Free toSing:
The Story of the First
African-American Opera Company
AN ORIGINAL STRATHMORE WORLD PREMIERE PRODUCTION
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2008
8 P.M.
5301 Tuckerman Lane
North Bethesda, Maryland
(301) 581-5200 www.strathmore.org
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT AND CEO
W
ith Free to Sing, Artistic Director Shelley Brown has
elevated Strathmore from presenter into the new role of
producer. Nurturing the barest seed of discovery into a historical
and cultural work, Free To Sing is a proud journey not only into
our region’s rich artistic heritage, but also into the dreams and
aspirations of the Colored American Opera Company, whose
talents and triumphs were overlooked by history. Over the past
year and a half, this production has become a passion-driven
mission for the artistic, production and management teams at
Strathmore. Tonight, it appears on this stage thanks to hundreds
of community benefactors, especially Dr. Carlotta Miles and the
Benefit Committee who acted upon their fervent belief that this is a
story worth telling. We are grateful in this day and age that we are
Jim Saah
all “Free To Sing.”
Eliot Pfanstiehl
President and CEO
Strathmore
Strathmore would especially like to thank the following individuals for their generous contribution to
Strathmore’s first original production, Free to Sing: The Story of the First African-American Opera Company:
SPONSOR
DONORS
Mr. and Mrs. Richard S. Carter
Dr. and Mrs. William W. Funderburk
Mr. and Mrs. Jefferi Lee
Leon Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. Alan Wurtzel
Mr. and Mrs. John H. Macklin
Mr. and Mrs. Theodore A. Miles
Miller & Long, Mr. John M. McMahon
Union Trust Bank, Mr. Robert L. Johnson
Cover photos L to R: Opera Company Member William T. Benjamin from The Washington Post, February 7, 1902; Saint Augustine Catholic Church;
John Esputa (seated with mustache), Paul Bierley Papers, 1892–2002, Sousa Archives and Center for American Music, University Library, University of Illinois
STRATHMORE PRESENTS
Free toSing:
The Story of the First
African-American Opera Company
AN ORIGINAL STRATHMORE WORLD PREMIERE PRODUCTION
Music Center at Strathmore, Marriott Concert Stage
Saturday, February 16, 2008 at 8 p.m.
STARRING
Narrator/Don Pomposo
Isabella
Carlos
Donna Lucrezia
Inez
Doctor Paracelsus (The Doctor of Alcantara)
Music Director/Conductor
Orchestra
David Emerson Toney
Awet Andemicael
Kenneth Gayle
Carmen Balthrop
Millicent Scarlett
Gylchris Sprauve
Angel Gil-Ordóñez
Post-Classical Ensemble
Joseph Horowitz, Artistic Director
Morgan State University Choir
Eric Conway, Director
Andrew Luse
Chorus
Piano/Organ
CREATIVE TEAM
Narrative
Director
Musical Staging
Shelley Brown and Michael Rosenberg
Scot Reese
Alvin Mayes
PRODUCTION TEAM
Set Design
Lighting Design
Sound Design
Production Stage Manager
Production Manager
Stage Manager
Producer
Dan Conway
Lyle Jaeger
Caldwell Gray
Jon Foster
Laura Lee Everett
Miriam Teitel
Strathmore
UNDERSTUDIES
Doctor Paracelsus & Carlos
Narrator/Pomposo
Carlos & Doctor Paracelsus
Isabella, Inez, Lucrezia
Inez, Lucrezia, Isabella
Patrick Barrett
Alvin Mayes
Jordan Mills
Lindsay Roberts
Alicia Waller
STRATHMORE PRESENTS
American Opera: D.C. and Beyond
Auxiliary Education Event
Mansion at Strathmore, The Dorothy M. and Maurice C. Shapiro Music Room
Saturday, February 16, 2008 at 4 p.m.
PRESENTATIONS BY PROFESSORS
Raymond Jackson (Howard University)
Karen Ahlquist (The George Washington University)
Patrick Warfield (Georgetown University)
Katherine Preston (College of William and Mary)
Hosted by Post-Classical Ensemble Artistic Director Joseph Horowitz
3
POST-CLASSICAL
ENSEMBLE
MORGAN STATE
UNIVERSITY CHOIR
Angel Gil-Ordóñez, Music Director
Joseph Horowitz, Artistic Director
Dr. Eric Conway, Director
VIOLIN
David Salness, Concertmaster
Sally McLain
Lily Kramer
Jennifer Rickard
Cindy Lin
Doug Dube, Principal Second
Bruno Nasta
Sarah Sherry
Sonya Hayes
Lisa Cridge
VIOLA
Lisa Ponton, Principal
Paul Swantek
David Basch
Kyung Le Blanc
CELLO
Evelyn Elsing, Principal
Marion Baker
David Cho
BASS
Tony Manzo, Principal
Ed Malaga
FLUTE
David Lonkevich
OBOE
Mark Hill
CLARINET
Marguerite Levin
HORN
Mark Hughes, Principal
Ted Peters
TRUMPET
Chris Gekker
TROMBONE
Chuck Casey
TIMPANI
Chris de Chiaro
HARP
Caroline Gregg
ORCHESTRA CONTRACTOR
Sue Kelly
4
SOPRANOS
Portia Bonds
Ashia Borders
Tiara Dixon
Maryanne Fields
Leah Finklea
Joanna Ford
Shakyla Johnson
Kristal King
Reyna Martin
Jessica Nelson
Simone Paulwell
Ashley Perry
Shana Powell
Brittney Quashie
Dayna Quincy
ALTOS
Thomas Allen
Jehreva Brown
Ericka Carter
Patrick Dailey
Naim Howard
Courtney Jones-Moody
Jocelyn Lay
Essence Morgan
Tabitha Pearson
Jacqueline Pressey
Shannon Ramsey
Ashli Rice
Ayanna Whtie
Brittany Williams
TENORS
Anthony Avery
Marvin Carr
Antonio Chase
Brandon Harris
Terrone Hill
Tarrence Hughes
Aaron Lawrence
Joshua Lay
Imhotep McClean
Dwayne Pinkney
Jimothy Rogers
Raphael Scott
Andre Simmons
Fred Taylor
BASSES
Chester Burke
Albert Hardy
Soloman Howard
Colin Lett
Adrian Lewis
Kevin Lewis
Ronald McFadden
Tristan Morris
Jonathan Nelson
Joseph Nelson
Sean Robert
Dominique Spriggs
Benjamin Taylor
Danton Whitely
PROGRAM
ACT I
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
Traditional
Arr. Hall Johnson
Steal Away
Traditional
Arr. Hall Johnson
Rock-A-My-Soul
Traditional
Arr. H. Roberts
Mass in C
Et incarnatus
Sanctus
John Esputa
(1832–1882)
Te Deum
John Philip Sousa
(1854 –1932)
Mass No. 3, Cäcilienmesse
Gloria
Franz Joseph Haydn
(1732–1809)
~ INTERMISSION ~
ACT II
The Doctor of Alcantara in Concert
Julius Eichberg (1824 –1893)
Libretto Benjamin E. Woolf
Arr. Angel Gil-Ordóñez
Part 1
Overture
Wake! Lady, Wake! (Carlos, Chorus)/You Saucy Jade! (Lucrezia, Inez, Isabella)
He Still Was There (Isabella)
When a Lover Is Poor (Inez)/Away Despair (Isabella and Inez)
Buenas Noches (Chorus)
Love’s Cruel Dart (Carlos)
The Knight of Alcantara (Lucrezia)
I Love, I Love! (Carlos and Lucrezia)
Finale to First Act (Doctor, Inez, Isabella, Lucrezia, Pomposo and Chorus)
Part 2
Prelude
Ah, Woe Is Me! (Isabella)
Senor! Senor! (Carlos, Doctor, Inez)
Good Night, Senor Balthazar (Doctor, Lucrezia, Isabella and Inez)
Finale (Doctor, Inez, Carlos, Lucrezia, Isabella and Chorus)
Please Note:
The congregation changed names from St. Martin de Porres, founded in 1858, to Saint Augustine in 1876. For the sake of clarity it will be
called Saint Augustine’s throughout this performance and in these notes.
All music performed in a Catholic Church service before Vatican II was performed in Latin. The first three pieces of music in Act 1 are intended
to show the music of the time that were part of the African-American experience, not music performed as part of the church service.
5
AN INTRODUCTION TO
FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
W
hile producing the Strathmore/WAMA Timeline Concert
famous student. Warfield’s research on Esputa, the music director of
Series, a 64-part concert series on the history of
The Colored American Opera Company, provided the link between
Washington area music, I read of the existence of The Colored
the forgotten opera company and Saint Augustine’s Catholic
American Opera Company. My interest piqued, and I researched
Church. Once that connection had been made, Morris MacGregor’s
the company at Library of Congress, Howard University, Martin
book Emergence of a Black Catholic Community illustrated the
Luther King, Jr. Library, the Washington Historical Society, and the
context for the company and provided important details, especially
Little Falls Library. A breakthrough in my research occurred at the
about the supportive role of Father Barrotti, who originally hired
Marine Band Archive when librarian Michael Ressler referred me to
Esputa as the music director at Saint Augustine.
the important research Professor Patrick Warfield of Georgetown
University had done on John Philip Sousa, John Esputa’s most
In addition to Eliot Pfanstiehl and the entire Strathmore staff,
special thanks to the many advisors and scholars whose work
contributed to this project. They include Michael Schreibman of
ustine
Saint Aug
hurch
C
lic
o
th
a
C
the Washington Area Music Association, Prof. Patrick Warfield of
Georgetown University, Joseph Horowitz of the Post-Classical
Ensemble, Walter Zvonchenko of Library of Congress, Michael
Ressler of the Marine Band Library, Prof. Raymond T. Jackson and
Prof. Vada Butcher of Howard University, Dena Grant of Saint
Augustine Church, Tiki Davies of The Kennedy Center, Jo Manley
of Stevens Advertising, and my husband, Michael Rosenberg.
Sincerely,
Shelley Brown
VP, Artistic Director
Jim Sa
ah
Strathmore
6
SYNOPSES
The Doctor of Alcantara
Free to Sing
Carlos, the son of Senor Balthazar, has come to serenade Isabella,
the daughter of the Doctor of Alcantara and Lucrezia. Although
they have never met, Carlos has fallen in love with the beautiful
visage of Isabella and she has fallen in love with the singer of
the beautiful serenades directed to her while she was lonely in a
convent. Having arrived home from the convent, Isabella is
overjoyed to realize that the soothing and beautiful voice of her
mysterious lover has followed her. Unbeknownst to the two young
lovers, their parents have arranged their marriage to one another.
Commissioned by Strathmore, Free to Sing charts the advancement
of the Colored American Opera Company, both the first opera
company in the District of Columbia and the first African-American
company in the United States, as they use their musical talent to
raise money for their church community and build schools for
their children in the 1870s. Free to Sing focuses on the musical
accomplishments of the Opera Company with an introductory
narrative by Strathmore’s artistic director Shelley Brown and
Michael Rosenberg. The evening will conclude with a presentation
of the rarely performed landmark operetta, Julius Eichberg’s The
Doctor of Alcantara.
Almost 150 years ago, in 1858, St. Martin’s Parish, now known as
Saint Augustine’s Church, was founded as a place of worship for
Washington, D.C.’s African-American Catholic population. With a
heavy emphasis on music and education, the church employed the
expertise of a former Marine Band member, Professor John Esputa,
to lead their chorus. Recognizing the great musical talent found in
the church, choir member William T. Benjamin and Professor
Esputa went on to form the Colored American Opera Company.
In 1873, the Opera Company presented performances of Julius
Eichberg’s The Doctor of Alcantara to mixed race audiences — two
at Lincoln Hall and two at Wall’s Opera House in Washington,
D.C., and three at Horticultural Hall in Philadelphia before
embarking on a tour of east coast cities.
The all-black cast for the performances featured soprano Agnes
(Jane) Gray Smallwood, contraltos Lena Miller and Mary A.C.
Coakley (a former slave who sewed for first lady Mary Todd
Lincoln), tenors Henry Fleetwood Grant and Richard Tompkins,
baritones William T. Benjamin and George Jackson, and bass
Thomas H. Williams. Some of the opera members were local
businessmen, some were laborers and some were domestic workers,
and some were former slaves, newly freed in the years preceding and
immediately following the Civil War.
With the help of the Opera Company’s performances and other
fund-raising activities, St. Martin’s Parish was able to build a new
church and school, Saint Augustine’s, at 15th and M Streets, NW
in 1876. The church was torn down in 1948 to make way for
The Washington Post building, but soon, the diocese brought
together that parish and that of St. Paul’s in 1961 and then
went on to create a new Saint Augustine’s Church at 15th and
V Streets, NW in 1982.
Free to Sing is a true American success story and an example of the
historic impact that occurs when groups of people come together
and use hard work, skill, education, and perseverance to meet a
common goal.
While Carlos sings, his music attracts attention from Isabella, her
mother, Lucrezia, and Isabella’s maid, Inez. All three women believe
Carlos’s song is intended for them. When Inez mocks Lucrezia for
believing the song is directed to her, Donna Lucrezia scolds Inez as
a promiscuous tart. Isabella confides in her mother that she cannot
go forward with the marriage her parents have arranged for her
because she loves someone else, the perfect voice that sang to her
in the convent.
Carlos concocts a scheme to finally meet Isabella face to face. He
climbs into a basket and has himself delivered to Isabella’s home
under the pretense that the basket is a gift for her maid, Inez. Carlos
climbs out of the basket and hides in the house only to be found by
Isabella’s mother, Lucrezia. Carlos professes his love for Isabella
with a love song, which again is misconstrued by the self-centered
Lucrezia to be a song for her. Lucrezia sends Carlos back into
hiding. She believes Carlos has returned to the basket to hide, but
in fact, he has chosen to hide in the house.
Worried that cranky Lucrezia will disapprove of Inez’s receipt of a
gift from a suitor, The Doctor of Alcantara and Inez throw the gift
basket into the river. Lucrezia then informs them that a man was
hiding in the basket. The Doctor and Inez fall into despair thinking
they have killed the mysterious man in the basket.
Isabella finds Carlos’ note accompanying the gift and desperately
looks for her beloved. Her grieving family tells her of the unfortunate death of the man in the basket. Police arrive to investigate the
mysterious goings-on, but are unable to pinpoint the crime that has
been committed.
Carlos, finally unable to contain his love for Isabella, leaves his
hiding place and, searching for his love, unfortunately encounters
the paranoid Doctor and Inez. Carlos convinces them that he is both
the son of Senor Balthazar and Isabella’s love. Relieved to realize
that Carlos was the man in the basket and that he is still alive, the
Doctor and Inez offer Carlos a glass of wine. Their calm quickly
dissipates when Inez mistakenly gives Carlos a glass of the Doctor’s
poisonous potions. When Carlos passes out, Inez and the Doctor
again believe they have killed him. In a panic, they hide Carlos’
body under the couch in the living room.
Senor Balthazar, Carlos’ father, enters, wishing to discuss Carlos and
Isabella’s wedding arrangements. Inez and the Doctor, believing
Carlos dead, try to get Senor Balthazar to leave. When he insists on
staying, they make up a bed for him on the couch, over which the
still unconscious Carlos lies. When Carlos arises from his poisoninduced blackout, his true identity becomes known. Once everyone
sees that Carlos and Isabella are the intended parties of the arranged
marriage and deeply in love with one another, great joy ensues.
7
HISTORICAL TIMELINE
1858
Saint Augustine
Catholic Church
(originally Blessed
Martin de Porres
Chapel), an AfricanAmerican congregation, is founded and
starts its choir.
1861
(april 12)
The Civil War
begins.
1862
1863
(January 1)
President Lincoln
signs a bill ending
slavery in
Washington, D.C.
Under this law,
the federal
government
freed approximately 3,100
slaves.
With the Emancipation
Proclamation, President
Lincoln uses his wartime
powers to free all slaves
in enemy territory—
the 11 southern states
(the Confederacy) that
separated from the
United States. The
limits of his power
prevent him from freeing
slaves in Union states
(those that remained in
the United States).
President Lincoln
photo courtesy of the
Library of Congress
PROGRAM NOTES
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, Traditional
Arr. Hall Johnson
Steal Away, Traditional
Arr. Hall Johnson
Rock-A-My-Soul, Traditional
Arr. H. Roberts
African-American spirituals are Christian songs that echo teachings
in the Bible. Many are songs of hope, referencing a Promised Land
far away from the slave’s world of bondage.
Many spirituals were “coded songs” whose hidden messages could
be passed from family to family and from generation to generation.
Such spirituals served a dual function. They were first and foremost
religious songs (which helped to fool slave owners), but they also
often contained hidden instructions. For example, the “sweet chariot”
in the well-known spiritual "Swing low, sweet chariot" could have
been the Underground Railroad itself that would “swing low” into
the southern states. When the singer “looked over Jordan” she may
have been seeing Ripley, a station across the Ohio River. Such songs
could thus contain detailed instructions without alerting slave owners.
Originally sung by slaves working in the fields, spirituals were
also performed in front of churches and in other meeting places.
They thus acted as unifying songs and helped to build a sense of
community among slaves. Over time spirituals came to be seen by
slaves as their own music, and instilled a sense of pride and identity.
Now cherished as a uniquely American genre, spirituals are sung
proudly. The messages in the songs are still embraced and used as
motivation for audiences today.
1865
(April 18)
The Civil War
ends with the
Confederacy’s
surrender. More
than 600,000
Americans died
in the war.
1865
The 13th
Amendment to
the Constitution is
ratified, abolishing
slavery in the entire
United States.
Mass in C
John Esputa (1832–1882)
One of Washington, D.C.’s most important music teachers, John
Esputa was also a musician, composer and music publisher. A
member of the United States Marine Band, John Esputa augmented
his income as a teacher in the Washington Colored Schools and by
serving as musical director in several churches. He achieved great
success with the talented singers of Saint Augustine:
“under the leadership of Professor John Esputa, whose name and
fame as a musician is of the first order, and stands No. 1 in
Washington City; add to this a chorus of forty-two well-trained
voices; imagine a grand organ of 34 stops under the master hand
of Professor Zierback [Thierbach], who in his beautiful combinations of flute and violincello, blended with the bourdon, followed
by the reed stop, sixteenth, and this with the swell organ coupled
with the choir organ, all concluding with the metallic clash of the
double gamba, overpowered by the immense choral wave, and
you will have some idea of Saint Augustine’s choir. The attraction
to this church is increasing, Foreign ministers, members of
Congress and the aristocracy generally, are frequently seen in this
church; the elite and upper tens generally consider it their special
privilege to be present.” (The Catholic Mirror February 2, 1878)
Esputa self-published his Mass in C in 1875. Most of the 250-bar
setting is written for unison chorus, broken by a few moments of
two and three-voice writing. Much of the work is in parallel
motion, but it does contain a fair amount of light chromaticism.
Given the date of the Mass it was almost certainly written for
Saint Augustine’s choir.
Te Deum
John Philip Sousa (1854–1932)
John Philip Sousa is today best known as a composer of marches (The
Washington Post and The Stars and Stripes Forever), but between
1890 and 1920 he was one of the most popular musical figures in
America. Sousa was born in southeast Washington, just blocks from
8
1868
John Esputa
becomes the music
teacher and choir
director at Saint
Augustine’s Church.
1868
The 14th
Amendment is
ratified, granting
citizenship to all
people born or
naturalized in the
United States.
1869
1870
1873
1876
The Colored
American Opera
Company is formed
in Washington, D.C.
The 15th
Amendment
is ratified,
guaranteeing
that no American
can be denied the
right to vote on the
basis of race or
color.
The Colored
American Opera
Company tours and
performs the comic
opera, The Doctor
of Alcantara, to
great acclaim.
A new building is
constructed and
dedicated as Saint
Augustine’s Catholic
Church. Much of
the money used
to complete this
construction is
raised by The
Colored American
Opera Company.
John Esputa
(seated with mustache)
the Marine barracks where his father served as a trombonist. As a
boy, Sousa enrolled at John Esputa’s neighborhood conservatory
where he studied voice, piano, cornet, trombone, and violin.
After young Philip attempted to run away and join a circus band, his
father enlisted him as an apprentice musician in the United States
Marine Band (he was just thirteen). This apprentice program trained
many of Washington’s young musicians. John Esputa, for example,
had enlisted as a fifer in 1844 when he was just twelve. Sousa served
in the Marine Band, first as an apprentice and then as a regular
musician until he was twenty (he would become leader of the Marine
Band in 1880). But Sousa was hardly just a bandsman, and he also
performed as a violinist at Ford’s Opera House and the Washington
Theatre Comique. While still a teenager Sousa published his first
composition, “Moonlight on the Potomac Waltzes.” It was around
this time that Sousa began composing and orchestrating for his first
teacher, Professor John Esputa.
Sousa’s contribution to music in Saint Augustine’s Catholic Church
was reported in the Catholic Mirror of April 1 and 7, 1888. In
addition to several orchestrations, he composed this Te Deum. This
work, Sousa’s only liturgical piece, was never published, but the
manuscript survives at the Library of Congress. It was almost
certainly intended for Saint Augustine’s choir.
Mass No. 3, Cäcilienmesse
Gloria
Franz Joseph Haydn (1732–1809)
Though he did not invent the symphony and string quartet, Haydn
did more than any other composer to turn them into the great
achievements of 18th century music. By the time he wrote his last
great works, his symphonies had become a tightly organized
sequence of four contrasted movements in which the sonata form is
carried out logically and with great dramatic effect. Optimistic and
good-natured, his music has been beloved by audiences ever since.
When Washington audiences had the opportunity to hear such fine
musical offerings during the 19th century, they responded with great
enthusiasm. It was by performing such works that the singers of
Saint Augustine first attracted the attention of critics and patrons,
and became known as one of the most interesting musical organizations in the capital city:
“While none of the singers were professionally trained, the group
possessed singers with impressive natural talent ready for molding
into a first-rate professional ensemble. Soon the rare opportunity
to hear the masses and motets of Haydn, Mozart and other
European Masters was attracting overflow congregation to the
tiny chapel.” (Morris MacGregor, The Emergence of the Black
Community: Saint Augustine’s in Washington)
The Doctor of Alcantara
Julius Eichberg (1824–1893)
Libretto Benjamin E. Woolf (1836–1901)
Arr. Angel Gil-Ordóñez
Julius Eichberg was the music director of the resident orchestra of the
Boston Museum before founding and becoming director of the Boston
Conservatory of Music in 1867. He also became the Supervisor of
Music in the Boston Public Schools (a position created for him).
Written in 1862, The Doctor of Alcantara is generally acknowledged
to be the first successful attempt at the French style of Opéra bouffe
in America by an American-based composer. Eichberg, a native of
Germany who came to the United States in the 1850s, was clearly
influenced by the “light opera” popular in Europe at the time. The
style is reminiscent of later American works by the popular Gilbert
and Sullivan team while incorporating elements of current American
music styles at the time: parlor songs, sentimental ballads, dance-hall
and melodrama. The Doctor of Alcantara was widely produced for
four decades after its creation, but then, mysteriously disappeared
from the American stage and was almost completely unknown
except to musical scholars.
Known as the “Music Man of Boston” for a generation, Eichberg
composed orchestral works, string quartets and other operettas,
including The Two Cadis, Sir Marmaduke: or Too Attentive by
Half, The Rose of Tyrol, and A Night in Rome.
9
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
David Emerson Toney (Narrator)
Mr. Toney’s acting credits include Julie Taymor’s
Broadway production of Juan Darién. OffBroadway he performed as Clarence in Richard III
at the Pearl Theatre Company and Once on this
Island at Playwrights Horizons. Regionally he was
seen as Alonzo in The Tempest and Lucio in
Measure for Measure at the Folger, Army in the Persians and as
Othello in Othello at The Shakespeare Theatre and thirty-five
other stage productions at Arena Stage (Washington, D.C). Other
productions include Jacques in As You Like It at the Utah
Shakespearean Festival, Splash Hatch On The “E” Going Down
at Yale Rep, The Fool in King Lear and West in Two Trains
Running at the Kansas City Rep. He was also the recipient of the
2004 Helen Hayes award for Outstanding Actor in a Resident
Play for the role of Holloway in African Continuum Theatre
Company’s production of August Wilson’s Two Trains Running.
Awet Andemicael (Isabella)
Following recent performances of Handel’s Messiah
with Handel & Haydn Society, The Boston Herald
praised soprano Awet Andemicael’s ethereal artistry,
noting that “her voice is light, airy, lyric and full of
musical energy,” and further exclaimed that
“Andemicael is a singer to watch.” In the 2007–08
season, she reprises her sought-after interpretation of Trujaman in
de Falla’s El Retablo de Maese Pedro with the San Francisco
Symphony and joins the Nashville Symphony for performances of
Messiah. In the 2006–07 season, she made her debut with the Los
Angeles Philharmonic repeating her sought-after interpretation of
Trujaman in de Falla’s El Retablo de Maese Pedro, sang the de
Falla work with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, starred as
Clara in Porgy and Bess with Tulsa Opera, and performed the
Messiah at Carnegie Hall. Recently named a San Diego District
winner and a Western Regional Finalist of the Metropolitan Opera
National Council auditions, Ms. Andemicael is also the Second
Prize Winner of the 2003 Oratorio Society of New York Solo
Competition at Carnegie Hall. She has won the Lee Schaenen
Foundation Scholarship Award (2003), the Friedrich Schorr
Memorial Performance Prize (2002), the Pasadena Opera Guild
Awards (2002) and the Bel Canto Scholarship Foundation First
Place Scholarship (2001). She holds degrees from Harvard
University and the University of California at Irvine.
Kenneth Gayle (Carlos)
“Neither scenery nor intricate lighting is required
when a singing actor of his caliber takes the
stage…” declared the Chicago Sun Times. Hailed as
one of the “Faces to Watch” and “…one of a new
breed of opera singers…” Kenneth Gayle is accumulating accolades in a growing career in opera, oratorio, concert and stage. Equally at home in a variety of musical
styles and genres, national credits include performances with Lyric
Opera of Chicago, Ravinia Music Festival, Seattle Opera, Seattle
Symphony, Grant Park Music Festival, Opera Omaha, Omaha
Symphony and Opera Idaho, among many others. Now a resident
of Houston, TX local credits include performances with the
Houston Ebony Opera Guild, the Mukuru: Arts for AIDS Series,
Three Mo’ Tenors, and the premieres of his one-man musical
journeys, One Voice and One Voice, One Heart…Revealed
including selections from his new CD, Revealed, featuring the
10
original music of Gary Norian. Mr. Gayle is an alumnus of the
Lyric Opera Center for American Artists and a cum laude graduate
of the College of Creative Arts at West Virginia University. The
Seattle native is also a past recipient of the Seattle Opera Guild
scholarship for voice and opera and a former member of the
Seattle Opera Young Artist Program.
Carmen Balthrop (Lucrezia)
Carmen Balthrop, soprano, is a professor of voice at
the School of Music at the University of Maryland.
She is an inductee of the University’s Alumni Hall of
Fame. Ms. Balthrop performed with numerous wellknown opera companies and orchestras all over the
world, including The Metropilitan Opera, San
Francisco, Houston, Teatro La Fenice in Venice, and Teatro des
Westens in Berlin. She performed with the New York
Philharmonic, National Symphony, Boston Symphony, and symphonies in San Francisco, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, St. Louis,
Houston, and Detroit. Ms. Balthrop’s discography, found on the
Deutsche Grammophon, Elan, New World, and Fonit Cetra labels,
includes the title roles of Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha and Claudio
Monteverdi’s L’Incoronazione di Poppea. Her solo CD entitled
The Art Of Christmas, Volume I was released in the fall of 2004.
She sang for President Nelson Mandela during a recent visit to the
United States and was the soprano lead in the world premiere of
composer/double bassist, Frank Proto’s The Tuner at the
International String Bass Convention in Kalamazoo, Michigan. In
December she sang the east coast premiere of the one-woman
opera, At The Statue of Venus by Jake Heggie and Terence
McNally at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at University
of Maryland. In March 2007, Ms. Balthrop performed in concert
with Dr. Diane White in This is Her Story…This is Her Song, a
three-day symposium on black women and song, at the Clarice
Smith Center.
Millicent Scarlett (Inez)
Canadian soprano Millicent Scarlett hails from
Winnipeg, Manitoba. She received her Bachelor of
Music in Voice Performance from Brandon
University in Canada. While at Brandon she
received the silver medal, rarely awarded for the
highest GPA in the Applied Music Performance
degree. From there she attended University of Maryland College
Park, where she received her Master of Music in Opera. She also
holds a certificate of study from the Mozarteum in Salzburg,
Austria. Ms. Scarlett made her professional debut in the role of
Clara in Porgy and Bess with Opera Illinois under the baton of
Feora Contina. She also has performed the roles of Melide in
L’Ormindo by Cavalli, Dido in Dido and Aeneas, Godelieva in the
North American premiere of Dounaudy’s La Fiamminga, and several roles in an opera created for the University of Maryland
Opera Studio. As a Winner of the Luciano Pavarotti International
Voice Competition, she performed the role of Mrs. Ford in Falstaff
along with Mo. Pavarotti and Mo. Leone Maggira. Ms. Scarlett
has performed with the National Symphony, The Orchestra
Internazionale d’Italia Philharmonic Choir in Kitchener-Waterloo,
Fairfax Choral Society, The Washington Chorus, York Symphony,
and the Winnipeg Youth Orchestra. She has won numerous
awards and scholarships. Some of note are: Winner of the
Mid-Atlantic Region Metropolitan Opera Competition, National
Semi-finalist of the Metropolitan Opera Competition, 2nd place
Mid-Atlantic region winner, and numerous study and encouragement awards. Ms. Scarlett currently resides in Maryland and is a
professor at The George Washington University in Washington D.C.
Gylchris Sprauve (The Doctor of Alcantara)
Gylchris Sprauve, tenor, was born in Santurce,
Puerto Rico but grew up in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin
Islands. At the age of 7, he started playing organ in
church. By 14, he met many seasoned musicians
while working as a pianist/organist in the Virgin
Islands. After two summers at the Interlochen Arts
Camp in Michigan, he left the Virgin Islands to study voice. He
earned degrees from the University of Iowa and the University of
Maryland. He has sung in such countries as the United Kingdom,
Italy, Austria, The Netherlands, Argentina, Brazil, and the
Caribbean. In addition to opera, Mr. Sprauve also performs oratorio, gospel, Christian contemporary and world music. In addition
to English, he also speaks Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and has
since been learning French.
Angel Gil-Ordóñez,
Music Director/Conductor
A native of Madrid, Spain, Angel Gil-Ordóñez has
attained an outstanding reputation among Spain’s
new generation of conductors as he carries on the
tradition of his teacher and mentor, Sergiu
Celibidache. The Washington Post has praised his
conducting as “mesmerizing” and “as colorfully textured as a fauvist painting.”
The former Associate Conductor of the National Symphony
Orchestra of Spain, Mr. Gil-Ordóñez has conducted the American
Composers Orchestra, Opera Colorado, the Pacific Symphony, the
Hartford Symphony, the Brooklyn Philharmonic at the Brooklyn
Academy of Music, and the National Gallery Orchestra. Abroad,
he has been heard with the Munich Philharmonic, the Solistes de
Berne, at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, and at the Bellas
Artes National Theatre in Mexico City.
Currently the Music Director of Post-Classical Ensemble in
Washington, D.C., Mr. Gil-Ordóñez also holds the positions
of Director of Orchestral Studies at Wesleyan University in
Connecticut and Music Director of the Wesleyan Ensemble of
the Americas.
In 2006, the King of Spain awarded Mr. Gil-Ordóñez the
country’s highest civilian decoration, the Royal Order of
Queen Isabella, which is equivalent to a knighthood, for his
work in advancing Spanish culture in the world, in particular for
performing and teaching Spanish music in its cultural context.
Post-Classical Ensemble
Called by The Washington Post “a welcome, edgy addition to the
musical life of Washington,” Post-Classical Ensemble was created
by Angel Gil-Ordóñez and Joseph Horowitz in 2001, and made its
official debut in May 2003. “More than an orchestra,” it breaks
out of classical music, with its implied notion of a high-culture
remote from popular art. Its concerts regularly incorporate folk
song, dance, film, poetry, and commentary in order to serve audiences hunger for deeper engagement, and to cultivate adventurous
new listeners. The Ensemble made its sold-out Kennedy Center
debut in Fall 2005 in “Celebrating Don Quixote,” featuring a
commissioned production of Manuel de Falla’s sublime puppet
opera Master Peter’s Puppet Show. By the end of the 2007–2008
season, the Post-Classical Ensemble will have performed more
than two-dozen concerts and recorded two DVDs and a CD in its
five-year history. In June 2005, in association with the American
Film Institute and Naxos Records, Post-Classical Ensemble accompanied two classic American documentaries with scores by Virgil
Thomson. These presentations generated a Naxos DVD (released
Jan. 2007 and called “revelatory” by Philip Kennicott in the
Washington Post), and a CD (released last October). The performance of Aaron Copland’s The City last October at the Clarice
Smith Center will generate a similar Naxos DVD. Post-Classical
Ensemble returns to the Clarice Smith on April 6 for “Artists in
Exile,” a program exploring the New World fates of the composers Kurt Weill and Arnold Schoenberg, and the film-maker
Fritz Lang, where Weill’s Walt Whitman Songs will be performed
for the first time in the United States with orchestral accompaniment. They will also perform “Revueltas in Context” at the
Library of Congress on March 14.
Joseph Horowitz, Artistic Director,
Post-Classical Ensemble
Joseph Horowitz is one of today’s most prolific writers on topics
in American music. As an orchestral administrator and advisor,
he has been a pioneering force in the development of thematic
programming and new concert formats. His seven books offer a
detailed history and analysis of American symphonic culture, its
achievements, challenges, and prospects for the future. His
Classical Music in America: A History, was named one of the best
books of 2005 by The Economist. An eighth book, Artists in
Exile: How Refugees from War and Revolution Transformed the
American Performing Arts, will be published by HarperCollins
this month (February 2008). In 2001, Mr. Horowitz co-created
Post-Classical Ensemble, a chamber orchestra in Washington,
D.C., pursuing a programming template Mr. Horowitz developed
in the 1990s as Executive Director of the Brooklyn Philharmonic,
the orchestra’s concerts regularly incorporate popular/vernacular
music, dance, and film.
Mr. Horowitz was a music critic for The New York Times from
1976 to 1980. Mr. Horowitz is the author of the articles on
“classical music” for both The Oxford Encyclopedia of American
History and The Encyclopedia of New York State. His honors
and awards include a Guggenheim Fellowship, two NEH
Fellowships, and a commendation from the Czech Parliament for
his numerous celebrations of Dvofiák in America.
Morgan State University Choir
The Morgan State University Choir, led for more than three decades
by the late Dr. Nathan Carter, the celebrated conductor, composer,
and arranger, is one of the nation’s most prestigious university
choral ensembles. The choral forces of the critically acclaimed choir
include the University Choir, which is over 140 voices strong, and
The Morgan Singers—approximately 40 voices. While classical,
gospel, and contemporary popular music comprise the choir’s repertoire; the choir is noted for its emphasis on preserving the heritage
of the spiritual, especially in the historic practices of performance.
The Morgan State University Choir has performed for audiences
throughout the United States and all over the world.
The Choir has appeared at the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center
and Carnegie Hall on numerous occasions.One of the Choir’s
most historic moments came with the opportunity to sing under
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ABOUT THE ARTISTS CONT.
the baton of Robert Shaw, conducting the Orchestra of St. Luke’s
and joined by Jessye Norman and others in Carnegie Hall’s “One
Hundredth Birthday Tribute to Marian Anderson.” In the
1996–1997 season, the Choir appeared in the “Silver Anniversary”
concert on Public Television, which won three Emmy Awards for
Maryland Public Television (MPT).
In the May 2004 issue of Reader’s Digest, the magazine named the
Morgan State University Choir “the Best College Choir in the
U.S.’ in its list of “America’s 100 Best.”
In January 2005, under the leadership of Dr. Eric Conway, the
choir performed Mendelssohn’s Symphony #2, “Lobgesang,” with
the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, as well as sang for the State
Department at the invitation of Secretary of State Condeleeza Rice.
The Morgan State University Choir is a cultural ambassador for
Morgan State University, the City of Baltimore, the State of
Maryland and the United States.
Eric Conway, Director, Morgan State
University Choir
Eric Conway is currently the Music Director of
the Morgan State University Choir as well as
Chairperson of the Fine Arts Department. He served
as Associate Conductor and principal accompanist
for the Morgan State University Choir for twenty
years under the leadership of the late Nathan Carter.
He received his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree from the Peabody
Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University where he majored
in Piano Performance and minored in Conducting. While at the
Peabody, Conway was a recipient of the prestigious Liberace
Scholarship, as well as a winner in the Yale Gordon Concerto
Competition where he earned the honor of playing Rachmaninoff’s
2nd Piano Concerto with the Peabody Symphony Orchestra.
Eric Conway has performed as solo pianist with several orchestras
including, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Chamber
Orchestra, Baltimore Concert Artists, Johns Hopkins Symphony
Orchestra, Georgetown University Orchestra, and the Millbrook
Orchestra in Shepardstown, West Virginia.
Dr. Conway is also sought after as a collaborative artist. He has
worked with several leading artists including Trevor Wye, Hillary
Hahn, Daniel Heifetz, William Brown, and Janice Chandler Eteme.
He is also an orchestral pianist for the Baltimore Symphony.
Dr. Conway’s choral accomplishments include working closely
with some of the greatest conductors of the 20th Century including Robert Shaw, Sir Nevelle Mariner, and Donald Neuen.
Dr. Conway is married to Bessie Elizabeth Conway, and they are
blessed to have three sons: Eric, Jr. (13); Christopher (11); and
Ryan (4).
Andrew Luse, Piano/Organ
Andy Luse began studying piano at the age of eight.
At 10 he performed his first concerto, the Piano
Concerto in D Major by Haydn, with the New
England Youth Ensemble under the baton of
Francisco de Araujo. He went on to solo with this
orchestra several times over the next few years.
Mr. Luse attended Princeton University where he earned a B.A. in
History and a Certificate in Music Performance. As a freshman, he
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won the University Concerto Competition. He received his Masters
Degree in Piano Performance from the Peabody Institute of Johns
Hopkins University.
Mr. Luse was a participant in the Bowdoin Summer Music Festival,
the Aspen Music Festival, and the New Millennium Piano Festival
in Spain. He founded “Classics on the Rocks,” a quarterly series
bringing classical music into non-traditional venues. Mr. Luse is
a former Artist in Residence at Strathmore and is currently coteaching Strathmore’s Crescendo Club.
Scot Reese, Director
Scot Reese is a professor in directing, black theatre, and musical
theatre at the University of Maryland, College Park. Professional
theatre credits include productions from Los Angeles to New
York. Television credits include daytime dramas, situation comedies, variety specials, commercials, and an Emmy Award for individual achievement in performance. Reese’s most recent credits
include, Blues Journey at the Kennedy Center, Once On This
Island at the Round House Theatre, Pretty Fire and From the
Mississippi Delta for the African Continuum Theatre Company,
The Heidi Chronicles and Barefoot in the Park (with Laura
Linney and Eric Stoltz) at LA Theatre Works, Jane Eyre and
Zooman and the Sign at the University of Maryland, A Raisin in
the Sun at Olney Theatre, and Bells are Ringing and Purlie at the
Kennedy Center. B.A. – UCLA; M.F.A. - Northwestern University.
Shelley Brown, Writer
Shelley Brown is the Vice President for Programming and Artistic
Director for Strathmore, where her programs are known for their
artistic quality, diversity, and collaborative partnerships. Recently,
she produced the cELLAbration tribute concert to Ella Jenkins at
Strathmore with Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer, and The
Washington Area Music Timeline concert series with Michael
Schreibman. This series, lauded as “admirable and ambitious”
(The Washington Post), culminated with the opening of the Music
Center at Strathmore in February, 2005. She was awarded the
Executive of the Year by the Washington Area Music Association
(WAMA) that same year.
She came to Strathmore in 1998 from the John F. Kennedy Center
for the Performing Arts, after having launched and booked the
initial concerts for the nightly free Millennium Stage Series. She
was responsible for the programming and management of the
Open House Arts Festival, Holiday Celebration and other
international festivals. She is a graduate of Connecticut College
and holds a M.B.A. from The George Washington University.
Michael Rosenberg, Writer
Michael Rosenberg is a civil trial attorney and partner in the
Washington, D.C. law firm of Stein and Rosenberg. He has been
practicing law in the D.C. area since he graduated from American
University’s Washington College of Law in 1991. In law school,
Rosenberg served as editor of the Administrative Law Review. Mr.
Rosenberg graduated in 1986 from Connecticut College in New
London, Connecticut where he majored in English. A Chevy
Chase, Maryland native, his affinity for writing and writing skills
were developed in his childhood home where he was raised by a
playwright and a labor law attorney. Michael Rosenberg and his
wife, Shelley Brown are residents of Bethesda, Maryland where
they live with their sons, ages 10 and 12.
Alvin Mayes, musical staging
Jon Foster, Production Stage Manager
Alvin Mayes is an Instructor of Dance at the University of
Maryland, College Park. He had two successful partnerships with
director Scot Reese with “Sophisticated Ladies” and “The Colored
Museum” both at the University of Maryland. His concert dances
have been performed at The Copland Festival, the Orpheus
Festival and the Langston Hughes Tribute, the Kennedy Center,
Dance Place, American College Dance Festival; and have been performed in Cuba, Great Britain, Russia and Japan. Mayes has choreographed such theatre productions as The Wiz!, Little Mary
Sunshine, Dames at Sea, Carousel, Cinderella and five Gilbert and
Sullivan productions. He won the Metro/DC Dance Award for
education in 2007 as a culmination of teaching, choreographing
and performing in the area since 1978.
Jon Foster, a stage and production manager, as well as stage technician, lighting designer and director, video engineer and carpenter
has toured the world on five continents working with artists such
as Nils Lofgren of Grin, Neil Young, Roger Daltry of The Who,
Pearl Jam, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Lynyrd Skynyrd and
others. Foster is in demand in the production of special events and
festivals — he is the Main Stage Manager for the New Orleans Jazz
and Heritage Festival, Newport Jazz Festival, Newport Folk
Festival, and the Essence Music Festival; he was the Stage
Manager for the re-opening of the Superdome in New Orleans in
2006 featuring U2 and Green Day; and he was worked at the
Winter Olympics, Live Aid, Farm Aid and at Disneyworld. Foster
has also worked extensively in TV and radio, including for MTV,
VH1, NBC, CBS, BBC, Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show
with Jay Leno, and The Late Show with David Letterman. Foster
lives in Garrett Park, MD with his wife, Lynn, and son, Luke.
Daniel Conway, Scenic Design
Daniel Conway has worked extensively Off-Broadway and in
regional theater. Productions of note include: the premieres of Lily
Dale by Horton Foote at The Samuel Beckett Theatre on Theatre
Row; The Trilogy, New Music by Reynolds Price at The Cleveland
Playhouse, directed by David Esbjornson; and the American premiere of Brecht’s Conversations in Exile at The New Theatre of
Brooklyn. Regional work includes projects for The Cleveland
Playhouse, Syracuse Stage, The Arden Theatre, The Berkshire
Theatre Festival, and The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis.
Regional theater work includes: Two Gentlemen of Verona, directed by Aaron Posner for The Folger Shakespeare Theatre; The
World Goes Round for The Roundhouse Theatre; Jitney and A
New Brain for The Studio Theatre; Our Lady of 121st Street for
Woolly Mammoth Theatre; scenery and lighting for Born Guilty
and Peter and The Wolf and scenery for Passing The Love Of
Women for Theatre J and The Glass Menagerie, and Uncle Vanya
for The Everyman Theatre in Baltimore, where he serves as resident designer. Other projects include Take Me Out for The Studio
Theatre; Once on This Island for Roundhouse Theatre and the
premiere of Joyce Carol Oates’ The Tattooed Girl for Theatre J.
Nominated for the award seven times, Mr. Conway is the recipient
of the 2000 Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Set Design, and
is the head of the M.F.A. in Design program at The University of
Maryland, College Park. He is a member of The United Scenic
Artists, local 829.
Caldwell Gray, Sound Design
Strathmore Lead Audio Technician Caldwell Gray honed his
sound engineering skills in the studios and clubs of the midAtlantic with his original rock band of twenty-two years, Cravin’
Dogs. After more than a decade of wearing grooves in the Jersey
Turnpike and over 1,500 shows, The Dogs embarked on a more
modest touring schedule in 1998. Concurrently, Dogs’ producer
Doug Derryberry joined the Bruce Hornsby Band and asked Gray
to be part of Hornsby’s touring production team. Ten years later,
Gray continues to tour with Hornsby as a sound engineer. Gray
also stays busy in the studio, producing his bands and other artists
on the Preash Records label. Cravin’ Dogs performs regularly
throughout the D.C. area and has just released its 12th album.
Gray was born and raised in the piedmont of North Carolina,
where he attended The University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill and graduated with a BA in Creative Communications.
Laura Lee Everett, Production Manager
Laura Lee Everett has spent the last two decades “wearing black
clothing and being hidden from audience view” in opera houses
across the United States. As an Opera Production Stage Manager,
she ensured that singers sang and orchestras played at all the
appropriate moments in Anchorage, Aspen, Columbus, Costa
Mesa, Dallas, Detroit, Kansas City, Baltimore, and all points inbetween. She has had the pleasure of working with some of the
most renowned conductors, directors, designers and singers in
contemporary opera. Born and raised in Florida, and educated in
North Carolina, Ms. Everett was “schooled early in the art of the
Southern Comic Monologue.” As such, she has always been on
the lookout for a good story to relate to a captive audience; and
during her years on the road, she amassed an impressive collection
of backstage opera tales that rival the very best onstage storylines.
In addition to overseeing productions at the nation’s leading opera
companies, Ms. Everett has long been passionate about mentoring
young artists. After eight summer seasons as the Opera
Administrator at the Aspen Music Festival and School, she joined
the staff of the University of Maryland School of Music, where, as
Studio Manager for the Maryland Opera Studio, her duties
include serving as de facto “Den Mother to the Graduate
Program” – and she couldn’t be happier about it. During the
summers, Ms. Everett works with up-and-coming young artists at
the Wolf Trap Opera Company as well. Ms. Everett is also a
singer and pianist, can say “Will the Maestro report to the pit,
please” in a variety of languages, makes excellent coffee, and is a
proud resident of Baltimore City.
Miriam Teitel, Stage Manager
Miriam is currently the Director of Operations at the Music
Center at Strathmore. Previously, she was the Managing
Coordinator for Yale Opera, where she coordinated the productions and administrative needs of the academic program. Miriam
completed the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Management Fellowship Program, previously known as the Vilar
Institute. She came to the Fellowship Program from Glimmerglass
Opera, where she served as Music Administrator and worked with
their Young American Artist Program. Previous positions include
coordinating summer programs at Strathmore, shows with
Montgomery College’s Summer Dinner Theatre, and being the
Instrumental Music Fellow at Amherst College, where she
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ABOUT THE ARTISTS CONT.
managed the orchestra and taught sections. Growing up in Chevy
Chase, Maryland, she studied bassoon with Truman Harris of the
National Symphony Orchestra. She holds a dual degree in Music
History/Analysis and Comparative Religion from Amherst College.
From its earliest years the school was staffed by the Oblate Sisters
of Providence, the oldest religious order of Black women in the
United States. The Sodality of the Blessed Virgin Mary was
established in May of 1892 and continues to this day as an
active organization of women and men in the parish.
Strathmore (Producer)
Strathmore, Peter Vance Treibley, chairman, Eliot Pfanstiehl,
president & CEO, is Montgomery County, Maryland’s home for
the arts. A 24-year-old presenter of concerts, art exhibitions, and
community festivals, Strathmore offers world-class performances
by major national artists of folk, blues, pop, jazz, show tunes, and
classical music in the Music Center, a state-of-the-art 1,976-seat
concert hall and education complex, and in the Mansion, a
turn-of-the-century historic home. Strathmore has welcomed more
than 5,000 artists and 2 million guests at its signature exhibitions,
concerts, teas, educational events and outdoor festivals since 1983.
Strathmore recently produced the Washington Area Music
Timeline Concert Series, an “ambitious” (The Washington Post)
series of 64 concerts tracing Washington, D.C.’s music history, and
the world premiere concert of cELLAbration: A Tribute to Ella
Jenkins, released nationally on DVD by Smithsonian Folkways.
Strathmore commissions new works of art and music, including
the world premiere musical compositions Emergence: A Cicada
Serenade by David Kane, Strathmore Sonata by Garrison Hull and
Bling Bling by Scott McAllister; works by Artist in Residence
musicians; and the commissioning of the sculptures Music of Light
by Meryl Taradash, Tetra con Brio by Roger Stoller and Little
Temple by Stefan Saal.
Strathmore performances can be heard all over the country on
NPR and XM Radio. Public Television recently aired The United
States Air Force 60th Anniversary: A Musical Celebration, a
performance taped at the Music Center.
Education plays a key role in Strathmore’s art and music
programming. From Children’s Talk and Tours of art exhibitions,
to Strathmore’s new Artist in Residence program, a curriculum
designed to help young musicians, the development of arts
appreciation has always been an important component of
Strathmore’s mission.
Saint Augustine Parish
Saint Augustine Parish traces its heritage to 1858 and the efforts of
a group of dedicated emancipated Black Catholics. Faced with a
society that was not yet willing to put off the last vestiges of slavery
and a Church that, at best, tolerated the presence of Black people in
its congregation, these men and women founded a Catholic school
and chapel on 15th Street under the patronage of Blessed Martin de
Porres. In what is perhaps a touch of historical irony, this school
was operating four years before mandatory free public education of
Black children became law in the Nation’s Capital.
After operations were briefly interrupted by the Civil War, a new
church was built and dedicated to Saint Augustine in 1876. The
new church and school were funded in large part by the proceeds
of the Colored American Opera Company. From its beginning,
Saint Augustine’s was the parish of Black Catholics in Washington,
D.C. A tradition of lay efforts and of determination flourished.
14
The parish continued to grow and flourish with a strong commitment to education and good liturgy. In February 1928, under the
pastorship of Father Alonzo Olds, the parish purchased the site of
the Washington Home for Children at 1715 15th Street, NW,
intending it to be the new home of Saint Augustine Parochial
School. The school, a rectory and a convent were soon built and
the construction of a new church begun. Most of the parish
activities and operations were moved to this 15th and S Streets
location, while the original church building at 15th and M Streets
was maintained and used until 1946, when it was sold by the
Archdiocese of Washington. The church was torn down in 1948
to make way for The Washington Post building.
One of Saint Augustine’s neighbors was a large Catholic parish,
Saint Paul, whose original membership was primarily of Irish and
German descent. With the rise of integration and shifting urban
demographics, membership at Saint Paul dwindled steadily until
1961, when Archbishop Patrick O’Boyle decreed that the parishes
of Saint Paul and Saint Augustine would be united.
In 1979, the Saints Paul and Augustine parish, through the parish
pastoral council, staff and the Archbishop of Washington, made a
decision to sell the Saint Augustine property at 15th and S Streets.
The old Saint Paul buildings at 15th and V Streets would be
renovated to house the consolidated schools and other ministries
of the parish.
On November 12, 1982, Archbishop James Hickey decreed that
the parish of Saints Paul and Augustine, served by the Church at
15th and V Streets NW, would again be called the parish of Saint
Augustine. With two thousand registered members and three
thousand who call it their home church, Saint Augustine is now
one of the largest parishes in Washington, D.C.
Saint Augustine’s proud history continues. In November 1989
Father John F. Payne, OSA, was ordained and named as the first
African-American associate pastor assigned to the Saint Augustine
Parish. In January 1991 Father Russell L. Dillard was installed as
the first African-American pastor in Saint Augustine’s history.
Father Dillard was elevated to Reverend Monsignor in May 1991.
Father Lowell Case, SSJ, was appointed Pastoral Administrator in
February 2003. On February 5, 2005, Father Patrick Smith was
installed as Pastor of Saint Augustine Parish.
Now in its 150th year, Saint Augustine Roman Catholic Church
and its parish continue to grow, learn and rejoice.
STRATHMORE HALL
FOUNDATION, INC.
BOARD MEMBERS
STRATHMORE STAFF
Wil Johnson
Ticket Services Coordinator
Eliot Pfanstiehl
President and Chief Executive Officer
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Peter Vance Treibley
Chair
Allen C. Clark
Manager of Information Systems
Mary Kay Almy
Executive Assistant to the President
Maryland Lehmann
Mansion Rental Events Manager
Monica Jeffries
Executive VP of Administration
Carol Maryman
Mansion Manager
Mark Grabowski
Executive VP of Operations
Johnathon Fuentes
Assistant Mansion Manager
DEVELOPMENT
Mary Kopper
VP of Development
Christopher S. Inman
Manager of Security
Carol A. Trawick
Vice Chair
Jerome W. Breslow, Esq.
Secretary and Parliamentarian
Steven C. Mayer
Treasurer
Caroline Huang McLaughlin
At-Large
Wendy J. Susswein, ex officio
At-Large
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Paul J. Allen
Joseph F. Beach, ex officio
Richard S. Carter
Meagan T. Campion
Starr G. Ezra
Hon. Nancy Floreen, ex officio
Sol Graham
Nancy Hardwick
Deborah Marriott Harrison
Paul L. Hatchett
Cynthia W. Hu, Esq.
Alexine C. Jackson
Dianne Kay
James F. Mannarino
Alan E. Mowbray
Kenneth O’Brien
Carrie F. Passmore
Lori Riordan
Harold K. Roach, Jr.
William G. Robertson
Gabriel Romero
Mary Kay Shartle-Galotto
Craig A. Snedeker
Annie S. Totah
As of August 2007
FIRE NOTICE: The exit sign nearest to
your seat is the shortest route to the
street. In the event of fire or other
emergency, please WALK to that exit.
Do not run. In the case of fire, use the
stairs, not the elevators.”
Bianca Beckham
Director of Foundation & Corporate
Relations
Bill Carey
Director of Membership and
Community Relations
Joanne Maitland
Manager of Donor Relations & Research
Julie Hamre
Development Associate
PROGRAMMING
Shelley Brown
VP/Artistic Director
Millie S. Shott
Director of Fine Arts
Marie Suzuki
Manager of Artist Relations
Betty Scott
Education Coordinator
Joy-Leilani Garbutt
Education Coordinator
OPERATIONS
Miriam Teitel
Director of Operations
Allen V. McCallum, Jr.
Director of Patron Services
Jasper Cox
Director of Finance
Mac Campbell
Operations Manager
George Karos
Operations Program Assistant
Veronica Wolf
Operations Assistant
Chadwick Sands
Ticket Office Manager
Hilary White
Assistant Ticket Office Manager
Tatyana Bychkova
Staff Accountant
Jon Foster
Production Stage Manager
Lyle Jaeger
Lead Lighting Technician
Caldwell Gray
Lead Audio Technician
William Kassman
Lead Stage Technician
Patsy Hobbs
Customer Service Representative
THE SHOPS AT STRATHMORE
Charlene McLelland
Director of Retail
Lorie Wickert
Retail and Systems Manager
MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS
Jennifer A. Buzzell
VP of Marketing and Communications
Ana Marisa Schattner
Marketing Manager
Georgina Javor
Manager of Media Relations
Jerry Hasard
Group Sales Manager
LEGAL COUNSEL
Shulman, Rogers, Gandal, Pordy
& Ecker, P.A.
STRATHMORE TEA ROOM
Mary Mendoza
Tea Room Manager
SUPPORT STAFF
Gladys Arias
Facility and Program Assistant
As of December 2007
15
SUPPORTERS
Strathmore would like to thank the following individuals for their generous contribution to Strathmore’s first original production,
Free to Sing: The Story of the First African-American Opera Company:
SPONSOR
BENEFIT COMMITTEE
Dr. Carlotta G. Miles, Chairperson
Marilyn Funderburk
Fredrika Hill
Helen Hopson
Alexine Jackson
Tina Mance-Lee
Effie Macklin
Laura W. Murphy
Mr. and Mrs. Richard S. Carter
Dr. and Mrs. William W. Funderburk
Mr. and Mrs. Jefferi Lee
DONORS
Leon Foundation,
Mr. and Mrs. Alan Wurtzel
Mr. and Mrs. John H. Macklin
Mr. and Mrs. Theodore A. Miles
Miller & Long, Mr. John M. McMahon
Union Trust Bank,
Mr. Robert L. Johnson
Mr. and Mrs. Danny Bell
The Shelby Cullom Davis Foundation
Ms. Nancy Folger and
Dr. Sidney Werkman
Mr. and Mrs. Henry H. Goldberg
Drs. David and Lynn McKinley Grant
Dr. and Mrs. Christopher Hopson, Jr.
PATRONS
GBL Sales, Inc.,
Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Leftridge
Maryland State Arts Council
Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation
Dr. and Mrs. Roscoe M. Moore
Ms. Laura W. Murphy and
Mr. William G. Psillas
Mr. and Mrs. Malcolm Peabody
Drs. Edward A. and Frances E. Rankin
Mr. and Mrs. James Scott, Jr.
Mrs. Diana D. Spencer
Mr. and Mrs. Donald Stewart
Mr. Peter Vance Treibley
The Washington Post
Mr. and Mrs. Verl B. Zanders
GENERAL COMMITTEE
Mr. and Mrs. Eugene A. Adams
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Asmar
Ms. Candice Bryant
Ms. Elsie Bryant
Carderock Capital Management, Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. Aldus Chapin
Ms. Marilyn G. Charity
Ms. Karen V. Conlan
Cox, Matthews & Associates
Mr. Daba Dabic and
Dr. Daca Marinac-Dabic
Ms. Jane H. Davenport
Ms. Lorethea Davis
Mr. and Mrs. Jeff D. Donohoe
Mr. and Mrs. William Luke England
Mr. and Mrs. James Fitzpatrick
The Gannett Foundation
Mr. and Mrs. Shelford Gilliam
Robert & Mary Haft Foundation
The Harbor Bank of Maryland
Ms. Vera W. Harris
Mr. and Mrs. George W. Haywood
Mr. and Mrs. David Hill
Dr. and Mrs. Dulany Hill
The Honorable Rodney E. Hood
Christopher Hopson III, Esq.
Dr. Leslie Hopson
Mr. and Mrs. James L. Hudson
Dr. Marion Hull
Dr. and Mrs. Aaron G. Jackson
Drs. Jonathan and Marcia Javitt
Mr. and Mrs. G. Freeborn Jewett
Mr. and Mrs. George Joiner
Mr. and Mrs. Daniel A. Kane
Rev. and Mrs. Donald Kelly
Mr. and Mrs. Jasper S. Lawhon
Mr. Bertram M. Lee, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Scott A. Logan
Mr. Jamil Macklin
Ms. Jillian Macklin
Dr. and Mrs. Wendell Miles
Mr. and Mrs. Jerome Navies
Mr. and Mrs. Walton D. Pearson
Mrs. Harry C. Press
Drs. Joseph and Eleanor Quash
Dr. Raymond Ransom
Ms. Madeline M. Rabb
Mrs. Verna C. Robinson
Ms. Deborah Royster
Mr. and Mrs. Everett Santos
Dr. and Mrs. Donald Sewell
Dr. and Mrs. Robert Simmons
Bruce Sklarew and Margot Meyers
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Skehan
Mr. and Mrs. Ramael Slater
Mr. and Mrs. Clifton Slay
Mr. and Mrs. J. Clay Smith
Ms. Kathryn Smith
Ms. Gloria Sorrell
Mr. and Mrs. Robert D. Stillman
Mr. and Mrs. Walter L. Threadgill
Mr. Spiros Voyadzis
Mr. and Mrs. Ronald W. Walters
Dr. and Mrs. Horace Ward, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Donald T. Washington
Ms. Lenda Penn Washington
Dr. Hattie N. Washington
Ms. Angela Robinson Weatherspoon,
Artpeace Gallery
The Honorable and Mrs. Paul R. Webber
The Honorable and Mrs. Togo D. West
*As of January 28, 2008