April 24
7:30pm
Cathedral of St. Paul
134 W 7th St
CHRISTINA DOLANC
Christina Brice Dolanc, violinist, vocalist, and composer, is steadily joining the ranks of today’s most innovative writers for vocal ensemble. Her choral music, which has been performed internationally, has been described as neo-Impressionistic and emotionally enchanting. With a BM (Missouri State University, 1999) and MM (Miami University, 2002) in violin performance, Christina resided in northern California for 12 years where she was a member of seven professional symphonies, led a full violin lesson studio, and coordinated The Dolanc String Quartet. During this time she also worked as a professional transcriber in the San Francisco bay area while writing a personal collection of over 100 compositions and arrangements for string quartet. As of 2014, Christina currently resides in Erie, PA, where she performs with the Erie Philharmonic, Erie Chamber Orchestra, and continues her musical endeavors with her string quartet, lesson studio, and composing.
Christina’s choral compositions are influenced both by her career experience as a string musician and her extensive training as a choral singer. She began her formal University choral training in 1994 under the direction of Dr. Guy B. Webb. She was later a founding member of The Vocal Art Ensemble of Davis, CA, and is currently a member of the Erie Renaissance Singers of Erie, PA. Christina was inspired to begin writing choral music in 2012 and since has been greeted with great success including: 9 premieres, 5 commissions, winner of the 2014 Mary Bussman Emerging Female Composer Competition for the Twin Cities Women’s Choir in Minneapolis, MN, semi-finalist (2014) and finalist (2015) for The American Prize in the professional choral composer category, and awarded as a “Recommended Work” for the C7Prize in Canada. In 2015, Christina also had work on display at the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) national convention and was selected to have a new piece featured in an internationally live-streamed workshop by Musica Intima of Vancouver, B.C. In 2016 Christina has 4 premieres scheduled, and 2 commissioned pieces are in the works for 2017. She is also very honored to have been commissioned by the Erie Chamber Orchestra for her work, Stars Alone for choral ensemble and strings, that premiered in April of 2016. More about Christina and her works can be found at www.cbricedolanccomposer.com
STEPHEN COLANTTI
Composer STEPHEN COLANTTI began his career as an opera singer. After graduating from Indiana University of Pennsylvania majoring in Voice, he continued his vocal studies in New York where he was an active performer in the city’s thriving opera scene. After serving an apprenticeship with the Central City Opera in Colorado he was chosen as a finalist in the Chicago Lyric Opera Competition. He was later awarded the prestigious Opera/Music Theatre International Fellowship, having been chosen from a thousand singers by the famous basso, Jerome Hines. He subsequently studied voice with opera great, Franco Corelli and acting with director Frank Corsaro of the Actor’s Studio. As a dramatic tenor he appeared in leading roles with the Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center, the Dallas Opera, the Arizona Opera, and at Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center opposite Jerome Hines, as well as with the Metropolitan Opera and opera companies and symphony orchestras throughout the United States.
He has served on the faculties of Grove City College and Mercyhurst University where he taught voice and related subjects and was the conductor of the University Orchestra and Opera Orchestra in which capacity he conducted full productions of “The Marriage of Figaro”, “Don Giovanni”, “Falstaff”, “Hansel and Gretel”, Pulitzer Prize winning composer Robert Ward’s “Roman Fever” with Mr. Ward in attendance, and two gala “Opera Pops & Sizzles” concerts. A long time music teacher at Harding School in the Erie School District, he oversaw its renowned “Creating Original Opera” program initiated under the auspices of the Metropolitan Opera where he collaborated with students and staff to develop, compose, arrange, orchestrate, and conduct seven original student operas. In May 2014, his opera, The Selfish Giant was premiered by the Erie Opera Theatre at the Erie Playhouse. It was subsequently recorded by the Erie Chamber Orchestra and released on CD in April 2016. A largely self-taught composer, his compositions also include songs, choral works, and instrumental pieces for the guitar, piano, and strings. In addition to being a composer, Mr. Colantti is a classical guitarist and violist.
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