Balio Goes Baroque Sept. 16
Popular Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Principal Trumpet player Andrew Balio, soprano Nola Richardson and a virtuoso chamber orchestra, the Barocco Solisti di Baltimore, will hold a free concert at Frederick Community College on Sunday, Sept.16, at 3 p.m. in the JBK Theater. The musicians will feature the clarion sounds of high trumpet and soprano in the timeless music of Bach, Corelli, Scarlatti and Handel.
The event is free and open to the public. For more information call 301.846.2608.
The program features Bach’s popular Cantata for Soprano, Trumpet and Strings, BWV 51, Jauchzet Gott in Allen Landen (Praise God in all the Lands); Marcello’s Concerto in C Minor for Trumpet and String Orchestra; the early Baroque Neapolitan composer Alessandro Scarlatti’s Cantata for Soprano, Trumpet and Strings, Su le Sponde del Tebro (Along the Banks of the River Tibor); and Handel’s famous dueling duet for trumpet and soprano, "Let the Bright Seraphim." This is from Handel's Samson, in which famous castrati and clarino trumpet players competed to improvise the most elaborate ornamentation and perform lengthy lines in their highest range. The performances will be offered in authentic Baroque style with a string orchestra and harpsichord continuo.
Wisconsin native Andrew Balio was appointed Principal Trumpet of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in 2001 by Yuri Temirkanov. Prior orchestral appointments include Principal Trumpet of the Israel Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta since 1994 and the Orquesta Sinfonica del Estado de Mexico since 1990, in addition to the Boston Philharmonic. He has also been a guest soloist with The Bergen Philharmonic of Norway. He was 15 years old when he debuted with the Milwaukee Symphony, playing the Haydn Concerto in Eb. His teachers included Charles Schlueter, Adoph Herseth, Roger Voisin and Gene Young.
As a soloist, Mr. Balio has appeared throughout Europe, South America, Japan and the United States under such prestigious conductors as Mehta, Temirkanov, Rozdestvensky, and Herbig. This past year he has given solo performances in Russia, Italy and Brazil. Upcoming is a premiere of a concerto written for him by Sergey Yevtushenko at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. The 2005-2006 season saw the premier of Cuban composer Dafnis Prieto’s new work for trumpet and percussion, as well as a collaboration with the computer graphics department of the Maryland Institute College of Art to create a multi-media work based on Norwegian composer Ketil Hvoslef’s Tromba Solo, Toru Takemitsu’s Paths and Otto Ketting’s Intrada.
Mr. Balio has taught master classes regularly in Russia and Italy, at the Conservatorio Nacional of Mexico, as well as in Brazil, Chile, Scandinavia, Israel, Japan and the United States. He has recorded for Sony, RCA, Angel, Phillips and Teldec. In 2006, he founded Futuresymphony.org, an online think tank, in order to examine innovative ways of making symphony orchestras financially viable, while preserving their artistic mission.
Soprano Nola Richardson is an upcoming young artist with a dynamic stage presence and an expressive and versatile performance style. She has received attention for the "precision and clarity" of her voice and the sensitivity of her interpretations, particularly in the Baroque repertoire. Her operatic roles include Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro and Madame Silberklang in Der Schauspieldirektor with Bel Cantanti Opera; Pamina in Die Zauberflöte with Maryland Concert Opera; Gianetta in L'elisir D'amore with Emerald City Opera; Calisto in La Calisto with Peabody Opera Theater; the Child in Lux et Tenebrae with The Figaro Project (a world premiere); and the Dew Fairy and Gretel (cover) in Hansel and Gretel with Chesapeake Chamber Opera and Maryland Concert Opera.
In addition to her operatic work, Nola frequently appears in recitals and concerts throughout the Baltimore/DC region. She was selected to be a participant in the American Bach Soloist Academy in San Francisco under Maestro Jeffrey Thomas where she performed in Bach’s B Minor Mass and concert performances of Rameau’s Pigmalion (Amour) and Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas (Belinda). As a recitalist, Nola performed two programs of medieval music for the opening of the exhibit Treasures of Heaven: Saints, Relics and Devotion in Medieval Europe at the Walters Art Gallery and appeared as a featured performer in the Boston Early Music Fringe Festival. Nola also performs as a member of the medieval ensemble, Eya, and her voice can be heard on the recording, Concerto delle Donne with Heaven’s Noyse Present the Music of Chiara Margarita Cozzolani. She is the official cantor of the Cathedral of the Incarnation and the Episcopalian Diocese of Maryland and she frequently performs as a professional chorister and soloist with the Baltimore Choral Arts Society and Cathedra, at the Washington National Cathedral. In December 2011, she performed the soprano solo in Mozart’s Laudate Dominum in a concert with the Baltimore Choral Arts at the Baltimore Basilica that was broadcast on the radio and public television throughout the Christmas season.
Nola has taught voice for more than five years and considers teaching to be a valuable part of her musical career. She has presented workshops to singers from all over Maryland on choral diction and vocal technique. She holds two Master of Music degrees, in Vocal Performance/Pedagogy and Early Music from the Peabody Conservatory, and has studied with sopranos Phyllis Bryn-Julson and Ah Hong.
This concert is made possible in part through support from George L. Shields Music Program Development Fund at FCC and from the college's Communications, Humanities and Arts Department.
The acquisition of the Bösendorfer Imperial Grand was made possible by generous gifts from Mr. and Mrs. Holmes R. Baker, the Randall Charitable Trust Donor Advised Fund, Mr. Nevin Baker and Ms. Albertine Hodgson Baker, the Mr. and Mrs. Charles A. Nicodemus Family Fund, and other generous donors.
Frederick Community College makes every effort to accommodate individuals with disabilities. If you have accommodation needs, please call 301.846.2408. To request a sign language interpreter, please call 301.846.2476 (voice) or 240.575.2366/866.616.7243 (videophone). Requests for any accommodation should be made at least five working days prior to the concert.
