For the past three months, every Sunday at 3 o’clock dozens of singers and lovers of singing from across the world have met to listen topically curated recordings from the past 120 years. Inspired by the success of its Audiophile Society, Bel Canto Boot Camp (BCBC) has expanded their program and collaboration with Guild Hall in a new series, Sunday Matinées.
Sunday Matinée’s is a weekly salon series exploring the ways in which we listen, react, and connect with opera and the vocal arts. Led by Rachelle Jonck and Derrick Goff, BCBC cofounders, and Steven Tharp, curator of Audiophile Society and expert on all things recorded, we will learn together what to listen for in historical recordings, and where the technology needs our ears and minds to “fill in” what might not be there. The sessions heavily use the chat feature on zoom, allowing participants to “pass notes” in real time while the music is happening. At a BCBC session, we do not have to wait till intermission to share our thoughts and excitement about what we hear!
The May series shifts the perspective away from Operatic repertoire and towards other critical genres for classical voice, including Choral, Oratorio, and Cantorial traditions.
SCHEDULE
Choral Recordings: Sunday, May 2
Audiophile Society takes a break from opera to explore the riches of the choral tradition and the changing trends in choral singing during the past century.
Oratorio: Sunday, May 9
Our listening detour leads us next to oratorio – opera without costumes! Join us as we explore the vast repertoire of these once oft-performed works. There’s more than Messiah!
The Cantorial Tradition: Sunday, May 16
The vocal and improvisatory training of the hazzan, or cantor in the Jewish tradition, continues to inspire the singer of today.
Instrumental Listening: Sunday, May 23
Audiophile Society explores what singers and opera lovers can learn from chamber and orchestral music. All the instruments mimic the voice!
Art Songs: May 30
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Rachelle Jonck
Rachelle Jonck received her musical training at the Conservatory of the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa. In her native country she was awarded a FNB/Vita award for her contribution to opera in South Africa and the Nederburg Opera Prize – South Africa’s premier opera award.
Rachelle moved to New York City as Head Vocal Coach and Assistant Conductor of Bel Canto at Caramoor. Her private coaching studio includes established professionals whose careers take them to the largest opera houses of the world, and younger singers still on the verge of a professional career. Her master class topics, while related to her main study field of bel canto, explore the wider application of the bel canto way of singing. rachellejonck.com
Photo: Lisa-Marie Mazzucco
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Derrick Goff
Derrick Goff is an alumnus of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program and has returned as member of the MET music staff. He has enjoyed many years of collaboration at Teatro Nuovo, a continuation of the young artist program of Bel Canto at Caramoor, where he is resident as a coach, chorusmaster, and Italian teacher. In addition to his work as a pianist, coach, and conductor, Derrick holds degrees in organ and voice from Westminster Choir College, and is on the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music.
Photo: Jiyang Chen
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Steven Tharp
Missouri-born tenor Steven Tharp’s operatic credits include performances with the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, Netherlands Opera, among many other houses. Handel and Mozart are well represented in Mr. Tharp’s repertoire of more than 60 operatic parts, and his keen interest in 18th- and early 19th-century opera has led to many roles in operas of Gluck, Haydn, Scarlatti, Conti, and others. In concert, Mr. Tharp has appeared with the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Cleveland Orchestra, among others. His concert repertoire includes the Bach, Mozart, Handel, and Haydn masterpieces of the 18th and 19th century and extends to Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius, Schönberg’s Gurre-Lieder, the Verdi Requiem, and Britten’s War Requiem. A dedicated song recitalist, Mr. Tharp has appeared at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, the 92nd Street Y, Carnegie’s Weill Hall, venues in Europe, Japan, and South America. His interest in musical theater and cabaret led to his appearance in 3 Tenors in Search of an Act in a sold-out run at Don’t Tell Mama in New York. Steven has recorded for Decca, Delos, Newport, Albany and Naxos, earning a Grammy Award nomination. He has also served as stage director for the Manhattan School of Music and for Caramoor. He lives in Columbia, Missouri with his adorable Westie, Hector, and is Associate Professor of Voice at the University of Missouri.