MIT Concert Choir. William Cutter, director. 8pm, Kresge Auditorium. Händel, Messiah. Jodie-Marie Fernandes, soprano; Wei En Chan, countertenor; Eiji Miura, tenor; Seth Grondin, bass-baritone. Admission: $5. Free in advance to the MIT community. Tickets at http://mitmta.eventbrite.com and at the door.
About the soloists:
Soprano, Jodie-Marie Fernandes has performed the with the JSB Ensemble and Orchestra in Germany and Tunisia, has participated in Bach birthday celebrations with Emmanuel Music in Boston and maintained an active singing schedule as a soprano soloist with the MIT Concert Choir, performing the Mass in C by Beethoven, Mass in G minor by Vaughan Williams, and Mass in B-flat by Haydn, among others. Although her current primary profession is in the field of software project management, she is as proactive about her musical endeavors as time permits. She has performed with the Boston Cantata Singers and VocalEssence. In addition to singing at churches in the Twin Cities, private vocal study, and recital preparation, she volunteers as the associate business director for the Twin City Voice Academy, a brand new non-profit which provides opportunities for professional coachings, master classes, and public performances to pre-professional solo singers. Ms. Fernandes holds a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from MIT and a Graduate Performance Diploma in vocal performance from Longy School of Music.
Chan Wei En is a Countertenor from Singapore and has sung in concerts internationally. Highlights include the tenor solo in Carmina Burana with Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, NY and solos in Haydn’s Nelson Mass, Toronto. He has been a winner and finalist at various vocal competitions in New York and was awarded the Ernst Bacon Prize for “Outstanding Performance of an American Song” at the 38th Annual Competition for Singers, organised by Civic Morning Musicals. Prior to beginning studies in the US, Wei En was an active member of Hallelujah Oratorio Society, Amoris Singers and the Singapore Armed Forces Band. In Singapore, he studied with Mr Toh Ban Sheng and Tay Cheng-Jim. Wei En was a recipient of Ithaca College’s Flora Brown merit scholarship and is a recipient of the NEC Scholarship. He holds a B.M. in voice performance from Ithaca College, where he studied with Carol McAmis. Wei En is currently pursuing a Masters at the New England Conservatory in Boston, where he studies with Ian Howell.
Tenor Eiji Miura, a native of San Francisco, currently resides in the Boston area. He is active in the local music scene and is an interpreter of a variety of styles and genres of music including musical theater, opera, contemporary music, and sacred music. Most recent credits include Dimitrij by Dvořák with Odyssey Opera, and Thoroughly Modern Millie with Reagle Music Theater. Upcoming engagements include two performances of Händel’s Messiah as tenor soloist, and an orchestral concert with Calliope, a non-profit music organization, on which he will be performing selections of Dvořák's Biblické Písně. Mr. Miura is a graduate of The Boston Conservatory where he received a Master of Music in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy.
Seth Grondin, Bass-baritone, is a native of Bangor, Maine. He is a graduate of the University of Maine, and recently received his Master’s degree in Opera Performance from the Longy School of Music. His recent performances include the role of Ford in Boston Opera Collaborative’s production of Falstaff, Masetto in Don Giovanni, and Pandolfe in Cendrillon, both with MetroWest Opera. Also comfortable as an Oratorio soloist, Mr. Grondin has performed the role of Elijah in Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the University of Maine orchestra, and Judas in Massenet’s Marie Magdeleine with the Bangor Symphony Orchestra. He has also performed as David in Samuel Barber’s A Hand of Bridge, Giedeon March/Mr. Dashwood in Mark Adamo’s Little Women, Bartolo in Le Nozze di Figaro, Nat in Nancy Van de Vate’s Where the Cross is Made, Angelotti in Tosca, and Figaro in The Marriage of Figaro. He has performed many partial roles including Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, and Guglielmo in Cosi fan Tutte.
