Wake Forest University News Service, NC
April 18 2005

WFU announces 2005-2006 Secrest Artists Series
By Pam Barrett
336.758.5237
April 18, 2005

Rick Benjamin’s new version of Scott Joplin’s folk opera
“Treemonisha” will highlight the Wake Forest University’s Secrest
Artists Series 2005-2006 season.

“Treemonisha,” one of five concerts in the series, will be performed
Oct. 27 at 7:30 p.m. in Wait Chapel. The opera is about an
African-American community’s emergence from slavery. It follows the
story of a young woman named Treemonisha who leads her townspeople to
reject the local conjurers’ superstitions in favor of hard work and
learning.

Unlike earlier versions of the opera that used a large orchestra,
Benjamin’s reconstruction features the 12-piece Paragon Ragtime
Orchestra, which is more characteristic of that era, and a costumed
cast of 40. The performance includes a range of songs from arias to
rousing ragtime choruses. Benjamin calls it an “amalgamation of the
well-established American traditions of vaudeville, tab-show,
melodrama and minstrelsy, all held together by Joplin’s marvelous
music.”

The cello-piano duo David Finckel and Wu Han will open the Secrest
season with a concert on Sept. 8 at 7:30 p.m. in Brendle Recital
Hall. Ranked among the most esteemed and influential classical
musicians in the world today, the duo has been described by the
Washington Post as having “spontaneity, vigor and seamless melody.”

Finckel and Han’s duo performances have taken them to some of the
most prestigious venues and concert series across the United States,
including San Francisco Performances, Stanford Lively Arts, New
York’s 92nd Street Y and Washington’s Kennedy Center.
Internationally, they have performed to unanimous acclaim in Mexico,
Canada, the Far East, Scandinavia and continental Europe. They were
recently named artistic directors of chamber music at Lincoln Center.
In addition, they have launched Music@Menlo, a chamber music festival
in Silicon Valley and started a classical recording label, ArtistLed.

On Nov. 15, the award-winning Ensemble Kaboul will perform a concert
of traditional music from Afghanistan at 7:30 p.m. in Brendle Recital
Hall. The renowned Afghan singer Hossein Arman started Ensemble
Kaboul to maintain the richness of his native land’s culture after
being forced into exile by the country’s political situation. Today,
he and his ensemble are joined by Ustad Farida Mahwash, who is called
the “master” female singer of Afghanistan music. They will perform a
multi-ethnic concert featuring music from Indian, Persian and Arabic
traditions.

In celebration of Mozart’s 250th birthday, the Mozarteum Orchestra of
Salzburg will perform Feb. 28 at 7:30 p.m. in Wait Chapel. The group
was founded as the “Cathedral Music Association and Mozarteum” in
1841 by prominent Salzburg musicians and Mozart’s widow. Today, they
are known as the Mozarteum Orchestra of Salzburg and regaled as the
pre-eminent keeper of the flame of Mozart’s legacy. The concert will
feature Chief Conductor Ivor Bolton and piano soloist Stephen Hough.

Armenian-Canadian soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian, one of opera’s rising
stars, will conclude the Secrest Artists Series season with a concert
on March 30 at 7:30 p.m. in Brendle Recital Hall. Bayrakdarian is
known for her “sparkling” on-stage presence and her “bell-like”
coloratura technique, which includes fast singing, high singing,
trills and embellishments. During the 2003-2004 season, she gained
critical acclaim for her roles as Susanna in “Le Nozze di Figaro”
with the Chicago Lyric and Los Angeles Operas; Teresa in “Benvenuto
Cellini” with the Metropolitan Opera; and Leila in “Les Pecheurs de
Perles” with the San Diego Opera. Her voice is also featured on the
Grammy Award-winning soundtrack of the film “Lord of the Rings: The
Two Towers.”

Season tickets for the Secrest Artists Series are $100 and are
available through the Theatre Box Office in Scales Fine Arts Center
beginning in August 15. Tickets to individual performances range in
price from $18 to $25 general admission and $13 to $18 for senior
citizens and non-Wake Forest students. Tickets are $5 for children
under 12. Group discounts are available. Pre-concert lectures are
usually scheduled in conjunction with each event and begin 45 minutes
before each concert.