The Binghamton Community Orchestra (BCO) welcomes Guest Conductor Evan Meccarello and Mezzo-Soprano Jessica Best for our Winter Concert on Saturday, February 29, 2020 at 7:00 pm at the Binghamton East Middle School Auditorium.
The BCO concert opens with the overture to the opera “Fidelio,” the second of three offerings of the Beethoven Project in collaboration with the Binghamton Philharmonic, part of a year-and-a-half celebration of Ludwig van Beethoven’s 250th birthday. Also on the concert are Alexander Borodin’s Petite Suite, a selection from Maurice Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite, and contemporary composer Stephanie Berg’s A Study in Red. Ms. Best will join the orchestra in highlights from Georges Bizet’s “Carmen.”
The opening and final selections on the program, “Fidelio” and “Carmen,” explore themes of passion and freedom – “both feature strong women characters navigating a dangerous world, seeking justice in one case, and independence in the other, with very different outcomes,” said Conductor Evan Meccarello. Mezzo-soprano Best will sing Carmen selections in French, with English synopses provided.
In between these selections, the orchestra will play Borodin’s “Petite Suite,” evocative of late 19th century Russia, and Maurice Ravel’s lush and shimmering “Fairy Garden from Mother Goose.” The contemporary composer Berg’s “A Study in Red,” as a prelude to the Carmen highlights, sets a Habanera theme within the swirling rhythms of tango.
Guest Conductor Evan Meccarello is committed to new explorations in classical music and to bringing great works to communities across the Northeast. From his home base in Rochester New York, Meccarello has served as Conductor of the Nazareth College Chamber Orchestra, is Assistant Conductor of the Nazareth College Symphony Orchestra, Conductor of the Irondequoit Community Orchestra, Conductor of the Thames Valley Youth Symphony Orchestra, and is Vice President of the Keuka Lake Music Festival. In the past two summers his conducting has taken him to Ukraine and Bulgaria. Meccarello also hosts the radio show Soundspace on WAYO-LP Rochester, where he champions modern and contemporary classical music, and he is the violinist of the Argentine Tango duo, Uptown Tango.
Recently on stage with Syracuse Opera, Mezzo-Soprano Jessica Best has performed all over the country, not only in opera and musical theater, but also in concert, in oratorio, as a recitalist, and frequently in jazz venues. She has appeared with the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Florida Orchestra, the Santa Fe Opera, Opera Tampa, Gotham Chamber Opera, Helena Symphony, Nickel City Opera, and Finger Lakes Opera, to name a few. She has debuted roles in numerous opera premieres, such as Mrs. Otis and Madeline in Gordon Getty’s The Canterville Ghost and Usher House at LA Opera, the Stepmother in Anton Coppola’s Lady Swanwhite (Opera Tampa), and many others.
Ms. Best made her debut with Syracuse Opera this month as Old Woman in Bernstein’s Candide, and she will appear later this season with the New Jersey Festival Orchestra, the Miami Classical Music Festival, and the New York State Ballet. She frequently tours with Velvet Caravan, an award-winning Savannah-based “gypsy-jazz” ensemble. With this group she has appeared at the Iridum Jazz club in New York City and the Savannah Music Festival. Best has been a featured artist with the Savannah Music Festival and Savannah Voice Festival, where she directs Camp VOICE, overseeing the program while teaching and doing stage direction.
The Binghamton Community Orchestra invites you to join us on February 29 at 7:00 pm at Binghamton East Middle School Auditorium. The school is located at 167 E. Frederick Street, Binghamton, NY. Tickets for the concert are available at the door.
Adults – $12
Seniors/students – $10
Children 12 and under are admitted for free.
CALENDAR LISTINGS
The Binghamton Community Orchestra Winter Concert
Saturday, February 29, 2020; 7:00 pm; Binghamton East Middle School Auditorium; tickets at door $10-12, (12 and under free)
The BCO is grateful for the support of our corporate sponsors, Weis Markets and S.E.E.D. Planning Group.
This project is made possible with public funds from the Chenango Arts Council’s Decentralization Program, a re-grant program of the NYS Council on the Arts, with support from Governor Cuomo and the NYS Legislature.
