Scarsdale Congregational Church Concert Series – Opening Night

Kelly Smith Slawson & Rachelle Jonck perform “Vier letzte Lieder” by Richard Strauss & “Wesendonck Lieder” by Richard Wagner
Saturday, November 15 at 7:00 p.m.
Scarsdale Congregational Church

Soprano Kelly Smith Slawson is exciting audiences on both operatic and concert stages. She made her professional mainstage debut singing Fiordiligi in Mozart’s Così fan tuttewith Chamber Orchestra Ogden in Utah. Most recently, Kelly has sung Lia in Debussy’sL’enfant prodigue and Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni with Lawrence Opera Theatre in Kansas. This spring, she can be seen singing Elettra in Mozart’s Idomeneo with the Princeton Opera Alliance in New Jersey.

Ms. Smith Slawson was an apprentice at the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, where she understudied the roles of Liù in Puccini’s Turandot and Pat Nixon in John Adams’s Nixon in China. She has also been a Bonfils-Stanton Young Artist at Central City Opera, where she worked with legendary vocal coach John Moriarty. Other coaches have included Pavarotti’s famed coach John Wustman, Leonardo Vordoni, Martin Katz, Tom Getty, and Ward Holmquist. Kelly’s voice teachers have included Joyce Castle, Nathan Gunn, and her late mother, Vicki Werner Smith. Kelly attended the University of Kansas for both undergraduate and graduate studies. There, she sang Fiordiligi in Metropolitan Opera staff stage director Kathleen Smith Belcher’s production of Così fan tutte; the soprano soloist in Mendelssohn’s Elijah; and the title role in Puccini’s Suor Angelica.

Pianist Rachelle Jonck has appeared as a guest on Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home Companion and in venues including Weill Recital Hall, the Bard Festival, Van Cliburn Concerts, and the Dame Myra Hess broadcast concert series, among others. Ms. Jonck is currently the Head Coach and Assistant Conductor of Bel Canto repertoire at Caramoor and has served other institutions including Cape Town Opera and Westminster Choir College. She received her degree majoring in piano and music sociology at the Conservatory of the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa.

Tickets are $20, available at Coffee Hour and at the door on the night of the concert.

Upcoming Concerts:
Sunday, March 15 at 5:00 p.m.: Fanfare! Music for Brass, Organ, and Piano
Friday, May 1 at 7:00 p.m.: Liana Guberman, soprano and Nicholas Lewis, clarinet