The Music Department at Mary Baldwin University is pleased to announce the first Sunday Recital of 2020. It will be Sunday, February 2, at 3 p.m. in Francis Auditorium. Featured are soprano Katherine Jolly, pianist Emily Chua, and cellist Andrew Gabbert.
“We are delighted to present this recital in honor of Black History Month,” says Dr. Lise Keiter, Chair of the Music Department at Mary Baldwin. “Our performers have chosen works that feature texts by two great African-American poets, Toni Morrison and Langston Hughes.”
The program features two appealing, recent song cycles: Four Songs by Andre Previn (set to Morrison’s texts) and Genius Child by Ricky Ian Gordon (set to poems of Hughes). “Both Emily and I are dedicated to performing works with composers or poets from underrepresented groups,” explains soprano Katherine Jolly. “We’re also committed to performing new works, which our recent CD, Preach, Sister, Preach showcases.”
Soprano Katherine Jolly has appeared in leading roles with Opera Theatre Saint Louis, Florida Grand Opera, New York City Opera, Virginia Opera, Lyric Opera Cleveland, American Lyric Theatre and others. In the concert arena, she performs widely, including recent appearances as the soprano soloist in Handel’s The Messiah with the Evansville Philharmonic, the Richmond Symphony, and the Phoenix Symphony. A winner of the 2006 Metropolitan Opera National Council Grand Finals, the New York Times wrote “Katherine Jolly used her agile, bright lyric soprano to superb effect.” Dr. Jolly is currently Associate Professor of Voice at Oberlin Conservatory, and she previously held faculty positions at St. Louis University and Indiana University.
Pianist Emily Yap Chua made her international solo debut at The Cultural Center of the Philippines in Manila, where she was praised for “tonal beauty and clarity,” “a graceful, effortless manner,” and a “vibrant, … spirited and movingly expressive” performance. An active soloist and chamber musician, her collaborations include performances with musicians of orchestras and institutions around the world, including recitals with members of the Cincinnati, San Francisco, Detroit, Nashville, Charlotte, and Virginia Symphony Orchestras, and faculty of the Juilliard School, University of Cincinnati College–Conservatory of Music, Indiana University, Oberlin Conservatory, and Florida State University. She is on the faculty of Randolph College.
Cellist Andrew Gabbert performs with the groundbreaking flute and cello duo Terra Voce. Known for creative programs combining the diverse and the unexpected, they have thrilled audiences at venues across the country such as the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center and New York’s Riverside Church. Gabbert currently teaches at Mary Baldwin University, and maintains a private studio in Crozet and Charlottesville, VA.
Single tickets for February 2 may be purchased at the door and are $5 for the General Public and $4 for students and seniors (free for MBU students. Click here for more information or call 540-887-7294.
