The Church of the Transfiguration to Present BACHFEST: CANTATA 147, 6/7

The Church of the Transfiguration ("The Little Church Around the Corner"), 1 East 29th Street in Manhattan, presents Bachfest: Cantata 147 ("Hertz und Mund und tat und Leben") and Brandenburg Concerto No.5 on Friday June 7th at 7:30pm.

Claudia Dumschat conducts the Transfiguration Camerata with the Transfiguration Choir of Men and Boys and a virtuosic period instrument ensemble. Soloists are: Mary Hubbell, soprano; Jann Degnan, mezzo soprano; James Barbato, tenor; Joe Damon Chappel, bass; Sang Joon Park, flutist; Jessica Park, violinist; and Rick Erickson, harpsichordist.

This is an Arnold Schwartz Memorial Concert. For a full schedule, visit www.littlechurch.org/music. Tickets: $25; $15 for students and seniors. Reservations and information, call (212) 684-4174. Subways: 1, N, R or 6 to 28th Street; B, D, F or M to 34th Street Herald Square By bus: M1, M2, M3, M5, M6 or M7

About the Choir of Men and Boys: The Choir of Men and Boys is the oldest such choir in the United States and the only one not affiliated with a school. It consists of 16 boys, ages 8-14, auditioned and selected from the New York metropolitan area, with diverse ethnic and economic backgrounds. The boys rehearse several times each week and not only are paid but also receive incremental scholarships through the Anthony J. Mercede Scholarship Fund, based on their years of participation. The full Choir of Men and Boys sings every Sunday morning at the 11:00 A.M. Mass. The style and sound of the choir began in the great cathedrals and collegiate choirs of England, where the uppermost musical line was written specifically for the timbre of boys' treble voices. Eight professional adult men sing the alto (countertenor), tenor and bass parts with the boys. The music they sing is from the English and European choral tradition: Bach, Byrd, Stanford, Willan, Haydn, Rorem, among others.

About The Arnold Schwartz Memorial Concert Series: Tonight's concert is part of a series created by Marie Schwartz in honor of her late husband, Arnold Schwartz (1905-1979), who was born in Brooklyn and lived in New York City all of his life. Understanding that education and good health were needed in order for a young person to compete and succeed here, he gave generously to many educational and health-related institutions. Because he loved music, he extended his generosity to many musical institutions, such as the Metropolitan Opera. Mr. Schwartz was also a trustee of the New York University Medical Center. Mrs. Schwartz also made it possible for Transfiguration to commission one of the finest pipe organs recently built for a New York church. Designed and built by the C.B. Fisk Company of Gloucester, Massachusetts, the Arnold Schwartz Memorial Organ (Opus 92) was finished and dedicated in 1988. A tracker, or mechanical-action organ, it was designed largely in the 18th- century North German tonal style but with an extensive 19-century French Cavaillé-Coll type swell division. This is an instrument eminently fit to perform the organ literature of all periods, as well as presenting and accompanying traditional Anglican liturgical music.

About the Church: The Church of Transfiguration is known throughout the country as The Little Church Around the Corner. It got this name in 1870, when a local actor died and his friend Joseph Jefferson went to the rector of another church to see about a funeral. Upon hearing the dead man had been an actor, the rector said that he could not possibly bury him. The astonished friend asked if there was someplace else where he could arrange for his friend's funeral. The clergyman replied, "I believe there's a little church around the corner that does that sort of thing." For one hundred and sixty years, the church has been a very visible worshipping community in an urban setting that has welcomed all classes, all races, and particularly all those marginalized by society. For more details, visit www.littlechurch.org.

Mary Hubbell, soprano, described in The New York Times as "a soprano with a sweetly focused tone," holds degrees from Boston College; the University of California, Santa Barbara; and the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. She is active in a wide range of music, from early music to contemporary repertoire. In the Netherlands, she was a frequent soloist with La Prunelle Ensemble, Praetorius Blokfluit Ensemble, and the Netherland Vocal Laboratory. She has participated in the Steve Reich Festival at the Royal Conservatory, the annual Young Composer's Festival in Apeldoorn, the Chamber Opera Festival in Zwolle, and the Gaudeamus Festival in Amsterdam. Ms. Hubbell was a soloist with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Louis Andriessen's Tao. Other orchestral engagements include Robert Kapilow's Green Eggs and Ham with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra and Mozart's Exsultate, jubilate with the Beaufort Symphony Orchestra. As a recitalist, she has concertized in Boston, New York, North Carolina, and South Carolina, including Piccolo Spoleto's Spotlight Series in Charleston. In New York, she has appeared as a soloist with the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, Musica Viva of New York, Alphabet Soup Productions, The Remarkable Theatre Brigade, and Dr. Faustus. She is a faculty member of the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music and is also pursuing a Doctorate of Musical Arts at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.

Jann Degnan, mezzo soprano, has been described as a "supremely elegant" singer (Opera News) having a "captivating stage presence" (Opera Magazine, England). Her operatic credits include the title role in Massenet's Cendrillon, Mother Marie in Poulenc's Dialogues of the Carmelites, Meg Page in Verdi's Falstaff, Public Opinion in Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld, and La Voix in Offenbach's Les contes d'Hoffman and has appeared with Lyric Opera Cleveland, Cincinnati Opera, Whitewater Opera and Sorg Opera. An accomplished concert soloist, Ms. Degnan's performances span both sacred and secular genres with solo repertoire including the works of Bach, Beethoven, Berlioz, Duruflé, Dvorak, Handel, Haydn, Mendelssohn, Mahler, Mozart, Pergolesi, Purcell, Respighi, Rossini, and Vivaldi as well as a wide range of newly composed vocal works. She has appeared with Prince Georges Philharmonic Orchestra, Roanoke Symphony Orchestra, United States Coast Guard Band Chamber Players, Northern Kentucky University Baroque Festival, Mantovani Orchestra, Musica Bella Chamber Orchestra of New York, Oratorio Society of Queens, and New York Treble Singers. A graduate of the University of Iowa School of Music, she holds a Master's Degree and Artist Diploma from Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. She has studied at the Goethe Institute in Boppard, Germany and is a past Grand Prize Winner of the prestigious Corbett/Triegle Opera Competition.

Tenor James Barbato is a member of the Choir at The Church of the Transfiguration, and was formerly a staff singer with Boston's Trinity Church at Copley Square. As a concert soloist, his recent performances have included Handel's Messiah, Beethoven's Choral Fantasy, and Mozart's Requiem, Coronation Mass, and Mass in C minor, as well as Stravinsky's Les Noces with Charles Dutoit. His stage credits have included roles with Florida Grand Opera, Opera New Jersey, Central City Opera, and Ash Lawn Opera. In addition to the standard repertoire, he has also collaborated with composers Tobias Picker, William Bolcom, Robert Ward, Jorge Martín, and Carlisle Floyd on productions of their works. An avid recitalist, Mr. Barbato has taken part in residencies with the Tanglewood Music Center, Marlboro Music Festival, Aldeburgh's Britten-Pears Programme, and the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence Académie européenne. He was a finalist in the 2012 Liederkranz Song Competition, and has frequently been presented in recital as a guest of Cornell University's Historical Performance Program. This season, he was honored to make a few appearances on the Schubert & Co. recital series - an endeavor held at New York's Central Presbyterian Church which presented Schubert's complete solo Lieder in 35 concerts over 8 months. This summer, he returns to Tanglewood to perform Britten's Canticle II: Abraham and Isaac. Mr. Barbato earned his degrees from the Eastman School of Music and compleTed Further training with the Boston University Opera Institute.

Bass-Baritone Joe Damon Chappel is principal bass soloist at Bach Vespers at Holy trinity (NYC), the longest running series of its kind in the US, in which Bach's cantatas are presented in liturgical context on their appointed days in the church year. In addition to an active early music career, Mr. Chappel also enjoys presenting the work of living composers such as Simon Bainbridge and Gordon Beeferman. Recently, he has appeared as Pilate in the Boulder Bach Festival presentation of the St. John Passion, and as Zuniga in the Carolina Master Chorale's production of Carmen. He is currently on world tour with the internationally acclaimed Philip Glass/Robert Wilson/Lucinda Childs production of Einstein on the Beach, winner of the 2013 Olivier Award for best new opera production.

New York based violinist Jessica Park has been recognized as an "exceptional talent" (Frankfurter Neue Presse) and hailed as a "sweet-toned soloist" (Cincinnati Enquirer). Miss Park made her debut as the youngest soloist to appear with the Cincinnati Orchestra at the age of nine. Since then, she has performed on the international stage at such prestigious venues as Cologne Philharmonie, Seoul Arts Center, Shanghai Grand Theatre, and Vienna Konzerthaus among others. After finishing her studies at Juilliard, she recently completed a Fellowship at the Yale School of Music as a member of the Yale Baroque Ensemble under the direction of Robert Mealy. Further studies include the Oberlin, Longy, Tafelmusik, American Bach Soloists, and Early Music Vancouver summer festivals, as well as masterclasses with Stefano Montanari and Ryo Terakado. Jessica performs regularly with Sebastian Chamber Players, Contineo, and American Baroque Orchestra, among others.

Flutist Sang Joon Park was the recipient of the prestigious 2005 Samuel Baron Prize awarded at SUNY Stony Brook University where he earned his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree under Carol Wincenc. He studied with distinguished flutists such as Wilbert Hazelzet, Sandra Miller, Janet See, Stephen Schultz, Jed Wentz, Linda Chesis, Judith Mendenhall and Thomas Nyfenger, and participated in Amherst Early Music Festival, Longy Baroque Institute, Vancouver Early Music Programme, and Bunnik Traverso Workshop in the Netherlands. He is the artistic director of the Baroque trio Aula Harmoniae, and performs regularly with several Baroque chamber groups including Rossignol Amoureux, Flying Forms, Ensemble La Sylva, Newton Baroque, La Donna Musicale, Catacoustic Consort, Bacchanalia Baroque, Empire Viols, Concert Royal, Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity, Salon/Sanctuary Concerts, and The Grand Tour Orchestra, with performances in Canada, Peru, the Netherlands, Taiwan, and the United States. A Spanish Baroque music scholar, Mr. Park researches at the Patrimonio Nacional Archivo y Biblioteca de Palacio Real de Madrid, Biblioteca Nacional de España, Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid, Biblioteca Histórica Municipal de Madrid, Biblioteca Musical Municipal de Madrid, Real Biblioteca del Monasterio San Lorenzo de El Escorial, and the Royal Library (Koninklijke Bibliotheek) at the Hague, Netherlands. In the United States he researches at the Spencer Collection Research Libraries [NYPL], the Research Library of Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts, and the New York Hispanic Society Library.

Rick Erickson (harpsichordist) has performed as organist, conductor, and hymn-festival leader throughout the USA and Europe. He has appeared at conventions of the American Guild of Organists, the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians, Pastoral Musicians, and Hymn Society of America. He served as co-editor for the choral edition of Bach for All Seasons, and has recorded for Augsburg Fortress, Naxos and JAV, among others. His choral arrangements are published by Augsburg Fortress and Kjos Publishers, and he appeared in the acclaimed film 13 Conversations About One Thing. This past year (2006) he arranged and directed music for the play The Orphan Singer, produced by Making Books Sing, which will be published by Boosey and Hawkes. He is also an Associate in Ministry in the ELCA.

Claudia Dumschat (Music Director) is the Organist and Choirmaster at Church of the Transfiguration. She received her Doctor of Musical Arts from the Manhattan School of Music and studied conducting with Dennis Keene and Giampolo Bracali. Her repertoire includes orchestral and choral music, chamber music, oratorios, and operas by major composers in the Western tradition up to the present day. Theatre/dance collaborations with neXus Arts and/or the Church of the Transfiguration include Britten's Noye's Fludde, Company of Heaven; Menotti's The Unicorn, the Gorgon, and the Manticore; Händel's Saul and Athalia. World premiere performances include Victor Kioulaphides' The Gilded Cage and The Vision of Perpetua, Brian Schober's Dance of the Stones, and the NY premiere of Stephen Hartke's Tituli. Last year she was the Music Director of Britten's The Prodigal Son, the third part of a trilogy of which Curlew River is the first.

Pictured: Mary Hubbell, soprano