The Houston Chamber Choir presents Mozart’s masterpiece, Requiem, with consummate polish, precision, and on a the more intimate scale that the composer had in mind.  Also on the program is Mozart’s Ave verum corpus, as well as Adagio for Strings—Samuel Barber (1910-1981).

The orchestra is composed of members of the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra and the soloists are:  Stephanie Handal, soprano; Sonja Bruzauskas, mezzo soprano; Eduardo Tercero, tenor; and Timothy Jones, bass.

STEPHANIE HANDAL, soprano, earned her Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of North Texas, and her master’s degree in choral conducting from Sam Houston State University. She has sung with the El Paso Opera Company under Prentice Loftin, Paradigm Vocal Ensemble under Paul Tucker, Houston Masterworks Chorus and the Sam Houston Chorale under Allen Hightower, and the Bach Festival Chorus under Helmuth Rilling. She has also sung and conducted for Craig Hella Johnson, Simon Carrington, Paul Salamunovich, and Joseph Flummerfelt. Most recently, she spent time in England working with conductor Peter Phillips and the Tallis Scholars. She currently teaches choir at Cypress Lakes High School. Stephanie has sung with the Houston Chamber Choir since 2007.

SONJA BRUZAUSKAS, praised for a ‘lustrous’ voice with ‘gorgeous timbre’ and ‘youthful vigor,’ Mezzo Soprano Sonja Bruzauskas ‘entrances audiences’ throughout the United States.  Sonja most recently returned from a recital tour in Japan.  Upcoming performances include the role of ‘Clori’ in ‘Clori, Tirsi e Fileno’ with Ars Lyrica, Schoenberg’s ‘Gurrelieder’ and Berios’s ‘Folk Songs’ with the Greenbriar Consortium.  Sonja will also be a featured soloist at the ‘Mainely Music Festival’ 2010, several Song Salons with Divas World Productions, as well as performing the Alto Solo in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra.

 

EDUARDO TERCERO, tenor, is a native of Panama. His credits include Zefirino in Rossini’s Il Viaggio a Reims, Pulcinello in Argento’s Casanova’s Homecoming, and Aeneas in Purcell’s Dido for the Ars Lyrica of Houston. Apart from his stage work, Mr. Tercero’s concert works include Mozart’s Requiem, Piacere in the United States premiere of Handel’s Il Trionfo del Tempo e della Verita, Marcus in the world premiere of Robert Nelson’s Nicholas of Myra and, in his Houston Symphony debut, Narrator in Copland’s Lincoln Portrait. Eduardo can be heard in the Newport Classic 2001 recording of Argento’s Casanova’s Homecoming. He attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and the Moores School of Music, University of Houston. Eduardo has sung with the Houston Chamber Choir since 2003.

 

TIMOTHY JONES, One of the leading bass-baritones of his generation, has appeared in productions with the Michigan Opera Theater, the Lake George Opera Festival, Opera Idaho, the Shreveport Opera, Opera Southwest, the Pensacola Opera and the San Antonio Lyric Opera, and in concert with numerous American orchestras. Jones made his New York debut as a recitalist with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in February 2000. Associate Professor of Voice at the Moores School of Music, he is a champion of opera, the concert stage, chamber music, solo recitals, and premières of modern compositions.

 

The concert is being presented in thanksgiving for the Life and Work of Margaret Skidmore, long time Development Director at the Museum of Fine Arts and an important contributor to the growth of Houston’s cultural life.   Margaret led many fundraising activities that grew the MFA’s campus.  In addition, she led the MFA’s education and community outreach programs.  She was an early and continuing supporter of the Houston Chamber Choir.  Houston’s cultural arts community owes much to Margaret Skidmore.

Hailed as one of the country’s leading choirs, the Houston Chamber Choir is an ensemble of 28 highly trained professional singers whose touching and engrossing performances entertain audiences around the world. Selections from the Ravishing Russian CD are currently receiving significant air play on classical radio stations across the country.