2015 BONJ CABARET
WHEN: Saturday, August 8, 2015, 7:30 PM
WHERE: Grace Church, 4 Madison Ave., Madison
TICKETS: $20; $15 seniors
click here for further information and to order your tickets
Light refreshments will be provided; audience is welcome to bring their own dinner and delectables.
BONJ presents New Jersey's top vocalists in an evening of selections from the Opera and Broadway worlds.
The BONJ Cabaret is limited seating so order your tickets early. Seating is at tables of 10. BONJ will provide snacks and some light refreshments, but please feel free to bring your own drinks and dining to enjoy while enjoying the great music. (Image: Teresa Giardina, Maestro Robert W. Butts, Noelle Arteche, Cassandra Lambros, Don Sheasley, Timothy Maureen Cole, Kimberly Lewis, Emily Thompson, Brian Jamieson, pianist Rob Keiser)
Artists Appearing at the 2015 BONJ Cabaret
Mezzo-soprano Teresa Giardina earned her Bachelor’s degree in music from Hamilton College, where she studied with Lauralyn Kolb, and her Master’s degree in voice from Ithaca College, where she studied with Deborah Montgomery. While at Ithaca, she also took part in two summer festivals, Lied Austria and La Festival di Musica da Camera. Teresa is an active performer both as a vocalist as well as an instrumentalist. She is an active member of the trombone section of the Raritan Valley Symphonic Band and Nostalgia Big Band. As a vocalist, her roles include Prince Ozia in Scarlatti’s La Giuditta and Cherubino in Mozart’s Le Nozze de Figaro, both with the Baroque Orchestra of New Jersey, Third Lady in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte with Opera Theatre of Montclair, and Bastienne in Mozart’s Bastien und Bastienne with Vari Musicisti, an orchestra founded in 2014 by Teresa and her husband, Rob Keiser. An avid baseball fan, Teresa can also be seen frequently at TD Bank ballpark singing the National Anthem before Somerset Patriots games. Teresa will sing "È amore un ladroncello" from Mozart's Cosi fan tutte and "Sequidilla" from Bizet's Carmen.
Baritone Don Sheasley has performed with Maestro Robert W. Butts in over 30 productions, including operas by Mozart, Wagner, Verdi, and Puccini as well as original musical theater productions of A Night in the Wilde Wild West and Mark Twain and the General. Don sang the solo part in the unforgettable November 2005 performance Maestro Butts conducted of Beethoven's Symphony #9 with The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra at The Nous theatre in Blairstown. A noted actor as well as singer, Don created the character of Sir John in the popular Cakes and Ales series.
Soprano Emily Thompson brings musical theater to life as a poet, actor, singer, and director. With composer Richard Russell, she has created innovative musical theater works for young artists. She is founder and President of In Mid Air Productions. She originated the role of Angela in Maestro Butts's adaption of Edgar Allen Poe's The Cask of Amontillado, performing the role at The National Opera Center in New York.
Soprano Kimberly Lewis is new to the musical stage, but already has performed several major roles. Her most recent success was as Zerlina in The Eastern Opera Company production of Mozart's Don Giovanni. Kim has also sung roles in Die Fledermaus, Carmen, and La Boheme.
Soprano Cassandra Lambros is both an accomplished singer and violinist. She has sung in several productions throughout New Jersey and most recently studied and performed in Assisi, Italy.
Soprano Noelle Arteche s a 2014 Rising Star Award winner of the Milton Cross Young Artist Program (Continuo Arts Foundation) and has enjoyed successful portrayals of Zerlina in Don Giovanni (Eastern Opera), Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro (Stony Hill Players), Amore in L'incoronazione di Poppea (dell'Arte Opera Ensemble), and The Dew Fairy in Hansel and Gretel (New York Lyric Opera Theater). Noelle holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University.
Tenor Brian Jamieson has appeared at every BONJ music festival. He originated the role of Richard in the popular farce Cakes and Ale as well as the role of Carlo Gesualdo in Gesualdo in performance at The Dramatists Guild in New York City and the role of Mark Twain in Mark Twain and the General, most recently performed at The National Opera Center in New York City. Brian's roles have ranged from Bellini to Mozart to musical theater.
Timothy Maureen Cole is a young singer with degrees from Westminster College and Ithaca. Ms Cole is making her solo debut with BONJ at the summer festival at the cabaret and as Damon in Handel's Acis and Galatea. Ms. Cole performed the role of Lisa in Maestro Butts's The Cask of Amontillado at its New York premiere at The National Opera Center.
Maestro Robert W. Butts devotes much of his musical work to conducting and composing, but has also performed in the popular music world at times. He has recently developed a series of lecture/recitals on music in America between 1890-1940 in which he, with other singers, explores the music of Victor Herbert and George M. Cohan as part of the music and theater world that produced Pagliacci and La Boheme.
Pianist Rob Keiser received his Bachelors in Music in piano performance from Ithaca College, winning the prestigious Mary Hayes North Piano Competition Award in 2008. He received his Masters of Arts in piano performance form Hunter College, CUNY, winning their coveted concerto competition in 2012 for his performance of Liszt’s Totentanz. Mr. Keiser is currently teaching as an adjunct lecturer at Hunter College, where he teaches several theory, piano, and musicianship classes, along with private students. He also has been teaching private piano students at the Lindeblad School of Music since summer 2014.
Musical Selections from: Cose fan tutte, Man of La Mancha, Mark Twain and the General, Bittersweet, The Red Mill, Phantom of the Opera, She Loves Me, Carmen, The Golden Arrow, Serse, Giulio Cesare
