"THE UNHEALED WOUND"

Featuring

  Eric Owens, bass-baritone

   Bass-baritone Eric Owens has a unique reputation as an
   esteemed interpreter of classic works and a champion of new
   music. Equally at home in orchestral, recital, and operatic
   repertoire, Mr. Owens brings his powerful poise, expansive voice,
   and instinctive acting faculties to stages around the world.

   In the 2022-2023 season, Mr. Owens returns to the Metropolitan
   Opera as Emile Griffith in James Robinson’s new production of
   Champion, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and to Los
   Angeles Opera as Raimondo in Simon Stone’s production of Lucia
   di Lammermoor. He also debuts at the Wiener Staatsoper in 
   Wagner’s heroic Ring Cycle, first as Wotan in Das Rheingold and
   Die Walküre, and as the Wanderer in Siegfried, conducted by
   Franz Welser-Möst. Additional operatic engagements include
   King Marke at the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Opéra National
   de Paris in a multimedia production of The Tristan Project, led by
   conductor Gustavo Dudamel and director Peter Sellars. Concert
   engagements include performances of Mozart opera excerpts
   with the Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by Nathalie 
   Stutzmann.

In the 2021-2022 season, Mr. Owens returned to the Metropolitan Opera as both Philippe II in Sir David McVicar’s new production of Don Carlos, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and Porgy in James Robinson’s Grammy Award-winning production of Porgy and Bess, conducted by David Robertson. He also returned to Santa Fe Opera as King Marke in Tristan und Isolde. On the concert stage, he joined the Philadelphia Orchestra for performances of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, also conducted by Nézet-Séguin, both in Philadelphia’s Verizon Hall and at Carnegie Hall. He sang Vodnik in concert performances of Rusalka with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, led by Alan Gilbert.

In the 2020-2021 season, Mr. Owens performed Sarastro in The Magic Flute at the Glimmerglass Festival, while serving as Artist in Residence for the festival’s Young Artist Program. He also sang in a pop-up concert in New York City alongside other soloists and members of the Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra, led by Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

Mr. Owens’s career operatic highlights include both Alberich and Hagen in the Metropolitan Opera’s Ring cycle; Wotan and the Wanderer in Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Ring cycle directed by Sir David Pountney; Orest in Patrice Chereau’s production of Elektra conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen at the Met; the title role of Der Fliegende Höllander and Stephen Kumalo in Weill’s Lost in the Stairs at Washington National Opera; his San Francisco Opera debut in Otello conducted by Donald Runnicles; his Royal Opera, Covent Garden, debut in Norma; Vodnik and Porgy at Lyric Opera of Chicago; the title role in Handel’s Hercules with the Canadian Opera Company; Ramfis in Aida at Houston Grand Opera; Die Zauberflöte for his Paris Opera (Bastille) debut; and the title role of Macbeth at the Glimmerglass Festival.

Mr. Owens has been recognized with multiple honors, including the Musical America’s 2017 Vocalist of the Year award, 2003 Marian Anderson Award, a 1999 ARIA award, second prize in the Plácido Domingo Operalia Competition, the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, and the Luciano Pavarotti International Voice Competition. He serves on the Board of Trustees of both the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts and Astral Artistic Services.

 

 Amanda Lynn Bottoms, mezzo-soprano

  Heralded for her “superb vocal and dramatic chops” by Opera News,
  with “stunning vocal beauty and absolute sincerity of expression” in
  Chicago Classical Review, mezzo-soprano Amanda Lynn Bottoms'
  2023/2024 season features performances with the Spoleto Festival,
  Akron Symphony Orchestra, Opera Grand Rapids, Chautauqua
  Opera and the Buffalo Philharmonic. Recently, she starred as Charlie
  Tyler in the Dayton Opera world premiere of Finding Wright and
  debuted as Leocasta in Giustino with Long Beach Opera. An advocate
  for innovative new works, Bottoms starred in the first opera
  commissioned for a planetarium Galaxies in Her Eyes, directed by Kristyne McIntyre and written by Mark Lanz Weiser/Amy S. Pun.

Praised by the New York Times as “commanding with captivating texture”, and Opera News for “luxurious full tone and interpretive intensity”, Bottoms was a featured Apprentice Artist in 2021/2022 with Santa Fe Opera covering the titular character in Carmen, Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Fillipyevna in Eugene Onegin, and Ino in The Lord of Cries. To much acclaim, Bottoms headlined the Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago Fall 2021 recital series - the opening performance, Songs of the New World, was named one of Chicago Classical Review’s 'Best of 2021' alongside the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and the final recital The Songs We Carried, received honorable mention. A beloved guest artist of the New York Festival of Song led by Steven Blier, Bottoms collaborates with the institution for several performances each season, including their return to live performance “And…We’re Back” and the release of their studio recording of Paul Bowles’ A Picnic Cantata

Bottoms is an alumna of the Cafritz Young Artist Program at the Washington National Opera where her mainstage work included roles in the Maurice Sendak production of The Magic Flute, Menotti’s The Consul, and the world premiere of Admissions in the Washington National Opera AOI program. Bottoms had a “dramatically and vocally glamorous” debut (Parterre Box) in the Opera Philadelphia O19 Festival, as Smeraldina in Prokofiev’s The Love for Three Oranges, and continued featured work with the Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago, New York Festival of Song, and Philadelphia Chamber Music Society Emerging Voices recital series.

Prominent debuts include Paquette in Candide with Philadelphia Orchestra and maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Mahler Symphony No.2 with the UCLA Symphony, Mercedes in Carmen with the Buffalo Philharmonic, Songfest with the Juilliard Symphony Orchestra, Richard Danielpour’s The Passion of Yeshua, Strauss’ Vier Letzte Lieder with the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, The Brothers Balliett’s Fifty Trillion Molecular Geniuses at Carnegie Hall, originating the role of Frances in the world premiere of The Flood with Opera Columbus, de Falla's El Amor Brujo with Lansing Symphony Orchestra and Anita in Bernstein's West Side Story with the NHK Symphony Orchestra of Tokyo under the baton of maestro Paavo Järvi.

Bottoms has received recognition and awards from prestigious international competitions including the George London Foundation, Loren L. Zachary Society, Operalia, Gerda Lissner, Opera Index, and the Metropolitan Opera National Council Regionals. Bottoms holds a Certificate of Professional Studies in Opera from the Curtis Institute of Music, a Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School where she was a coveted Kovner Fellow, and a Bachelor of Music degree from SUNY Fredonia.  

 

 Floydd ricketts, conductor

  Dr. Floydd Ricketts is an award-winning conductor, musical director, 
  educator, and activist. He is a Visiting Assistant Professor and the
  Director of Choirs at Skidmore College; and the Artistic Director of
  Ensemble Noir, a Montreal chamber choir that specializes in the music
  of underrepresented communities. Floydd is also the chorusmaster for
  L’orchestre Philarmonique et Choeur des Mélomanes in Montreal, and
  he recently finished his tenure as Head of Music at the National Theatre
  School of Canada. He has been described by his peers as a highly skilled
  conductor and orchestrator, and has written several chamber works for
  choir and orchestra. He regularly leads workshops on African-American
  Spiritual performance practice and diversity practices. 

 

 

 

 

 

 Young Kim, Pianist

  Pianist Young Kim, a Steinway Artist, has performed internationally as a
  soloist in recitals and with orchestras, in addition to appearing
  numerous times as a chamber musician.  A native of South Korea, Kim
  performed in major concert venues in Korea including the Seoul Arts
  Center.  In Russia, she appeared as a soloist with the Saint Petersburg
  State Capella Symphony Orchestra, performing Beethoven’s “Emperor”
  Concerto to great acclaim. Since moving to the Capital District of NY in
  2000, she appeared as a soloist with Schenectady Symphony Orchestra
  and Glens Falls Symphony Orchestra several times and performed solos
  and chamber music actively in the area. 

  Dr. Kim has been frequently invited to present lectures, recitals, and
  piano master classes in colleges and universities in Asia, Europe and in
  the US. Most recently, she was invited to perform and present piano
  master classes at the University of Szeged in Hungary, University of
  Seoul, and Kookmin University in Seoul, Korea. 

  In October 2019, Dr. Kim was inducted into the Steinway & Sons Teacher
  Hall of Fame, a prestigious designation recognizing the work of most committed and passionate piano educators. This was the very first year the award was given and she was one of 43 teachers selected from the United States and Canada. Further highlighting her excellence as an educator, Dr. Kim was the recipient of the 2016 Thomas A. Manion Distinguished Faculty Award at the College of Saint Rose, where she was a Professor of Piano from 2002-2021. She was an active performer and one of the founding members of the Saint Rose Camerata, a faculty chamber ensemble.

She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Minnesota (tutelage under Lydia Artymiw), an Artist Diploma from Yale University (Peter Frankl), a Master of Music from The Juilliard School (Josef Raieff), and her Bachelor of Music from Seoul National University (Kye Sook Suh). Dr. Kim is currently a Senior Artist-in-Residence at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY. 

 

 Jameson platte, cellist

  Cellist Jameson D. Platte maintains an active career both as a performer
  and a teacher. He is currently a member of the critically acclaimed Duo 92
  with pianist/composer Matthew Quayle, the Omega Trio, principal cellist of
  The Orchestra of Northern New York, The Plainfield Symphony, Bachanalia
  Virtuosi, Chelsea Opera, Garden State Philharmonic and the Allentown
  Symphony. As faculty at Skidmore College, he teaches cello and chamber
  music. Mr. Platte works extensively as a clinician, guest conductor and
  cello coach, performs as a soloist and maintains a large private studio. He
  is in constant demand as a guest principal cellist throughout the 
  northeast. A frequent recitalist in New York City, he has been featured in
  Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Lincoln Center and the
  92nd St. Y, among others. His recitals have been heard throughout North
  America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. Mr. Platte is
  Artist/Faculty at the Atlantic Music Festival. 

  Mr. Platte attended the Brevard Music Festival as a teaching assistant
  where he won the concerto contest. He also attended the Blossom Chamber Music Festival where he played principal cello under Leonard Slatkin. Mr. Platte has been a member of the Tuscaloosa Symphony (under Louis Lane), the Alabama Symphony and the Huntsville Symphony. He has recently been a featured soloist with the Allentown Symphony, Glens Falls Symphony, Maplewood Society of Musical Arts Orchestra, Central Jersey Symphony, Monmouth Symphony, Plainfield Symphony, Bachanalia Virtuosi and the Stokes Forest Festival Orchestra, among others. Recent international residencies have included performances in China, Korea, Germany, Italy and the United Arab Emirates. His recordings of contemporary music may be heard under the Koch International, Seedmusic, Naxos and Albany labels. Mr. Platte’s principal teacher was Carlton McCreery; he has also pursued studies with such teachers as Lynn Harrell, Mstislav Rostropovich, Harvey Shapiro, Heinrich Schiff and Anner Bylsma.

COVERS

 Hannah Jeané Jones, mezzo-soprano

  Hannah Jeané Jones, mezzo-soprano, is a native of Houston, Texas and is
  currently pursuing a Master of Music degree in Classical Voice at the
  Manhattan School of Music under the tutelage of Ashley Putnam.
  Ms. Jones graduated from Lawrence University with a Bachelor of Music
  in Vocal Performance in 2022 where she studied with John Holiday. At
  Lawrence Conservatory she performed the roles of Marcellina in The
  Marriage of Figaro (2019), Mauyra in Riders to the Sea (2020), and La Zia
  Principessa in Suor Angelica (2022). At Manhattan School of Music, she
  has performed in scenes productions of Marian’s Song (Marian), Thérèse
  Raquin (Thérese), and in the main-stage production of L’Enfant et Les
  Sortilèges as Maman & La Libellule. Ms. Jones was an emerging artist at
  the Seagle Festival in 2022 where she performed La Zia Principessa in
  Suor Angelica. Ms. Jones is also a proud cohort member of the inaugural
  Shared Voices program of The Denyce Graves Foundation, during which
  time she has performed in lecture recitals highlighting the works of Margaret Bonds and H. Leslie Adams, master classes with opera legend Denyce Graves and Metropolitan Opera stage director Peter McClintock, and was a featured artist in Ms. Graves’ presentation on the ABC morning news show Good Morning America. In the summer of 2023, she will be a Gerdine Young Artist at the Opera Theater of St. Louis where she will perform in Treemonisha, Tosca, and Susanna, and will be a featured performer in scenes from Peter Grimes as Auntie and Eugene Onegin as Olga. This fall at Manhattan School of Music, Ms. Jones will be performing as Hermia in Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

 

 Christopher Humbert, Bass-Baritone

  Described as beholding a “rich baritone voice,” and a “towering and
  alluring” stage presence, bass-baritone Christopher Humbert Jr., native
  of Akron, Ohio, has proven a favorite with several audiences across the
  United States. Recently, Humbert was featured as soloist in The
  Listening Project with the Minnesota Orchestra, in which he performed
  works by Eleanor Alberga (The Soul’s Expression) and Margaret Bonds
  Spirituals.

  Humbert was selected to join Opera Theatre Saint Louis during the
  2020 season as a Gerdine Young Artist. During this time, he was
  featured on St. Louis Missouri’s Channel Nine station for the inaugural
  “Songs for St. Louis” televised concert series. In addition to opera, Mr.
  Humbert is a frequent oratorio and concert soloist: Ein Feste Burg ist
  unser Gott (Bach), Matthäus-Passion (Schütz)  Johannes-Passion (Bach),
  and Messiah (Händel). In the spring of 2023, Humbert returned to Erie,
  Pennsylvania as a bass soloist in Mozart’s Requiem with the Erie
  Philharmonic. Humbert has also made his Carnegie Hall debut as a 
  soloist with Manhattan Concert Productions in Ralph Vaughan Williams' Dona Nobis Pacem (2020) in which he shared the stage with ensembles from two of his former alma maters.

Christopher Humbert Jr. was recently named a winner of the St. Louis District of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. His other competition credits include a first-place award in Opera Guild of Dayton’s Tri-State Vocal Competition (2019) and multiple classical music and musical theater category awards from the National Association of Teachers of Singing. He has since joined the Benenson Young Artist program at Palm Beach Opera, and made his professional debut as Zuniga in Bizet’s Carmen under the baton of Anetolli Allemandi, alongside operatic inspirations like J’Nai Bridges and Rihab Chaieb. Humbert is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Opera Performance from Boston Conservatory, and is a graduate of the Capital University Conservatory of Music. For the 2023-2024 season, Humbert will be joining the Ryan Opera Center at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

He would like to thank his closest advisors and mentors for continuously being a source of support and wisdom throughout his career.