Life > February 28, 2008

By Brittany Wyche | Staff writer

By all appearances, the final concert in the 2007-2008 Secrest Artists Series will be a truly memorable one.

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The director of the orchestra, Jeannette Sorrell, will be returning to Wait Chapel to conduct the Cleveland Baroque Orchestra, Apollo’s Fire and guest mezzo-soprano Jennifer Larmore.

Graduating in 1986 from the university, Sorrell went on to study with many talented and famous musicians, including Leonard Bernstein.

She has also served as a conducting fellow at the Aspen Music Festival and has won the Audience Choice Award in the 1991 Spivey International Competition for her skills on the harpsichord.

Becoming a finalist for the assistant conductor post with the Cleveland Orchestra eventually led to the founding of Apollo’s Fire.

The ensemble has toured, recorded and performed both national and international broadcasts.

The group is dedicated to the performance of 17th and 18th century music — specifically using the period instruments for which the pieces were originally written.

With musicians from North America and Europe, the ensemble has received international critical acclaim and is broadcast on major international stations such as National Public Radio, Britain’s BBC, Canada’s CBC and European Community Radio.

Jennifer Larmore, the guest vocalist, also has an impeccable resume to add to the upcoming performance.

Larmore has appeared in every major opera city in the world and has an extensive repertoire.

It is clear that she is in her element in classical music performance.

From Handel, to Mozart, to Bellini, to Donizetti and especially Rossini, she is able to perform a wide variety of styles and complexities. With more than 70 CDs, she is indisputably the most recorded mezzo-soprano of all time.

Additionally, she has been viewed by millions of people throughout the world when in her performance of the Olympic Hymn at the closing ceremony of the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.

The day after the Secrest performance, Larmore will give a master class at 11 a.m. in Brendle Recital Hall.

This class, which is free and open to the public, will feature the performances of four senior voice students from the university music department: Joshua Bennett, Rebecca Henriques, Jared Lilly and Johanna Young.

Professor Teresa Radomski will give a pre-performance talk for those attending the event at 6:40 p.m. in the Balcony Room.

Following this, these talented and experienced musicians will be performing at 7:30 p.m. in Wait Chapel.

The performance is free for all university faculty, staff and students.

It is open to those in the community for $20 general admission.

The concert program will include selections form Vivaldi, Handel, Bach and Rameau, and it is sure to be a thoroughly impressive evening of classical performance.