TALENTED NORTHEAST MUSICIANS COMBINE EFFORTS TO ASSIST THOSE AFFECTED BY DEVASTATING STORMS
by Marjorie Barrett, ©2017
(Sep. 23, 2017) — On Sunday October 8th at 4:00pm, Trinity Episcopal Church, 345 Main Street, Portland, CT will host a concert to benefit Episcopal Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma Relief Funds.
(http://support.episcopalrelief.org/hurricane-relief).
Lyra New York Baroque Program Young Artists, and Zoe Vandermeer, Artistic Director will present a Baroque Concert ‘The Enchanted Isles’, featuring the 17th and 18th Century English music of Handel, Purcell, and Others. Young singers and instrumentalists participating in the Lyra New York Baroque Program will be joined by artistic director Zoe Vandermeer, soprano, harp and keyboards. Participants include soprano Jacquie Caruana, a native of New York City currently working towards her Masters degree at Hunter College, countertenor Robert Colon who is completing his Masters degree at Queens College, tenor Vincent Abramo, Lyra New York Scholarship Recipient and recent graduate of Caldwell University in New Jersey, and Jennifer MacGray, professional harpist from Massachusetts, who has studied with Judy Loman, Heidi Lehwalder, and others.
Lyra New York was founded by Zoe Vandermeer in the summer of 2016, in efforts to provide more training, performance, and vocal competition opportunities for singers from around the world. Finalists and winners of the 2016 Vocal Competition hailed from London, South Korea, Los Angeles, and Canada. The Semi-Finalists for the 2017 Competition will be announced shortly.
Ms. Vandermeer is a dramatic coloratura soprano, harpist, and composer, and is on the Roster of the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism. She performs internationally, and is a prize-winning graduate of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. A recipient of the Dame Joan Sutherland Fund, Hartt School Faculty Development Fund, Emerging Artists Fund, and Burkhardt Scholarship Fund, she enjoyed her operatic debut in Carnegie Hall in 2014 as First Place Winner of the B. Alexander International Vocal Competition. She was a Finalist in the American Prize Competition, London Young Artists Early Music Competition, and Canada’s Wilfred Laurier Concert Aria Competition. Her solo voice/harp recording ‘Angel’s Wine’, featuring the music of John Dowland was favorably reviewed by the UK Lute Society.
Journal, and won Second Place for Best Classical Album by JPF. Ms. Vandermeer has been a featured guest on Moray Firth Radio Scotland, WFIU Bloomington, KVON Napa, KPFK Los Angeles, and elsewhere. www.sopranoandharp.com
There will be a Free Will Offering for the hurricane relief efforts. For more information please call the church office at 860-342-0458 or Contact Zoe Vandermeer at lyranewyork@gmail.com 917.838.1489.
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Editor’s Note: A flyer about the event is available here: The Enchanted Isles Flyer