Image: Bill Ramsay, composer
On SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6 at 3 p.m. the SANTA BARBARA MUSIC CLUB will present another program in its popular series of concerts of beautiful Classical music at Hahn Hall of the Music Academy of the West.
After last season’s very successful presentation of scenes from bigbrains.com by Santa Barbara composer William Ramsay, the Music Club audience will now be treated to the World Premiere of the comic mini-opera in its entirety!
Performers will include sopranos Kyra Folk-Farber and Christine Hollinger, tenor Adam Bradley, baritone Andre Shillo, and pianist Christopher Davis.
Program Details
Bigbrains.com
a Comic Mini-Opera (2015)
by William Ramsay
Scene One: Bigbrains.com Offices
Scene Two: The Jolly Hacker Tavern
Scene Three: Hugo’s Apartment
Scene Four: Hugo’s Office
Scene Five: Jesse’s Office
(in order of appearance)
Christine Hollinger as Lisa
Adam Bradley as Jesse
Andre Shillo as Mr. Hugo Platt
Kyra Folk-Farber as Sabrina
Notes on the Program
by Betty Oberacker
After last season’s very successful presentation of scenes from bigbrains.com by Santa Barbara composer William Ramsay, the Music Club audience will now be treated to the World Premiere of the comic mini-opera in its entirety!
Performers will include sopranos Kyra Folk-Farber and Christine Hollinger, tenor Adam Bradley, baritone Andre Shillo, and pianist Christopher Davis.
In the composer’s words, “Bigbrains.com is a short comic opera based on the current rage for developing new information technologies – often by tiny startup firms. It takes place in the not-so-distant future. Jesse and Lisa, partners in bigbrains.com, have developed a brand-new media concept — they sing “It All Starts With the Idea.” They are hoping to merge with a large firm — owned by Hugo. Lisa has a yen for Jesse: she sings “I’m at a loss about my boss.” But Jesse has his eye on Sabrina, who sings about her frustration with her work life in “I.T. Gal, I.T. Gal” and also airs her feelings about already being trapped in a relationship with another guy. These emotional problems become even more complicated and end up threatening to sink the planned merger as the gang sings “No Merger? No Merger!” But in the end, technology may change but love stays pretty much the same, the emotional conflicts seem to get resolved, and the four of them go on to plan the marketing of their revolutionary method of handling the news. (Their concept, however, does turn out to have a hauntingly familiar ring to it.)”
And with the plot thickening, with the soloists conversing animatedly and singing such arias as “There’s No Mystery Why Matt Is History,” and “Handy, Dandy, It’s The Latest It’s the Greatest,” and with the music attractively enhancing the dramatic proceedings, it all turns out for the best in the end.
The Performers
William Ramsay studied music composition with Sotireos Vlahopolous at the Washington Conservatory (DC), and his compositions include the Symphonic Prelude, Glory Road, performed by the Santa Barbara Symphony, a Violin & Piano Suite, The Hawk, a Flute Sonata, a Piano Quartet, and numerous songs, including a setting of Spring Dawn, based on a text by the Tang Dynasty poet Meng Hao-Jan. Dr. Ramsay holds a PhD in Physics from UCLA, has worked as an environmental economist at the Nuclear Regulatory Commision, and has published books and papers in physics and on energy and environmental issues. He has also written novels and a number of plays, published short fiction, and edited the literary journal Fiction-Online.
Originally from Vancouver, Canada, Kyra Folk-Farber has sung operatic roles and concert performances across North America and Europe. Her Mozart roles include Donna Anna, Zaide, Despina, and Susanna; she has also portrayed Mimì, Poppea, Mélisande, Anne Truelove, and The Soprano in Claude Vivier’s Kopernikus. Kyra has performed as a soloist under the batons of Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Kent Nagano, and Paul McCreesh, and has been featured as a soloist with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Tel Aviv Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestre Métropolitain, and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. She specializes in new music and has premiered works by composers Ori Barel, John Villar, Hans Christian Détlefsen, and José Evangelista, among others. Kyra has also performed Yiddish songs at Canadian music festivals such as Ashkenaz and Chutzpah!.
Adam Bradley, tenor, is a graduate of Luther College and is currently in the MM Program at UCSB, studying with Linda Di Fiore. First Place Winner at the Santa Barbara Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation, he performed at the Amalfi Coast Music Festival and the American Institute of Music Studies (AIMS) in Graz, Austria, and he has sung the tenor lead in the West Coast premiere of Joel Feigen’s Twelth Night. Adam’s future performances include the role of Maestro Spinelloccio in Gianni Schicchi with Opera Santa Barbara in April.
Christine Hollinger, soprano, is originally from Minneapolis, MN. She received her BA Degree at Southwest Minnesota State University, where she was active in both theater and music, and her MM Degree from UCSB. Featured as soprano soloist in many works with the Santa Barbara Master Chorale and the Santa Ynez Valley Master Chorale, she has appeared with the Opera Santa Barbara as well as the Music Academy of the West choruses. Ms. Hollinger currently sings with the Adelfos Ensemble and the First Presbyterian Church Chancel Choir.
Andre Shillo, baritone, was born in the Ukraine and earned his AA Degree in Music from Santa Barbara City College. Honored with awards from the Léni Fé Bland, Pillsbury, John C. Profant, and Performing Arts Scholarship Foundations, SB City College, and the SB Music Club, he has sung with Opera Santa Barbara, was featured soloist in the Puccini Festival, and has performed in the Adriatic Chamber Music Festival (Bonefro, Italy) and in Bizet’s Carmen and Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera with the Pacific Repertory Opera of San Luis Obispo.
Christopher Davis, pianist, has been concerto soloist with several orchestras including the Northwest Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, and has studied with renowned teachers and scholars in Germany, Austria, and Portugal. He earned his BA Degree from UC San Diego, his MM Degree from the University of Arkansas, and his DMA Degree from UCSB. In addition to serving as the Music Academy of the West’s House Manager (2009-2016), Dr. Davis has been on the staff of the Ojai Music Festival and Westmont College (2014-2016), and has worked for Camerata Pacifica, collaborating independently with many of their musicians.
