In February the Naptown Philharmonic will take the audience to the Great White Way. Get ready to be swept off your feet as the NPO performs “Broadway Legends” in February.

This program is filled with show-stopping hits from Candide, Phantom of the Opera, Hamilton, Mama Mia! and Tick Tick Boom! interpreted by Soprano Sarah Burrell, Tenor Brian Shatt, and Baritone Michael Pistorio.

Conducted by Anna Binneweg, the concert will also feature the talent of violist Cameron Raecke in a performance of Hummel’s Potpourri for Viola and Orchestra.

From timeless classics to modern day hits, this concert promises to highlight the breadth and depth of Broadway’s rich musical history and guarantee an afternoon of entertainment that will leave you wanting more!

Program

Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990), Overture to Candide

Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778-1837), Potpourri for Viola and Orchestra, Op. 94

Intermission

Andrew Lloyd Webber (b. 1948), Selections from Phantom of the Opera

Jonathan Larson (1960-1996), Louder Than Words (from Tick Tick Boom!)

Lin-Manuel Miranda (b. 1980) Highlights from Hamilton

ABBA, Mama Mia! Medley

About our soloists

Violist Cameron Raecke

Violist Cameron Marc Raecke, co-principal violist for the Naptown Philharmonic, is in high demand as a performer by orchestras and chamber ensembles alike. His musical travels have taken him to many places: Singapore, Canada, Mexico, even New Jersey. He is the Assistant Principal Violist of the Allentown Symphony Orchestra in Pennsylvania and member of the Mid-Atlantic Symphony, and he has performed with many other orchestras, such as the Baltimore, Fort Worth, Singapore, and Annapolis Symphonies. For his college education, Mr. Raecke attended the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore and the University of Texas at Arlington. At the latter institution, he was a founding member of Bratsche con Brio, the resident all-viola ensemble that earned great acclaim during its tour in the Monterrey, Mexico, area and at the 27th International Viola Congress in Canada. His music festival education includes sessions at the Colorado College Summer Music Festival, the Killington Music Festival in Vermont, and the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado with a coveted three-year orchestral fellowship. More recently, Mr. Raecke is a founding member of the Movement in Music Ensemble, an innovative conductorless chamber orchestra founded in 2021 that presents memorized, choreographed musical performances.

In addition to his broad orchestral and chamber music career, Mr. Raecke has an expansive history of performing new and experimental music, having participated in many world premiere performances, from Allentown’s New Music Chamber Series — at which, in April 2022, he premiered ten new works in a single concert — to Baltimore’s High Zero Festival, the premier East Coast festival of improvised experimental music. He was an active member of his school’s New Music Ensemble when he was an undergraduate in Texas, and he has performed at Baltimore’s Red Room — a lynchpin of experimental music in the Mid-Atlantic region — and in concerts of new music at ArtScape, the largest free arts festival in the United States.

Mr. Raecke also runs a private teaching studio of both viola and violin students, some of whom have attended such presitigious institutions as the summer festival at the Brevard Music Center and Tanglewood. In its Spring 2022 issue, the Journal of the American Viola Society published Mr. Raecke’s paper, “The Three Laws of Sound Production,” in which he provides a comprehensive explanation of the basic mechanics of sound production for bowed string instruments.

Soprano Sarah Burrall

A Pasadena native, soprano Sarah Burrall currently teaches Choral Music and Theatre in Queen Anne’s County. A graduate of Salisbury University with a Bachelor’s in Music Education, Ms. Burrall has many performances under her belt in the Choral, Musical Theater, and Opera genres.

Ms. Burrall was most recently seen as Donna in Mama Mia! with the Chesapeake High School Theatre Company alumni production. In July of 2015, Ms. Burrall made her international debut in Assisi, Italy singing Vivaldi’s Gloria and as Mercedes in Bizet’s Carmen.

While attending Salisbury University, she performed with Musical Theater Workshop, Opera Workshop, and Theater. She also performed as Susan in Stephen Sondheim’s Company and as the Second Lady in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute). Ms. Burrall is very excited to be singing with the Naptown Philharmonic Orchestra. 

Tenor Brian Shatt

Brian Shatt is a graduate from Towson University and holds a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Music Education and Psychology. During his time at Towson, Mr. Shatt studied voice under the direction of Grammy award winning tenor Aaron Sheehan. Mr. Shatt is the Director of Choirs at Archbishop Spalding High School in Severn, Maryland, from which he graduated in 2009. At Archbishop Spalding he conducts five choral ensembles, drama classes, and eaches AP Music Theory. Prior to Spalding, Mr. Shatt spent six years with Anne Arundel County Public Schools’ Performing and Visual Arts magnet program as its lead vocal teacher where he taught small and large ensembles and private voice lessons. Mr. Shatt has performed locally, internationally, and everywhere in between. He is excited to be a part of this performance.

Baritone Michael Pistorio

Baritone Michael Pistorio is a lyric baritone whose mission is to bring modern finesse to classical singing. As an artist he blends his commanding voice with intimate drama, making him an audience favorite.

Mr. Pistorio has performed as a professional chorister, concert soloist, and opera principal in the Mid-Atlantic region for over a decade. Of note was his performance of Adam in Haydn’s The Creation which The Star Democrat noted, “Pistorio knew his role well and his magnificent voice echoed with conviction and power…”

Mr. Pistorio made his international solo debuts in 2015 and 2016 as an invited artist of the Assisi Performing Arts Festival, performing the concert roles of Dancäire (Carmen), Masetto (Don Giovanni), and Marcello (La Bohéme), additionally soloing in Faure’s Requiem, Mozart’s Mass in C, and Schubert’s Mass in G. Further principal opera and concert credits include The Tender Land (Copland), The Consul (Menotti), Die Zauberflöte, Don Giovanni, Le Nozze di Figaro (Mozart), Tosca (Puccini), Der Corregidor (Wolf); Messe solennelle en l’honneur de Sainte-Cécile (Gounod), Messiah (Händel), The Creation (Haydn), Son of Man (Hall Johnson); Fantasia on Christmas Carols, Five Mystical Songs, and Songs of Travel (Vaughan Williams).

Aside from his interpretations for stage and theater, Mr. Pistorio is also a reputable sacred singer, predominantly of Christian denominations. His voice has carried in houses of worship including the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen (Baltimore), Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Baltimore), Sacred Heart (Trenton), Washington National Cathedral (District of Columbia), and multiple houses of worship in Assisi, Italy including the Chiesa di Santa Maria Maggiore and Santa Maria sopra Minerva, the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli, Cattedrale di San Rufino di Assisi, and the Basilica di San Frencesco d’Assisi both in the main sanctuary and lower chapel where St. Frances is interred.

For the 2023-24 season, Mr. Pistorio performed in the ensemble of Craig Hella Johnson’s ‘fusion-oratorio’ Considering Matthew Shepard, also covering the roles of The Fence and Soloist; was featured with Ark & Dove Presbyterian for its performance of the new sacred cantata These Ancient Words by Heather Sorenson; and joined the Heritage Signature Chorale for an inspiring performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony under the baton of internationally acclaimed conductor, Marin Alsop, singing a new English language text by 2017 National Poet Laureate, Tracy K. Smith.

This season, Mr. Pistorio is thrilled to make multiple role and company debuts starting with a new Christmas chamber opera by Eric Whitacre, The Gift of the Magi, a debut in the principal role as Jim Young alongside soprano Rachel Sitomer as Della Young; performing with the Naptown Philharmonic Orchestra for an evening of musical theater favorites with soprano Sarah Burrall and tenor Brian Shatt; and in a new production of Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking making his role debut as convicted Death Row inmate, Joseph de Rocher.

Our April concert, “An Earth Day Tribute,” is dedicated to environmental awareness through the power of music and community collaboration. From serene and vibrant melodies, our artists will deliver a performance that resonates with the theme of preserving our planet.

Conducted by Anna Binneweg, this concert features the choruses from Arundel Vocal Arts Society (AVAS) and Apex Arts Vocal Ensemble, with director Lauren Walker in Jake Runestad’s Earth Symphony, with guest conductor JoAnn Kulesza, who is director of AVAS.

The concert will open with Strauss’ timeless, picturesque waltz, the beautiful Blue Danube. We are excited to highlight Polish female composer Grażyna Bacewicz in the East Coast premiere of her piano concerto performed by Bulgarian piano virtuoso Daniela Mineva.

This program promises to be heartfelt, soul-stirring and thought provoking – you don’t want to miss it!

Program

Johann Strauss II (1825-1899), Blue Danube Waltz

Grażyna Bacewicz (1909-1969), Piano Concerto

Intermission

Jake Runestad (b. 1986), Earth Symphony

Jonathan Larson (1960-1996), Roger Emerson (b. 1950), Seasons of Love (from Rent)

About Daniela Mineva

Hailed by critics as a “vibrant and expressive performer who could steal the show in every concert” (The New York Times) and “energetic and lively pianist who displaces power and delicacy in nuanced sensitivity along with virtuoso technique” (The Baltimore Sun), Daniela Mineva’s unique approach to standard repertory, combined with the performance and dedication of works by living composers, has taken her career throughout Europe, Asia, and North and South America.

Dr. Mineva has been the winner and finalist in numerous international and national competitions, including the 2007 Jean Francaix Piano Competition in Paris, France; the 1998 Steinway International Piano Competition; and the Music and Earth International Competition in Sofia, Bulgaria, among many others. During the 2007 International Piano Meeting Festival in San Daniele, Italy, she was awarded with the “Highest Artistic Level of Performance” prize for her solo recital. At the 8th International Competition for New Music in Orléans, France, Dr. Mineva and composer Vera Ivanova were awarded the “Prix André Chevillion-Yvonne Bonnaud sous l’égide de la Foundation de France” for Ivanova’s solo piano piece “Aftertouch,” written for Daniela Mineva.

Dr. Mineva maintains an active performing career. She has appeared as orchestral soloist, chamber music collaborator, and solo artist at some of the most prestigious venues in Bulgaria, the United States, China, Italy, France, Greece, Russia, Germany, Thailand, and Costa Rica, among others.

A strong proponent of new music, Dr. Mineva has collaborated with many young and established composers and with new-music ensembles such as Speculum Musica in New York City; Earplay in San Francisco, California; and OSSIA at the Eastman School of Music and Twenty One in Rochester, New York. Dr. Mineva has also served as the president of the International Society for Pianists and Composers in the U.S. from 2011–2018. Her first CD, Volume One, presents Dr. Mineva’s passion for the music of our time and its connection to the past masters.

As an accomplished and versatile chamber musician, Dr. Mineva has participated in many music festivals and summer programs, including the Tanglewood Music Festival, Institute for Contemporary Music in New York, and the San Daniele International Piano Meeting in Italy. Dr. Mineva’s passion for chamber music led to organizing the Humboldt State University Chamber Music Concert Series at Morris Graves Museum in Eureka, California.

A devoted teacher herself, Dr. Mineva has given master classes and workshops throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia, and North and South America. Currently, she is Professor of Music and Director of Keyboard Studies at Humboldt State University in California, where in 2012 she won the “McCrone Promising Faculty Award.” Previously, Dr. Mineva has taught at the Eastman School of Music, where in 2007 she was awarded the “TA Excellence in Teaching” award, and at Concordia University in Chicago, Illinois. In 2015, Dr. Mineva and Professor Dahao Guo founded and directed the North Coast Piano Festival, where young pianists from all over the world participate in lessons, master classes, and compete at the North Coast Piano Competition for annual performances at Carnegie Hall.

Born in Bulgaria, Dr. Mineva began piano lessons at the age of five with her mother as her first teacher. She graduated from Sofia Music Academy with a Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance and the Master of Music degree in choral conducting. Dr. Mineva also holds a Master of Music degree in piano performance and an Outstanding Graduate Diploma from the University of North Texas, an Artist Certificate from Northwestern University and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree and Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music.

Our season finale brings an orchestral experience like no other – a family-friendly sports themed concert, “Let’s Play Ball!”

This program is inspired by the great all-American game of baseball, featuring timeless favorites such as Take Me Out to the Ball Game, Rookie of the Year and Home Stretch and will captivate audience members of all ages.

And speaking of our youth, this concert also highlights the winners of our annual, state-wide Young Artist Concerto Competition (open to all high-school students throughout the state of Maryland). A heart-warming, entertaining evening for all!

What a great way to bring the 2024-2025 season to a close.

Program

John Adams (b. 1947), Short Ride in a Fast Machine

Performances by the Young Artist Concerto Competition Winners, to be announced

Intermission

Bill Conti (b. 1942), Rookie of the Year

Tim Berens, Fernie’s Up!

Albert von Tilzer (1878-1956), Take me Out to the Ball Game

John Denver (1943-1997), Thank God I’m A Country Boy (the Orioles’ Seventh Inning Stretch Song)

Leroy Anderson (1908-1975), Home Stretch