Holy Cross Music Department Announces Spring 2016 Concert Series

The College of the Holy Cross music department will kick off its spring concert schedule on Feb. 2 at 12:30 p.m. with a First Tuesday Lunch Concert performance by Jan Müller-Szeraws, artist in residence (cello), in the Brooks Concert Hall. Performances this spring include an artists-in-residence concert; a Vietnam project performance; the senior recital of Adam Ouellet ’16, tenor; and a performance by critically acclaimed soprano Rochelle Bard ’98.

The Artists-in-Residence concert on Tuesday, Feb. 9, at 8 p.m. in Brooks Concert Hall will showcase Saul Britrán, violin, Jan Müller-Szeraws, cello, Adam Golka, piano, and associate professor of music Chris Arrell, composer, features the world premiere of Arrell’s “Breathless,” which has been described as a swirling kaleidoscope of melody and color. Beloved 18th and 19th century classics will also be performed in collaboration with the music department’s Brook scholars, Ouellet, Christopher Goessling ’18, Teresa Murphy ’19, and Ana Dulskiy ’19.

“Questions for the Moon,” a multi-media song cycle, is a collaboration between composer Shirish Korde, Distinguished Professor of Humanities in the music department, and Karen Turner, professor of history. It will be presented Thursday, March 31 at 8 p.m. in the Brooks Concert Hall. Inspired by stories of the many North Vietnamese women who answered Ho Chi Minh’s call in 1965 for youth volunteers to fight American forces, this music-theater work is a mediation on the boundaries crossed and the potent forces unleashed in wartime.

Video projections for this production are based on archival footage from Karen Turner’s documentary film “Hidden Warriors,” and designed especially for this production by internationally renowned visual artist Raphael Shirley. The world music infused score by Korde will feature Vietnamese performer/composer Van-Anh Vo, Wu-Tong, a dramatic vocalist and performer who is a featured soloist with Yo Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, and the dramatic lyric soprano Sonja Tegbland plus a chamber ensemble of five musicians. The event is co-sponsored by Arts Transcending Borders.

Critically acclaimed soprano Rochelle M. Bard ’98 will perform a concert of arias, lieder, and music from the American Song Book on Thursday, April 5 at 8 p.m. in Brooks Concert Hall. Bard has won top prizes from prestigious national and international vocal competitions. She has appeared on the stages of Boston Lyric Opera, Opera Tampa, Sacramento Opera, Baltimore Opera, Utah Festival Opera, and Tanglewood, performing in “Lucia di Lammermoor,” “Madama Butterfly,” and “The Merry Widow,” and in such roles as Violetta in “La Traviata,” the four heroines in “The Tales of Hoffmann,” and Gilda in “Rigoletto.” She is a sought-after concert artist as well, with recent performances including: Beethoven’s 9th Symphony; Mozart’s Requiem; Handel’s Messiah; Brahms’ Requiem; the role of “Norma” with the Knoxville Opera; and “Tosca” with the Cambridge Symphony.

Adam Ouellet ’16 will perform from Benjamin Britten’s poignant canticle “Still Falls The Rain” for his senior recital on Saturday, Apr. 16, 3 p.m. in Brooks Concert Hall. Ouellet will explore the lighthearted, romantic themes and grim realities in a series of juxtapositions. Light and darkness, realism and impressionism, love and sacrifice, this recital will examine the diverse shades of musical expression across space and time and will also feature music from Schubert, Bach, Britten, Tosti, Faure, and Debussy.

The concert series will also include the following musical performances on campus and throughout the spring semester. All events are free and open to the public. For additional information, please contact the music department events line at 508-793-3503.

Sunday, Feb. 14, 3 p.m. Worcester Symphonic Project Holy Cross Chamber Orchestra Mechanics Hall, Worcester

Thursday, Feb. 18, 8 p.m. Lisa Leong, piano Brooks Concert Hall

Friday Feb. 19, 8 p.m. St. Lawrence String Quartet Brooks Concert Hall Sponsored by Music Worcester in collaboration with the music department

Wednesday, Feb. 24, 8 p.m. Recital Peter Sulski, viola Jonathan Yasuda, piano Brooks Concert Hall

Thursday, Feb. 25, 8 p.m. Trio Tremonti Saul Bitrán, violin Jan Müller-Szeraws, cello Sally Pinkas, piano Brooks Concert Hall

Tuesday, Mar. 1, 12:30 p.m. First Tuesday Lunch Concert Piano students of Adam Golka Brooks Concert Hall

Monday, Mar. 14, 8 p.m. Paul Houghteling, bass baritone Brooks Concert Hall

Tuesday, Mar. 15, 8 p.m. Solo Recital Adam Golka, piano Brooks Concert Hall

Saturday, Mar. 19, 7 p.m. Holy Cross College Choir & Chamber Singers St. Joseph Memorial Chapel

Saturday, Apr. 2, 3 p.m. Boston Gay Men’s Chorus Main Reading Room, Dinand Library

Sunday, Apr. 3, 3 p.m. Holy Cross Chapel Artist Series Senior Recital Abraham Ross, Holy Cross Organ Scholar '16 St. Joseph Memorial Chapel

Tuesday, Apr. 5, 12:30 p.m. First Tuesday Lunch Concert Saul Bitran, violin Brooks Concert Hall

Thursday, Apr. 7, 8 p.m. Inspired by Song Magdalena Filipczak, violin and soprano Adam Golka, piano Brooks Concert Hall

Saturday, Apr. 9, 3 p.m. Senior Recital Meaghan McGeary, piano Lisa Petricca, piano Brooks Concert Hall

Sunday, Apr. 10, 3 p.m. Holy Cross Chapel Artist Series Francis Chapelet & Uriel Valadeau French Concert Organists St. Joseph Memorial Chapel

Tuesday, Apr. 12, 8 p.m. Holy Cross Jazz Ensemble Spring Concert Brooks Concert Hall

Friday, Apr. 15, 8 p.m. Ted Slingerland Talk, Panel Discussion, and Workshop Co-sponsored by Philosophy, Music, Arts Transcending Borders, Asian Studies Brooks Concert Hall

Tuesday, Apr. 19, 8 p.m. Tony Arnold, soprano Jacob Greenberg, piano Brooks Concert Hall

Thursday, Apr. 21, 7 p.m. lecture and 8 p.m. performance Byzantine Chant Brooks Concert Hall

Friday Apr. 22, 8 p.m. Holy Cross College Choir & Chamber Singers Brooks Concert Hall

Wednesday, Apr. 27, 7:30 p.m. Holy Cross Chamber Orchestra Brooks Concert Hall

Tuesday, May 3, 8 p.m. Student and Faculty Recital Brooks Concert Hall

Friday, May 6, 8 p.m. Gamelan Gita Sari Concert Brooks Concert Hall