Category Archives: All Upcoming EVENTS

Oh, Santuzza!

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Santuzza is a bit of a drama queen, but she’s so much fun to sing!

That’s why I’m thrilled that I get to sing the role of Santuzza in Pietro Mascagni’s dramatic one-act opera, Cavalleria Rusticana.

For those of you who don’t know Cav, the music is glorious. It’s sixty minutes of sheer Sicilian heartbreak, but at least we serve free brownies afterwards! Seriously, it’s a great show.

For its grand opening, San Pedro Opera has launched this production as a fundraiser for the upcoming No. 1 Ladies’ Opera Festival in Botswana. Going to this local performance in Los Angeles supports young musicians in Southern Africa!

Here’s our video trailer:

The show opened in San Pedro last weekend to great success, but you can still catch in in Claremont on Saturday!  You can buy your tickets right here.  I feel very privileged to work with a wonderful ensemble of singers:

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See you at the opera. 🙂

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Botswana on My Mind

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botswanaI’ve started to dream about Africa.

In April, I’ll be launching an opera festival in the heart of Botswana. That’s my new year’s resolution for 2013! But organizing a festival takes a lot of mental energy. I think about it constantly. I talk about it. I even dream about it. I have Botswana on the brain, and I haven’t even been there yet.

The No. 1 Ladies’ Opera Festival was inspired by a talented group of opera singers in Gaborone, Botswana. These dynamic singers are doing exciting work and producing some very original opera. But it’s hard to sustain an opera company in Southern Africa, and due to financial problems, they have just lost their opera house.

Our festival will put these singers back in the spotlight, performing opera scenes on the biggest stages of Gaborone! Along with my team (the award-winning pianist, Bogdan Dulu, and the star mezzo-soprano Nandani Maria Sinha), I will be performing concerts and teaching workshops for the singers. The goal of the festival is to equip and inspire emerging artists in Southern Africa while bringing attention to women’s issues through musical performance. We are also hoping to make a movie about the project, to help these singers get more international attention. If you would like to click here and make a small donation, we would be so grateful. (Please write ‘No 1 Ladies’ Opera Festival’ in the designation field.)

We will also have the privilege of working with some AIDS orphans in Gaborone, and giving them a music workshop. This was an unexpected opportunity that suddenly presented itself a few weeks ago. One of the most important things that I learned in 2012 is that it’s impossible to predict how things are going to happen! Things just don’t go according to plan. It’s hard for overachievers to accept, but there are circumstances beyond our control. And that’s not such a bad thing.

For example, one of my biggest struggles… READ MORE

Full post at icadenza.comicadenza-logo-for-web-e1329790251359

Benefit Concert for Botswana

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I am delighted to announce that Nandani Maria Sinha and Douglas Sumi are joining me on the concert stage in Altadena, California on February 10th! This is a benefit concert for the No. 1 Ladies’ Opera Festival! And this is going to be a wildly fun concert, my friends. It’s actually a preview of another concert we’ll be giving in Gaborone, Botswana on April 10th, so if you’re closer to Altadena than Gaborone, come to this one! 😉

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Meet the Artist

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I had the chance to sing on “Meet the Artist” yesterday!

What a pleasure to meet Dina Kuznetsova, and to perform alongside Danielle Marcelle Bond and Armen Guzelimian. We talked about some exciting events coming up for the New West Symphony.  The show was broadcast on Thousand Oaks TV on November 1, 2012, but you can see it right here:

If you’d like to vote for my SymphoNet submission, just click THIS LINK and press “like” on YouTube.  Thanks so much!

Upcoming Concert in L.A.!

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Please join me on Sunday, May 13th at 4 PM at the First Presbyterian Church of San Pedro for a springtime concert.

There will be some fun surprises, including special guests and exciting music. It’s Mother’s Day, so treat your mom to something special, a bouquet of MUSIC AND ROSES!!!

Our festival of spring will include a wide variety of songs, arias, opera scenes and concert pieces. Works by Puccini, Verdi, Schubert, Bartok and more! At the piano, you’ll experience the award-winning Romanian pianist Bogdan Dulu!

Don’t miss this! Meet us on Sunday, May 13 at 4 PM at:

First Presbyterian Church of San Pedro, 731 S. Averill Avenue, San Pedro, California. Admission is free. Donations will benefit the church music program.