Meet the singers of the Reson8 Vocal Octet!

 

Meet the singers of the Reson8 Vocal Octet! Pictured: Charlene Canty, Graham Fandrei, Andrew Bloomgarden, Zanna Fredland, Amelia D'Arcy, Danel Teadt, Timothi Williams, Rob Frankenberry.  Photo by Alisa Innocenti. In just a few days, Resonance Works will open its exciting 12th season, and we’re starting with the launch of our new vocal octet, Reson8! This high-level ensemble, comprised of some of the best professional singers in our region, has been a longtime goal of Artistic and General Director, Maria Sensi Sellner. She envisioned a group whose members were just as comfortable as solo artists as they are as part of an ensemble, allowing them to flex their artistic muscles and demonstrate their versatility.  These incredible musicians all call the Pittsburgh region home but have performed to great acclaim across the United States. Let’s meet them! Soprano Charlene Canty has been acclaimed for her “sumptuous voice” and “beautiful tone,” succeeding in major operatic roles in Don Giovanni, Norma, Porgy & Bess, Le nozze di Figaro, and La bohème. Equally at home on the concert stage, Ms. Canty has been featured in an array of choral works with such organizations as the Warren Philharmonic Chorus, Beit Benedict Festival Orchestra, Youngstown Musica Sacra Orchestra, and the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra. At Resonance Works, she has appeared several times since her debut in 2019, most recently as the first Witch in our 2023 production of Verdi’s Macbeth. Critically acclaimed soprano Amelia D’Arcy has garnered awards from the Tanglewood Institute, the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts, the Rosa Ponselle Foundation and the Pittsburgh Concert Society. She sang the title role in Verdi's Luisa Miller, Amelia in Simon Boccanegra and Lida in Verdi’s early La Battaglia di Legnano for Vincent La Selva's complete chronological Verdi series at New York's Central Park SummerStage. Other roles include the title roles in Tosca and Madama Butterfly, Mimi (La bohème), Violetta (La traviata), Leonora (Il trovatore), and Alice Ford (Falstaff). Amelia has a long relationship with Resonance Works, singing Lady Macbeth in our first-ever production in 2013, as well as several other principal roles. Mezzo-soprano Zanna Fredland has performed, directed, and taught music and theater all around the country. Zanna’s favorite roles include Aldonza in Man of La Mancha, Lilli Vanessi in Kiss Me, Kate, Clelia Waldgrave in The Nerd, and Maxene Andrews in Sisters of Swing. She has appeared with Pittsburgh Public Theater, Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, Front Porch Theatricals, Bricolage, Saint Vincent Summer Theatre, Arizona Broadway Theatre, and Granbury Opera House.  Zanna is a member of the Professional Core of the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh and has been a soloist with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. We are delighted to have Zanna join us again; she previously appeared a Witch in Macbeth, the third Wood Sprite in Rusalka, and in several choral and orchestral performances. Timothi Williams, mezzo-soprano, is a familiar face to Resonance Works fans, appearing most recently as the title role in Rossini’s La donna del lago. She has had the pleasure of performing operatic roles including Jo March in Little Women, Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Ruggiero in Alcina, Dinah in Trouble in Tahiti, Mélisande in Pelléas et Mélisande, Dido in Dido and Aeneas, Maddalena in Rigoletto and Hansel in Hansel und Gretel. Timothi has a passion for education and is currently on the voice faculty at Slippery Rock University, where she acts as Director of Opera Performance. Recently, Timothi was selected as the music department representative for the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. Tenor Andrew Bloomgarden is an active performer in our region, and appears regularly with the Pittsburgh Opera Chorus and the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh. He appears with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra on their Grammy-nominated recording of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and the to-be-released recording of Mozart's Requiem. We’ve had the pleasure of working with Andrew in multiple productions, including Macbeth, Rigoletto, On the Town, and most recently in the role of Bertram in last season's La donna del lago. Robert Frankenberry enjoys a multi-faceted relationship with music as a singer, pianist, conductor, orchestrator, producer, director, and composer. He has conducted operas in a Hookah lounge, on and around a cemetery lake, and on and in Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater. In 2019, he was granted the honor of adapting, arranging, and orchestrating two  of Mr. Rogers’ one-act operas for live performance, leading the premiere performances from the keyboard. On film, he can be seen in starring roles in all three of composer/director Daron Hagen's Bardo Trilogy opera films, for which he also provided musical direction. Rob has been involved with Resonance Works since the beginning, and has been heard in many productions including Amahl (Kaspar), Song of the Earth (Tenor soloist), and Macbeth (Malcolm) as well as at the piano (Cinderella, Verdi by Vegetables, To Breathe Free). He is currently serving Resonance Works as Associate Producer and in November will appear as The Snake in The Little Prince. With a career spanning four continents, acclaimed baritone Daniel Teadt is well known for his decades long experience on the recital, concert, and operatic stage. Teadt has performed major roles throughout the United States and Europe, including engagements with New York City Opera, Arizona Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, San Francisco Opera, Anchorage Opera, Aix-en-Provence Festival, Opera Theater of Saint Louis, Ashlawn Opera Festival, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Opera Theater Summerfest, and Central City Opera among many others. This season, audiences can also see Daniel as The Pilot in our November production of The Little Prince.  Belizean-American bass-baritone Graham Fandrei has built a distinguished career in both arts administration and performance in national and international venues. Graham’s active performing career has taken him to prestigious venues worldwide, including the Rotterdam Philharmonic in Holland, the Nissay Theater in Tokyo, and Broadway, where he performed in film director Baz Luhrmann’s production of La bohème. He has been a guest soloist with orchestras and chorales across the United States, including the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, the Master Chorale of South Florida, the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, the Austin Symphony, and the Back Bay Chorale in Boston, MA.   Sunday, September 22, 2024 3:00 pm Calvary Episcopal Church, Shadyside Sunday, September 29, 2024 4:00 pm Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church   featuring: Charlene Canty, Amelia D'Arcy, Timothi  Williams, Zanna Fredland, Rob Frankenberry, Andrew Bloomgarden, Daniel Teadt, and Graham Fandrei  Get tickets for the launch of Reson8! Sing With Us! Our March 2025 program, Dwell Together, takes its name from the final line of Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, “Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.” Created in partnership with Dr. Herbert VRP Jones, founder of The Heritage Gospel Choir of Pittsburgh, these concerts explore what it truly means to actively “Dwell together in unity,” with awareness, compassion, and intent.  Together, we are assembling a top-tier chamber choir that fully represents the diversity of our city, presenting music that deserves to be heard at the highest level. Dwell Together features the Pittsburgh premiere of Joel Thompson's Seven Last Words of the Unarmed (2014), Julia Perry's Stabat Mater (1951), Leonard Bernstein's Chichester Psalms (1965), among other works.  Interested in joining us? We will be hearing singers for this special choir on the following dates: Saturday, September 14, 2024 from 12:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.  Wednesday, September 25, 2024 from 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Singers, please visit our website and fill out the Singer Interest Form.  Once received and reviewed, you will be contacted with a proposed time slot to come and sing for us in person. This is a volunteer opportunity. Any questions may be sent via email to auditions@resworks.org.

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