Ursinus College Student Showcase
Recital
from the vocal studio of Michael Ashby accompanied by Milena Urban
May 4, 2025 – 4:00 p.m.
Bomberger Hall
PROGRAM
“Do-Re-Mi” from The Sound of Music………….…...Rodgers & Hammerstein
Sadie Walker as Maria
Von Trapp Children - Tutti
“Tell Me On A Sunday” ……………….……………Andrew Lloyd Webber
Nadya Dato
“Sixteen Going on Seventeen” from The Sound of Music…………..Rodgers & Hammerstein
Haley Favero as Liesl
“Someday I’ll Find You” from Private Lives………………….…Noel Coward
Laisha Torres
“Deh vieni, non tardar” - Recitative and Aria from Le Nozze di Figaro………. W.A. Mozart
Gianna Daiuto as Susanna
“Pur ti miro” from L'incoronazione di Poppea ……………..Claudio Monteverdi
Keelyn Fitzgerald as Poppea
Teresa Nadeau as Nerone
“Island Magic” from Trouble in Tahiti ……………...……...Leonard Bernstein
Kendra Melniczek (Guest Artist) as Dinah
Backup Singers - Tutti
“Ribbons Down My Back” from Hello Dolly………………...…Jerry Herman
Sadie Walker
“Non piu andrai” - Recitative and Aria (in English) from Le Nozze di Figaro… W.A. Mozart
Landon Conrad as Figaro
Laisha Torres as Susanna
Gianna Daiuto as Cherubino
Evan Chartock as Count Almaviva (Guest Artist)
“Your Daddy’s Son” from Ragtime……………………….....Stephen Flaherty
Laisha Torres
“Not Getting Married” from Company………………...….Stephen Sondheim
Gianna Daiuto as Amy
Keelyn Fitzgerald as Jenny
Landon Conrad as Paul
Bridesmaids - Tutti
Michael Ashby earned his Master of Operatic Performance from New Jersey City University and his Bachelor of Science in Music Performance from Indiana State University. He has performed regionally in opera, operetta, music theater, and theater productions. Michael has directed numerous camps and productions (opera and musical theater) for Philadelphia Vocal Conservatory/Philadelphia Boys Choir and Chorale, Philadelphia International Music Festival and at Rutgers University where for eleven years he was a private vocal instructor with the Mason Gross Extension Division/Rutgers Community Music Program.
Milena Urban is a Piano Performance graduate of Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw, Poland, and University of the Arts in Berlin, Germany. She received numerous awards including fellowships from Villa Musica Foundation in Mainz, Germany, German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), scholarships from Paul Hindemith Foundation in Berlin and Oskar and Vera Ritter Foundation in Hamburg.
As a co-founding member of the Aurora Piano Quartet in Berlin, an ensemble performing 4, 6 and 8-hand piano literature, Milena toured Germany with works of Scandinavian composers: Wolfgang Plagge, Bjørn Kruse and Trygve Madsen. After joining the Muhlenberg Piano Quartet she gave the premiere performance of Piano Quartet by Eric Sessler, a Philadelphia-based composer. In collaborative setting, she has been well received by the audiences of Kleiner Saal of Konzerthaus Berlin, Nikolaisaal in Potsdam, Margravial Opera House in Bayreuth, Lichtwark Hall in Hamburg, Germany, Chopin Music Society in Warsaw, Poland, Moranbong Theater in Pyongyang, North Korea, Paul Recital Hall of Juilliard School and Weill Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall in New York. Milena will give the premiere performance of a new piece for solo piano by Philadelphia-based composer, Kile Smith at Community Music School's 30th Anniversary Concert in April 2022.
Her principal piano teachers were Barbara Miodynska, Andrzej Stefanski, Maja Nosowska, Laszlo Simon and her father. Passionate about teaching piano to students of all levels and ages, Milena enjoys seeing them grow as musicians and individuals. Many of her students went on to win piano competition prizes and performed in the nation's greatest concert venue.
Join us for our Fall 2025 Concert Season:
Heefner Organ Recital –
Alan Morrison
Guest Piano Recital –Nathaniel LaNasa
Guest Jazz Trio – Larry Marshall & Friends
Heefner Organ Recital –Rasaan Bourke
UC Wind Ensemble Halloween Concert
Bomberger Auditorium September 14th – 4pm
Bomberger Auditorium September 27th – 4pm
Bomberger Auditorium October 5th – 4:30pm
Bomberger Auditorium October 19th – 4pm
Berman Museum of Art October 29th – 7:30pm
UC Jazz Ensemble & UC Tonight Modern Band Lenfest
December 5th – 7:30pm
Combined Ensemble Concert: Winds, Strings, & Choirs Lenfest Theater December 6th – 4pm
The Friends of Music provides ongoing support for these concerts and other needs of the department. For information on becoming a Friend, scan this QR code:
