I’m SO excited! My son the opera singer (that still sounds so unreal) will be performing at Litchfield Plantation in August!
Love Notes for Litchfield, hosted by the Litchfield Plantation House Restoration Committee, will treat participants to a “sip and see under the oaks at Litchfield Plantation” on Sunday, August 18, from 3-5 PM. Visit the long-inaccessible plantation house for a glimpse of its past and future glory with light refreshments, followed by a stroll to the Abbey for an afternoon serenade by the joyous operatic voices of Joseph R. Kaz and Melissa Jean Chávez.
Seating for the concert will begin at 3:45 PM. The talented duo will perform selections from Puccini’s La Boheme and Verdi’s La Traviata, as well as from the Lowcountry’s own Alice Flagg, in the acoustic treasure of the Abbey.
Proceeds will benefit the restoration of the plantation house for future use as an elegant event venue. Tickets are $30 and available through CLASS Productions by calling 843.235.9600, visiting the ticket office in Art Works at the Litchfield Exchange (14363 Ocean Hwy.), or at www.ClassAtPawleys.com.
Joseph R. Kaz is a dynamic young composer and tenor established across the Eastern United States. With performances by ensembles such as The Metropolitan Wind Symphony, The Catholic University of America Wind Ensemble, Our Lady’s Consort at the University of Notre Dame, The Ithaca College Wind Dectet, the Ithaca College Contemporary Ensemble, The Ithaca College Chamber Winds, and the Catholic University of America Symphony Orchestra, Joseph’s music covers many genres and fields. In competition, his music has won many prizes including the Jack Downey Composition Prize in both 2012 and 2013, the 2010 Texas Orchestra Directors Association Composition Contest, the 2014 Ithaca College ACDA Choral Composition Competition, the Metropolitan Wind Symphony’s 2013 North American Composition Competition, and most recently Our Lady’s Consort’s first Call for Scores. A composer primarily focused on the creation of new operas, Kaz’s first opera The Song of Solomon, was premiered by the Ithaca College Light Opera in 2013. Other recent performances have included a semi-staged reading of the opera Alice Flagg at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, a full production of the work at the Winyah Auditorium in Georgetown, SC, and a third production of the work at The Catholic University of America. As a singer, recent performances have included singing Tamino in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte with the Bethesda Summer Music Festival, Messegero in Verdi’s Aida with Opus Concert Theatre, Le Prince in Viradot’s Cendrillon with Bel Cantanti Opera, the Professor in Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s South Pacific with Annapolis Opera, and Fenton in Verdi’s Falstaff with the Shakespeare Opera Theatre. Joseph received a Bachelor’s of Music in Composition from Ithaca College, and his Masters in Composition from the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. Joseph’s primary teachers of composition include Dr. Dana Wilson and Dr. Andrew Simpson, and voice teachers have included Dr. Marc Webster and Fabiana Bravo. www.jkazmusic.com/
Acclaimed by the Washington Post for her “voluptuous voice” and “cooly exemplary production,” Melissa Jean Chávez regularly performs throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. Recent roles and performances include Adina (L’elisird’amore), Mimi (La Boheme), Micaëla (Carmen), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Cendrillon, and Cio-Cio San (Tragedy of Madama Butterfly). In addition to performing more than thirty operatic roles, Ms. Chávez has sung for Supreme Court justices, the head of the International Monetary Fund, and performed as a soloist with the United States Army Chorus. She also appears regularly as a recitalist and soloist. Recent orchestral and recital engagements include Strauss’ Four Last Songs, Bachianas Brasileiras No.5, Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Requiem (Faure, Mozart), and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. She is on the roster of the Advent Project and DC Opera on Tap, a performing group that entertains and educates through outreach in DC area bars and wineries. Ms. Chávez is a semi-finalist for the American Prize for opera, a regional finalist for the NATS Artist Awards, a two-time winner of the Bach-Handel Competition, has placed in numerous NATS competitions, and received multiple grants for performance and study, including the Marion Park Lewis Foundation grant. Ms. Chávez is a graduate of Shenandoah Conservatory and an alumna of the Castleton Festival, where she performed under the baton of the late Lorin Maazel.www.melissajeanchavez.com/
