My son Joey wrote an opera based on the life of Alice Flagg! I’m so excited I can’t even write about it, so here’s the press release:
Alice Flagg, an American opera written by local composer, Joseph R. Kaz, will make its Lowcountry debut at the Winyah Auditorium in Georgetown, SC on Monday, May 30, 2016, at 7 PM. The opera originally debuted to strong reviews at The John F. Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. on September 7, 2015.
Presented by the Cultural Council of Georgetown County, Kaz’s composition is a two-act opera that tells the tale of one of the Lowcountry’s most beloved ghost stories – the story of Alice Flagg from Murrells Inlet. Set in Pre-Civil War SC, Alice, the daughter of an aristocratic Southern planter, fell in love with a lumberjack beneath her station. In an effort to halt the affair, her family sent her to boarding school in Charleston, but not before the two lovers secretly became engaged. While in Charleston, Alice became fatally ill, causing family and fiancé to come to her aid. The story that unfolds is legend.
“We’re delighted to present this wonderful opera, written by one of our former treasures,” said Leslie Ayers, Executive Director of the Cultural Council of Georgetown County. The council’s Young Treasures of the Tidelands Program has been identifying talented, young students who excel in music and visual arts for over 20 years. During this time, more than 130 students have received scholarships, which are based on audition performances or juried art competitions.
Joseph R. Kaz, a native of Pawleys Island, SC, is a dynamic composer whose work is already well known, especially in the Eastern United States. With performances by ensembles including The Metropolitan Wind Symphony, The University of Tennessee and Ithaca College, Kaz’s music covers many genres. A tenor who has performed with various opera companies in the Washington DC area, Kaz has collected numerous awards including the Metropolitan Wind Symphony’s North American Composition Competition.
Joseph completed his Bachelors in Music Composition at Ithaca College and is pursuing his Masters in Music Composition at the Catholic University of America. He is a Graduate Assistant at The Catholic University of America and Tenor Section Leader/Soloist at Church of the Epiphany in Washington, D.C. The son of Jeff and Troi Kaz, Joseph is a graduate of Waccamaw High School in Pawleys Island, SC.
Buy tickets now at https://ccgc.yapsody.com/event/index/32173/alice-flagg