Mendelssohn’s Elijah
Saturday, May 8, 2010, 7:30 pm
George St. United Church

Guest Artists:
SANDRA TUCKER, soprano
JENNIFER ENNS MODOLO, mezzo-soprano
ADAM BISHOP, tenor
PAUL MASSEL, bass
IAN SADLER, organist

Strong yet tender, cruel yet righteous --- Mendelssohn's Elijah is a character of powerful emotions. This oratorio is considered by many to be Mendelssohn's masterpiece. A profoundly satisfying experience for audience and musicians alike.



SANDRA TUCKER
Described as possessing a voice that is "meltingly lyrical," Sandra Tucker received a Bachelor of Music and a Diploma in Opera from Wilfrid Laurier University under the direction of Victor Martens. She then went on to study with acclaimed soprano Edith Wiens at the Hochschule fur Musik in Augsburg, Germany, for which she was the recipient of a Canada Council for the Arts Grant for Emerging Professional Artists and the York Celebration of the Arts Professional Artist Bursary. While in Germany, she received an Artists Diploma and Post Graduate Certificate and had the opportunity to work with such greats as Rudolph Jansen, Brigitte Fassbaender, Rudolph Piernay, Sena Jurinac, Sarah Walker, Ian Burnside, and others.

Her concert credits include appearances with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Orchestra London, the Barrie-Huronia Symphony, the WLU orchestra, the Hochschule fur Musik Augsburg Orchester, Beethoven's 9th Symphony with the Guelph Chamber Choir, University of Guelph Choir, and Hart House Orchestra, Dvorak's Te Deum and Rutter's Mass of the Children with the Cellar Singers, Elijah with the Menno Singers as well as the London Philharmonic Choir, Messiah with the Mennonite Mass Choir and at the Basilika in Ulm, Germany, and as a soloist in the European Musik Festival at the Bach-Akademie in Stuttgart where she sang the soprano soloist for Beethoven's Missa Solemnis under the baton of Sir Helmuth Rilling.

Her opera credits include Fiordiligi in Cosi fan Tutte, Carolina in Cimarosa's Il Matrimonio Segreto, Both Susanna and the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro, Anna Maurrant in Street Scene, Manon in Puccini's Manon Lescaut, Laetitia in The Old Maid and the Thief, as well as major roles in Die Zauberflote, Hansel and Gretel, and others.

Sandra has sung for the heads of the Russian embassy at the home of Glazunov in Munich and has been invited to represent Canada at the International Festival of the Conservatories in St. Petersburg. Her upcoming engagements include Richard Strauss's Vier Letzte Lieder with the Wellington Winds, Pamina in Mozart's Magic Flute with Opera Kitchener, and Rutter's Mass of the Children with the Grand River Chorus. Sandra is also a 2007 Laureate of Les Jeunes Ambassaduers Lyriques.


JENNIFER ENNS MODOLO
Canadian mezzo Jennifer Enns Modolo is a graduate of the vocal performance program at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo. She has been heard by audiences throughout Ontario, and she recently made her European debut in Spain and southern France with the Consort Caritatis and Catalan Festival Orchestra. She also made her debut in England in August 2005 at the Snape Proms as part of the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme.

Ms. Enns Modolo has performed as a featured soloist with such groups as the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, the Toronto Classical Singers, Pax Christi Chorale, the Elora Festival Singers, the Kitchener-Waterloo Philharmonic, and the Menno Singers. In concert, she has premiered works by several Canadian composers, including Imant Raminsch, Michael Purves-Smith, and Peter Skoggard. She has appeared as the guest soloist with the Grand River Baroque Festival, the early music ensemble Greensleaves, the Leith Quartet, and the Waterloo Chamber Players.

On the opera stage, Ms. Enns Modolo has sung the title role in Rossini's La Cerentola, Juno in Eccles's The Judgement of Paris, Florence Pike in Britten's Albert Herring, Third Lady in Mozart's The Magic Flute, and Jennie Hildebrand in Weill's Street Scene. Her discography includes the role of Eustazio in Handel's Rinaldo, recorded on the Naxos label under the baton of Kevin Mallon.



ADAM BISHOP
An avid performer since the age of four, Adam has entertained audiences throughout Ontario, Nova Scotia, and Austria. Adam is a graduate of Lakefield College School. While a student there, he studied instrumental music under the direction of John Kraus and vocal music under the direction of Arlene Gray and Fr. Paul Massel. During his high school years, Adam was a member of The Peterborough Singers. Recently, his highlights have included the roles of Count Almaviva in Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Nemorino in Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore. In addition, Adam has participated in numerous concerts and recitals, both in choirs and as a guest soloist. Adam has been a featured performer and a backup performer on a number of CD recordings. In the summers of 2007 and 2008, Adam worked with Canadian Tenor Richard Margison.

Most recently, Adam performed the role of Ferrando in Mozart’s Così fan tutte at the Glenn Gould School, under Maestro Mario Bernardi. According to music critic Joseph So, Adam sang the part “with a sweet lyric sound, ideal in the lighter Mozart roles. His ‘Un’aura amorosa’ was well sung ... he also acted very well --- arguably the funniest guy onstage!”

Adam has just finished the first year of the two-year Artists Diploma program at The Glenn Gould School in Toronto. There, he is studying with renowned soprano Monica Whicher and coaching with Steven Philcox. Former teachers include Carol-Lynn Reifel at Queen’s University and Fr. Paul Massel. Adam is a resident of Bancroft, ON, a graduate of Lakefield College School, and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Music (Performance) from Queen’s University, Kingston.


 

PAUL MASSEL
Paul Massel has been widely acclaimed in the United States and Canada for his outstanding performances in opera, music theatre, and the concert stage. His career reached international prominence with principal roles in the Stratford festival productions of The Mikado, The Gondaliers, Iolanthe, and the Mirvish production of HMS Pinafore. These productions were all broadcast on CBC-TV and toured England, Canada, and the US with the Tony award-winning Mikado being Mr. Massel's debut on Broadway.

Paul holds Bachelor and Master's degrees in music from the University of Western Ontario and a diploma in Opera performance from the University of Toronto. He was the recipient of a senior Canada Council arts grant to study voice in New York in 1980 and subsequently taught voice at the Royal Conservatory of Music from 1980 until 1997. He also received two Tyrone Guthrie Awards and an ACTRA Best-Actor nomination for distinguished work at the Stratford Festival.

In 1994, Paul completed a five-year run starring in the Canadian production of The Phantom of the Opera in the role of Andre. Following the Phantom, he began a 6-year program of studies culminating in his ordination to the Catholic priesthood for the diocese of Peterborough in May 2000. He is presently the administrator of St. Alphonsus Parish and liturgist for the diocese of Peterborough. Paul continues to serve as examiner for the Royal Conservatory and for music festivals throughout Canada.