8th Annual Sing For Their Supper

Sunday, May 6th at 7pm

At 7pm on May 6, Milton Community Concerts will present the eighth annual “Sing For Their Supper” benefit concert at the First Parish Church of Milton at 535 Canton Avenue. This event will feature 10 opera singers from around New England in a popular program of opera and musical theater favorites to support two local charities.

This year’s concert features a completely new lineup of artists: sopranos Sarah Callinan, Elaine Daiber, Meredith Hansen, Luisamaria Hernandez, Kathryn McKellar, Emma Robertson, and Yoonjeong Yoo; mezzo-soprano Alexis Peart, and bass/baritones Fred Furnari and James Harrington. They will be assisted by pianist Timothy Steele.

Collectively these singers have sung roles with many opera companies, both nationally and internationally, including the Metropolitan Opera. They have sung in Carnegie Hall, the Tanglewood Music Center, and Symphony Hall, among others. They also have distinguished careers as recitalists and concert artists. In order to sing in this concert some of these artists are traveling from distances as far away as Hartford, CT and Western New York.

This is a free concert (no tickets needed) with all net proceeds collected from a free-will offering to benefit the Milton Food Pantry and Milton Residents Fund. All performers are donating their time and talent to support these two charities.

Arrive early for the best seating. There is ample parking available and the venue is accessible.

This concert is supported by a Cultural Sector Recovery Grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, as well as an additional grant from the Milton Cultural Council (a part of the Massachusetts Cultural Council).

COOKING IN PREPARED FOODS AND CATERING

Thank you to Stephanie at Cooking In Prepared Foods and Catering who is donating a catered dinner for all performers prior to this concert (who are indeed singing for their supper!). Here is more information about her fabulous catering service right here in Milton:

"Cooking In Prepared Foods & Catering is a retail prepared foods & catering operation located in the Bent's Cookie Factory Building. You can walk in and buy from the case, call to place an order, order online, or we deliver. We have a large selection of prepared meals, sides, appetizers, treats, salads, and soups, PLUS we offer full catering services. And we are a woman owned small business. Please stop in and try us or check us out at www.cookinginmilton.com. We would love to see you!"

Artist Headshots and Bios

Praised for her ‘pure, lustrous voice’ and ‘Lucille Ball-like energy,’ soprano Sarah Callinan has performed a wide variety of operatic and musical theatre roles in theatres across the U.S. Some favorites include Despina (Cosi Fan Tutte) with Opera Carolina, Blondchen (Die Entführung aus dem Serail) with Arizona Opera, Frasquita (Carmen) with both Michigan Opera Theater and Opera New Jersey, Rosina (Il Barbiere di Siviglia) and the title role in La Fille du Régiment with Connecticut Concert Opera, Gilda (Rigoletto) and Amina (La Sonnambula) with Salt Marsh Opera, Norina (Don Pasquale) and Valencienne (The Merry Widow) with Cape Cod Opera. She sang the role of Blondie in the “Star Trek” production of The Abduction from the Seraglio, she appeared with Abilene Opera in role of Veronique for the Texas premiere of Thomas Pasatieri’s The Hotel Casablanca, sang the role of Marianne in The New Moon and Helen de Vazquez in Victor Herbert’s Orange Blossoms with Light Opera of New York. A recording of Orange Blossoms was released in 2015 on the Albany Records label.

Most recently, Ms. Callinan sang Violetta in La Traviata and Rosina in The Barber of Seville with Opera

Theater of Connecticut, she returned to the Sanibel Music Festival for a concert performance of Andrew Lloyd Webber: Superstar of Song and Stage, performed in a special New Year’s Eve presentation of Strauss’ Die Fledermaus with VOX New England; she sang with the Massachusetts Symphony Orchestra for both their Holiday Concert and their Magically Mozart Concert in the Park series. This season, Sarah is delighted to return to Sanibel for a concert performance featuring the music of Lerner & Loewe. She will also be performing the roles of Doria and the Young Woman in the world premiere of Giacomo’s Muse with Barn Opera.

Other noted engagements include Adele (Die Fledermaus) with Mississippi Opera, Salt Marsh Opera, and VOX New England; Mabel (Pirates of Penzance) with Festival South and Mercury Opera Rochester; Queen of the Night (The Magic Flute) with Salt Marsh Opera and the Boston Lyric Opera Tour; Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro) with Mississippi Opera; the title role in Lakmé and Monika/Girl (The Medium/Trouble in Tahiti) with Connecticut Concert Opera and multiple performances with the former Connecticut Opera including Frasquita in Carmen, Gianetta in L’Elisir d’Amore, Elvira in L’Italiana in Algeri, Nella in Gianni Schicchi, Despina in Così Fan Tutte, Blondchen in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, and Zerlina in Don Giovanni.

Among her many concert performances, she has performed as soprano soloist in the Verdi Requiem with The

Chorus of Westerly and Capella Cantorum; Haydn’s Creation with Capella Cantorum, Handel’s Messiah with Music Worcester, Samson, Mozart’s Carmina Burana, and Rutter’s Mass of the Children with the Falmouth Chorale; Mozart's Coronation Mass and Vesperae Solennes de Confessore as well as Faure’s Requiem with the Farmington Valley Chorale, and has appeared in several concert events with the Hartford Symphony and Worcester Youth Symphony Orchestra.

When she’s not singing opera, Ms. Callinan is a frequent soloist with Dan Gabel and The Abletones, an

authentic 18-piece Big Band, as well as The High Society Orchestra, a 1920s hot jazz orchestra. In 2019 she

was honored to sing with The Abletones for Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker’s second inaugural, and is

featured on their recent Christmas album By the Fireside. Ms. Callinan is also the leader of the new Moon

Maids, a vintage vocal group that was originally founded in 1945 and performed with Vaughn Monroe and his

orchestra.

Ms. Callinan made her first international appearance after winning the Jenny Lind Competition, which included a recital tour in Sweden. She is a 2009 and 2010 Metropolitan Opera National Council Audition Regional Finalist and was also awarded first prize in the Connecticut Opera Guild Competition, first prize winner and winner of the “Most Promising Coloratura” award in the Amici Competition with Opera Theater of Connecticut, a finalist in the Bel Canto Vocal Scholarship Competition, finalist in the Mezzo Opera Competition in Szeged, Hungary, won second prize at the Peter Elvins Vocal Competition, and was a quarterfinalist in the 2019 American Traditions Vocal Competition in Savannah, Georgia.

Ms. Callinan, a native of Worcester, MA, attended the Hartt School of Music, graduated Magna cum laude from the University of Connecticut with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music and a Performer’s Certificate in Voice. In addition to her performance schedule, she is also a private voice instructor at Worcester State University, The Hanover Conservatory and The Joy of Music Program in Worcester. She is a proud alumna of the former Holy Name High School, where she served as Choral Director and Theater Arts teacher from 2015-2020.

Boston-based soprano, Elaine Daiber, has been heralded for her “spectacular vocalism” (Hudson Housatonic Arts), which has garnered much acclaim on the operatic, concert, and recital stages. This season, Elaine looks forward to a recital with pianist JJ Penna as part of the Music at the Redeemer Concert Series, a return to Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts as a soloist in their Holiday Musicale series, soloist in Arnold Schoenberg’s String Quartet No.2 with the Newburyport Chamber Music Festival, and competing as a semifinalist in the Washington International Competition for Voice this May. Performance highlights from last season season include engagements with The Rome Chamber Music Festival in Italy as a soloist in a recital centered around American song, soprano soloist in Haydn’s Die Schöpfung with the Dartmouth College Handel Society and Glee Club, and in recital with JJ Penna in a performance of Messiaen's rarely heard song cycle, Harawi. A lover of new music, Elaine has spent summers at The Yellow Barn Chamber Music Festival where she has appeared in recital with famed pianist Gil Kalish, and also performed works by György Ligeti, Earl Kim, Claude Vivier, and György Kurtág. Additional highlights from recent seasons include participation in a concert of Bach arias and duets with Emmanuel Music, role debuts as Elle in a production of Poulenc’s La voix humaine and Ilia in Mozart’s Idomeneo in Boston’s Jordan Hall, and recital appearances as the soprano soloist in Bach’s Magnificat with Counterpoint Concerts in Chattanooga, TN, as a featured soloist in the US premiere of Helen Grime’s Bright Travellers in a Boston Symphony Orchestra Prelude, in a concert of new works by women composers with NYFOS Next, and as a Schwab Vocal Rising Start at Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts. Other engagements have seen the versatile soprano in a variety of performances with The Tanglewood Music Center, The Bard Music Festival, The New York Festival of Song, The Orchestra Now, and the Albany Symphony, among others. Elaine holds degrees from Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Bard Conservatory of Music, and New England Conservatory of Music. www.elainedaiber.com.

Lyric Bass Fred Furnari came to singing while mid-career as a Registered Nurse. Under the tutelage of his mentor, Dan Sullivan, he began his singing career by singing the role of Sarastro in Des Moines Metro Opera’s Opera Iowa tour, and was awarded placement in that company’s prestigious Apprentice Artist program for two consecutive years. After studying for an Artist Diploma on a full scholarship at the Hartt School, he was awarded a scholarship to study at University of Cincinnati’s Opera Theater and Music Festival of Lucca (Italy). Fred went on to sing such roles as Commendatore and Alcindoro with Crested Butte Music Festival and Sparafucile, Simone and Un Vieillard Hébreu at Saint Petersburg Opera Company, Florida. Fred now studies with teacher Sharon Daniels and coach Timothy Steele. More locally, he has performed the roles of Timur at Middlebury Opera Company, Basilio and Alcindoro at Barn Opera, and many roles at Longwood opera. In addition to singing as the Bass soloist in numerous concert performances, Fred is in regular rotation in Boston Lyric Opera’s chorus. He was selected by BLO to sing the the roles of The Jailer, as well as Zuniga in their groundbreaking production of “Carmen On The Common”. Fred lives with his partner Steve in Roslindale, Massachusetts. When he is not singing, he can be found cycling back roads of New England with Steve, growing tomatoes and dahlias in his garden, or “In Cucina” learning new cooking and Barbecue techniques.

Soprano Meredith Hansen has been praised for her “creamy tone” (Boston Globe) and “ravishing” performances (Boston Musical Intelligencer) on opera and concert stages around the world. Jumping in last minute as Fiordiligi in Opera in Williamsburg’s Cosi fan tutte in 2022 marked her return to the opera stage in the wake of the Global Pandemic and was quickly followed that year by her debut with the Helena Symphony in Mozart’s iconic Requiem and as Contessa Almaviva (cover) with the Handel and Haydn Society.

Hansen’s brilliant lyric soprano is matched by the instincts of a true singing actress. Opera News called her performance as Beatrice in Boston Lyric Opera’s production of The Inspector (Premier) both “moving” and “beautiful,” while Boston Musical Intelligencer wrote, “The real vocal star of this production is Meredith Hansen singing Beatrice, a serious character (with corresponding writing) in a comic work. Hansen demonstrated her mastery of both serious and comic genres in this role.

Hansen’s 2019-20 pre-COVID19 season opened with Symphony New Hampshire’s Opera Gala, with selections from La Traviata, Rusalka and La Bohème. 2020 cancellations due to COVID19 included Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with Atlanta Master Chorale, and Mendelssohn’s Elijah with Back Bay Chorale, Boston.

Hansen joined the Metropolitan Opera roster in 2012 and has returned for several seasons.

A fixture in Boston’s classical music scene, Hansen regularly performs with the BSO (Elijah, Beethoven Choral Fantasy, Elektra) in Boston, Carnegie Hall and Tanglewood. Hansen was a Boston Lyric Opera Emerging Artist and has performed often with the company in recent seasons in both mainstage and concert productions

A Richard Tucker Foundation Career Grant nominee, Ms. Hansen participated in the final rounds of the 45th Annual Francisco Viñas Singing Contest in Barcelona, Spain, and awarded First Place in the Charles Lynam Competition, the Violetta DuPont Vocal Competition, and the Opera Birmingham Competition (also Audience Favorite). She has been a Regional Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions; was a recipient of the Stephen Shrestinian Award for Excellence from Boston Lyric Opera; and has received grant support from the Gerda Lissner Foundation and the Career Bridges Foundation.

Praised by Broadway World as “a compelling actor” with a “rich and powerful bass voice,” James Harrington is a versatile artist whose performance credits span the jazz, pop, orchestral, and opera stages. A former Apprentice Singer at Santa Fe Opera, he made his company debuts in Strauss’ Capriccio and Puccini’s La fanciulla del West, and has also appeared on the main stages at Portland Opera, Nashville Opera, Opera New Jersey, Opera Idaho, Opera in the Heights, and St. Petersburg (FL) Opera, among others. His 2022-23 season includes Sarastro in The Magic Flute with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Tom in Un ballo in maschera with Buffalo Opera Unlimited, and Hunding in Act I of Die Walküre in recital at SUNY Fredonia. He was a Paul J. Collins Wisconsin Distinguished Fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is the author of Building a Career in Opera from School to Stage: Operapreneurship (Routledge, 2020), an introduction to the opera industry for aspiring singers. He is currently Assistant Professor of Voice at SUNY Fredonia.

Luisamaria Hernandez is a Dominican-American soprano vocalist and storyteller based in Boston. Her commitment to community building and connection have made curated recitals, operas, and writing key parts of her art making. Luisamaria has made Latin American, Caribbean, and Spanish art music the center of her storytelling and performance practice. Highly anticipated engagements include her librettist debut in “Prisoner of Mercy”, in which she sings the role of Broken. Recently, she sang her debut recital as an Emerging Artist with Florida Lyric Opera and sang in “Le Damnation du Faust” with BYSO. Recital engagements in Florida, Boston, and Santo Domingo round out her season. Her experiences as a Sphinx Connect Fellow and Sistema Side-by-Side Instructor have been integral to her work as she strives to tell stories that will reach those who need it most.

Praised by The Boston Globe for her "elegant singing" and "polish," soprano Kathryn McKellar has distinguished herself as a "visually and vocally stunning performer" (Classical Music Intelligencer) who "brings palpable emotional power to her performances" (Boston Arts Review) in Opera, Musical Theater, and Concert alike.

Kathryn has performed extensively with some of Boston’s most beloved companies, including

Boston Lyric Opera, Lyric Stage Company of Boston, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, and The Boston Pops. She recently made her Opera Theater Cape Cod debut as Micaela in Tragedie de Carmen and received special praise from The Boston Globe for her creation of the role of Lina Cavalieri in Divas, a new theater work by Laura Neil produced by OperaHub. This spring season includes performances as a Celestial Voice in La Damnation de Faust with Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra and soloist in Aerials at deCordova Museum. Kathryn sits on the Board of the Boston Opera Alliance and is the founder and general director of Opera on Tap Boston.

As an active chamber musician, Kathryn has performed with Musicians of the Old Post Road, Purcell Society of Boston, Juventas New Music, Gamut Vocal Quartet, Lorelei Ensemble, and Groupmuse. She holds awards from the Peter Elvins Vocal Competition, MetroWest Opera Competition, Shreveport Opera Competition and was the winner of the American Opera Idol Competition Emerging Artist Award. Other appearances include Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Fiordiligi in Così Fan Tutte, Adina in L’Elisir d’amore, Cosette in Les Miserables, Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, Violetta in La Traviata, Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, and Poppea in L'Incoronazione di Poppea. She received her Master of Music from the Boston Conservatory where she was a member of the Opera Studio and received 1st place in the Conservatory's Chamber Music Competition.

Born in Dallas, Texas, Kathryn currently resides in Somerville, Ma with her husband and two children. For more information, please visit www.kathrynmckellar.com

Originally from Marietta, Georgia, Emma Robertson is a soprano living in Boston, MA. She holds a masters degree in Vocal Performance from the New England Conservatory of Music and a bachelors degree in Music Performance from the University of Georgia.

While juggling school and part-time work, Ms. Robertson was enrolled in the Vinceró Online Vocal Academy. She had the privilege of studying three roles: Adina, Susanna, and Musetta, the latter for which she was offered partial scholarship. She has been working with such notable instructors as Abdiel Vàzquez, Stefano de Peppo, and Irina Meachem. She also took part in masterclasses and seminars with Angel Blue, Pretty Yende, Craig Rutenburg, Ana de Archuleta, and Gerardo Kleinburg. Emma made her Carnegie Hall Debut with the program in January 2023.

In the summer of 2022, she performed the role of the Baker’s Wife from Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods with the North End Music and Performing Arts Center and the Boston Festival Orchestra. In 2021, Ms. Robertson was a studio artist with Opera Maine, where she performed in the ensemble of L’Élisir d’amore and covered the role of Gianetta. In 2019, she won the Kay and Jimmy Garrison Student Grand Prize at the Orpheus Vocal Competition, which gave her necessary scholarship and funding to attend the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria later that summer.

Soprano Yoonjeong Yoo is a native of Incheon, South Korea. Yoonjeong is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at University of Connecticut studying with Dr. Constance Rock and is a graduate teaching assistant. She is an alumna of New England Conservatory in Boston, and Mannes School of Music in New York. She sang the role of Amore in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice with Camerata New York Orchestra. At NEC, she played Queen of the Night in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte and Ruth in John Musto’s Later the Same Evening. She was the winner of the 2020 Orpheus Competition Bel Canto Award, a finalist in the 2018 Classical Singer Competition, and was an Apprentice Artist at the 2019 Nahant Music Festival. She also participated in the 2019 Martina Arroyo Prelude program in New York, covering Adele in Strauss' Die Fledermaus. She earned her Bachelor of Music degree from Sookmyung Women's University in South Korea.

Timothy Steele is an active vocal coach, collaborative pianist, and conductor, and has taught for twenty-nine years on the opera faculty at New England Conservatory. He has conducted for outreach tours with the Boston Lyric Opera and is a former music director for Opera Providence. He has served as assistant conductor/pianist for over 190 productions with twenty-five opera companies, including Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Boston Lyric Opera, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra, Wolf Trap Opera, Central City Opera, and Opera Maine. He assisted with the Pulitzer Prize winning opera MADAME WHITE SNAKE for productions in Boston and Taiwan and the OUROBOROS TRILOGY in 2016, and for three years collaborated with WaterFire-Providence on a unique and popular series of opera evenings. For the last eight years he has been music director at First Parish of Milton-UU and producer of Milton Community Concerts. In Boston he has performed with Emmanuel Music, the Handel and Haydn Society, and the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, among others.

Flourishing mezzo-soprano Grace Allendorf is known for her “creamy timbre, evenness of color and coloratura agility.” A consummate musician, she is dedicated to performing opera, oratorio, art song, musical theatre, and new music. Grace made her debut with Opera 51 as a member of the chorus in their production of Faust and she performed the role of Dew Fairy in Hansel and Gretel with Longwood Opera. She has shared the stage as a soloist with Concord Community Chorus, Coro Allegro, Andover Choral Society, Metropolitan Wind Symphony, Freisinger Chamber Orchestra, and Spectrum Singers. She was honored to premiere the role of Lilac Fairy in Sleeping Beauty by Francine Trester as a second-year apprentice in the Nahant Music Festival in 2014. Other premieres include works by Charles Tarver, Josh Hummel, and Dominick DiOrio.

Grace has been a core member of Ensemble Lyrae since its formation in 2016. The pianist and three vocalists seek to illuminate musical works often unknown or under-played. They also premiere cutting-edge pieces written specifically for the Ensemble, including works by Vartan Aghababian, Charles Tarver, Brian John, and Eva Kendrick.

Grace holds the position of Associate Director of Community Performances and Partnerships at New England Conservatory, a community service based program designed to connect students with the community. Her role there has reinvigorated her passion for giving back to the community through music. She has performed solo recitals at a number of senior care facilities including Fuller Village, Needham Council on Aging, Chestnut Hill Benevolent Association, Café Emmanuel, and Hale House.

Grace currently serves as a section leader and soloist at First Parish in Milton and as a cantor at St. Richard's Parish in Danvers. She holds a Master’s Degree in Vocal Performance from Longy School of Music and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music with a minor in Theatre Arts from Brandeis University. She is a student of Jayne West and has participated in master classes with Ryan Turner, Sharon Daniels, James Maddalena, David Kravitz, Martin Katz, Sondra Kelly, and Sheri Greenawald.

Grace belongs to Beyond Artists, a coalition of artists that pledge a portion of their concert fees to organizations they care about and therefore publicize the nonprofit’s work. With every performance she supports Norwood Circle of Hope, established to support Norwood residents who need assistance due to a catastrophic medical occurrence.

www.graceallendorf.com.

Boston-based soprano and contemporary music specialist, Tamara Ryan, is known for her nuanced and sensitive portrayals of women experiencing and responding to trauma and loss. Hailed by the Boston Globe as a "breathtakingly solid soprano" and by the Cleveland Plain Dealer as “fearless," she has appeared in recent seasons as Sibyl Vane in Lowell Liebermann's The Picture of Dorian Gray, Stephanie in Jake Heggie's To Hell and Back, Madame de Tourvel in Conrad Susa's The Dangerous Liaisons, Sonny in Dan Visconti's Permadeath, Almera in Nico Muhly's Dark Sisters, Older Alyce in Tom Cipullo’s Glory Denied, and in the title role of Dominick Argento's Miss Havisham's Wedding Night. Last Fall, she returned to the traditional repertoire (and in-person performance!) as Violetta in a daring, immersive production of Verdi’s La Traviata.