Krystal Classical Productions Presents Adina Aaron In Recital in The Best Contemporary American Music

Adina Aaron is one of the greatest young singers on the opera and concert stage today. A graduate of Boston Conservatory and Florida International University, Ms. Aaron has appeared with the New York City Opera, Opera Santa Barbara, and the Utah Festival Opera. She has performed and recorded Aida with Franco Zefferelli. Her other operatic roles include Mimi and Musetta from La Boheme, Micaela from Carmen, Gilda in Rigoletto, Clara in Porgy and Bess, Pamina in The Magic Flute, the Countess in Figaro, Almirena in Rinaldo, and Fiordiligi in Cosi Fan Tutti. Adina also performed Sister Rose in the New York Premiere of Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking at City Opera. Recent concert engagements have included Mimi with the Newton Symphony, Knoxville: Summer of 1915 by Samuel Barber, and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Aaron was an Apprentice at the Santa Fe Opera Company. She has made a number of recordings, including collaborations with composers William Maselli and Stefania de Kenessey.

Keiko Halop is the resident performing artist of the Saint James Chamber Series in Newport Beach, California and is in constant demand as a performer and vocal coach in California. Keiko possesses versatility and virtuosity in multiple styles and genres and has performed as vocal accompanist, chamber musician, and soloist nationally and internationally. She has collaborated with Adina Aaron since 1997. Originally from Japan, Ms. Halop holds degrees from Pacific University in Oregon and the University of California at Irvine She has studied piano with Nina Scolnik, Rosemary Hyler, Florence Chino, Martin Katz and Graham Johnson.

Claudia Benker was born and resides in Berlin, Germany. She has been a protégé of Maestro Claudio Abbado, whom she performed under in the Academy Program with the Berlin Philharmonic and with the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra. Currently Ms. Benker is a member of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra under Abbado. She is also a full-time member of the Deutsches Symphony Orchestra under Kent Nagano. Ms. Benker is active in chamber music performances, and has appeared in the Berlin Festival and the chamber music Festival at Davos, Switzerland.

Eero Lagerstam native of Finland, ia a member of the Deutsches Symphony Orchestra in Berlin under Kent Nagano. Mr. Lagerstam formerly was a member of the Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic. Prior to moving to Berlin Eero studied with Dorothy Delay in New York.

Ricky Ian Gordon is a leading composer on the America music scene today. He was the composer in residence at The Lyric Opera of Chicago in 2001 and 2002. On March 13th, 2001, at Lincoln Center, he was presented as part of the American Songbook Series. Mr. Gordon’s songs have been performed and recorded by many internationally known singers including Renee Fleming, Dawn Upshaw, Audra McDonald, Kristin Chenoweth, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Andrea Marcovicci, and Betty Buckley. His works are featured on two Nonesuch CD’s: Audra McDonald’s Way Back To Paradise, and Bright Eyed Joy: The Songs Of Ricky Ian Gordon.

Stefania de Kenessey is a leading figure in the revival of neo-classicism. She ia the founder and artistic director of the Derriere Guard, an alliance of traditionalist contemporary artists, architects, poets, and composers. Her output includes works in all genres, from chamber and vocal to opera and symphonic. She has had premieres with the Singapore Symphony, St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble, Manhattan Chamber orchestra, and the Absolute Ensemble Orchestra. High Summer was premiered at Columbia University’s Miller Theatre on Oct.25,2001, and has recently been recorded by Adina Aaron

William Maselli is a New York-based composer who writes mostly for voice. He has composed a number of Song Cycles, including Easter Songs and Dreams of Love, recorded with Adina Aaron. He has also composed a major vocal and orchestral work, Requiem for John F. Kennedy, as well as the opera Spirit Fire, which is currently being recorded with soprano Adina Aaron, tenor Marc Heller, and bass Aaron Borst. Upcoming performances include the debut of the song cycle Flowers in New York this fall.