LISA DELAN
American soprano Lisa Delan has won acclaim as an outstanding interpreter of a vast repertoire and is recognized for her versatility and breadth of accomplishment in opera, song, and recording. As a recital artist, her repertoire encompasses the Baroque to the contemporary, and she is privileged to collaborate with composers whose musical lives are still works in progress: Ms. Delan has performed and recorded the music of William Bolcom, John Corigliano, David Garner, Gordon Getty, Jake Heggie, Andrew Imbrie, Lewis Spratlan and Luna Pearl Woolf, among others. Angel Heart is her first recording with Oxingale Records. Ms. Delan’s recordings for PentaTone Classics include And If the Song Be Worth a Smile, The White Election, Phenomenon, and the just released The Hours Begin Sing. After reviewing Ms. Delan’s recent recordings, Sequenza 21 declared that “As a song interpreter she may well be unequaled.”
LUNA PEARL WOOLF
Called “blazingly ardent and softly haunting “ by the New York Times, the music of composer Luna Pearl Woolf offers penetrating insight into its subjects, creating acoustic sound worlds that evoke and inspire. Her innovative collaborations with authors, filmmakers, dancers and musicians tell original stories or respond to history and current events.
Academy Award winning actor Jeremy Irons narrates Woolf’s Angel Heart, a setting of a new story by bestselling children’s author Cornelia Funke. The album, Angel Heart, a music storybook (Oxingale Records), features performances by Matt Haimovitz & Uccello with singers Frederica von Stade, Sanford Sylvan, Daniel Taylor, Zheng Cao and Lisa Delan.
Woolf’s Après Moi, le Déluge, was described by the New York Times as “an unsentimental but moving tribute.” Other recent projects include Suspense, music for the 1913 silent film by Lois Weber and two song cycles commissioned by frequent collaborator soprano Lisa Delan, both recorded for PentaTone Classics.
Woolf’s music has been featured on NPR’s From the Top, the BBC’s The World and on NPR’s All Things Considered as well as Opera News, Strings Magazine, the New York Times and the Boston Globe.
MATT HAIMOVITZ
Matt Haimovitz is acclaimed for his artistry and as a musical visionary – pushing the boundaries of classical music performance, championing new music and initiating groundbreaking collaborations, all while mentoring an award-winning studio of young cellists at McGill University’s Schulich School of Music in Montreal. Haimovitz made his debut in 1984, at the age of 13, as a soloist with Zubin Mehta and the Israel Philharmonic; at 17 he made his first recording for Deutsche Grammophon (Universal Classics) with James Levine and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Haimovitz made his Carnegie Hall debut when he substituted for his teacher, the legendary cellist Leonard Rose, in Schubert’s String Quintet, alongside Isaac Stern, Mstislav Rostropovich, Pinchas Zukerman and Shlomo Mintz. Haimovitz’s recording career spans more than 20 years of award-winning work on Deutsche Grammophon and his own Oxingale Records. His recent release Meeting of the Spirits with Uccello was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Classical Crossover Album.
UCCELLO
UCCELLO
Matt Haimovitz’s all-cello ensemble, UCCELLO, features the next generation of cellists from the Schulich School of Music at McGill University, where Haimovitz is Professor of Cello. Their most recent critically acclaimed recording, Meeting of the Spirits, featuring jazz milestones re-imagined for a big band of cellos, was nominated for a 2010 GRAMMY AWARD for Best Classical Crossover Album. The album charted on U.S. College Radio and reached No. 1 on the Canadian College Jazz Charts. In March 2011, Uccello received a special invitation by Austin’s SXSW to perform the Prelude to the Keynote Address by Bob Geldof. Uccello has performed on Boston’s Celebrity Series, New York’s Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and Jazz at Lincoln Center, as well as clubs such as Arlington’s Iota, Seattle’s Tractor Tavern, and Eugene’s Sam Bond’s Garage. Uccello has joined Haimovitz on two Oxingale recordings in addition to Meeting of the Spirits, Goulash! and VinylCello.
FREDERICA VON STADE
FREDERICA VON STADE
Described by the New York Times as "one of America's finest artists and singers," mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade continues to be extolled as one of the music world's most beloved figures. Miss von Stade's career has taken her to the original_artistss of the world's great opera houses and concert halls. She began at the top, when she received a contract from Sir Rudolf Bing during the Metropolitan Opera auditions, and since her debut in 1970 she has sung nearly all of her great roles with that company. In addition, Miss von Stade has appeared with every leading American opera company, including San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Los Angeles Opera. Her career in Europe has been no less spectacular, with new productions mounted for her at Teatro alla Scala, Royal Opera Covent Garden, the Vienna State Opera, and the Paris Opera. She is invited regularly by the finest conductors, among them Claudio Abbado, Charles Dutoit, James Levine, Kurt Masur, Riccardo Muti, Seiji Ozawa, André Previn, Leonard Slatkin, and Michael Tilson Thomas, to appear in concert with the world's leading orchestras, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, London Symphony Orchestra, Washington's National Symphony, and the Orchestra of La Scala. For the last six or seven years, Miss von Stade has been volunteering at St. Martin de Porres and helped establish a music program including, choir, piano, and violin.
DANIEL TAYLOR
An exclusive recording artist for Sony Classical Masterworks, Daniel Taylor is one of the most sought-after countertenors in the world and recognized as Canada's finest. He appears on more than 100 recordings on Sony, DG Archiv, Decca, Harmonia Mundi, BIS, Analekta,Teldec, Erato and Universal. Daniel has performed with the New York Metropolitan Opera, Glyndebourne, Rome Opera, San Francisco Opera, Welsh National Opera, Montreal Opera, Canadian Opera, at the Edinburgh Festival and at the Royal Albert Hall/BBC Proms. He recently took a role in the world premiere of the Robert Lepage staging of Ades ‘The Tempest’. He works with the Tonhalle Zurich, Toronto, Gothenburg, Rotterdam, St. Louis and Cleveland Orchestras. In recital, he has sung at the Wigmore Hall, in Beijing, Barcelona and across North America. Daniel sang on Parliament Hill for Queen Elizabeth and the Prime Minister of Canada. Daniel is a Professor of Voice and Head of Early Music at the University of Toronto, Visiting Professor at the University of Ottawa and Artist in Residence at the Opéra de Montréal. Daniel is Artistic Director and Conductor of the Choir and Orchestra of the Theatre of Early Music. The Theatre of Early Music performs more than 30 concerts every year in concert halls all over the world. He is also Artistic Director of the Quebec International Festival of Sacred Music.
CHRIS NOTH
Chris studied with Sanford Meisner before graduating from the Yale School of Drama and has built a versatile career in film, television and on stage, Some of his screen ventures include Robert Zemeckis's Cast Away, starring Tom Hanks; Tom DiCillo's Double Whammy with Denis Leary and Elizabeth Hurley as well as The Perfect Man opposite Hilary Duff and Heather Locklear. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Detective Mike Logan on “Law and Order” and as Mr. Big on HBO’s “Sex and the City.”
MALCOLM MCDOWELL
An intelligent and compelling force on the screen, Malcolm McDowell established his career as an actor playing rebellious youths for two of the world’s great directors, Lindsay Anderson (If…) and Stanley Kubrick (A Clockwork Orange). For over four decades, he has amassed a formidable array of credits, ranging from the teen comedy Easy A to the action-packed thriller Blue Thunder. Over the course of his career he has worked with many major directors, including Blake Edwards, Paul Schrader, Joseph Losey, Roland Emmerich, Richard Lester, John Badham and Martin Ritt, while also enjoying recurring roles on television shows such as “Entourage,” “Heroes” and “Franklin & Bash.”
BRUCE RAMEKER
Bruce Rameker has appeared as both baritone and countertenor on the stages of Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, BAM, Town Hall, the Edinburgh Festival, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and the Spoleto Festival in a diverse repertoire that includes ancient music, opera, operetta, oratorio, tango, and new music. Mr. Rameker began singing with Meredith Monk & Vocal Ensemble in 2008 and has sung with the Skylight Opera Theatre, Chicago Opera Theater, New York City Opera, Anchorage Opera, Elysium Between Two Continents, Sacred Music in a Sacred Space, Waverly Consort, Voices of Ascension, and Musica Sacra. Born in Wisconsin, he is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
DANA RATH
Dana has devoted his musical career to reawakening interest in the mandolin family instruments. He has worked with The Berkeley Mandolin Ensemble,the Rudy Cipolla group, the Hotzeplotz Klezmer Orchestra and is a founding member of The Modern Mandolin Quartet. His interest in classical mandolin began while studying classical guitar at Loyola University in New Orleans. He then studied in Europe with mandolin virtuoso Keith Harris. Other instructors include Gertrud Troester, Emmanuel Sheynkmann and Andy Statman. Dana has recorded new works by Alexis Alrich and Larry Polanski for Opus One Records. He has also performed with the Berkeley Symphony and Louisville Symphony and has played mandolin, guitar and banjo for San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theater. His involvement with the Quartet continues his dream of bringing new prominence to the modern mandolin.
AVI AVITAL
Avi Avital is internationally regarded for his performances at venues including Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York, Berlin Philharmonic Hall, KKL Luzern, Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing and Wigmore Hall in London. He has appeared as soloist with the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra, I Pomeriggi Musicali di Milano, San Francisco Chamber Orchestra and Berliner Symphoniker under the batons of Mstislav Rostropovich, Sir Simon Rattle and Philippe Entremont, amongst others. Avital has collaborated extensively with artists such as clarinettist Giora Feidman, soprano Dawn Upshaw, and trumpeter and composer Frank London. He has also been featured at the Tanglewood, Luzern, Spoleto, and Ravenna summer music festivals. Avi Avital is the first mandolin player to receive a GRAMMY nomination in the category “Best Instrumental Soloist” (2010) for his recording of Avner Dorman’s Mandolin Concerto (Metropolis Ensemble/Andrew Cyr). He has won numerous competitions and awards including Germany’s ECHO Prize for his 2008 recording with the David Orlowsky Trio and the AVIV Competition (2007), the preeminent national competition for Israeli soloists.
THE CHILDREN’S CHOIR OF ST. MARTIN DE PORRES SCHOOL - MICHAEL MORGAN
In 2010, Saint Martin de Porres Catholic School planted the seeds for a combined chorus and violin program. Through the vision and creative force of Frederica von Stade, over 50 students now participate in the school’s growing music program. Many students, whose families struggle to pay tuition, are playing the violin or singing in the choir. Today the choir consists of students from fourth through eighth grades, along with violinists and clarinetists! They love learning different styles of music as well as the opportunity to perform in public. Most importantly, they come alive when their hearts and minds connect with music!
Saint Martin de Porres is a kindergarten through 8th grade regional Catholic school within the Diocese of Oakland, which serves the families of North and West Oakland. The school was formed in 1996 as a consolidation of three inner city Catholic schools in the Diocese of Oakland and is comprised of two campuses: a K-5 campus at Sacred Heart Parish in North Oakland, and a middle school campus at St. Patrick Parish in West Oakland. St. Martin de Porres remains the only Catholic school serving the neighborhoods and families of North and West Oakland.
THE BROOKLYN YOUTH CHORUS
The Grammy Award–winning Brooklyn Youth Chorus (BYC), under the direction of Founder and Artistic Director Dianne Berkun-Menaker, is defying convention and re-imagining the artistic role of the youth chorus. BYC has become one of the country’s leading choruses, performing hundreds of concerts, collaborating with some of the most influential composers and artists of our time, and commissioning daring, new choral works. BYC has performed with major orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, the London Symphony Orchestra, and the Mariinsky Orchestra, and under the batons of Valery Gergiev, Lorin Maazel, Charles Dutoit, Robert Spano, and Leon Botstein. The Chorus has also appeared in performances and recordings with popular artists including Barbra Streisand, Sir Elton John, Lou Reed, Philip Glass, Kronos Quartet, and Alicia Keys. BYC won a Grammy for the world premiere live recording of John Adams’s On the Transmigration of Souls with the New York Philharmonic in 2005.
THE NATIONAL CHILDREN'S CHORUS (LOS ANGELES)
The National Children’s Chorus, under the leadership of Artistic Director Luke McEndarfer, is quickly establishing itself as America’s leading treble chorus, with a set of ensembles based both in Los Angeles and New York City. In residence at The Broad Stage in Santa Monica, the National Children’s Chorus is one of few youth arts organizations in the world to have its entire concert season presented by a professional concert hall. Its groundbreaking fifth season at The Broad Stage and third season in New York during 2013/14 entitled “Roots” presents an eclectic array of musical styles, drawing on past and present musical traditions, while celebrating the illustrious history of the Paulist Choristers and Luke McEndarfer’s 10th Anniversary! Highlights include the NCC’s collaboration with the Los Angeles Opera Company as part of the Britten 100/LA Project, in addition to a world premiere performance co-commissioned by the National Children’s Chorus and The Broad Stage in honor of this most special occasion.