The Celtic Tenors — Songs of the season

The

Celtic Tenors

SO N GS O F T H E S E ASO N

S at u r day Dec 10 | 7:30pm

Pioneer Ridge Retirement Community offers an exceptional assisted living opportunity as well as unparalleled nursing care and rehabilitation in our new state-of-the-art Rapid Recovery unit. We are pleased to sponsor tonight’s appearance of The Celtic Tenors.

Please join us in the Kemper Foyer (main lobby) for a Post-Performance Meet and Greet with the artists.

This event is sponsored, in part, by the Lied Performance Fund.

This performance was made possible through the generous support of the Clyde and Marty Nichols Performing Arts Fund.

Audio description services and recorded program notes are provided through a partnership between the Lied Center and Audio-Reader Network.

Please turn off or silence cellular phones and other electronic devices during performances. Food and drink are not allowed inside the hall.

Cameras and recording devices are strictly prohibited in the auditorium.

The

Celtic Tenors

SO N GS O F T H E S E ASO N The set list will be announced from the stage.

B I OG R A PH I CA L N OT ES The Celtic Tenors have established themselves as the most successful classical crossover artists ever to emerge from Ireland. In 2000, The Celtic Tenors were signed on the spot to an international record deal following an impromptu audition at EMI Music in London. This highly unusual event was the talk of the music industry.

The Celtic Tenor’s fifth album was recorded in the Hollywood Hills. This new album is a collection of songs from North America by songwriters such as Stephen Foster and Bob Dylan. It is essentially a roots album with rich, harmony driven songs. The Celtic Tenors – Daryl Simpson, James Nelson and Matthew Gilsenan – were privileged to work with the Grammy-winning team of Steve Lindsey, Dillon O’Brien and Dave Way. Phil Coulter, composer of Remember Me, noted that, by pioneering a new style of “cool” never before seen on the classical stage and by breaking the traditional stuffy tenor mold, The Celtic Tenors continue to “reinvent the whole tenor idiom.”

The Celtic Tenors

M E M B E R S O F T H E CE LT I C T E N O R S MATTHEW GILSENAN Matthew Gilsenan was born into a hard-working farming family in North Meath, Ireland.

Steeped in the local musical traditions and raised by parents who shared a great love for music, from the great composers to obscure Irish folk, Gilsenan and his siblings were born to sing. His classical training started in the Sisters of Mercy Convent in Kells, County Meath, at age 10, and progressed to some of the great Irish and Scottish teachers. Although he ventured into opera and classical singing, Gilsenan never lost his love for the music of his youth, in particular the vibrant contemporary Irish music, which is his great source of inspiration.

Gilsenan’s busy singing life ran parallel with his engineering career, but his desire to sing was too strong and ten years ago he turned to singing professionally.

JAMES NELSON James Nelson, from Sligo, Ireland, has his Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Music (honors) from University College Dublin. He was also a student of David Harper (United Kingdom), Britta Sundberg (Sweden) and Edith Forrest (Ireland). Highlights from an oratorio repertoire of 60 works include Frank Martin’s Golgotha in Bern and Zurich and Hector Berlioz’s L’Enfance du Christ alongside Katia Ricciarelli in Rome. More than 50 roles in opera include Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly in Kent; Lensky in Eugene Onegin, Alfredo in La Traviata and Tichon in Katya Kabanova in Portugal; and Don Basilio in The Marriage of Figaro with Raymond Leppard for Scottish Opera. He has also had roles for Opera Ireland, Opera Theatre Co., Singapore Lyric, New Israeli Opera and Wexford and Buxton Festival.

Nelson writes a column for the Sligo Weekender and is part of an ongoing building project in Nairobi, Kenya, for Cheryl’s Children’s Home. This home gives AIDS orphans a second chance at life. Nelson teaches children in the home music and performs in concerts with them. The debut CD Cheryl’s Children - On Top of the World is now available.

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DARYL SIMPSON Daryl Simpson, from Omagh in Northern Ireland, studied vocal performance with tenors Peter Alexander Wilson and Nicolai Gedda and he completed his opera master’s degree at the Alexander Gibson Opera School in Glasgow. Simpson joined Opera Theatre Company’s Young Associate Artist Scheme, where he performed in many recitals and broadcasts.

He was also in Claudio Monteverdi’s The Coronation of Poppea. Simpson furthered his studies at Zurich’s Internationales Opern Studio, where he sang Tamino in Die Zauberflöte and had roles in Francis Poulenc’s Les Mamelles de Tirésias for Opera Zurich. As well as performing worldwide on the concert platform, Simpson is also the musical director of the Omagh Community Youth Choir, which was set up in the wake of the Omagh bombing to promote peace and reconciliation through music.

COLM ROGAN - MUSICAL DIRECTOR Colm Rogan was born in County Louth, Ireland, into a very musical family. He began piano lessons at age eight and succeeded quickly, earning a distinction in his final grade by age 15.

From there, Rogan developed a love of all kinds of music including pop, blues and rock and became proficient on other instruments including guitar, bass and drums. Rogan went on to graduate from the National University of Ireland, Maynooth with a Bachelor of Music (honors), specializing in composition. During his time at Maynooth, Rogan met Ireland’s foremost composers, and his compositions have been performed by members of the RTE Symphony Orchestra. After completing his studies at Maynooth, Rogan spent time working as a live performer and recording artist before taking up the position of musical director of The Celtic Tenors. Rogan is thrilled about his future with The Celtic Tenors and delighted to be touring as a vital part of the team.

The Celtic Tenors

A saluteVIPto Sponsors our We proudly recognize our Very Important Partners. Not only do our VIP Sponsors offer essential financial contributions, they also provide valuable and enthusiastic promotion of Lied Center performances to their customers, employees and the community.

Their commitment to the performing arts allows us to provide education activities, free school performances and high-quality events each year. We honor our VIP Sponsors throughout the season on our electronic sign and with onstage recognition at their selected performances.

We hope you will also thank them when you visit their businesses. For more information regarding our sponsorship program, contact the Lied Center Director of Development Megan Poindexter, at 785-864-2788.

Elvis Lives

Open House and Community Arts Festival

An Evening with David Sedaris

Mamma Mia!

The National Acrobats of China FARFALLE (Butterflies) Suzanne Farrell Ballet The Intergalactic Nemesis & Chiara String Quartet forté Herbie Hancock

AnDa Union & The Chamber Ensemble of the Shanghai Chinese Orchestra & Jing Xing Dance Theatre

The Celtic Tenors

forté South Pacific forté

A saluteMedia to our Sponsors

Media sponsors provide important underwriting for Lied Center performances.

Their contributions give invaluable support for advertising, promotions and marketing.

For information on becoming a media sponsor, please call 785-864-3469.

Mnozil Brass

An Evening with David Sedaris

The Intergalactic Nemesis

A SALUTE TO OUR VIP SPONSORS

LIV E

PERFORMING ARTS UPcoming Performances Rodgers & Hammerstein’s

SOUTH PACIFIC

Tony Award-winning revival of the Broadway classic WEDNESDAY, Jan 18 — 7:30pm

Chiara String Quartet

A musical conversation between friends SUNDAY, JAN 29 — 2:00pm

ELVIS LIVES

The Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Event THURSDAY, FEB 2 — 7:30pm

Chamber Ensemble of the Shanghai Chinese Orchestra Traditional music from Shanghai MONDAY, FEB 13 — 7:30pm

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2011-1 2 Friends of the Lied Update

This list includes individuals and businesses that have initiated or renewed their Friends of the Lied membership since the original list was published.

Business Friends Fellow ($2,500+) Bigg’s Barbecue Patron ($500+) The Janssen Clinic of Natural Medicine

INDIVIDUAL Friends Benefactor ($1,000+) Venkata & Neeli Bendapudi Don & Carol Hatton Patron ($500+) Karen & Dennis Christilles Tod & Sidney Sutton Jan & Dale Willey Sponsor ($250+) John W. & Ferry Evans David & Diana Ice Lucy Price

You can support the Lied, too!

For more information or to join Friends of the Lied, contact the Lied Center Director of Development Megan Poindexter, at 785-864-2788 or meganp@ku.edu or go to lied.ku.edu/donate.

The Lied Center is grateful for gifts of all sizes.

We apologize for any errors or omissions.

2011-12 Friends of the Lied Update The Celtic Tenors

Contributor ($100+) Michele Berendsen John & Eliza Bullock George & Gloria Byers Janice & Robert Cobb Richard & Betty Colbert Robert Friauf Ted & Nancy Haggart William Sharp & Sonya Lancaster Adam Pousson Dr. Allan & Margi Ross Sharon Graham & Anthea Scouffas Charles Silvestri Lori Norwood & Doug Stull Forrest & Donna Swall Olive J. Ubel Friends ($50+) Eva S. Alley Cara Nossaman Anderson Gail S. Ayers P.H.D. Laurie Comstock & Greg Ludvigson Jack Winerock & Susan Elkins Karen Hall Mary & Steve Jones Bruce Levine Earl & Dee Anne Waters