Milton Community Concerts
at First Parish
Faces of Love
Sunday, November 8th at 2:00pm
On Sunday, November 8 at 2:00pm you will have a rare opportunity to hear, for the first time, the music for a new musical by local composer Carol Koffinke, called “Faces of Love”. This performance will be presented by Milton Community Concerts, and will take place in the historic Meetinghouse at First Parish Church of Milton-UU, 535 Canton Avenue. Admission is PAY AS YOU CAN, with a suggested donation of $25.
“Faces of Love” is a musical drama which explores characters who experience the many faces of love, including the beauty of unconditional love, the inspiration of timeless love, and the madness of obsessive love. Most of the show takes place in a tavern in rural California, where we meet both the workers and the regular customers who frequent the bar.
Featured singers in this production include sopranos Kathryn McKellar and Emily Tweedy, mezzo-sopranos Carrie Cheron and Grace Allendorf, tenor David Rivera Bozon, and baritones Graham Lin and Scott Ballantine. Pianist and musical direction by Timothy Steele.
Composer Carol Koffinke specializes in the composition of classical music, crossover classical, and choral music. She received The American Prize in Composition Award in 2022 for the large choral composition “Journey to God”. Also in 2022 she collaborated with Milton Community Concerts on the premiere of a work for choir, four soloists, and piano, called “Life”. She lives locally, has had two books published, two plays performed, and has written many poems which often provide the texts for her compositions. She studied music at Western Maryland College (now called McDaniel College). In 2024 she collaborated with award-winning tenor John Riesen on the formal release of the single “I Am Alive”.
Tickets for this event will be available at the door only; arrive early for best seating. Venue is accessible and free parking is plentiful.
Artist Headshots and Bios
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 American Classics, Milton Community Concerts, 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 Joshua Hummel, Carson Cooman, Vartan Aghababian, Charles Tarver, Brian John, and Eva Kendrick.
Grace holds the position of Administrative 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. 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.
Baritone, Scott Ballantine, has maintained a busy performing schedule in New England and across the United States. He recently made his Boston Symphony Hall debut as Dottore Grenvil with the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra and in 2022-23 will return to Opera for the Young as Figaro in The Barber of Seville. Equally at home in musical theatre, Ballantine was a festival artist with Utah Festival Opera, singing Oliver Hix in The Music Man and covering Captain Phoebus in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Additionally, he has worked with companies such as St. Petersburg Opera Company, Natchez Festival of Music, Dayton Opera, and Connecticut Lyric Opera. Ballantine has an affinity for contemporary opera - some of his favorite roles performed include Hannah Before in As One, Beau in Service Provider and the title role in Fantastic Mr. Fox. A native of Colorado, he left the mountain west in pursuit of his M.M. at The Boston Conservatory.
Please visit www.scottballantine.com to learn more.
Graham Lin is in the second year of his master's degree in voice at New England Conservatory under Bradley Williams. In 2024, he graduated from Oberlin Conservatory in the studio of Dr. Katherine Jolly, where he performed such roles as "Pandolfe" in Massenet's Cendrillon, "Sid" in Benjamin Britten's Albert Herring, and "Martino" in Rossini's L'Occasione fa il ladro. For Graham’s 2026-2027 season at New England Conservatory, he will perform as the “Wolf” in NEC’s traveling production of Little Red Riding Hood, “Perichaud” in Puccini’s La Rondine, as well as “Ariodate” in Handel’s Xerxes. He has recently performed with the Spokane Symphony Orchestra in their MusicFest Northwest Winner's concert, NEC's Art Song series, Liederabend, and sang the role of "Notaio" in NEC Opera Theater's production of Gianni Schicchi (Puccini) in 2026. Graham is also a native of the Chicagoland area and avid arts administrator.
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 performs regularly with some of Boston’s most beloved companies, including Boston Lyric Opera, Boston Baroque, The Boston Pops, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, Lyric Stage Company of Boston, and other leading New England arts organizations. In her Commonwealth Shakespeare Company debut as the Ghost of Christmas Past in A Christmas Carol, she was hailed as a “vocal standout,” with critics describing her performance as “ethereal and captivating” and highlighting her “stunning vocals.” The Boston Globe called her “jaw-droppingly talented.”
Kathryn’s operatic repertoire spans Baroque through contemporary works and includes Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte), Adina (L’elisir d’amore), Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro), Poppea (L’incoronazione di Poppea), Violetta (La traviata), Mimì (La bohème), Micaëla (Carmen), and Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi). Her performance as Micaëla with Cape Cod Opera and Greater Worcester Opera received particular acclaim, with the Telegram & Gazette praising her “radiant voice” and “a stage presence that demands attention.”
Kathryn is the Founding Artistic Director of Opera Untapped, a Boston-based nonprofit dedicated to presenting opera and vocal music in unexpected spaces and creating dynamic connections between artists and audiences. She holds a Master of Music from The Boston Conservatory, where she was a member of the Opera Studio and received first place in the Conservatory’s Chamber Music Competition. Originally from Dallas, Texas, Kathryn lives in Somerville, Massachusetts, with her husband and two children.
Kathryn is a longtime admirer of Carol Koffinke and Tim Steele and is grateful for the opportunity to work with them and share in their artistry.
Soprano Emily Tweedy has been hailed as “a delight”, “warm and inviting”, and Opera Today praised her voice for its “genuine beauty and control”. She is in demand for her clarity of tone and earnest interpretations, as well as her comedic instinct. Recent seasons included appearances as Gretel in Opera Louisiane’s Hansel and Gretel, Serpina in Painted Sky Opera’s retelling of La serva padrona, as well as her role debut as Susanna in Bel Cantanti Opera’s Le nozze di Figaro. A lover of new music as well, she had the privilege of singing in the world premiere of Francine Trester’s Keepers of the Light with Nahant Music Festival. Other appearances include artist Lee Mingwei’s Sonic Blossom at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Keiser’s Markuspassion with Nahant Music Festival, and Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the New England Brass Band.
Previous seasons have included engagements with Des Moines Metro Opera, Nashville Opera, Opera Saratoga, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, American Lyric Theater, Burnt Hills Oratorio Society, the Boston Art Song Society, and Boston’s Eureka Ensemble. A Georgia native, Ms. Tweedy currently resides in New England, where she earned the degree Master of Music at the New England Conservatory.
Timothy Steele is an active vocal coach, collaborative pianist, and conductor, and is currently in his thirty-fifth year on the opera faculty at New England Conservatory. He has conducted for outreach tours with the Boston Lyric Opera (more than 200 performances for school children) and is a former music director for Opera Providence. He has served as conductor/pianist for more than 225 operatic productions with 33 companies, including Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Boston Lyric Opera, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Wolf Trap Opera, Central City Opera, and Opera Maine. For workshops and rehearsals he assisted with the Pulitzer Prize-winning opera MADAME WHITE SNAKE in productions in Boston and Taiwan.
He has played for thousands of opera auditions and competitions, assisted as recording producer for two award-winning recordings, and as a vocal coach has worked with both young singers and seasoned professionals. He is currently the producer of Milton Community Concerts and is the music director/organist at historic First Parish Church in Milton, MA. In Boston he has performed with Emmanuel Music (where he played for a decade of weekly Bach cantatas), the Handel and Haydn Society, and the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, among others.
A native of Des Moines, Iowa, Timothy received his Bachelor of Music from Drake University and a Master of Music from the University of Southern California, where he studied collaborative piano with Gwendolyn Koldofsky.