An Evening of Chinese Art Song and Dinner

What: An Evening of Dinner and Music
When: Sunday 3 June 2018 at 5pm
Who: Kerry Holahan & Andrew Stewart
Dress: For comfort
RSVP: 26 May 2018
Cost: $20
Performer Bios: Kerry Holahan & Andrew Stewart
Future dates to hold: 15 July 2018: Our annual Bastille Day celebration, Melissa Wimbish singing Poulenc’s “La Voix Humaine”

Dear Friends,

It’s been FAR too long since out last “Evening of Dinner and Music.” I hope that you will join me for an evening of Chinese traditional folk and art songs featuring composers Huang Tzu and Wu Yiming. Many of you will already be familiar with the wonderful Kerry Holahan and Andrew Stewart, both from previous concerts at my house and from many performances with other venues in Baltimore.

Timing: disciplined
As usual, we will gather at 5pm, and will make a point of starting the recital at about 5:20pm. The goal is to end the evening, both the recital and the dinner, in plenty of time for the DC folk to travel home and be snug in bed by about 9:30pm on a "school night."

Menu: Chinese dishes
As usual for me, our dinner will be coordinated with the music. So this will be an evening of fairly simple dishes inspired by Chinese cuisine and based on what is fresh in our local Farmers' market that morning. I especially enjoy researching and preparing these coordinated meals; this one will be well outside my normal comfort zone, so it will be quite a fun challenge! A more detailed menu will be announced as we get closer (and I have done more research).

Dress: informal
As many of you know, my place is 'teeny tiny' and our seating space is limited. Sometimes we may even get a little crowded. So your dress should be informal and comfortable. Although it has been a cold spring, it may well be quite warm by June 3rd, so feel free to wear shorts if the weather calls for it.
Performer Bios

Kerry Holahan, soprano, has impressed audiences around the world with her clear, agile coloratura and multi-genre, multi-cultural approach to performing. She is a sought-after vocal collaborator in the greater Washington DC area, appearing with instrumental and vocal chamber ensembles focusing on Early Music, specifically music of the Renaissance and Baroque eras.

Kerry has performed as soloist with American Bach Soloists in San Francisco, Concert Artists of Baltimore, Charm City Baroque, Baltimore Choral Arts Society, Maryland Choral Society, The Advent Project in Washington DC, Peabody Renaissance Ensemble, and as chorister with the Washington National Cathedral, Cathedral Choral Society, and the Choir of St. David’s Church Roland Park, and will be making her debut with Seraphic Fire at the Aspen Music Festival this summer.

Kerry merges her training in Western classical music with a passion for the folk music and language of China. she lived in Beijing for eight years, performing extensively with local Chinese and international ensembles.

She was soloist alongside lauded Early Music soprano Dame Emma Kirkby in the China premiere of Bach’s Mass in B Minor; renowned Chinese bass-baritone Shenyang invited Kerry to perform with him in a concert of art songs by early 20th-century Chinese composer Huang Zi at the Shanghai Grand Theater; Kerry launched a solo Cole Porter show on a multi-city tour throughout China as part of a U.S. State Department-sponsored educational initiative; and she has led classical and musical theatre vocal masterclasses for music departments at universities around China, teaching solely in Mandarin. Kerry also regularly performs for events hosted by the Greater Washington D.C. Chinese-American community, having sung traditional folk songs at the Chinese Embassy for the Ambassador’s Chinese New Year Gala. Fluent in Mandarin, Kerry is one of the few American sopranos to be actively performing Chinese music both in the United States and China.

Kerry earned a BA in Chinese Studies at Wesleyan University, a Master of Music, Early Music Vocal Performance from the Peabody Conservatory, as well as a Diploma with Distinction from Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, UK.

Andrew Stewart, pianist, grew up in California and has been based in Baltimore since 2000. Much in demand as a soloist and collaborative artist, he has worked with countless singers and instrumentalists; premiered works by composers including Garth Baxter, Hollis Thoms and Daniel McDavitt; and performed with a great many organizations, among them the Bach Society of Baltimore, OperaBelle, the Atlantic Guitar Quartet, Baltimore Musicales, the Choirs of Goucher College, the Annapolis Chorale, and Assisi Performing Arts in Italy. He is featured on the albums Katherine Keem Sings Songs and Arias by Garth Baxter (Centaur Records, 2014) and Ask the Moon (Navona, 2018). Recent performance highlights include the complete songs of Henri Duparc with soprano Kimberly Christie, Messiaen's Quatuor pour la fin du temps with Assisi Quartet at Princeton University and at War Memorial in Baltimore, and a recital of arias and art songs with soprano Mary Claire Curran at Opera America in New York City.

Mr. Stewart has been associated with the Maryland Opera Company, formerly Lyric Opera of Baltimore, since 2003. He gives upwards of seventy performances a year as part of its education component and teaches on the faculty of their four-week summer program, where he assists high school students in writing and producing their own short opera. He is the creator of several educational programs including "Opera Games," "Much Ado about Opera" and "Arias and Adventures," all frequently-requested interactive shows that teach children about the basics of the genre.

He has also appeared on Maryland Public Television in the short film "Opera Magica" which he produced with Baltimore educator Evon Hewitt, Jr. Additionally he maintains a busy schedule as a theatrical musical director, having led more than forty productions since 2006. He has been the director of music at Our Lady of Grace Parish in Parkton since 2014, and the accompanist at Temple Shalom in Chevy Chase since 2009.

Mr. Stewart studied with Charles Asche at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and with Marian Hahn at the Peabody Conservatory. Other teachers include Marie Brown Curea and Sharon Mann. He lives in Lutherville, Maryland with his wife Zoë and their two sons.

Hold these Future Dates:

Please also “hold the date” for our next Evening of Dinner and Music” on 15 July 2018. We will once again be conducting our celebration of our first and best national friend and ally, France. Bastille Day has become something of an annual tradition as part of our little series and this year, we have something particularly special in store. Melissa Wimbish will perform a one-woman opera, “La Voix Humaine” by Francis Poulenc. As usual, after the performance we will have a little tutorial in singing the French national Anthem, La Marseilles. After a dinner of French culinary treats we will have a sing along of French songs and American songs about France. I do hope that you can join us!

What's the music?

Kerry Holahan Voice

Andrew Stewart Piano

Attendees

+1

Susan Z.