Houston Camerata and Ad Deum Dance Company Present ‘Too Many Notes, And So Many Toes!’
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Carolyn Rogan
manager@houstoncamerata.com
www.houstoncamerata.com
www.danceaddeum.com
HOUSTON CAMERATA AND AD DEUM DANCE COMPANY PRESENT
“TOO MANY NOTES… AND SO MANY TOES!”
The concert will feature Mozart’s Waisenhaus Mass K. 139, organ version, performed live by the Houston Camerata and the Ad Deum Dance Company. The Mass was composed in 1768 by Mozart, 12 years old at the time, for the consecration of the new Orphanage Church in Vienna.
This collaboration culminates from a long-time aspiration of Paulo Gomes (Houston Camerata) to combine live music and dance. The partnership is with Ad Deum and its Artistic Director/Choreographer Randall Flinn. Two performances are scheduled for the Greater Houston area:
· Friday, November 7 at 7:30 pm at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, 18220 Upper Bay Rd, Houston, TX 77058
· Saturday, November 8 at 7:30 pm at Grace Presbyterian Church, 10221 Ella Lee Lane, Houston, TX 77042
Each performance will feature Ad Deum dancers with choreography by Artistic Director Randall Flinn, and Durell Comedy, a renowned choreographer from The Limón Dance Company in New York City and Adjunct Faculty at George Mason University. Lead vocalists include Angela Pickering, soprano; Michelle Rice, mezzo-soprano; Kerry Jennings, tenor; Charles Stanton, baritone; and organist Jeong-Suk Bae; all under the direction of Dr. Paulo Gomes.
Ticket prices for each performance are $15 per person for the general public. The price for seniors or students (with valid ID) is $10. Tickets may be purchased in advance at www.houstoncamerata.com or at the door. All tickets are for general admission seating.
About Houston Camerata
The Houston Camerata is a Texas-based ensemble, founded in 2012 by conductor Paulo Gomes. Houston Camerata is dedicated to bring together those who love to sing with those who love to hear beautiful music, joyously embracing exceptional and interesting music through our performance of the choral repertoire of varied cultures and regions. “Camerata” is an Italian word that refers to a group of individuals who enjoy similar interests and/or share a strong passion for a particular art form. This is a perfect description of our group because the singers are volunteers who come from all walks of life. Their common bond is that they share a passion for music and a talent for its performance. To each concert, Houston Camerata will share with our audience music that is culturally diverse by performing folk as well as classical music, enlightening the public with our multi-cultural repertoire.
About Ad Deum Dance Company
Ad Deum was founded in January 2000 by Houston dancer and choreographer Randall Flinn. The company is comprised of over twenty-five professional dancers from across the world, having now relocated to their new home in Houston, Texas. Ad Deum has toured across the USA, Canada, Mexico, Europe, and Asia. They have been commissioned by governments and embassies worldwide to perform for major and critical events. Their work has been featured in Dance Spirit and Dance Magazine and in many articles in renowned arts publications and journals. Ad Deum has performed the works of many amazing choreographers including Steve Rooks (former principal dancer with Martha Graham), Durell Comedy (The Limón Dance Company), Caleb Mitchell (Houston Ballet), Hope Boykin and Matthew Rushing (Alvin Ailey), Bill Wade (Inlet Dance Theatre) and Stephen Wynne (Talk Dance Co.), as well as the works of Flinn and Ad Deum members. Their mission is to create and perform moving works of dance that touch the core of human existence, uplifting the soul and transforming the heart.
About performers
Paulo Gomes holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts degree in conducting from the University of Houston, where he studied with Dr. Charles Hausmann, and Master of Music degree from Boston University, where he received the Departmental Honor Award for outstanding achievement under the tutelage of Dr. Ann Howard Jones, David Hoose, Craig Smith and Joseph Flummerfelt.
Dr. Gomes is the Director and Founder of the Houston Camerata. During his studies in Houston, he served as the Assistant Director of the Houston Symphony Chorus and the Moores School of Music University Men’s Chorus and Choral Artists. In Massachusetts, Dr. Gomes served as a Visiting Professor and Director of Choral Activities at Clark University and Worcester State University.
Dr. Gomes was born in Brazil, and has conducted in his country as well as in Italy and the United States. In 1992, he received a second prize on the “Premio Vicenzo Valenti” conducting the orchestra and choir Josquino Salépico in Molffetta City, Italy. As a performer, Dr. Gomes advocates for a cappella choral music and choral/orchestral works, and his research interests focus on Brazilian colonial music.
Randall Flinn is the Artistic Director of Ad Deum Dance Company of Houston, Texas. Ad Deum is the premiere professional contemporary/modern dance company in the USA working from a Christian worldview of life and artistry. Mr. Flinn founded Ad Deum in 1991, as professional dancers seeking to integrate their professional calling with their Christian faith moved to Texas from around the world to join the work, mission, and community of Ad Deum.
The company travels worldwide, artistically engaging culture and serving human need with works of beauty, grace, and hope. Mr. Flinn is a master dance instructor and choreographer. He began his own training in his late teens in Houston, Texas, with such prestigious dance mentors as Camille Long Hill, Dina Vail, Jan Simonds (The Limón Dance Company), Glen Hunsucker, Patsy Swayze (dance mom of Patrick Swayze) and later studied with Steve Rooks (former principal dancer with Martha Graham).
Randall Flinn has performed in professional modern, contemporary and jazz dance companies and in musical theatre productions such as Jesus Christ Superstar. He has worked as a teacher/choreographer for Cirque Du Soleil, The Hong Kong Ballet, Ballet Magnificat, Xaris Danz Europe, Guangzhou Modern Dance Company-China, Störling Dance Theatre, Revolve Dance Company, The Houston Met, and The International Dance Salad Festival.
Durell R. Comedy, a native of Prince Georges County MD, began dancing at the age of 6 with Spirit Wings Dance Company. He graduated from the Visual & Performing Arts program of Suitland High School in 2004 and from George Mason University (magna cum laude), receiving his BFA Degree in Dance Performance in 2008. Since then, he has worked and performed with artists such as the Mark Morris Dance Group, The Metropolitan Opera Ballet, Troy Powell, Matthew Rushing, CorbinDances, Roger C. Jeffrey|Subtle Changes & Kyle Abraham|Abraham.In.Motion.
Described as a “scrupulous dancer with a serious jump” by the New York Times, Mr. Comedy was a soloist dancer with the Baltimore Opera Company in their production of Aida, and a Principal Dancer in Washington National Opera’s production of Show Boat. A former fellowship student at the Ailey School, Mr. Comedy joined The Limón Dance Company in 2009.
Soprano Angela Pickering has performed as a soloist with the Houston Chamber Choir, the Beaumont Interfaith Choral Society, and with the Symphony of Southeast Texas. She serves as minister of music at Christian Fellowship Worship Center of Beaumont and maintains a private voice studio. Ms. Pickering also serves as cantorial soloist for Shabbat and High Holy Day services at Temple Emanuel in Beaumont. She is an active board member of the Greater Houston chapter of NATS. She holds a Bachelor of Music from Lamar University and a Masters of Music in Vocal Performance from Indiana University.
With “tones of pure gold” (Washington Post), Michelle Rice brings to her work a rich mezzo voice and notable performance intensity. Her portrayal of Mrs. Grose in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw at the Kennedy Center, conducted by Maestro Lorin Maazel, was described as “nuanced and sensitive” (Washington Post), “dramatically charged and vocally superlative” (dcist.com), and having a “firm, warm vocalism [that] made every phrase speak” (Baltimore Sun). Ms. Rice’s masterful musicianship and warmth of tone make her a sought-after artist in modern music. Her performances in this repertoire include early works such as Respighi’s Il tramonto for mezzo and string quartet and the role of Savitri (Holst’s Savitri); roles in seminal 20th-century operas such as The Mother (Amahl and the Night Visitors), Mrs. Grose (The Turn of the Screw), Mrs. Olsen (Street Scene), and Mère Marie (Dialogues des Carmélites); and more recent works including Jonathan Dove’s Tobias and the Angel and a reading of Dante De Silva’s new ‘graphic opera’ Gesualdo, Prince of Madness. Rice created the title role in Clara, a 21st-century opera by Robert Convery based on the life of Clara Schumann.
Of that performance, the Washington Post declared, “Rice was…reflective and confident in both her singing and acting…[she] excelled at dramatic subtleties and pierced scenes with her presence and clarity of voice—especially compelling during revelatory biographical moments.” Ms. Rice frequently performs 20th– and 21st-century song cycles, such as Mohammed Fairouz’ Jeder Mensch with texts from the diary of Alma Mahler, Ned Rorem’s epic song collection Evidence of Things Not Seen, and Dominick Argento’s Pulitzer Prize-winning monodrama From the Diary of Virginia Woolf. Her 2012 performance of Virginia Woolf was regarded as “magnificent” by the composer himself.
Tenor, Kerry Jennings, holds the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Music, and Master of Music Degrees from the University of Washington and the Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Maryland at College Park. His teachers have included Julian Patrick, Carmen Pelton, François Loup, and Gran Wilson. Dr. Jennings enjoys a career that
encompasses opera, oratorio, recital, and chamber works. On the operatic stage, performance highlights include over forty lead and supporting roles comprised of early, standard and contemporary repertoire. Recent performances have included the premierof the opera Midsummer at Earlham College, David Arbury’s song cycle If I Shall Ever Return Home: Seven Chinese Poems in Phoenix, AZ, tenor soloist for Puccini’s Messa di Gloria with the Houston Camerata, and Ernesto in Don Pasquale in Sankt Anton am Arlberg, Austria.As a concert soloist, he has appeared additionally in Bach’s Magnificat, Handel’s Messiah, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass and Creation, Mozart’s Coronation Mass, Schubert’s Mass in G Major, The Seven Last Words of Christ by Dubois, The Christmas Oratorio by Saint-Saëns, Kurt Weill’s The Seven Deadly Sins, andFonseca’s Missa Afro-Brasileira.
An accomplished recitalist, Kerry is a strong advocate for song repertoire. Noted for his “beautiful voice, great diction, and uncanny sense of style and phrasing,” he particularly enjoys success in the performance of English language songs. His recording with pianist Amanda Hopson, In My Memory: American Songs and Song Cycles, was released by Centaur Records in 2013. The recording features works by Libby Larsen, Tom Cipullo, Lori Laitman, and Richard Pearson Thomas. Dr. Jennings was also a District Winner and Regional Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.
Baritone Charles Stanton is a singer, arts advocate, and consultant for nonprofit marketing and fundraising. He holds the Master of Music degree focused on voice and musicology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and completed additional advanced musical studies at Oberlin Conservatory and in the Doctoral program at the University of Houston.
Charles has performed more than 32 world debuts of new works and has directed numerous world and regional premieres including several noteworthy collaborations with renowned composer Thomas Pasatieri. Featured on the cover of the Opera America magazine for the debut of Chandler Carter’s Strange Fruit, Charles’ career highlights include engagements with Atlanta Opera, Opera Carolina, the Houston Symphony, the former New York City Opera, the Schlosshof Music Festival in Weinheim, Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden, the Munich Opera Festival’s “Oper für alle”, as well as appearing as a guest artist with Munich’s Goethe Institut.
As a nonprofit marketing and fundraising consultant, Charles has raised more than 50 million dollars for a variety of causes. Having moved to Indiana in 2011, Charles established the Greencastle Cultural Calendar in the DePauw University area and oversaw the design and launch of Power2give Indianapolis and the IndyArtsGuide.org. All serve to connect the community to regional cultural events and causes. In addition to producing several concerts and productions including Rorem’s Evidence of Things Not Seen for World AIDS Day, Charles was recently named CEO of Classical Music Indy – a classical music radio program provider – where he is currently spearheading a rebranding of the organization’s classical music syndicationand advocacy programs.
Ad Deum Company Members:
Lezlie Clay, Ann Sterling Dale, Whitney Dufrene, Lara Lanphier, Rebecca Pillow, Tiffany Ramey, Emily Runyeon, Tiffany Schrepferman, Gabriel Speiller, and Sarah Yarbrough.
Ad Deum Apprentices: Shannon Benton, Camille Cujen, Victoria Mora, Ginger Wachter, and Leah Wierichs.
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