10th Annual Sing For Their Supper

Saturday, January 25th

On Saturday, January 25 at 7pm, Milton Community Concerts will present the tenth annual “Sing For Their Supper” benefit concert at the First Parish Church of Milton, 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 singers: sopranos Erin Anderson, Laura McHugh, Nicola Santoro, and Hannah Shanefield; contralto Emily Geller; countertenor Ricky Lee Owens, Jr.; tenors Michael Gonzalez, Robert Kleinertz, and Christopher Remkus, and baritone Juan Suarez. Special guest singers will be Tamara Ryan, Emily Tweedy, and Grace Allendorf. They will be assisted by pianist Timothy Steele.

The singers for this concert have come to Boston from all over the US. They have appeared with many local performing organizations in town, and many have performance degrees from the city’s most prominent music schools. They have distinguished careers as opera singers, recitalists, and concert artists.

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 free parking available, and the venue is accessible. In case of a winter storm the concert will be moved to Saturday, February 1 at 7pm.

This concert is supported by a grant from the Milton Cultural Council (a part of the Massachusetts Cultural Council) and many private donations.

Sing For Their Supper 10 Program

Artist Headshots and Bios

Erin Anderson is a versatile performing artist, equally at home on Musical Theater, Opera, and Concert stages. She is known for her captivating stage presence, expressive musicianship, and brilliant high notes. Some favorite performances include: Phoebe D’Ysquith (A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder) at Marblehead Little Theater, The Witch (Into The Woods) and Adele (Die Fledermaus) with NEMPAC Opera Project, Anne (A Little Night Music) with Arlington Friends of the Drama, Valencienne (The Merry Widow) with VOX New England, Cunegonde (Candide) and Sophie (Der Rosenkavalier) with Lowell House Opera, Despina (Cosi Fan Tutte), Mabel (ThePirates of Penzance), and Laurie (Oklahoma!) with Riverside Theater Works. Erin is a member of the professional choral ensemble at First Church in Boston, and a performing member of the board of Opera on Tap Boston.

Lauded for her "lower extension that has to be heard to be believed," NYC-based contralto Emily Geller is establishing herself as a singer to watch. 2024/25 season performances include a return to Pacific Opera Project as Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus, the Marquise of Berkenfield in La fille du régiment with Opera Company of Middlebury, Second Lady in a new projection-based production of The Magic Flute with Tri-Cities Opera and LUMA Arts Festival, Ježibaba in Rusalka with Gulfshore Opera, the Marquise of Berkenfield in La fille du régiment with Opera Santa Barbara, and Mrs. Cripps in H.M.S. Pinafore in a co-production with Opera Las Vegas and Pacific Opera Project. Her 2022/23 performances include Mrs. Quickly in Falstaff and Zita in Gianni Schicchi with Salt Marsh Opera, Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance with Pacific Opera Project, Benoît/Alcindoro in La bohème with Newport Classical, and Suzuki in Madama Butterfly with Teatro Lirico d’Europa (US Tour).

Equally at home with new music, Emily performed Elder Constance in Matthew Aucoin’s chamber opera Second Nature with Opera Fayetteville, Scholar in John Austin’s Heloise and Abelard with Center for Contemporary Opera, and Wife in Richard Wargo’s The Music Shop with Opera on the James. She garnered rave reviews for creating the role of Sylvia, an image obsessed Hollywood mother, in the world premiere of Chunky in Heat with Experiments in Opera and Contemporaneous as a part of New York Opera Festival, directed by Alison Moritz and conducted by David Bloom. Opera News singled her out for the "layers of complexity" she brought to her character.

Since 2022, Emily appeared in numerous concerts, including Brahms’s Alto Rhapsody and Elgar’s The Music Makers with Cappella Cantorum, Brahms’s Alto Rhapsody with the Mendelssohn Glee Club of New York City, Handel’s Messiah and Mozart’s Requiem with Taconic Opera, and a concert at the Pasadena Tournament of Roses House with the Rose Parade. Other notable concert soloist work includes Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Bach's Weihnachts-Oratorium and Schwingt freudig euch empor, Duruflé’s Requiem, and Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb with companies across the United States. Upcoming concerts for the 2024 season include the Contralto soloist in Honegger’s King David with the Westchester Oratorio Society and Alto soloist in Vivaldi’s Gloria and Saint-Saëns’s Oratorio de Noël with the Putnam Chorale.

As a two-year Resident Artist with Tri-Cities Opera, she performed Prince Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus), Mercédès (Carmen), Lola (Cavalleria rusticana) and Ines (Il trovatore). After covering Marthe (Faust) at St. Petersburg Opera, she was invited back as a Principal Artist, appearing as Alma Hix and covering Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn (The Music Man). As an audience favorite, Emily returned to Opera North several times, performing Ma Moss (The Tender Land), Hattie (Kiss Me, Kate), Oreste (La belle Hélène), and Mrs. Jones (Street Scene), where she was described as “dangerously close to stealing the show with her effortless comic delivery."

Emily holds a Bachelor’s of Music in Vocal Performance from New England Conservatory under the Ruth S. Morse Scholarship and a Master of Music in Opera from Binghamton University with a full assistantship.

Tenor, Michael González praised as “visually and sonically stunning” and revered for his “beautiful tenor voice” being the "aural equivalent of silk" … “González has a bright, forward tone and enunciates well” (BMI). González has been quickly emerging on the scene in everything from Opera, Solo, and Choral performance. In González’s solo career he has recently performed at the National Opera Center in New York, in an opera recital series. New York Reviewers calling Michael “one of the evening’s best” and as an emerging artist “predicting he will go far” (New York Concert Review). González was also seen recently spearheading as the Tenor Soloist for the World Premiere of Richard J. Clark’s TE DEUM, a five-movement work for orchestra, soloists, and choir which was commissioned for the Fiftieth Anniversary of Francis Bardot’s Chœr d’Enfants d’île-de-France. This performance took place at the stunning L’Eglise de Saint François de Sales in Paris, France.

In González’s choral engagements he serves as Lead Tenor of the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Boston. González can be heard as the Tenor on the Album “From the Bell Tower” released in 2021 featuring the quartet of the Boston Cathedral Singers. “From The Bell Tower” was up for Grammy Nomination; For Your Consideration in five categories, and can be streamed on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon Music.

González' credits continue in a series of competitive circuits; most recently competing in the Boston District and Puerto Rico District of the Metropolitan Opera Competition. González has also seen success in the Piccolo Opera Idol – Finalist and Contract Winner, Schmidt Vocal Competition – First Prize/Gold Medal, Classical Singer Competition- Finalist, Young Arts – Silver Medalist.

González’s performances credits range across a variety of locations across the U.S. and several international programs including, most recently, the American Institute of Musicals Studies in Graz, Austria and Artes Italia in Florence, Italy, and Berlin Opera Academy in Berlin, Germany.

With over a decade in performance credits; some of González's notable roles are Samson - Handel's Samson, Fritz - L'amico Fritz, Colonel Fairfax – Yeomen of the Guard, Frederic – Pirates of Penzance, Satyavān – Savitri, ‘Barigoule’ – Cendrillon, Aeneas – Dido and Aeneas, Albert – Albert Herring and Don Ottavio – Don Giovanni, Huntsman - Venus and Adonis, Monostatos - Magic Flute. In addition to his operatic work Michael also maintains an active partnership in performing with the Parlor Opera Players, the Boston Cathedral Choir, Choral Artist of Carmel (CA), Long Island School of the Arts (NY), and several other organization across the US.

Michael González is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music, having received his master’s and bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance with a focus in Opera. His tutelage extends to vocalists Michael Meraw (NEC), Angela Gooch (Walnut Hill), Carol Caselle (New World School of the Arts), Gustav Halle (AIMS), Wayne Rivera (HART School), Lawrence Brownlee (Masterclass). Notable Coaches: Tim Steele, Damien Karzyzek, Felix Jarrar, Timothy Hoekman.

Robert Kleinertz is an up-and-coming tenor from Hopewell Junction, NY. Mr. Kleinertz attended SUNY Fredonia and earned both a bachelor’s of music education and of vocal performance. He then went on to teach two years in New York public schools as a high school and elementary school music teacher. Mr. Kleinertz is currently pursuing his master’s in opera performance at Boston Conservatory at Berklee. Recently, Mr. Kleinertz made a role debut at Lincoln Center as Tebaldo in Bellini’s I Capuleti e I Montecchi with Teatro Nuovo. Mr. Kleinertz has appeared with them before as Nearco in Donizetti’s Poliuto. Mr. Kleinertz is an avid performer in Boston, he could recently be seen around Boston as Lysander in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Tenor in Petterson’s Voir Dire, and Tapioca in Chambrier’s L’Étoile at Boston Conservatory Opera. Mr. Kleinertz has sung as a soloist with notable orchestras such as the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Northern Dutchess Symphony Orchestra, and recently as the tenor soloist in Rossini’s Stabat Mater with the Western New York Chamber Orchestra. Next in his season, Mr. Kleinertz will be performing with the Boston Conservatory Opera as Ferrando in Mozart’s Così fan tutte and make a company debut with Danté Opera in Cambridge as Roberto in Puccini’s Le Villi. Mr. Kleinertz currently resides in Boston with his cat Beef, who helps him prepare for all his roles.

Laura McHugh, a “jaw-droppingly talented” (The Boston Globe) soprano “ready for heavenly ascent” (Boston Musical Intelligencer) lauded for her “superb, floating” sound (Melrose Free Press) recently won 1st Place in the Classical Singer National Competition, 1st Place in the Vermont Vocal Competition, and 2nd Place in Classical Idol (VOX New England). Known for her penchant for “hilarious interpretation” (Voce di Meche), she recently created comedic roles in two World Premiere Operas: The Reaper in Reap What You Soul (a ‘90s pop-diva inspired take on the Angel of Death) and Hannah in Non Motus (who panics when nature inevitably calls during an extended traffic jam). Continuing to make her mark in the realm of contemporary opera, Laura has also appeared in John Corigliano’s The Lord of Cries (nominated for the 2024 GRAMMY Award - Best Opera Recording), Tobias Picker’s Awakenings (Rose cover/East Coast Premiere/recording), and Dominick Argento’s The Voyage of Edgar Allan Poe (Mrs. Poe cover/recording).

Operatic roles include the titular roles in Rusalka, Suor Angelica, and Gräfin Mariza, as well as Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte), Mimì and Musetta (La bohème), Countess Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro), Giulietta (Les contes d’Hoffmann), Vitellia (La clemenza di Tito), and Micaëla and Frasquita (Carmen). She recently made her European and Wagnerian debuts in a touring production of Die Walküre in Sweden. Oratorio credits include Beethoven Symphony No. 9, Mozart Requiem, Brahms Ein Deutsches Requiem, Vivaldi Gloria, and Handel Messiah.

A performer with strong musical theatre chops, she recently flexed her crossover muscles as Florinda in Into the Woods with Tulsa Opera, where she also served as a Filstrup Resident Artist. She recently appeared in Commonwealth Shakespeare Company’s inaugural Boston production of A Christmas Carol as Mrs. Fezziwig. This spring, she will appear as the Beggar Woman in Opera51’s Sweeney Todd.

Ricky Lee Owens, Jr, countertenor, from Dallas, Texas, is currently pursuing a Graduate Diploma from the New England Conservatory of Music where is a student of Professor Bradley Williams. He most recently graduated with a Masters of Music Degree with a concentration in Vocal Performance- Opera from Carnegie Mellon University where he was a student of Professor Sari Gruber. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music with a concentration in Vocal Performance at Prairie View A & M University, where he was a student of Dr. Jammieca D. Mott. He has extended his academic performance scope to sing the roles of Caio Silla in Vivaldi’s Ottone in Villa and ensemble work in Craig Johnsons’s Considering Matthew Shepherd. He has performed the partial roles of Giulio Cesare in Handel’s Giulio Cesare, Oberon in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Sesto in Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito, Orfeo in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice and Rinaldo in Handel’s Rinaldo. He has participated in programs such as, SongFest, Lonestar Kingwood Summer Opera Workshop, Bayview Summer Spiritual Intensive, as well as the inaugural class of Los Angeles Opera’s HBCU Opera Career Comprehensive, under the tutelage of Tenor, Russell Thomas. Mr. Owens has competed in the 105 Voices of History Solo Vocal Competition where he placed as a finalist and has most recently announced a winner of the Boston District for the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition 2024-2025. Mr. Owens’ concert work includes, alto soloist for the Carnegie Mellon University School of Music Philharmonic Orchestra’s performance of Vivaldi’s Gloria and countertenor soloist for the Dallas Pegasus Concert Society in Come ye sons of art by Purcell. Mr. Owens covered the trailblazing countertenor John Holiday for the role of John Blue at Pittsburgh Opera Company, in the Opera We Shall Not be Moved by Danielle Roumain. Mr. Owens has curated and performed a concert in collaboration with Pittsburgh Festival Opera. He has participated in Masterclasses with Lawrence Brownlee, Martin Katz, Roger Vignoles, Nicole Cabell and Jamie Barton. Mr. Owens is excited to further his career within this art form and aspires to take on the world one stage at a time.

Tenor Christopher Remkus has been recognized as a Vocal Artist dedicated to Opera and Chamber Music throughout New England. He has been a featured guest artist for a number of companies including MASSopera, Boston Opera Collaborative, White Snakes Projects, and Opera Company of Middlebury Vermont. A strong proponent of new operatic works, Christopher has debuted a number of world premieres including Mary D. Watkins’ “Is this America?” this past September, Mark Blitzstein’s “Sacco & Vanzetti” and “Keepers of the Light” at the Nahant Summer Music Festival. Christopher received his Graduate Diploma from New England Conservatory where he made his Jordan Hall debut in the title role in Leonard Bernstein’s “Candide.”

Christopherremkus.com

Soprano Nicola Santoro is quickly establishing herself as a foremost interpreter of contemporary music. She performed a world premiere of a song cycle as part of FUSE: Collaborations in Song with Catalyst New Music and joined Spoleto Festival USA for this summer’s season. She was also recently a featured soloist in a masterclass with composer Matthew Aucoin. Previously, she was an Apprentice Artist with the Chautauqua Opera Company and performed in Thumbprint (Annu) and The Mother of Us All (Lillian Russell), directed by Omer Ben Seadia and Keturah Stickann and conducted by Kristin Roach and Steven Osgood, respectively. She starred in the collegiate premiere of The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs (Chrisann Brennan) under the direction of Kevin Newbury and maestro Michael Christie. Previous credits also include Mrs. O’Malley/Ensemble (It’s a Wonderful Life), Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi), and Papagena (Die Zauberflöte). Concert repertoire has included Dvorak’s Stabat mater, Mozart’s Vesperae solennes de confessore, and Handel’s Messiah, most recently in addition to appearances with Opera on Tap Boston and Boston Opera Collaborative. In competition, she received the Encouragement Award in the Boston District of the Laffont Competition, was a prize winner in the National Society of Arts and Letters Competition two years in a row, and was a recipient of the Georgina Joshi International Fellowship. Nicola received her Master’s degree at Indiana University and her Bachelor’s degree at Westminster Choir College, where she studied with Carol Vaness and Nova Thomas, respectively. She currently studies privately with Dr. Lynn Eustis and resides in New York.

Boston-based soprano Hannah Shanefield earns enthusiastic acclaim on operatic, concert, and recital stages alike. This spring, Hannah looks forward to stage directing MassOpera's mainstage production of Händel's Alcina. Additionally, she will sing works by Beach, Bernstein, and Odaline de la Martinez in concerts with Horizon Ensemble and Analog by Choice. In 2024, she co-founded Boston Summer Opera, then stage directed and sang the role of Donna Anna in their inaugural production of Don Giovanni.

Other recent projects and performances include directing West End Lyric's double bill of Antonio Caldara's Il Giuoco del Quadriglio and J.S. Bach's Coffee Cantata, performing with Orchestra Without Borders, debuting the role of Suzel in West End Lyric's L'amico Fritz, and singing the soprano solo in Brahms's Ein deutsches Requiem with Arlington Street Church.

A diverse repertory enthusiast, Hannah is passionate about championing new music and the works of underrepresented composers. She has produced, programmed, and performed in several concerts featuring music by underserved artists.

A native of suburban Philadelphia, Hannah holds her Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the New England Conservatory and Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance with a minor in Music History from The Hartt School.

Baritone Juan Suarez, is a well established performer in the Boston area, performing frequently with organizations such as Odyssey Opera, MassOpera, Opera Del West, Boston Opera & Zarzuela, and the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras.

Notable engagements include world music premieres with Catalyst new music in collaboration with Poet Todd Hearon and Composer Jonathan Mitchell; and with Sparks & Wiry Cries in New York City, premiering an original poem set to music by Composer Laura Nevitt. Juan can also be heard singing in the chorus of Boston Modern Opera Project’s Grammy nominated recording of The Lord of Cries, written by composer John Corigliano and librettist Mark Adamo.

Recent and Upcoming engagements include performances as bass soloist in Camille Saint-Saëns’ Oratorio de Noël and G.F Handel’s Messiah, an upcoming role debut as Falke in Johann Strauss’ comic Operetta, Die Fledermaus, and his third consecutive production with the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras in their performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s Grand Opera, Don Carlos.

Juan holds Music Degrees from the New England Conservatory of Music and Stetson University.

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 American Classics, Chorus North Shore, 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. 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.

Tamara Ryan, soprano, is known for her nuanced and sensitive portrayals of women responding to trauma and loss--a calling that she pursues both as a Boston-based soprano and as the founder and General Director of Opera Fayetteville. 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 Stephanie in Jake Heggie's To Hell and Back, Madame de Tourvel in Conrad Susa's The Dangerous Liaisons, the title role in Dominick Argento’s Miss Havisham’s Wedding Night, Sonny in Dan Visconti's Permadeath, Almera in Nico Muhly's Dark Sisters, Older Alyce in Tom Cipullo’s Glory Denied, Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, First Lady in The Magic Flute, Soul in Sensorium Ex, and Violetta in La Traviata.

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.