Wednesday July 23, 2025

Fletcher Hall at 6:30pm

Join the Chautauqua Institution 2025 Opera Conservatory for an evening of music by curated by guest artist Laura Ward.

Unless otherwise noted, all song arrangements presented in this world premiere were commissioned by The Denyce Graves Foundation.

Alma del core 

- Antonio Caldara(c. 1670 – 1736) & Anonymous 

Arr. Donald Lee III 

Angelina Yi, soprano 

Se tu m’ami 

- Alessandro Parisotti(1853 – 1913) & Paolo Antonio Rolli (1687 – 1765)  

Arr. Damien L. Sneed 

Ella Vaughn, soprano 

Caro mio ben 

- Tommaso Giordani(1733 – 1806) & Anonymous 

Arr. Carlos Simon 

Gabrielle Guida, mezzo 

Commissioned and premiered by Brian Major, 2019 

Il mio bel foco 

- Francesco Conti (1681 – 1732) & Anonymous 

Arr. Diane White-Clayton 

Helaine Liebman-London, soprano 

O cessate di piagarmi 

- Alessandro Scarlatti(1660 – 1725) & Nicola Minato (1627 – 1698) 

Arr. Dave Ragland 

Madeleine Christopher, mezzo 

Giá il sole dal Gange 

- Alessandro Scarlatti (1660 – 1725) & Felice Parnasso 

Arr. Damien L. Sneed 

Nicholas Gryniewski, baritone 

Come raggio di sol 

- Antonio Caldara (c. 1670 – 1736) & Anonymous 

Arr. Khyle B. Wooten 

Valarie Miles, mezzo 

Vittoria, mio core!  

- Giacomo Carissimi (1605 – 1674) & Domenico Benigni (1657 – 1723) 

Arr. Damien L. Sneed 

Justin Bell, tenor 

Per la gloria d’adorarvi 

- Giovanni Bonocini (1670 – 1747) & Paolo Antonio Rolli (1687 – 1765)  

Arr. Uzee Brown, Jr.  

Dominic Townsend, baritone 

Vergin, tutto amor 

- Francesco Durante (1684 – 1755) & Anonymous 

Arr. Evelyn Simpson-Cureton 

Valarie Miles, mezzo 

Tu lo sai 

- Guiseppe Torelli (1658 – 1709) 

Arr. Dace Ragland  

Clothilde Culeux, soprano 

Come raggio di sol 

- Antonio Caldara (c. 1670 – 1736) & Anonymous 

Arr. Michael McElroy & Joseph Joubert 

Waybe Arthur, baritone 

Lasciatemi morire!  

- Claudio Monteverdi (1567 – 1643) & Ottavio Rinuccini (1562 – 1621) 

Arr. Sylvia T. Hollifield  

Aubrey Cole, soprano 

Sebben, Crudele 

- Antonio Cladara (c. 1670 – 1736) & Anonymous 

Arr. Louise Toppin 

Elizabeth Palumbo, soprano 

Amarilli, mia bella (Original) 

- Giulio Caccini (1551 – 1618) & Giovanni Battista Guarrini (1538 – 1612) 

Valentine Umeh, tenor 

Amarilli, mia bella 

- Giulio Caccini (1551 – 1618) & Giovanni Battista Guarrini (1538 – 1612) 

Arr. Marvin Mills 

Aubrey Cole, soprano 

Le violette 

- Alessandro Scarlatti (1660 – 1725) & Adriano Morselli (1674 – 1691)  

Arr. Will Liverman 

Aida Skaraite, soprano 

Danza, danza, fanciulla gentile 

- Francesco Durante (1684 – 1755) & Anonymous 

Arr. JoyAnne Amani 

Lynn Kang, soprano 

Alma del core - Antonio Caldara (1670-1736) / Anonymous, Arr. Donald Lee III \

(from the opera La constanza in amor vince l'inganno)

Soul of my heart, spirit of my soul, 

I will always faithfully adore you. 

I will be content, in my torment, 

if I will be able to kiss those beautiful lips.

Arranger Focus: 

American conductor and pianist Donald Lee, III is known for his versatility and charisma both on the podium and at the keyboard. He has appeared in concert with the Des Moines Metro Opera Orchestra, Lyric Opera of Chicago Orchestra, and with members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Recent productions include Salome, Carmen, Champion, and the world premiere of American Apollo. Highlights as a pianist include appearing as soloist with the University of Maryland Symphony Orchestra, and recital performances with tenor Lawrence Brownlee, baritone Will Liverman, and countertenor Key’mon Murrah. As an advocate for the performance of new music by under-represented composers, Lee has conducted the music of Jasmine Barnes, Damien Geter, and Carlos Simon. Lee appeared as the guest conductor for Montgomery Presents the Blacknificent 7, part of the CSO MusicNOW concert series, and has also conducted workshops of In The Rush, a new opera by Carlos Simon, Lynn Nottage, and Ruby Aiyo-Gerber at Cincinnati Opera and Indiana University. As a pianist, Lee has been a part of the creation of six new operas through Opera Theater St. Louis’ New Works Collective. He was also the pianist for Will Liverman’s The Factotum, improvising in multiple genres throughout the opera.

Se tu m’ami - Alessandro Parisotti (1853 - 1913) / Paolo Antonio Rolli (1687 - 1765) 

Arr. Damien L. Sneed 

If you love me, if you sigh only for me, gentle shepherd, 

I am pained by your suffering; I delight in your love,

 but if you think I should love you alone in return, 

dear shepherd, you are easily deceiving yourself. 

Today Silvia will choose a beautiful red rose; 

then, with the excuse of its thorn, tomorrow she will scorn it. 

But I, for my part, will not follow the advice of men; 

Not because the lily pleases me, will I then scorn other flowers. 

Arranger Focus: 

As a multi-genre recording artist and instrumentalist, Damien Sneed is a pianist, vocalist, organist, composer, conductor, arranger, producer, and arts educator whose work spans multiple genres. He has worked with jazz, classical, pop, and R&B legends, including the late Aretha Franklin and Jessye Norman, and was featured on Norman’s final recording, “Bound For The Promised Land” on Albany Records. As a collaborator with Jessye Norman, he arranged spirituals chosen by Norman in honor of President Abraham Lincoln, and accompanied her in the performance of them at the Grand Reopening of Ford’s Theater in Washington, DC on February 11, 2009, attended by President and First Lady Obama. Sneed collaborates with rising international opera star Lawrence Brownlee for live performances and recordings that have been cited by The New York Times’ film and music critic, Stephen Holden, for their resounding performances, noting Sneed’s fresh arrangements turned the traditional gospel tunes into “concert art songs.” He has also worked other luminaries, including Wynton Marsalis, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Ashford & Simpson, J’Nai Bridges, and Brandie Inez Sutton.

Caro mio ben (1783) - Tommaso Giordani (c. 1730-c. 1805) / Anonymous - Arr. Carlos Simon (commissioned by Brian Major in 2019)

My dear beloved, believe me at least, 

without you my heart languishes. 

Your faithful one always sighs; 

Cease, cruel one, so much punishment!

Arranger Focus: 

Carlos Simon is the current Composer-in-Residence for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and frequently writes for the National Symphony Orchestra and Washington National Opera. He also holds the position of inaugural Composer Chair of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In the 2024/25 season, Simon has premiere performances with the National Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra for the Last Night of the Proms (in his BBC Proms commissioning debut), Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Carnegie Hall for the National Youth Orchestra of the USA. The season also features the premiere of Simon’s “Gospel Mass” with Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Philharmonic, a work reimagining the traditional mass with gospel soloists and choir, with visual creations from Melina Matsoukas (Beyoncé Formation, Queen and Slim). Simon has also recently released the live premiere recording of “brea(d)th”, a landmark work commissioned by Minnesota Orchestra and written in collaboration with Marc Bamuthi Joseph. “Arguably the most important commission of Simon’s career so far” (New York Times), “brea(d)th” was written following George Floyd’s murder as a direct response to America’s unfulfilled promises and history of systemic oppression against Black Americans

Il mio bel foco - Francesco Conti (1681-1732) / Anonymous, Arr. Diane White-Clayton  

My fire of love, however far 

or near I might be, never changing, 

I will always be burning for you, dear eyes.

That flame which kindled me

 is so pleased with my soul that it never dies. 

And if fate entrusts me to you, lovely rays of my beloved sun, 

my soul will never be able to long for any other light.

Arranger Focus: 

Diane White-Clayton holds a Ph.D. and MA in Music Composition from the University of California, Santa Barbara and received her Bachelor of Arts in Music with honors from Washington University in St. Louis. A native of Washington, DC, she was born into a musical family, she began singing at the age of four at the Baptist church where her father pastored. She was choir directing and accompanying by age nine and composing by age eleven. She studied classical piano at the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris as a Rotary Scholar, representing the US as an Ambassador of Goodwill. Dr. White-Clayton has held positions of professor, conductor, and artist-in-residence at the Loyola Marymount University, Appalachian State University, Westmont College, UC Santa Barbara, Washington Performing Arts Society, St. Louis Black Repertory Theatre Company, and the 5,000- member Faithful Central Bible Church in Inglewood, California. She travels extensively throughout the United States and abroad as a workshop clinician, guest conductor, vocalist, pianist, and speaker. “Dr. Dee” is the former Artistic Director of the famed Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers, and is the Founding Director of the BYTHAX Ensemble, a musically-diverse vocal ensemble in Los Angeles. She serves on the faculty of the University of California, Los Angeles and is also a Teaching Artist with the Walt Disney Corporation where she conducts Soundtrack Vocal Workshops for elementary, middle and high school choirs. She resides in southern California with her beloved husband and best friend, accomplished R&B percussionist, Joe Clayton.

O cessate di piagarmi - Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725)/Nicola Minato, Arr. Dave Ragland (from the opera, Il Pompeo (1683)

Either stop wounding me or let me die, 

ungrateful eyes, pitiless,

 more than ice and more than marble 

cold and deaf to my suffering.

Arranger Focus: 

Dave Ragland, four-time EMMY-nominated composer, vocalist, and educator, is the recipient of the 2022 Adams-Owens Composition Prize from the African-American Art Song Alliance, the 2021 American Prize in Composition, the Antinori Grand Prize from The Atlanta Opera, and two Telly Awards. He has served as the 2020 Grady-Rayam Negro Spirituals Foundation Composer-in Residence. As a member of the Blacknificent 7 composer collective (B7), Dave’s work is featured in Karen Slack’s commissioning project “African Queens” - including performances for Ravinia, Aspen Music Festival, the 92nd St. Y, and Washington Performing Arts. As Artist-in-Residence for OZ Arts Nashville, Dave debuted the opera Steal Away and with librettist Mary McCallum, he created the operas One Vote Won (Nashville Opera), Beatrice (Portland Opera), and Charlie and the Wolf (Cedar Rapids Opera). Dave composed and led the recording of choral arrangements for Ligeia Mare, a podcast opera by interdisciplinary artist Damon Davis, with instrumental arrangements by composer Ted Hearne. His works have been performed by Washington National Opera, LA Opera, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Nashville Symphony, Nashville Ballet, Memphis Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Chatterbird, and Resonance Ensemble (Portland, OR). Dave is the Artistic Director of Inversion Vocal Ensemble, a nationally touring vocal collective. (daveragland.com)

Già il sole dal Gange - Alessandro Scarlatti / Felice Parnasso, Arr. Damien L. Sneed from the opera L’Honestá negli amori (1680)

Already the sun from the Ganges is sparkling brighter 

and drying every dewdrop of the weeping dawn. 

With gilded ray it bejewels every stem 

and paints the stars of heaven upon the meadow. 

Come raggio di sol - Antonio Caldara (1670-1736) / Anonymous, Arr. Khyle B. Wooten

As a ray of sunlight, mild and serene, reposes upon placid waves

while within the deep bosom of the sea lies the hidden tempest, 

so does laughter, sometimes cheerful and calm with contentment, 

adorn lips with joy while, in its depth, 

the wounded heart grieves and tortures itself. 

Arranger Focus: 

Khyle B. Wooten, a native of Philadelphia, PA, is Assistant Professor of Music Performance and Director of Choral Activities at Ithaca College. He maintains professional activities as a conductor, educator, clinician, researcher, and composer. Wooten has served as Associate Director of Choral Activities at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and has fulfilled prior K-12 teaching posts with charter schools in the cities of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Atlanta, Georgia. At present, Wooten leads ongoing research on the life and music of Lena McLin and extended choral works of Black women composers, presenting regularly at regional and national conferences. They are an inaugural fellow of the Future of Music Faculty Fellowship with the Cleveland Institute of Music. Additionally, Wooten completed commissioned pieces for the 2024 ACDA Eastern Region Student & Community Honor Choir, Cincinnati Song Initiative, and the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra MINA String Quartet. His choral recent works include Sancta Maria (TTBB), Life and Death (TTBB) and The Dream Keeper (SA). Wooten is the co-founder and conductor of the Sankofa Vocal Collective in Atlanta, Georgia and Director of Music of Empowering Word Ministries in Philadelphia, PA.Wooten holds degrees in music education and choral conducting from Lincoln University of PA (BS), Georgia State University (MM), and Florida State University (PhD).

Vittoria, mio core! - Giacomo Carissimi (1605-1674) / Domenico Benigni, Arr. Damien L. Sneed (from a solo cantata)

Victory, victory, my heart! Weep no more; 

the miserable bondage of love is liberated - liberated is the bondage of love. 

Formerly the evil woman, to your detriment, among a multitude of glances, 

with false charms, planned the deceptions. 

The frauds and anxieties exist no more; 

the flame of her cruel fire is extinguished! 

From smiling eyes come no more darts 

with which you hurl a mortal wound into my breast: 

in grief and torment I no longer become undone; 

broken is every bond, vanished is fear!

Per la gloria d’adorarvi - Giovanni Bononcini (1670 - 1747) / Paolo Rolli, Arr. Uzee Brown, Jr. (from the opera, Griselda) (1722)

For the glory of adoring you I want to love you, o dear eyes. 

In loving I will suffer; but always I will love you, yes, in my suffering. 

I will suffer, I will love you, dear eyes. 

Without the hope of pleasure yearning is a futile affection; 

but who can ever gaze at your sweet eyes and not love you? 

I will suffer, I will love you, dear eyes!

Arranger Focus: 

Dr. Uzee Brown, Jr., a native of Cowpens, S.C., is current Executive Editor of GIA Music Publications’ Morehouse College Choral Series. He is retired Professor Emeritus and former chair of the Division of Creative and Performing Arts at Morehouse College. Dr. Brown’s diverse career as educator, singer, composer, arranger, and choral director has taken him to more than twenty-seven countries on four continents, including Italy, Germany, France, Switzerland, Poland, Russia, Luxembourg, Spain, South America and the Caribbean, along with seven countries in Africa that include South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, Uganda, Senegal and Algeria. His many performances include soloist at the inauguration of President Jimmy Carter, and world premier performances in the role of Parson Alltalk in the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s performance of Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha, the leading role in Emory University’s King Solomon with music by celebrated composer James Oliverio, and Mr. Letterlaw in the world premier of Zabette. In addition to writing music for two of Spike Lee’s movies, School Daze and Red Hook Summer, Brown has written works for National Public Radio and the Atlanta Symphony, including a choral orchestral setting for the celebration of the 70th birthday of M.L. King, Jr., “We Shall Overcome.”

Vergin, tutto amor - Francesco Durante (1684 - 1755) / Anonymous, Arr. Evelyn Simpson-Curenton (devotional song, likely for liturgical use)

Virgin, absolute love, o mother of goodness, o pious mother, 

listen, sweet Mary to the cove of the sinner. 

May his weeping move you, may his laments reach you; 

may that compassionate heart of your hear his grief, his sad words. 

Oh mother of goodness, virgin, absolute love.

Arranger Focus: 

Evelyn Simpson-Curenton is a leading African-American composer, pianist, organist, and vocalist. She began to play the piano at 2 years old, began formal piano lessons at 5, and by age 9, she was accompanying her renowned musical family, The Singing Simpsons, in public performances. She went on to earn a Bachelor of Music in Music Education and Voice from Temple University. As a composer, arranger, pianist, organist, and vocalist, Simpson-Curenton has performed with musical organizations such as Philadelphia’s National Opera Ebony (renamed Opera North) and was choral director and arranger for the Howard University Drama Department’s production of “Mahalia’s Song.” She has been commissioned to write works for the American Guild of Organists, George Shirley, the late Duke Ellington, and her sister, the late Joy Simpson, arranged music for Kathleen Battle, Jessye Norman, and the Porgy and Bess Chorus of the New York Metropolitan Opera, and has performed with musical organizations such as Philadelphia’s National Opera Ebony (later renamed Opera North). In 1979, some of her compositions were performed by the National Symphony and by the Minnesota Orchestra, with Joy appearing as soloist. Based in the Washington DC area, Curenton is Music Director of the Washington Performing Arts Society’s Men and Women of the Gospel and an associate of the Smithsonian Institution. She has given lectures and participated in workshops on early 18th-century Black religious music and the music of African-Americans during the Civil Rights era

Tu lo sai - Giuseppe Torelli (1658-1709) / Anonymous, Arr. Dave Ragland (from solo cantata, Come potesti mai lasciarmi, infida?)

You now know how I loved you, 

You now know, my cruel love! 

Other loves I don’t desire, 

just remember your old lover 

bringing scorn to the unfaithful.

Come raggio di sol - Antonio Caldara (1670-1736) / Anonymous Arr. Michael McElroy & Joseph Joubert

As a ray of sunlight, mild and serene, reposes upon placid waves 

while within the deep bosom of the sea lies the hidden tempest, 

so does laughter, sometimes cheerful and calm with contentment, 

adorn lips with joy while, in its depth, 

he wounded heart grieves and tortures itself.

Co-Arranger Focus: 

Native New Yorker and Grammy-nominated musician Joseph Joubert is a pianist, arranger, orchestrator, Broadway conductor, and music director. He was music supervisor, orchestrator and co-arranger for “The Wiz” Broadway Revival, and is a sought after music director for Broadway stars, having collaborated with Cynthia Erivo, Deborah Cox, Ken Page, Norm Lewis, including a PBS special with Melissa Erico. As a record producer and arranger/orchestrator he has worked with Diana Ross, George Benson, Patti LaBelle, Whitney Houston, Cissy Houston, Jennifer Holliday, Dionne Warwick, Norm Lewis and Diane Reeves as well as classical singers including Denyce Graves, Esther Hinds, Harolyn Blackwell, Florence Quivar, Simon Estes, Angela Brown and Kathleen Battle. Mr. Joubert is at home arranging and performing in any style from classical to pop, gospel to Broadway, spiritual to R & B. He has reinterpreted classic hymns on his solo piano CD Total Praise and most recent solo piano CD A Mighty Fortress Is Our God: The Joubert Experience released by GIA Publications. 

Michael McElroy (Librettist, Lyricist and Composer), is a tenured professor in Arts and Public Policy in Tisch School of the Arts at New York University and also serves as Executive Director of Performance and Collaboration in the John A. Paulson Center. Michael previously served as Cocoordinator of Musical Theatre in the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts at Howard University in Washington DC, and as Chair of the Department of Musical Theatre in the School of Music Theatre and Dance at University of Michigan. With his newest position, he returns home to NYU where he served for over ten years in various positions of leadership. Michael is the 2025 awardee of The Johan Sundberg/Ingo R. Titze Award for Creativity in Voice Science. The award is given to an individual who has established a creative body of research, or creative entity that reflects the application of voice science i.e. basic, clinical or performance) to a voice-related profession or to society at large.

Lasciatemi morire! - Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) / Ottavio Rinuccini, Arr. Sylvia T. Hollifield (from the opera. Ariana) (1608)

Let me die! 

And whom would you want to comfort me 

in such a cruel fate, in such great torment? 

Let me die!

Arranger Focus: 

Sylvia T. Hollifield (1951- ) holds several degrees including Music Education and Educational Leadership. She has invested her energies in the Detroit Public Schools, and is the Founder of Michigan Sings Inc., a program implemented to support students within the 7-12th grade level. She is Professor Emeritus at Michigan State University. Dr. Hollifield serves as the first Vice President for NANM (The National Association of Negro Musicians), and a member of Detroit Musicians Association. Her compositions are primarily for voice and piano, which have been performed across the United States.

Sebben, crudele - Antonio Caldara (1670 - 1736), Arr. Louise Toppin (from the opera La costanza in amor vince l'inganno) (1710)

Although, cruel one, you make me languish, 

I will always want to love you. 

With the patience of my serving 

I will be able to tire out your pride.

Arranger Focus: 

Louise Toppin has received critical acclaim for her operatic, orchestral, oratorio and recital performances world-wide. Represented by Joanne Rile Management, she toured “Gershwin on Broadway” with pianist Leon Bates. She has recorded more than nineteen commercial CDs including on Albany Records Ah love, but a day, La Saison des fleurs and Dear Friends and Gentle Hears with Darryl Taylor released February 7, 2025. Since 2021 she has published 13 scores with Classical Vocal Reprints, Carl Fischer and Hal Leonard (soon for release) including An Anthology of Undine Moore Songs, An Anthology of African and African Diaspora Songs, Songs of Harry Burleigh, Songs of Adolphus Hailstork, and Rediscovering Margaret Bonds. She is the publisher of the unpublished works of Julia Perry (distributed by Boosey and Hawkes). She has appeared on NPR’s All Things Considered; co-hosts the Minnesota Orchestra “Listening Project”concerts, and hosts her own radio show entitled Conversations in African American music. She has been a guest on college campuses including Harvard, Yale, Duke, and many others. Co-founder and Director of the George Shirley Vocal Competition on repertoire by African American composers, and Director of Videmus (non-profit organization that promotes the concert repertoire of African American composers), she also founded the Africandiasporamusicproject.org research tool. Previously, Toppin was the Distinguished University Professor of Music and Chair of the Department of Music at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She is currently University Distinguished Professor of Diversity and Social Transformation and Professor of Music (Voice), at The University of Michigan.

Amarilli, mia bella - Giulio Caccini (1550 - 1618) / Battista Guarini (1538 - 1612), Arr. Marvin Mills

Amarilli, my beautiful one, do you not believe, 

o sweet desire of my heart, that you are my love? 

Do believe it; and if fear assails you, doubting will not avail you. 

Open my breast and you will see written on my heart: “Amarilli is my love.” 

Arranger Focus: 

Marvin Mills, Organist, pianist, harpsichordist, conductor, and composer has performed extensively throughout the United States. He has appeared as soloist with the Jacksonville, Pittsburgh, Peabody and National Symphony orchestras in concertos by Handel, Hindemith, Jongen, Poulenc and Rheinberger. Keyboard/continuo artist/choral conductor for the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival since 2000, he has collaborated with numerous ensembles including The Washington Bach Consort, Concert Artists of Baltimore, The Ritz Chamber Players, MasterSingers of Wilmington, The Philadelphia Brass and The Opera Philadelphia Chorus. He was a recitalist for the inaugural of the Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ at Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center. In the spring of 1992, Mr. Mills performed the complete organworks of Johann Sebastian Bach in an acclaimed weekly series of fourteen programs on the 96 rank Rieger organ at All Souls Church, Unitarian, Washington, DC. His many commissioned works include Four spirituals for Denyce Graves and a setting of the Phyllis Wheatley poem, On Virtue, for the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. His theatrical conducting debut was in Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha, and he served as music director/pianist for Washington National Opera’s 2023 and Pittsburgh Opera’s 2024 productions of Sandra Seaton’s The Passion According to Mary Cardwell Dawson. A member of The African American Art Song Alliance he has been a collaborative pianist to singers for over 40 years and was a vocal coach at Morgan State University for nearly a decade.

Le violette - Alessandro Scarlatti / Adriano Morselli, Arr. Will Liverman (from the opera Il Pirro e Demetrio) (1694)

Dewy, fragrant, pretty violets, you stay there shyly, 

half hidden among the leaves, and rebuke my wishes, 

which are too ambitious.

Arranger Focus: 

GRAMMY Award-winning baritone Will Liverman has been called “a voice for this historic moment” (Washington Post), and is the recipient of the 2022 Beverly Sills Artist Award by The Metropolitan Opera. He is also the co-creator of The Factotum – called “mic-drop fabulous good” (Opera News) – which premiered at the Lyric Opera Chicago in 2023. Lyric Opera of Chicago presented the world premiere of Liverman’s new opera, The Factotum, in 2023, which he starred in and composed with DJ King Rico. Inspired by Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Liverman and Rico place the story in a present-day Black barbershop on Chicago’s South Side, celebrating the strength of community and power of the human spirit in a soul opera that “offers a chameleonic pastiche of soul, funk, and classical elements that is incredibly effective” (Opera News). Houston Grand Opera, Portland Opera, and Washington National Opera are all slated to put on The Factotum in future seasons. Recording projects include The Dunbar/Moore Sessions - Volume I (Lexicon Classics, 2023), a collection of original art song composed, played, and sung by Liverman himself; and Whither Must I Wander (Odradek Records, 2020), named one of the Chicago Tribune’s “best classical recordings of 2020.” Liverman’s dedication and vision as a composer, artist, and advisor helping to evolve and push the performing arts industry forward.

Danza, danza, fanciulla gentile Francesco Durante (1684-1755) / Anonymous, Arr. JoyAnne Amani

Dance, dance, maiden, to my singing; 

dance, dance, gentle maiden, to my singing. 

Whirl, light and slender girl, to the sound of the waves of the sea. 

Hear the pleasant murmur of the playful breeze 

which speaks to the heart with languid voice

and which invites dancing without rest. 

Dance, dance gentle maiden, to my singing. 

Indeed you said o beautiful mouth, that sweet and dear “yes” 

which causes all my pleasure. 

In honor of his flame, Love pend you with a kiss, 

sweet fount of pleasure - Ah, yes, of pleasure.

Arranger Focus: 

JoyAnne Amani is a highly sought-after pianist, music director, arranger and educator who has collaborated with Joseph Parrish, Denyce Graves, Priscilla Baskerville, Janice Chandler Eteme, Janice Jackson, Robert Sims, Natanya Sheva Washer. As a pianist, she’s worked with many conductors including Zubin Mehta, Tania Leon, Roland Carter, Margaret Harris, Lukas Foss, Eugene Rogers, and Julius Williams, and has performed at The Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, the Clarice Performing Arts Center, Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, and St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. Currently, JoyAnne serves as Minister of Music of Babcock Presbyterian Church, and is Artistic Director of its Tower Concert Series. She is a collaborative pianist throughout the Baltimore/Washington Region. Believing that the gift of music can have a powerful and transformative effect on individuals, families, and communities, JoyAnne Amani founded “Beauty for Ashes”, a ministry which promotes healing, hope and wholeness through music and spirituality.

Curated by Laura Ward, this recital promises to be a true highlight of the season. The timeless beauty of Old Italian Songs and Arias is brought into the present with stunning new arrangements by today’s leading composers. For over a century, these enduring melodies have inspired arrangers around the world. Now, it’s our turn. The Denyce Graves Foundation has commissioned 15 of America’s premier Black composers to reimagine these beloved songs, dressing them in vibrant, contemporary soundscapes while honoring their historic roots. Join us for an evening where tradition meets innovation in the most exquisite way.

The Chautauqua Opera Conservatory is designed to guide and empower young artists through training and vast performance opportunities in a wide array of repertoire with excellent faculty.  Under the leadership of Denyce Graves-Montgomery, Artistic Advisor, and Jonathan Beyer, Director, a dynamic group of singers study, coach, and perform in an idyllic setting on the grounds of the Chautauqua Institution.

Denyce Graves, Artistic Advisor 

Jonathan Beyer, Director

Manuel Arellano 

Dominic Armstrong 

Nicole Cabell

Rachel Calloway 

Claudia Catania 

Jeremy Chan 

Maxine Davis

Damian Geter 

Donna Gill 

Emma Griffin 

Joel Harder 

John Holiday

Rhoslyn Jones 

Donald Lee III 

Dietlinde Maazel 

Kevin Short 

Nathan Troup 

Carol Vaness 

Laura Ward 

Kensho Watanabe

Aldo Alan 

Wayne Arthur 

Justin Bell 

Alexander Bonner 

Madeleine Christopher 

Aubrey Cole 

Clothilde Culeux 

Maya Goell 

Nicholas Gryniewski 

Gabrielle Guida 

Reever Julian 

Lynn Kang 

Michaela Larsen 

Tieyin Li 

Helaine Liebman-London 

Valarie Miles 

Adaiah Ogeltree 

Elizabeth Palumbo 

Christine Powell-Thomas 

Aida Skaraite 

Huijie Sun  

Dominic Townsend 

Ella Vaughn 

Luis Vega-Torres 

Valentine Umeh 

Angelina Yi 

Shaobai Yuan 

Sarah Zieba