POETRY INTO SONG |
MARCH 5 |
The conclusion of our 13th season will end with a landmark event, the world premiere of The Unknown Sea by renowned composer David Conte. Featuring mezzo-soprano Lena Seikaly, SATB chorus, piano, and chamber orchestra, the piece is based on the texts of preeminent American poet Elizabeth Bishop. Conte will attend the premiere and participate in a pre-concert conversation led by former Poet Laureate of California, Dana Gioia. The Unknown Sea will be paired with Ralph Vaughan Williams's masterful cantata, Dona Nobis Pacem, based on Walt Whitman's poems and texts from the Hebrew Bible and Latin Mass, re-orchestrated by British composer and conductor Jonathan Rathbone.
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Sunday, March 5, 2023 | 5:00pm
The National Presbyterian Church, Washington, D.C. 4 pm | Pre-Concert Discussion
Poet Dana Dioia, student of Elizabeth Bishop and former chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, will lead a conversation and Q&A with composer David Conte, friends, colleagues, and scholars. |
Elizabeth Bishop and James Ingram Merrill had a wonderful, long-lasting friendship. Listen to this Library of Congress recording of them reading their poems in Washington, D.C.'s Coolidge Auditorium in April of 1974. Hearing Bishop's quiet, expressive, almost casual voice, brings her to life.
David Conte is the composer of over one hundred and fifty works published by E. C. Schirmer Music Company, including seven operas, works for chorus, solo voice, orchestra, band, and chamber music. He has received commissions from Chanticleer, the San Francisco, Oakland, Stockton, and Dayton Symphonies, the Atlantic Classical Orchestra; and from the American Guild of Organists. In 2007 he received the Raymond Brock commission from the American Choral Directors Association, one of the nation’s highest honors in choral music. His work is represented on many commercial CD recordings, including in 2015 Chamber Music of David Conte, on the Albany label; in 2016 Choral Music of Conrad Susa and David Conte, on the Delos label; and in 2018 Everyone Sang: Vocal Music of David Conte on the Arsis label. His opera The Gift of the Magi has received over 30 productions in the U. S., Canada, Europe, and Russia. He co-wrote the film score for the acclaimed documentary Ballets Russes, shown at the Sundance and Toronto Film Festivals in 2005, and composed the music for the PBS documentary, Orozco: Man of Fire, shown on the American Masters Series in the fall of 2007. In 1982, Conte lived and worked with Aaron Copland while preparing a study of the composer’s sketches, having received a Fulbright Fellowship for study with Copland’s teacher Nadia Boulanger in Paris, where he was one of her last students. He earned his Bachelor’s degree from Bowling Green State University and his Master’s and Doctoral degrees from Cornell University, where he studied with Karel Husa. He is Professor of Composition and Chair of the Composition Department at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he has taught since 1985. From 2011-2022 he served on the composition faculty of the European American Musical Alliance in Paris. In 2014 he was named Composer in Residence for Cappella SF, a professional chamber choir in San Francisco. In 2016 his song cycle American Death Ballads won First Prize in the NATS Composition Competition and was premiered by tenor Brian Thorsett and pianist Warren Jones at the NATS Conference in Chicago.
Lena Seikaly is an award-winning classical mezzo-soprano and jazz vocalist from the
Washington, D.C. area. She completed her B.M. from the University of Maryland School of Music under the private instruction of François Loup, and has since performed as an in-demand soloist alongside the DC area’s top orchestras and choirs, including the Great Noise Ensemble, New Orchestra of Washington, Washington Master Chorale, the University of Maryland Chamber Singers and UMD Symphony Orchestra, Washington National Cathedral choir, St. Mary’s Orchestra & Choir (St. Mary’s, MD), Easton Choral Arts Society (Easton, MD), and Orchestra on the Hill (Ipswich, MA). She has been featured in works by Handel, Bach, Mozart, Vivaldi, Durufle, Vaughn Williams, Britten, Barber, Bernstein and Crumb, as well as 20th century and early sacred music. In March of 2008, she was named the D.C. chapter winner of the Eleanor Searle Whitney McCollum Vocal Award, sponsored by the National Society of Arts & Letters, and went on to receive fifth place at the national level of the competition in May of that same year. She served as the alto soloist and section leader at Westmoreland Congregational Church for nearly 10 years, and as the lead vocalist for the Washington National Cathedral’s jazz service for three years.
As a jazz vocalist, Lena has been named “one of Washington’s preeminent jazz singers” and “brightest voices in jazz” (The Washington Post). She was one of eleven semi-finalists for the prestigious 2015 Thelonious Monk Institute International Jazz Vocals Competition in L.A., and is an alum of the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead program in DC, the Jazz Aspen Snowmass program directed by Christian McBride, and the Strathmore Artist-in-Residence program in Maryland. Both as a bandleader and featured artist, Lena has headlined at Jazz at Lincoln Center Shanghai (China), Nardis Jazz Club and Zorlu Center Istanbul (Turkey), the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Strathmore Music Center, Blues Alley, the Hamilton, West Virginia Public Radio’s Mountain Stage, Sidney Harman Hall, various Smithsonian venues and DC’s famed Westminster Church, as well as the Elkhart Jazz Festival (Elkhart, IN), Mel Bay Jazz Festival (St. Louis, MO), Chestertown Jazz Festival (Chestertown, MD), DC Jazz Festival (Washington, DC), and Center City Jazz Festival (Philadelphia, PA). She has performed alongside Byron Stripling, Christian McBride, Sean Jones, Cyrus Chestnut, Norman Simmons, Walter Blanding, Michael Feinstein, Duduka da Fonseca, and various big bands including the U.S. Airmen of Note, U.S. Army Blues, Columbus Jazz Orchestra, Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, Capitol Bones Big Band, and the Bohemian Caverns Jazz Orchestra. Lena has released four albums under her name between 2009 and 2018, all of which garnered features in The Washington Post, Washington City Paper and DCist, among others.
Washington, D.C. area. She completed her B.M. from the University of Maryland School of Music under the private instruction of François Loup, and has since performed as an in-demand soloist alongside the DC area’s top orchestras and choirs, including the Great Noise Ensemble, New Orchestra of Washington, Washington Master Chorale, the University of Maryland Chamber Singers and UMD Symphony Orchestra, Washington National Cathedral choir, St. Mary’s Orchestra & Choir (St. Mary’s, MD), Easton Choral Arts Society (Easton, MD), and Orchestra on the Hill (Ipswich, MA). She has been featured in works by Handel, Bach, Mozart, Vivaldi, Durufle, Vaughn Williams, Britten, Barber, Bernstein and Crumb, as well as 20th century and early sacred music. In March of 2008, she was named the D.C. chapter winner of the Eleanor Searle Whitney McCollum Vocal Award, sponsored by the National Society of Arts & Letters, and went on to receive fifth place at the national level of the competition in May of that same year. She served as the alto soloist and section leader at Westmoreland Congregational Church for nearly 10 years, and as the lead vocalist for the Washington National Cathedral’s jazz service for three years.
As a jazz vocalist, Lena has been named “one of Washington’s preeminent jazz singers” and “brightest voices in jazz” (The Washington Post). She was one of eleven semi-finalists for the prestigious 2015 Thelonious Monk Institute International Jazz Vocals Competition in L.A., and is an alum of the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead program in DC, the Jazz Aspen Snowmass program directed by Christian McBride, and the Strathmore Artist-in-Residence program in Maryland. Both as a bandleader and featured artist, Lena has headlined at Jazz at Lincoln Center Shanghai (China), Nardis Jazz Club and Zorlu Center Istanbul (Turkey), the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Strathmore Music Center, Blues Alley, the Hamilton, West Virginia Public Radio’s Mountain Stage, Sidney Harman Hall, various Smithsonian venues and DC’s famed Westminster Church, as well as the Elkhart Jazz Festival (Elkhart, IN), Mel Bay Jazz Festival (St. Louis, MO), Chestertown Jazz Festival (Chestertown, MD), DC Jazz Festival (Washington, DC), and Center City Jazz Festival (Philadelphia, PA). She has performed alongside Byron Stripling, Christian McBride, Sean Jones, Cyrus Chestnut, Norman Simmons, Walter Blanding, Michael Feinstein, Duduka da Fonseca, and various big bands including the U.S. Airmen of Note, U.S. Army Blues, Columbus Jazz Orchestra, Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, Capitol Bones Big Band, and the Bohemian Caverns Jazz Orchestra. Lena has released four albums under her name between 2009 and 2018, all of which garnered features in The Washington Post, Washington City Paper and DCist, among others.
Hailed as “a lyric soprano of ravishing quality” by the Boston Globe, Laura Choi Stuart’s solo appearances this season include Elijah with Baltimore Choral Arts, Dona Nobis Pacem with Washington Master Chorale, a debut with Bach Vocal Artists of Orlando, The Enlightenment Festival with Seraphic Fire, and Poulenc Gloria and Mendelssohn Lobgesang with the State College Choral Society as well as a return to Washington National Cathedral for Messiah, Poulenc’s Sept répons des ténèbres and the Monteverdi Vespers.
Recent season highlights include Mozart Requiem and Handel Israel in Egypt and Messiah, also at Washington National Cathedral, Christmas Oratorio with Washington Bach Consort, Brahms Requiem with The Washington Chorus and Fauré Requiem with The Choral Arts Society.
In opera, she has appeared on the mainstage with Boston Lyric Opera, Opera Boston, Annapolis Opera, Lake George Opera, the In Series, and Opera North in roles including Musetta, Adina, Gilda, Pamina, and Frasquita, and in premieres of new American works with Washington National Opera as part of the American Opera Initiative.
Laura was honored for art song performance at both the 2010 and 2012 National Association of Teachers of Singing Artist Awards and as one of the 2009 Art Song Discovery Series winners for the Vocal Arts Society.
Laura is a passionate teacher, and serves as Head of Vocal Studies at Washington National Cathedral and on the vocal faculty of the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. She shares clear (fun) voice education for adult choral singers at TheWeeklyWarmUp.com.
She received her training at The Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Program for Singers, Opera North, and Berkshire Opera, as well as The New England Conservatory (Presidential Scholar) and Dartmouth College (Summa Cum Laude).
Recent season highlights include Mozart Requiem and Handel Israel in Egypt and Messiah, also at Washington National Cathedral, Christmas Oratorio with Washington Bach Consort, Brahms Requiem with The Washington Chorus and Fauré Requiem with The Choral Arts Society.
In opera, she has appeared on the mainstage with Boston Lyric Opera, Opera Boston, Annapolis Opera, Lake George Opera, the In Series, and Opera North in roles including Musetta, Adina, Gilda, Pamina, and Frasquita, and in premieres of new American works with Washington National Opera as part of the American Opera Initiative.
Laura was honored for art song performance at both the 2010 and 2012 National Association of Teachers of Singing Artist Awards and as one of the 2009 Art Song Discovery Series winners for the Vocal Arts Society.
Laura is a passionate teacher, and serves as Head of Vocal Studies at Washington National Cathedral and on the vocal faculty of the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. She shares clear (fun) voice education for adult choral singers at TheWeeklyWarmUp.com.
She received her training at The Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Program for Singers, Opera North, and Berkshire Opera, as well as The New England Conservatory (Presidential Scholar) and Dartmouth College (Summa Cum Laude).
Hailed by the Washington Post as a “superb soloist” with a “sensitively turned lyric baritone”, James Rogers has performed as a soloist in opera, oratorio, concert and recital in the Washington area with ensembles including Cantate Chamber Singers (Curlew River, Noye’s Fludde), the Fairfax Choral Society (Lord Nelson Mass), Opera AACC (Don Giovanni), the New Dominion Chorale (Bach Magnificat), Inscape Chamber Orchestra (Façade, Trouble in Tahiti, Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen), Urban Arias (The Filthy Habit), the Washington Savoyards (The Merry Widow), the Arts Chorale of Winchester, the Annapolis Chorale, the Reston Chorale, and the City Choir of Washington (The Creation).
This season he has made debuts with the Chesapeake Orchestra (Songs of Travel) and the Reston Community Players (A Little Night Music). National appearances include concerts and recitals in New York, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Dallas, and Honolulu.
This season he has made debuts with the Chesapeake Orchestra (Songs of Travel) and the Reston Community Players (A Little Night Music). National appearances include concerts and recitals in New York, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Dallas, and Honolulu.
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Photo by Ivan Bandura
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Inset photo: Elizabeth Bishop, Brazil 1954. Archives & Special Collections, Vassar College Library (Reference #3.454).
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