Sunday, May 19, 2024 at 7:00pm
Nichols Concert Hall 1490 Chicago Ave | Evanston, IL
John Ireland - Songs of a Wayfarer
Damien Geter, bass-baritone
Sunday, May 5, 2024 at 2:30pm
Federal Way Performing Arts and Event Center | Pete von Reichbauer Way South | Federal Way, WA
Ralph Vaughan Williams - Symphony No. 1 (A Sea Symphony)
Additional works to be announced
Damien Geter, baritone
Auburn Symphony Orchestra, Wesley Schulz, conductor and music director
Seattle Pro Musica, Karen Thomas, conductor
THE SNOWY DAY
Based on The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
Composed by Joel Thompson
Libretto by Andrea Davis Pinkney
Smiling snowmen, snow angels, and warm bubble baths: experience the magic of Ezra Jack Keats’ beloved children’s book come to life on the opera stage. The Snowy Day follows the adventures of young Peter as he explores his neighborhood on a snowy day, making new friends and encountering unexpected wonders along the way.
Flora Hawk, Peter
Lianna Wimberley Williams, Mama
Adrian Rosales, Billy
Also featuring the Portland Opera Resident Artists
Damien Geter, conductor
Harriet Tubman may be the best-known conductor of the Underground Railroad, but there were others including William Still. An abolitionist and historian, as well as a conductor for the Underground Railroad, he is credited with helping nearly 800 enslaved African Americans escape to freedom. Sanctuary Road by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Paul Moravec, is based on the remarkable writings of William Still.
Music by Paul Moravec, Libretto by Mark Campbell, Based on the writings of William Still, a conductor for the Underground Railroad
Sung in English with English Surtitles
Conducted by Everett McCorvey and Directed by Kimille Howard
The orchestra for this production is provided by the Virginia Symphony Orchestra
Commemorating the 60th anniversary of JFK’s 1963 nationally televised speech that led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, this performance of Damien Geter’s The Justice Symphony, centered on anthems from the Civil Rights era, highlights contemporary challenges in social engagement. Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Choral closes our season with the joyful confluence of Music Director Rei Hotoda, the Fresno Philharmonic, the Fresno Master Chorale, and special guests Karen Slack, Sarah Mesko, Adam Diegel, and Damien Geter. New Subscriptions on sale NOW! Single tickets on sale on August 1, 2022.
featuring THE E-COLLECTIVE
and TURTLE ISLAND QUARTET
with the Portland Opera Orchestra
Join us in welcoming jazz great and celebrated opera composer Terence Blanchard (Fire Shut Up in My Bones and Champion) and an incredible line-up to the Portland Opera stage for this one-night-only gala celebration. In collaboration with the Portland Opera Orchestra, we'll hear from guest stars for an unforgettable night of musical fusion and ensemble work.
Portland Opera's Co-Artistic Advisor Karen Slack makes her Portland Opera debut, with guest artist and Portland-favorite Will Liverman. Plus, Maestro Damien Geter (Co-Artistic Advisor and Interim Music Director) makes his Portland Opera conducting debut.
This profound work by Damien Geter was recently premiered May 7 by the Resonance Ensemble and Oregon Symphony, and is the first Requiem to honor African Americans who have lost their lives due to racial violence. Mr. Geter has integrated the traditional Latin Requiem with contemporary text, such as Ida B. Wells speech from 1909, Lynching is Color Line Murder, civil rights declarations, poetry, and the famous last words of Eric Garner and now George Floyd, “I can’t breathe”. The music is infused with elements of jazz, gospel, and spirituals. Presented in 19 movements, the Requiem will be conducted by Mr. Geter himself with soloists Bernard Holcomb, Karmesha Peake, Brandie Sutton, Thomas Cannon, poet and heARTivist Dr. S. Renee Mitchell, the Fort Worth Opera Chorus, prepared by Alfrelynn Roberts, and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. This epic symphonic social commentary will honor past and present victims of racial violence and spur reflection on how to build a more hopeful future.
The perfect way to celebrate this holiday season. The North Carolina Symphony and the North Carolina Master Chorale perform one of the most inspiring works of music ever conceived. Handel’s masterpiece is full of passion and drama and features the resounding “Hallelujah Chorus.”
Bass Soloist: Damien Geter
TICKETS AND INFO
THE SECRET GARDEN
Nolan Gasser/Carey Harrison
October 14, 2022 at 7:30pm
October 16, 2022 at 4:00pm
“Quamino’s Map” will make its world premiere. The work by celebrated British composer Errollyn Wallen and librettist Deborah Brevoort follows a formerly enslaved man who finds himself in London society after fighting for the Crown in the American Revolution.
The work will star tenor Curtis Bannister as the violinist Juba, soprano Flora Wall as Amelia Alumond, and bass Damien Geter as Quamino Dolly.
Other cast members include Chicago-based artists Kimberly E. Jones, Joelle Lamarre, Cameo Hughes, and COT Young Artist Keanon Kyles. Conductor Jeri Lynne Johnson and stage director Kimille Howard will make COT debuts.
Saturday, April 23, 2022 @ 7:30pm
Friday, April 29, 2022 @ 7:30pm
Sunday, May 1, 2022 @ 3pm
The CSO MusicNOW series returns for an evening celebrating today's leading composers of contemporary art song. Vocalists Joelle Lamarre and Damien Geter illuminate works by Chicago-area composer Shawn Okpebholo alongside new arrangements by Ayanna Woods from her co-composed opera FORCE!* and the world premiere of a new piece by Geter.
Contemporary with Dvořák’s “New World” Symphony, Amy Beach’s American masterwork of the late 19th century is too rarely performed. So Oakland Symphony patrons overwhelmingly voted to give Mrs. Beach’s Gaelic Symphony a hearing. Also—receiving its West Coast premiere—is Sanctuary Road, an epic, moving oratorio by Paul Moravec and Mark Campbell, based on the writings of William Still, conductor for the Underground Railroad.
After a jubilant opening program, the RCO delivers an intriguing look at isolation and connection through two seminal American works: Bernstein’s “Trouble in Tahiti” and Copland’s “Appalachian Spring.” Bernstein’s jazzy one act opera tells the story of a 1950s suburban couple who enjoy the image of success while struggling for intimacy and connection. Copland’s idyllic ballet contrasts with themes of community support and harmony, told through the inspired movements of Seattle-based choreographer Alexander Ung. This special production is over a year in planning and has the support of the estates of both composers.
BERNSTEIN Trouble in Tahiti
COPLAND Appalachian Spring (ballet for 13 instruments)
Rei Hotoda, guest conductor
James Brown, Stage Director
Alexander Ung, Artistic Director, Guild Dance Company
Soon Cho, mezzo-soprano
Damien Geter, bass-baritone
Passion, politics, and power collide in the story of Tosca—a renowned diva, in Rome in 1800. An artist activist has won her heart, and his revolutionary sympathies provoke the wrath of Scarpia, the corrupt chief of police. Her devotion and moral resistance are challenged by abuses of power, attempted rape, and tragedy—as this high drama builds to its haunting finale.
Gentrification in Portland and the city’s redlining past go under the microscope in Darrell Grant’s jazz opera, Sanctuaries, a new work commissioned and produced by Third Angle New Music.
