Ara
Berberian
Ara Berberian attended the University of Michigan
and was a member of the Men's Glee Club and Novelaires
Quartet (with
m4m Baritone Dick Frank). Mr. Berberian just completed
his 19th consecutive season with the Metropolitan Opera Company.
He has performed with major opera companies and symphony
orchestras throughout the world. Mr. Berberian's repertoire
includes over 150 different operatic roles. He is especially
noted for his interpretations of Osmin in Mozart's The
Abduction
From the Seraglio, and Don Basilio in Rossini's The Barber
of Seville.
Mr. Berberian was a featured soloist at Measure for Measure's
1996 Spring Concert in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he delighted
the 900 in the audience with Handel's "Ombra Mai Fu" and "The
Willow Tree" by Amber Roobenian.
Glenda Kirkland
Soprano Glenda Kirkland is Professor of Voice at Eastern
Michigan University. She has woven her expressive spells
in many appearances with opera companies, oratorio societies,
symphony orchestras, and at recitals throughout the United
States. Her frequent guest appearances with the Detroit Symphony
Orchestra and other notable ensembles have included performances
at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center and the Meadowbrook
Music Festival.
Ms. Kirkland has appeared with Measure for Measure on three
occasions, including a special presentation at the Midwest
Conference on Music Education. In 1997, she joined M4M for
performances of "The Omnipotence" by Schubert and
L'Enfant Prodique" by Debussey.
Jennifer Larson
USA
Today has described Jennifer Larson as possessing a "golden voice." Recent highlights of her career
as a concert soloist include performances of the Poulenc
Gloria with the Utah Symphony under the baton of Robert Page,
Mozart Requiem with the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament
Choir, the Utah Symphony, and Ballet West, Mozart Missa Solemnis
in C (KV337) with the Cathedral of the Madeleine Choir, and
Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and Missa Solemnis "Gloria" under
the direction of Robert Shaw. On the stage this season she
has performed the title role in Stravinsky's Le Rossignol,
Marguerite in Gounod's Faust, and the Governess in Britten's
Turn of the Screw. Last February, Ms. Larson was named a
National Finalist at the Metropolitan Opera National Council
Auditions in New York City.
A favorite soloist with many contemporary music organizations,
Ms. Larson has been featured on several compact disc recordings
of original works. This years she will perform and record
composition for horn and voice with William Barnewitz of
the Milwaukee Symphony, including a piece composed expressly
for these performers. Other upcoming engagements include
Violetta in Verdi's opera La Traviata, and Mahler's Second
Symphony ("Resurrection") with the Illinois Symphony
Orchestra.
Ms. Larson appeared with Measure For Measure in 1998 at
the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor. She was accompanied by
Dr. Riccinto on O Mio Babbino Caro by Giacomo Puccini and
Glitter And Be Gay by Leonard Bernstein. She then captured
the hearts of the entire audience with Maurice Golman's arrangement
of Rossini's La Danza, accompanied by Measure For Measure
under the direction of her husband, Assistant Conductor Scott
Larson.
Ms. Larson also is a guest soloist on Measure For
Measure's 2000 holiday CD "A Celebration of Christmas",
in which she performs Gesu Bambino, Mary Had a Baby, and
O Holy
Night, together with soprano Carrie Wilson.
Carrie Wilson
Soprano Carrie Wilson is an acclaimed vocalist in a wide
variety of genres including opera, oratorio, musical theater,
and jazz. As a voice-over artist, Ms. Wilson has been heard
throughout the United States and Canada in commercial and
industrial recordings. She also maintains a private voice
studio in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Ms. Wilson's first official appearance as a guest soloist
with the group is on Measure For Measure's 2000 holiday CD "A
Celebration of Christmas", in which she performs Gesu
Bambino, Mary Had a Baby, and O Holy Night, together with
soprano Jennifer Larson.