was ordained into service in 2004, as Co-Pastor of three congregations in Bergen County, NJ. In 2007 he joined the staff of Hudson River Presbytery (a regional community of 88 churches) as Congregational Connections Presbyter – where he worked with social-justice seekers from across the Hudson Valley, engaging in ministry together in local prisons, the storm ravaged Gulf Coast, and in deeply challenging but inspiring communities in Peru, among others. Chris was called as Broadway's Pastor in 2011, and is thrilled to be a part of the vibrant BPC community.
Victoria A. Davis, Soprano has been a featured soloistin many concerts and events including theWelcoming of theFirst Lady of RussiawithMichelleandBarack Obamaand theKennedy Center’sYoung Artist in America presentation.Victoria has been seen in the roles ofLady BillowsinAlbert HerringandDie SandmänncheninHänsel und Gretelin TheOberlin Opera theater. Ms.Davis is a proud alumnus ofOberlinConservatory and Mannes College of Music. She hasbeen a recipient of many awards including thefifth-place winner ofOpera Ebony’svocal competitionas well as a two prize winner of thePremiereOpera Foundation’s Vocal Competition.Recently, Ms. Davis was the winner of theMetropolitanOpera National Council Auditions(NorthCarolina District). She was also recently seen inthe role ofFirst LadywithOpera On Tap's PlaygroundOpera Program, as well as theMasterworks Chorusasthe Soprano soloist for the Brahms Requiem. Inaddition to that, Ms. Davis performed the title rolein Puccini'sSuor AngelicawithOpera Susquehannain August of 2019. In December of 2020, Victoria joinedOperaon Tapas a Creative Producer, as well asThe Director of Educational Programming. In additionto her vocal talents, Ms. Davis enjoys trying newrecipes and writing poetry.
Hailed by critics for possessing a “compelling lyric tenor that pulses with the perennially conflicted feelings of the character” [Opera News] and a “sonorous, dark-hued timbre which vividly projected the complicated nature of the drama” [theWholeNote], Cameo Humes is quickly becoming one of the most sought-after tenors in operatic and concert repertoire. He has performed with the Richmond Symphony, Fort Wayne Philharmonic, the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, SANAA Opera Project, Hilton Head Choral Society, and the Orchestra Sinfonica dell’International Chamber Ensemble in Italy. His most recent engagement included a debut with Teatro alla Scala in the roles of Peter, Crab man, Mingo and Robbins in their production of Porgy and Bess. Other operatic credits include the title role in Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito, Ottavio (Don Giovanni) with Operafestival di Roma, Almaviva (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Gastone (La Traviata), Prunier (La Rondine), Peter (Porgy and Bess) with Lyric Opera of Chicago (cover), Dayton Opera and Skylight Music Theatre of Milwaukee, Crab man (Porgy and Bess) with The Princeton Festival, Nelson (Porgy and Bess) with Cincinnati Opera, and Ensemble (Show Boat) with Houston Grand Opera. He has recorded the lead role in Richard Thompson’s The Mask in the Mirror—a modern opera based on the life of Paul Laurence Dunbar—with Navona Records which was reviewed by Opera News and selected as Critic’s Choice. Recent concert performances include Handel’s Messiah with the Richmond Symphony, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast with the Chicago Bar Association Symphony Orchestra, Handel’s Judas Maccabeus, Mozart’s Grand Mass in C minor, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, Bach St. John Passion and Mass in B minor, and The Seven Last Words of Christ by Théodore Dubois. Upcoming engagements include two concert performances of Porgy and Bess in May with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra in Hamburg, Germany under the baton of Alan Gilbert. A lover and avid performer of the Negro spiritual, Cameo has toured Spain, France and Ireland with the world renown American Spiritual Ensemble. He is also a full-time member of the chorus at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Marsha Thompson, Soprano is a native of Shreveport, LA and began her musical studies as a violinist. She has sung the roles of Tosca, AIDA, Abigaille, Sieglinde, Violetta, and several other leading ladies. The New York Times describes her voice in the role of Violetta as “a warm agile soprano with a secure technique.” Abigaille is a difficult role to cast, a big sing with a wide dramatic and vocal range; soprano Marsha Thompson was up to all the challenges the score threw at her. Her high pianissimo singing was exquisite.” (St. Louis Dispatch)
Ms. Thompson has performed with Teatro Municipal de São Paulo, Union Avenue Opera, New York City Opera, New York Grand Opera, and Opera Carolina as well as having won numerous prizes in national competitions with the Metropolitan Opera National Council, Gerda Lissner Foundation, Orlando Opera Competition, Ft. Worth Opera Competition, and many others. Ms. Thompson currently resides in New York City and studies with the internationally acclaimed voice instructor, Gregory Lamar. To read more about Ms. Thompson please see her website www.MarshaThompson.com or her social media page on IG @Ladivaria.
American Mezzo-Soprano Patrice Eaton is a versatile performer in various musical genres and is a frequent performer of premiere works. Ms. Eaton's career in opera began as a member of the children's chorus of both the Metropolitan Opera and New York City Opera. As a young artist at the Caramoor International Music Festival in 2010 and 2011, she covered the roles of Hedwige in Guillaume Tell and Little Buttercup in H.M.S. Pinafore, and was a featured artist in the Bel Canto at Caramoor concert series.
Most recently Patrice has performed with; Forth Worth Opera on the Virtual “A Night of Black Excellence” Concert, Wynton Marsalis and Jazz at Lincoln Center as soloist with the White Light Festival, the We Shall Overcome National Tour with Damien Sneed honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Amahl and the Night Visitors with Harlem Opera Theater, Carmen with Downtown Symphony Orchestra and several recitals. In 2017, Ms. Eaton made her Carnegie Hall debut honoring the late Sylvia Olden Lee, followed by her debut with the National Philharmonic performing as a soloist with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and The Morgan State Choir in Wynton Marsalis’ All Rise at The Strathmore, and performed the role of Pythia in the World Premiere of Nkeiru Okoye’s, We've Got our Eye on You with SUNY - New Paltz Opera.
Ms. Eaton's concert engagements have included performing as soloist with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in the U.S. tour of Wynton Marsalis' Abyssinian Mass (Recorded live under the Blue Engine Records Label), Soloist in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and Tchaikovsky's Ode to Joy with the Lehigh University Choral Arts, Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle at the Caramoor Festival, and Handel's Messiah with the Abyssinian Baptist Church Orchestra and Choir. She has sung at the Edinburgh International Festival, Athens Epidaurus Festival, and the Vienna Arts Festival.
She has performed as Dorabella in Cosi fan Tutte with Opera Ebony, Caroline in the World Premiere of Harriet Tubman: When I Have Crossed the Line to Freedom with American Opera Projects, Adalgisa in Norma with Hudson Opera Theater, Giovanna in Anna Bolena with the Musica Bella Concert Series, Lily/Annie/Strawberry Woman with in a concert version of Porgy and Bess with Syracuse Opera - directed by Hope Clark, the U.S. premiere of von Weber's Die Drei Pintos with Bronx Opera, Mrs. Nolan in The Medium with Chelsea Opera, and the roles of Marcellina in Le Nozze di Figaro and Marthe Schwerlein in Faust with Amore Opera. Patrice is a graduate of the University of Kentucky. She is a proud member of Sigma Alpha Iota Music Fraternity, a Lifetime and National Board Member of the National Association of Negro Musicians (NANM) and the Artistic Director of Three on 3 Music.
James Moore is a composer, guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, and bandleader. He can be heard performing as a member of the raucous electric guitar quartet Dither, the whimsical acoustic group The Hands Free, the avant-grunge/sloppy-math band Forever House, as well as in a variety of settings as a chamber musician and soloist. James is currently pursuing his PhD at Princeton University, and writes music for an eclectic community of artists from the classical, jazz, folk, experimental and indie scenes. He has worked and collaborated with playwright Richard Maxwell, choreographer Susan Marshall, soprano Dawn Upshaw, guitarist Marc Ribot, instrument builder Ellen Fullman, rock band Yo La Tengo, as well as composers Robert Ashley, Eve Beglarian, David Lang, Pauline Oliveros, and John Zorn.
Scott Tomlinson, tenor
Mezzo-soprano Blythe Gaissert has established herself as one of the pre-eminent interpreters of some of the brightest stars of new classical music. A true singing actress, she has received critical acclaim for her interpretations of both new and traditional repertoire in opera, concert and chamber repertoire.
Recent performances include the role of Georgia O’Keefe TODAY IT RAINS with AOP and Opera Parallele, Gertrude Stein in Ricky Ian Gordon 27 for Intermountain Opera, Bozeman, Walker Loats in Mikael Karlsson’s ECHO DRIFT for American Opera Projects at the Prototype Festival, Hansel HANSEL UND GRETEL with San Diego Opera, Sadie in Ricky Ian Gordon MORNING STAR with On-Site Opera, Hannah After in AS ONE with AOP, Opera Colorado, Opera Columbus, Opera Idaho, Opera Memphis, New York City Opera and San Diego Opera, Beethoven 9th Symphony with the Sarasota Orchestra, Berio Folk Songs and Siegrune DIE WALKUERE with the Dallas Symphony and Berlioz L’Enfance du Christ with the Orquesta Sinfónica y Coro RTVE conducted by Miguel Harth-Bedoya.
Paul Moravec, recipient of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize in Music, has composed numerous orchestral, chamber, lyric, choral and operatic works. Frequently commissioned by notable ensembles and major music institutions, Mr. Moravec's next premiere is A Nation of Others, an oratorio about Ellis Island to a libretto by Mark Campbell for Oratorio Society of New York at Carnegie Hall. The premiere recording of Sanctuary Road (also to a Mark Campbell libretto) on Naxos has earned a 2021 Grammy nomination. Other recent premieres include The Shining for Minnesota Opera, A New Country, with mezzo Jennifer Johnson Cano and the Bridgehampton Festival, The Overlook Hotel Suite for American Composers Orchestra, and Nocturne for Orchestra of the Swan in Stratford-upon-Avon, UK. Other recent recordings include Music, Awake! with the Bach Society Chorus, The Blizzard Voices, an oratorio on BMOP Sound, Amorisms on Delos/Naxos, and Violin Concerto on Naxos.
A graduate of Harvard and Columbia universities, he holds the distinguished rank of University Professor at Adelphi University, and recently served as Artist-in-Residence at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton as well as Composer-in-Residence at the American Academy in Rome. His website is www.paulmoravec.com and his works are published by www.subitomusic.com.
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.
Hosted by Adrienne Danrich, and featuring a cast of talented artists:
Guest Soloists:
Marsha Thompson, soprano
Blythe Gaissert, mezzo-soprano
Andrew Garland, baritone
Chris Shelton, Broadway Presbyterian pastor
MaM Ensemble:
Victoria Davis, soprano
Patrice P. Eaton, mezzo-soprano
Cameo Humes, tenor
Scott Tomlinson, bass
Instrumentalists:
Brian Shankar Adler, percussion
Dwight Howard, arranger
James Moore, guitar
Peter Seidenberg, cello
Violetta Zabbi, piano
Creative team:
Adrienne Danrich, creator, host, & executive producer
Alex B. West, associate producer
Jascha Narveson, audio engineer
Paul Moravec, commissioned composer
Drew Hemenger, composer of MaM original theme song
Creative Content Producers:
Meagan Brus
Anne Hiatt
Emily Manzo
Creative Consultants:
Joelle Lamarre
Victoria A. Davis
Production:
Patrick Mahaney, technical director
Lauren Parrish, stage manager
Yuriko Shibata, box office
Jay St. Flono, box office
Music as the Message is presented by The American Opera Project and Opera On Tap, in association with Broadway Presbyterian Church.
JOIN US FOR THE NEXT EPISODE
It Takes a Village
March 27, 2022
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
Founded in 1988, The American Opera Project (AOP) has been at the forefront of contemporary opera for over 30 years. AOP's mission is to develop and present new and innovative works of lyric theater, provide a creative home to emerging and established artists, and engage contemporary communities in a transformative operatic experience. Its works have received critical acclaim at opera companies and venues around the world, establishing a new musical canon that recognizes the operatic story in every life. AOP further expands the operatic field through its training programs The NYU Opera Lab, in partnership with NYU and for students and alumni in The NYU Tisch Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program, and C&V, AOP’s in-house, two-year fellowship program for emerging composers and librettists that provides experience writing for the voice and opera stage.
www.aopopera.org
ABOUT OPERA ON TAP
Opera on Tap (OOT) was born in 2005 at Freddy’s Bar and Backroom in Brooklyn and incorporated in 2007 to promote opera as a viable, living and progressive art form and to support the developing artists who continue to keep the art form alive. What began as a small monthly gathering of ambitious, classically trained singers looking for more performance opportunities, has grown into a producing organization that has gained a loyal audience base and national recognition as an innovative force on the classical music scene. Through its Chapter program, which now has over twenty vibrant national (and international!) chapters, OOT has created a large network of performers, creators, and supporters. Our mission is to expose new audiences to opera and classical music by taking opera and classical music out of the concert hall and performing it in alternative venues, to aid young performers in their development by giving them the opportunity to perform and to promote and support them through our organization and to help promote new classical works of contemporary classical and operatic composers.
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
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
Eloise Grimes
Ginny Thiell
Joel Kalow
Lori Brooks
Chauncey Packer
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
STAFF
Matt Gray General Director
Mila Henry Artistic Director
Meagan Brus Director of Marketing and Communications
Joel Kalow Associate General Manager
Charles Jarden Director of Strategic Planning
Yuriko Shibata Administrative Assistant
Naomi Ramirez Accounting Consultant
W. Wilson Jones Resident Production Stage Manager and Database Administrator
Caitlin Mead, Grant Writer
Alexa Dexa, Grant Writer
Adrienne Danrich Executive Producer and Creator of Music as the Message original series
Intuitive Production Management Production Services
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Anthony Roth Costanzo, Sarah Moulton Faux, J. David Jackson, Charles Jarden, W. Wilson Jones, Mark Kalow, Emily Manzo, Christina B. Murphy, Kevin R. Myers (President), 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), Jessie Montgomery, David Michalek, Ravi Rajan, Kimberly Reed, Huang Ruo, Craig Zobel
The American Opera Project’s current season is made possible by generous support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation, Amphion Foundation, The BMI Foundation, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, the New York State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.
AOP 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.
