|
Artists
2011-2012 Season |
| FEATURED
ARTISTS |
|
David
Billings
has been Accompanist and Organist of the
Pittsburgh Concert Chorale since 1989. In
addition to these positions, he is Director of Music Ministries
and Organist at Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church. Formerly, Dr.
Billings was Director of Music at Oakmont Presbyterian Church,
Minister of Music at Parkwood United Presbyterian Church and also
Adjunct Professor of Organ and Sacred Music at Duquesne University.
As a recitalist he has performed throughout North America and
Great Britain. Dr. Billings is a past dean of the Pittsburgh Chapter
of the American Guild of Organists and a former chairman of the
Organ Artists Series of Pittsburgh. His organ recitals have been
featured on WQED-FM’s “Performance in Pittsburgh.”
Dr. Billings earned a Bachelor’s degree from Penn State University,
where he studied organ and harpsichord with June Miller. He received
his Masters and Doctoral degrees from the Eastman School of Music,
where he was a student of the renowned American organist David
Craighead.
In honor of David Billings' twentieth anniversary as accompanist,
(1989-2009), the Pittsburgh Concert
Chorale, during its twenty-fifth season, dedicated
the “Gloria” concerts to him as a tribute to his faithful and
untiring efforts on its behalf. |
|
GUEST ARTISTS |
Originally
from Sayville, Long Island, Mezzo-Soprano, Eva
Rainforth has a BFA in Vocal Performance from
Fredonia State University. She currently sings with the Pittsburgh
Opera Chorus, and is an alumna of The Mendelssohn Choir. During
her years in New York, she studied with Richard Hughes; NYC opera
alumna Mariana Christos; and Gary Kendall (Cincinnati U.) She’s
sung leading roles with New England Lyric Opera, Opera Northeast,
The American Light Opera (co-founder), Opera Ignite!, and The
New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players. Eva had the pleasure to
perform Pitti-sing in The Mikado at City Center in New York, and
at Wolf Trapp. Regional Theatres: Papermill Playhouse, Florida
Studio Theatre, The Paperbag Players, and Gateway Theatre’s
Nat’l tour of “Me and My Girl.” Concert work
includes: Carnegie Hall debut in a concert commemorating the 50th
anniversary of UNICEF called “Songs of Joy, A Concert for
Peace.” Eva has sung with The River City Brass Band, and
has sung in Heinz Hall as a soloist in the Bach Magnificat, as
well as ‘The Lord of the Rings’ concert with the PSO
(conducted by Howard Shore,) under the unbelievable artistic direction
of Dr. Robert Page. Ms. Rainforth has the highest level of certification
in Somatic Voicework™, The LoVetri Method of vocal pedagogy
issued at Shenandoah University and is a part of The National
Association for Teachers of Singing.
Eva continues to write her own original art songs, and has recently
fashioned many of them into a one-woman show called “Modern
American Art Songs…with a twist!” A vocal recital
in two acts. Ms. Rainforth currently teaches voice in The Conservatory
of Performing Arts at Point Park University.
|
Joseph Gaines,
Tenor, has been a featured soloist with The Detroit Symphony,
The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and a number of chamber and
baroque ensembles throughout the United States. Notable debuts
in 2009-2010 included two productions with Pittsburgh Opera
(Falstaff and Le Nozze di Figaro). In 2011, he returned to Pittsburgh
Opera as Pong in Giacomo Puccini's masterpiece Turandot. Other
engagements included Ars Lyrica Houston, the Pittsburgh
Concert Chorale, recitals with the Pittsburgh
Song Collaborative, and a return to Teatro Grattacielo for their
double-bill of Il Re and I Compagnacci at Lincoln Center. Engagements
in 2011-12 include a recital with the Pittsburgh Song Collaborative,
a recording project with the Grammy ®-nominated ensemble
Ars Lyrica Houston, a Winner's Concert with the Pittsburgh Concert
Society, and as Pedrillo in Pittsburgh Opera's Abduction From
the Seraglio (Mozart).
Among his recent awards and grants are The Pittsburgh Concert
Society (Winner, Major Auditions, 2011), The Greater Pittsburgh
Arts Council (Recipient, Artist Opportunity Grant, 2011), and
The Charles A. Lynam Voice Competition (Finalist, 2010).
Gaines studied singing at the University of Houston, and at
the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Leipzig, Germany.
A native of Houston, Gaines currently resides in Pittsburgh.
|
Bryan
Sable
graduated cum laude with a BA in Music Education from West Liberty
State College where he studied piano with David Zapka. Sable also
holds a M.Ed. in Administration, K-12, from California University
of Pennsylvania. He has been a member of the Professional Core
of The Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh for four years, and has
served as Assistant Conductor of the Junior Mendelssohn Choir
of Pittsburgh for two years. Sable is an active recitalist and
guest conductor in South Western PA, Northern WV, and Eastern
Ohio.
Sable serves as a faculty member at City Charter High School,
a highly successful urban charter school in the Cultural District
of downtown Pittsburgh. There, he teaches Introduction to Music,
World Music Drumming, Guitar, Piano, and Chorus. Prior to working
at City Charter High School, he served the Ohio County School
District in Wheeling, WV, as an elementary and middle school music
teacher at Wheeling Middle School, Steenrod Elementary School,
and West Liberty Elementary School.
Sable served as Music Director at Christ United Methodist Church,
Wheeling, and is currently the Music Assistant at St. Paul’s
Episcopal Church, Mt. Lebanon. |
As
one of Pittsburgh's most sought after bassists, Justin
Bendel is active in an array of musical genres.
After playing for Patrizio Buanne's 2010 US Tour, Mr. Bendel returned
to Pittsburgh to join the pit orchestras for such local musical
productions as Footloose and Mary Poppins at the Benedum Center
for Performing Arts. He continues to also perform with local jazz
ensembles such as The Rick Struzzi Trio and RML Jazz, while maintaining
an impressive studio of young bassists. Mr. Bendel is proud to
announce his return to school as he was recently awarded a full
scholarship to Carnegie Mellon University to earn his masters
degree in bass performance. |
Robert
Rawsthorne
was the percussionist with the trio on "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood"
for more than 30 years. He has appeared as a guest artist with
The River City Brass Band and has performed on numerous occasions
with the Benedum Theatre Orchestra. He has also performed with
the touring bands of Les Elgart, Nelson Riddle, Jimmy Dorsey,
Guy Lombardo and most recently Bob Crosby's Bobcats. Mr. Rawsthorne
was an original member of the Gateway to Music Percussion Ensemble
and is currently the leader of a popular local group, The Steel
City Stompers. |
| PREVIOUS
SEASONS |
|
The
Pittsburgh Concert Chorale
has a rich tradition of partnering with talented musical organizations
and individuals. Past partners include:
|
|
The Academy Chamber Orchestra,
under the direction of founder and concertmaster Dr. Warren Davidson,
was created in 2001 to provide excellent orchestral accompaniment
for choral groups. The orchestra is made up of leading players
from a wide geographic area, many of whom are faculty members
at colleges and universities. The Academy Chamber Orchestra has
performed frequently with Pittsburgh's major choral organizations:
the Bach Choir of Pittsburgh, the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh,
and the Pittsburgh Concert Chorale.
The ACO also works with area church choirs.
Artistic director Warren Davidson is Assistant Professor of Violin
and Viola at Slippery Rock University and is conductor of the
Slippery Rock Symphony Orchestra. He is Music Director of the
Pittsburgh Civic Orchestra, concertmaster of the Westmoreland
Symphony, Music Instructor for the Duquesne University Tamburitzans,
and appears regularly as soloist with orchestras and in recitals
on both violin and viola. |
Stephen
Baum
is Arts Editor and Producer of the WQED Morning Show, and
producer and host of Performance in Pittsburgh. He produced
WQED-FM 89.3's Arts Magazine for 20 years, accumulating
many awards and also pioneered WQED's web presence in early 1995.
A native of Monroeville, Mr. Baum became interested in radio at
an early age. When he was eight years old, his father built a
"transmitter" in a cigar box, which enabled Mr. Baum
to broadcast from the top of the stairs. His interest in music
was encouraged by his grandfather, whose house resounded with
classical music and his early favorites included Stravinsky's
Firebird Suite and organ music by Bach.
Mr. Baum is a former ski instructor who left Pittsburgh for Salt
Lake City in 1976 to train and compete in freestyle skiing. He
began his radio career in 1978 at the University of Utah's KUER-FM
and later joined Salt Lake City's commercial classical station,
KWHO.
Mr. Baum returned to Pittsburgh in 1986 to produce WQED-FM 89.3’s
Sunday Arts Magazine, and he often interviews local orchestra
members for WQED-FM 89.3’s 26-week Pittsburgh Symphony
radio series. |
Praised by the Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette as a soprano “blessed with a rich, hypnotic
voice that is notable for its beauty and control”, Judith
Robb Jenkins has been featured in recent years
as a soloist with the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Mendelssohn Choir,
the River City Brass Band, and the Renaissance City Winds
In 2005, she created the role of Queen Isabella in the world premiere
of Leonardo Balada’s opera The Death of Columbus,
and recorded the same for the Naxos label. She has presented numerous
solo lieder and operatic recitals in Europe and Asia, including
a series of benefit recitals in the Philippines sponsored by the
United States Embassy. Major roles in opera and music theatre
include the title role in the Pittsburgh premiere of Samuel Barber’s
Vanessa. She has been featured as a soloist in many choral
works, including Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s
St. Matthew Passion, Christmas Oratorio, and
many cantatas; the masses of Schubert and Beethoven, Haydn’s
Creation, Poulenc’s Gloria, Mozart’s
Mass in C minor, and the requiems of Brahms and Faure.
Ms. Jenkins was a district winner of the Metropolitan Opera Auditions.
She earned a Bachelor of Music degree from Peabody Conservatory
and a Master of Fine Arts in opera from Carnegie-Mellon University.
She is currently Instructor of Voice at the Conservatory of Performing
Arts of Point Park University and is a member of the Pittsburgh
Opera chorus. |
Renate
Sakins
is an active performer and teacher. She is a member of the Renaissance
City Winds, principal oboist of the Westmoreland Symphony, and
2nd oboist of the Akron Symphony. She has appeared twice as soloist
with the Westmoreland Symphony and has been featured on WQED's
"Performance in Pittsburgh". Ms. Sakins has performed with the
Pittsburgh, Columbus, Harrisburg, and Wheeling Symphonies, and
in orchestras with choral ensembles including the Pittsburgh Concert
Chorale. She has performed at the Blossom and Cape May Music Festivals,
and has toured in Canada, Japan, and throughout Europe.
Ms. Sakins is currently Instructor of Oboe at Slippery Rock University.
She also teaches at Pittsburgh's Center for the Musically Talented,
and privately.
Ms Sakins received a B.M. from Temple University, and attended
Carnegie Mellon University in the M.M. degree program. Her teachers
were Louis Rosenblatt and Cynthia DeAlmeida. . |
Craig
Verm,
baritone, is rapidly gaining recognition for his exciting performances.
He recently returned to Santa Fe Opera for Hermann in Les
contes d'Hofmann, Astolfo, in the world premiere of Lewis
Spratlan's Life is a Dream, and Commissioner in Madama
Butterfly, in addition to covers of Sharpless. Upcoming engagements
include returns to the Florentine Opera and also Pittsburgh Opera
for Ping in Turandot in addition to the Count in Le
nozze di Figaro with San Antonio Opera and the Miller in
Montsalvatge's El gato con botas with Gotham Chamber Opera.
Mr. Verm enjoys a strong relationship with Pittsburgh Opera, where
he has sung the leading male role of Tom Joad in Gordon's The
Grapes of Wrath, Mercutio in Roméo et Juliette and
the Novice's Friend in Billy Budd. He also recently made
his Los Angeles Philharmonic debut at the legendary Hollywood
Bowl as Angelotti in Tosca.
Equally adept within the realm of oratorio, Craig Verm's other
concert appearances encompass performances of Vaughan Williams'
Fantasia on Christmas Carols with the Pittsburgh Symphony;
Vaughan Williams' Five Mystical Songs with the Asheville
Symphony Orchestra; Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass with the
Boston Youth Symphony; Bach's Mass in B minor at Portugal's
Aviero Music Festival; Faure's Requiem with the Pittsburgh
Youth Symphony; Schubert's Mass in G, Brahms' Liebeslieder
Waltzer and Rutter's Mass of the Children with the
Pittsburgh Concert Chorale.
He received his Master of Music from the University of Cincinnati-College
Conservatory of Music and was graduated cum laude from Rice University's
Shepherd School of Music. He was a 2006 national semifinalist
in the Metropolitan Opera's National Council Auditions and is
also a former member of the young artist programs of Santa Fe
Opera and Cincinnati Opera. |
