cast

RUFUS AND RITA
A New ROK Commission

Composed ​by Lauren Bernofsky
​Libretto by Kelsea Webb

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​WORKING TITLE​
A New ROK Commission
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Composed by Benjamin Taylor
​Libretto by Kelsea Webb

eddie baraka

​Eddie, a Kenyan tenor, is a Junior at IU’s Jacobs School studying under Andreas Poulimenos.  He has performed as soloist for the Kenyatta University Choir, The Nairobi Music Society and The Kenya Conservatoire of Music besides solo concerts in the United Kingdom, Finland, Missouri and the Tivoli Theatre in Spencer and sang a concert with Sylvia McNair in Eldoret, Kenya, at IU’s AMPATH Centre.  Eddie has recently sang the role of Father Grenville in the Jacobs School’s production of Jake Heggie’s opera, Dead Man Walking.  Besides Classical Music, he loves to perform Kenyan Folk Music.

sarah beglen

​Sarah Beglen, soprano, is a rising senior studying choral music education at the Jacobs School of Music.  She studies voice with the deeply expressive mezzo-soprano, Marietta Simpson.  Sarah has also taken multiple lessons with Nina Nelson, Judith Haddon and Thomas King.  At the Jacobs School of Music she has performed in Symphonic Choir, University Chorale, and the Grammy-nominated Singing Hoosiers.

Sarah is from LaGrange, IL and has been singing since she was 7 in church choir.  She frequently sings solos at the First Presbyterian Church of LaGrange.  Sarah has taught at choral camps and private lessons in the western suburb area of Chicago the past five summers. 

For the Fall 2015 semester Sarah studied vocal performance in Vienna. She studied with internationally renowned soprano Elizabeth Bice, received vocal coaching from Michele Friedman and studied acting with Mag. Dunja Tot.  She is so grateful to have had the opportunity to immerse herself in Vienna's musically rich culture and hopes to return after graduation.  At the end of the Spring 2016 season she was featured as a colonist in New Voices Opera’s premiere of The Forest of Dreams. 

Most recently Ms. Beglen was a Young Artist in Los Angeles at SongFest. She worked closely with Frances Young – Bennett, Matthew Morris, Kathy Tagg, and was coached by other spectacular faculty and composers-in-residence.  In July Sarah will play her first role in an opera with Bloomingvoce’s Summer Workshop as Barbarina. 

lauren bernofsky

“All of her works evidence a craftsmanship of the highest order.” - Fanfare Magazine
 
Hailed by Lukas Foss as “a master composer,” Lauren Bernofsky has written over a hundred works, including solo, chamber, and choral music, as well as larger-scale works for orchestra, film, musical, opera, and ballet. With performances spanning the world, her music has been described as “a fantastic balance between the emotional and intellectual; technical and lyrical side of 21st Century composition.”

She holds an undergraduate degree in violin and composition from The Hartt School, a master’s degree in composition from the New England Conservatory and a doctorate in composition from Boston University. She has taught on the faculties of the Peabody Institute and Interlochen.

Bernofsky has received numerous grants from institutions including The National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts, The American Music Center, and The American Composers Forum. She has been honored with a Longfellow Chorus Award of Distinction and an Excellence in Composition Award from the Brass Chamber Music Forum. Her compositions have been commissioned by such groups as The Del Mar Trio, The Holyoke Civic Symphony, The Litchfield County Children’s Choir, The South Shore Conservatory, Sinfonia Calcania of Boston, The Harford Ballet, Roundabout Opera for Kids, and Drumpetello.
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Her music has been performed across the United States as well as internationally, in major venues from Carnegie Hall in the U.S. to Grieg Hall in Bergen, Norway. She is published by The FJH Music Company, Hal Leonard, Grand Mesa Music, Balquhidder Music, Fatrock Ink, Theodore Presser, Alfred Publishing, and Boosey & Hawkes.

Bernofsky’s music can be heard on the Polarfonia, Emeritus, Music to My Ears, and Albany labels.
www.laurenbernofsky.com

Kimberly carballo

​Presently Coordinating Opera Coach for Indiana University’s Opera and Ballet Theater, Kimberly is also an active international performer and educator. She has previously worked as the mainstage and young artists’ program coach for the Compañía Lírica Nacional de Costa Rica, and music theory instructor and vocal coach at the Conservatorio Musical de Alajuela, the Escuela de Artes Musicales de la Universidad de Costa Rica, and the Universidad Nacional in Costa Rica. In addition to her duties at Indiana University, she maintains a private studio as a freelance coach, collaborator, and piano teacher. She is founder and director of Reimagining Opera for Kids (ROK), a music community engagement and education program based in Bloomington, Indiana. Kimberly also forms part of the inaugural and ongoing team for Tunaweza Kimuziki (Through Music All is Possible), a project promoting exchange among music educators, scholars, and performers in Kenya and the USA.  

marquese carter

Marquese Carter has begun to establish himself as a versatile and exciting musician.  Mr. Carter attended Westminster Choir College for his Master of Music in Voice Performance and Pedagogy.  While at Westminster, Marquese sang the role of Herr Vogelsang in Mozart's Der Schauspieldirektor and Almerik in Tchaikovsky's Iolanta with the Westminster Opera Theatre.  In the summer of 2013, Marquese was winner of the Masterworks Festival Vocal Competition, and performed Mozart's "Tali e cotani...Or che il dover" with the Masterworks Festival Orchestra led by Maestro Christopher Russel.

Marquese has been involved in a number of premieres, including the role of Alec in The King in Yellow (Melody Eotvos) with New Voices Opera.  Most recently, Marquese sang the Midwest premiere of Tres sonetos de amor by Nathan Stang at the Midwest Composers Symposium.  Upcoming performances include a performance of Gabriel Kahane's Craigslistlieder, and a commission project focusing on social justice issues is on the horizon for 2017. 
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Also an active church musician, Marquese has sung the solos in Bach Cantata 182 and Handel Chandos Anthem No. 5 under the baton of Dr. Jan Harrington at First Christian Church in Bloomington, IN.  He has led rehearsals and services of Gospel music and Spirituals at First Christian Church in addition to singing responsibilities.

Marquese Carter is a doctoral student at Indiana University, and maintains an active performing and teaching schedule in Bloomington, IN.

annie chester

Mezzo soprano Annie Chester has been praised for her strong dramatic presence on the operatic stage and her "warm, rich, chocolatey voice."  As a "promising young voice," Ms. Chester's resume spans operatic roles, oratorio solos, commercial media, world premieres, and recitals.  Her opera credits include Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro), Dorabella (Così fan tutte), Dritte dame (Die Zauberflöte), Amastre (Xerxes), Dido (Dido and Aeneas), Jade Boucher (Dead Man Walking), and Olga (The Merry WIdow).  Shining as a choral soloist, Ms. Chester has performed as the mezzo/alto soloist in Bach's Magnificat, Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, Beethoven's Mass in C, Britten's Rejoice in the Lamb, Corigliano's Fern Hill, Mozart's Requiem, Mozart's Coronation Mass in C, and Rossini's Petite Messe Solenelle.  Most recently, Ms. Chester received the Robert and Sophia Marks Memorial Graduate Voice Award with the Indianapolis Matinee Musicale Competition.  As the recipient of this award, she performed a recital at the historic Indiana Landmarks in March 2016.

Ms. Chester holds a bachelors of music degree (BM '14) and a masters of music (MM '16)  from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music where she studied with Scharmal Schrock and Patricia Havranek.

drew comer

Bass Drew Comer, a native of Brownsburg, Indiana, is a sophomore pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Voice at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.  He is fluent in Spanish, and is pursuing a minor in the Spanish language.  During his short time at the Jacobs School, he has been seen in the choruses of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!, and Catán’s Florencia en el Amazonas; in the Spring of 2017, he will perform in the chorus of Wilson’s The Music Man.  He has also sung in Mahler’s Second Symphony with the Hoosier Philharmonic as a benefit concert for The Villages of Indiana.  In 2014, he was a member of a choral festival that was invited by Matt Oltman to perform Thompson’s The Testament of Freedom, and premiere Hayes’s The Gettysburg Address at Carnegie Hall in New York City.  Comer has had the privilege of working with conductors Paul Nadler, Constantine Kitsopoulos, and David Neely, as well as directors Garnett Bruce, Gabriel Barre, Jennifer Paulson-Lee, and Candace Evans.  He is recognized as an IU Founder’s Scholar and is the recipient of the Indiana Premiere Young Talent Scholarship and the William and Emma Horn Scholarship.  He works regularly with Walter Huff and is a student of Patricia Stiles.

emily crowley

​​Emily Crowley is a New York based soprano who has performed both off-Broadway and at Lincoln Center.  Recent credits include Lucas Hnath's The Christians (Playwrights Horizons), Antonia in Man of La Mancha (Skirball Center for the Performing Arts) and Agata in Agata of Catania (Dixon Place).  She performed the world premier of Zeitgeist I at the Frederick Lowe Theatre and was a featured soprano in the first concert in the Rejuvenation concert series at The Cell (NYC).  A process-driven performer, Emily has worked with a variety of composers and simply loves creating new works.  New to Bloomington, she's thrilled to be performing in ROK for the first time.

miles edwards

Miles Edwards is happy to begin his fourth season with ROK.  He is a member of the cello sections of the Muncie Symphony Orchestra and the Marion Philharmonic Orchestra, and he is a substitute cellist with the Owensboro Symphony Orchestra.  An avid performer of new music, he received the Mrs. Hong Pham Memorial Recognition Award for new music performance twice from Indiana University's composition department.  Miles received his bachelor's degree from Indiana University.  He has studied with Susan Moses, Benjamin Karp, and James Burch.

dexter griffin

Dexter Griffin is a sophomore at Bloomington High School South.  He is a student of Dr. Thomas King, and is excited to begin his first season with ROK.  In addition to ROK, he is a member of Sounds of South, the Chancel Choir at First United Methodist Church, and Amen, a men's acapella group.  In his free time, he enjoys sailing, volunteering, and being involved in the community.

 estebaN hernandez

Born in Colombia in 1992, Esteban started his musical education in piano aged 5 and in viola aged 11 with his father Ricardo Hernández (Bogotá Philharmonic Orchestra). Years later (2009) he started his undergraduate studies with Aníbal Dos Santos (Curtis Institute of Music – Principal Viola in the Bogotá Philharmonic Orchestra) in the Juan N. Corpas University, obtaining the highest grade by the evaluation panel in his senior graduation recital. Esteban recently obtained a Master of Music in Viola Performance degree from the Indiana University Jacobs School of music, under the guidance of Stephen Wyrczynski.
 
He played as viola principal with the Young Colombia Symphony Orchestra in the most important halls of his city, Bogotá D. C. He was also a founder member of the Colombian Youth Philharmonic (2010­2011), touring through his country with the YOA Orchestra of the Americas, under the baton of Carlos Miguel Prieto and accompanying Joshua Bell. Esteban has received viola masterclasses with: Craig Mumm (Metropolitan Opera Orchestra), Dov Scheindlin (Orpheus Chamber Orchestra), Jutta Puchhammer­Sédillot (Université de Montreal), Paul Cortese (Liceu de Barcelona), Georg Hamman (University of Music in Vienna), Jason Sah (Eastman School of Music), Santiago Garmendia (The Juilliard School), Raúl García (Yale School of Music), Carrie Dennis (Curtis Institute ­ Los Angeles Philharmonic) and Melia Watras (University of Washington).
 
Esteban has performed as a soloist in the Fabio Lozano Hall (Bogotá) in 2011 and 2012, he was finalist in the 11th edition of the Young Soloists Competition of the Cali Philharmonic Orchestra (Colombia) and winner (in soloist category) of the 2012 Young Performers of the Colombian Republic Bank, playing recitals in three of the most important cities of his country. Esteban was principal viola of the Bogota Youth Philharmonic in 2014.
 
As a pedagogue, he was invited to take part in the didactic concert series: "The Viola Is Not Alone" (April 2013) presented by the Colombian Youth Philharmonic and the Colombian Republic Bank with the purpose of making Colombian children familiar to the viola. While pursuing his Master’s degree (2014-2016) he studied violin/viola pedagogy with Professor Mimi Zweig (IU String Academy) and worked as a violin teacher in the Fairview Violin Project under the guidance of Dr. Brenda Brenner. Esteban is currently appointed as violin/viola teacher in the Stafford Music Academy (Bloomington).

 alexandra lucas

​Soprano Alexandra Lucas is currently a senior at Bloomington High School South.  She is excited to begin her fourth season with ROK, after previously playing Prince Tamino in ROK’s 2015-16 version of The Magic Flute. She appeared in several IU operas with the Indiana University Children’s Choir, including La Boheme, Der Rosenkavalier, Cendrillon and Falstaff. Lucas was a 2015 National semi-finalist with the New York Lyric Opera Theatre’s vocal competition.  She is a voice student of Alice Hopper.

 alejandra martinez

Alejandra Martinez, soprano, hails from Los Angeles, California.  She specializes in Spanish and Latin-American music as well as late-Romantic and Modern works.  Concert credits include performances at the National Council de la Raza, collaboration with members of the Cleveland Orchestra, and repeat engagements with the Cleveland One World Festival.  Favorite opera credits include La Contessa (Le nozze di Figaro), Salud (La vida breve), and Lady Billows (Albert Herring).  She performs regularly throughout Monroe County and Brown County with Reimagining Opera for Kids, and was recently a featured soloist with the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Alejandro Gómez Guillén.  Recipient of the Elly Ameling Award for Excellence in Recital Performance, Ms. Martinez is a 1st year Doctoral Student at the Jacobs School of Music, where she studies with Teresa Kubiak.

Mairi irene mccormack

Originally from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, British-Canadian mezzo-soprano Mairi Irene McCormack holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Alberta, Augustana Faculty.  She has performed the roles of Miss Todd in The Old Maid and the Thief at Indiana University's Auer Hall, Ottavia in L'incoronazione di Poppea with the Centre for Opera Studies in Italy program, 3rd Wood Nymph in Rusalka with Opera NUOVA, as well as Mrs. Grose (The Turn of the Screw,) Meg (Little Women,) Second Lady and Third Lady (Die Zauberflöte,) Charlotte (Werther,) Larina (Eugene Onegin,) Ruggerio (Alcina,) and Meg (Falstaff) in scene performances.  Mairi Irene is a 2012 graduate of the Franz Schubert Institut and has won grants from the Anne Burrows Foundation, the Winspear Fund, the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, and the Edmonton Arts Council.  She previously served as Music Director at St. Albert Catholic Parish for four years. 

Mairi Irene is in her second year of studies at Jacobs School of Music where she is completing a Performer Diploma and studying with Professor Timothy Noble.  She is thrilled to be a part of ROK for the first time.

jacquelyn mouritsen

Jacquelyn Mouritsen is pursuing a Doctorate of Music in Vocal Performance with minors in Music History and Theatre.  This is her fourth year with ROK.  Recent performing credits include Gentlewoman in Macbeth, Pamina in ROK’s adaptation of The Magic Flute (for which also acted as stage director), and Cosmic Kay in the world premiere of Cosmic Ray and the Amazing Chris with New Voices Opera.  Jacquelyn also enjoys directing and most recently directed La Chanson de Fortunio and Mese Mariano at Miami Music Festival.  Jacquelyn looks forward to directing Ruddigore this fall. ​

amira sabbagh

Amira Sabbagh, native Bloomingtonian, is happy to be working with ROK for the first time.  As a child she studied ballet, Suzuki violin, piano, and sang in school choirs.  As an adult, she studied modern and ballroom dance, carried on with singing, and became an actor with over ten years of experience in the Chicago theatre scene.  Now back in her hometown, she sings with the UU Church choir, as well as Voces Novae choral ensemble, and will be appearing in Cardinal Stage's upcoming production of The Merchant of Venice with an all-female cast.  In her spare time, Amira studies circus arts, knits, reads, and watches trashy TV.
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amanda sesler

​Amanda Sesler is a Soprano from Erie, Pennsylvania.  This is her third season with ROK.  She has performed internationally in China and Italy.  Last fall, she had her IU Opera Theater debut as Kitty Hart in Dead Man Walking.  ROK is one of her favorite performing outlets and she cannot wait to improvise in Working Title and decide which treat Rufus should eat!

amy williams

Amy Williams​ holds a BFA with a focus in Vocal Performance from the University of Central Arkansas, where she studied with Robert Holden, and an MM Vocal Performance from Winthrop University, where she studied with John Fowler.  She made her debut with Mosaic Arts singing the role of Apollonia in Hardyn’s ​La Canterine in the Spring of 2015​. 

​Amy has enjoyed singing the roles of the 2nd Lady in Mozart’s ​Die Zauberflöte at Winthrop University, Gertrude in Humperdink’s ​Hansel and Gretel at Central Piedmont, and Musetta in Puccini’s ​La Bohème with Opera Experience Southeast.  In the summer of 2013 Amy participated in Opera Experience Southeast’s Summer Emerging Artist Program where she worked with Arlene Shrut, sang in a recital and sang the role of Lauretta in Puccini’s​ Gianni Schicchi. 

Amy attended the Franco-American Vocal Academy’s summer program in Perigueux, France in 2011.  She participated in Master Classes with composer Isabella Aboulker and Prof. Frederick Burchinal, sang in recitals around France and performed the role of Amelie in Offenbach’s ​Le Grande Duchess de Gerolstein.  Amy has had the privilege of singing the soprano soloist in Rutter’s Requiem and ​Mass of the Children with Winthrop University’s University Chorus and Orchestra, and in Dubois’ ​Seven Last Words of Christ and Vivaldi’s ​Gloria with Quail Hollow Presbyterian Choir.  She is currently a doctoral student at IU Bloomington and is studying with Alice Hopper.

tiffany xie

​Tiffany Xie is an undergraduate student at Indiana University studying biology and English.  She started out by playing piano and picked up viola in middle school.  Right now, she is a violist with the Bloomington Symphony and is excited to be sharing her love of music through ROK!

Not Pictured

​Maria Campos Vargas
​Sam Chiba
Hyeyoon Choo
Ashley Cox
Marissa Diaz
​Kara Duval-Fowler
Martha Eason
Rachel Evans
Nicole Follman
Justin Goldsmith
Melissa Hartman
Samantha Johnson
Geuna Kim
​Ji-Hye Kim
Erin Kingseed
Lena Kornreich
​Michelle Lerch
Julie Lindell
Sylvester Makobi
​Chrissi Martin
Beverly McGahey
Michael McGregor
​Nicole Moody
Julian Morris
​Mitzy Nonaka
Keith Northover
Charlotte Paradis
Tessa Pettit
​Shayna Plotnik
Patricia Quintero
Megan Raftery
Benjamin Rardin
David Rugger
​Amanda Russo Stante
​Bruno Sandes
Anne Slovin
Laura Staring
Benjamin Taylor
Frances Van Vuuren
Maria Walker
Patricia Wallinga
Emily Warren
​Megan Wilhelm
Jessica Wolf