 Engaging with First Native audience members following a performance of "Missing" in British Columbia. Conductor and pianist Timothy Long discovered his love of opera 28 years ago at the Aspen Music Festival. Growing up in Oklahoma playing piano and then the violin, among many other instruments, it was at Aspen that he fell in love with the music [of opera] and the energy of the people.
Currently the Director of Opera at Eastman School of Music, Tim’s musical career has taken him around the world. After working on Thomas Adès’s , Powder Her Face, Tim was named by Robert Spano to be his assistant conductor at the Brooklyn Philharmonic. He was subsequently named an associate conductor at the New York City Opera which led to engagements with companies such as Boston Lyric Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Opera Colorado, Utah Opera, Tulsa Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, The Juilliard School, Yale Opera, the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, and the Oregon Bach Festival. Tim has also performed as a pianist and harpsichordist at venues internationally. Recently, he conducted the world premiere and tour of Missing which he credits as one of his dream projects. Missing by Marie Clements (libretto) and Brian Current (music) is an opera about the 3,000 missing Indigenous women in Canada. Tim conducted the opera at Pacific Opera Victoria, the Regina Symphony Orchestra, and the Prince George Symphony Orchestra. He hopes to be able to bring this opera to a broader audience in the US and worldwide. As an artist of Muscogee Creek (Thlopthlocco Tribal Town) and Choctaw descent working in opera, he wants people to know that “it is possible for a Native American person to survive this world.” Keeping busy during the pandemic, Tim is working on a live-streamed talk show and podcast called Unequal Temperament about race and music. Adding to a growing catalog of recordings, he’s working on a recording featuring music of Mason Bates, Greg Spears, and Missy Mazzoli. Stay connected to Tim’s upcoming work at https://timothylongmusic.com/.  “My goal in every performance, from a street corner to a vaunted stage, is to change someone's mind about what ‘opera’ means.” Baritone Samuel James Dewese is forging a path as an evocative artist in the US and beyond. His love of changing perceptions and pushing limits has led him to successful collaborations in creating and performing new works, specifically seeking creators who live on the margins, outside of the expected canon. A graduate of University of Illinois and the Royal College of Music, London, it was Samuel’s undergraduate teacher who pushed him forward in his training. When he was ready to change his major after a difficult freshman year performance, his teacher did not allow him to quit and Samuel was able to find the enjoyment in putting in the hard work to rebound. That support and encouragement convinced Samuel to continue his studies and find joy in singing for an audience.  Samuel’s most recent engagements include Marcello in La Boheme, Father in Hansel and Gretel, and Astrophel in The Arcadians. His oratorio and concert performances include Portsmouth Festival Orchestra, Highgate Choral Society, and Illinois Wind Symphony, among others. Samuel’s performances in new works include the title role in the world premiere of John Henry (McCarthy) with Tête à Tête in London and The Perfect Opera (Davis) with Virtually Opera at the Edinburgh International Fringe. In competition, Samuel has twice been named a district winner in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (St. Louis), captured second prize in the James Toland International Competition, and was a grand finalist in the Hariclea Darclée Competition. During the pandemic, Samuel began a performance project, On Your Street, which brings him and a bluetooth speaker to front porches, back decks, and street corners in and around Chicago. He’s looking forward to collaborating with additional singers in Spring 2021 to responsibly perform small ensembles at a safe distance from each other and our audiences. He is also currently developing a lecture recital series in collaboration with an art gallery in Chicago to choose (and premiere) vocal works inspired by art in the performance space. While he’s dreaming of future projects, one of Samuel’s dreams is to “commission and present a new song cycle about one of my heroes, Barack Obama, to the man himself.” Stay connected with Samuel at www.samueljamesdewese.com and learn more about his work.  |
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