George Frederich Handel: Messiah
Friday, December 7, 2001 at 8:00 pm.
Program Notes Texts & Translations
Performing Artists
Bruce Hangen
Guest Conductor
Bruce Hangen is Music Director of the Indian Hill Symphony and Artistic and General Director of the Portland Opera Repertory Theatre in Maine, a company he founded in 1995. A guest conductor of many of the country's leading orchestras, Mr. Hangen has been most closely associated with the Boston Pops and Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra. Since 1979, his ongoing Pops affiliation has included everything from series programs to outdoor touring and private concerts. He has also appeared as guest conductor with such prominent orchestras as the New York Philharmonic, Dallas Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, and the Atlanta, Houston, St. Louis, and Baltimore Symphonies. Mr. Hangen has previously served as Music Director and Conductor of the Omaha Symphony Orchestra, Acting Associate Conductor of the Utah Symphony, Music Director and Conductor of the Portland (Maine) Symphony, Music Director of Denver's Arapahoe Chamber Orchestra, Associate Conductor of the Denver Symphony, and Assistant Conductor of the Colorado Philharmonic. He was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from the University of New England in 1981, and was the recipient of the ICAN Foundation's 1990 Browning Award for Career Excellence and Vision. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music, Mr. Hangen was a conducting fellow for two summers at the Berkshire Music Center at Tanglewood, winning the conducting prize for Outstanding Conducting Fellow in 1973.
Jane Shivick
soprano
Jane Shivick, soprano, recently received high praise for her "...character and vocal richness..." (The New York Times). The Boston Globe has said, "Soprano Jane Shivick has a voice evenly glamorous throughout its compass and an engaging stage presence. She has all the goods and is on her way to great things." Ms. Shivick was a National Winner in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, which awarded her a debut performance and an NPR broadcast with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra under the direction of Sir Charles Mackerras. In 1997, she won second prize in both the Metropolitan Opera New England Regional National Council Auditions and the nationally recognized Rhode Island Bel Canto Vocal Scholarship Competition. Ms. Shivick has been soprano soloist in Verdi: Requiem with the Worcester Symphony and Chorus and with Symphony Pro Musica. She has also performed the soprano solos in Handel: Messiah, Beethoven: Ninth Symphony, and Bruckner: Te Deum, and has been a featured soloist with the Boston Civic Symphony.
Susan Rodgers
alto
Susan Rodgers, alto, graduated with honors from New England Conservatory and received a certificate in Operatic Techniques from Curtis Institute of Music under the tutelage of Boris Goldovsky. She has sung leading roles with Goldovsky Opera National Tour, New York City Opera's Education Department, Pittsburgh Opera Theater, Opera Ensemble of New York, Bronx Opera, Washington Civic Opera, Baton Rouge Opera, Atlanta Lyric Opera, and Southern Regional Opera. Since moving to Rhode Island, she has appeared as soloist with The Rhode Island Civic Chorale, The Providence Singers, The New Music Ensemble, The Oratorio Singers, The Harvard Messiah Sing, and Opera Ad Hoc, and has performed leading roles with Opera Rhode Island, Cabot Street Playhouse, and Ocean State Light Opera. A member of the Music Faculty at Community College of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College, and Providence College, Ms. Rodgers is also the founder and director of the Orchard Place Opera Workshop. She also performs regularly with the Boston Vocal Arts Ensemble.
Ray Bauwens
tenor
Ray Bauwens, tenor, has been characterized by Richard Dyer of The Boston Globe as "the closest thing to an Italian tenor New England has produced" in over 50 years. Recent performances by Mr. Bauwens have included the roles of Riccardo in the Concord Orchestra's perfomance of Un Ballo in Maschera, Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi with the Boston Academy of Music, and Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor with OperaFest of New Hampshire. He has also performed Beethoven: Ninth Symphony with the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra, the Verdi Requiem with the New Philharmonia Orchestra, and the role of Anatol in Boston Academy of Music's production of Samuel Barber: Vanessa. Mr. Bauwens has appeared in Symphony Hall with the Handel and Hadyn Society, and with the Boston Ballet in their world premiere of Lila York: Ode to Joy. Mr. Bauwens' concert and oratorio performances include Rossini: Petite Messe Solennelle; J.S. Bach: B-Minor Mass; Mozart: Solemn Vespers, Requiem, and Mass in C; La Vida Breve by Manuel de Falla; Hector Berlioz: Romeo et Juliette; St. Paul by Felix Mendelssohn; and the Evangelist in Bach: St. John Passion.
Bryan McNeil
bass
Bryan McNeil, bass, has performed roles with Boston Lyric Opera, Opera New England, Michigan Opera Theatre and Salisbury Lyric Opera. Roles with these companies include Peter in Hansel and Gretel, Schaunard in La Boheme, Dancairo in Carmen and the Stranger in Lukas Foss: The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County. He has also been a regular performer with Boston Academy of Music, most recently as Randy Curtis in Kurt Weill: Lady in the Dark. Other roles with Boston Academy include The Learned Judge in Gilbert and Sullivan: Trial by Jury and Friar Tuck in the American Premiere of Sir Arthur Sullivan's grand opera Ivanhoe.
The Indian Hill Symphony Orchestra
The Indian Hill Symphony Orchestra is north central Massachusetts' outstanding regional professional orchestra. Now in its 27th season, the 75-member orchestra has made its mark in bringing high-quality, world-class classical music to the region. Affiliated with Indian Hill Music Center in Littleton, MA, the IHS has performed in over ten area communities, collaborated with many area choruses, and has been featured on WGBH radio's "Classical Performances" program. Acclaimed performers who have appeared with the orchestra in past seasons include clarinetist Richard Stoltzman, violinist Joseph Silverstein, American composer David Amram, BSO concertmaster Malcolm Lowe, and pianists Mia Chung and Russell Sherman. The IHS has over 400 subscribers from some 50 communities and is a member of the Massachusetts Touring Roster of the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
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