Category: Public Concerts

LMC Opera: Famous Mothers to be performed at St. John’s Episcopal Church on Friday, May 11 at 7:30pm in Kirkland (click for details and directions) and again on Sunday, May 13 at 3:00pm in Seatac (click for details and directions).

“Nur eine Mutter weiß allein, Was lieben heißt und glücklich sein.” (Only a mother knows what it means to love and be happy)
– from Robert Schumann’s Woman’s love and life

About the performers

Lin Chen keeps herself busy singing and playing the violin as a freelance musician in the Greater Seattle area. Her vocal adventures started at the age of 16 when she started taking singing lessons out of her love for Musical Theatre. It wasn’t long before she started to discover a new interest for Opera and has been singing and learning the classical repertoires ever since. Growing up in Australia, she was fortunate to study with a number of teachers from the Griffith and the Sydney Conservatoriums and was an active participant in the local performance scene. Lin is excited to be a part of LMC and look forward to sharing her music with the LMC community!

Soprano Meg Daly’s most memorable performance came when she stepped in minutes before curtain to sing the Queen of the Night in a Seattle Opera production of Die Zauberflöte. Other roles include Rosalinda (Die Fledermaus, Kitsap Opera), Noëmie (Cendrillon, Puget Sound Concert Opera), soprano soloist in Handel’s Messiah (Peninsula Community Chorus), and Samuel Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 (Tacoma Community College Orchestra). She was a featured musician in Bainbridge Performing Arts’ award-winning production of Amadeus. Ms. Daly received her M.M. in voice from the University of Washington.

Soprano Ki-Jung Jun completed her Masters’ degree at New York University and was in the emerging artist program at Pacific Opera in New York City. Her operatic roles there included Nora (Riders to the Sea), First Knitter (A Game of Chance), Princess (L’enfant et les sortileges) and the role of Hyangdan in Chun-Hyang-Jeon, an opera celebrating the 100th anniversary of Korean immigration in America. In the Northwest, her most recent opera role is Giulietta (Cover) in Bellini’s I Capuletti ed i Montecchi and Caterina in Mascagni’s L’Amico Fritz with Puget Sound Concert Opera.

Joan Lundquist has served as a collaborative pianist for Seattle area musicians and organizations for 30 years. Since moving to the area from Humboldt State University in northern California, where she was staff accompanist, Joan has worked with the Northwest Boychoir, Seattle Choral Company, has taught at Seattle University and Northwest University, and has worked with several area private music teachers. Currently, Ms. Lundquist is the Director of Music at Immanuel Lutheran Church in downtown Seattle and rehearsal accompanist for the Seattle Choral Company.

Mele Santos earned her Masters’ Degree in Vocal Performance at The University of Arizona and a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Brigham Young University. As Magda Sorel in Menotti’s The Consul, the review in The Arizona Daily Star stated: “[Mele Santos] is very intense dramatically. She inhabits the role.” She has performed in Verdi’s La Traviata and Rigoletto, Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Bizet’s Carmen, Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, and numerous opera scenes. She premiered the roles of Agath in Abinadi and Elisa in The Wanderer, both contemporary works by living composers. Mele is an accomplished teacher as well; she currently maintains a voice studio and has served as a guest vocal technique clinician for high school and middle school choral programs in Washington and Arizona.

An outstanding member of the Northwest Musical community for over 20 years, Regina Thomas has performed with a variety of companies including Kitsap Opera, Willamette Concert Opera, Bellevue Opera, Puget Sound Concert Opera, Seattle Opera and the Seattle Opera Guild. Currently, LMC’s trustee of concerts and Artistic Director of Puget Sound Concert Opera, Regina has served as Seattle Opera Guild’s VP of Education and is a past President of LMC. Favorite operatic roles include Adriana Lecouvreur, Suor Angelica, Tosca and Judith (Bluebeard’s Castle). Concert work includes Schumann’s Frauenleibe und-leben, Elgar’s Sea Pictures and Wagner’s Wesendonck-Lieder, soprano solos in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Fauré Requiem and Berio’s Folk Songs for voice and chamber ensemble.

Gwen Trussler, mezzo-soprano, holds Performance degrees from Florida State University (BM/MM) as well as ARRT Certification in Radiography, Computed Tomography, and Magnetic Resonance Imaging. She has appeared with Tacoma Musical Playhouse, Heavier Than Air Theatre, Evergreen Performers, TMP Family Theater, Amici Opera, Operesque, South Georgia Opera, and Florida State Opera. A Wagner enthusiast, she was chosen to perform in the inaugural year of the Baldwin-Wallace Wagner Intensive where she coached with Jane Eaglen, Timothy Mussard, and Nancy Maultsby. Gwen works with MultiCare and Franciscan Health as an MRI Technologist and is also a Voice Over artist specializing in audiobook narration.

Come and see LMC members perform a free concert of songs, duets and music for flute and piccolo on Friday, April 13 starting at 7:30pm at St. John’s Episcopal Church, a new venue as part of LMC’s annual free concert series throughout the Seattle metropolitan area. Click for directions and concert details.

Come early and check out Kirkland’s Art Walk where you can visit downtown Kirkland galleries and businesses and meet with local Kirkland artists. Click for details.

About the performers

Beth Ann Bonnecroy is in demand as a conductor, singer and teacher of voice. In 2013, she joined the music faculty of Seattle Pacific University where she teaches voice and conducts the SPU Women’s Choir. Beth Ann also conducts Vivace, the middle school level singers of the Northwest Girlchoir. With colleague, Rebecca Rottsolk, Beth Ann founded and co-conducts Mirinesse Women’s Choir. Mirinesse received the high honor of performing at the American Choral Directors Association national conference in 2009 and regional conference in 2011. A life-long church musician, Beth Ann has conducted church choirs and handbell choirs of all ages. She is currently a member of the music staff of Phinney Ridge Lutheran church in Seattle where she conducts the Chancel Choir and Handbell Choirs. Also an accomplished soprano, Beth Ann is a frequent recitalist in the Seattle area. Students, aged 15 to adult, fill Beth Ann’s active voice studio. Beth Ann holds a BA of Music in church music/voice from St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN and a Master of Music degree in voice performance from Arizona State University in Tempe, AZ.

Soprano Ya-Li Lee has been performing in the Pacific Northwest since relocating here in 2004. Recently, Ya-Li was a featured soloist in Brahms’ Girls with Gallery Concerts. Other performances include New Year’s Eve Gala with St. James Cathedral and world premiere performances of a scene from the opera Road to Zion by Dolora Zajick as well as The St. Cecilia Cantata and The Seven Last Words by Patrick Stoyanovich. In reference to her performance of The Seven Last Words, the noted music journalist Bernard Jacobson has written: “Ya-Li Lee, who had by far the largest assignment of the three excellent soloists, has a fine voice and used it with skill and taste.”

Joan Lundquist has served as a collaborative pianist for Seattle area musicians and organizations for 30 years. Since moving to the area from Humboldt State University in northern California, where she was staff accompanist, Joan has worked with the Northwest Boychoir, Seattle Choral Company, has taught at Seattle University and Northwest University, and has worked with several area private music teachers. Currently, Ms. Lundquist is the Director of Music at Immanuel Lutheran Church in downtown Seattle and rehearsal accompanist for the Seattle Choral Company.

A second Prize winner in the National Flute Association’s Young Artist Competition, a Carnegie Hall Recital Debut winner with Artists International, and a First Prize winner in the Carmel Chamber Music Society Competition, Dr. Kris Palmer is the founder and director of Black Cedar, an ensemble championing new commissions for flute, cello, and guitar. She is a former member of the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra of Albuquerque, and she is currently Principal Flutist with Island City Opera. With a D.M.A. from Rice University in 18th century ornamentation, Dr. Palmer maintains a private studio in Kirkland.

Join LMC with a concert celebrating National Poetry Month with LMC members performing original works this Wednesday, April 11 at 12:00 at the Seattle Public Library-Central Branch.

National Poetry Month each April is the largest literary celebration in the world, with tens of millions of readers, students, K-12 teachers, librarians, booksellers, literary events curators, publishers, bloggers, and, of course, poets marking poetry’s important place in our culture and our lives. Read more about National Poetry Month at the poets.org website.

Click for details about the program.

About the performers at this Wednesday’s concert:

Janet Anderson grew up in Kent, Ohio, and studied music and philosophy at St. Olaf College in Minnesota. Since moving to Seattle in 1992, she has been active as both a pianist and composer, focusing on art song and chamber music. Her compositions have been featured locally on the Ladies Musical Club series, on Classical KING FM 98.1, and at various other venues in Washington State. She teaches piano students of all ages at her home in north Seattle.

Matthew Briggs (guest artist) received his Bachelor of Music degree in composition from Indiana University Jacobs School of music where he studied composition with Sven-David Sandström and percussion with Anthony Cirone. Matthew has performed original compositions at LMC concerts with his wife and LMC member Candice Chin. Matthew is currently studying composition with John Muehleisen.

Jill Carlsen, recorder, has performed with LMC as a soprano soloist, and for the past couple of years has been migrating back to her roots as an instrumentalist. She studies recorder with Vicki Boeckman and plays as a soloist and in ensembles such as the New Baroque Orchestra, Recorder Orchestra of Puget Sound, and Trillium recorder trio. Jill received a degree in piano performance from UW Madison. For her day job, Jill has worked for many years in the software industry, currently as a technical writer and content strategist.

Hilary Field is a past winner of the Northwest Young Artist Series Competition and was the first guitarist to win the Ladies Musical Club (Frances Walton) Competition. She has held faculty positions as the head of the Guitar department atSeattle Pacific University and Pacific Lutheran University. Hilary was recently sponsored by the US Embassy to performand tour in South America, and has been a featured performer in international guitar festivals in Perú, Chile, Québec, and New York. Her latest CD, “Premieres,” features new works for guitar that were composed and dedicated to her. www.hilaryfield.com

Joan Lundquist has served as a collaborative pianist for Seattle area musicians and organizations for 30 years. Since moving to the area from Humboldt State University in northern California, where she was staff accompanist, Joan has worked with the Northwest Boychoir, Seattle Choral Company, has taught at Seattle University and Northwest University, and has worked with several area private music teachers. Currently, Ms. Lundquist is the Director of Music at Immanuel Lutheran Church in downtown Seattle and rehearsal accompanist for the Seattle Choral Company.

Dawn Padula, mezzo-soprano, (http://dawnpadula.com) is a versatile performer of opera, oratorio, musical theatre, jazz and classical concert repertoire. Opera roles include Carmen, Azucena (Il Trovatore), Ruth (Pirates of Penzance), Cherubino (Le Nozze di Figaro), Suzuki (Madama Butterfly), Meg (Falstaff), The Third Lady (Magic Flute), the Witch (Hansel and Gretel), Maddalena (Rigoletto), Isabella (Italian Girl in Algiers), Erika (Vanessa), and the Sorceress (Dido and Aeneas.) In the Pacific Northwest, she has performed with Tacoma Opera, Kitsap Opera, Concert Opera of Seattle, PLU’s Jazz Under the Stars, Puget Sound Concert Opera, the Tacoma Concert Band, the Oregon Symphony, the Portland Symphonic Choir, the Seattle Bach Choir, the Second City Chamber Series, Classical Tuesdays in Old Town Tacoma Concert Series, Lakewood Playhouse, and Opera Pacifica. With Seattle Opera, she is a Teaching Artist and a member of the Supplementary Chorus. In June 2017, she toured to Varna and Sofia, Bulgaria as the mezzo-soprano soloist in Mozart’s Requiem with the Pazardzhik Symphony. In August 2017, she released her debut classical solo album, Gracious Moonlight, featuring Dominick Argento’s Pulitzer Prize winning song cycle, From the Diary of Virginia Woolf. Dr. Padula is currently the Director of Vocal Studies at the University of Puget Sound School of Music.

Finnish born soprano, Tiina Ritalahti, has performed throughout Washington with Northwest Opera in Schools Etcetera, Puget Sound Opera, Ladies Musical Club and Puget Sound Concert Opera. She has sung such roles as the First Spirit and Pamina in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Despina in Così fan tutte, Lisa in Bellini’s La sonnambula, Lucy in The Telephone, Monica in The Medium, Laetitia in The Old Maid and the Thief, Ännchen in Der Freischütz by Weber, and Cis in Britten’s Albert Herring. Further, she played Belisa in local composer Kam Morrill’s Love’s Fool. Recently, Tiina sang Olympia in Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffman. Her passion for singing also extends to art song repertoire, which she performs regularly in recitals and festivals around western Washington.

Kathryn Zufall grew up in New Jersey playing string quartets with her sisters. She graduated from Barnard College in mathematics, and then received her MD from Harvard Medical School. After moving to the Northwest she studied violinwith Emanuel Zetlin and Martin Friedmann while still practicing internal medicine and raising 3 sons. She plays chamber music with friends in the Seattle area, and hosts chamber music weekends at her summer home near Snohomish. This season at Seattle Public Library, Central Branch: Wednesdays at noon May 9, 2018German song and Appalachian Spring for solo piano (C. Menschner and McCullough, piano) For the most current information on all our concerts and/or to sign up for the mailing list, go to our website: www.lmcseattle.org

A concert of piano music by Mozart and Chopin as well as a Brahms viola sonata will be featured at the April 7 concert at the Frye Art Museum beginning at 2pm.

Bethany Pho, pianist, performed for recitals, weddings, special events and department stores throughout her school years. She holds a B.A. in Music and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Colorado, and a Masters in Design Methods from Illinois Institute of Technology. After graduating college, she worked as an engineer/design researcher and played for special events when possible. Piano performance is her true passion and she continually seeks out opportunities to share her music skills. While working as an engineer at The Boeing Company she was inspired by the opportunity to compose music for trade show displays and provide guidance for advertising music. She is now a mother of two boys, revitalizing her music career after realizing how the pursuit of music adds a depth of understanding to every aspect of life.

Born in Taipei, Taiwan, Grace Huang began studying the piano at age five. She earned a Doctoral of Musical Arts degree in piano performance at the University of Washington School of Music, where she studied with Dr. Robin McCabe. As a winner of prestigious Brechemin Scholarship and Elizabeth Goldmann Award, she also had the privilege of working with Seattle Symphony musicians and working in masterclasses with internationally acclaimed pianists. She hopes to share her enthusiasm for music as a solo and collaborative pianist with the community.

Violist Yi Zhou is pursuing a diverse career as a violin/viola teacher, chamber musicianand soloist. She has appeared in many music venues across North America, Europe and China. Yi has been featured at Benaroya Hall, Nordstrom Recital Hall, Meany Hall for the Performing Arts, Chinese Embassy in France and Université de Poitiers etc. She has played the principal viola in a number of orchestras including the UW Symphony. She has also performed at a number of master classes, including those given by Garth Knox, Yizhak Schotten, Manchin Zhang, among others. Yi received her Master’s degree on Viola Performance from University of Washington, supervised by Professor Melia Watras. She has another Master’s degree in Violin Performance from Wuhan Conservatory of Music. Before coming to the US, she was Assistant Professor of the School of Music in Nanchang University.

Click for more details about the concert and location.