A benefit concert for Help!ComeHome
Tuesday, June 19, 2018 @ 6pm
For over a decade, Help!ComeHome! has served US citizens throughout the nation from countless backgrounds, traditions, and socioeconomic stations. In spite of these differences, all of us stand united in the common thread of humanity. No matter what our background, each of us has experienced joy, pain, loss, love, the beauty of a cool breeze on a hot day, the comfort of a familiar face in a new and strange setting...
Please join us for an evening of music that celebrates these universal experiences and emotions. Featuring Bach, Beethoven, Strauss, Turina, Folk Jazz, and African American Spirituals. All proceeds from the concert will benefit Help!ComeHome! and the communities it serves throughout the US and Navajo Nation. For more information about Help!ComeHome! please visit www.helpcomehome.org
WHERE
Bemis Hall
15 Bedford Road, Lincoln, MA 01773
TICKETS
$10-$25
Performers
Sarah Cooper, soprano
Thomas Cooper, violin
Roland Clark, violin
Soprano Sarah Joyce Cooper earned her Bachelor’s Degree in French from Princeton University and her Master of Music Degree in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy from Westminster Choir College. Previous performances include Pamina in Die Zauberflöte (CoOPERAtive), Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro (Savannah Voice Festival), Micaela in Carmen (Martina Arroyo’s Prelude to Performance), and Violetta in La Traviata (CoOPERAtive). In 2016, Sarah was a first-place winner of the Coeur d’Alene Symphony Young Artists Competition and the Westminster Choir College Voice Scholarship competition. Sarah also received the 2017 Colleen and Edward Carducci Encouragement Award at the Metropolitan National Council Auditions in Columbia, South Carolina. In January 2018, Sarah was awarded first place in the Opera and Operetta division for The American Prize. As a Principal Artist for the 2017-2018 season of the Boston Opera Collaborative, Sarah performed the role of Mimi from La Bohème with the company in April.
In addition to performing, Sarah is also the Executive Assistant for Help!ComeHome!, a 501c3 organization dedicated to serving under-served communities throughout the US. Sarah is a regular volunteer with the organization, offering both her musical and administrative skills to further its mission.
Thomas Cooper, from Lincoln, MA, received a BM in violin performance from Oberlin Conservatory in 2017. There, as a student of Milan Vitek and Peter Slowik, Cooper received top prizes at the 2017 Naftzger Young Artist Competition, the 2015 Ohio Society Competition, the 2015 Coeur D’Alene Symphony National Competition, and the 2014 Arlington National Competition. During his time at Oberlin, Cooper served as concertmaster of both the Oberlin Orchestra and Contemporary Music Ensemble, and appeared with his chamber groups on Oberlin Honors Showcase Recitals and on tours. Passionate about chamber music, Cooper spent summers at Greenwood Music Camp, Bowdoin International Music Festival, Colorado College Summer Music Festival, Mozarteum Summer Academy (Salzburg), the Litomysl International Masterclass (Czech Republic), Keshet Eilon International Mastercourse (Israel), and Nagold Sommermusik (Germany), receiving additional instruction from such renowned artists as Vadim Gluzman, Ilya Kaler, Itzakh Rashkovsky, Ani Schnarch and Per Ennokson. Equally at home with the solo repertoire, Cooper has performed concerti with the Colorado College Festival Orchestra, the Coeur D’Alene Symphony Orchestra, The Credo Baroque Orchestra, and the Middlesex Chamber Orchestra among others. Cooper successfully competed to play as a soloist on both the 2014 Danenburg Honors Recital as well as the 2017 Commencement Recital at Oberlin. He has performed in masterclasses for such artists and pedagogues as Christian Tetzlaff, David Kim, Kevork Mardirossian, and Nicholas Kitchen. Cooper continues his studies at New England Conservatory as a student of Malcolm Lowe (Concertmaster, Boston Symphony). Cooper is passionate about his faith in God, and led the men’s Bible study for the Oberlin chapter of Intervarsity Christian Fellowship. In his spare time, he enjoys cooking, sailing, and all things to do with aviation.
Roland Clark studied violin performance at Boston University with Peter Zazofsky and at McGill University with Felicia Moye. He was a member of the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra from 2012-2014 and the McGill University Orchestra in 2014-2015, and attended Greenwood Music Camp from 2011-2013, where he studied with Rebecca Fischer. Roland has been active in the Green Mountain Mahler Festival and has participated in the LyricaFest Chamber music festival in Lincoln, MA, studying with Laura Bossert. In addition to his experience as a classical musician, Roland is an accomplished violinist in the realms of folk, bluegrass, irish, country music and jazz. For his high school senior music project, he collaborated and performed with the renowned jazz guitarist Bill Frisell. Roland co-founded the Vermont-based newgrass ensemble Beg, Steal or Borrow, which won a number of festival awards in 2017 and will be appearing this summer at the Greyfox, Podunk, and Green Mountain Bluegrass and Roots festivals among others. In his free time he enjoys running, cooking/baking, Monty Python, Shakespeare, and outdoor activities such as hiking and canoeing. Roland lives with his family in Johnson, Vermont.