First Unitarian Universalist Church, 1187 Franklin St at Geary, SF 94109 (Map) | Tickets
Pärt – Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten
Britten – Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings, op. 31
Brian Thorsett, tenor
Rachel Harvey, horn
Dvorak – Serenade for Wind Instruments in D minor, Op. 44 (B. 77), Mvt. III
Copland – Appalachian Spring
VIP Wine Reception
After the concert, join a limited number of fans and enjoy lush wine from Barefoot Wine & Bubbly. Proceeds benefit BARS artistic and member programs. VIP reception is 21+ only, proper ID required for admittance. About Brian Thorsett, tenor Since taking to the operatic stage in 2001, tenor Brian Thorsett has been seen and heard in over 70 diverse operatic roles, ranging from Monteverdi to Britten, back to Rameau and ahead again to works composed especially for his talents. During the 2010-11 season, he returns to the roles Jupiter and Apollo in Semele, Acis in Acis & Galatea and adds the role of Beppe in I Pagliacci. As a concert singer Brian fosters a stylistically diversified repertoire of nearly 100 works, which has taken him to concert halls across the US and Europe. Future engagements include Evangelist and soloist in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion and Mass in B Minor, the Seasons and Creation of Haydn, Handel’s Messiah, Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610, Purcell’s Hail, Birght Cecilia, Beethoven’s Christus am Ölberge, Choral Fantasy and Mass in C, Mendelssohn’s Christus, Elijah and Lobgesang (Symphony No. 2), the Requiem of Mozart, Schubert’s Intende Voci Orationis, Psalm 92 and Mass in E-Flat, Finzi’s Dies Natalis, Dvorak’s Stabat Mater, Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn & Strings and a rare performance as Ishmael in Bernard Hermann’s Moby Dick. An avid recitalist, Brian will be featured in recitals in San Francisco, San Jose and Half Moon Bay, CA presenting the music of Monteverdi, Grieg, Rossini, Enescu, Coates, Ginastera, Turina, Britten, and premieres of Nicholas Carlozzi. He is a graduate of San Francisco Opera’s Merola Program, Glimmerglass Opera’s Young American Artist program and spent two summers at the Music Academy of the West. A great enthusiast of Benjamin Britten’s music, Brian has extensively performed the composer’s work. He has dedicated multiple recitals entirely to Britten’s songs, including the complete works for tenor and horn. A favorite recital project involved reading from the private letters of Britten and life-long partner, Peter Pears, interwoven with specifically mentioned songs. Concert works range from the large scale War Requiem to the more intimate Canticles and Serenade, which he has performed several times to great acclaim. During the summer of 2009 he studied and performed the St. Matthew Passion with Masaaki Suzuki (Bach Collegium Japan) at the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme at the Aldeburgh Festival in England. While there Brian was able to conduct research in Britten’s private library and perform on the Snape Maltings stage where many of the composer’s works were premiered. This is Brian's first performance with BARS. About Rachel Harvey, horn Rachel Delevoryas Harvey received a Bachelor of Arts degree from San Jose State University, and was one of only two graduate students to receive a full scholarship to California Institute of the Arts where she was granted the Master of Fine Arts degree in Horn performance. Following graduation, she immediately auditioned for, and won the position of principal horn in a professional Mexico City orchestra where she performed and also served as the music librarian and recruiting manager for 3-1/2 years. In 1985 she was one of the seven founders of The Redwood Symphony (Redwood City, CA), where she served as principal horn, librarian, manager and soloist for 23 years. In 1996 as an expatriate in Tokyo, Japan, she auditioned for, and won the principal horn position in The New Symphony Orchestra (aka Shinkyo) of Tokyo where she performed for two years before returning to the United States. From 1975 to present, Rachel has participated in more than forty orchestras, chamber workshops and groups, working brass quintets, and and a number of solo engagements. The Britten Serenade, along with Bruckner's Fourth Symphony, were the two works that strongly influenced Rachel to continue with the horn when she was eleven years old. She first performed the Britten Serenade in 1991 with the Redwood Symphony and well-known tenor, Dr. Nile Norton. In 2008, Rachel participated in the very first concert of the Bay Area Rainbow Symphony where she serves as the horn section principal. She has recorded a number of personal CD's: An Afternoon of Chamber Music which featuring the Brahms Horn Trio, a live performance with Rachel's father, Professor Emeritus John Delevoryas on piano, and Ms. Binh Huang, violin. Most recently, she recorded a performance of Dame Ethel Smyth's "Concerto for Horn, Violin, and Orchestra" with the Community Women's Orchestra (CWO). Rachel also spends free time composing music for horns and brass. She plans a work for full orchestra in the near future. In 2008, Rachel participated in the very first concert of the Bay Area Rainbow Symphony where she serves as the horn section leader.