Really looking forward to getting back out in front of an audience, but for now, from January 2020, here’s the Verdi Requiem, conducted by Paul Leavitt and with my fellow soloists Patrick Cook, Elizabeth Mondragon-Groff, and Alyssa Cox!
Author: John T.K. Scherch
A Fairy Queen
IN Series presents, to inaugurate the INVision Virtual Opera House, Artistic Director Timothy Nelson’s reimagining of Purcell’s The Fairy-Queen and Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, fittingly combining the two into A Fairy Queen, an episodic podcast opera in the style of a classic radio drama, with John as the narrator. The show premieres on the virtual opera house on September 12, and The Play’s the Thing, an hour-long musical preview of the production, will be on Music in Maryland on WBJC on September 5. Click all the links for more info!
#bassclones
At the beginning of the COVID quarantine, we artists were all in a bit of shock from most of our gigs suddenly having to be canceled. To make use of this jarring burst of free time, I decided to record some performances of opera scenes featuring all bass or low baritone parts, playing each role myself, starting with the statue scene from Don Giovanni and the Sparafucile duet from Rigoletto. Enjoy!
Verdi Requiem with the Friday Morning Music Club
You may have noticed it on the calendar; John returns to the Friday Morning Music Club as the bass soloist for their performances of Verdi’s Requiem on January 16th and 18th! Admission is free, but you can reserve your spot and donate to the organization here.
Choral Happenings This Winter
There are some opportunities to see John in an ensemble context coming up (perhaps not a surprise as we near December):
Messiah with the BSO: 12/7-8 at the Meyerhoff
Messiah with Handel Choir: 12/14 at Grace United Methodist Church, 12/15 at St. Mark Church
Old St. Paul’s Church Christmas Concert: 12/15
Amadeus live scoring with the BSO: 1/3-5, at the Meyerhoff and at Strathmore on 1/4
Rachmaninoff All-Night Vigil with Handel Choir: 3/7 at the Baltimore Basilica
Watch this space for more musical goings-on!
Season Update
As the young season has progressed, so has the list of things you’ll be able to see me in!
October 17/20: my BSO acting debut, as the Farmhand in Hindemith’s Sancta Susanna. Thursday evening at the Meyerhoff, Sunday afternoon at Strathmore. Tickets and more info here.
November 1-2: I’ll be the bass soloist in Bach’s Magnificat and Mendelssohn’s Psalm 115 with the Friday Morning Music Club. Performances are at 8 PM at the Lutheran Church of the Reformation in DC. More info here.
March 7, 8, 14, 15: the world premiere of Frances Pollock and Robert Misbin’s new opera Briscula the Magician, in which I will perform the role of Man from the City, with Bel Cantanti. Performances are at the Randolph Road Theater in Silver Spring. Tickets and more info at belcantanti.com.
April 11, 12, 16-19: a new version, orchestrated for circus ensemble, of Verdi’s Rigoletto with IN Series, in which I will sing Sparafucile. Performances are at the Atlas Performing Arts Center in DC. Tickets and more info here.
John “shined” at Young Vic!
Young Victorian Theatre Company’s “From London to Baltimore” has been a big hit, and John was singled out in this excellent review! You’ve got one more chance to see it, this Sunday at 3 at the Gilman School.
A Return to Young Vic
John returns to the Young Victorian Theatre Company for From London to Baltimore, a greatest-hits show of Gilbert & Sullivan as part 1 of their 50th anniversary celebration. The shows are July 14th, 18th, and 21st at the Gilman School; more information can be found at yvtc.org.
Die Zauberflöte with the Bethesda Summer Music Festival
On June 29th at Bethesda Presbyterian Church, the Bethesda Summer Music Festival presents Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte with John in the principal bass role of Sarastro. There are two performances that day, at 2:30 and 7:30. He will also appear in an art song recital and a preview show for the opera on June 22nd.
April 28, 2019—Lux aeterna
John has been the professional bass for Handel Choir of Baltimore this season, and he will be featured in their upcoming final major concert, Lux aeterna, performing the aria “Hier ist das rechte Osterlamm” as part of Bach’s Christ lag in Todes Banden, BWV 4. Other works on the program include two works by Sir John Tavener and a new work by Tawnie Olson.
The performance is Sunday, April 28, 4 PM at Church of the Redeemer on North Charles Street in Baltimore.
May 2019 – The Tsar’s Bride with Bel Cantanti
John returns to Bel Cantanti Opera to sing the role of Vasily Sobakin in Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera The Tsar’s Bride.
Performances:
Saturday, May 11, at 7:30pm
Sunday, May 12, at 3:00pm
Saturday, May 18, at 7:30pm
Sunday, May 19, at 3:00pm
Location: Randolph Road Theater – 4010 Randolph Rd, Silver Spring, MD. Tickets are available here.
April 7, 2019 – A Spring Fete with Bach in Baltimore
Welcome spring with a concert featuring Bach’s delicate Cantatas 49 and 84, plus Handel’s masterful Organ Concerto Op. 4.
John joins Bach in Baltimore as the bass soloist for BMV 49 and the aria “Heir in meines Vaters Stätte” from BMV 32.
The concert takes place at 4pm at Grace United Methodist Church in Baltimore. Tickets are $25 Advance/ $27 Door and can be purchased here.
