Brandie Sutton
Soprano Brandie Sutton will be joining the Richmond Symphony under the baton of music director candidate Roderick Cox for performances of Samuel Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Op. 24, and Depuis le jour from the opera Louise by Gustave Charpentier as part of our Altria Masterworks 2 on October 26 – click here to purchase tickets.
We’re thrilled to announce that in addition to performing with the symphony, Brandie Sutton will teach a masterclass for student vocalists at Virginia Commonwealth University on Friday, October 25 from noon – 1:15 pm at the James W. Black Music Center recital hall at VCU. Students, parents, teachers, friends: all are invited to attend this very special event, which is free and open to the public.
Brandie Sutton – “Summertime” Lullabye, Seattle Opera, 2018
From Brandie’s Press Biography:
Hailed by The New York times for her “warm, ample voice” and “distinctive earthy coloring,” and by Opera News for her “sumptuos, mid-weight soprano,” Ms. Sutton first embraced classical music during her undergraduate studies at Oakwood University where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Music with a concentration in voice. She now holds a Master in Music degree from The Benjamin T. Rome School of Music at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
She began her professional career with a solo recital in the province of St. Maarten and many presentations of Handel’s Messiah around the United States. Ms. Sutton then later made her debut at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in a solo recital in Washington, D.C., and her Manhattan recital debut at Merkin Concert Hall in Lincoln Center. She has performed with the National Symphony Orchestra, Royal Danish Symphony Orchestra in Copenhagen, Denmark, the Radio Orpheus Symphony Orchestra in Moscow and the Krasnoyarsk Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra in the region of Siberia. Ms. Sutton has also toured and soloed with the internationally acclaimed American Spiritual Ensemble under the direction of Dr. Everett McCorvey and with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra under the baton of Damien Sneed.
MASTER CLASS with BRANDIE SUTTON, soprano
Friday, October 25 from noon – 1:15 pm
James W. Black Music Center
FREE and open to the public
Lonesome Man from Blue Mountain Ballads
Paul Bowles (1910-1999)
Jonathan Carr, bass-baritone
Jonathan Carr
Jonathan Carr is a double major at VCU, finishing up his Psychology and Music degrees in his last year of undergrad. After being involved in the campus through organizations such as VCU LEAD and the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs (OMSA), he has decided to put more focus on music. Within the music school he has been studying and making strides under the tutelage of Cynthia Donnell as a bass-baritone for just under two years. After graduation, he hopes to take a year and continue growing in his musicianship, and afterwards move onto graduate school for music performance
The Crucifixion from Hermit Songs
Samuel Barber (1910-1981)
Kristen Melzer, mezzo-soprano
Kristen Melzer
Kristen Melzer is a senior music education student at VCU. Her intention post-graduation is to teach music in the public schools before studying conducting at the graduate level. She currently takes conducting lessons with Erin Freeman, vocal coaching with Melanie Kohn-Day, and previously studied private voice with James Smith-Parham for three years. Kristen holds many leadership positions in the department including Assistant Stage Manger for the opera department and Conducting Assistant for the Commonwealth Singers. When she is not studying or teaching, Kristen enjoys exploring the social scenes of Richmond.
Vedrai, carino from Don Giovanni
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Helena Ruiz-Nuckols, soprano
Helena Ruiz-Nuckols
Helena Ruiz-Nuckols is thrilled to have this opportunity to work with Brandie Sutton. Helena is a soprano and first year voice performance student at Virginia Commonwealth University studying under Michelle Gulick. She has four years of District Chorus experience, one year of All-State Chorus experience and was the 2017 Koste Classic Soloist Champion with “Think of Me” from Phantom of the Opera.
Embroidery Aria from Peter Grimes
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
Jasmin Ward, soprano
Jasmin Ward
Jasmin Ward is a senior at VCU where she studies vocal performance. Ms. Ward has performed Domine Deus with the Richmond symphony, ballet and VCU’s Commonwealth Singers in their production of Vivaldi’s Gloria. She has also performed in VCU Opera’s productions of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro and Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance. Ms. Ward studies voice under Cynthia Donnell and coaches under Melanie Khon Day.
Walter Bitner 