Romance, Revenge, & Revelry Program Notes
Conducted by Maestro Lowell Graham
Saturday, April 27th, 2024 | 7 PM
Union Colony Civic Center
Ian Wisekal, a native of Dallas, TX and Stony Brook, NY, joined the faculty of the University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music in 2013. He serves as Principal Oboe of the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra and Crested Butte Music Festival, and previously held the position of Associate Principal Oboe with the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra. He can be heard playing principal oboe on that orchestra’s recording of Cofresí, which was nominated for a Latin Grammy.
Prof. Wisekal is an active performer throughout Colorado and beyond: he has performed at the Sarasota Music Festival, the Banff Centre in Canada, the Music Masters Festival of Japan, the Casals Festival of Puerto Rico, and the AIMS festival in Austria. Besides his album with the PRSO, he has made recordings with the Colorado Symphony, the Greeley Philharmonic, the Boise Philharmonic, the Colorado Chamber Orchestra, as a soloist with the Lamont Symphony Orchestra, and in the performance studios of Colorado Public Radio, among others.
Wisekal received his bachelor’s degree with high distinction from the Eastman School of Music and his master’s degree from Southern Methodist University, earning full scholarships at both institutions. In 2012, he traveled to study with David Walter at the Paris Conservatory. His major teachers include Richard Killmer, Erin Hannigan, Terry Keevil, and Ceci Lagarenné.
Ian has given masterclasses throughout the U.S. and abroad, appearing most recently as guest artist at the Chicago Double Reed Festival, the University of North Texas, and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. His students have earned scholarships to top music schools, including Eastman, and have performed as soloists and regular members of professional orchestras.
In his spare time, Wisekal enjoys traveling, hiking, and photography. This past summer took him to England, Scotland, and Thailand, where he performed at the convention of the International Double Reed Society in Bangkok.
Dr. Mary Kathryn Brewer teaches voice and related subjects as an Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Northern Colorado (UNC). She earned a Doctor of Arts degree in Voice Performance with a secondary emphasis in Speech-Language Pathology from Ball State University.
Dr. Brewer is an active lecturer and performer. She has presented lecture recitals on Giuseppe Verdi’s art songs at universities and conferences across the US. She has performed with the Indianapolis Opera, Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, Anderson Symphony Orchestra, Muncie Masterworks Chorale, Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra, and Greeley Chamber Orchestra. She is an active recitalist and particularly enjoys performing sacred music.
Mollie Juehring is a soprano from Muscatine, Iowa, and a graduate from the University of Northern Colorado with her Masters in Music in vocal performance. She graduated with honors from Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, in 2020 with a Bachelor of Music in vocal performance and Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. Previous opera roles include Flaminia in Il mondo della luna, Lucy in Threepenny Opera, the Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte, Tonina in Prima la Musica e poi le parole, Amy March in Little Women, and ensemble work in Venus and Adonis, Dido and Aeneas, and Acis and Galatea. In addition to previous credits, Mollie has also collaborated with the Des Moines Community Orchestra on multiple performances of Handel's Messiah, and with Simpson College's Master's program in choral conducting as a young artist. Recent credits also include Opera Colorado's Rigoletto and Boulder Opera's production of Manon as Pousette’s understudy and an ensemble member. This is Mollie's first collaboration with the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra.
Nereyda Nuchurch, soprano, is currently a Master's student studying Vocal Performance at University of Northern Colorado. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts at Milligan University, where she was an active choral member as well as a frequently invited handbell ringer at local churches. Some of her recent performances include the roles of Damon in Handel's Acis and Galatea, Genovieffa in Puccini's Suor Angelica, and Celia in Gilbert & Sullivan's Iolanthe. Another of her recent ventures include performing Carmina Burana at Carnegie Hall under the baton of Dr. Jill Burgett. In her spare time, Ms. Nuchurch enjoys exercising, metal concerts, playing The Legend of Zelda, and trying (and failing) to keep her cat, Kylo, out of mischief.
Jasmine Perry-Grice, soprano, is well-known in Northern Colorado for her numerous talents in the vocal and instrumental fields. Past credits have included the roles of Galatea in Acis and Galatea, Flaminia in Il mondo della luna, Kitty in Threepenny Opera, and Suor Osmina in Suor Angelica. She is also active with the Greeley Chorale, UNC Chamber Choir, UNC Concert Choir, and UNC Vocal Lab Jazz Choir. Miss Perry-Grice has performed on French Horn with the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra, Greeley Chamber Orchestra, Loveland Orchestra, West Winds Quintet, Denver Young Artists Orchestra, UNC Symphony Orchestra, and the UNC Wind Ensemble. She is currently a student at UNC pursuing a double Bachelor of Music Performance in Voice and French Horn, studying with Charles Moore (voice) and Lauren Varley (horn).
Dr. Carissa Scroggins has a diverse performance résumé, having been invited to perform in operas, oratorios, and concerts across the country. Her most recent performances include Bianca from La Rondine [2023] and she has been the featured artist on several concerts. Upcoming performances include concerts in the southern Illinois region and hosting a music festival connected with Southern Illinois University, where she serves as Voice Area Coordinator, opera director, and Assistant Professor of Practice in Voice. Carissa Scroggins received her Doctor of Arts from the University of Northern Colorado in 2021. Her current research is focused on lullabies as an art song repertoire choice and teaching community classes in how to sing to babies. Dr. Scroggins has a recording titled Beautiful Dreamer: a collection of classical lullabies that was recorded while she attended UNC. She is also writing a children’s opera that uses undergraduate voices. She plans to feature the finished opera at SIU in the 2024-2025 season.
Dr. Logan Contreras is an Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Northern Colorado, teaching Applied Voice and related vocal subjects. Dr. Contreras is the creator of the Kassia Database, a database of art song by women composers in addition to being the co-coordinator for the Institute for Composer Diversity Art Song Works Database.
As a performer, Dr. Contreras has presented recitals of World War I and II era lieder, Romantic and 20th Century folk music, and Benjamin Britten’s dramatic cantata, Phaedra. She has portrayed dynamic characters on the operatic stage, such as Prince Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus), Carmen (Carmen), Alma March (Little Women), and Dorabella (Cosi fan tutté). Concert work includes appearances with the Kansas City Symphony, Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra, Pueblo Choral Society, Midwest Chamber Ensemble, Musica Sacra of Kansas City, UMKC Conservatory Orchestra, and others. Dr. Contreras holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance and Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory, and a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Northern Colorado.
Mark Lubas is known for his full-blooded performances of tenor roles including Rodolfo (La Bohème), Alfredo (La Traviata), Ferrando (Cosi fan tutté), Edgardo (Lucia di Lammermoor), and others. Mr. Lubas can be heard on a recording of Douglas Moore’s The Devil and Daniel Webster, in which he performed the title role with Granite State Opera. Mr. Lubas is an acclaimed originator of roles, including the Juror in the world premiere of Tod Machover’s Resurrection and Johnnie in Brian Hulse’s The Game. Concert engagements include tenor soloist in Verdi’s Requiem, Mendlessohn’s Elijah, Mozart’s Requiem, and Handel’s Messiah, among others. Lubas served for the last 6 years as Adjunct Professor of Voice at both the University of Tampa and at State College of Florida. Lubas holds two Master of Music degrees from the New England Conservatory of Music in Vocal Performance and Opera Studies. He is currently pursuing his Doctorate of Arts in Voice with a concentration in Opera at the University of Northern Colorado.
Declared a “skyscraping tenor” in a review by Arkansan music critic Eric Harrison, Dr. Charles Moore hails from Kingston, Jamaica, and had his early music beginnings in the Boys Choir of the St. Richard’s Catholic School. Recent appearances include The Prince in Rusalka, Vuval in William Grant Still’s Troubled Island; Pat in David T. Little’s Dog Days (an American Prize winning production); Pirelli in Sweeney Todd; and Bénédict in Beatrice et Bénédict. Concert performances also include Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Denver Young Artist Orchestra, Don Ottavio from Mozart’s Don Giovanni with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, excerpts from Handel’s Messiah with the Longmont Symphony Orchestra & Jefferson Chamber Orchestra, Elijah with the Diocesan Festival Choir and Orchestra in Jamaica, and Saint-Saëns’ Oratorio de Noël with the Gonzales Chamber Orchestra. Dr. Moore is Associate Professor of Voice at the University of Northern Colorado.
Praised for “the easy caramel syrup of his voice” (Opera Today), Mexican-American baritone, Armando Contreras, is quickly becoming a standout in the world of opera. He has performed with West Edge Opera, Kentucky Opera, Central City Opera, Opera Steamboat, Pacific Opera Project, and others. Contreras has been the featured baritone soloist with Colorado Chamber Orchestra, Opera Fort Collins, and Salt Marsh Opera. Additionally, he has performed as the bass soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the Missouri Oratorio Society and Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Kansas City Ballet.
Contreras has had extensive training including at The Glimmerglass Festival as a Young Artist, Des Moines Metro Opera as an Apprentice Artist, Lyric Opera of Kansas City as a Young Artist and Central City as a Studio Artist. Vocal competitions accolades include the Top Prize after completion of the Central City Young Artist Program, being named a finalist in the 2020 Kyrenia Opera Vocal Competition, and Regional Winner in the 2019 Dorothy Lincoln Smith Voice Competition. Mr. Contreras holds degrees in Voice Performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music (BM) and the University of Missouri-Kansas City (MM).
John Herman, baritone, is completing his Bachelor of Music Education at the University of Northern Colorado. John has been involved in the UNC Concert Choir, Chamber Choir, University Singers, Early Music Consort, Opera Theatre, and Contemporary a Cappella ensembles. Outside of the university, John's voice has been heard with the Colorado Bach Ensemble, Grace and Stephen's Episcopal Church, Greeley First Congregational United Church of Christ, Opera Colorado, the Oberlin Conservatory of Music's Baroque Performance Institute, Seicento Baroque Ensemble, and America the Beautiful Men's Chorus. Most recent opera credits include Ernesto/Hesparus (Il mondo della luna), and Corydon (Acis and Galatea).
Dramatic baritone, John Seesholtz, is sought after both as a recitalist and on the operatic stage throughout the United States and Europe. Notable recent operatic performances include Sharpless (Madama Butterfly) and Iago (Otello) with Fort Collins Opera, Alvaro (Florencia en el Amazonas) with Emerald City Opera and Benoit/Alcindoro (La Bohème) with the Colorado Symphony.
Mr. Seesholtz has appeared as the baritone soloist with the Shreveport Chorale, Boston Avenue Cathedral and Tyler Civic Chorale, Sherman Symphony, Cheyenne Symphony, Fort Collins Symphony, and others. His prodigious repertoire includes the baritone solos in Brahms’ Requiem, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, Faure’s Requiem, Stravinsky’s Pulcinella, Mozart’s Requiem, Nielsen’s Symphony No. 3, and Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem.
Mr. Seesholtz holds vocal performance and pedagogy degrees from the University of Texas at San Antonio (BM), the University of Michigan (MM), and the University of North Texas (DMA).
Dr. Jill Burgett is the Director of Choral Activities at University of Northern Colorado, where she has taught for 14 years. Prior to her tenure at UNC, she was Associate Director of Choral Activities at Ball State University. In her position at UNC she conducts the UNC Concert Choir and Chamber Choir and teaches graduate choral methods and conducting coursework. She has been active in vocal music-teacher preparation for K-12 schools in Colorado and Indiana. Her doctorate is in choral conducting, with a cognate area of study in music education from Ball State University, where she was the Don Neuen fellowship recipient. She holds a Master of Music degree (choral conducting/voice secondary area) from Ball State and a Bachelor of Music in music education - vocal emphasis (magna cum laude) from Heidelberg University. For over a decade, Burgett conducted choirs in the Indiana public schools. She has served on the Indiana and Colorado American Choral Directors boards and Central Division board as Student Activities R&S Chair. She currently serves on the National Collegiate Choral Organization board, and was President, and now Past President of Colorado ACDA. She has also served on the National ACDA Arts Equity Taskforce and Colorado CMEA Collegiate Council. Burgett is an active festival clinician, conference speaker, and All-State Choir conductor. Having maintained a voice and piano studio for more than 20 years, she has served as a staff voice teacher for the Denver School of the Arts (6-12) where she taught in classic, music theater, and vocal jazz styles. She has been a featured mezzo-soprano soloist with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and the Toledo Philharmonic. Burgett is published in the Choral Journal and New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Her conducting venues included Varna (Bulgaria), Beijing, Barcelona, Montserrat, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, London, Paris, and Rome. She made her Carnegie Hall debut conducting Carmina Burana with UNC Choirs and Alumni in May 2023. She has led conducting and choral masterclasses in Rome, Bangkok, Beijing and Barcelona. Workshop topics have included Arts Leadership Development, Building Choral Tone, and Preparing Masterworks. Burgett’s research and publications have included the following topics: The Sacred Choral Music of Villa-Lobos, The Choral Treasures of Catalonia (Spain), and a current focus on The Sacred Choral Music of Colonial Mexico. Dr. Burgett is experienced in working with students and community singers of all age-levels, with a studentcentered approach to learning that is engaging, focused on musical excellence and student success.
Dr. Clelyn Chapin serves as the Associate Director of Choirs at University of Northern Colorado. As a clinician and presenter throughout the country, she focuses on a combination of rehearsal practices and leadership strategies that promote artistic singing and community building within ensembles. In addition to her work at UNC, Clelyn serves as the Artistic Director for the Denver Women’s Chorus, a 140-voice choir founded for members and allies of the LGBTQ+ community with a focus on social justice.
Before beginning at UNC, Clelyn spent 14 years teaching and conducting secondary, collegiate, and community ensembles in Texas, Colorado, and Michigan. Her choirs have been invited to perform at state conferences and she frequently serves as an adjudicator and clinician for choral festivals. She completed her doctorate in Choral Conducting at Michigan State University where she studied with Dr. David Rayl and Dr. Sandra Snow, and graduated with a Masters in Music Education from University of Northern Colorado.