Our 2023-24 classical series concludes on May 4 and 5 with Johann Sebastian Bach’s transcendent Mass in B Minor, now considered one of the major achievements of Western classical music. Santa Cruz Symphony and Maestro Daniel Stewart will be joined by Cabrillo Symphonic Chorus, under the direction of Cheryl Anderson, and four incredible guest vocalists: contralto Sara Couden, soprano Hera Hyesang Park, bass-baritone Christian Pursell, and tenor Andrew Stenson.
Expect to be enraptured by the brilliance and theatricality of Bach's magnum opus and the rich, sonorous voices of our stellar performers. We invite you to celebrate this profoundly beautiful music with us!
Saturday, May 4 at 7:30 PM
Civic Auditorium in Santa Cruz
Pre-concert talk at 6:30 PM
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Sunday, May 5 at 2:00 PM
Henry J. Mello Center in Watsonville
Pre-concert talk at 1:00 PM
Led by Director Cheryl Anderson, the Cabrillo Symphonic Chorus has earned a stellar reputation at home in the Monterey Bay as well as internationally by performing in the finest concert halls in the USA and Europe. The group consistently evokes a sense of beauty and wonder with the lushness and fluidity of their technique. Named Santa Cruz’s Artist of the Year in 2018, Ms. Anderson has spent her musical career conducting choirs and orchestras around the world, in addition to performing as a professional soloist and chorister. She sang for years with Robert Shaw and was a Conducting Fellow and singer with Helmuth Rilling and the Oregon Bach Festival. Her leadership of the chorus and collaboration with Maestro Daniel Stewart will seamlessly unite the singers, the orchestra, and the music itself.
Praised by Opera News for her “unusually rich and resonant” voice, contralto Sara Couden is a premiere interpreter of operatic, chamber, and song repertoire. Her latest triumphs include a role debut in Dukas’ rarely-performed masterwork Ariane et barbe-bleue with West Edge Opera, as well as company debuts with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and the Charleston Symphony. Ms. Couden also recorded her debut solo album on the Steinway & Sons label. She has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Opera, the Seattle Symphony, St. Petersburg Opera, and many more venues, including music festivals, chamber music events, and operas around the world. A graduate of the Lindemann Young Artist Program at the Metropolitan Opera and an alumna of the Marlboro Music Festival, Ms. Couden holds degrees from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the Yale School of Music.
While Hera Hyesang Park has won rave reviews for her fine singing and stagecraft, there is much more to her artistry. The South Korean soprano’s cosmopolitan mindset and determination to challenge racism, discrimination, and stereotypes of all kinds are also essential elements in her approach to making music. Performing and recording are, for her, both acts of self-discovery and heartfelt, emotionally honest ways to connect with others. With an immaculate technique and seemingly infinite variety of tone colors, her lyric coloratura voice reflects the fearless nature of the Park performance style — always daring, never dull. Her rising-star status is supported by a series of critically acclaimed performances everywhere from the Metropolitan Opera to the Glyndebourne Festival. A graduate of Seoul National University and New York’s renowned Juilliard School of Music, Ms. Park has won prestigious prizes and awards around the world.
In describing bass-baritone Christian Pursell, Opera News said, “Whatever he sings, Pursell’s diction is a model of clarity, and his intriguingly dark voice is beautifully projected.” Mr. Pursell was the 4th Prize Winner and “Best Baritone” at the 61st Tenor Viñas International Vocal Competition in Spain in January 2024, and the 2nd Prize Winner at the 1st International Tebaldo-Gigli-Corelli Lyric Competition in Italy in March 2024. He specializes in a wide range of music, from baroque to bel canto to 21st-century modern, with principal credits in major opera houses worldwide. His 2024-25 season adds new roles to his repertoire: Leporello in Don Giovanni with Cincinnati Opera, Don Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Virginia Opera, a Carnegie Hall debut as Noah in The Grapes of Wrath with Master Voices, and Taddeo in L’Italiana in Algeria with Hawaii Opera Theater. Mr. Pursell travels in his vintage Airstream trailer with his six-year-old son, and he brings classical music to new audiences through his fursona “Chester The Geroo."
Lauded by The Wall Street Journal for his "vivid tenor that is both beautiful and full of raw feeling," tenor Andrew Stenson is a graduate of the Metropolitan Opera's Lindemann Young Artists Program. In addition to singing many of the standard lyric tenor roles, Mr. Stenson has created leading characters in two important world premieres. He left an indelible impression in An American Soldier with Opera Theater of St. Louis and in Bel Canto with Lyric Opera of Chicago, where he later returned to sing in Cosi Fan Tutte. Mr. Stenson has sung roles in Candide, The Magic Flute, Don Pasquale, The Barber of Seville, and many other works. Much in demand as a soloist in concert and oratorio repertoires, he has appeared with major opera companies, symphonies, and festivals worldwide, and has won top prizes in major vocal competitions.