70th Anniversary Concert: Haydn, Gjeilo, Tin
Notes Worthy
April 12, 2018
It was an event of high note when the Santa Barbara Choral Society celebrated its 70th anniversary and the 25th anniversary of its director, Jo Anne Wasserman, with two well-attended concerts at the First Presbyterian Church, which included alumnae from past decades.
Highlight of the performances was German composer Franz Joseph Haydn’s 1798 work Missa in Angustiis, better known as Lord Nelson’s Mass, especially poignant in light of the recent catastrophes.
The program also included works by Ralph Vaughan Williams, Ola Gjeilo, and Christopher Tin, with soloists soprano Rena Harms, tenor Benjamin Brecher, bass Ralph Cato, and mezzo Nina Yoshida Nelsen.
The event also offered free tickets to fire and flood first responders. Music to everyone’s ears.
Bravo!
American baritone, Ralph Cato has travelled the world extensively, telling stories in song with his warm, clarion baritone voice.
Tenor, Benjamin Brecher has performed over fifty operatic roles with many of the world’s most prestigious opera companies, specializing in the high lying lyric tenor repertoire. He has performed 16 roles with New York City Opera alone. Career highlights include performances with Opera Orchestra of New York, L’Opera de Nice, Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, L’Opera de Montreal, Santa Fe Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, among many others. His orchestral solo repertoire includes Mozart, Handel, Orff, Bach, Haydn, as well as many performances of Britten. In 2000 he began performing the great Irish Tenor songs in a concert produced for him entitled A Celtic Celebration, Twenty years later, the show has become a North American hit with performances with 45 Symphonies in North America. Ben continues his discography having added his twelfth recording in 2016 Forgotten Liszt, with pianist Robert Koenig, and will record a new release in 2022 entitled “Three Centuries of Thomas Moore” including the music of Britten, Berlioz, and Sarah Gibson on MSR Classics. He is a Professor of Voice at University of California Santa Barbara, where he has served as the Head of Voice.
Born and raised in Southern California, April Amante is a versatile soprano with expertise and facility in repertoire spanning from early music to contemporary musical theater.
Tracy Van Fleet is pleased to return to the Santa Barbara Choral Society. As a soloist, she has performed with the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Lüneburg Symphony in Germany, Orquesta Filarmónica de Boca del Río in Mexico, Pasadena Symphony, Naples Philharmonic, Los Angeles Bach Festival, San Diego Chamber Orchestra, Colorado Philharmonic, USC Symphony and Chorus, and others. She has had many appearances with the Los Angeles Opera, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pacific Symphony, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Opera Pacific, San Diego Opera and Opera Colorado.