Schenectady-Saratoga Symphony Orchestra – “Vestiges, Heroes and Legends”
Requiem soloists include: Sylvia Stoner – Soprano Ann Marie Adamick – Alto Casey Gray – Tenor Andrew Boisvert – Bass
And don’t miss the pre-concert talk with our guest artists and Artistic Director/Conductor Glen Cortese at 2 p.m. in the VIP Room! It’s an excellent way to learn more about the music and an opportunity to ask questions about the performance. All are invited to attend.
Tickets are $17–$24. Children under 18 are free when accompanied by a ticketed adult.
Run time: 2 hours
Described by The New York Times as “a marvelous artist, whose sophisticated technical resources and lively, informed musicality vitalize everything she plays,” Linda Chesis is considered to be one of the most exciting and dynamic flutists of her generation. Equally devoted to her roles as a chamber musician, teacher, soloist, curator and festival director, Ms. Chesis has forged a career of uncommon breadth and diversity.
Ms. Chesis has performed as a soloist and chamber musician in major halls throughout the U.S., France, Great Britain, Germany, Japan, Korea and China. A top prizewinner at the Paris and Barcelona International Competitions and at the National Flute Association Competition, she has received several career awards, including a Solo Recitalist’s Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. Linda Chesis is the founder and artistic director of the Cooperstown Summer Music Festival, celebrating its twenty-fifth year of bringing chamber music performances of the highest quality to upstate New York. Deeply committed to educating the next generation of musicians, Ms. Chesis has been on the flute and chamber music faculties at Manhattan School of Music since 1986 and Chair of the Woodwind Department since 1988. She is regularly invited to give master classes at important conservatories, universities and institutes around the globe. Ms. Chesis’ recordings can be heard on the EMI, Nonesuch, and Music Masters labels, and television and radio broadcasts featuring Ms. Chesis’ chamber music performances are frequently heard on American Public Media’s Performance Today.
Burnt Hills Oratorio Society (BHOS) was founded in 1970 to gather talented singers to perform classical choral masterworks with orchestral accompaniment. In recent years, the 50-70 member chorus diversified its repertoire to include holiday concerts and cabarets in a wider area, including Saratoga Springs. This growth and transformation led to a name change to better reflect our mission: Saratoga Voices. “We are excited to welcome our dynamic new Artistic Director, Noah Palmer, as we begin our 2023-24 Concert Season,” says Carol Drake, President of our Board. Mr. Palmer is the group’s sixth Artistic Director in the organization’s 54- year history, including the BHOS years. Mr. Palmer is currently Assistant Music Director of Albany Pro Musica, Artistic Director of Music at Trinity Lenox, and an Assistant Conductor at Opera Saratoga. For more information about Saratoga Voices, see their website at www.saratogavoices.org.
Mezzo-soprano Ann Marie Adamick is a lifelong singer and performer who has worked with a variety of classical choral groups for over thirty years. She is a frequent soloist with Saratoga Voices and the Schenectady Octavo Singers, appearing in performances of Handel’s “The Messiah,” Mendelssohn’s “Elijah,” Mozart’s “Requiem,” Mozart’s “Vesperae Solennes de Confessore,” Bach’s “Magnificat,” Vivaldi’s “Gloria” and Rutter’s “Magnificat.” Ann Marie was the alto soloist in the 2011 world premiere of Thomas F. Savoy’s chancel opera, “The Agon of St. Joseph,” and made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2012 performing the Slavonic liturgical works of Vladimir Pleshakov. She is a member of the Clare Ensemble Singers and has also appeared as a soloist with Auriel Camerata, Albany Pro Musica, Northern Berkshire Chorale and the Hudson-Mohawk Chorale. Equally at home with musical theater, Ann Marie has performed many leading roles with Syracuse-based Theater ’90 and Talent Company production companies. Ann Marie has studied with Anne Turner, Carolyn Amory and Carla Fisk. She is a University at Albany graduate and teaches English as a Second Language for WSWHE BOCES.
Andrew Boisvert, Bass, has been hailed as “thundering” (San Diego Story) with a “deep warmth” (The Rutland Herald). Recent performance highlights include returning to Bel Cantanti Opera to sing Alessio in their production of “La Sonnambula,” singing Il Carceriere in Cedar Rapids Opera’s “Tosca,” making his Indianapolis Opera debut as Zuniga in Bizet’s “Carmen” where he also covered Escamillo, returning to Sarasota Opera to cover Il Commendatore in “Don Giovanni” and Lo zio Bonzo in “Madama Butterfly,” singing Lorenzo in “I Capuleti e I Montecchi” with Bel Cantanti Opera, singing Il Re di Scozia in Opera Neo’s production of “Ariodante,” covering Sergeant Sulpice in St. Petersburg Opera’s “La fille du regiment,” and performing as Sam in Fargo-Moorhead Opera’s production of “Trouble in Tahiti.” He is a graduate of the Maryland Opera Studio (MM) and previously the University of Hartford (BM). Boisvert is a student of internationally renowned bass-baritone, Kevin Short.
Sylvia Stoner has performed across the country in opera and theater. Regional opera credits include the Des Moines Metro Opera, Shreveport Opera, Opera Omaha, Union Avenue Opera, Kentucky Opera, Mobile Opera, Lake George Opera, and the Lyric Opera of Kansas City. Favorite roles include Mimi in La Bohème, Countess in Figaro, Tatiana in Eugene Onegin, and Marguerite in Faust. A proud member of Actor’s Equity, she toured nationally in Terence McNally’s “Maria Callas: Masterclass” in the role of opera singer Sharon Graham.
Internationally, she performed in Italy with Orvieto Musica and the InterHarmony International Music Festival. Recent soloist engagements include the Schenectady Symphony, Saratoga Voices, the Battenkill Chorale, the Northern Berkshire Chorale, and the Skidmore Orchestra.
She co-created “Sister–Show me Eternity” based upon the life of Emily Dickinson and her sisters. This unique staging of art song and narrative celebrates the artist-teacher, as the production included a student chorus at each performance. There are now over 40 students nationally who have appeared in this work at various colleges and universities on the East coast and in the Midwest. Her next collective endeavor includes co-commissioning and touring new operas based on the stories of past generations called “A Mosaic of Motherhood.”
She obtained her Doctorate of Musical Arts Degree with honors in Voice at the University of Kansas and is currently the Senior Artist-in-Residence in Voice at Skidmore College.
Casey Gray (tenor) is active in the Capital Region and throughout New York State. He has performed with the Western New York Chamber Orchestra, Octavo Singers, Saratoga Voices, Schenectady-Saratoga Symphony Orchestra, Catskill Choral Society, Schenectady Light Opera Company and Auriel Camerata. Notable roles include Peter Quint (Turn of the Screw), Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni), Ferrando (Così fan tutte), Little Bat (Susannah), Pitichinaccio (Les Contes d’Hoffmann), Alfred (Die Fledermaus) and Pirelli (Sweeney Todd).
Notable performances of Oratorio works include Satyavān (Savitri), Evangelist/Victim (Samaritan) premier performance by composer Sean Doyle, Evangelist Bach’s St. John Passion, Händel’s Messiah, Mendelssohn’s Elijah and Dubois’ Seven Last Words of Christ. His concert works as a Tenor Soloist include, Mozart’s Requiem, Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana as well as concerts showcasing the works of George Gershwin, Richard Rodgers, Irving Berlin, Rodgers and Hart, Andrey Lloyd Webber, Cab Calloway and Cole Porter (under the baton of William Jon Gray & Glen Cortese).
Mr. Gray is in demand as a voice teacher, vocal coach and accompanist for various programs throughout the Capitol region. Currently, he serves as Organist at Jonesville United Methodist Church and is a member of the voice faculty at Skidmore College.