A marriage of orchestral music and the world’s finest instrument – the human voice

Currently in its 20^th anniversary season and past recipient of the ArtsWestchester Arts Organization of the Year Award, Taconic Opera will be hosting its annual chamber program – Vocalise - on Saturday, June 16, 2018 at 3:00 pm at the Presbyterian Church of Mt. Kisco, 605 Millwood Road (Route 133), Mt. Kisco, NY. Maestro Jun Nakabayashi, Taconic Opera’s Conductor and Music Director, will once again emerge from the orchestra pit to conduct the concert which features the Taconic Opera Orchestra and soprano Samia Bahu, a crowd favorite of many of the company’s devoted fans. This ambitious program will include works by Gustav Mahler, Giuseppe Verdi, Richard Wagner and Sergei Rachmaninoff – a glorious way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

As the concert program implies, two of the four works are both orchestral and vocal pieces featuring a soprano soloist: Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Songs of a Wayfarer), and Verdi’s D'amor sull'ali rosee (from Il Trovatore). Richard Wagner’s orchestral offering, Siegfried Idyll, is a breathtaking addition. Rachmanoff’s Vocalise , originally written with a soprano or tenor solo line of only one note sung on the vowel of the singer’s choosing, will be performed as an orchestral piece, but it is interesting to learn the origin of its title.

Jun Nakabayashi is a masterful and charismatic conductor who will thrill you with his artistry when he and his outstanding musicians bring the four pieces to life. Nakabayashi has been active in both the symphonic and operatic fields for almost three decades. In addition to serving as Music Director of Taconic Opera for the past 17 years, he has conducted for several other opera and orchestral companies in Europe and throughout the U.S. His total repertoire consists of over 100 symphonic works and 30 operas. Maestro Nakabayashi also currently serves on the faculty of the acclaimed Hoff-Barthelson Music School in Scarsdale where he conducts the Festival Orchestra and gives classes in conducting.

Tickets for this event are $27, $20 for seniors and $15 for students and can be purchased in advance online at www.taconicopera.org, at the door, or by calling Taconic Opera’s toll-free number (855) 886-7372.