Literacy in Action
A recital celebrating poetry and song in the Hudson Valley
November 3, 2:00pm at the Hudson Area Library
ABOUT US
Sopranos Margaret Tigue, Chelsea Fingal DeSouza, and Maggie McGuire with pianist Tonia Miki present Literacy in Action: A Celebration of Poetry in the Hudson Valley. The concert on November 3rd will offer an afternoon of music celebrating poetry, literature, and those who share their literary art with the world. This concert is open to people of all ages, and children are especially encouraged to attend.
In addition to works by Hudson Valley poets Edna St. Vincent Millay and Karen Schoemer, and composers Gilda Lyons, Kyle Gann, and Aaron Copland, the event will feature works by other American composers including Jake Heggie, Eric Whitacre, and Libby Larsen. The music and poetry reflects the artists’ various ages, backgrounds, beliefs, experiences, and more, demonstrating the ability for literature and music to express what must, but cannot always be said - especially when paired together.
The free recital will be held at the Hudson Area Library, allowing concertgoers to immerse themselves in the world of literature before, during, and after. This concert is held by musicians from Bard’s Graduate Vocal Arts Program who have curated unique musical sets to encourage a contemplation of cultural literacy, as well as to inspire an exploration of the written and spoken word.
This concert will be an engaging event for library patrons of all ages. In addition to the poets and composers mentioned above, the recital will feature music and text from popular children’s books and television. Audience members can expect to recognize old favorites and make new memories while also participating in some of the music-making themselves, even singing along when applicable.
Meet the Artists
Margaret Tigue was recently a Vocal Arts Fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center (TMC). In 2019, she was the soprano soloist in Verdi’s Requiem with The Orchestra Now, and was praised in OperaWire for “a power and a seeming effortlessness that was quite amazing.” Her performance highlights include the role of Helena in Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Mozart’s Exsultate, Jubilate with the Ann Arbor Camerata Orchestra, and the New York premiere of Tania León’s Memory at National Sawdust, and Oliver Knussen’s Whitman Settings with the TMC Orchestra. Tigue studies at Bard College-Conservatory’s Graduate Vocal Arts Program where she works with Stephanie Blythe, Kayo Iwama, and Lorraine Nubar. Margaret was awarded an encouragement award in the Michigan district of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 2017, and was awarded first prize in the University of Michigan Friends of Opera Undergraduate Competition in 2015.
Chelsea Fingal DeSouza is a soprano who consistently brings out the nuance and meaning of whatever text she sings. She excels at performing art song, contemporary, and baroque music. DeSouza has made the New York premiere of three contemporary songs, song cycles, and chamber works this past season both in English and Mandarin. In addition to her art song and contemporary performances, DeSouza has sung the role of Atalanta in George Handel’s Serse, and was the soprano soloist in the Fauré and Mozart Requiems, as well as for Poulenc’s Stabat Mater. DeSouza is slated to perform works by Susan Botti, André Previn, and Charles Bordes in the fall 2019 season, and will be a featured artist in a concert to support literacy in the Hudson Valley.
DeSouza is a graduate of the New England Conservatory in Boston, and is currently a graduate student at Bard College Conservatory in New York where she studies with mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe and Joan Patenaude-Yarnell.
Soprano Maggie McGuire has been steeped in classical music from an early age, raised in a family of professional musicians. A versatile performer, McGuire enjoys working in contemporary idioms: while at Oberlin she performed in a multi-media staged production of Philip Glass’ Songs from Liquid Days in collaboration with Cleveland Opera Theatre’s New Opera Works series. McGuire, along with Dawn Upshaw and fellow Bard VAP vocalists, performed New York premieres of new works by composers at National Sawdust in April 2019.
McGuire attended Oberlin Conservatory (BM Vocal Performance ’18) where performance highlights included Barbarina in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, and several song recitals in which she focused on composers such as Milhaud, Strauss, and Debussy. She now studies at Bard College Conservatory of Music’s Graduate Vocal Arts Program (MM Vocal Performance ’20); this past winter she sang at Bard’s Fisher Center as the featured soprano soloist in Respighi’s La natività del Signore.
Chinese-Japanese pianist Tonia Miki has performed throughout the United States, Spain, the Czech Republic, Italy, and China. In past seasons, Tonia has served as a répétiteur and apprentice coach for Eugene Onegin, The Rake’s Progress, and Le Nozze di Figaro with Mannes School of Music. Other opera credits include Chicago Fringe Opera’s Midwest premiere of Song from the Uproar and Die Zauberflöte with Prague Summer Nights. Recent performances include the Piano Thunderstorm concert in Villa Rufolo in Ravello, Italy, and Mannes Sounds Festival at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.
Tonia holds degrees from Manhattan School of Music, Northwestern University, and Mannes School of Music, where she was awarded Newton Swift Award under the guidance of Cristina Stanescu.
