FGO is honored to have been selected to be part of this innovative partnership, and we want to get the whole Miami community involved. That's why we've included so many community singers in the recording process. Today we've taken some time to share with you some information about the voices and creative team behind this project. Keep an eye out for some familiar faces.
For more information on our campaign, please click here.
The Stars & Distances Team
Fredrick Kaufman, composer
Fredrick Kaufman (b. 1936) is the composer of over one hundred and thirty compositions that have been performed worldwide by orchestras such as the Warsaw Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic, Czech Radio Orchestra, Lithuanian Philharmonic, Czech National Symphony Orchestra, Jerusalem Symphony, Instrumental Ensemble of Grenoble, London Sinfonietta, Orchestra Novi Musici, Dominican Republic National Orchestra, National Orchestra of Brazil, Los Angeles Philharmonic, New World Symphony the Pittsburgh Symphony orchestras, and Florida Grand Opera. Kaufman is a former Fulbright Scholar, and recipient honors and fellowships from the Endowment of the Arts, the Rockefeller, Guggenheim and Ford Foundations.
Twice nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, Kaufman's Holocaust composition Kaddish, which Bernard Holland of The New York Times described as "having the most expressive writing for strings to be heard today," has been performed over 100 times in the major concert halls of Europe, Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, Israel, South America, Asia and throughout the United States. His works have received prizes at international competitions and have been performed throughout the world at major music festivals. Israeli television has paid tribute to him as a composer in the thirty minute documentary film Fredrick Kaufman-Life of an Artist.
Critics from the New York Times, Newark Star-Ledger, Philadelphia Inquirer, Miami Herald, Jerusalem Post, London Times, Perpignan Independent have described Kaufman's music as “striking…individual…an interesting combination of overwhelming pathos and infectious joy…brought one into the realm of musical genius.”
His Kaminarimon (for Taiko drums and Flamenco dance) has been called "remarkable" and "stunning" and was voted as the number one classical composition of 2002 and "the most imaginative new work of the year" by music critic James Roos of The Miami Herald. String Quartet #6, The Urban was called "stunning" by The New Yorker magazine. The Quartet was nominated by Lukas Foss in 2007 for a Pulitzer Prize.
Kaufman is very excited about his new association with Florida Grand Opera and feels that their spectacular performance of his Stars & Distances will be acclaimed by the public and critics alike.
To learn more about Fredrick Kaufman, please visit his website.
Andrew Bisantz, conductor
A versatile musician acknowledged for his passionate and commanding leadership from the podium, the exciting young American conductor Andrew Bisantz is quickly building an impressive roster of credits at leading national orchestras and opera companies throughout the country. For his debut with Boston Lyric Opera leading The Turn of the Screw, the Boston Globe selected it as one of the ten top Boston classical music events of 2010. He subsequently returned for productions of Tosca and Madama Butterfly.
Mr. Bisantz joined the music staff of Florida Grand Opera in 2002, first as Assistant Conductor, then as Resident Conductor. He made his FGO mainstage debut in the 2005-06 season, conducting Bizet’s Carmen for the company’s historic final performances at Miami-Dade County Auditorium, and he returned as the 2006-07 Henry C. Clark Conductor to conduct performances of Manon Lescaut. Additionally, he has conducted La cenerentola and La bohème for FGO.
In recent seasons he’s led acclaimed productions of Don Giovanni (one of South Florida Classical Review’s Ten Best Performances of 2011), Rigoletto in 2012, 2013’s hit production of Die Zauberflöte, and this past season’s critical favorite The Consul.
He served as cover conductor for over 25 productions, covering such notable conductors as Richard Bonynge, Richard Buckley, Peter Leonard, Stewart Robertson, Alberto Veronesi and Willie Anthony Waters. He served four seasons the company’s Education Manager, during which time Mr. Bisantz developed several new education initiatives, including a scholarship / mentoring program for Miami-Dade high school seniors interested in pursuing a career in the arts.
To learn more about Maestro Bisantz, please visit his website.
The Voices of Stars & Distances
Edgar Miguel Abreu Tenor Edgar Miguel Abréu debuts at Florida Grand Opera this season. Edgar serves as music director and pianist at Our Lady Queen of Heaven Catholic Church in North Lauderdale, FL and as director of the Teaching Outstanding Performers camp at Florida Atlantic University. He earned his Master of Music Degree in Vocal Performance from Florida International University and his bachelor’s degree from Florida Atlantic University. This season at FGO, Edgar will perform the roles of Ambrogio in Rossini’s The Barber of Seville and Flavio in Bellini’s Norma, and will study-cover the roles of Pollione in Norma and Walter in Weinberg’s The Passenger.
Daniel Bates
Tenor Daniel Bates returns to Florida Grand Opera this season for a second year in the company’s Young Artist Program. Last season on the FGO stage, he was seen as Goro in Madama Butterfly, Ferrando in Così fan tutte, and Nadir in Les pêcheurs de perles. Mr. Bates is a graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and Ithaca College. This season at FGO, he sings SS Man #3 in Weinberg’s The Passenger and Ernesto in select performances of Don Pasquale.
Scott Bracken-TrippMr. Bracken-Tripp is an experienced recitalist and opera singer, and has extensive experience teaching students of all ages. He holds a Master of Music degree in voice performance, and currently teaches at Florida International University and at New World School of the Arts in Miami, FL. He is Director of Music at St. John's on the Lake United Methodist Church, the founding director of the Miami Beach Alliance Honor Chorale, and the president of the local South Florida NATS chapter.
Isaac BrayBaritone Isaac Bray is a recent graduate of the Boston University Opera Institute, where he performed Don Giovanni (Don Giovanni) and Riolobo (Catán’s Florencia en el Amazonas) in 2014, Owen Wingrave (Britten’s Owen Wingrave) in 2013, and Barone Douphol (La traviata) and Des Grieux (Massenet’s Le portrait de Manon) in 2012. This past summer, Isaac returned to Central City Opera as an Apprentice Artist to sing the role of Sam (Trouble in Tahiti) and to cover the role of Joseph De Rocher (Heggie’s Dead Man Walking).
Amanda CriderAmerican mezzo-soprano Amanda Crider is quickly gaining recognition for her extraordinary musicality and assured dramatic presence. Recent engagements included joining New World Symphony for de Falla’s El amor brujo, the Louisiana Philharmonic for a Baroque Christmas, Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic for Mozart’s Requiem, and her role debut as Angelina in La Cenerentola with Opera Roanoke. Ms. Crider debuted with Florida Grand Opera in 2009 singing the role of Mallika in Lakmé, and went on to delight audiences as Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro.
Betsy DiazCuban-American soprano Betsy Diaz recently completed her second season in FGO's Young Artist Program. She was featured on the FGO mainstage as Anna (Nabucco, 2014) and as The Foreign Woman (The Consul, 2015). Betsy has been a regional finalist with the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, a semi-finalist in the Marcello Giordani International Voice Competition, and a prize winner in the Palm Beach Opera and Florida Suncoast Opera Guild competitions. She has performed with the Symphony of the Americas, Miami Symphony Orchestra, and the Concert Association of Florida.
Bob DundasBob Dundas currently serves as the Interim Director of the School of Music, Associate Professor of Vocal Studies, and Director of Opera Theater. A native of Keene, New Hampshire, Professor Dundas completed his graduate studies in Voice and Opera at the University of Iowa. Professor Dundas remains active as a concert soloist and recitalist and has performed with the Bel Canto Society of Cape Cod, the Monomoy Chamber Music Series, the Miami Master Chorale, the Mondanock Chorus and Orchestra, the Imperial Symphony, and the Miami Bach Society.
Chance EakinBass-baritone Chance Eakin’s recent roles include numerous credits with Florida Grand Opera, including The Official Registrar (Madama Butterfly, 2014), Mr. Kofner (The Consul, 2015), and the study cover of Don Alfonso (Così fan tutte, 2015). Originally from Central Texas, Chance received his Bachelor of Music Degree in Vocal Performance from Baylor University before pursuing his master’s degree at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Most recently, he completed doctoral coursework at the University of Texas at Austin.
Rebecca HenriquesCuban-American soprano Rebecca Henriques is a former FGO Young Artist who has recently performed the roles of Lucy (The Telephone, 2014) and Despina (Così fan tutte, 2015) with Florida Grand Opera, Pamina (Die Zauberflöte) with Frost Opera Theater in 2013, Contessa Almaviva (Le Nozze di Figaro) with Frost Opera Theater in 2012, and Miss Wordsworth (Albert Herring) at the University of Illinois in 2010. She received the first prize in lyric singing at the Concorso di Escuzione Musicale in Matera, Italy in 2013 and an encouragement award at the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 2008.
Will HughesBaritone Will Hughes recently received his Master of Music Degree in Voice Performance and Pedagogy from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey where he studied under Dr. Christopher Arneson. Will hails from Dallas, Texas and earned his Bachelor of Music Degree in Voice Performance from Wheaton College, where he was the recipient of the Ben Heppner Prize.
Carla JablonskiMezzo-soprano Carla Jablonski has sung with the Wolf Trap Opera Company, Opera Santa Barbara, Chautauqua Opera, Central City Opera and Manhattan Opera Studio. As a former member of Florida Grand Opera’s Young Artist Program, Carla was seen as Annina (La traviata) and Third Lady (Die Zauberflöte) in 2013. This past season, Carla joined the Metropolitan Opera as a chorus member (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg), under the baton of James Levine. Carla received her master’s degree from the Juilliard School.
Laura Martinez Leon
Cuban soprano Laura Martinez León makes her Florida Grand Opera debut this season. She is currently completing coursework for a Master of Music Degree in Voice Performance at FIU. This season at FGO Laura study-covers Yvette in Weinberg’s The Passenger and Norina in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, and can be seen in numerous regional outreach performances.
Eric McConnellEric J. McConnell, bass-baritone, recently received his Bachelor of Music degree in Classical Vocal Performance at the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, studying with renowned bass-baritone Kevin Short. This summer, Mr. McConnell is at Seagle Music Colony in Schroon Lake, NY, where he will perform the role of Basilio (Il barbiere di Siviglia), as well as workshop the role of Elisha Fitzgibbon in Evan Mack's opera Roscoe. He will then move to Chicago, where he will begin study for his Master's Degree in Vocal Performance at Northwestern University, working under the esteemed pedagogue Stephen Smith.
Sarah PayneSoprano Sarah Payne, a native of South Florida, makes her Florida Grand Opera debut this season. In 2014 she was named a finalist in the annual International Richard Strauss Competition. Sarah has also been named a regional finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. She holds a bachelor’s degree in vocal performance from Florida International University. This season at FGO, she sings Clotilda in Bellini’s Norma and study-covers Marta in Weinberg’s The Passenger.
Kirsten ScottMezzo soprano Kirsten Scott recently made her debut with Florida Grand Opera this past season in the role of Vera Boronel (The Consul, 2015). In 2011 she performed as lead soloist in the world premiere of Illuminessence: Prayers for Peace, an oratorio commissioned by the Vatican commemorating 9/11. Ms. Scott has also performed as a mezzo soloist with the AIMS Orchestra in Graz, Austria and L’art du Chant Français for a concert series throughout southern France.
Riley SvatosRiley Svatos is from Lake Andes, South Dakota and graduated with a Bachelor’s of Music Education from South Dakota State University in 2011. In 2012 she was the grand-prize winner of the Franco-American Vocal Academy Grand Concours de Chant and was awarded the Winston Scholarship from the National Society of Arts and Letters. She also won an encouragement award at the Indiana District of the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions this season. In November 2013, Ms. Svatos made her FGO debut in the role of Helen Niles in Marvin David Levy’s Mourning Becomes Electra. She received her Master of Music degree from Indiana University.
About the Project
The crowdfunding campaign, titled “Shooting for the Stars…and Distances,” will be hosted on Indiegogo.com and will run from October 1, 2015 through October 31, 2015.Both organizations plan to heavily promote this campaign across their social media networks and other digital platforms. Additionally, a variety of giving incentives, or “perks,” will be offered for donations at various levels. Perks range from a personalized “thank you” letter signed by the composer to an exclusive hard hat tour of the new Frost Science planetarium.
“The Miami community is greatly anticipating the new Frost Museum of Science, which will feature a state-of-the-art, multi-million dollar planetarium. Stars and Distances is a stunning composition which really does provide a musical perspective to the cosmos,” Danis continues. “We are truly honored that the Frost Science and Frederick Kaufman have chosen Florida Grand Opera to be the part of the soundtrack of this prestigious institution.”
To learn more about the crowdfunding campaign, or to make a donation, please visit: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/shooting-for-the-stars-and-distances
For your consideration.
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