REQUIEM
By Maurice Duruflé
TRIPTYCH
By Tarik O’Regan
WHEN: Friday, May 31, 7:30 PM
WHERE: First Presbyterian Church, 255 Harding Road (Tower Hill), Red Bank
TICKETS: $25 regular; $22 seniors; $5 students; $20 groups (10 or more)
Tickets and information: 732.933.9333 or www.monmouthcivicchorus.org
Guest Artists: Soprano Felicia Moore, Baritone Jesse Blumberg and Organist Karin Gargone.
The Monmouth Civic Chorus has been called "close to perfect" (Asbury Park Press), "alive and evocative" (The Star-Ledger) and "exceptional" (Red Bank Green). The Chorus is the proud recipient of the 2008 ASCAP/Chorus America Alice Parker Award, and the 2010 Spinnaker Award for Arts and Culture from the Eastern Monmouth Area Chamber of Commerce.
Soprano Felicia Moore is quickly establishing herself as an exciting up-and-coming young dramatic voice. In 2013, Ms. Moore was a National Semi-Finalist in the Metropolitan National Council Auditions, and a winner of the George London Foundation Award. She recently made her solo debut at Carnegie Hall with Dr. Mark Shapiro and The Cecilia Chorus of New York. Her past operatic engagements include Mannes College the New School for Music in New York City, Nevada Opera in Reno, and the Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina. This summer, Ms. Moore will be participating in the Crested Butte Music Festival in Colorado as a Marcello Giordani Young Artist.
Baritone Jesse Blumberg has performed with the Boston Early Music Festival, London’s Royal Festival Hall, and the New York Festival of Song. He has performed roles at Minnesota Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Utah Opera, and Boston Lyric Opera, and made concert appearances with American Bach Soloists, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Charlotte Symphony, Apollo’s Fire, and the Vail Valley Music Festival. He was awarded Third Prize at the 2008 International Robert Schumann Competition in Zwickau, becoming its first American prizewinner in over thirty years. In 2007 he took first prizes in the International Hilde Zadek Singing Competition in Vienna and the National Federation of Music Clubs Young Artist Competition.
Organist Karin Gargone is Instructor of Music at Ocean County College in Toms River, and Music Associate of the Presbyterian Church of Toms River. As organist and director of music ministries, she has served several churches in Monmouth County, Indiana, California, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. For twenty years she was Principal Accompanist for the Monmouth Civic Chorus. She has served the Educational Testing Service in Princeton six times as an Advanced Placement Music Theory Exam reader. She also serves on the Advisory Council of the Red Bank Chamber Music Society, Red Bank, NJ, and is a member of the Monmouth and Ocean County Chapters of the American Guild of Organists.
Artistic Director Ryan Brandau holds the Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees from the Yale School of Music, an MPhil in historical musicology from the University of Cambridge (United Kingdom), and a BA in Music from Princeton University. He returned to the New York/New Jersey area from California, where he was the Artistic Director of the Santa Clara Chorale and the Director of Choral Activities and faculty member at Santa Clara University. Dr. Brandau is Artistic Director of Princeton Pro Musica and works with the Symphonic Choir at Westminster Choir College of Rider University.
