Laura Strickling,
soprano, holds degrees from the
Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University
(M.M. in Voice) and the Moody Bible Institute
(B.M. in Sacred Music). She was a fellow at the
Tanglewood Music Center during the summer
of 2013, a resident artist at the Steans Music
Institute at Ravinia in 2013, a recipient of the
Marc and Eva Stem Fellowship at SongFest in
2011 and 2012, and performed in “The Song
Continues
…
with
Marilyn
Horne,”
Weill Music Institute’s 2012 Professional Training Program at
Carnegie Hall.
An alumna of the Berkshire Opera Company Resident Artist Program,
Ms. Sickling's operatic roles include Countess Almaviva (Le nozze di
Figaro), Cleopatra (Giulio Cesare), Mirena (Mirena e Floro), Mimi
(La Boheme), Dinorah (Dinorah), Elvira (L’ltaliana in Algeri),
Josephine (H.M.S. Pinafore), Mabel (The Pirates of Penzance),
Belinda (Dido and Aeneas), Gretel (Hansel and Gretel), The Dew
Fairy (Hansel and Gretel), Micaela (Carmen), and Pamina (Die
Zauberflöte)
Ms. Strickling has performed at Avery Fisher Hall, Carnegie Hall, the
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Wigmore Hall,
Trinity Church on Wall Street, the Galapagos Arc Space, the Tenri
Cultural Institute, the Philadelphia Lieder Society, Dankhaus Chicago,
and the Afghanistan National Institute of Music.
Concert engagements include her Avery Fisher Hall debut in Handel’s
Messiah with D.C.I.N.Y.; the Brahms Requiem with the Bel Canto
Chorus and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra; the Beethoven Ninth
Symphony and Mass in C; the Mozart Requiem and Credo Mass;
Handel’s Dixit Dominus; the Vivaldi Gloria; Haydn’s Lord Nelson
Mass; and Messiah with the New Dominion Chorale.
The 2011 Thomas Greene Professional Grant recipient, Ms.
Strickling’s recent competition honors include: the American Liszt
Society’s Liszt-Garrison International Competition; the Positively
Poulenc Competition; the Bel Canto Chorus Competition; the
Schubert Club Competition; the Liederkranz Competition; the
Orpheus Competition; the Bel Canto Foundation Competition; the
NATS Artist Awards; the Washington International Competition; the
Joy in Singing Competition; the American Prize for Opera
Performance; the Vocal Arts D.C. Discovery Competition; the
Gretchen Hood Memorial Competition; the Russell C. Wonderlic
Competition; the Baltimore Music Club Competition; and the Barry
Alexander Intemational Vocal Competition.
Linda
Maguire,
mezzo-soprano, is an
internationally renowned vocal artist with an
extensive résumé in concert, recital, and opera
performance, live broadcasts, and recordings.
Ms. Maguire has sung regularly with major
orchestras of North America, including
Houston, Calgary, Dallas, Toronto, Montreal,
Vancouver, and the Tafelmusik Baroque
Orchestra. Her recordings include Berlioz’s Les
Nuits d’Ete, Wagner’s Wesendonklieder,
Respighi’s Il Tramonto, Verdi’s Requiem, Peter Maxwell Davies’
biblical oratorio, Job, Handel’s opera, Floridante, and the sacred
oratorio La Resurrezione, along with contemporary works such as
Timothy Sullivan’s Magic Casement, Soft and Golden Fire, and Irish
Songs. She has recorded on the Collins Classics and Deutsche
Grammaphon Archive labels, and has sung over 80 live vocal
broadcasts of major works on CBC, BBC, NPR and other radio
networks. Ms. Maguire has sung numerous performances at the John
F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, including Rossini’s Stabat
Mater, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Mahler’s Symphony of a
Thousand, Bach’s Cantata BWV 79, Amy Beach’s Canticle of the Sun
and Mendlessohn’s Elijah. She has also sung twice as soloist in the
Kansas City sing-along Messiah.
Ms. Maguire grew up in Newport News, Virginia, and attended the
Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio. She has had an international
career as a highly respected vocal artist, and has sung leading roles in
the opera houses of Glyndebourne, Dallas, Montreal, Calgary,
Vancouver, Houston, and Toronto, among others. In 1996, she toured
extensively throughout the Netherlands, singing the lead role in
Gluck’s Orfeo. She has sung with City Choir of Washington, in
performances of the Durufle Requiem and Mozart Requiem and
recently sang the role of Mrs. Krawczyk in the opera Lost Childhood.
Last season she sang both the Verdi Requiem and Mozart Requiem at
Strathmore with the National Philharmonic Orchestra.
Issachah
Savage, tenor, is the grand-prize
winner of the 2012 Marcello Giordani
International Competition, and one of America’s
most promising young dramatic tenors. Mr.
Savage has performed the world premiere of
Wynton Marsalis’s All Rise with Kurt Masur
and the New York Philharmonic, the world
premiere of Leslie Savoy Burr’s Egypt’s Night
with Philadelphia’s Opera North, with the
Baltimore Symphony in Gershwin’s Blue
Monday,
and
with
the
Opera
Orchestra of New York in Massenet’s La Navarraise. Recent
performances as Radames in Verdi’s Aida at Opera North Carolina
were critically acclaimed by Opera Lively as “phenomenal, starting
with his beautiful timbre and continuing through great projection…all
the way to excellent pitch control on the top and the bottom…superb.”
With a sound that shines in Verdi and Wagner, Mr. Savage has
participated in a number of programs designed for the dramatic voice
including: Evelyn Lear and Thomas Stewart Emerging Singers
Program, Dolora Zajick’s Institute for Young Dramatic Voices, where
he performed scenes from Otello, and ACMA’s Wagner Theater
program, where he performed scenes from Die Walküre, Parsifal and
Samson and Delilah. Critical acclaim has followed the young tenor
throughout his budding career. In the prestigious Merola Opera
Program for gifted young singers, Mr. Savage was featured in two
concerts. Writing of his performances of the last act of Otello, San
Francisco Chronicle critic Joshua Kosman stated, “From his opening
notes — impeccably shaded and coiled with repressed fury — to the
opera’s final explosion of grief and shame, Savage sang with a
combination of power and finesse that is rare to observe.” Mr.
Savage’s featured performances with Washington Chorus last spring
prompted Anne Midgette of the Washington Post to comment, “I
wasn’t prepared for the easy, rich, warm sound that poured out of him
in one of the most beautiful arias in the repertory.”
In addition to the grand prize in the Giordani Competition, Mr. Savage
has received a number of prestigious awards, recognition and career
grants from institutions such as Wagner Societies of New York,
Washington, D. C., and Northern California. He is a winner of Licia
Albanese International Puccini Foundation’s Olga Forrai Foundation
Grant; Gerda Lissner Foundation’s Jensen Vocal Competition, Opera
Index, and Giulio Gari Foundation. He has received two first-place
prizes in the esteemed Liederkranz Foundation competition, the first
for General Opera in 2009, and most recently in the 2012 Wagner
Division.
Mr. Savage holds a Bachelor’s Degree in vocal performance from
Morgan State University, and a Master’s Degree in opera voice
performance from The Catholic University of America.
Jason Rylander,
tenor, has been praised by the
Washington Post for his “strong, clear tenor”
and for performances that “coupled sonorous
warmth and emotional depth.” Recent solo
highlights include Handel’s Esther and Bach’s
Cantatas 5 and 182 at the American Bach
Soloists Academy and Festival in San
Francisco, Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1640 with
the TENET/Green Mountain Project in New
York and Boston, Bach’s B-Minor Mass with
the Washington Bach Consort, the Mozart
Requiem and Salieri Requiem with the Bach Sinfonia, Monteverdi’s
Vespro della Beata Vergine 1610 with the Orchestra of the 17th
Century, Handel’s Messiah with the Choir and Orchestra of the
Church of the Ascension and St. Agnes, and Bach’s Christmas
Oratorio with the New Dominion Chorale.
Notable 2013-14 solo engagements include a debut on the John F.
Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Millennium Stage in a
program of John Dowland’s lute songs, Pergolesi’s Magnificat and
Bach Cantata 36 with the Washington Bach Consort, Bach’s
Magnificat with The Advent Project, and Bach Cantatas 4 and 106
with Mountainside Baroque.
Opera and stage credits include the role of Pitho in Telemann’s Der
Geduldige Socrates, Giove and Vecchia in Rossi’s Orfeo, First Armed
Man and Second Priest in Mozart’s Magic Flute, Kaspar in Menotti’s
Amahl and the Night Visitors, and Ralph Rackstraw in Gilbert and
Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore. Mr. Rylander has performed at the Amherst
Early Music Festival, International Baroque Institute at Longy,
Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute, the Queens College Baroque
Opera Project, and the Winchester Bach Festival. With the Bach
Sinfonia, he recorded Bach’s Motets and Carissimi’s Historia di
Jephthe on the Dorian/Sono Luminus label.
David Brundage,
bass, has appeared in most of
the Washington D.C. area’s most prominent
venues, including the four theatres of the John
F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Highlights of some previous seasons as soloist
include the Shostakovich Symphony No. 13,
Babi Yar with the poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko
and the University of Maryland Symphony, Mr.
Brundage’s oratorio experience is extensive,
including Verdi’s Requiem with the Hudson
Valley Philharmonic (N.Y.), Bach’s Magnificat with the Alexandria
Symphony, a series of performances of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony
at American University, Handel’s Solomon at the Maryland Handel
Festival, Mozart’s Requiem with the Annapolis Symphony, Mozart’s
Requiem and Brahms’ Requiem with the Fairfax Choral Society,
P.D.Q. Bach’s Missa Hilarious with the Georgetown Symphony,
Stravinsky’s Les Noces with the Joffrey Ballet and Dance Theatre of
Harlem, his Carnegie Hall debut in Haydn’s Heiligmesse and
Boccherini’s Villancicos with the New England Symphonic Ensemble,
and Handel’s Messiah with the Shreveport Symphony (La.), the
National Chamber Orchestra and the Illinois Symphony.
Mr. Brundage has appeared as Sparafucile in Rigoletto and Ramfis in
Aida with the Lake Charles Symphony, Simone in Gianni Schicchi in
the inaugural production of the Sylvan Opera Theatre (Pa.), and
Oroveso in Norma for Summer Opera Theatre of Washington D.C.
He performed Commendatore in Don Giovanni for both Opera
Delaware and Summer Opera Theatre, Capulet in Virginia Opera’s
Romeo and Juliette, the Jailer in Tosca, and the Innkeeper in Goya
with Placido Domingo and the Washington National Opera.
Recent engagements include his debut as Sarastro in Mozart’s The
Magic Flute with the Annapolis Opera, and a solo recital at the
Virginia Polytechnic Institute. At that time he was also singing and
acting in a new work he helped conceive and develop, Leaves of War:
In Search Of Walt Whitman, at the Source Theatre’s “In-Series” in
Washington, D.C.
Thomas Pandolfi,
pianist, is a graduate of the
Juilliard School, and earned both his
Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees as a
scholarship student. His recitals regularly
include works by Busoni, Godowsky,
Dohnanyi and Chasins, and his orchestral
appearances often feature concerti by
Paderewski, MacDowell, Moszkowski and
Rubinstein.
Mr. Pandolfi’s career has included performances with such European
orchestras as the George Enescu Philharmonic, the Moravian
Philharmonic, the National Philharmonic of the Republic of Moldova,
the Tiraspol Philharmonic, and the Galati Philharmonic, as well as
American symphony orchestras including those of Mississippi, Cedar
Rapids, Asheville, Princeton, San Angelo, York, Fairfax, Northbrook
and Owensboro.
Equally popular as a recitalist, Mr. Pandolfi has appeared in concert
halls in the U.S. and abroad. While the 2008-09 season marked Mr.
Pandolfi’s debut recitals in Canada, Germany and China, the 2009-10
season highlighted his debut in London, as well as return engagements
throughout Eastern Europe, and concerts both as recitalist and soloist
with orchestras across the United States. Mr. Pandolfi released his
sixth CD during the 2010-11 season, and returned to China in August
of 2011 for his second tour of that country. Additionally, he made his
recital debut in Toronto during the 2011-12 season, as well as stepped
in on 48 hours’ notice to perform the Rachmaninov Second Piano
Concerto for Alexandria Symphony Orchestra’s closing concert of that
season. Last season, Mr. Pandolfi performed a highly successful and
acclaimed 15-state recital tour across the United States. Audiences
during 2013-14 will enjoy his artistry in New York, Maryland,
Virginia, Massachusetts, Iowa, Connecticut, Montana, Georgia,
Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Florida Illinois, Utah, North Carolina, and
Washington, D.C. Mr. Pandolfi will also be making his debut with the
Dubuque Symphony on Gala Opening Night with Gershwin’s
Concerto in F, and his debut with The National Philharmonic at The
Strathmore Music Center in Richard Strauss’ Burleske for Piano and
Orchestra for their closing concert of the season. He will also be
guest soloist with Symphonicity on their Gala Opening in Rodrigo’s
“Heroic” Piano Concerto, the St. Augustine Orchestra in the Grieg
Piano Concerto, and the Wilson Symphony in the Grieg as well.
Mr. Pandolfi serves as the rehearsal accompanist for New Dominion
Chorale and The National Men’s Chrous.
Rev. John W. Wimberly, Jr.,
narrator, served as
pastor of Western Presbyterian Church in Foggy
Bottom for thirty years. He how serves as a
field consultant for The Alban Institute. At
Alban, he consults with Christian and Jewish
congregations around the country. Raised in the
Midwest, Rev. Wimberly received a B.A. from
the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a Master
of Divinity degree from McCormick
Theological Seminary in Chicago, a Ph.D. in
systematic theology from The Catholic
University of America, and an M.B.A. from The George Washington
University.
Rev. Wimberly helped found the Houston Rape Crisis Coalition, the
Network for Abused Women in Montgomery County, Maryland,
Project Create, Miriam’s Kitchen for the Homeless at Western
Presbyterian Church, and Network Ethiopia.
Rev. Wimberly and his wife, Phyllis, a retired D.C. public school
teacher, have two adult children and three grandchildren. They spend
a lot of time at their second home in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
The World Children’s Choir
serves as a voice for children worldwide
— giving voice to the interests of all children, celebrating cultural
diversity through music, promoting positive international relations,
and asking people to work together to create a peaceful, healthy world
for children. Through singing, WCC members explore musical
content, and use music, art, and special activities to mediate crosscultural differences and become peacemakers. The children learn how
music and art expresses emotion, creates shared experiences, bridges
differences, tells stories, produces beauty and enriches others.
The World Children’s Choir is concerned about the children of the
world and the future they face. By pursuing our mission we believe
that we contribute to building a world of peaceful respect, friendship,
cooperation, and prosperity among nations. We believe that working
together to produce beautiful music and other kinds of art enables the
children to create friendships based on mutual understanding and
respect. By bringing children from many cultures and nations together
in song today, we can sow the seeds of a more peaceful world
tomorrow.
University of America, and an M.B.A. from The George Washington
University.
Rev. Wimberly helped found the Houston Rape Crisis Coalition, the
Network for Abused Women in Montgomery County, Maryland,
Project Create, Miriam’s Kitchen for the Homeless at Western
Presbyterian Church, and Network Ethiopia.
Rev. Wimberly and his wife, Phyllis, a retired D.C. public school
teacher, have two adult children and three grandchildren. They spend
a lot of time at their second home in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
The World Children’s Choir
serves as a voice for children worldwide
— giving voice to the interests of all children, celebrating cultural
diversity through music, promoting positive international relations,
and asking people to work together to create a peaceful, healthy world
for children. Through singing, WCC members explore musical
content, and use music, art, and special activities to mediate crosscultural differences and become peacemakers. The children learn how
music and art expresses emotion, creates shared experiences, bridges
differences, tells stories, produces beauty and enriches others.
The World Children’s Choir is concerned about the children of the
world and the future they face. By pursuing our mission we believe
that we contribute to building a world of peaceful respect, friendship,
cooperation, and prosperity among nations. We believe that working
together to produce beautiful music and other kinds of art enables the
children to create friendships based on mutual understanding and
respect. By bringing children from many cultures and nations together
in song today, we can sow the seeds of a more peaceful world
tomorrow.
The choir has been appointed to the Artists Roster of the John F.
Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Performances have been
given for four U. S. presidents: George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George
H. W. Bush and Barack Obama; Queen Noor of Jordan, Queen Sofia
of Spain; Justices of the United States Supreme Court; on numerous
other occasions at the White House, the Kennedy Center, on Capitol
Hill; for national and international television broadcasts; and in
international concert tours and cultural exchanges.
World Children’s Choir, a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization, was
founded in 1990 by its current artistic directors, Sondra Harnes and
James Selway, Rosalind Paterson, president, and and Judith Penniman,
treasurer. The choir owes its creation to the spirit of glasnost. In
December 1989, just weeks after the Berlin Wall was torn down, the
Soviet Union’s Red Army Chorus sang at the Kennedy Center. The
emotional reaction of the Concert Hall audience to the chorus’s
astounding promise of international friendship through song inspired
choir founder Sondra Harnes to form the World Children’s Choir. In
that moment, she had a vision of children from all over the world
singing together for peace.
The choir offers rehearsals and performance training in voice, opera,
and African drumming, and performance opportunities for children
and teens ages 4 – 18 who live in the Washington, DC metropolitan
area. Rehearsals are held in Falls Church and McLean, VA. Singers
are accepted throughout the school year.