Sunday, June 9 – 3pm
The Greene Space
44 Charlton St.
New York, NY, 10014
Encompass New Opera Theatre hosted a dazzling musical afternoon at The Greene Space to celebrate the rich cultural tapestry that is the very fabric of America, whether you, your parents, or your ancestors from long ago immigrated here. Film, voice, violin, cello, flute and piano amplify their stories!
Unheard Voices: An Immigrant’s Dream featured world premieres from El Salvador and Argentina sung by the gifted Salvador/American tenor Oswaldo Iraheta, by composer Juan Carlos Guerra Gonzalez; and the riveting composer Richard Pearson Thomas with a tribute to his Great Grandmother sent to America in 1899 with only a note pinned to her jacket. Soprano MaKayla McDonald performed the compelling aria from The Consul. The international Ukrainian/Russian duo of Sky Caravan---Milena Dawidowicz, violin and Elena Panova, piano performed John Williams’ Theme from Schindler’s List and Melody by the beloved Ukrainian composer Myroslav Skoryk. Cellist Valeriya Sholokhova and Flutist Jessica Aura Taskov performed premiere works on the program.
The Program!
Unheard Voices: An Immigrant’s Dream takes us on a musical odyssey with roots in El Salvador, Argentina, Russia, Sweden, and Ukraine. Ancestral rhythms, folkloric, and new music will mingle with the soaring voices of opera to paint a vibrant mural of the immigrant experience.
With ancestral voices from his indigenous roots, tenor Oswaldo Iraheta guides us to the heart of Argentina (Angel E. Lasala) and El Salvador (Juan Guerra Gonzalez) through the arduous journey of crossing the Rio Grande with “By the River” (Maury Yeston) and “Polo” (Manuel de Falla). Soprano MaKayla McDonald will perform the compelling aria from Menotti's The Consul, revealing the challenges of trying to start a life in a new country, and “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” based on a poem written in 1899 by Paul Lawrence Dunbar, one of the most prominent African-American writers of his time.
Alma Swansson’s Prayers, a piano and cello premiere by Richard Pearson Thomas, reflects on his great grandmother as a young girl sent to America in 1899 with only a note pinned to her jacket never to see her family again. This tribute expresses the courage, longing, and hope that transcends time and bridges all generations.
Sky Caravan will perform an exciting Romanian medley, as well as John Williams’ Theme from Schindler’s List, and Melody by the Ukrainian composer Myroslav Skoryk, which honors the unwavering spirit of the people of Ukraine.
Cellist Valeriya Sholokhova and Flutist Jessica Aura Taskov will perform premiere works on the program
Following the performance, there will be a reception where you can meet the artists!
the Artists!
Oswaldo Iraheta
is a Salvadoran-American tenor who made his international operatic debut at the Royal Opera House Muscat with Maestro Lorin Maazel. His operatic roles include Tamino (Die Zauberflöte), Alfredo (La Traviata), Rodolfo (La bohème), and Alfred (Die Fledermaus). Oswaldo had the great opportunity to perform in concert with Marvin Hamlisch at Severance Hall in Cleveland, as well as at the Encompass New Opera Theatre Musical Salute Galas.
MaKayla McDonald
is a soprano and active performer of opera, art song, and new work. She recently premiered the role of Nella Larsen in Fizz & Ginger, a new jazz opera, by Whitney George and Bea Goodwin and completed work with the American Opera Project and New York University/Tisch for their 2023 Opera Lab. Her recent engagements include St. Matthew Passion with Musica Sacra and the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center, concerts with the Boston Camerata, a Juneteenth Concert with Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre, and a recital for Butler University, Jordan College of the Arts Black History Month Arts Celebration.
Sky Caravan
To hear Sky Caravan, click here!
Milena Dawidowicz is a Ukrainian violinist who started to collect and record folklore music in Ukraine as a soloist with Kiev Yiddish Theater. When she moved to Israel, Milena played folklore music and performed at numerous festivals and folklore events throughout the country. In the United States, Milena is employed by South Brunswick School District as a String Orchestra Director, plays classical music with various symphony orchestras, and performs Romani music in the duo Sky Caravan with Elena Panova.
Elena Panova is a Russian pianist who earned a Master’s Degree in piano from Sverdlovsk Teachers College in Russia. Elena has been a faculty member at Westminster Conservatory of Music at Rider University, Princeton NJ since 1997 and is also on the music faculty at The Peddie School in Hightstown, NJ. In addition to her teaching career, Elena performs extensively around the state in New Jersey, participates in numerous chamber groups, and plays Romani music in the duo Sky Caravan with Milena Dawidowicz.
Valeriya Sholokhova
is a Ukrainian-American cellist, in-demand soloist, and chamber musician. She has made recent appearances on notable stages such as Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, David Geffen Hall, The Kennedy Center, and Saturday Night Live and has toured internationally across Europe. In 2022, Valeriya became the founding member of Trio Fadolin, a new ensemble with a unique sonority which has become a recipient of Chamber Music America’s Ensemble Forward Grant and has recorded an album of newly-commissioned works.
Jessica Aura Taskov
described as “exquisite” by the South Florida Classical Review and “meticulous” and “topnotch” by New York Music Daily, is a flutist and native New Yorker who enjoys a musically diverse career performing with the Metropolitan Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, DCINY, and has performed with the Nashville Symphony, Florida Grand Opera, Palm Beach Opera, and has recorded film scores for Warner Brothers as well as recorded on Blue Note records with the Grammy-winning Gil Evan’s Project live at the Jazz Standard in NYC. She has performed several Broadway shows including touring with “An American in Paris” in 2018. Most recent world premiere was “Water Among the Stones” for flute and piano by Stephen Siegel in 2019. Ms. Taskov currently teaches at Hofstra University.
Richard Pearson Thomas
is a composer, pianist, professor at Columbia University Teachers College, and lyricist whose works have been performed by Boston Pops, Covent Garden Festival, Houston Grand Opera, Encompass New Opera Theatre, Banff Centre, Skylight Opera Theatre, Westchester Philharmonic, and Riverside Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir. His songs have been sung in Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Wigmore Hall, and before the U.S. Congress. Encompass produced the New York Premiere of his opera, A Wake or a Wedding at the Baruch Performing Arts Center in November, 2014.
Nancy Rhodes
Nancy Rhodes is the artistic director and co-founder of Encompass New Opera Theatre. A champion of American Opera she has staged over 65 operas at Encompass, including her award-winning production of Virgil Thomson/Gertrude Stein’s The Mother of Us All, Blitzstein’s Regina, and Britten’s Phaedra. She staged the world premieres of Kirke Mechem’s Tartuffe for San Francisco Opera, Virgil Thomson’s Lord Byron at Alice Tully Hall, and Charles Fussell’s The Astronaut’s Tale at Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM Fisher). Internationally, she directed Death in Venice (Stockholm), Carmen (Oslo), Happy End (Finland), and Kiss Me Kate (Ankara, filmed for TV) and West Side Story (Istanbul) for the Turkish State Theatre.
This concert will re-launch our highly successfully Paradigm Shifts Music Festival, the Encompass educational and outreach program bridging indigenous cultures, women’s wisdom, and the global environmental movement through music. Nancy Rhodes, Artistic Director of Encompass, will curate and Richard Pearson Thomas, will serve as music director/pianist.
DIRECTIONS
The Greene Space is located at 44 Charlton Street at the corner of
Varick Street.
BY SUBWAY:
1 to Houston Street; C/E to Spring Street. Click here for a New York Subway Map.
BY BUS:
M20 downtown or uptown, M6 uptown, M21 cross town.
PARKING:
If traveling by car, here are parking garages near The Greene Space. Note, we don’t recommend any particular garage nor do we validate parking.
Edison ParkFast, 272 Spring St, New York, NY 10013 (212) 675-8910
Icon Parking, 114-122 Varick St, New York, NY 10013 (212) 925-9297
375 Hud Parking LLC, 375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014 (212) 645-4084/(212) 352-3062
SP+ Parking, 18 Morton St, New York, NY 10014 (212) 242-8451
SP+ Parking @ Kinney Systems, 14 Charlton Street, New York, NY 10012 (800) 836-6666
Icon Parking, 561-565 Greenwich St, New York, NY 10014 (212) 929-4547