From the same group that brought last year's popular "Topsy Turvy World of Gilbert & Sullivan," the Flickers Chamber Music Ensemble presents: "Dream With Me: Music for soprano, tenor, piano and cello," under the artistic directorship of Eric R. Bronner. The special concert features the talents of Elizabeth Gondek, soprano; Eric Bronner, tenor; Nancy Nicholson, piano; and Daniel Harp, cello.
Playful contemporary music combines with elegant classical era and lush romantic era music for this concert of lively, dreamy, and emotionally expressive chamber music for cello, voices and piano.
Audiences will enjoy the bright rhythms, beautiful melodies and modern harmonies of selections by Bernstein, Foss, and Poulenc, in some rarely performed pieces along with familiar favorites.
Highlighted in the concert are three stunning chamber music works. Schubert's "Auf dem Strom" for soprano, cello and piano depicts the excitement and drama of a journey at sea in perfect classical era elegance. Schumann's "Selections in Folk Style" for cello and piano charmingly portrays the carefree side of German country life in heartfelt romantic expression. Quilter's "Three Pastoral Songs" for tenor, cello and piano cheerfully combines Celtic dance rhythms with Impressionistic harmonies set to delightful poetry that paints a romantic picture of rural life in the British Isles.
In addition, concertgoers will hear two tour de force soprano and tenor arias from Mozart's operatic masterpiece "Don Giovanni," displaying vocal fireworks and stirring emotional expression.
More engaging musical surprises await the audience in this program sure to delight all, presented by some of the region’s well respected and highly renowned musicians.
The event's premiere will take place at the historic Bell Street Chapel, 5 Bell Street, Providence on Sunday, April 11th at 3:00 p.m. Tickets are $20 general admission. Senior and student discounts offered. To order call 401-861-4445 or purchase tickets at the door. Advance tickets can be purchased below.
Online Ticket Purchase:
Tickets are $20 per person and are available now
The Who, What and Where of it:
WHAT: Premiere Concert: "Dream With Me: Music for soprano, tenor, piano and cello"
WHEN: Sunday, April 11, 2010, 3:00 p.m.
WHERE: Bell Street Chapel, 5 Bell Street, Providence, RI
WHO: The Flickers Chamber Music Ensemble under the musical direction of Eric R. Bronner, produced by Flickers Arts Collaborative, creator of the Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF)
HOW MUCH: Tickets are $20 general admission. Senior and student discounts offered. To order call 401-861-4445 or purchase tickets at the door.
WHY: To support FLICKERS: Rhode Island International Film Festival. Monies raised by this program will support high school and college students to study film and media arts. RIIFF is a 501-C(3) non-profit organization. Contributions are tax deductible as allowed by law.
About the Artists:
Eric R. Bronner, tenor of Riverside, RI, directed and performed in last year’s successful “Topsy Turvey World of Gilbert & Sullivan.” He has performed as a soloist at the Aldeburgh Music Festival in England, and roles nationally at the Napa (CA) Zarzuela Festival, Townsend Opera (Modesto, CA), First Coast Opera (St. Augustine, FL), and as a guest soloist at several mid-western colleges. His performances have aired on NPR, PBS, and the BBC. He performs regularly with American Classics (Boston), Opera Providence (RI), and has sung many roles with Longwood Opera (Boston), and Ocean State Light Opera (Providence), and as a soloist with the Newport Baroque Orchestra, and the Providence Singers. Press reviews include “terrific” by the St. Augustine Record (FL), “impressive” by the Stockton Record (CA), “a clear tenor voice that beautifully sailed with ease” in the Providence Journal (RI), and “deft comic acting” in the Boston Globe (MA). Favorite roles include Ferrando (Cosi), Tamino (Flute), Pedrillo (Seraglio), Alfred (Fledermaus), Basilio (Figaro), Ralph (Pinafore), Nanki-Poo (Mikado), among others. He teaches voice, speech, aesthetics, articulation and diction at Roger Williams University and Salve Regina University. He earned his M.M. on scholarship from Longy School of Music (Cambridge, MA), a B.A. in Theatre from Purdue University, an M.S. in Journalism from Ohio University, and studied on scholarship at the Britten-Pears School for Advanced Musical Studies in England. He is a Certified McClosky Voice Technician and Certified in LoVetri Somatic Voice Work. He is a two-time recipient of the Rhode Island Foundation Arts Education Award. He has had three articles published in the NATS Journal of Singing. He currently serves as artistic director/founder of the newly formed Flickers Chamber Music Ensemble.
Elisabeth Gondek, soprano, has performed with groups all over Massachusetts in such roles as Countess Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro, Laurentia in The Beautiful Bridegroom, the Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors and Casilda in The Gondoliers, and most recently as Amalia in She Loves Me. Elisabeth has also been a frequent concert soloist with St. Paul's Cathedral Choir, the College of the Holy Cross Chapel Choir, and St. John's Church. She received her Bachelor of Music in Education and Performance from Anna Maria College. She has performed many solo and duo recital programs throughout Massachusetts as well as concert series programs with various groups. The spring and summer performance season brings Cosi fan tutte, The Magic Flute, and Lucia di Lammamour to her schedule. Elisabeth also teaches music at Here We Grow Pre-School in Auburn and runs a vocal studio at The Joy of Music Program in Worcester.
Daniel Harp, of Cranston, RI, is a professional cellist performing in the New England area and is on the applied music faculty of the Brown University Music Department. He studied the cello at the University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music on a full scholarship with concert cellist Lynn Harrell and chamber music with the LaSalle String Quartet. He also studied in classes by eminent concert cellists Janos Starker and Zara Nelsova, and with members of the Beaux Arts Trio and the Juilliard String Quartet. In his debut as a concert cellist, he performed "Schelomo" by Ernst Bloch with the Charleston (SC) Symphony Orchestra, and was called a "Master of the Cello" by the Charleston Evening Post. He has subsequently performed as soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States. He has been principal cellist of the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, the Charleston Symphony Orchestra and the Cincinnati Ballet Orchestra, and has performed as cellist with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and the Rhode Island Philharmonic. Mr. Harp was the founding cellist of the Charleston String Quartet, Quartet-in-Residence at Brown University from 1983 to 2001. The Quartet performed hundreds of concerts throughout New England, the United States and Europe. He has performed many premiers by American and European composers and has recorded works of Samuel Adler and Amy Beach, among others, for Albany Records and Gasparo Records. He has written for Chamber Music Magazine, lectured on classical music and appeared numerous times on radio and television.
Nancy Nicholson, piano, of Providence, RI, has appeared as piano soloist regionally, nationally, and abroad at the Salle Cortot and Schola Cantorum (Paris) and Royal Festival Hall’s Purcell Room (London). A specialist in French music, she was twice a featured performer at the prestigious French Piano Institute in Paris. She appears in chamber music performances with singers and instrumental musicians throughout Southern New England. Her latest passion, the organ works of J.S. Bach, has led to formal organ study and a performance on the organ this January of music by Bach and Chabrier. She has served on the music faculties of Notre Dame University (Philippines), Cape Cod Conservatory, Cape Cod Community College, the Wheeler School in Providence, and operates her own thriving music studio in Providence. Nancy Nicholson and Eric Bronner, along with soprano Julibeth Andrews, performed with the trio "Music for a While" for 11 years, and founded and directed the Jamestown Chamber Music Series for six seasons.
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Our Special Thanks:Caitlin Kraft, poster design; Richard Corso, Don Laliberte, The Bell Street Chapel.
ABOUT FLICKERS:
The mission of the Flickers Arts Collaborative - now in its 29th year - has been to serve as a creative partner in the arts by uniting various media and arts disciplines that nurture the artistic process and support a vital part of our community. This includes multi-disciplinary art presentations; artistic and cultural activities; performance festivals; video and television productions; audio recordings and broadcasts; educational outreach programs; and the FLICKERS: Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF).
ABOUT FLICKERS: RHODE ISLAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL:
The FLICKERS:Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF), has secured its place in the global community as the portal for the best in international independent cinema, earning the respect of domestic and foreign filmmakers, filmgoers and trend watchers. This confluence of art and commerce brought together world-class celebrities, award-winning filmmakers, new talent and audience members in record numbers last year. Ranked as one of the top 12 Festivals in the United States, RIIFF is also a qualifying festival for the Short Film Academy Award through its affiliation with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. There are 65 film festivals worldwide which share this distinction and RIIFF is the only festival in New England. The next Festival will take place August 10-15, 2010.
Elisabeth Gondek, soprano
Daniel Harp
Nancy Nicholson