Natchez Festival of Music

Transcription

Natchez Festival of Music
N
A
T
C
H
E
Z
F estival of Music
23rd Season • May 4-25, 2013
www.natchezfestivalofmusic.com
Exceptional Opulence, Legendary Ambiance
NATCHEZ OPERA FESTIVAL, INC.
P.O. Box 2207, Natchez, Mississippi 39121, 601-442-4272
in association with and supported by
ALCORN STATE UNIVERSITY
and
The University of southern mississippi
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Welcome to Our 2013 Season���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 2
History of the Natchez Festival of Music �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 3
Calendar of Performances���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 4
Board of Directors���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 6
Margaret Martin Performing Arts Center ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 7
Alcorn State University Choir �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 8
Young Patrons Program�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 9
Special Events���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 11
The Artistic Director���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 12
Super Stars���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 13
The Artists���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 15
A Bel Canto
Gala
with
Paul Groves
and the
Super Stars
Three Billy Goats Gruff������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 25
Rhapsody in Blue/Puttin’on the Ritz�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 26
Natchez Festival of Music Guild Members���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 27
Natchez Festival of Music Guild President���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 28
Natchez Festival of Music Committees���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 29
Special Recognitions ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 32
Kiss Me Kate
Contributions���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 33
Ticket Information�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 34
American Frontiers ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 35
A Bel Canto Gala with Paul Groves���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 36
Home Sweet Home/Rossini, Puccini and Martinis�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 37
Elizabeth Taylor Green field/The Black Swan Returns�������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 39
Musical Wine Tasting/The Magical World of Tango������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 41
Kiss Me Kate������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 43
Rigoletto
Rigoletto�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 49
Economic Impact of the Natchez Festival of Music������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 55
Seasons Past������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 56
The Mission
The mission of the Natchez Festival of Music is to enlighten and enrich the lives of the citizens of the greater Mississippi/Louisiana
region and neighboring areas by producing operas, operettas, musicals, recitals, and special concerts, and by providing educational
outreach programs in music and the performing arts. Our vision is to be a driving force for cultural activity that attracts people to
Natchez and Mississippi from around the world.
23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music 1
WELCOME TO OUR 2013 SEASON
May 1, 2013
Dear Festivalgoers,
It is my pleasure to welcome you to the Natchez Festival of Music. We have planned a variety of
musical events for you this season ranging from jazz to orchestral and Broadway to Opera. There
is truly something for everyone.
I am pleased to be in my third year as Artistic Director. It has been a pleasure to be a part of
this organization’s growth and to work with our outstanding performers, board members, staff
and guild. Natchez is such a wonderful community, and it has been a real pleasure to work with
everyone here.
The growth of the Natchez Festival of Music is reflected in our significant increase in our various
boards, sponsors, and donors, and educational audiences, as well as our increase in ticket sales and
grants.
If you are new to the Natchez Festival of Music, we hope you enjoy our many wonderful
performances. If you are a festival regular, welcome back and we’re glad you’re here. We hope you
enjoy each of our very special events.
Sincerely,
jay dean
Artistic Director
Jay Dean
Artistic Director
On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Natchez Festival of Music, welcome to our 23rd
season!
And what an exciting season it is, from the joy of hearing some of the finest young talents in America
today to hosting for the first time three star performers from the Metropolitan Opera in our Bel Canto
Gala. Few, if any, communities the size of Natchez have the privilege of experiencing the kind of live
performances this year’s festival offers.
MARY LESLEY
Chairman
Part of the festival’s mission is to provide positive performing opportunities for outstanding artists, to
nurture and encourage talented young singers in their early careers, and in turn to allow them to share
in an educational and outreach school program that provides high quality musical experiences for
youngsters throughout the Miss-Lou area.
Although the Natchez Festival of Music runs the first three weeks of May, many other special
programs occur throughout the year. This past December we began what I believe will become an annual tradition, the
Christmas Cabaret. I urge you to watch for news of this year’s cabaret and for all the concerts and recitals we will host in the
coming months. See us at www.natchezfestivalofmusic.com
This year’s festival has somewhat of an American tilt to it with evenings devoted to three of our greatest composers and
song writers – George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, and Cole Porter. We also pay tribute to two of the most notable American
singers of the 19th century Adelina Patti and Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield, who was born into slavery and rose to become
one of the most popular singers in this country and Europe.
Along with the American greats, we also feature South America’s tango, and we close the festival with Verdi’s Rigoletto.
It is a season I’m very proud of and one to share with friends in the region. After all, we can’t forget the “Natchez” part of the
Natchez Festival of Music. As we like to say, “Come for the music. Stay for the experience.”
2 23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music
HISTORY OF THE NATCHEZ FESTIVAL OF MUSIC
T
wenty-three years ago, Lani and Ron Riches
attended the Santa Fe Opera Festival. Flying
home, Lani remarked to her husband,
“Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Natchez could have an
opera festival like that?”
Acting on this impulse, they immediately scheduled
a meeting with civic leaders to discuss the idea. A
few days before the gathering was to take place, Dr.
and Mrs. David Blackburn happened to be staying
at the Riches’ historic inn, Monmouth Plantation.
A dear friend of the Riches was also having dinner
with them that night. Buzz Harper struck up a casual
conversation with the Blackburns, only to discover
that Dr. Blackburn was a well-respected opera teacher
and conductor, then working in New York.
Sitting over coffee on the veranda, Lani voiced
her dream of having an opera festival in Natchez and
in response, Dr. Blackburn revealed that two of the
performers they heard in Santa Fe were singers in his
New York studio. The Blackburns were invited to stay
over and attend the meeting set with the mayor and
other interested citizens of Natchez. The meeting was
held at the Carriage House on the grounds of Stanton
Hall. Dr. Blackburn was asked by Mayor David
Armstrong and the others to compile a concept of what
kind of festival would work in Natchez. After the plans
were drawn up the Blackburns returned to Natchez to
present the plan to leading citizens of the area. This
meeting, held at Monmouth Plantation, created the
Natchez Opera Festival.
Dr. Blackburn was transformed into a committed
Natchez resident, as well as the co-founder and artistic
director of the Natchez Opera Festival. A Natchez
opera committee was formed; Lani Riches and Bettye
O’Brien co-chaired the committee. Later Ken Miller
was appointed as the first chairman to produce a
festival. The Natchez Opera Festival incorporated and
formed a board of directors with Dr. David Steckler as
chairman. Subsequent board chairmen were Dr. Elmer
Gaudet, Jr., Dr. Don Killelea, Dr. Larry Konecky, Paris
Winn, Ronald McGowan, “Sandy” Fowlkes IV, Dr.
Larry Konecky, and currently, Mary Lessley. Later,
the Guild board was formed to work in conjunction
with the board of directors. The Guild supports the
actual production of the Festival. Guild presidents are
as follows: 1992- Ken Miller; 1993 - Ken Miller; 1994
- Katherine Killelea, Doris Ann Benoist, and Andree
Williams; 1995 - Frank Bauer, Bee Byrnes, and Marcia
Thompson; 1996 - Frank Bauer, Marcia Thompson,
and Marge Alexander; 1997 - Marge Alexander and
Frank Bauer; 1998 - Marge Alexander and Frank
Bauer; 1999 - Katie Freiberger; 2000 - Patty Killelea;
2001 - Diana Glaze; 2002 - Melinda Ballard and Layne
Taylor; 2003 - Kathy White; 2004 - Karlyn Ritchie;
2005 to 2007 - Cathy Walker; 2007 to 2008 - Diana
Glaze; and 2008 to present - Rena Jean Schmieg.
The Purpose ...
The mission and purpose of the Natchez Festival
of Music is to provide high quality Opera, Broadway,
and Jazz performances in an area of the United States
where very little is available. The Festival seeks
to provide positive performing opportunities for
outstanding artists; to develop a young artist program
to nurture and encourage talented young singers in
their careers; and, in turn, to allow them to share in an
educational and outreach school program throughout
the Mississippi-Louisiana area.
The festival hires professional performers each
season - mainstage artists, guest artists, and young
artists. Auditions are held in New York and Natchez
in the fall for the following season’s productions. The
artists are selected for their outstanding talent and their
personalities; they must fit into the Natchez lifestyle.
Each year since its inception the Festival has
grown and become a major regional event. In 1998,
the Festival was awarded the Governor’s Award for
Excellence in the Arts for Arts in the Community.
In 2001, Alcorn State University became a major
sponsor of the Natchez Opera Festival, Inc., thus
creating a long-term relationship to transform the
arts in southwest Mississippi. In 2002 Opera News
recognized the Festival for artistic excellence. In 2003,
Dr. David Blackburn was awarded the Governor’s
Award for Excellence in the Arts in Opera and Music
Education. Also in 2003, the Natchez Opera Festival,
Inc. changed the promotional name of the May festival
to The Natchez Festival of Music, expanding musical
offerings to a more diverse audience. Following the
untimely death of Dr. Blackburn, George Hogan
became the Artistic Director, creating a connection
with the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. Taking
charge as Artistic Director in 2011, Dr. Jay Dean
connects the Natchez Festival of Music to the
University of Southern Mississippi, creating a strong
tie to other outstanding music festivals throughout
Mississippi.
23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music 3
CALENDAR OF PERFORMANCES
Natchez Festival of Music
23nd Season, 2013
Opera, Broadway, Jazz
SUNDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY
1
2
FRIDAY
3
SATURDAY
4
Rhapsody in
Blue
First Prestyterian Church
7:00 p.m.
Admission: $30
(Pre-party 5:30-6:30 p.m.
Historic Natchez
Foundation)
5
American
Frontiers
6
7
8
9
10
Jonathan Levin
Trinity Episcopal
Church
4:00 p.m.
Admission: $20
12
Two Events
See list at bottom
of calendar
Two Events
See list at bottom
of calendar
11
The Black
Swan Returns
18
The Van Court
Town House
7:00 p.m.
Admission: $30
13
14
15
16
Sansing
Lecture
The Black Swan of
Natchez (Elizabeth
Taylor Greenfield)
17
Cherokee
5:00 and 7:00 pm.
Admission: $20
Trinity Episcopal Church
7:00 p.m.
Admission: Free
19
Puttin’ on the
Ritz
20
21
22
23
24
The Magical
World of
Tango
The Prentiss
Club
7:00 p.m.
Admission: $30
26
27
Sunday, May 12:
28
Home Sweet
Home
Waverly
Plantation
4:00 p.m.
Admission: $20
29
Rossini, Puccini and
Martinis
Eola Hotel Lobby
7:00 p.m.
Admission: Free
4 23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music
30
“A Bel Canto with
Paul Groves
Trinity Episcopal Church
7:00 p.m.
Gala at Gloucester
Admission: $100
(Pre-party 5:30-6:30 p.m.
The Merrill House).
Kiss Me
Kate
Margaret Martin
Performing Arts Center
7:00 p.m.
Admission: $30
25
Rigoletto
Margaret Martin
Performing Arts
Center
7:00 p.m.
Admission: $30
Final Gala - Linden
10:00 p.m. - midnight
Admission: $20
31
Sunday, May 19:
Musical Wine
Tasting
Briar Vue at the
Briars
4:00 p.m.
Admission: $40
Rossini, Puccini
and Martinis
Eola Hotel Lobby
7:00 p.m.
Admission: Free
NATCHEZ FESTIVAL OF MUSIC
23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music 5
WELCOME TO OUR 2013 SEASON
Board of Directors
Artistic Director
Jay Dean
Eminent Board
Atkins, Leon
Ball, David
Board Members
Banta, Ethel
Lessley, Mary, Chairman
Boelte,
Hedy
Glaze, Diana, Secretary
Byrne,
Tony
Taylor, Thomas P. Treasurer
Deakle, John
Adams, Robert M. (Bob)
Dearing, Robert
Benoist, Doris Ann
Dickens,
George
Benoist, Virginia Gerace
DuPuy,
Merkel
Brice, Maxine
Emrick, Dr. Fred
Burkes, Sandra
Estes, Terry
Cook, Burnley
Feltus,
Jeanette
Durkin, Camille
Florence,
I.J.
Gemmell, Michael
Killelea,
Katherine
Henley, Bobbye
Kochek, Alan
Kendall, Julie
Lee,
Dr. Donzell
King, Kathleen Mackey
Leet,
Lynn James
Konecky, Larry
LeMay,
Brad
Person, Arthur
Paradise, David
Robertson, Mary
Perkins,
Marie
Schmieg, Rena Jean
Riches,
Lani
Schuchs, Nan Erle
Riches, Ron
Schwager, Ginger
Smith, Ricky
Sizemore, Robert
Songy,
Ed
Wynn, Bobbye
Sturgeon, Holmes, II
Board Attorney
Switzer, Ronald
Kuehnle, Atty. Bruce
Tatum, Mike
Varnell, Neil
Worley, Michael
Past Chairmen
1991
1992-1995 1996-1998 1999-2002 2003-2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2011
2012-2013
Ken Miller
Dr. David Steckler
Dr. Elmer Gaudet
Dr. Don Killelea
Dr. Lawrence Konecky
Paris Winn
Ronald McGowan
Dr. Lawrence Konecky
William “Sandy” Fowlkes, IV
Dr. Lawrence Konecky
Mary Lessley
Funded, in part,
by a grant from the
National Endowment
for the Arts
and the
Mississippi Arts Commission.
Banking worth
a standing ovation
When the lights dim and the curtain rises,
the efforts and teamwork of talented individuals come together.
That same philosophy holds true in banking,
where at B&K the efforts of many are brought
together for your total satisfaction: a standing
ovation banking so to speak. B&K is proud to
support the Natchez Festival of Music.
Natchez • Vicksburg • Baton Rouge
www.bkbank.com
Answers. Since 1836.
6 23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music
Member FDIC
MARGARET MARTIN PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
This beautiful
building echoes with
the sounds of music
and memories in its
reincarnation from its
earlier life as Natchez
High School when
it was filled with the
energy and bustle of
generations of young
people working to be the
best citizens possible. It
was renamed in honor of
Miss Margaret Martin,
long time educator and
principal of the school, a
devotee of the arts, and a
highly admired advocate
of integrity, honor, and
excellence in every
endeavor.
After an extensive
period of neglect and
disuse, the building
became the home of the
Natchez Opera Festival,
now the Natchez Festival
of Music, and took on
its new life as Margaret
Martin Performing Arts
Center. The Natchez
Opera Festival worked
to organize and obtain a large number of grants to help
restore the building, beginning with addressing such
basic needs as a new roof. Window panes have been
replaced and the exterior window frames painted. The
entire building has been thoroughly cleaned.
Margaret Martin Performing Arts Center and the
Natchez Festival of Music have evolved together to
create an exceptional auditorium and venue for fine
arts. The entire auditorium has been painted and
acclimatized with central air conditioning and heat, the
floors have been redone, the aisles have been carpeted,
drapes have been hung on the windows and chandeliers
from the ceiling, and the seats have been upholstered
with padding and cushions. An orchestra pit has
been built and the rigging above the stage has been
updated and a new stage
curtain and a totally
computerized state of
the art lighting system
have been added.
A Community
Heritage Preservation
Grant from the
Department of
Archives and History
is contributing to the
ongoing renovation of
the stage and exterior
work, including new
gardens.
The Natchez Festival
of Music shares
Margaret Martin
Performing Arts Center
with the Natchez Ballet
Academy, the Natchez
Gymnastics Association,
and the Natchez Art
Association. This is
indeed a growing and
active center for the
performing arts. The
Natchez Festival of
Music continues to
enhance this wonderful
facility so that it will add
to the enjoyment and
memories of a very special home for the finest in music
and the arts.
23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music 7
ALCORN STATE UNIVERSITY
ALCORN STATE UNIVERSITY CONCERT CHOIR
The Concert Choir at Alcorn State University consists of talented students from across
the globe. The choir is proud to incorporate a
wide range of styles in its programming and
perform frequently throughout Mississippi and
the surrounding region. Community service,
worship, and a true passion for the arts are
among the many things that drive the musicians who make up the ASU Concert Choir.
Graduates of the Fine Arts Department at
Alcorn State University have gone on to top
graduate programs and successful careers as
both educators and performers. For more
information please contact Ms. Donna Schaffer, Director of Choral Activities, dschaffer@
alcorn.edu; 601-877-6264 or visit www.alcorn.
edu, Admissions 1-800-222-6790, or write Alcorn State University, Alcorn, State, MS 39096.
Director - Ms. Donna Schaffer
Accompanist-Mr. Tony Gordon
President – Chan Washington
Vice President – Larry Macklin
Secretary - Madalene Barksdale
Technical Director-Jerry Jordan
Librarian – Madalene Barksdale
First Sopranos: AiJalon Barnes,+ Amber Kinney, Olivia Martinez, *+Rhonda Price, +Chelsea Rush, +Darnisha
Williams
Second Sopranos: +Jada Brown, Anastasia Plugatar, +Antoinette Powell, +Chandrenica Washington,
First Altos: + Madalene Barksdale, Tabatha Barlow, +Ashley Harris, Amber Jones, *+LeErica Knight, +Emily
Lewis-Johnson
Second Altos: +Shamar Bishop,+ Nekeidra Jones, First Tenors: + Larry Macklin, *+Marcus Mercy, +Jairus McClinton,+ Drake Sanders,+ Christopher Stallings
Second Tenors: +Jataris Hatten, +Birdon Mitchell, +Jonathan Taylor +Kenton Walker
Baritones: +Elvin Frye,+ Robert Guyton,+ Jonathan Hood, +Jaime Jones,+
DeMarcus McNeal,+ Darrell Morris, Michael Phelps, De’von Smith
Basses: Jerry Jordan, William Murphy, *William Parker, Marcus Williams
+Denotes Membership in the Elite Touring Choir *Denotes Section Leader
“The Seven Last Words of
Christ”
By Theodore Dubois
8 23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music
YOUNG PATRONS PROGRAMS
Recognizing the importance of the Natchez Festival of Music in the Mississippi-Louisiana (Miss-Lou) region
for nearly a quarter of a century and that this Festival will no doubt endure for years ahead, the Festival continues
to promote and enhance programs for young patrons to ensure future audiences and access to the arts in the MissLou. Through special events, arts advocacy, affordable packages and community outreach, the Young Patrons Program of the Natchez Festival of Music (YPNFM) attracts arts enthusiasts from kindergarten through the age of 45.
The Festival’s annual Children’s Opera in April reaches nearly 10,000 school children K-6 with approximately
20 productions in Adams, Jefferson, Franklin, Walthall, Lincoln, Pike, and Wilkinson counties in Mississippi and
Concordia and Tensas parishes in Louisiana. These children are exposed to the classics in a fun way! These unique
opportunities enrich artistic and cultural experiences, teaching the children about the pleasures and rewards that
come with music while grooming the next generation to appreciate the arts.
Through sponsored tickets, area music teachers and their students, as well as K-12, college students and families enjoy live entertainment, jazz, Broadway and opera productions at reduced prices.
Young adult patrons, age 45 and younger, find special packages
very affordable for young families. Additionally, there are a number of performances which are paired with exclusive as well as free
receptions and “meet and mingle events” with the artists. For more,
see the “Fat Lady for Young Patrons” tab on the Festival website at
natchezfestivalofmusic.com.
Important Information regarding the Festival
TELEPHONES: As a courtesy to other patrons, please disconnect electronic paging devices and turn off cellular
telephones.
Fire notice: The exit sign nearest the seat you occupy is the shortest route out in the event of fire or other
emergency.
BEVERAGES: Beverage service is available in the Great Escape Club Room before performances and during
intermissions.
LATECOMERS: Latecomers will be seated at the discretion of theatre management during appropriate pauses in the
program. Margaret Martin Performing Arts Center policy is to begin performances at the advertised curtain time.
personal property: Lost and found inquiries may be directed to the administrative offices at
MMPAC.
PHOTOGRAPHS AND RECORDING: Cameras and recording devices may not be brought into the theatre
without the consent of the management. Please note that the recording in any form of a live performance may be a
violation of federal copyright laws.
restrooms: Restrooms are located on the first floor and balcony.
SMOKING: The theatre is a smoke-free facility.
Wheelchair accessible entrance: One entrance to the Center is wheelchair-accessible. The entrance is
into the main lobby on the first floor (orchestra level), located on the right side of the building.
23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music 9
NATCHEZ FESTIVAL OF MUSIC
10 23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music
special events
Each of these special events will take place in a lovely antebellum home, church, or special venue, providing an
opportunity to showcase the outstanding historical architecture of Natchez.
AMERICAN
FRONTIERS
Trinity Episcopal Church
May 5
Piano virtuoso Jonathan Levin
exhibits his incredible diversity
of style performing music from
the Romantic Era to present day.
THE BLACK SWAN OF NATCHEZ
Trinity Episcopal Church
May 16
Dr. David Sansing presents an illustrated lecture on
Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield.
A BEL CANTO GALA WITH PAUL GROVES
Trinity Episcopal Church
May 11
International Superstars take the stage in this Signature Event
RHAPSODY IN BLUE
First Presbyterian Church
May 4
Pianist Joseph Britain and the
Natchez Festival of Jazz Orchestra
perform the music of George
Gershwin, “America’s Music Man.”
PUTTIN’ ON THE RITZ
The Van Court Town House
May 10
The music of Russian-born composer Irving Berlin
envelopes this
elegant evening.
HOME SWEET HOME
Waverly Plantation
May 12
Soprano Susan Ruggiero pays
tribute through song to 19th
Century great Adelina Patti.
GALA AT GLOUCESTER
May 11
A grand reception follows
A Bel Canto Gala
with Paul Groves as patrons mingle
with the Superstars.
THE BLACK SWAN RETURNS
ROSSINI, PUCCINI AND MARTINIS
Eola Hotel Lobby
May 12 and 19
An evening of opera, show
tunes, and martinis is
showcased in the beautiful
Eola Hotel Lobby.
A MUSICAL WINE TASTING
Cherokee
May17
Diana Thompson presents a
musical tribute to AfricanAmerican vocalist Elizabeth
Taylor Greenfield.
FINAL GALA
Linden Plantation
May 25
Festival artists mingle with patrons
at the elegant finale to an outstanding
season at beautiful Linden.
THE MAGICAL WORLD OF TANGO
BriarVue at The Briars
May 19
Romina Gurian, Zack Rabin and Pablo Sotomayor
perform world-class music amidst the sensory
pleasures of wine and view of the Mississippi River.
The Prentiss Club
May 24
Alejandro Drago captures
heart and soul through music
and dance with The Tango
Review Ensemble.
23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music 11
THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Jay Dean
Artistic Director
Opera has
always been
part of Jay
Dean’s career.
This special
world into
music has
given him the
opportunity
to perform with such eminent
artists as Plácido Domingo, Renée
Fleming, Denyce Graves and
Roberta Peters. His serving as
assistant conductor for the Austin
Lyric Opera shows his engagement
to this music’s field. And now, after
performing with the Mississippi
Opera as guest conductor in several
concerts, Dean became its new
artistic director.
Considered a musical
ambassador for Mississippi, Dean
was state president of the National
Opera Association and served on
the board of the Mississippi Opera
Education Committee in which
opera joins together with one of
the greatest passions of Dean,
education.
Dean received his DMA in
orchestral conducting from The
University of Texas at Austin.
Before coming to The University
of Southern Mississippi – whose
orchestra he has been conducting
for more than twenty years – he was
music director of the Dekalb Youth
Symphony Orchestra in Atlanta,
the Mercer University/Atlanta
Chamber Orchestra, the Columbus
State University Orchestra, the
Atlanta Festival Orchestra and
Chorus, the Austin Civic Orchestra
and the Southwest Chamber
Orchestra.
His work as a conductor has
reached many orchestras in
Europe, the United States and
Latin America. In addition, he
has directed performances with
major popular artists such as Doc
Severinsen, The Pointer Sisters,
Patti La Belle, Dionne Warwick,
Patti Austin, Ricky Skaggs and
Sandy Patty.
Dean’s skills as a producer and
artistic manager enable him to work
music in a much broader context.
He is the Founding Artistic Director
of Festival South, a multi-week,
multi-genre music festival, and
General Director of the Hattiesburg
Concert Association. He has
been the executive director of the
Vicksburg International Chamber
Music Festival, the artistic director
of the Southern Arts Festival as
well as the music coordinator for
four international art exhibitions
presented by the Mississippi
Commission for International
Cultural Exchange.
In 2009, Jay Dean and the
University of Southern Mississippi
Symphony Orchestra received the
Governor’s Award for Leadership
in the Arts, a reward for his intense
and clear vision for bringing the
world to Mississippi. This vision
includes performances, produced
by Dean, with internationally
known classical icons such as Itzhak
Perlman, Yo-yo Ma, Sir James
Galway, Joshua Bell, Nadja SalernoSonnenberg, Manuel Barrueco,
John Browning, Christopher
Parkening, Edgar Meyer, and many
more.
Dean’s commitment to education
has caused him to be involved in
many institutions and activities. He
has been the executive director of
12 23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music
the Professional Resource Institute
of Musical Excellence, president of
the Mississippi Orchestra Teachers
Association and president of
the Mississippi Music Educators
Association Orchestra Division.
He served as the representative
from the Mississippi Institutions of
Higher Learning on the advisory
board for the formation of the
Mississippi School of the Arts
and he has been the regional
membership chair for the
International Conductors Guild.
Since 1988, Jay Dean has been
the music director of The SouthernMississippi Symphony Orchestra.
During his tenure, the orchestra
has risen to enjoy an international
reputation that enhances not only
the university, but also the state
and region. His recruiting efforts
have turned that organization into
a multinational conglomerate that
includes students from over fifteen
countries. Dean´s skilled leadership
created unique partnerships that
allow members of the orchestra to
provide musical performances in
every school and senior center in
Hattiesburg.
Jay Dean affirms that his central
mission “is to provide life-changing
experiences for his students and
raise the quality of life in the
community and state of which he is
a part.”
SUPERSTARS
Paul Groves
Louisiana native and one of
Louisiana State University’s most
successful
alumni Paul
Groves is on
a short list of
the most
sought-after
tenors on the
stages of the
world’s
leading
opera houses and concert halls.
After studying at the Julliard
School, Groves debuted at the
Metropolitan Opera in 1992, and
then he was on his way to perform
with the Paris Opera, the Salzburg
Festival, the San Francisco Opera,
La Scala, and the Vienna State
Opera and to sing with orchestras
such as the New York
Philharmonic and London
Symphony Orchestra. He not only
has a terrific voice, but he’s also
known for being an extremely
talented actor—a perfect
combination for opera. In the New
York Philharmonic performance of
Leonard Bernstein’s satirical
musical Candide, he was Candide
to the delight of audiences. Still in
his 40s, Groves has a long career
ahead. Paul Groves begins the
2012-13 season singing Mahler’s
Das Lied von der Erde with baritone
Thomas Hampson and the
Orchestre de la Suisse Romande.
His extensive international concert
season continues with
performances with the London
Philharmonic Orchestra singing
Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius, the
San Francisco Symphony singing
Berlioz’s Te Deum, and the
Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk singing
Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust.
Operatic engagements for the
season include performances in
Iphigénie en Aulide with Theater an
der Wien and Don Giovanni with
the Teatro Real, Madrid. Groves is
performing in Natchez on his
return home to the New Orleans
area. More at opus3artists.com.
LucaS Meachem
Carthage, North Carolina
native, Baritone Lucas Meachem
began formal
voice training at Appalachian State
University in
the Blue
Ridge Mountain town of
Boone,
North
Carolina. Studies took him to the
Eastman School of Music and Yale’s
Department of Music. Meachem
has established himself as an
internationally sought-after performer whose compelling lyric
baritone voice and dramatic interpretations have led him to the
world’s most important operatic
stages. In the 2007-2008 season,
Lucas Meachem made his Metropolitan Opera debut in the role of
General Rayevsky in
Prokofiev’s War & Peace.
Meachem’s 2012-13 season begins
with a tour of Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta
with soprano Anna Netrebko, with
performances in eleven of Europe’s
most important musical centers
including Vienna, Munich, Paris,
Berlin, and Amsterdam. Meachem
then returns to the Lyric Opera of
Chicago to sing Marcello in La
Bohème, followed by performances
as the title role in Don Giovanni
with Cincinnati Opera. Meachem
performs this season with the St.
Louis Symphony in Zemlinsky’s
Lyric Symphony, and in gala
concerts with the Natchez Festival
and the San Antonio Symphony.
Meachem concludes the season this
summer performing the title role
in Il barbiere di Siviglia with the
Mill City Opera in Minneapolis.
Meachem is well-known to the San
Francisco Opera, London and the
Royal Opera House, Opera National de Paris, San Diego Opera,
Opera de Toulouse, Lyric Opera of
Chicago, St. Louis Symphony,
Chamber Orchestra of Europe,
Teatro Real de Madrid, Glyndebourne Opera Festival in England,
Santa Fe Opera, New Orleans
Opera, among others. Still in his
early 30s, Lucas’ star continues to
ascend. More at lucasmeachem.
com.
Emily Pulley
College Station, Texas native and
summa cum laude graduate of West
Texas A&M,
famed
soprano
Emily Pulley
earned her
M.A. in
Music from
the
University of
North Texas
before launching her professional
career in the mid-1990s. An
electrifying actress with a gift for
comedy, known for her radiant
voice, Pulley has won national and
international acclaim on the
operatic stages. She made her debut
at the Metropolitan Opera in 1993
and has been a frequent performer
there since. The New York Times
describes her as a performer with
“unfailing warmth, radiance, and
spirit” whose singing is “flawless
23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music 13
SUPERSTARS
and exquisite.” The New York
Magazine proclaimed, “Emily
Pulley explores most every facet of
this volatile character with a useful
soprano that can deliver a power
punch as well as a caressing phrase,
and she gives a compelling
performance.” She made her debut
at London’s Royal Opera House,
Covent Garden, as Mimi in
Puccini’s La Bohème. Recently, as
Minnie in La Fanciulla del West
with Glimmerglass Opera, “she
shone as Minnie, the pistolpacking, soft-hearted heroine of La
Fanciulla del West, capturing the
crowd with burnished sound and
straightforward, unaffected acting.” She also has appeared with the
New York City Opera, Houston
Grand Opera, the Los Angeles
Opera, Opera Colorado, Central
City Opera, Austin Lyric Opera,
the Seattle Opera, the Minnesota
Opera, and the Dallas Opera,
among others. She has starred in
more than 150 opera performances.
More at uzanartists.com.
Maryann Kyle
Soprano Maryann Kyle is from
Meridian,
Mississippi.
She is much
in demand
as one of the
country’s
leading
coaches of
belt, legit,
and classical
vocal technique and as a performer.
Kyle has performed with symphony
orchestras and in operas throughout the country and abroad. Opera
conductor Kurt Klippstatter said
she “…possesses a beautiful soprano voice which is both expressive
and technically well founded. Her
combined vocal and dramatic
talents make her a natural…” She
has extensive experience teaching,
coaching, and performing opera,
recitals, concerts, and Broadway
shows. Among her opera credits
are La Bohème, Le Nozze di Figaro,
Cosi fan Tutte, La Traviata, Die
Zauberflote, and Carmen. Kyle was
the vocal coach for Twist, a new
musical by composers Tena Clark
and Gary Prim, directed by Debbie
Allen, which opened in Atlanta in
2010 and at the Pasadena Playhouse in 2011. She is associate
professor of voice at the University
of Southern Mississippi. More at
maryannkyle.com.
Robert Grayson
Robert Grayson grew up in
Southern California but for the
past 23 years has lived in Baton
Rouge, Louisiana. An accomplished tenor as well as pianist,
Grayson is
the Kirkpatrick Professor and
Chair of the
Voice/Opera
Division at
the Louisiana State
University
School of Music and general
director of Opera Louisiane. A
leading tenor at the New York City
Opera for more than a decade,
14 23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music
Grayson has sung throughout the
USA with many of the great opera
houses including Chicago Lyric,
Cleveland, Miami, Tulsa, and
Spoleto. He received the Phi Kappa
Phi award for “Outstanding Creativity in the Arts” and commendation from the Student Government
Association for “Outstanding
Teaching.” Grayson can be heard as
“Caesar” on New World Records’
Grammy-winning recording of
Antony and Cleopatra. Grayson
made his New York debut as
“Faust,” and he has sung over 100
performances as leading tenor at
the New York City Opera in such
operas as La Bohème, Madama
Butterfly, Tosca, Norma, Mefistofele,
La Traviata and Carmen. Grayson
has performed with numerous
companies: The Spoleto Festival,
Italy, Israel Philharmonic in Tel
Aviv, Jerusalem & Haifa, Santa Fe
Opera, Arizona Opera Company,
Canadian Opera, Tulsa Opera,
Miami Opera, Wolftrap, Saratoga,
Cleveland, ARTPARK, San Diego
Opera, Costa Mesa Opera, Los
Angeles Opera Theatre, Music
Center Opera, and others. He
founded the Patrons of the LSU
Opera, and coordinated efforts
with the Baton Rouge Opera Guild,
and BRAVO (Baton Rouge Area
Volunteers for Opera). Grayson has
produced a number of outstanding
professional singers, including
tenor Paul Groves. For the Bel
Canto Gala, Grayson will be the
piano accompanist. More at http://
wp.music.lsu.edu/faculty-staff/
grayson-robert/.
THE ARTISTS
JOHN CHRISTOPHER ADAMS
Kiss Me Kate, Rigoletto
With “a major, stunning voice”
(Opera News), John Christopher
Adams is
quickly
establishing
an international
presence.
Listeners
applaud him
for his
“ability to
pour his heart and soul into every
phrase.” He completed a Bachelor’s
Degree from the Mississippi
College of Music and Master’s
degree with Opera Artist Diploma
from the University of CincinnatiCollege Conservatory of Music. He
won numerous awards including
the Metropolitan Opera National
Council Audition, the Mosby
Award, and the Da Capo Award at
the Orpheus Vocal Arts Competition. Mr. Adam has performed
with Festpielhaus Baden-Baden,
Opernhaus Zurich, Seattle Opera,
Cincinnati Opera, and Lyric Opera
of Chicago.
RACHEL ARKY
Billy Goats Gruff, Kiss Me, Kate,
Rigoletto
Rachel Arky mezzo-soprano,
whose
“expressive
phrasing and
fine sound”
are coupled
with an
“endearing”
and “convincing”
stage presence was recently seen as Zellah in
The Mark of Cain (Chelsea Opera)
and Der Trommler in Der Kaiser
von Atlantis (Opera Moderne). Ms.
Arky also performed with Chautauqua Opera, Opera Manhattan,
and the Martina Arroyo Foundation & La Musica Lirica. She also
won Third Place in the Liederkranz
Voice Competition’s Art Song
Division. Ms. Arky completed her
M.M. at Manhattan School of
Music and her undergraduate
studies at Barnard College, Columbia University, where she graduated summa cum laude and Phi
Beta Kappa.
PETER ATHERTON
Rigoletto: Stage Manager
Director and Bass-Baritone,
Peter Atherton holds the Robert
and Norma Lineberger Chair in
Music at
Chapman
University
Conservatory of
Music and
serves as the
Artistic
Director of
Opera
Chapman. He performs and
directs extensively in opera, oratorio, concert and musical theater
throughout the United States and
Europe. His operatic credits
include performances with the Los
Angeles Opera, Seattle Opera,
Baltimore Opera, Lyric Opera
Cleveland, Wolf Trap Opera, San
Francisco Opera, Opera Atelier,
Cairo Opera and the Operafestival
of Rome and Verona. In concert
and oratorio he has performed to
acclaim with numerous orchestras
including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, L’Orchestra de la Suisse
Romande, Basel Chamber Orches-
tra, Bach Cercle Genéve, International Chamber Ensemble Rome,
Los Angeles Master Chorale and
Orchestre de Belgique. Mr. Atherton directed The Magic Flute for
the Pacific Symphony Family
Outreach Concerts in January and
Die Lustige Witwe for Opera
Chapman in April. He is thrilled to
be making his directing debut with
the Natchez Opera Festival.
MEGAN BARRERA
Puttin’ on the Ritz, Kiss Me Kate,
Rigoletto
Megan Barrera, Cuban-Puerto
Rican Soprano hails from Miami,
Florida, and has sung a number of
leading roles
in the US
and Europe
including
Susanna in
Le Nozze di
Figaro and
Musetta in
La Bohème.
Ms. Barrera
made her professional debut in
2012 with Wichita Grand Opera
singing the role of Norina in Don
Pasquale. Her other credits include
Pamina in Die Zauberflöte with
Festival South Opera Young Artist
Program and Opéra Louisiane,
Gilda in Rigoletto with La Musica
Lirica in Novafeltria, Italy, and
performances with Florida Grand
Opera. Ms. Barrera currently
pursues a Doctorate of Musical
Arts at Louisiana State University.
23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music 15
THE ARTISTS
JAMES BOYKIN
Production Stage Manager
James Boykin graduated from
the University of Mobile with a
degree in Musical Theatre. He has
stage managed The Phantom of the
Opera and La fanciulla del West.
He has
directed
Traces of
Memory and
co-directed
9-5 the
Musical. He
has also
played
several roles
including Mark Cohen from Rent,
Dennis from All Shook Up, and
Will Parker from Oklahoma.
Kevin Breazeale
Choreographer for Kiss Me Kate
Kevin Breazeale is a Mississippi
based free-lance choreographer
who studied
dance at
Giordano
Dance
Center, Joel
Hall and Lou
Conte
Studios and
acting at the
Actor’s
Center in Chicago. His performance credits include several
industrial and regional theatre
shows in Chicago and throughout
the Midwest as well as appearances
with Hattiesburg Civic Light. Kevin
has choreographed productions
such as Victor Victoria (Tulane
Summer Lyric Theatre), Les Miserables, Into the Woods, A Chorus
Line, and Footloose (Chesterton
High School, Ind.). He won the
Mississippi Theatre Association
State Drama Festival’s “Best Chore-
ography” award for Altar Boyz
(Just Over the Rainbow Theatre).
Kevin also judges as a visual show
choir clinician throughout the
Midwest and Southeast. His show
choirs consistently place as finalists
winning many choreography
caption awards. Other teaching
credits include: choreography
clinician at the Eastern Illinois
University Music Camp, The Blue
Ridge Show Choir Camp in WV,
and the Butler Summer Showcase
in El Dorado, and teaching choreography with On Your Toes Studio
in Hattiesburg. Kevin recently
choreographed the USM production of Sweeney Todd and will
choreograph Hairspray for Maryann Kyle’s “Command Performance
Workshop” during Festival South
this summer.
JOSEPH BRITAIN
Rhapsody in Blue: Pianist
Although Joseph Britain graduated USM in
1984 with a
degree in
accounting,
he couldn’t
avoid a
career in
music. His
career as
Music
Minister for churches in Hattiesburg, Birmingham and St Louis has
meant that thus far Joseph has
never worked a day as an accountant. (He doesn’t even do his own
taxes!) In addition to his church
work, Joseph is a frequent performer and prolific arranger, appearing
with and writing for The Mississippi, Alabama, Utah and Tampa
Symphony Orchestras, as well as
numerous university orchestra and
bands. He last appeared in Natchez
16 23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music
as arranger/pianist for the Natchez
Christmas Cabaret 2012.
Kathleen Farrar
Buccleugh
Kiss Me Kate, Puttin’ on the Ritz,
Rigoletto
Kathleen Buccleugh, soprano,
appeared as
Despina in
Cosi fan
Tutte,
Proskovia
in The Merry
Widow,
Sister Genevieve
in Suor
Angelica, Gianetta in The Gondoliers, and Pernille in The Beautiful
Bridegroom. Ms. Buccleugh’s concert
appearances include Mozart’s Requiem under the baton of Dr. John
Ratledge, and Handel’s Messiah,
Eleanor Daley’s Requiem and
Vivaldi’s Gloria under the direction
of James Seay. She will premiere the
soprano solos in Wesley King’s new
Mass later this year. Ms. Buccleugh
earned praise for her “purely
lovely… delightful and touching”
Johanna in her musical theater
debut of Sweeney Todd with The
Actor’s Charitable Theatre in
Tuscaloosa in 2011.
Ivan Conrad
Billy Goats Gruff, Miss Me Kate,
Rigoletto
Bass-baritone Ivan Conrad’s
credits
include
Rumpelstiltskin and
Bartolo in Le
Nozze di
Figaro
(Empire
THE ARTISTS
Opera), Ceprano in Rigoletto (Long
Island Opera Company), Ghosts of
Versailles and Summer and Smoke
(Manhattan School of Music),
Raimondo in Lucia de Lammermoor, Colline in La Bohème, and
Prince Gremin in Eugene Onegin.
Mr. Conrad’s concert appearances
include Mozart’s Requiem in Milan,
engagements with the New York
Philharmonic, and Beethoven’s
Mass in C and Handel’s Messiah
with the New Mexico Philharmonic. Future engagements include
Alidoro in La Cenerentola and
Simone in Gianni Schicchi with
Dicapo Opera Theater and Peter
Grimes and Falstaff with Chautauqua Opera.
Alejandro Drago
The Magical World of Tango
Hailed by music critics as “a
superb musician” with the “classical
virtuosity of a Heifetz or Perlman,”
the “suave café style of Florian
Zabach” and
the jazzy
insouciance
of Stephane
Grapelli,”
Alejandro
Drago has
“crisscrossed
the line
between
concerto virtuoso and jazz soloist.”
His versatile musicianship has
allowed him to be successful with
programs as diverse as the cycle of
Six Sonatas for solo violin by
Eugene Ysaye, the performance
and recordings of his own arrangement of the celebrated “Cuatro
Estanciones Portenas” by Astor
Paizzolla in Austria, the world
premiere of Arthur Barbosa’s
Violin Concerto in the United
States, and performances as soloist
with the symphony Orchestra of
University City, Missouri in Alban
Berg’s Violin Concerto. His discography in France, USA and
Argentina includes string quartets,
concertos, avant-garde tangos for
the EMI International label and
works for solo violin CD distributed internationally by Naxos
Music Library Japan and CD
Tradition.
Alejandro received a scholarship
to study at Moscow State Conservatory and obtained his Master of
Fine Arts in Violin Performance
and Pedagogy. In 2008 he received
a Master’s Degree in Violin Performance and a D.M.A. in Orchestral
Conducting from the University
of Southern Mississippi. His scholarly works have become important
references in English language
scholarly studies of Tango music. His symphonic and chamber
arrangements of Argentine music
have been performed extensively in
Europe and Latin America, as well
as in the United States by the fort
Worth Symphony Orchestra, the
Dallas Symphony orchestra, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.
Alejandro’s many awards include special prize in the Rodolfo
Lipizer International Competition (Italy, 1992), third prize in
the Petar Konjovich International
young Musicians Competition (Yugoslavia, 1993) and the first prize
in the “New Talents in classical
Music” Competition (Buenos Aires, 1997). In July 2008 Alejandro
joined the faculty at the University
of North Dakota Department of
Music as the Professor of Violin
and Viola and Director of Strings/
Chamber Orchestra.
TOM DUNGAN
Festival Production Manager
Tom, returning for his second
season with The Natchez Festival of
Music, has worked as a professional
in the music field for over three
decades,
specializing
in the areas
of Production, Operations, and
Event
Logistics.He
has worked
closely with
Festival’s Artistic Director Dr. Jay
Dean, managing event logistics and
production details for such worldrenowned artists as Itzahk Perleman, Yo-Yo Ma, Renee Fleming,
Ray Charles, Marvin Hamlisch,
Doc Severensin, and The Pointer
Sisters.Previously held positions
include Director of Operations
with the Mississippi and Charleston, SC Symphony Orchestras. As
both a Board and Staff member of
the professional vocal group
Carolina Chamber Chorale, Tom
served as Coordinator for a historic
recording of the choral chamber
music catalog of famed 20th
Century American composer
Samuel Adler. Tom is an experienced lighting, sound, and special
effects technician with StageTec, a
production company specializing
in large scale-events. Additionally,
he is owner and operator of
Rhythms Music Services, a fullservice musician’s contracting
agency, based in Hattiesburg, MS.
23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music 17
THE ARTISTS
Landon Henry
Kiss Me Kate
Landon Henry is playing Ralph in
Kiss Me Kate. He is a local actor
and graduate
of the
University
of Southern
Mississippi,
where he
received
his BFA
in Theatre
Performance.
He has acted and directed
numerous productions at the
Natchez Little Theatre and is
extremely grateful to be a part of
the Natchez Festival of Music. In
June he will be moving to Chicago
to pursue an acting career. He
would like to thank Rob and
Dr. Dean for the opportunity to
participate in this event, as well
as Monica Hayes for her fantastic
guidance and support as his acting
professor and coach!
dianna glaze
Billy Goats Gruff: Director
Although she is a native of Pine
Prairie, La., Diana now calls Natchez home. A graduate of the
University of Southwestern Louisiana, she has been employed with
Callon
Petroleum
Company
for 30 years,
now serving
as Manager
of Human
Resources.
Diana was
involved
with the Natchez Little Theatre,
performing in various roles, directing, and serving on its Board of
Directors. She now serves as Secretary of the Board of Directors of
the Natchez Festival of Music and
also serves on the Board of Directors of Saint Joseph Arts, Inc.
Past performances include
various characters in The Dining
Room, Emmaline Randall in Southern Exposure, dancer and comic
foil in The Mississippi Medicine
Show, Sylvia in Sylvia, Louise Seger
in Always . . . Patsy Cline, Lottie
in Crazy for You, Mrs. Mullen in
Carousel, Mrs. Pearce in My Fair
Lady, and Mame in Auntie Mame.
Diana has directed The Cemetery
Club, The Taffetas, A Taffeta Christmas, Always . . . Patsy Cline, and
G.I. Jukebox.
18 23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music
David Goldblatt
Puttin’ on the Ritz: Music Director
Dr. David Goldblatt is an Assistant Professor of Piano and Music
History as well as a Staff Accompanist at Alcorn State University. He
earned his
Ph.D. in
Musicology
at the University of
Florida and
his master’s
degree in
Piano
Performance
from the University of New Mexico. Prior to his arrival in Natchez,
Dr. Goldblatt served as a Dance
Accompanist at the University of
Florida and Santa Fe College and
an Adjunct Professor of Music at
Santa Fe College. His research
interests include various facets of
Jewish Music and he has made
multiple presentations on musical
topics at academic conferences.
Nora Graham-Smith
Kiss Me Kate, Rigoletto
Nora Graham-Smith, most
recently appeared as Berta in Denis
Krief ’s
production
of Il Barbiere
di Siviglia at
Fondazione
Teatro
Petruzzelli in
Bari, Italy.
Her past
appearances
include the title role in Ravel’s
L’enfant et les sortileges, Mercedes in
Carmen at Castleton Festival,
Zerlina in Don Giovanni and
Pitti-Sing in The Mikado with
THE ARTISTS
Syracuse Opera. Ms. GrahamSmith’s 2013 engagements include
performances with Gotham Chamber in La hija de Rappaccini conducted by Neal Goren, Hannah in
William Meyer’s opus A Death in
the Family with Opera D’Avingon,
and Maddelena in Rigoletto with
the Boston Symphony Orchestra
under the direction by Doug Fitch.
luke grooms
Kiss Me Kate, Rigoletto
Luke Grooms, joined the Metropolitan Opera roster as a cover
during
Prokofiev’s
The Gambler
and made
his Carnegie
Hall debut as
Fante in I
Due Foscari
with the
Opera
Orchestra of New York. Recent
roles include: The Duke in Rigoletto
(St. Petersburg Opera), Nemorino
in L’Elisir d’amore (Mississippi
Opera), Roderigo in Otello (Opera
in the Heights), and Gianetto in La
Gazza Ladra (The Bronx Opera).
Other selected roles include: Tonio,
Belmonte, Albert Herring, Riccardo Percy in Anna Bolena,
Ferrando, Tebaldo, Mitridate, Des
Griex, and Lindoro with companies
such as The Baltimore Opera, Lyric
Opera Baltimore, Baltimore Lyric
Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, New
York City Opera, Des Moines
Metro Opera, Sarasota Opera, and
Opera North. Mr. Grooms also
sang Dwight and God in Jerry
Springer: The Opera in its New York
premiere at Carnegie Hall and with
Boston’s Speakeasy Stage Company,
Piangi in The Phantom of the Opera
national touring show, and Beadle
Bamford in Sweeney Todd at The
Fulton Theater.
romina gurian
A Musical Wine Tasting, Kiss Me
Kate, Rigoletto
Soprano, Romina Gurian, a native
of Buenos Aires Argentina
currently
studies with
Virginia
Grasso and
attended
Manhattan
School of
Music and
Brooklyn
College
under the tutelage of Mignon
Dunn. She earned full scholarships
at the Music Conservatory of
Westchester with Renata Scotto,
the Epcaso summer institute with
Enza Ferrari, and the Martina
Arroyo Foundation. In 2007 Ms.
Gurian made her operatic debut in
Buenos Aires, Argentina as Gilda
with the Juventus Lyrica. Recent
roles include Silberklang in Der
Schauspieldirektor and Susanna in
Le Nozze di Figaro. She is currently
a young artist at Dicapo Opera in
NY.
Perry Davis Harper
Kiss Me Kate, Rigoletto
Tenor Perry Davis Harper
recently debuted with Opera Birmingham as Erster geharnischter
Mann in Die Zauberflöte, and as
the Tamino
cover, and
Pinkerton in
concert performances
of Madama
Butterfly.
Mr. Harper
will be a resident artist with the Tri
Cities Opera in the 2013-14 season singing the roles of Don Jose
in Carmen and Eisenstein in Die
Fledermaus. Other regional roles
performed include Rinuccio in
Gianni Schicchi with Sugar Creek
Symphony and Song and Ferrando
in Così fan tutte with Pacific Opera
Project in Los Angeles. His roles
while attending The University of
Alabama have included Ferrando
in Così fan tutte, Marco in The
Gondoliers, and he created the role
of Edgar Allan Poe in the world
premiere of Amir Zaheri’s The
Raven’s Revenge. He performed
with Opera in the Ozarks in 2010
and the Druid City Opera Workshop in 2011. Mr. Harper holds a
Master of Music degree in vocal
performance from the University
of Alabama and a Bachelor of Arts
degree in music from Arkansas
State University. His teachers have
included Paul Houghtaling and
Julia Lansford, and he has coached
with Martha Wade, Bruce Stasyna,
David Holkeboer, and Richard
Masters.
christopher hart
Rigoletto: Chorus Master
Christopher Hart has been
involved in music and theater for
over 40 years. He earned a Bachelor
of Music
Education
(Choral)
from Drake
University
and an
Master of
Arts in
Music from
the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and
has performed with the Sarasota
Opera, the Tulsa Opera Chorus,
23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music 19
THE ARTISTS
and more recently with the Pike
County Little Theater. Christopher
has also been Music Director for
productions of Godspell and
Handel’s Messiah. He is currently
Director of Music and Arts at
Centenary UMC (McComb), is an
award-winning songwriter, and
competes on reining horses.
Jennifer Hart
Kiss Me Kate: Music Director
Jennifer Hart currently studies
conducting
under Dr.
Jay Dean as a
doctoral
candidate at
The
University of
Southern
Mississippi
an serves as
the Marketing and Educational
Outreach Assistant for the USM
Symphony Orchestra. She served as
the Music Director for The Mikado
and Assistant Conductor for Don
Giovanni during last year’s Natchez
Festival of Music. Ms. Hart was
Assistant Conductor and
Chorusmaster for Southern Opera
and Musical Theatre’s productions
of I Pagliacci and Cavalleria
Rusticana and FestivalSouth’s
productions of The Pirates of
Penzance, The Magic Flute, and
Don Giovanni. She produced and
conducted The Little Prince, L’enfant
et les sortileges, and Die
Fledermaus. Ms. Hart’s musical
theater conducting credits include
Ragtime, The 25th Annual Putnam
County Spelling Bee, The Who’s
Tommy, Children of Eden, Oliver!,
and Cats. Jennifer has performed at
the Festival of the Aegean in Syros,
Greece under the batons of John
Rutter and Peter Tiboris and with
Maryann Kyle and Paul
Houghtaling for last year’s
Christmas Cabaret.
rusty JENKINS
Kiss Me Kate
Natchez native and popular
local theatrical performer, Hyde
Rust Jenkins II is an Ole Miss
graduate
who practices law in
Natchez.
Rusty served
Adams
County
Prosecuting
Attorney and
later as
Chancery Judge of the 17th Chancery District of Mississippi. He has
owned and operated two businesses in the community and is a
member of The First Presbyterian
Church of Natchez. Rusty writes
and records radio commercials. He
is active in the Natchez Little
Theatre and regularly volunteers to
help raise funds for the Natchez
City Cemetery each year with
Angels on the Bluff.
Jonathan Levin, Piano
American Frontiers, Billy Goats
Gruff: Music Director, Kiss Me Kate
Born in North Carolina, Jonathan Levin debuted with the
Raleigh
Symphony
Orchestra at
age fifteen
and has
become an
increasingly
sought after
recitalist.
Solo and
collaborative performances include
20 23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music
appearances at Steinway Hall,
Brooklyn Public Library, the
Consulate General of the Republic
of Poland and the Kosciusko
Foundation in Manhattan, Smedes
Parlor Concert Series in Raleigh,
NC, the New York Society for
Ethical Culture and concerts in
North Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi, Nevada, Washington State
and Florida. Mr. Levin has also
performed with the Durham
Symphony, the North Carolina
Symphony and at the NC Governor’s Mansion and NC Museum of
Art. He was awarded 2nd Prize at
the Los Angeles International Liszt
Competition and the Alan Walker
Award from the American Liszt
Society. Directing credits include
Remarkable Theater Brigade’s
Opera Shorts program in Manhattan, Musical Director of the Natchez Festival of Music’s Educational
Outreach, and Artistic Director
and founder of Clayton Piano
Festival in Clayton, NC.
Sara Linger
Kiss Me Kate, Rigoletto
Sara Linger’s most recent appearances include Zerlina in Don
Giovanni (FestivalSouth Opera
Young Artist
Program),
The Child in
L’enfant et les
Sortileges
(Southern
Opera and
Musical
Theatre Co.),
and Bach’s
Mass in B Minor (soprano soloist,
The University of Southern Mississippi). Other roles include The
Prince in The Little Prince, Mabel
in Pirates of Penzance, Second
Spirit in Die Zauberflote, and
THE ARTISTS
Musetta in La Bohème (cover), and
roles with the Natchez Festival of
Music and Operafestival di Roma.
Miss Linger recently completed a
Bachelor’s of Music in voice and
piano performance at the University of Southern Mississippi, with
Dr. Maryann Kyle and Dr. Lois
Leventhal.
Larry Macklin
Rigoletto
Larry Macklin, tenor, is a
presser award-winning scholar
from Memphis, TN. Mr. Macklin is
an Alcorn
State alumnus who has
received his
bachelor’s
degree in
Music with a
concentration in Vocal
Performance. He is a National Association of Teachers and Navy Sea
Chanters competitor. Mr. Macklin
is an active professional stage
performer. He has collaborated
with professional theater companies such as Playhouse on the
Square and Circuit Playhouse on
the production of High School
Musical in Memphis, TN. Mr.
Macklin has volunteered in Port
Gibson’s Blue Barn theatre on the
production The Turnabouts. In the
2012 school year, he was the only
undergraduate to participate in the
National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Choir called
“105 Voices” in Washington, D. C.
Larry Macklin plans to further his
career as a vocal performance
major in graduate studies. He has
high hopes to become a very
notable performer someday.
Elizabeth Moak
Home Sweet Home: Piano
Noted for her “sensitivity” and
“generous imagination” (La Suisse,
Geneva, Switzerland), pianist
Elizabeth
Moak has
performed
throughout
the United
States
(including
national
television
and radio)
and internationally. Winner of the
Mu Phi Epsilon International
Competition, Elizabeth Moak
holds the Diplôme de Virtuosité
with highest honors from the
Neuchâtel Conservatory (Switzerland). She has also been recognized for her collaborative work by
the Peabody Conservatory (studies
with Leon Fleisher, Julian Martin,
and Ann Schein) and the Music
Academy of the West. Critics have
recently given commendatory
attention to her 2012 debut solo
recording Art, Fire, Soul: Piano
Music of Judith Lang Zaimont,
recorded at the request of and
under the guidance of the composer, and cited Moak’s “brio, assurance, and remarkable talent”
(ResMusica, www.resmusica.com,
France) as well as her “musicianship and panache” (Classical Net).
Rob Mulholland
Kiss Me Kate: Stage Director
Rob Mulholland, Staging Director, has directed Opera and Musical Theatre productions nationally
and internationally in New York,
London’s West End and the famed
Edinburgh
Festival in
Scotland. He
has worked
with actors
and singers
from The
Royal National
Theatre, The
Royal Shakespeare Company,
Broadway, The Metropolitan
Opera, and Hollywood. Credits
include directing Denyce Graves in
Carmen, serving as Production
Manager for Placido Domingo in
Concert, Cosi fan Tutte, The Magic
Flute, The Marriage of Figaro, The
Pirates of Penzance with FestivalSouth 2010, and Don Giovanni
with the Natchez Festival 2012. His
numerous musical theatre credits
include West Side Story, Cats,
Oliver!, Joseph…Dreamcoat, Company, Into the Woods, The King and
I, Guys and Dolls, Cabaret, Big
River, Grease, The Music Man,
South Pacific, The Who’s Tommy,
Chicago, The Drowsy Chaperone,
Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, and
The Producers for which he won a
New Orleans Director of the Year
Award. Recently in London and
Edinburgh, he directed the critically acclaimed World Premiere of
The Last South, which subsequently
toured to 27 cities throughout the
United Kingdom. Next month he
directs the Tony Award winning
Hairspray at the Historic Saenger
Theatre in Hattiesburg.
23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music 21
THE ARTISTS
Rhonda E. Price
Rigoletto
Hailing from Detroit, Michigan,
Rhonda currently attends Alcorn
State University where she is a
senior vocal music performance
major. While at Alcorn, she has
had the
opportunity
to travel
around the
country with
Alcorn State
University’s
Concert
Choir,
performing
and entertaining audiences of all
ages. She has also had the distinguished opportunity to sing for the
second inauguration of George
Bush in 2005. The following year
the Concert Choir performed at
the highly revered Carnegie Hall.
Ms. Price is a member of the
Alcorn State University chapter of
Choir Psi Phi National Music
Society and the Theta Gamma
chapter of Tau Beta Sigma National
Honorary Band Sorority, Inc. She
has performed in productions of
Ahmahl and the Night Visitors
(2003), Porgy and Bess (2005) and
Treemonisha (2006).
daniel quintana
Kiss Me Kate, Rigoletto
Daniel Quintana recently performed Mizgir in Rimsky-Korsakov’s Snegurochka and Theobald and
Thorwart
in Marrying
Mozart. Past
performances
include
Gangster 2
in Kiss Me,
Kate and
Sam Mason in Girl Crazy (Utah
Festival Opera), Guardia/Prete/
Cardinale in Il Caso Mortara and
Prince Yamadori in Madama Butterfly (Dicapo Opera Theater),
Manfredo in L’Amore dei Tre Re
(Bleecker Street Opera), Marcello
(Opera Las Vegas), Valentin in
Faust (Regina Opera of Brooklyn),
the title role of Gianni Schicchi
(Opera BelCantanti), Smirnov in
William Walton’s The Bear (Chelsea Opera), and Figaro in the
Mercadante’s I Due Figaro. Future
performances include Reuben in
Joseph...Dreamcoat and REX.
Zack Rabin
A Musical Wine Tasting, Kiss Me
Kate, Rigoletto
Bass-Baritone, Zack Rabin’s past
performances include
Innkeeper in
Man of La
Mancha
(Natchez
Festival
2010),
Truffaldino
in Ariadne
auf Naxos (Winter Opera St.
Louis), Bartolo in Le Nozze di
Figaro (St. Petersburg Opera),
Innkeeper/Captain in Manon
Lescaut (Chautauqua Opera),
Spencer Coyle in Owen Wingrave,
Publio in La Clemenza di Tito,
Marquis in La Traviata (Boston
University Opera Institute), and
appearances with Sarasota Opera,
Opera New Jersey, Ohio Light
Opera, Lyric Opera of Virginia,
New York Lyric Opera, Lyrique
en-Mer in France, IIVA in Italy,
and IVAI in Israel, and Bel Canto
Northwest. Mr. Rabin will also
perform Colline in La Bohème
(Ash Lawn Opera).
22 23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music
James D. Rodriguez
Rigoletto
Baritone James D. Rodriguez
has performed Don Profondo in Il
Viaggio a
Reims,
Harasta in
Cunning
Little Vixen,
Baron de
Gondremarck in
La Vie
Parisienne,
the Vicar in Albert Herring, Orgon
in Tartuffe, Faninal in Der Rosenkavalier, Captain Magallanes in
Salsipuedes, Rigoletto in Rigoletto,
Escamillo in Carmen (Cypress
Creek Foundation), Figaro in Le
Nozze di Figaro (Rising Star Singers
Opera Program), Belcore in L’Elisir
D’Amore (Regal Opera), Pritschitsch in The Merry Widow (Utah
Festival Opera and Musical Theatre), and in the Texas Music
Festival’s Le Chiavi di Bel Canto.
Mr. Rodriguez won first place in
the Moores School of Music Concerto Competition and the Texas
Young Artist Vocal Competition.
SUSAN RUGGIERO
Home Sweet Home
Susan Ruggiero, an active
performer and educator based in
Hattiesburg,
Mississippi
has received
prestigious
awards
including the
Shreveport
Opera’s
Singer of the
Year Competition, the Mozart Award in the Na-
THE ARTISTS
tional Orpheus Vocal Competition, and district winner in the
Metropolitan Opera National
Council Auditions (2007, 2009).
She has sung with New Orleans
Opera, Natchez Opera, Mississippi
Opera, Opera South, Kentucky
Opera, Wildwood Opera, Blue
Lake Opera, Opéra Louisiane, and
was a Fellow at Tanglewood. Ms.
Ruggiero performs regularly as a
soloist and as a founding member
of Accento Trio with flutist Danilo
Mezzadri and pianist Elizabeth
Moak. Susan teaches at The University of Southern Mississippi, at
William Carey University, and is a
performing faculty member at the
Festival Música nas Montanhas in
Poços de Caldas, Brazil and Blue
Lake Fine Arts Camp in Michigan.
Ms. Ruggiero holds a bachelor’s
degree in music from Michigan
State University, master’s degrees in
voice and flute performance from
the University of Michigan, and a
DMA from Louisiana State University.
JOSEPH RYAN
Billy Goats Gruff, Kiss Me Kate,
Rigoletto
Joseph Ryan earned a Master’s
in Voice Performance from Cincinnati Conservatory of Music has
performed
with Cincinnati May
Festival, the
Cincinnati
Pops Orchestra,
Cincinnati Opera,
Sarasota
Opera, Central City Opera, the
Opera Theatre of Lucca, Italy and
as a semi-finalist in the 2012 Opera
Birmingham Competition. Mr.
Ryan’s roles include Sacristan in
Tosca and the Father in Hansel und
Gretel (Opera Naples), Monterone
in Rigoletto (St. Petersburg Opera),
soloist in Orff ’s Carmina Burana
and Mozart’s Requiem (Charlotte
Symphony Orchestra), soloist in
Brahms’ Liebeslieder Walzer (Encore Chamber Music Series, Palladium Theater), and a performer in
A Composer’s Symposium: Carlisle
Floyd (Opera Tampa Vocal Arts
Festival).
Rocky Sellers
Rigoletto
Bass, Rocky Sellers’, past performances
include
Usher/
Monterone
in Rigoletto
and Hawker
in The
Mighty
Casey
(Opera
Saratoga), Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte (New York Lyric Opera), Betto
in Gianni Schicchi (Poor Richard’s
Opera), Presto in Les Mamelles des
Tiresias (Temple University Opera), Leporello in Don Giovanni
and Baron Douphol in La Traviatta
(University of Tennessee-Knoxville
Opera). Mr. Sellers has also performed with Sarasota Opera, the
Como Opera Guild, Manhattan
School of Music Opera Studio, and
as The Sprecher in Die Zauberflöte
(International Opera Program Seoul, Korea). Future engagements
include performances with Independence Sinfonia Orchestra in
Philadelphia, PA and as a Santa Fe
Opera Apprentice Artist.
Pablo Sotomayor
Musical Wine Tasting; Rossini, Puccini and Martinis, The Black Swan:
Pianist
Pablo Sotomayor, one of the
most internationally active and versatile Peruvian pianists of his
generation,
graduated
with honors
from the
National
Conservatory of
Music of
Lima, Peru
and holds a
Master’s Degree in Piano Performance from the University of
Southern Mississippi. Mr. Sotomayer performs repertoire such as
Rachmaninoff ’s second, Grieg’s,
and Tchaikovsky’s first concerti in
recitals and concerts in Peru and
the United States. He has also
worked with maestro Jay Dean as
the premier accompanist for the
USM Opera program and FestivalSouth. Other opera credits: Romanza’s 2011 La Bohème (Lima,
Peru), Mississippi Opera’s Madame
Butterfly (Jackson, MS), 2012
Natchez Festival’s Don Giovanni,
and 2013 Natchez Festival’s Rigoletto.
23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music 23
THE ARTISTS
CHRISTOPHER STALLINGS
Rigoletto
Christopher Stallings is originally from Starkville, Mississippi,
but has lived in Corinth, Mississippi most of
his life. He
is a graduate
of Corinth
High School.
Growing up,
music has
always been
a passion in
his life, as
well as all other forms of creativity
and entertainment. He plans on
graduating from Alcorn State
University with a degree in vocal
performance, and continuing his
education with a masters degree in
Counseling.
Díana Darlene
Thompson
Billy Goats Gruff, Kiss Me Kate,
Rigoletto
Díana Darlene Thompson is a
versatile vocalist and characterful
performer. Her voice possesses a
rare richness
and depth
for a lyric
coloratura
soprano, yet
is still
exceptionally agile and
maintains its
high, upper
extension. In her coloratura repertoire, she is noted for “negotiating
all… [the] pyrotechnics with
aplomb and sparkling skill.” Díana
holds a Master of Music degree
from the University of North
24 23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music
Carolina at Greensboro and a
Bachelor of Music degree from
Augusta State University, both in
vocal performance. She has been
seen in the roles of Adele in Die
Fledermaus, Miss Silverpeal in Die
Schauspieldirektor, Millie in Picnic,
Belinda in Dido and Aeneas, and
Sister Genevieve in Suor Angelica.
Díana is also a member of the
American Spiritual Ensemble and
has performed with the Augusta
Opera, Greenville Light Opera
Works, Charleston Chamber
Opera, Charleston Chamber
Orchestra, the Martina Arroyo
Prelude to Performance program,
and the Singers of Cary. In addition
to opera, Díana has also been a
soprano soloist in Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s Cantata 4, Haydn’s
Mass in Time of War, Vivaldi’s
Magnificat, excerpts from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, and
Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy.
THREE BILLY GOATS GRUFF
Three Billy Goats Gruff
Music by Mozart, Donizetti, Rossini
Words and Story adaptation by John Davies
Diana Glaze
Stage Director
CAST
Jonathan Levin
Musical Director
Accompanist
Lucy
Diana Thompson
Soprano
Ernesto
Rachel Arky
Mezzo Soprano
Osmin
Ivan Conrad
Bass-Baritone
Dandini
Joseph Ryan
Baritone
James Boykin, Stage Manager
Fairy Tales Come to Life through Music
Children learn through music. In this day and age many young parents fail to teach their children
nursery rhymes and fairy tales. However, children can learn many things through them.
This year’s Billy Goats Gruff is performed for our Children’s Outreach Program. John Davies
was approached by the Kansas City Lyric Opera’s educational director in 1997 and was asked to
consider writing an opera featuring strategies for dealing with bullies. Since the problem of dealing
with bullies in schools was a continuing problem, he agreed to do this. Children’s literature is filled
with bullying types, so he choose the Troll in the story of the Three Billy Goats Gruff.
During the course of the opera the Goats consider how to deal with the bully by avoiding
him altogether and resolving to talk with grownups about the problem. In the end, strength
of character and determination win the day with the smallest goat. Having accidently pushed
the Troll form the bridge, she enlists his friendship. Facing the bully down is not an officially
Bobbye wynn
recommended course of action. However, it makes for some fun theatre and provides a point of
Chairperson
Educational Outreach Program discussion in classroom interaction about bullying.
As with last year’s opera, The Three Little Pigs, the music is taken from operas by Mozart,
Donizetti and Rossini and the libretto is by John Davies.
The Children’s Education Program reaches out to many communities of children. Public and Private school students share
performances together. Many of the children from all strata of society experience a medium of music that many have never
heard before.
Special thanks goes out to the following people who have helped in the following ways: costumes provided by Cindy Idom
and Mike Lazarus and sets by Layne Taylor and the Natchez Little Theatre, Larry Buckley, and West
Elementary School, and the music from operas by Mozart, Donizetti and Rossini, and the libretto
by John Davies.
Bobbye Wynn
Educational Outreach Program Chairman
Natchez Festival of Music
pROUDLY
sPONSORED
BY:
23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music 25
PERFORMANCES
Rhapsody in Blue
A Tribute to George Gershwin,
America’s Music Man
Joseph Britain, pianist and
arranger
A mix of jazz and classical music,
performed by pianist Joseph
Britain, the Natchez Festival
Jazz Orchestra and other guests,
demonstrates how Gershwin “took
music from the nightclub to the
concert hall.”
NATCHEZ REALTY
Rena Jean Schmieg
Broker, Graduate of the Realty Institute
601.446.8280 Business
601.660.2136 Cell
601.446.8982 Fax
rschmieg@bellsouth.net
Congratulations
Natchez Festival of Music
to the
for a
Fantastic 23rd Season
7:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 4
First Presbyterian Church
of bringing outstanding performers
and great music to Natchez and
the surrounding areas.
Life is Great!
Business is Good!
People are Wonderful!
Uptown Grocery & Deli
Puttin’ on the Ritz
“Not your average market”
531 South Canal St.
Natchez, Mississippi
601-445-9111
The Natchez
Festival of
Music wishes to
Thank St. Mary
Basilica
and Father David
O’Conner for their
support
26 23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music
The Music of Irving Berlin
Russian-born American composer
Irving Berlin wrote an estimated
1,500 songs.
This fun-filled performance spans
his 60-year career and includes
scores from Broadway shows and
Hollywood films.
7:00 p.m.
Friday, May 10
The Van Court Town House
NATCHEZ FESTIVAL OF MUSIC GUILD MEMBERS
Board of
Directors
President: Rena Jean Schmieg
Vice-President: Margaret House
Secretary: Nan Erle Schuchs
Treasurer: Maxine Brice
Doris Ann Benoist
Ginny Benoist
Sandra Burkes
Sue Burkhalter
Coral Byrd
Paula Estes
Evelyn Fairbanks
Jeanette Feltus
Beverly Jenkins
Pat Jonaitis
Julie Kendall
Brad LeMay
Pam McDonald
Bill McGehee
Elodie Pritchartt
Bill Robertson
Mary Robertson
Peggy Sandel
Ginger Schwager
Claudette Songy
Kathy Traina
Edwin “Win” C. Ward
Faye Weatherly
Pam Wood
Honorary
Members
In appreciation of their generous donation of their
talents in helping the Guild with our special fund
raising events, the following artists, home owners,
and auctioneers have been designated at Honorary
Members of the Natchez Festival of Music Guild:
Swing with the Music of Love
Dr. and Mrs. Jack Rodriguez
Mr. Barry Maxwell
Ms. Lynn Beach Smith
Mr. Sam Bruton
Bel Canto Gala
Mr. and Mrs. John Deakle
Fr. Walton Jones
Final Gala
Mrs. Jeanette Feltus
Body of Members
Mr. and Mrs. Lem Adams
Mrs. Leona Adams and Family
Mr. and Mrs. Boyd Alexander
Mr. and Mrs. Dale Anderson
Mrs. Anne B. Allmand
Brother Vincent Bache, OSB
Mrs. C. Stevens Bailey
Dr. and Mrs. David Ball
Mrs. Ethel G. Banta
Dr. and Mrs. Robert Barnes
Mrs. Kirk Bartley
Mrs. Jack Benoist
Mr. and Mrs. Paul H. Benoist
Mr. and Mrs. Jack Benson
Mr. and Mrs. John Bergeron
Mr. and Mrs. Rawdon Blankenstein
Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Boelte
Mr.and Mrs. Edward Bond
Mr. and Mrs. John P. Bornman, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Brice, Sr.
Ms. Beverly Britt
Mr. and Mrs. Ron Brumfield
Mr. and Mrs. Bill Bryan
Mr. George C. Bryan
Dr. and Mrs. Peter Bundgard
Mr. and Mrs. Eddie Burkes
Mr. and Mrs. Pat Burns
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Byrd
Mrs. Bee Byrnes
Dr. and Mrs. William F. Calhoun
Dr. and Mrs. Daniel McCallum
and Family
Mr. and Mrs. Philip Carby
Mrs. Jewel Causey
Ms. Katherine Chamlee
Mr. and Mrs. Ron Chapman
Mr. Tim Chesteen
Mrts. Laurie Coffee
Ms. Marsha Colson
Mr. and Mrs. Marlon Copeland
Ms. Debbie Cosey
Mrs. Constance P. Cowart
Mrs. Martha Currie
Mr. and Mrs. John Dale
Mr. and Mrs. Wilton Dale, Jr.
Mrs. Liz Dantone
Mr. Charles Davenport
Dr. and Mrs. Charles R. Davis
Mr. Cliff Davis
Mr. Clinton Davis
Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Dearing
Mr. John De La Tour
Dr. and Mrs. Gerald F. DeLaune
Mr. Jerry Dixon
Mr. and Mrs. Hayward Drane, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Frank Drouillard
Mr. Merkel Dupuy
Ms. Camille Durkin
Mr. and Mrs. John Ehricht
Mrs. Ann Eidt
Dr. and Mrs. Fred Emrick
Mr. and Mrs. Terry Estes
Ms. Joan Evans
Mrs. Evelyn Fairbanks
Mrs. Donald Farrar
Ms. Charlene Favre
Mr. and Mrs. Clark Feiser
Mrs. Jeanette Feltus
Mr. and Mrs. Bob Flurry
Mrs. Sue Fountain
Dr. and Mrs. Jim Franklin
Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Fry
Mr. and Mrs. Pat Galloway
Mrs. Ann Garrity
Mrs. Dorothy Gaudet-Rainer
Dr. and Mrs. James Gavette
Mr. and Mrs. Mike Gemmell
M. James Germany
Mrs. Diana Glaze
Ms. Wendy Grandin
Mr. Frank Gresock
Mrs. George Guido
Dr. and Mrs. Robert Haimson
Mr. and Mrs. Larry Hardee
Mr. and Mrs. Bradley Harrison
Mrs. Donna Harrison
Mr. and Mrs. Ed Haworth
Mr. Bll Heburn
Mr. and Mrs. Bill Henley
Princess Prudence Hernandez
Mr. and Mrs. Al Hollingswoth
Mr. and Mrs. Harold House
Mr. Bill Huffler
Mrs. Nancy Hungerford
Mr. and Mrs. Bennie Jeansonne
Mrs. Beverly Phillips Jenkins
Mrs. Hyde D. Jenkins
Mr. Hyde R. Jenkins
Mr. and Mrs. Adolf J. Jonaitis
Mrs. Mary Ann Brandon Jones
Mr. and Mrs. Leo Joseph
Mrs. Ann Elizabeth Kaiser
Mrs. Betty Kaiser
Mr. Keith Karlson
Mrs. John D. Kendall
Mrs. Donald Killelea
Mr. and Mrs. Al King
Mr. Alan Kocheck
Dr. Larry Konecky
Mr. and Mrs. Jerold Krouse
Dr. and Mrs. Hank Kuiper
Dr. Bruce Kuehnle
Mr. and Mrs. Ron Lane
Mr. and Mrs. Bazile Lanneau
Mrs. Phyllis Lee-Ray
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Leet
Dr. and Mrs. Brad LeMay
Mr. and Mrs. Jim Lessley
Mrs. Pam Manasco
Mr. and Mrs. Barry Maxwell
Mrs. Gwen McCalip
Mrs. Malva McCalip
Mr. Jim McClure
Mr. Terry McCuan
Mr. and Mrs. John McCullough
Mr. and Mrs. Marvin McDonald
Mr. and Mrs. William F. McGehee
Mr. Ronald McGowan
Ms. Joan M. McLemore
Mr. and Mrs. Scott McLemore
Mr.. and Mrs. Thomas McNeely
Mr. and Mrs. Bob McWilliams
Mrs. Susan Meng
Mr. and Mrs. Jake Middleton
Mr. and Mrs. H. C. “Buddy” Miller
Dr. and Mrs. Anthony Morris
Mrs. JoAnn Mullins
Mr. S. Wayne Murphy
Ms. Yvonne Murray
Mr. and Mrs. James Nutter
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Owens
Ms. Louise Peabody
Mr. and Mrs. Gene Perkins
Mrs. W. Samuel Perkins
Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Person
Mr. Hayden Petkovsek
Mrs. Shirley Petkovsek
Mrs. Edith Koerber Piazza
Mrs. Freda Piazza
Mr. George K. Piazza
Mrs. Noemie Ponstein
Ms. Elodie Pritchartt
Mr. and Mrs. Robert R. Punches
Mr. Bernie Pyron
Mrs. Pat Ray
Mrs. Camella Richardson
Mr. and Mrs. Ron Riches
Mr. and Mrs. William Robertson
Mr. and Mrs. Walt Roddy
Mrs. Jo Ann Rogers
Mr. Mario Romano
Mr. and Mrs. Tom Rosenblatt
Mrs. Mackie L. Saleeby
Mr. and Mrs. Walter Sandel
Mr. and Mrs. Jim Sanders
Mrs. Mary E. Sanguinetti
Mr. and Mrs. Bob Sasser
Mrs. Robert E. Schmieg
Mrs. Nan F. Schuchs
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Schwager
Mr. Robert E. Scudamore
Mrs. Linda Shehan
Mrs. Dunbar Shields
Mr. and Mrs. Dan Shiells
Dr. and Mrs. Robert Sizemore
Mr. and Mrs. Bill Slatter
Mrs. C. Gil Smith
Mr. and Mrs. Ricky Smith
Mrs. Sharon Smitherman
Mr. and Mrs. Ed Songy
Mr. and Mrs. H. I. Stahlman
Mr. Joseph Stone
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Strader
Mrs. Jack B. Stubbs
Mr. and Mrs. Holmes Sturgeon
Mr. Ronald F. Switzer
Mr. and Mrs. George Tanner
Mr. H. Michael Tatum
Mr. and Mrs. Billy Tew
Mr. Dick Thompson
Mr. and Mrs. Mike Thompson
Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Tilden
Mrs. Clifford Tillman
Dr. and Mrs. Ancel C. Tipton, Jr.
Mr. Walter Tipton
Mr. and Mrs. Jeff Traina and Family
Mr. and Mrs. Terry Trovato
Dr. J. Neil Varnell
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Walcott
Mr. Al Walker
Mr. and Mrs. Eddie Walker
Mrs. Annalo N. Wallace
Mr. and Mrs. E. C. Ward, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. H. Edward Weidlich
Dr. Mike Wheelis
Mrs. Anne White
Dr. and Mrs. John White
Mr. and Mrs. Joe Wilds
Mr. and Mrs. Wallace Willard
Mr. and Mrs. Jim Wilson
Mr. and Mrs. Ryan Wingfield
Mr. and Mrs. Roy Winkworth
Mr. and Mrs. Gary Wood
Mr. and Mrs. Dan Wynn
Mr. and Mrs. Dan Yannitell
Dr. and Mrs. Ben Yarbrough
Mrs. Judy York
23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music 27
NATCHEZ FESTIVAL OF MUSIC GUILD
The Natchez Festival of
Music Guild
The Natchez Festival of Music Guild invites you to
join this group, the part of the Natchez Festival of Music
which encourages public participation and support for the
activities and programs of the Festival to assure that Natchez
and the surrounding areas have access to the finest musical
productions possible. Membership in the Guild offers you
the following privileges:
■■ Special Guild Membership ID Card
■■ Free Admission to either “Rhapsody in Blue” or
Kiss Me Kate, a $30 value
■■ Recognition of your membership in the annual
Natchez Festival of Music Program
■■ Opportunities to interact personally with the
Natchez Festival of Music artists
Yes! I want to join the Guild.
Enclosed is my check made payable to the Natchez Festival of
Music Guild.
MEMBERSHIP CATEGORIES
Single Adult $20
Single Youth $10
Couple $30
Family $40
Name
Address
City
State
Zip
Home Phone
Cell Phone
Work Phone
Fax
Email
(Required for correspondence)
COMMITTEE PREFERENCE
Hospitality
Amenities
Housing
Transportation
Flowers
Refreshments
Special Events
Production/Outreach
Ushers
Tickets
Recitals
Education
Development
Food for Arttists
Publicity
Local
Remote
Tours
Programs
Writing
Internet
Please send this membership form with your payment made
out to Natchez Festival of Music Guild to P.O. Box 1562,
Natchez, MS 39121.
For further information, Phone 601.446.8280.
Please check www.natchezfestivalofmusic.com for additional
information about the Guild.
28 23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music
What a privilege it has
been for me to work as the
President of the Natchez
Festival of Music Guild! The
members of the Guild are
dedicated to the Festival,
they are enthusiastic and
dependable, and they have
made it fun and exciting
to work together for the
Festival. The Guild is the part
of the Festival organization
which assures public
participation in support
rena jeAn schmIEg of the Festival’s wonderful
President
productions by providing
housing, transportation,
amenities, and lunches for the artists; organizing and
producing galas and other fund raising activities; and
obtaining sponsors for these activities. We are also
responsible for mailing lists, invitations, ushers, and other
jobs necessary to enhance the musical productions of the
Festival.
This year the Guild has been involved with a number
of special events. In September, we helped with The
Romantic Giants, a program of music by Mozart and
Hayden. October was busy, as we manned the Pepsi
Booth for the Great Mississippi River Balloon Festival
and helped with Die Fledermaus. We fed the Alcorn State
University Concert Choir and held a reception following
their Christmas Concert. A major new and popular event
was “A Christmas Cabaret” held in the Natchez City
Auditorium. Valentine’s Day was celebrated with our gala,
“Swing with the Music of Love,” at the home of Dr. Jack and
Linda Rodriguez. We are hosting a Reception honoring
Paul Groves at Gloucester, the home of John and Gwen
Deakle following “The Bel Canto Gala”, and the Final
Gala at Linden, the home of Jeanette Feltus following the
production of Rigoletto.
Possibly the greatest pleasure in being a member of the
Guild is having many opportunities to interact personally
with the outstanding artists who come to Natchez each
year as part of our Festival. We all enjoy them so much and
have continuing friendships through the years with these
talented musicians who give so generously of their talents
to enrich our lives.
The Guild welcomes all who are interested in becoming
an active part of the Natchez Festival of Music and invites
you to join us in continuing the tradition of bringing
outstanding music to the Natchez Area. We look forward
to seeing you at the wonderful productions of the Natchez
Festival of Music again this year and to sharing the
privilege of enjoying the great music which enhances our
quality of life and provides so much pleasure for each of us.
Rena Jean Schmieg
NATCHEZ FESTIVAL COMMITTEES
BAR AND BEVERAGE
Arthur Person, Chairman
Rusty Lewis
Maxine and Bruce Brice
Neil Varnell
Peggy and Walter Sandel
BUILDING/FACILITIES
Dr. Senator Bob M. Dearing, Chairman
Bob Adams
Maxine Brice
Julie Kendall
Rena Jean Schmieg
Nan Erle Schuchs
CONSTANT CONTACT
AND MAILING LIST
Ginger Schwager
Guild
EDUCATION/CHILDREN’S OPERA
Bobbye Wynn, Chairman
Diana Glaze
Cindy Idom
FINANCE
Tom Taylor, Chairman
Brad LeMay
FLORAL DECORATIONS
Julie Kendall
FUND RAISING
Rena Jean Schmieg, Chairman
Brad LeMay, Co-Chairman
David Ball
Will Devening
Fred Emrick
Terry Estes
Rusty Jenkins
Tom Taylor
GRANT RESEARCH/WRITING
Larry Konecky, Chairman
Rena Jean Schmieg
HISTORIAN
Camille Durkin
HOSPITALITY
Bobbye Henley
Guild
MARKETING AND PUBLICITY
Ginny Benoist, Chairman
Doris Ann Benoist
Rena Jean Schmieg
Mary Lessley
Eric Glatzer
Bobbye Henley
Sally Durkin
Natchez Convention and Visitor Center
Bill Furlow
Nathez Democrat
Griffith Mehaffey
Connie Taunton
NFM GUILD EVENTS
Rena Jean Schmieg
Brad LeMay
NOMINATING COMMITTEE
Robert Sizemore, Chairman
Bobbye Henley, Co-Chairman
Doris Ann Benoist
Maxine Brice
Terry Estes
Julie Kendall
Rena Jean Schmieg
PROGRAM
Sandra Burkes, Chairman
Mary Lessley
Rena Jean Schmieg
PUBLIC RELATIONS/OUTREACH
Rena Jean Schmieg
Mary Lessley
Doris Ann Benoist
Bobbye Henley
Eddie Songy
Diana Glaze
Bobbye Wynn
SPECIAL EVENTS AND
FUNDRAISERS
“The Romantic Giants”
Die Fledermaus
Pepsi Booth at the Great Mississippi
River Balloon Race
Alcorn State University Christmas
Concert
Une Fete de Noel Fantastique
“Swing with the Music of Love”
Bel Canto Gala Reception
Final Gala
Roads Scholars
THANK YOU LETTERS
Sandy Taylor
Ethel Banta
TICKET SALES
Mary Robertson
Maxine Brice
Julie Kendall
HOUSING ANGELS
Rena Jean Schmieg, Chairman
Mrs. Ethel Banta
Mrs. Jack Benson
Mr .and Mrs. John Bergeron
Mr. and Mrs. Ron Brumfield
Mr. Stratton Bull
Mr. and Mrs. Philip Carby
Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Charbonneau
Mrs. Liz Dantone
Days Inn of Natchez
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Edgin
Mrs. Ann Eidt
Mrs. Dottie Gaudet-Rainer
Mrs. Diana Glaze
The Hampton Inn
Mr. and Mrs. Bradley Harrison
Mr. Bill Hufler
Mr. and Mrs. Bennie Jeansonne
Mrs. Ann Elizabeth Kiser
Mr. Terry McCuan
Mr. and Mrs. John McCullough
Mr. and Mrs. Marvin McDonald
Mr. and Mrs. Bill McGehee
Natchez Eola Hotel
The Natchez Grand Hotel
Mrs. Marie Perkins
Mr. and Mrs. Bryant Reed
Mrs. Jo Ann Rogers
Mr. and Mrs. Dan Shiells
Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Seibert
Mrs. Stella Sharp
Mr. and Mrs. Randy Smith
Mrs. and Mrs. Ricky Smith
Mr. and Mrs. Edward Songy
Mr. and Mrs. H. I . Stahlman
Mr. and Mrs. Tom Taylor
Dr. J. Neil Varnell
TRANSPORTATION ANGELS
Margaret House, Co- Chairman
Doris Ann Benoist, Co-Chairman
Bill Robertson
Edward Songy
Rena Jean Schmieg
Diana Glaze
Stratton Bull
Jo Ann Mullins
Ginny Benoist
Bill and Donnie McGehee
Bryant and Jean Reed
Tate Hobdy
FOOD ANGELS
Nan Erle Schuchs, Chairman
Maxine Brice, Co-Chairman
Margaret House
Evelyn Fairbanks
Dottie Gaudet Rainer
Anne White
John de La Tour
Bill and Dottie McGehee
Sandra and Eddie Burkes
Br. Vincent Bache
Julie Kendall
Mary and Bill Robertson
Colleen and Rusty Lewis
Peggy and Walter Sandel
Rena Jean Schmieg
Marvin and Pam McDonald
John and Valerie Bergeron
Eddie and Cathy Walker
Danny and Virginia O’Beirne
Terry and Paula Estes
Analisa Therrien
Terry and Merideth Trovato
Leona Adams and family
Connie and Pat Burns
Bob and Jay Owens
Joann Mullins
Bobbye and Dan Wynn
Concordia Band & Trust Co.
Jake Middleton
Ton and Ginger Schwager
Trinity Episcopal Church
John and Gwen Deakle
Brad and Sherri LeMay
Bobbye Drane
Mary Estelle Sanguinetti
Eddie and Claudette Songy
Natchez Eola Hotel
Liz Garrity
Donna Harrison
Jeanette Feltus
Pat Ray
Robert Adams
Darby and Dennis Short
Ann and Bruce Fallice
Charlotte and Marlon Copeland
Doris Ann Benoist
Peggy and Jack Benson
Alan Kochek
Shirley Petkovsek
Elodie Pritchartt
Pat Jonaitis
Nan Erle Schuchs
Bob and Candy Strader
Priscilla and Johnny Dale
Ruth McWilliams
Bob and Judy Flurry
Diane and Peter Burns
Ginny and Paul Benoist
Sandra and Charlie Davis
Deborah and Lee Martin
Nan Garrison
DONATION ANGELS:
Roux 61
The Elms
Katie’s Ladies
Cherish McCallum
Monmouth
Carolyn Gwin
Hampton Inn
Steampunk Coffee Roasters
Kathleen Mackey King
Merkel DuPuey
Marcia’s Cottages
Uptown Grocery
Marina Cavette
Rena Jean Schmieg
Natchez Grand Hotel
Natchez Festival of Music Guild
Ed and Claudette Songy
Davidson’s Package Store
David Goldblatt
Mary Lessley
Natchez Market
Blankenstein’s Supplies and
Equipment
Southwest Distributors Inc.
Hicks Chicks
Little Dagos
Davidson’s Wine & Spirits
Live Oak Nursery
Wal-Mart
Smith Printing and Office Supply
Pat McDonough
Pearl Street Pasta
Natchez Pathology Laboratory
23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music 29
TWO WEEKS
OF AMAZING
PERFORMANCES, ART,
FOOD and FUN
IN HATTIESBURG!
TICKETS
ON SALE NOW!
www.festivalsouth.org
30 23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music
NATCHEZ FESTIVAL OF MUSIC
believe. do.
At AT&T we believe in communities.
That’s why we do what we do. Like
striving to connect people with
good jobs, donating our time and
talent, supporting the underserved,
and promoting innovative
educational programs.
Because we believe the power of you
creates limitless possibilities for us all.
That’s why we proudly support
the Natchez Festival of Music.
© 2013 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved.
23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music 31
FESTIVAL OF MUSIC SPECIAL RECOGNITIONS
Board of Directors and Eminent Board Members
Natchez Festival of Music Guild
Natchez Newspapers Inc.
Country Roads
Bluffs and Bayous
City of Natchez
Adams County Board of Supervisors
Adams County Sheriff ’s Office
Natchez Police Department
Natchez Public Works Department
Natchez City Planning Department
T.G. McCary, Photographer
Bruce Kuehnle, Jr., Attorney
Natchez Convention and Visitors Bureau
Walter Tipton, Tom Bauer, Warren Ruther: Grand
Hotel
Franklin County Women’s Club
Dr. Brad LeMay: Caring for our artists
Dr. John White: Caring for our artists
Dr. Richard Jeansonne
Mississippi Arts Commission
Natchez Chamber of Commerce
Peter Rinaldi
Callon Petroleum Company
Housing Angels
Transportation Angels
All the Volunteers
Mississippi Public Broadcasting
Natchez Pilgrimage Tours
Alcorn State University
The University of Southern Mississippi
Copiah Lincoln Community College
The Brookhaven Matinee Musicale Club
Sandra Stokes and the Ladies at San-Jay
Taco Bell
Concordia Bank and Trust Company
Monmouth Plantation
First Natchez Radio Group
David and Betty Paradise
Robert Adams
Diana Glaze
Terry Trovato
Regina Charbonneau
The Guest House
The Vue
The Days Inn
E2 200 State Street
606 State Street
Bridgett and Glenn Green
32 23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music
The Kiwanis Club
Barry Maxwell
Burnley Cook
Isle of Capri
Magnolia Bluffs Casino
Natchez Fine Framing and Art Gallery
Auburn Antebellum Home and Museum
Bisland House Bed and Breakfast
Brandon Hall Bed and Breakfast
Cedar Grove Plantation Bed & Breakfast
Devereaux Shields House Bed/Breakfast
Fat Mama’s Tamales
The Prentiss Club
Linden Plantation Bed and Breakfast
Magnolia Cottage Bed and Breakfast
Miss-Lou Magazine
Mississippi Bed and Breakfast Association
Natchez Downtown Development Association
Natchez Literary & Cinema Celebration
National Park Service
Live Oak Nursery
Furlow Communications, LLC
Vicki Kellum & Kami McDonald, WAFB Morning
Show, Baton Rouge
Natchez City Cemetery
Mimi Miller
Trevor Brown
Pilgrimage Garden Club
Mark Coffey Photography
WLBT - Jackson
HOSTS FOR SPECIAL EVENTS
First Presbyterian Church
Trinity Episcopal Church
St. Mary Basilica
Alan Kochek: Holly Hedges
Bazile and Jeannie Lanneau: Waverly Plantation
Eola Hotel and The Prentiss Club
Mike and Sharon Blattner: Cherokee
Leon and Kristy Atkins: The Briars/BriarVue
John and Gwen Deakle: Gloucester
Jeanette Feltus: Linden Plantation
David and Gwen Ball: The Merrill House
The Historic Natchez Foundation
Fat Mama’s Tamales
Auburn Antebellum Home
Dunleith and the Castle Restaurant
Monmouth and the 1818 Restaurant
Pearl Street Pasta Restaurant
CONTRIBUTIONS
The list of contributors is a profile of those people and organizations who, through their gifts, make the Natchez Festival of
Music possible. Their names appear in recognition of their commitment to excellence in the arts in Natchez, Mississippi.
All contributors listed are from May 1, 2012 to April 30, 2013.
GOLD BENEFACTOR
($25,000-$49,000)
SILVER BENEFACTOR
($10,000-$24,000)
David Paradise
Natchez Festival of Music Guild
BRONZE BENEFACTOR
($5,000-$9,999)
STAR
($2,500-$4,999)
David Blackburn FND
United Mississippi Bank
Diana Glaze
Adams County Board of Supervisors
John G. Turner & Jerry G. Fischer
PATRON
($1,000-$2,499)
Callon Petroleum
Albert A Newman
Paul H. Benoist
Neil Varnell
Thomas P. Taylor
Bobbye Henley
Concordia Bank
Bernard Wood
Randall Smith
Billy Tew
Barrett Nobile
Hugh Harris
Bill Dale, Jr.
Tommy Armstrong
SUPPORTER
($500-$999)
Ginger Hyland
Ginger Schwager
Carolyn Gwin
Ann & Robert Paradise
J. W. Seibert III
Good Hope Inc.
A.M. Shields
Mary Lessley
Claudette W. Songy
Marcia and John McCullough
Sandra Lane
Julie Kendall
Fred Emrick
Jay Dean
John Deakle
Rita Davis
John Dale
Richard Byrd
Virginia Brewer
Hedy Boelte
Supermarket Operations
Matinee Musical
State Farm
Regions Bank
Rena Jean Schmieg
Lucius Butts III
Pat Burns
Bennie Boone
R. Ricci
Carriage House
Dunleith
Crew of Monarchs
Rotary Club of Natchez
Stratton Bull
GIVER
($100-$249)
Alfred J. Walker
Ron Switzer
Claiborne Hollis
Kenneth Randall
Carrie Iles
Chuck Norris
Carolyn Gwin
Laurence Konecky
Robert Haltom
Mike Fowlkes
Sue Burkhalter
Doyle Spell
Stout & Company
Bennie Boone
Brad Yarborough
Rebecca Wilson
Elizabeth Wilson
Ancel C. Tipton
Kenneth Stubbs
James Sessions
Freddie Sandel
Albert Metcalfe
Cliff Merritt
M. L. McDonald
Lee Martin
Katherine Killelea
Hayden Kaiser, Jr.
Ed and Claudette Songy
Kay and Jim Park
Brandon Jones
Carrie Iles
Kate Don Green
William Godfrey
Robert Dearing
Jim Coy
Marlon Copeland
A.J. Ferguson
Kenneth Stubbs
Ruth Ellen Calhoun
Peter Buttross
Nan Erle Schuchs
John Bergeron
CONTRIBUTOR
($1-$99)
Marsha Colson
Peggy Pierrepont
Arthur Person
David Bramlette
Crew of Monarchs
Ethel Banta
Corrine Randazzo
Dorothy Stubbs
B Mizelle
Memorials and Honorariums
In Memory of Jo Berta Mcgehee
Robert and Ann Paradise
In Memory of David Heard
Jim and Mary Lessley
In Memory of Lester Meng
Jim and Mary Lessley
In Memory of Marie Biglane
Jim and Mary Lessley
In Memory of Charles Laird
Jim and Mary Lessley
In Memory of Cindy McSwain
Jim and Mary Lessley
In Memory of Arthur Eidt
Jim and Mary Lessley
In Memory of Bethan Lambdin Overton
Arthur Person
In Memory of Lil Graning
Arthur Person
Jim and Mary Lessley
In Memory of Margaret Ward
Jim and Mary Lessley
In Memory of Nancy West
Jim and Mary Lessley
In Memory of Betty Ratcliffe
Jim and Mary Lessley
In Memory of Charlotte Biglane Nobile
Barrett Nobile
Jim and Mary Lessley
In Memory of Joann Sessions
Tim Sessions
In Memory of Charles Bradley Passman
Dr. and Mrs. Carl Passman
In Honor of Rena Jean Schmieg
Ruth Ellen Calhoun
NATCHEZ FESTIVAL OF MUSIC
The David Stuart Blackburn Endowment Fund
In Memory of Donald C. Marion
Jim and Mary Lessley
In Memory of Nell Smith
Jim and Mary Lessley
FRIEND
($250-$499)
Frank A. Drouillard
Phyllis Mashburn
Nancy Hungerford
Patricia Dickens
George Dickens
Julius Carter
23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music 33
NATCHEZ FESTIVAL OF MUSIC
Natchez Festival
Nace
FesivaofoMusic
Music
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
INFORMATION
For
Fo r Tickets:
Ti c ke t s :
(Gift Certificates
available
for one
or entireorseason.)
(Gift
Certificates
available
for performance
one performance
entire season)
By
By phone:
phone:
In person:
In person:
Websites:
sites:
Web
601-445-2210
(601) 445-6103
(800) 647-6742
Natchez Pilgrimage Tours
Natchez Pilgrimage Tours
Natchez Visitor Center
Natchez Visitors Center
640 S. Canal Street, Natchez, MS 39120
640 S. Canal Street, Natchez, MS 39120
www.natchezopera.com
www.natchefestivalofmusic.com
www.alcorn.edu/opera/index/html
Remember:
1.
gifts are
are aa lovely
lovely way to honor
1. Memorial
Memorial gifts
honor loved
loved ones.
ones.
2.
Donations
in
honor
of
friends
and
family
make
2. Donations in honor of friends and family make
wonderful
gifts.
wonderful gifts.
34 23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music
Margaret Martin Performing Arts Center
64 Homochitto Street
P.O. Box 2207
Natchez, MS 39121
601.442.7464
Please help bring this outstanding season to our community.
Natchez Festival of Music, P.O. Box 2207, Natchez, MS 39121
Name: __________________________________________________
Address: ________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
Platinum Benefactor ...............................$50,000+
Gold Benefactor .....................................$25,000–$49,999
Silver Benefactor.....................................$10,000–$24,999
Bronze Benefactor ..................................$5,000–$9,999
Star ........................................................$2,500–$4,999
Patron ....................................................$1,000–$2,499
Supporter...............................................$500–$999
Friend ....................................................$250–$499
Giver......................................................$100–$249
Contributor............................................$1-$99
PERFORMANCES
Pearl
Street
Pasta
105 SOUTH PEARL
NATCHEZ, MS
601-442-9284
Italian & American Fare
New/Pick-up location on Main Street
FLAT BREAD PIZZAS
Open: Monday - Saturday
Lunch (11:30 - 2:00) &
Dinner (Open at 6:00)
Closed Sundays
American Frontiers
Jonathan Levin, Piano
Roman Sketches Op. 7 I. Nightfall
Charles Griffes
(1884-1920)
Woodland Sketches Op. 50
VI. To a Water Lily
Edward MacDowell
(1860-1908)
Fantasy Pieces Op. 17
I. Witches Dance
3 Preludes
George Gershwin
(1898-1937)
The Tides of Manaunaun
El Salon Mexico
Henry Cowell
(1897-1965
Aaron Copland
(1900-1990)
Arr. Leonard Bernstein
Intermission
Sonata No. 2 George T. Walker
I. Theme and Ten Variations
(1913-2011)
II. Presto
III. Adagio
IV. Allegretto tranquillo
Nine New Bagatelles William Bolcom
1. (…’and then what happened?’)
(b. 1938)
2. (…what happened)
3. (…a bird comments–to another bird?)
4. (…Lord Lovell’s trunk)
5. (…a little story)
6. (…take no prisoners)
7. (…valse oubliable)
8. (…benediction)
9. (…pavane for the dead/hope’s feathers)
Piano Sonata Charles Griffes
I. Feroce; Allegretto con moto
II Molto Tranquillo
III. Allegro vivace
23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music 35
PERFORMANCE
A Bel Canto Gala with Paul Groves
“Libiamo ne’ lieti calici” Giuseppe Verdi
from La Traviata (1813-1901)
Emily Pulley, Maryann Kyle, Paul Groves, and Lucas Meachem
“Largo al factotum della città”
from Il barbiere di Siviglia
Lucas Meachem, Baritone
Gioachino Rossini
(1792-1868)
“Měsíčku na nebi hlubokém” (Song to the Moon)
from Rusalka Emily Pulley, Soprano
PAUL GROVES
Tenor
EMILY PULLEY
Soprano
“Una furtive lagrima”
from L’elisir d’amore Antonín Dvorák
(1841-1904)
Gaetano Donizetti
(1797-1848)
Paul Groves, Tenor
“Silvio! A quest’ ora” (Nedda and Silvio’s Duet)
Ruggiero Leoncavallo
from I Pagliacci
(1857-1919)
Lucas Meachem and Emily Pulley
“Au fond du temple saint” (The Pearl Fishers Duet)
from Les pêcheurs de perles
Paul Groves and Lucas Meachem
From La Bohème
“O soave fanciulla”
MARYANN KYLE
Soprano
LUCAS MEACHEM
Baritone
Emily Pulley and Paul Groves
“Quando m’en vo’”
Georges Bizet
(1838-1875)
Giacomo Puccini
(1858-1924)
Maryann Kyle, Soprano
“Donde lieta uscì … Dunque è proprio finita?”
Emily Pulley, Maryann Kyle, Paul Groves, and Lucas Meachem
~Intermission~
“Tonight”
from West Side Story
ROBERT GRAYSON
Piano
Paul Groves and Emily Pulley
From Die lustige Witwe (The Merry Widow)
“Da geh’ ich zu Maxim” (You’ll find me at Maxim’s)
Lucas Meachem, Baritone
“Es lebt eine Vilja” (Vilja Song)
Emily Pulley
“Pavillion Duet” from the Merry Widow
Emily Pulley and Paul Groves
From Carousel
“My Boy Bill”
“If I Loved You”
Franz Lehár
(1870-1948)
Oscar Hammerstein (1895-1960)
Richard Rodgers (1902-1979)
Lucas Meachem, Baritone
Lucas Meachem and Emily Pulley
“Dein ist mein Ganzes Herz”
from Das Land des Lächelns (The Land of Smiles)
Paul Groves, Tenor
“Bring Him Home”
from Les Misérables
Leonard Bernstein
(1918-1990)
Franz Lehár
(1870-1948)
Claude-Michel Schönberg
(b. 1944)
Lucas Meachem, Baritone
“Serenade”
Sigmund Romberg
from The Student Prince
(1949)
Paul Groves, Lucas Meachem, Robert Grayson, and Emily Pulley
36 23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music
performances
Home Sweet Home
—————— The ——————
Carriage House Restaurant
On the grounds of Stanton Hall
A Homage Peformance
to Adelina Patti
Open 5 days
11am – 2pm Lunch – Wed thru Sun
Open Daily During Pilgrimage
Susan Ruggiero, soprano
Elizabeth Moak, pianist
Witness the tribute to 19th-century
opera singer Adelina Patti, who
performed in the capitals of Europe
and America during her stellar,
legendary career.
Sunday Buffet Brunch
$16.95 per person
$10 child
4:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 12
Waverly Plantation
Join us for Mint Julips
and
Famous Carriage House
Fried Chicken & Baby Buttered Biscuits
Ask About Our Daily Blue Plate Special
Dine in or Take Out
Open for Special Events and for Parties
401 High St, Natchez, MS 39120 Ph 601-445-5151
thecarriagehouse1@att.net
Join Us On Face book for Daily Specials
Rossini, Puccini
and Martinis
Enjoy a relaxed evening of
opera, show tunes,
and Eola martinis in the
beautiful grand lobby
of the
historic Eola Hotel.
7:00 p.m.
Sunday May 12 & 19
Eola Hotel Lobby
23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music 37
NATCHEZ FESTIVAL OF MUSIC
Call us at any of our five Mississippi & Louisiana locations for the best
Truck prices, parts, and service in the state.
Crosby 800-844-4341 Foxworth 800-235-6997
Jackson 877-818-0293 Canton 601-407-1160
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38 23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music
http://www.oldrivervolvo.com
performances
Elizabeth Taylor
Greenfield
The Black Swan
of Natchez
Dr. David Sansing presents an
Illustrated Lecture, sponsored by the
National Park Service, Copiah Lincoln
Community College and the Natchez
Literary and Cinema Celebration.
D Delta Rentals
Delta Rentals, Inc.
601-442-6222
102 Hwy 61 South
Natchez, MS 39120
7:00 p.m., Thursday, May 16
Trinity Episcopal Church
The Black Swan
Returns
A Tribute to
Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield
Diana Thompson, soprano
2013 Season
A musical tribute to 19th century
African-American
Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield, who was born
a slave in Natchez, Mississippi in 1817, and
flourished as an opera singer
on the stages of Europe.
5:00 & 7:00 p.m. Friday, May 17
Cherokee
23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music 39
NATCHEZ FESTIVAL OF MUSIC
5 Stahlman St.
5
Stahlman
Street 39120
Natchez,
Mississippi
Natchez,
Mississippi
39120
601-442-8171
601-4425-8171
40 23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music
performances
Musical Wine Tasting
Experience a unique
interactive sensory
experience of wine, music
and scenery overlooking
the mighty
Mississippi River,
in this afternoon sojourn.
4:00 p.m., Sunday, May 19
BriarVue at The Briars
Continued Success
Natchez Festival of Music
John and Valerie Bergeron
Pleasant Hill
LPL Financial· Member FINRA/SIPC
The Magical World
of Tango
Alejandro Drago and the Tango
Rendezvous Ensemble
The pulsing beat of tango seduces as
superb Argentine musician
Alejandro Drago
ensnares the audience.
7:00 p.m., Friday, May 24
The Prentiss Club
23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music 41
Natchez Festival of Music
Natchez
Festival
of Music
NATCHEZ
FESTIVAL
OF MUSIC
21st Season
Proud Supporter
Natchez Festival of Music
2 1 s23rd
t S e Season
ason
129Jefferson
Jefferson Davis
Davis Blvd.
129
Blvd.
Natchez,
MS
39120
Natchez, MS 39120
601·445·6200
601·445·6200
48
48
21stSeasonoftheNatchezFestivalofMusic
21stSeasonoftheNatchezFestivalofMusic
129 Jefferson Davis Blvd.
Natchez, MS 39120
601·445·6200
onoftheNatchezFestivalofMusic
Proudly supports the
Jefferson Davis Blvd.
Natchez129Natchez,
Festival
of Music
MS 39120
Educational 601·445·6200
Outreach Program
42 23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music
48
21stSeasonoftheNatchezFestivalofMusic
Kiss Me Kate
KISS ME KATE
Act I
with her onstage, saying she will read it later.
The cast of a musical version of William
Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew is rehearsing
for the opening of the show that evening. Egotistical
Fred Graham is the director and producer and is
starring as Petruchio, and his movie-star ex-wife,
Lilli Vanessi, is playing Katherine. The two seem to
be constantly arguing, and Lilli is particularly angry
that Fred is pursuing the sexy young actress Lois
Lane, who is playing Bianca. After the rehearsal,
Lois’s boyfriend Bill appears; he is playing Lucentio,
but he missed the rehearsal because he was gambling.
He tells her that he signed a $10,000 IOU in Fred’s
name, and Lois reprimands him.
Offstage, Lilli has an opportunity to read the card.
She walks on stage off-cue and begins hitting Fred.
He ends up spanking her. Lilli furiously declares she
is leaving the show. The gangsters force her to stay
at gunpoint. The curtain opens. Petruchio and Kate
have just been married, and they exit the church;
the gangsters, dressed in Shakespearean costume,
are onstage to make sure that Lilli stays. Petruchio
implores for Kate to kiss him, and she refuses.
Before the opening, Fred and Lilli meet backstage,
and Lilli shows off her engagement ring from
Washington insider Harrison Howell, reminding
Fred that it’s the anniversary of their divorce. Two
gangsters show up to collect the $10,000 IOU, and
Fred replies that he never signed it. The gangsters
obligingly say they will give him time to remember it
and will return later. Lilli receives flowers from Fred,
and declares that she is still “So In Love” with him.
Fred tries to keep Lilli from reading the card that
came with the flowers, which reveals that he really
intended them for Lois. However, Lilli takes the card
In Grateful Appreciation
Restaurant and Lounge – Open Daily
Breath Taking Views of the Mississippi River
Outdoor Bar & Grill
Capture the Sunset – Enjoy Cocktails and Grill
Specials
Sunday Buffet
11:00am – 2:00pm
Featuring Prime Rib, New Orleans Style BBQ Shrimp,Grits &
Grillades plus other Chef Specialties including our Fabulous
Dessert Display
Act II
During the show’s intermission, the cast and crew
lament that it’s “Too Darn Hot.” The play continues,
and Petruchio tries to ‘tame’ Katherine. Off-stage,
Lilli tries to explain that she is being forced to stay at
the theatre by the gangsters. However, the gangsters
discover that their boss has been killed, so the IOU
is no longer valid. The gangsters get caught on stage
and improvise a tribute to Shakespeare. The company
prepares for the conclusion of the play even though
they are now missing one of the main characters.
However, just in time for Katherine’s final speech, Lilli
arrives onstage. Fred and Lilli wordlessly reconcile
on stage, and the play ends with them kissing
passionately.
Bergeron & Plauché, LLC
Proud Supporter
Natchez Festival of Music
507 Franklin St., Natchez
601-442-0088 • 800-308-5388
bergeronandplauchellc.com
23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music 43
KISS ME KATE
Kiss Me Kate
Production Staff
Stage Director
Music Director
Choreographer
Costume Coordinator
Pianist
Stage Manager
Production Assistant
Assistant Stage Manager
Production Manager
Lights
Set Construction
Rob Mulholland
Jennifer Hart
Kevin Breazeale
Hali Hutchison
Jonathan Levin
James Boykin
Sara Linger
Gracie Cox
Tom Dungan
Mignon Reid
Graham Anduri
Herbert Hart
Cast
Lilli Vanessi/Katharine
Fred Graham/Petruchio
Lois Lane/Bianca
Bill Calhoun/Lucentio
Hattie
First Man
Second Man
General Harrison Howell Megan Barrera
Luke Grooms
Nora Graham-Smith
Perry Davis Harper
Rachel Arky
Ivan Conrad
Joseph Ryan
Zack Rabin
Ensemble
John Christopher Adams
Kevin Breazeale
Kathleen Buccleugh
Gracie Cox
Romina Gurian
Landon Henry
Rusty Jenkins
Sara Linger
Zack Rabin
Diana Thompson
Daniel Quintana
Mark Coffey
Natchez Photos
General Photographic Services
601-442-4200
mkcoffey@me.com
Enjoy Natchez Photos on Facebook
Supporting the Arts
Mrs. Holder’s
Antiques
Antiques Row
636 Franklin Street
Natchez, Mississippi
601.442.0675
or
601.807.5075
(after hours)
Kiss Me Kate Orchestra Sponsored by:
John G. Turner & Jerry G. Fischer
44 23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music
Annette Holder
Proprietor
holdersantiques@bellsouth.net
NATCHEZ FESTIVAL OF MUSIC
Natchez Festival of Music
Check in on our “News” tab
for updates.
Go to “Contact Us” tab for
details.
Follow us on Facebook,
Twitter, PushLocal and
YouTube.
www.natchezfestivalofmusic.com
23rd
23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music 45
NATCHEZ FESTIVAL OF MUSIC
all your electrical needs
Proud Supporter of
The Natchez Festival of Music
46 23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music
NATCHEZ FESTIVAL OF MUSIC
38 years
BLUFF TOP
A Natchez Bed & Breakfast
with breathtaking river views
J. Neil Varnell, Owner
205 Clifton Avenue
Natchez, MS 39120
1-800-211-6420 or 601-304-1002
www.blufftopnatchez.com
“…music for everyone,” Neil Varnell
23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music 47
NATCHEZ FESTIVAL OF MUSIC
When I say
“good,”
you say
“neighbor.”
Terry Estes, Agent
35 Seargent S Prentiss Drive
Natchez, MS 39122
Bus: 601-446-6555
www.terryestes.com
Now that’s teamwork.
Call me for your insurance
needs and see how it feels
to be on a #1 team.
Like a good neighbor,
State Farm is there.
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Edward F. Daly, MD
Blane A. Mire, MD
Jose A. Serio, FNP
Debra Probst
Cindy Jenkins
Judy Bartlet
Donna Crisp
Shalita Henderson
Lacie Merritt
Kimberly Warren
Ashly Murray
Jessica Dewitt
Kathy Bean
Blanche Morrison
P097313.1
State Farm, Home Office, Bloomington, IL
Natchez
Eye Clinic
453 John R. Junkin Dr.
601-445-2164
Bravo!
Natchez Festival of Music
48 23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music
3
Rigoletto
Act 1
Scene 1: The Duke’s Palace
At a ball in his palace, the Duke of Manuta sings of
a life with as many women as possible. Rigoletto,
the Duke’s hunchbacked court jester, mocks the
husbands of the ladies to whom the Duke is paying
attention. Marullo informs the noblemen that
Rigoletto has a “lover,” but they can’t believe it.
Rigoletto mocks Count Monterone, whose daughter
the Duke had seduced. Monterone is arrested on
the Duke’s order and curses the Duke and Rigoletto.
This terrifies Rigoletto.
Scene 2- Rigoletto’s Home
Thinking of this curse, Rigoletto goes home and is
stopped by the assassin Sparafucile, who offers his
services. Rigoletto considers the proposition but
declines. Rigoletto returns home to his daughter
Gilda. He has been concealing her from everyone.
She has been nowhere except to church, and
does not even know her own father’s name or
occupation.
The Duke overhears Gilda confess to her nurse that
she feels guilty for not having told her father about
the young man (the Duke) she met at church. As
she declares her love, the Duke enters. Pretending
to be a student, he convinces her of his love. When
she asks his name, he calls himself Gualtier Maldè.
Fearing that her father has returned home, Gilda
sends him away. Alone, she meditates about the
Duke, whom she believes is a student.
Later, Rigoletto returns while the hostile noblemen
outside the walled garden get ready to abduct
Gilda. Convincing Rigoletto that they are actually
abducting the Countess Ceprano, they blindfold
him and use him to help. So, with her father’s
unknowing assistance Gilda is carried away. Upon
realizing that it was Gilda who was carried away,
Rigoletto collapses, remembering the curse.
RIGOLETTO
Act 2
The Duke’s Palace
The Duke is concerned that Gilda has disappeared.
The noblemen enter and inform him that they have
captured Rigoletto’s mistress. By their description,
he recognizes it to be Gilda. The courtiers now have
fun with Rigoletto. He tries to find Gilda and asks
the courtiers to return her to him. The men beat
him up. Gilda rushes in and begs her father to send
the people away. The men leave the room believing
Rigoletto has gone mad. Gilda describes to her
father what has happened to her in the palace and
Rigoletto demands vengeance against the Duke.
Act 3
Sparafucile’s Inn
Rigoletto and Gilda arrive outside Sparafucile’s
house. The Duke’s voice can be heard singing.
Rigoletto makes Gilda realize that it is the Duke
who is in the assassin’s house and that he is
attempting to seduce Sparafucile’s sister, Maddalena.
Rigoletto bargains with the assassin. Then he orders
his daughter to put on a man’s clothes in order to
disguise herself and tells her to go to Verona. A
thunderstorm approaches and the Duke determines
to remain in the house overnight.
Gilda, who still loves the Duke, returns dressed as
a man. She overhears Maddalena begging for the
Duke’s life, and Sparafucile promises her that if
another can be found in his place, he will spare the
Duke’s life. Gilda resolves to sacrifice herself and
goes into the house. She is wounded and collapses.
At midnight, when Rigoletto arrives with money, he
receives a corpse wrapped in a sack, and rejoices.
He is about to throw the sack into the river when he
hears the voice of the Duke singing in the distance.
Confused, Rigoletto opens the sack and discovers
his daughter who dies in his arms. Rigoletto’s worst
fear has come to pass and he screams in horror: “La
maledizione!” (“The curse!”).
23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music 49
RIGOLETTO
Stage Director Production Staff
Peter Atherton
Jay Dean
Pablo Sotomayor
Christopher Hart
Mignon Reid
James Boykin
Sara Linger
Hali Hutchinson
Tom Dungan
Mignon Reid
Catherine Gracie Cox
Graham Anduri
Herbert Hart
Music Director Pianist
Chorus Master
Choreographer
Stage Manager
Production Assistant
Costume Coordinator
Production Manager
Lights
Supertitle Operator
Set Construction
Cast
Rigoletto
Duke of Mantua
Gilda
Sparafucile
Maddalena
Giovanna
Countess Ceprano
Mateo Borsa
Count Monterone Marullo
James D. Rodriguez
John Christopher Adams
Romina Gurian
Rocky Sellers
Rachel Arky
Kathleen Farrar Buccleugh
Megan Barrera
Luke Grooms
Ivan Conrad
Zack Rabin
Ensemble and Courtiers
Perry Davis Harper
Sara Linger
Larry Macklin
William Parker
Rhonda Price
50 23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music
Daniel Quintana
Joseph Ryan
Nora Graham-Smith
Christopher Stallings
Diana Thompson
NATCHEZ FESTIVAL OF MUSIC
DARBY’S
The Complete Home Store
featuring - Darby’s Famous Fudge
www.darbysfudge.com
Dennis & Darby Short
410 Mail Street
601-446-9737
Natchez, MS 39120
FAX 601-446-8279
darbysin@bellsouth.net
Ernst Pharmacy
300 Highland Boulevard
Natchez, MS 39120
Phone 601-442-9853
Toll Free 888-442-9853
Fax 601-445-8674
Frank Ernst, Rph, Valerie Beach, PT, Joe Ernst, PT,
Kim Cobb, Ins/Clk
COMPLETE RETAIL PHARMACY
Creating a Symphony of
Music and Flowers
629 Franklin Street
Natchez, MS 39120
601-442-4321
Moreton’s
FLOWERLAND
TURNING PAGES
Books & More
208 Washington
Natchez, MS
601-442-2299
www.turningpagesbooks.com
866-242-2269
23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music 51
NATCHEZ FESTIVAL OF MUSIC
Edna’s Cake Creations
483 John R. Junkin Drive
NATCHEZ, ms 39120
601-443-9000
www.ednascakes.com
Historic Home Tours
Custom Group Tours
Event Ticket Sales
Your City-Wide Concierge
www.natchezpilgrimage.com
1-800-647-6742
Natchez
Fine Framing and Art Gallery
Art Classes
Phone: 601.446.9345
Southwest Distributors
101 High Street • Natchez
601-442-3706
31 Irving Lane • Natchez, Mississippi • 601.653.0017
BRAVO NATCHEZ FESTIVAL OF MUSIC!
First Presbyterian Church
welcomes
“Rhapsody in Blue”
400 State Street
601-442-2581
52 23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music
NATCHEZ
Bravo
Natchez
Festival of Music
NATCHEZ FESTIVAL OF MUSIC
The Natchez Festival of Music
thanks
Trinity Episcopal Church
for hosting
“Black Swan”
“American Frontiers”
“A Bel Canto Gala with Paul Groves”
Gwin, Lewis,
Punches & Kelley, LLP
23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music 53
NATCHEZ FESTIVAL OF MUSIC
TRULY, SMITH & LATHAM, P.L.L.C.
Marion Smith
Robert C. Latham
Commercial Printing
P.O. Drawer 1307
320 Main Street
Natchez, MS 39120
Telephone: 601-442-6495
Facsimile: 601-442-8874
Expert Layout
Design &
Professional
Printing Services
Business Forms Letterhead
Envelopes Business Cards
Specialty Printing
Two convenient locations!
4202 Carter Street
Vidalia, LA
318-336-8339
20 Fourth Street
Natchez, MS
601-445-8777
54 23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music
ECONOMIC IMPACT
NATCHEZ FESTIVAL OF MUSIC
Economic, Cultural, and Other Impacts
The Natchez Festival of Music, as the primary
sponsor of world-class, live musical performances
in the Mississippi-Louisiana Region (Miss-Lou) for
nearly a quarter of a century, has been a constant for
jazz, Broadway, opera and outreach programs. During
this 23rd Season, the Festival plays host to international
performers who are recognized as the best in the
business. Commitment to cultural events such as
the Festival offers makes Natchez and the Miss-Lou
attractive to its residents and visitors from around the
world. During each May Festival Season, as many as
50 highly trained professional musicians from all over
the United States and from other countries perform in
Natchez. The Festival auditions in New York and in
Natchez produce superior talent and personality for
each May Festival Season.
The Festival is recognized for excellence: Governor’s
Award for Excellence in the Arts for Arts in the
Community (1998), Governor’s Award of Excellence in
the Arts in Opera and Music Education (Dr. Blackburn,
2003), listed as one of the Top Twenty Events in the
Southeastern United States, recognized for artistic
excellence in Opera News (2002), recipient of national
acclaim and recognition because of its excellence.
Significant Festival economic impact is in tourist
dollars spent for tickets, accommodations, dining,
entertainment and merchandise. About 48% of the
ticket sales come from persons outside of the City of
Natchez but within the Miss-Lou. Approximately 34%
of the ticket sales are from out-of-state sales, and 18%
of the ticket sales are by Natchez residents. The 50+
performers are in the area for up to six weeks. Locals
“buy local” for first-rate performances. The Festival
circulates its $200,000+ in production costs in the
Miss-Lou.
Through special events, arts advocacy, affordable
packages and community outreach the Young Patrons
Program of the Natchez Festival of Music attracts
arts enthusiasts from kindergarten through the age
of 45. The annual Children’s Opera reaches nearly
10,000 school children K-6 with approximately 20
productions in Adams, Jefferson, Franklin, Walthall,
Lincoln, Pike and Wilkinson counties in Mississippi
and Concordia and Tensas parishes in Louisiana.
These children are exposed to the classics in a fun way!
These unique opportunities enrich artistic and cultural
experiences, teaching the children about the pleasures
and rewards that come with music while grooming the
next generation to appreciate the arts.
Top-notch performances by and support from the
musical arts programs at Alcorn State University and
the University of Southern Mississippi in the way
of symphonies, orchestras, and student and faculty
performances throughout the year establish the Festival
as a music destination, broadening the tourism base
in the Miss-Lou and retaining the historical heritage
of Natchez and the Miss-Lou as a community which
supports music.
23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music 55
SEASONS PAST
1991: Gala Operatic • Recital • Man of La
Mancha • La Traviata
1992: Songs of the Rivers • The Marriage of
Figaro • Madama Butterfly
1993: Grand Vienese Opera Ball • The
Merry Widow • La Bohème
1994: Big River • Pagliacci • Carmen
1995: The Student Prince • Hansel & Gretal
• You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown •
Rigoletto
1996: The Pirates of Penzance • Die
Fledermaus • The Fantastics • Tosca
1997: Gianni Schicchi • Gallantry • She
Loves Me • Faust
1998: Mikado • Camelot • Suzanna • The
Boyfriend • Tales of Hoffman
1999: Carousel • Don Pasquale • Once
Upon a Mattress • Don Giovanni
2000: The Barber of Seville • I Do, I Do •
Man of La Mancha • La Traviata
2001: H.M.S. Pinafore • Carmen • La
Bohème • 150th Anniversary Concert of
Jinny Lind
2002: The Merry Widow • Suor Angelica •
Pagliacci • Songs of the Rivers • Madama
Butterfly
2003: Romeo et Juliette • The Magic Flute •
Rigoletto • An Evening with George & Ira
Gershwin
2004: Showboat • The Impressario • Marcus
Robert Trio • An Evening of Rodgers &
Hammerstein • Turandot
56 23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music
2005: Porgy & Bess • Jim Collum Jazz Band
• An Evening with Cole Porter • Gianni
Schicchi • Tosca
2006: Treemonisha • Fiddler on the Roof •
Il Tabarro • An Evening of Jazz: A Tribute to
New Orleans • Little Red Riding Hood • Die
Fledermaus
2007: Mozart’s Requiem • My Fair Lady
• An Evening of Jazz • Noah’s Flood •
Chanticleer • Falstaff
2008: Spiritual and Gospel Extravaganza •
A Cabaret • Oklahoma! • The Pfister Sisters
• The Telephone • Bluebeard’s Castle • G
Train the Musical • Così fan tutte
2009: Lord Nelson Mass • House • Evening
of Jazz • The Fantasticks • Death by Aria •
Broadway and Opera Highlights • Carmen
2010: Clarence “Bud” Scott Jazz Tribute
• Saturday Big Band Dance • Man of La
Mancha • S.H.O.T. • Death by Aria • Stars of
Tomorrow • La Bohème
2011: Songs of the Civil War • Little
Red Riding Hood • Magical Moves of
Jazz • Tango Rendevouz • It’s a Grand
Night for Singing! Music of Rodgers and
Hammerstein • Drop Dead Gorgeous Arias
• Mozart on the Mississippi
2012: The Romantic Music of Natchez •
Swingin’ Blues • A Hungarian Rhapsody • A
Night of Romance in the Salon • The Three
Little Pigs • The Mikado • The Glorious
Sound of Brass Music for Trumpet and
Organ • The Voice of a Nightingale • The
Portrait of Elegance • Don Giovanni
NATCHEZ FESTIVAL OF MUSIC
23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music 57
NATCHEZ FESTIVAL OF MUSIC
Old South Winery
9 different Muscadine Wines
Congratulates
Natchez Festival of Music
oldsouthwinery.com
65 Concord Ave.
Natchz, MS 39120
10:00 - 5:00 Mon. -Sat.
601-445-9924
58 23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music
NATCHEZ FESTIVAL OF MUSIC
Portraiture
by
T. G. McCary
1207 Main Street
Natchez, Mississippi 39120
601.446.5670
800.256.1207
www.tgmccary.com
23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music 59
NATCHEZ FESTIVAL OF MUSIC
Favorite Festival Notes
60 23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music
NATCHEZ FESTIVAL OF MUSIC
Favorite Festival Notes
23rd Season of the Natchez Festival of Music 61
2013