74th ANNUAL BACH FESTIVAL GUEST ARTISTS
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Soprano TAMARA MATTHEWS has risen to the forefront of the international music scene through her outstanding performances in opera and on concert stages around the world. She won first prize at the Musica Sacra Bach Vocal Competition and made her Carnegie Hall debut in 1994. She has worked with many esteemed conductors, including Leonard Slatkin, Joseph Flummerfelt, Luis Biava, Robert Page, Richard Westenburg, and Joshua Rifkin. She made her debut as soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra in Beethoven’s Mass in C and Choral Fantasy. Upcoming and recent engagements include a Kennedy Center debut with the Bach Choir of Bethlehem in Bach’s B Minor Mass, as soloist with the Washington Bach Consort, and appearances with the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia and the Philharmonic Orchestra of Mexico. Matthews has over fifteen recordings to her credit. Her output in works by J.S. Bach can be heard on Koch International Classics, Dorian, and Pro Gloria Musicae.
ELLEN RABINER has been hailed by the New York Times as a "mezzo of creamy tone and forceful lower register," by the Boston Globe as possessing a "rich contralto and both musical and dramatic sensitivity" and by New York Newsday as "a fine singing actress." Her recent Telarc recording of Bach's Mass in B Minor with Boston Baroque prompted Gramophone to write, "Ellen Rabiner's responsive contralto in the 'Qui sedes' is a rare joy." A frequent presence at the Metropolitan Opera, Ellen Rabiner returned to the company's stage in the 2004-05 season for the role of Schwerleite in Die Walküre. She also appeared as the First Maid in Elektra with Tokyo Opera Nomori and in Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the National Chorale. Ms. Rabiner's 2003-04 season included roles in Moses und Aron, Die Frau ohne Schatten, and Die Walküre with the Metropolitan Opera. Ms. Rabiner also appeared with the Brevard Symphony as soloist in Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 and the Kalamazoo Symphony as soloist in Stravinsky's Les Noces.
Lyric tenor ALAN BENNETT is noted for his performances of the oratorios of Bach, Handel, and Mozart. This season, Mr. Bennett returns to the B-W Bach Festival for his third appearance. He has performed throughout the US, Canada, Europe, and South America. He appears annually with the Carmel Bach Festival and has also sung at the Tanglewood Festival, Oregon Bach Festival, and Bethlehem Bach Festival, as well as with Handel & Haydn Society, Tafelmusik, and Les Violons du Roy. Prominent conductors with whom he has worked include Christopher Hogwood, Helmuth Rilling, and Robert Shaw.
Tenor FREDERICK URREY returns this season for his eleventh Bach Festival appearance. He has performed throughout the United States, in Europe and Asia, and has appeared with the Bach Choir of Bethlehem, the Washington Bach Consort, the Carmel Bach Festival, the Marlboro Music Festival, Les Violons du Roy of Quebec, and the Bach Societies of Vienna, Vancouver, Orleans, Louisville, and Kalamazoo. His discography currently lists twenty-nine titles on the Dorian, RCA/BMG, Harmonia Mundi, Telefunken-Decca, Newport Classic, Vox Classic, Albany, and Koch International labels.
Baritone WILLIAM SHARP is a consummate artist possessing the rare combination of vocal beauty, sensitivity and charisma. Praised by the New York Times as a "sensitive and subtle singer" who is able to evoke "the special character of every song that he sings," Mr. Sharp has earned a reputation as a singer of great versatility and continues to garner critical acclaim for his work in concerts, recitals, operas and recordings. Mr. Sharp’s 2004-05 season included return engagements at Tafelmusik in which he sang concerts with Emma Kirkby and the Bethlehem Bach Festival where he sang Bach’s Mass in B minor and Cantata No. 106. He also sang a special presentation with the Vocal Arts Society at the Smithsonian Institute.
Bass-Baritone KEVIN DEAS has gained international acclaim as one of America’s leading basses. He is especially celebrated for his portrayal of the title role in Porgy and Bess which he performed with New York Philharmonic, National Symphony, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco, Atlanta, San Diego, Utah, Houston, Baltimore and Montreal Symphonies and at the Ravinia and Saratoga Festivals. His recent recordings include Die Meistersinger with the Chicago Symphony and Varèse's Ecuatorial with the ASKO Ensemble, both on Decca/London. Other releases include Bach's B minor Mass and Handel's Acis & Galatea on Vox Classics and Dave Brubeck's To Hope! with the Cathedral Choral Society on the Telarc label.
TODD WILSON is Director of Music and Organist at The Church of the Covenant (Presbyterian) in Cleveland, Ohio, where he heads a program of choirs as well as a concert series. He is also Head of the Organ Department at The Cleveland Institute of Music and Organ Curator of the recently restored E. M. Skinner organ at Severance Hall, home of The Cleveland Orchestra. Mr. Wilson received his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, where he studied organ with Wayne Fisher. Further coaching in organ repertoire was with Russell Saunders at The Eastman School of Music. He has won numerous competitions, including the Grand Prix de Chartres (France) and the Ft. Wayne Competition. An active member of the American Guild of Organists, Mr. Wilson holds the Fellow and Choirmaster certificates, and was a featured performer for the Centennial National Convention of the Guild in New York
City in July 1996.
Lecturer, ADEL HEINRICH is Professor of Music Emeritus from Colby College. She received her A.Mus.D. degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She was asked to serve on the National Screening Committee for the selection of Fulbright scholars in organ and harpsichord. Her publications include three articles published in BACH, including her conclusion to the Quadruple Fugue; her book, Bach's DIE KUNST DER FUGE: A living Compendium of Fugal Procedures, is now available from ProQuest.
Sharon Baker
Peter Sykes
275 Eastland Rd.