ORGAN APOTHEOSIS
A virtual project of new sacral vocal works with organ
featuring two contemporary composers Eli Tamar and Emmanuel Dubois.
With the support of the Maryland State Arts Council, Lyrica Classic introduces new organ and sacral vocal music to the audience in a virtual setting. The project will feature works by two contemporary composers: American-Belgian composer Emmanuel Dubois and Israeli-American composer Eli Tamar.
In the virtual project frame, Lyrica Classic will present two online concerts and three educational webinars with the artists and composers that will be broadcasted on Lyrica's YouTube channel in March and April 2021.
The concerts' program "Organ Apotheosis" will include works written on the texts of Catholic and Orthodox prayers: "Prayer for Peace," "Canticum Fratris Solis," "Our Father" by composer Ellie Tamar, as well as an Organ Sonata and "Ave Maria" by composer Emmanuel Dubois. The works will be performed by sopranos Olga Orlovskaya and Yulia Petrachuk, mezzo-soprano Alexandra Coburn, and two organists - David Lauer from Gers, France, and Stephen Harouff from Baltimore, USA.
This project will be possible thanks to the teleconference technologies and Lyrica Classic's video engineers and designers. Having the concert virtually will enable us to deliver it to an unlimited number of viewers and bring artists from worldwide to participate.
The webinars and concerts are free to attend.
The minimum donation is not required, but we would appreciate any of your support!
Please register below to get access to the project's events.
CONCERT PROGRAM
PART I - Sunday, March 28, at 12pm
Featuring composer Emmanuel Dubois
- ORGAN SONATA, op. 16 for organ;
- AVE MARIA, op. 29 for organ and soprano.
Performed by organist David Lauer and soprano Yulia Petrachuk.
The event will be broadcast from Eglise Saint-Laurent church in Fleurance, Gers in France and Saint Bechara Church in Jubail, Lebanon. And will be played on its romantic organ named after Jules Magen. Magen was a student of the great Cavaillé-Coll, who built the organ in 1865.
It is an imposing building with proportions worthy of a cathedral: 70 m long and 35 m wide. It is a fine example of the Southern Gothic style. The church was built in three phases from the 14th to the 16th century. These phases are visible on the outside, at the level of the successive recesses of the central nave roofs.
PART II - Sunday, April 25, at 12pm
Featuring composer Eli Tamar
- PRAYER FOR PEACE (Молитва о мире) for soprano and organ (US-PREMIERE);
- CANTICUM FRATRIS SOLIS for soprano, mezzo-soprano and organ;
- OUR GOT FATHER (Отче наш) for organ, 2 sopranos and mezzo-soprano.
Performed by organist Stephen Harouff, soprano Olga Orlovskaya, soprano Simone Brown, soprano Yulia Petrachuk, and mezzo-soprano Alexandra Coburn.
The event will be broadcast from the beautiful 100-year-old Chapel of Our Lady of the Angels located in Catonsville, Maryland in the USA. When Our Lady of the Angels Chapel was built and dedicated in the early 20th century, it was surrounded by the rolling hills and open countryside of a farm that served as a retreat for the members of the Catholic order of the Sulpician Fathers. For years, the chapel was the centerpiece of St. Charles College, a Catholic Seminary that operated at the site on Maiden Choice Lane from 1911 until 1977.
WEBINARS
To not miss out on our webinars, subscribe to our YouTube Channel and stay tuned.
- Tuesday, March 23 at 11am EST: Meet organist David Lauer, composer Emmanuel Dubois, and soprano Yulia Petrachuk
- Sunday, April 18, at 11am EST: Meet the composer Eli Tamar
- Tuesday, April 20 at 1pm EST: Meet organist Stephan Harouff
- Thursday, April 22 at 11am EST: Meet the artists Olga Orlovskaya, Simone Brown, and Alexandra Coburn
Emmanuel Dubois, composer
The biography of the composer Emmanuel Dubois is a fantastic example of the American Dream. He grew up in Brussels in a large family with five brothers and sisters. He dreamed of music, had perfect pitch, but his parents were categorically against a musical career. As a result, Emmanuel received his master's degree in organic chemistry from the University of Brussels and later moved to the United States and began his scientific career. Emmanuel then earned an MBA from the University of North Carolina and took up a prominent banking position. And only at the age of 46, Dubois nevertheless decided to follow his artistic dream. So, he entered the University of Michigan, where he studied composition. As a result, within 25 years, he created about 60 works performed at the world's leading venues. In 2019, his oratorio Requiem for the Fallen was US-premiered by Lyrica Classic at Carnegie Hall in NYC. And in 2020, the oratorio was selected by the US Embassy in Moscow for its "Mission to Russia" annual program and Russian-premiered by Lyrica Classic in December 2020 in memory of the fallen in WWII.
Eli Tamar, composer
Eli's multicultural background has contributed to his ability to explore and synthesize various elements of styles, overcoming spiritual barriers between various musical, literary, and religious traditions. His compositions were featured in such venues as "De Boni Arte" Foundation series of sacred music and "Great Names in Art" - Charitable Foundation in Russia, Carnegie Music Hall in Pittsburgh, Prizm concerts in New York, U-3 New Music Festival, Yad Labanim Museum in Tel Aviv, Art Museum in Ramat-Gan, Tel-Hai International Composers Symposium, Aspen Composers Conference, Pittsburgh Concert Society, College Music Society conferences, among others. Many of his premieres have been performed by the famous Russian countertenor and soloist of the Metropolitan Opera, Andrey Nemzer.
Eli has recently wrote a Requiem for voice solo with choir, dedicated to the memory of the victims of coronavirus. He is currently serving on the jury panel of the First International Competition of Christian Music Composers that is taking place January-May in Moscow, Russia.
Olga Orlovskaya
Russian born soprano Olga Orlovskaya, a soloist of the Baltimore Opera Theater and Teatro Lyrico D'Europa, rarely speaks of her kinship with Feodor Chaliapin. The soprano is the great-great-granddaughter of the great bass.
According to Olga, her great-grandfather inherited his father’s surprising voice. He did not however take to the stage, preferring another way of serving people – working for the benefit of his local collective farm. His granddaughter, Olga’s mother, did however become a singer.
In Russia Olga Orlovskaya was a soloist for the New Opera, Helikon-Opera and Novsibirsk Theater of Opera and Ballet. She got married and moved to the United States, where she began to perform in Baltimore and tour around various cities of America and Europe.
Orlovskaya, in addition to her career as a soloist is also engaged in teaching, and she firmly believes that anyone can sing.
Simone Brown
Simone Brown is a Maryland native with both a BM and MM from Xavier University of Louisiana and Peabody Conservatory. After recently relocating to Arlington VA, Simone was last seen at the Kennedy Center with Opera Nova’s Black History Concert, in Keegan Theater’s Womxn of Fire Festival and in The Snowy Day at Adventure Theater MTC. Simone has performed at Toby’s Dinner Theater as an ensemble member and understudy for Rachel Marron in The Bodyguard, Heather Chandler in HCC’s The Heathers, and the Kensington Arts Theater production of Sweeney Todd as Johanna.
SIMONE BROWN
Soprano
Simone Brown
Simone Brown is a Maryland native with both a BM and MM from Xavier University of Louisiana and Peabody Conservatory. After recently relocating to Arlington VA, Simone was last seen at the Kennedy Center with Opera Nova’s Black History Concert, in Keegan Theater’s Womxn of Fire Festival and in The Snowy Day at Adventure Theater MTC. Simone has performed at Toby’s Dinner Theater as an ensemble member and understudy for Rachel Marron in The Bodyguard, Heather Chandler in HCC’s The Heathers, and the Kensington Arts Theater production of Sweeney Todd as Johanna.
