PROGRAM:
ARIAS & ART SONGS
C. Debussy | Clair de Lune & Pierrot
R. Strauss | Als mir dein Lied erklang & Sӓusle liebe Myrte
F. Mendelssohn | Recit.: Ye people rend your hearts & Aria: If with all your heart
W.A. Mozart | Das Veilchen
R. Hahn |D’une Prison
R. Obradors | El Vito
G. Donizetti Veranno a te sull ‘aure (Duet from Lucia di Lammermoor)
“FOUR NEGRO SPIRITUALS”, arr: H. Johnson
Honor, Honor
His Name So Sweet
Jesus Lay Your Head in de Winder
Witness
OTHER SPIRITUALS
Feed My Sheep, arr. N. Butcher
Balm in Gilead, arr. J. Hairston
Peter Go Ring dem Bells
Sometimes I feel Like a Motherless Child
Let Us Break Bread Together
Ride On King Jesus
The Prayer
ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
EVERETT SUTTLE:
Tenor Everett Suttle has been praised by critics around the globe for his "smooth , effortless tenor" and "beautiful, buttery tone"
Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, he is a graduate of the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. He continued his studies on a Fullbright Scholarship at the Brahms Haus in Baden, Baden, West Germany and also at the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria. His teachers include Mme Alice Duschak and Francesca Richards and he has coached with Luciano Pavarotti, Martina Arroyo , Peter Pears, Eleanor Steber and David Garvey.
In repertoire that ranges from the Baroque masterpieces of Bach and Haendel to the complex 20th century works of Britten and Tippet, Mr Suttle has appeared internationally in opera, oratorio, concert and recitals. He has performed with such conductors as Raymond Leppard, Sergin Commisiona, John de Main, Michel Brun, Roderick Cox and Elliot Figg.
Everett has sung with such prestigious companies as La Scala in Milan, Opera Bastille in Paris, Teatro Real in Madrid, Den Norske Oper in Oslo, Semper Oper in Dresden, Alte Oper in Frankfurt and Teatro San Carlo in Lisbon. He made his professional debut at the Spoletto Festival in Charleston and has sung at the Bregenz Festival in Austria as well. He also performed on Live from Lincoln Center on PBS, as well as a recent debut at the Carnegie Hall.
Most recently he sang the lead role of Valcour in the North American premiere of LAMANT ANONYME by the Chevalier de Saint George with Little Opera Theater of New York. Also he recently sang the tenor solo in CARMINA BURANA with the Color of Music Festival in Charleston South Carolina as well as the tenor solos in the Bach B Minor Mass at the Passe Bach D`Bord Festival in France.
Critics everywhere have praised his voice and artistry saying the following:
" SINGING OF SUCH TASTE AND BEAUTY IS RARELY FOUND IN ANY OPERA HOUSE........ANYWHERE!"
Washington Post
"SOME OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL MOMENTS CAME FROM
TENOR EVERETT SUTTLE"
New York Times
"MR SUTTLE COMBINES VOCAL AND PHYSICAL BEAUTY
INTO A MESMERIZING WHOLE"
Helena Independent Record
"ER WAR DER ABSOLUTE STAR DES NEUJAHRSKONZERT"
Westdeutsche Zeitung
OSCEOLA DAVIS
Osceola Davis earned her BM & BME at “The University of the Arts” in Philadelphia, PA. She was awarded a diploma from the opera department for her continued studies at the “Curtis Institute of Music” also in Philadelphia, PA. Later, she acquired her Master of Arts in Teaching Music at “Lehman College,” CUNY, Bronx, New York.
Born in Camden, NJ, Osceola Davis taught music in the Camden, NJ and Philadelphia, PA public school systems before joining the Metropolitan Opera Studio, in NY. Her summers found her performing at the Tangelwood Music Festival in Massachusetts and at the Wolf Trap Summer Festival in Virginia.
Soon thereafter, Ms. Davis was invited to sing the lead role of Rosina in Rossini’s opera, “The Barber of Seville” at the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz in Munich, Germany. In that debut performance her ovation stopped the show for five minutes. Her successful European career merited her invitation to the Metropolitan Opera’s grand stage where she made her debut as “Queen of the Night” in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, being the first Afro-American Coloratura to publicly perform that role on that stage. It was conducted by Maestro Lawrence Foster. Thrilling many audiences both home and abroad, she has performed leading roles such as “Blondchen” in Mozart’s The Abduction from The Seraglio, “Olympia” in Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffmann, “Gilda” in Verdi’s Rigoletto, and “Zerbinetta” in Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos, to name a few. Her career has taken her to Covent Gardens in London, England, La Scala in Milan, Italy, Lyon Opera House in Lyon, France, International Festival for Peace in Russia, and several venues in Finland including Savonlinna Opera Festival in Savonlinna and The Finnish National Opera House in Helsinki. Ms. Davis has performed for presidents and ambassadors and has concertized in: The Academy of Music, in Philadelphia, PA., Deutsche Theater in Munich, Germany, and both Carnegie and Alice Tully Halls in New York. Her career also includes sacred recordings, television appearances, and soloist for The First Church of Christ Scientist in Boston, Massachusetts.
DOTTI ANITA TAYLOR
is a native New Yorker who comes from a musical family. Her mother was an accomplished violinist and her father was a second tenor in the Southernaires. Dotti is a classical and jazz pianist and flutist, composer, arranger, transcriber, conductor as well as a published poet and photographer.. At age three she began the study of piano at The Caputo Conservatory of Musical Arts. At age seven she entered The Juilliard School of Music remaining there for ten years. She received her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts Degrees in music from Queens College. As a pianist, Dotti performs as a soloist, performs the two-piano repertoire and accompanies many choruses, vocalists and instrumentalists. She played with and directed the Tonal Artistes Orchestra and plays with the Ray Abrams Big Band. As a flutist, she has performed in several jazz festivals, is the Musical Director and flutist with the New York Jazz Flutet and has her own quartet and seven-piece women’s ensemble. In 2007 she released her own debut CD entitled “A Morning Glory”. As a conductor, Dotti was the Substitute Pianist/Conductor for the Broadway review, “Black and Blue” and was the Musical Director/Conductor for two productions of Scott Joplin’s “Treemonisha”. She was commissioned to write a composition for a classical piano trio called The Ravel Trio. That composition entitled “Elements of Nature” was premiered in Europe in 2007 and had its American premiere in 2008. Dotti was featured in "Entertainment Greats from the 1800s to the Present" by Maximillien De Lafayette as one of FAMSPA’s outstanding artists of the year. Music has always been a part of her life but now she is a full time musician after having taught mathematics and music for the NYC Board of Education for 30 years.