Nadine Deleury - Producer, Cellist
Brian Bowman - Clarinetist
Brian Bowman is a most enthusiastic clarinetist. As if his "day" job as a Design Project Manager for Ford Motor Company did not occupy him enough, he is principal clarinet with both the Michigan Opera Theater and the An Arbor Symphony Orchestras. In addition to these two positions, he plays regularly as a substitute wiht the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Brian never turns down an opportunity to play chamber music and is seen in all chamber music venues in Michigan. Brian is a regular guest of Chamber Music at the Scarab Club and is very excited that Jeff Smallman included a clarinet in Pat & Emilia, as he really enjoys playing Smallman's, Clarinet Quartet.
French and Canadian cellist Nadine Deleury was born and educated in France but moved to the United States in 1979 and 8 years ago to Windsor. She received her diplomas from the Paris Conservatory and Yale School fo Music and has been principal cellist of the Michigan Opera Theatre orchestra since 1985. She also teaches at Oakland University in Michigan and plays as an extra musician with the Windsor Symphony Orchestra. With Velda Kelly she founded Chamber Music at the Scarab Club in Detroit, this year in its 17th season. She also co-produced several CDs. Nadine is a member of 4th Wall Music, a new chamber music series in Windsor and an Assicate member of Sho, Art, Spirit and Performance also in Windsor.
Born in New York, violinist Velda Kelly came to Detroit as a recipient of a Music Assistance Fund Fellowship with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra after receiving music degrees from Boston University and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. She quickly became an active member of the Detroit Music Scene, not only playing as a extra musician with the DSO adn as a member of the Michigan Opera Theatre orchestra, but also performing on many chamber music series in the area, including Chamber Music at the Scarab Club that she founded with Ndine Deleury in 1998. Velda has been instrumental in the commisison of several pieces by French, American and Canadian composers. In addition to her busy performing schedule, Velda has a large class of private students and teaches at Madonna University and the Michigan State University Community Music School-Detroit.
Marty Gervais is poet, historian, photographer, former newspaper columnist and winner of numerous literary adn journalism prizes. His book The Rumrunners was a Canadian bestseller, selling more than 40,000 copies. He is also Windsor's poet laureate, the first to be named by the city. This libretto - the second act of the opera - was inspired by the life of Pat Sturn, the photographer he cared for in her final months before she passed away. He says: "When I embarked on this project, it was strongly awkward because I felt llimited when it came to an in-depth knowledge of music. This was despite the fact that I had endured years of piano lessons under the tutelage of mean-spirited nuns, as well as being the classical music critic for The Windsor Star for a number of years. But a challenge is a challenge, and I took up the request by Nadine Deleury to put together a libretto about the life of Pat Sturn. I was inspired by this eccentric woman whose life was dedicated to art. In writing this piece, I saw her life in images, could hear the music in my head, and the words poured out easily. For weeks, I sat at a table in Tim Horton's at 5 a.m. and wrote this piece that encompases a day in the life of this extraordinary woman who came from Eastern Europe to make Windsor her home. Once I was finished, I tested my text out on the musicians, but especially with vocalist, Tara Sievers-Hunt, who sat with me, and sang some of the parts. From that experience, I could tell what was working, and what wasn't. The two of us also shifted scenes around, and re-configured some of the passages until it was right. When I first heard Jeff's compositions, I was blown away. It was a moment of deja vu, because the music that I was hearing was what I had heard when I was writing this piece. It so perfectly matched the mood and the sensation that brought the words to life."
Velda Kelly - Violinist
Marty Gervais - Poet
BIOGRAPHIES
Mary Siciliano - Pianist
Mary Siciliano is a distinguished pianist, clinician and teacher from Livonia, Michigan. She is one of the most sought-after pianist in the Detroit/Windsor area, as a soloist, accompanist and chamber musican. She has collaborated on many occasions with cellist Nadine Deleury and violinist Velda Kelly for concerts, recordings and tours. Her CDs are frequently played on WRCJ Detroit and her perforamnces have been broadcast on the CBC. She has given masterclasses, workshops and recitals throughout the United States, Canada and France. Mary is thrilled to be part of the creation of Pat & Emilia. She was privileged to have heard Emilia Cundari live in recital at Marygrove College in Detroit, which was the location for the U.S. premiere.
Tara Sievers-Hunt - Creative Director, Writer, Soprano [Emilia Cundari]
Dual Canadian and American citizen, Tara Sievers-Hunt received her double BM in Voice Performance and Music Education from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and her MM in Voice Performance from Oakland University. Currently, she is an assistant professor at Marygrove College in Detroit, where she is heading a five-year initiative to redevelop the music curriculum based on a Constructivist approach to education, and the College's urban leadership mission. Her PhD dissertation work at Oakland University will explore this initiative, and the experiences of Marygrove's music students from non-traditional backgrounds. An active performer, Tara performs oratorio and chamber works around the metro-Detroit and Windsor areas. She has particular interest in developing inter-disciplinary presentations with scolars and artist in other disciplines. Recent and upcoming collaborations include: a historical/artist presentation of female composers and poets called "Women's Work"; a series of reflective talks called "Tell Me Who I Am", which pair a spiritual discussion of identity and self with a performance of Barber's Knoxville: Sumemr of 1915. This past winter, Tara wrote and produced a new stage work with the Marygrove VPA students called "Cinderella Through the Kaleidoscope" - a weaving of 30+ Cinderella-inspired sources into a new telling of the classic tale.
Jeff Smallman - Composer
Jeff Smallman is a prolific and versatile Canadian composer. Heaving begun writing at the age of eight, he now has over 200 works in print, with several works gaining recognition in both national and international competitions, and may others included in conservatory and festival settings. Equally at home composing for voice or instruments, Jeff's style relies heavily on the Romantic/Impressionist musical language, with hints of modernism thrown in. He says, "Writing music can be a joy or a challenge - sometimes it's both. I was thrilled ot be given the opportunity to compose the music for the second act of "Pat & Emilia," and during the pricess was faced with both the joy and the challenge, of creating a score suitable to the story. Marty's text was amazing in creating the pictures and moods I needed to set the music. Once started, though, I discovered that in writing "Pat & Emilia," I also needed ot "create" and convey personalities through my music. I've written many art songs, but opera is different, and I was challenged to take things to a deeper level. I've been thrilled with the quality of musicians that I've been fortunate enough to work with. Their ability and musicality has allowed me to write more freely, and to explore different avenues of expressing ideas. In the end, I hope that we've done justice to the women whose lives we're portraying, and that we've created something that will last for many years to come." Jeff is a member of the Canadian League of Composers.
Jocelyn Zelasko - Soprano [Pat Sturn]
Detroit-based soprano, Jocelyn Zelasko, is a versatile musician who is celebrated as an insightful performer of new music. She performs a variety of music ranging from Pergolesi to Cage in festivals and concerts around the world including Trinidad and Tobago, Italy, Greece, Canada, and the United States. In the Canadian Arts Productions documentary, Imagining Angels, Zelasko discusses her inspiration to play Pat Sturn feeling connected to Sturn's fierce independence, quest for perfection, and unwavering passion for art. Additionally, Zelasko is the co-founded of two new music ensembles Whoopknox and Juxtatonal. She also frequently collaborates with Detroit’s premiere new music ensemble, New Music Detroit. She completed two bachelor degrees, BMus in Vocal Performance and BS in Economics, from Oakland University and a master’s degree, MA in Vocal Performance, from the University of Iowa. In addition to her work as a performing artist, Zelasko is a PhD candidate at Oakland University and maintains a thriving private voice studio.
