2019-2020 Season: “21 and Counting”

“21 and Counting” 21^st Season February concert program features soloists from the local chapter of Opera on Tab performing much loved favorites from the operatic repertoire.

YPSILANTI -- Music Director Adam C. Riccinto and the Ypsilanti Symphony Orchestra (YSO) continue their 21^st season with a concert at Towsley Auditorium Washtenaw Community College on Sunday, February 16 at 3:30pm in which they will “Raise a Glass” with Opera on Tap.

The program will feature selections from Bizet – Carmen Suites 1 and 2, Wagner – Overture to Die Meistersinger, Rossini – Overture to the Barber of Seville, and more.

In keeping with the theme “21 and Counting”, in which each concert features a composition from recent times, the program will feature “Some Enchanted Evening” from the Rogers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific and “Bring Him Home” from Les Miserables.

Opera on Tap is the largest network of operatic performing artists in the country, taking a local and fun approach to performing in their local communities. The Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Chapter of OOT can often be found performing on the first Tuesday of each month at Ypsilanti’s Sidetrack Restaurant. This concert will feature 3 Opera on Tap performers: Ko Kaiden, Jennifer Noel, and Glenn Perry.

Ko Kaiden, Baritone, is a highly versatile musician and a seasoned performer in opera, oratorio and art song, capable of singing in more than ten languages. His performances are enhanced by a deep understanding of human nature and spirituality, informed by his study of psychology and experience as a soloist in a wide spectrum of churches and synagogues. He has performed more than fifty operatic roles in the eastern United States and Poland, including Conte in Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro,” Malatesta in Donizetti’s “Don Pasquale,” Schaunard in Puccini’s “La Bohème,” and Marszałek in “Halka” by Polish composer Moniuszko at the Kennedy Center. Francisco Casanova of the Metroplitan Opera has praised him for his “musical sensitivity” and “intelligence in the delivery of text.” His oratorio solo performances include Messiah, Haydn’s “Creation” (Adam), and Mozart’s “Great Mass in C,” “Requiem” by Mark Hayes, and R V Williams’ “Fantasia on Christmas Carols”. Already master of multiple languages, he expanded his musical and linguistic range by collaborating with Pablo Zinger in performances of Spanish/Latin American art songs, zarzuela and tango music in New York City. He also performed this repertoire in Spain. In addition, he sang at a historical Italian restaurant in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, learning Neapolitan diction and absorbing southern Italian culture. He later visited the Italian island of Ischia in Naples to deepen his skills, and was invited to sing a Neapolitan song at “La Festa di San Vito in Forio d’Ischia.”

A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, soprano Jennifer Noel has been praised as a voice of size and beauty. She recently participated in Opera Soutwest’s Young Artist Program singing the role of Fanny in Rossini’s first opera La cambiale di matrimonio and covering the role of Elsa in Lohengrin. She also recently sang the role of Bridesmaid in Cincinnati Opera’s Le nozze di Figaro. Other notable roles include the Witch and the Mother in Opera Pomme Rouge’s interactive production of Hansel and Gretel at the Queens Museum in New York City, First Lady in The Magic Flute with Miami Music Festival, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni and Contessa Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro at Carnegie Hall, the title role in Suor Angelica with New York Lyric Opera Theatre, Female Chorus in The Rape of Lucretia with Utopia Opera, and Cio Cio San in Madama Butterfly with Opera in the Ozarks. Ms. Noel holds a Masters Degree in Music from the University of Houston and both Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Music from Oberlin Conservatory of Music.

Glenn Perry, Tenor - Glenn studied voice at the University of Michigan. Glenn met his wife at U-M, and they married very soon thereafter. Staying in the Ann Arbor area after school, they started a family, and singing faded into the background for a while. Several years ago, Glenn started singing again. Since then, he has appeared in the area with many different organizations. After a performance with the Ann Arbor Symphony, the Ann Arbor News commented that Glenn's singing helped "truly make the piece - if you'll pardon the expression - a near-religious experience." Operatic appearances have included principal roles in Magic Flute, Die Fledermaus, Marriage of Figaro, Gianni Schicchi, Amahl and the Night Visitors, and Beggar's Opera. Concert performances have included the Verdi Requiem, Mozart Requiem, Mozart's Coronation Mass, Handel's Messiah, Mendelssohn's St. Paul Oratorio, Britten's Cantata Misericordium, and numerous Victor Herbert operettas. The revivals of these Victor Herbert performances culminated in several world-premiere recordings. Glenn began singing with the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti chapter of Opera on Tap in October, 2013 after discovering them by chance on the Sidetrack Bar & Grill website. He took over as co-managing divo with baritone Ko Kaiden in September, 2014. Glenn hopes to help OOT continue to thrive, and to keep bringing opera to those who might never hear it otherwise!

Bizet’s Carmen Suites 1 and 2 are drawn from his 1875 opera Carmen. These orchestral suites familiarized a broad audience with the music and characters of the full opera. The Spanish musical atmostphere of the opera is clear in the Suites which have an extraordinary rhythmic and melodic vitality.

Rossini’s Barber of Seville ranks as one of the supreme examples of Italian comic opera. Rossini represented the conviction that opera is the highest manifestation of the art of song and that its primary purpose is to delight the hearer.

With “Die Meistersingers von Nurnberg” (the Master Singers of Nuremberg), Wagner wrote a love story set during a competition to join the city’s guild of Master Singers during the Renaissance, and the action of the opera revolves around the singing contest between two singers. The Prelude includes the March of the Master Singers, one of Wagner’s most optimistic and well known musical themes.

The YSO is proud of its unique and significant cultural contribution to the Ypsilanti area. The YSO’s mission is “to share our passion for music through innovative programming, creative collaboration, and arts advocacy,” and to “actively contribute to the music appreciation and education of our musicians, organizational members and audience.” Led by Founder and Music Director Adam C. Riccinto, the Symphony marks this 21^st year with its 2019-2020 season.

YSO’s growth has been driven by its partnerships with regional organizations, strengthening community ties and offering diverse musical experiences to its audiences. In addition to the traditional concert season, YSO traditionally works to showcases and collaborate with local performing arts groups. YSO also performs its annual “Ypsi Pops” outdoor concert at Riverside Park in May. Sponsored by the Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Association, this very popular event draws over 500 residents and friends over Memorial Day weekend, to sit by the Huron River and kick off the summer with the music of its own community orchestra.

The YSO’s 21st season will conclude with its last concert of the regular season in April with former Detroit Symphony Orchestra Principal Violist, Alexander Mishnaevski playing electric viola. That concert will be followed with Pops in the Park, a free performance of popular music on May 23, 2020.

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Ypsilanti Symphony Orchestra 21^st Season

“21 and Counting”

Celebrating 21 years of making music by featuring 21^st century composers!

February 16, 2020 3:30 pm

Towsley Auditorium, Washtenaw Community College

4800 E Huron River Dr, Ann Arbor, MI 48105

Program:

Richard Wagner                               Prelude to “Die Meistersingers von Nurnberg”

Gioachino Rossini                           Overture to “The Barber of Seville”

Georges Bizet                                  Carmen Suite No. 1 and 2

Richard Wagner                               “Dich teure Halle” from Tannhauser

Richard Strauss                               “Es Gibt ein Reich” from Ariadne auf Naxos

Giacomo Puccini                             “Vissi d’arte, vissi d’amor” from Tosca

Gioachino Rossini                           “Largo al factotum” from The Barber of Seville

Rogers and Hammerstein               “Some Enchanted Evening” from South Pacific

Georges Bizet                                  “Au fond du temple saint” from The Pearl Fishers

Claude-Michel Schonberg              “Bring Him Home” from Les Miserables

Giacomo Puccini                             “Nessun Dorma” from Turandot

Tickets:

$12/adults, $6/students/seniors/children and $30/family, can be purchased at the door and on A2Tix.com. Season tickets are also available for $40 each.

Future performances will be held at Towsley Auditorium at 3:30pm on April 19, 2020, in addition to the “Ypsi Pops” outdoor concert at Riverside Park on Saturday, May 23, 2020 at 2 pm.