Emerging Artists Series
Mentored & Accompanied by Lisa Sylvester
Soprano Alina Roitstein makes her Boston Court debut as part of our 3rd Annual Emerging Artists Series. This Series pairs talented young musicians with acclaimed mentors who develop a special program showcasing the young artist’s unique skills and musical viewpoint. Be among the first to experience these rising stars in the intimacy of our Branson Performance Space.
Los Angeles native Alina Roitstein is known for her “beautiful voice and equally beautiful presence” (El Nuevo Herald). Her career spanning opera and art song, jazz and Latin music, chamber music and contemporary works, and choral music has taken her to venues all over the world, including Japan’s Symphony Hall in Osaka, South Korea’s Seoul Arts Centre Concert Hall, London’s Wigmore Hall, Scotland’s Royal Conservatoire, Carnegie Hall’s Neighborhood Concert Series, Chicago’s Poetry Foundation, and Los Angeles’ REDCAT and Disney Hall. One of Alina’s passions is performing new works, and she has premiered pieces by Juhi Bansal, Thomas Kotcheff, Gregory Uhlmann, Allen Menton, David Rentz, Trevor Anderies, David Roitstein, and others. She also premiered the role of Emily in The Discord Altar, the first of OperaWorks’ Arts for Social Awareness Project, a groundbreaking musically improvised opera created to bring awareness to current social issues.
Roitstein’s recording credits include Trevor Anderies Quintet’s Promise of a Tree (Orenda Records), River Song Quintet’s Monarchs, and Toomai String Quintet’s recent release, Cuerdas Cubanas.
A committed educator, Roitstein is on the voice faculty at Pasadena City College and Los Angeles Pierce College, and has performed workshops and master classes at universities throughout the United States.
PROGRAM: Women under the radar and on the fringe
David Roitstein (b.1954)
Texts by Alina Roitstein
i. old friend*
ii. it is the river*
iii. this earth*
Juhi Bansal (b.1984)
Texts by Neil Aitken
Enchantress of numbers
On the edge of a dream*
With David Castillo, baritone
Jake Heggie (b.1961)
Texts by Gene Scheer
Farewell Auschwitz
vi. Irenka
viii. Sun and Skylark
With Kaileigh Riess, soprano & James Sullivan, clarinet
Thomas Morse (b.1968)
Libretto by Ken Cazan
Marte’s Aria:
“No one will touch these two people” from Frau Schindler
Intermission
Jake Heggie
Texts by Sr. Helen Prejean
The Deepest Desire ()
The Call; more is required, Love
I catch on fire
The deepest desire
Primary colors
With Rosy Sackstein, Flute
Jordan Nelson (b.1984)
texts by: Sylvia Rivera / Marsha P. Johnson
If I had *
I Carry*
Dale Trumbore (b.1987)
What only poetry can do
Why write? (text by Barbara Crooker)
Used Book (text by Julie Kane)
Rejection Slip (text by B. Crooker)
What only poetry can do (text by B. Crooker)
*world premiere commissions especiallyfor this program