Family Dynamics in the 21st Century
November 3rd, 2018 | 7 PM
Club Helsinki at Helsinki Hudson
Our Group
All of the members of Imperfectly Perfect are a part of the Bard College Conservatory of Music Graduate Vocal Arts Program lead by award winning soprano, Dawn Upshaw. They come from highly esteemed schools such as New England Conservatory, The Eastman School of Music, and the Mannes School of Music at the New School. Mezzo -soprano SarahAnn Duffy, baritone Jonathon Comfort, mezzo-soprano Sun-Ly Pierce, soprano Addie Rose Forstman, and pianist Sophia (Shuhui) Zhou, have performed internationally on the opera stage and in the recital hall. They are excited to share this carefully crafted program with their audience and hope to offer a sense of solidarity to those struggling with difficult situations as well as curiosity as to what family means in its deepest sense.
The Artists
Sophia (Shuhui) Zhou, Piano
Born and raised in Shanghai, Sophia (Shuhui) Zhou was offered a full scholarship by the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, where she obtained Bachelor degrees both in piano performance and German literature. She spent a year to further her studies in Vienna, under the tutelage of Jan Jiracek Arnie and Morton Solvik, a renowned Mahler scholar. She holds a Master of Music degree in solo piano from Mannes College of Music. Ms. Zhou’s concert appearances include the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Carnegie Weil Concert Hall, Kennedy Centre in Washington D.C., and Shanghai Concert Hall. As the winner of 2016 Barcelona Piano Academy international award, she was engaged to perform 5 solo recitals throughout Spain. Sophia is currently a collaborative piano fellow in Bard Conservatory.
Jonathon Comfort, Baritone
A lover of contemporary song and opera, baritone Jonathon Comfort recently performed the role of Swineherd in John Harbison’s Full Moon in March at the Fisher Center, and an all Dutilleux program with pianist Martin Dubé at the Chautauqua Institution. He recently made his debut with the Chautauqua Festival Symphony Orchestra in a production of Carmen as Don Caïro and in an interdisciplinary chamber music concert of Jake Heggie’s For a Look or a Touch presented with actor and baritone.
A lover of contemporary song and opera, baritone Jonathon Comfort recently performed the role of Swineherd in John Harbison’s Full Moon in March at the Fisher Center, equally comfortable with not so “contemporary” music, Jonathon recently made debuts with the Albany Symphony, as the title role in a program of excerpts from Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, and at The Fisher Center as the baritone Soloist in Gustav Holst’s Christmas Day. Jonathoncomfort.com
SarahAnn Duffy, Mezzo Soprano
noted as "evoking, perky and nimble” (New York Times) is a performer with interests that span opera, contemporary works, oratorio, and art song. In the 2017-18 season, SarahAnn appeared as Zerlina in W.A. Mozart’s Don Giovanni with dell’Arte Opera Ensemble, the alto soloist in G.F. Handel’s Messiah with Classics on Hudson, and Star Wars: The Last Maestro, as Rose, with the Albany Symphony and conductor, David Alan Miller. She has also appeared in Ana Sokolović's Svadba as Ljubica, and the alto soloist in a staged production of Stravinsky’s Pulcinella, as well as the a soloist in Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass with the Bard Conservatory’s Chamber Choir and Symphonic Choir led by James Bagwell. Other recent performances include, Valetto in Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea with dell'Arte Opera Ensemble, a Mozart concert series in Graz, Austria with Leonardo Vordoni, and the premiere performance of Christopher Theofanidis' Cows of the Apollo with Robert Spano at the Aspen Opera Theater Center. SarahAnn received her bachelor of music from the New England Conservatory and is currently achieving her master’s degree as a member of the Vocal Arts Program at the Bard College Conservatory of Music. sarahannduffy.com
Addie Rose Forstman, Soprano
Originally drawn to singing through traditional Scottish and American songs, soprano Addie Rose Forstman strives to bring the simplicity and authenticity of Folk music to the Operatic and Art Song repertoire. After her April 2018 performance of several works of Susan Botti at Music Alive!, a concert series curated by Joan Tower and Blair McMillen, The Millbrook Independent praised her for her “excellent French” and continued “Forstman sang this sensitive piece about snow ["Listen it's snowing", text by e.e. cummings] with polish and real emotion. I think cummings himself would have heartily approved.” During the summer of 2018 Addie Rose and her frequent collaborator, pianist Edward Forstman, took their program of song and contemporary keyboard works, “Flowers of Summer”, on a small tour of New York, Pennsylvania, and Alabama.
In March 2018 Addie Rose sang the role of Danica in Ana Sokolović’s Svadba, and appeared as a dancer in Stravinsky’s Pulcinella at the Richard B. Fisher Center. Earlier in the 2017-18 season Addie Rose was a soloist in Gustav Holst’s Christmas Day, under the direction of James Bagwell. She also made her debut with the Albany Symphony, conducted by David Alan Miller, as Papagena in Mozart’s Magical Musical Adventure, a retelling of The Magic Flute for young children.
Addie Rose has also been seen in Eastman Opera Theater’s production of Massenet's Cendrillon as one of the spirits, and in a fully staged rendition of Jake Heggie's Camille Claudel: Into the Fire. addieroseforstman.com
Sun-Ly Pierce, Mezzo-Soprano
Mezzo-soprano Sun-Ly Pierce’s fierce passion for music of all genres has led her to an eclectic range of performance opportunities. She has participated in festivals and programs such as the Vienna: Language of Lieder program in Vienna, Austria and the Oxford Lieder Festival in Oxford, England. Credits from the Eastman Opera Theatre include: Umberto Giordano’s Mese Mariano (Suor Pazienza), Giacomo Puccini’s Suor Angelica (The Nursing Sister) and Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro (Cherubino). The Rochester City Newspaper cites Pierce’s performance of the young pageboy as having “…sparkled with enduring comedic flair. Vocally, her musical gravitas was anchored in an honest, substantive timbre and light, buoyant phrasing.” In addition to winning the Rochester Lyric Opera LaDue Competition in 2016, Pierce made her debut with the Albany Symphony Orchestra under the baton of David Alan Miller this past winter. Last spring she sang the role of Nada in the Serbian opera “Svadba” (Ana Sokolović, 2015) with members of the Bard Conservatory Graduate Vocal Arts Program. Pierce also returned to collaborate with the Albany Symphony this summer to premiere “A big bundle of sticks” by composer Ben Wallace. Upcoming events include Pierce's first performance as the mezzo-soprano soloist in Handel's Messiah this winter with the Multi-Choral Society in Utica, NY and her debut with the Broad Street Orchestra for the Concerts in the Village series in Kinderhook, NY. Originally from Clinton, NY, she holds a bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. She currently studies with Lorraine Nubar in the Graduate Vocal Arts Program at Bard Conservatory led by Dawn Upshaw and Kayo Iwama. In her spare time, Pierce enjoys the outdoors, visiting aquariums, gas station coffee and getting in touch with her Chinese heritage by eating mass amounts of Chinese food. www.sunlypiercemezzo.com
