20240111_Watkins

THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY College of Music presents

HOUSEWRIGHT VIRTUOSO SERIES Howard Watkins, Collaborative Pianist

Thursday, January 11, 2024 7:30 p.m. | Longmire Recital Hall

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To Ensure An Enjoyable Concert Experience For All… Please refrain from talking, entering, or exiting during performances. Food and drink are prohibited in all concert halls. Recording or broadcasting of the concert by any means, including the use of digital cameras, cell phones, or other devices is expressly forbidden. Please deactivate all portable electronic devices including watches, cell phones, pagers, hand-held gaming devices or other electronic equipment that may distract the audience or performers.

Recording Notice: This performance may be recorded. Please note that members of the audience may at times be included in this process. By attending this performance you consent to have your image or likeness appear in any live or recorded video or other transmission or reproduction made in conjunction to the performance.

Florida State University provides accommodations for persons with disabilities. Please notify the College of Music at (850) 644-3424 at least five working days prior to a musical event to request accommodation for disability or alternative program format.

PROGRAM Piangerò la sorte mia from Guilio Cesare S’altro che lacrime from La clemenza di Tito La Pastorella delle Alpi

Lamento di Federico from L’Arlesiana

Olivia Bahmer, soprano

Anielya Wells-Miller, soprano

Ashley Lewis, soprano

Cody Whiddon, tenor

Piano Trio No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 67 III. Largo IV. Allegretto – Adagio Madelyne Garnot, violin; Ryan Wolff, cello Fernando Garcia, piano Va pure ad altri in braccio from La finta giardinera Ecco, ridente in cielo from Il barbiere di Siviglia After you hear me out from Glory Denied What does he know of dreams from Highway One, USA Piano Trio No. 1 in B Major, Op. 8 I. Allegro con brio

Rebecca Gardner, mezzo-soprano

Adam Henning, tenor

Caitlin Ecuyer, soprano

DaSean Stokes, tenor

Angel Andres, violin; Mitchell George, cello Da Hee Kim, piano

George Frederic Handel (1685–1759) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) Gioacchino Rossini (1792–1868) Francesco Cilea (1866–1950) Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–1975

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) Gioacchino Rossini (1792–1868) Tom Cipullo (b. 1956) William Grant Still (1895–1978) Johannes Brahms (1833–1897)

ABOUT THE GUEST ARTIST American pianist Howard Watkins is a frequent associate of some of the world’s leading musicians on the concert stage and as an assistant conductor at the Metropolitan Opera. His appearances throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia, Russia, and Israel have included collaborations with Renée Fleming, Joyce DiDonato, Lawrence Brownlee, Diana Damrau, Thomas Hampson, Kathleen Battle, Grace Bumbry, Mariusz Kwiecien, Anna Netrebko, and Matthew Polenzani at such venues as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Spivey Hall, Kennedy Center, the United States Supreme Court, Alice Tully Hall, the three stages of Carnegie Hall, the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, and the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow. He has accompanied the classes of legendary artists Renata Scotto, Frederica von Stade, Regine Crespin, Birgit Nilsson, Sherrill Milnes, and George Shirley.

His current and former faculty affiliations include The Juilliard School, the Bard College Conservatory of Music, the Merola Opera Program, the Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Program, the Yale School of Music as a Visiting Presidential Fellow, the Tanglewood Music Center, the Aspen Music Festival, the Mannes School of Music, the North Carolina School of the Arts, the International Vocal Arts Institute (Israel, Japan, and China), IIVA in Italy, the Brancaleoni Music Festival in Piobbico, Italy, the Tokyo International Vocal Arts Academy (TIVAA) as a founding member, and VOICExperience in Orlando, Tampa, and Savannah. Formerly a guest Master Coach for the Cafritz Young Artists of Washington Opera and the Opera Theater of St. Louis, Mr. Watkins has worked on the music staffs of Palm Beach Opera, the Washington National Opera, and the Los Angeles Opera.

A native of Dayton, Ohio, Mr. Watkins completed the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Accompanying and Chamber Music at the University of Michigan. Honored as the recipient of both the Paul C. Boylan award from the University of Michigan for his outstanding contributions to the field of music and a Special Achievement Award from the National Alumni Association of the University of Dayton, he is also the 2019 recipient of the Lift Every Voice Legacy Award from the National Opera Association. He was recently recognized as one the 2022 Top Professionals of the Year by Musical America in part for his work to celebrate the music of Black composers and singers.