high%notes% pikes%peakopera%leaguenewsleer … · 2019-04-05 · upcoming!ppol!programs!and!events!...
TRANSCRIPT
High Notes Pikes Peak Opera League Newsle5er
May-‐June, 2019 The 40th Anniversary CelebraFon Year
A Message from your PPOL President, Dr. Susan Rae Jensen
Happy Spring! (we can only hope so.) We have had an extensive schedule of programs and special events in March and April inclusive of the smashing 40th Anniversary CelebraKon on March 30, the Young Voice events in March with a Master Class for these select high school voice students followed by the Young Voice concert, the cello and mezzo program at first part of March, and then the Career Advancement Awards presentaKon and concert in April. You have all been so supporKve and you are so appreciated.
The March 6 program featuring Pam Chaddon, cello, and Valerie Nicolosi, mezzo, was exquisite in the beauKful seUng of the Carriage House at the Penrose Conference Center. Much appreciaKon goes out to our performers, and to Charles and Judy Warren for defraying the costs of our conKnental breakfast refreshments! Our Young Voice Events were at Colorado College on March 10 for the Master Class with Kate Johnson, and March 15 for the Concert. We appreciate the enthusiasm and parKcipaKon of these high school students as well as their coaches and voice teachers. The PPOL fabulous 40th Anniversary CelebraKon was at the El Paso Club featuring Jennifer DeDominici, mezzo, and Dan Brink, piano, in the fantasKc program, “Legacies: Past, Present, and Future.” Thank you to Dr. Darryl and Terry Thatcher for securing this venue for us and to our sponsors: The Tiemens FoundaKon and Wells Fargo Private Bank, Dr. Susan Rae Jensen and Tom Trainer. Also, a big shout out to our members and friends for your support to make this a most special event with proceeds going to the Vocal Arts FesKval Scholarship Fund! On April 3, the PPOL program was at MacLaren School where our annual Career Advancement Awards were given to ChrisKana McMullen and Griffin Hogue Tracy. Congrats and thanks for the superb concert! Many thanks to Victoria Boswell for sponsoring and catering the recepKon!
OUR RECENT PROGRAMS AND EVENTS—photos are featured in upcoming pages
UPCOMING PPOL PROGRAMS AND EVENTS
May Day 40th Anniversary Spring Luncheon—May 1 beginning at 10:30 am at The Pinery at the Hill, 775 W. Bijou St. MarKle and her singers will be presenKng the program “The Fresh New Face of Opera Theatre” which will highlight the upcoming summer fesKval season with Vocal Arts FesKval and the season finale of Puccini’s one act operas, Suor Angelica and Gianna Schicchi. Please see invite on the next page, page 3. Luncheon is $35 for members and $45 for nonmembers. Cash bar will be available. June 1, “Songs for a Summer Night” special event is a champagne soiree, sponsored and organized by Fran Pilch to benefit PPOL scholarship funds. DonaKons will be requested at the event. The soiree will be at the Pikes Peak PalliaKve Care Center, 2550 Tenderfoot Hill Rd, from 7-‐9 pm featuring singers Kate Johnson & Peter Tuff with accompaniment by Kelly Zuercher. The venue has a splendid Steinway piano. No RSVP or Kcket required. Invite is featured on page 4.
OTHER PLACES TO HEAR OPERA, MUSICAL THEATRE, & VOCAL ARTS IN OUR REGION
May 4-‐12, Opera Colorado—Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro at Ellie Caulkins Opera House in Denver. For more informaKon and Kckets go to: operacolorado.org May 11—X Vox Concert of combined choirs, including Summit Ensemble of the Children’s Chorale, presents the Mozart Requiem. For more informaKon please go to: kidssing.org May 11—Met in HD, Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmelites. Theaters in our region that will be showing this producKon: Cinemark Tinseltown, Cinemark Carefree Circle, and Interquest Stadium 14. Please check start Kme with the specific theater. June 30-‐July 21—Opera Theatre of the Rockies Vocal Arts FesKval. Puccini’s one act operas, Suor Angelica and Gianna Schicchi will conclude the FesKval. For detailed calendar please go to operatheatreopherockies.org July 11 and 13—Verdi’s Tosca with a re-‐imagined stage seUng with the Philadelphia Philharmonic as part of Bravo Vail! at the Gerald Ford Amphitheatre, Vail. For more info please go to bravovail.org July/August—Aspen Music FesKval: Sondheim’s A Li5le Night Music at Wheeler Opera House, July 11 & 13, Renee Fleming with Master Class on July 30 and in concert with Emerson String Quartet on Aug 1. For more informaKon go to: aspenmusicfesKval.org June 28-‐August 24—Santa Fe Opera producKons, La Boheme, The Pearl Fishers, Jenufa, The Thirteenth Child, and Cosi fan tu5e. For more informaKon, go to santafeopera.org July/August—Central City Opera summer season, Madama Bu5erfly and Billy Budd operas on the main stage with The Blessed Damozel and Litanies to the Black Virgin in an inKmate venue. For more informaKon, go to centralcityopera.org
Where Are They Now?
Annamarie Zmolek
Colorado naKve Annamarie Zmolek has been described as “memorable and stunning” by the American Record Guide. The soprano recently sang on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera as a Semi-‐finalist in the NaKonal Council AudiKons, having won first place in the Southwest region. One week prior to that compeKKon, she gave a criKcally acclaimed performance as Violeua in La Traviata with Opera Theatre of the Rockies. More recently, she appeared as Pamina in The Magic Flute, Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus, Mimì in La Bohème, and Naiad in Ariadne auf Naxos. Ms. Zmolek spent two summers as an ApprenKce ArKst with Central City Opera, where she sang the student performances of the Ktle role in Lucia di Lammermoor and Micaëla in Carmen. She also sang Mrs. Anderssen in the mainstage producKon of Sondheim’s A Li5le Night Music, where her performance was praised by Opera News for its “sophisKcaKon”. AddiKonally, she has performed with Piedmont Opera, Wichita Grand Opera, Green Mountain Opera FesKval, Kingwood Summer Opera, Colorado Springs Philharmonic, University of Wyoming Symphony, Colorado College Summer Music FesKval, Concord Chorale, and Seraphic Fire. Besides operaKc credits, her oratorio performances include the soprano solos in Handel’s Messiah, Brahms’ Requiem, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, Vivaldi’s Gloria, Fauré’s Requiem, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Mozart’s Mass in C minor, and Stravinsky’s Les Noces. Ms. Zmolek completed her Bachelor of Music at the Eastman School of Music, and was also awarded the Performer’s CerKficate in Voice. She sang the roles of NighKngale (NighFngale), Beggar Woman (Sweeney Todd), and Mrs. Gleaton (Susannah) with Eastman Opera Theater. She won the concerto compeKKon and performed Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with the Eastman Philharmonia. A few months later she reprised the piece with the New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra as the winner of their Young ArKst CompeKKon. Aperward, she completed her Master’s Degree at Rice University and performed the roles of Donna Anna in Don Giovanni and Prima Donna in DonizeU’s Viva la Mamma. For 7 years, Ms. Zmolek was an acKve teacher and performer in Houston. She served as a vocal instructor at Prairie View A & M University while maintaining a busy private studio of voice and piano lessons. Her students have ranged from young beginners to adult students looking to improve or regain their musical skills. Many of her former students are acKve performers in Texas and beyond. She spent the last 9 years as a Staff Singer at St. MarKn’s Episcopal, performing a wide range of choral and solo sacred music. Her passion for sacred music brought her all over greater Houston, where she has appeared in recital, in church services, and in oratorio performances at numerous churches. Last fall Ms. Zmolek moved to the Boston area, and has been teaching voice at several studios and singing at Old West Church. She teaches future Broadway triple threats at Wilmington Dance, budding actors at South Shore School of Theater, and a wide range of voices young and old at LB Music Center in Medford. She spent the summer teaching talented high school voice students at the Boston University Tanglewood InsKtute, and is delighted to be returning this coming summer. She looks forward to returning to this year’s Colorado College Summer Music FesKval as the soprano soloist in the Brahms Requiem, a piece near and dear to her heart.
Caroline Carr Caroline Carr was the winner of the PPOL Young Voice CompeKKons for the very first compeKKon in 2013 and she was a guest singer in Dr. Susan Rae Jensen’s concert in June of 2013, the first of the current PPOL “Songs for a Summer Night” series. Carolyn or “Charlie” is currently living in Boston where she graduated from Emerson College in 12/17 with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Performance. During her college career with mulKple performing opportuniKes, her favorite role was that of Aunt Spiker in James and the Giant Peach. This past year, she was featured in the American Repertory Theatre’s producKon, The Donkey Show. Other arKsKc pursuits include a painKng instructor, an American Sign Language interpreter hoping to expand into deaf theater, and a model recently featured on Vogue Italia’s website. “I want to express my sincere appreciaKon to Pikes Peak Opera League for the Young Voice CompeKKon opportunity which encouraged me to pursue an arts career.”
More, Where Are They Now?
Member Spotlight Helene Knapp Longstanding PPOL member, Helene was honored this past year with the Mayor’s “Spirit of the Springs Award” for her work to bring the exhibit “The League of Wives: Vietnams’ POW/MIA Allies and Advocates” to the Pioneers Museum, as well her receiving the Lucky Herzberger annual award from the Pioneers Museum. She has been a local and naKonal leader in the NaKonal League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia to advocate for those Vietnam POW/MIA families. Her husband, Air Force Col. Herman Knapp, was a fighter pilot and went missing in 1967 when his plane was shot down during the Vietnam war and she did not know his status. Helene joined with other POW/MIA wives to protest the “keep quiet policy” so as to bring awareness to the plight of tortured POWs with Communist refusal to obey the Geneva ConvenKons.“Those years living in limbo, I didn’t know whether I was a wife or a widow.” Our grateful thanks to Helene and her husband for their service.
Helene Knapp meeKng with President Nixon to advocate
for POW/MIA wives
Helene receiving the Mayor’s “Spirit of the Springs” Award.
More PPOL Member Stories
Meet New Member, Nora Durham Nora was born and raised in Swansboro, North Carolina. She began working for the Department of Defense (DOD) at the US Marine Corps Air StaKon at Cherry Point, NC. With a Computer Science degree, she also worked for the US Navy, the US Army Europe in Heidelberg, Germany, with duKes that included being the liaison between the European Command and NATO and the Defense LogisKcs Agency in Richmond, Virginia and Dayton, Ohio. Aper 38 years as a DOD civil servant, Nora reKred and moved to Kissing Camels in 2005. Aper reKrement, she enjoyed a short sKnt with the David Glass Technology Center within the Headquarters of Walmart in Bentonville, AR. Currently, Nora is the President of AutomaKc Technology Spectrum, LLC, and provides consultaKon services dealing with all facets of informaKon technology. She enjoys downhill skiing, cycling and is a PADI cerKfied SCUBA diver. Nora is a member of the Kissing Camels Women’s Club, Blazer Ski Club and Webmaster for Friendship Force Pikes Peak Region. Her volunteer work includes the Space FoundaKon and the US Olympics Training Center. Nora has a daughter, Devon Hurst, and 2 grandchildren, Jessica and Hayden, who live in North Carolina.
Meet New Member, Anne Young Previously living in Colorado Springs in 1973-‐75, we returned in 1985 so I have been here for 34 years. In the past, I was acKve in Meals on Wheels and drove weekly for 16 years. I am on the Development Board of NaKonal Jewish Health in Denver and and very acKve in Catholic ChariKes here in the Springs. Although I have not played golf for several years, I was the President of the Nine Hole League at the Air Force Academy. I spend a few months a year on Maui where I have had a second home for 18 years. I have been a widow for almost 12 years and about 4 years ago started a Monday evening dinner group with a few of my widow girlfriends. It has grown and we now have about 16 ladies in our group. Although they all travel extensively as I do, we sKll have at least 10 each week. I have auended the Colorado Springs Philharmonic since the 1980’s and have enjoyed trips abroad with that group of music lovers. And I am looking forward to meeKng new friends of music in PPOL! Note from the Board—we are grateful to Anne for her generous donaKon to Young Voice events this year for scholarships.
Meet New Member, Kim Gunderson Kim Gunderson is a MarkeKng Client Associate at Wells Fargo Advisors, serving the offices of Deron Hickman and Herman Tiemens. Kim provides concierge client services and coordinates special occasions and is also involved with community outreach for the Tiemens FoundaKon, where she assists with events and sponsorships. Kim has been serving the community in Colorado Springs for over 30 years, formerly in the senior services industry. She gained experience in both community relaKons and administraKon prior by providing senior recreaKon programming for the City of Colorado Springs. Kim has served as a volunteer and board member in local organizaKons, including the Alzheimer’s AssociaKon, CU Aging Center and the Senior Resource Council. Kim currently splits her Kme between Colorado Springs and a more relaxing lifestyle in Summit County.
PHOTOS from PPOL March-‐April Programs and Special Events
March 6 Program at the Carriage House Program: Voice and Cello Upliped in Glorious Song
featuring Valerie Nicolosi, mezzo, and Pam Chaddon, cello
Greeters, Kathy Winnick & Nancy Daly (seated) with Lee Ann Mjelde-‐Mossey
Cellist, Pam Chaddon, with Susan Loring
Carole Harper, Shirlee Doughty, Sally Younge, Sue Anselmi, and Robert Mossey
Herman Tiemens, Kim Gunderson, and Cherri Disque
Gloria Wendt and Sally Younge Ingrid Liurell, Judy and Charles Warren, and Jimmy Snyder
More Photos from March 6 Program
Dr. Susan Rae Jensen and Tom Trainer
Barbara Haywood, MarK Booth, and Connie Raub
Our Program: Pam Chaddon, cello, and Valerie Nicolosi, mezzo
Lu Benning, Joanie Huggins, Deanna Lyons, and Judy Rogers
Libby Riuenberg and Victoria Boswell
Evelyn Kwaak, Susan Loring, and Shirlee Doughty
Photos from PPOL’s 40th Anniversary Ruby CelebraKon
Kim Gunderson, Herman Tiemens, and Dr. Susan Rae Jensen
Joanie Huggins, Judy Rogers, Joan Agee, and Lesly & Michael Blend
Carol and Jim Montgomery Venue Hosts: Dr. Darryl & Terry Thatcher
Mark Dempsey and MarK Booth Gwen and Don Jenkins
The PPOL 40th Anniversary CelebraKon
Linda Johnson, Sharon King, Annabel Widney, and Sue Anselmi
Mike, Solveig, and Pat Olsen
Julie and Bryan Waus Sally and Eric Younge
Dr. Susan Rae Jensen and Tom Trainer
Greeters: Connie Joiner, Nancy Daly, and Lu Benning
Ruben Manuel and Garry Pasby
The PPOL 40th Anniversary CelebraKon
Mike and Elizabeth Leslie Robin Tacke, Tamara Teske Lenz, and Connie Joiner
Eva Hailbronner, Beuy Schwartz, and Hedy Ducharme
Libby Riuenberg and Nasit Ari
Cindy Crater, Rex Kramer, and Mary Koepp
Garry and Nancy Piuman
The PPOL 40th Anniversary CelebraKon
The Program
Jennifer DeDomnici’s performance
The appreciaKve audience Dan Brink and Jennifer
Jennifer with OTR arKsKc director, MarKle Rowland
Don Jenkins with Jennifer
Young Voice Events
Young Voice Master Class with Dan Brink and Kate Johnson
Young Voice Concert
April 3 Career Advancement Concert at MacLaren School
Career Advancement Award Winners: ChrisKana McMullen, soprano and Griffin Hogue Tracy, bass
ChrisKana and Griffin in concert with Dan Brink
MarKle Rowland with ChrisKana, Griffin, & Dan
April 3 Career Advancement Concert and RecepKon
Rex Kramer, Cindy Crater, Don & Ann Jaeger
Gloria Wendt, Connie Joiner, and Victoria Boswell
Jane Powell, Elizabeth Wieland, and Judy Warren
Helene Knapp, Sue Anselmi, and MacLaren School director, Joy Oram
Tom Trainer and Evelyn Kwaak Elizabeth Leslie and Lu Benning