Carolyn Black-Sotir, host/soprano
Timothy McReynolds, piano
American Music Theatre Artists
Spirio, the world’s finest Resolution Player Piano
Saturday, April 13, 2019 at 4:00 pm
Ticket: $50
Enjoy An hour or so with Lenny, an entertaining and enlightening retrospective of Leonard Bernstein’s works for the Broadway stage. Host/singer Carolyn Black-Sotir, accompanied by pianist Timothy McReynolds, shares the stage with an ensemble of extraordinary vocalists and—through the magic of Spirio—international piano duo Anderson and Roe, brilliant Leann Osterkamp, and even Leonard Bernstein himself!
Black[-Sotir] is a wonderful singer, with beautiful tone, and excellent diction, and her portrayal is spontaneous and superbly characterized.
Baltimore Sun
Carolyn is an abundance of beauty and talent.
Pittsburgh Press
Tim McReynolds. . . a brilliant accompanist.
Classical Journal
Carolyn Black-Sotir
Carolyn Black-Sotir is a versatile artist performing in and directing opera, oratorio, recital, musical theatre, and cabaret. The Philadelphia Inquirer characterizes her as “brilliant, shining, expressive, and confident,” while the Baltimore Sun describes her as“a wonderful singer, with beautiful tone and excellent diction; her portrayal is spontaneous and superbly characterized.”
As guest artist, locally she has sung with the Annapolis, Maryland, and Lancaster Symphonies. She is in demand on the university and concert circuits presenting programs ranging from the lieder of Alban Berg to the songs of Irving Berlin. Her hallmark is her innovative and collaborative programming. She continues to perform on the symphony pops circuit with her original programs celebrating such composers as George Gershwin, Richard Rodgers, Stephen Sondheim, to name a few.
Carolyn works as a producer and director of opera and musical theatre. In collaboration with Center Stage, she produced a new work: Shadowboxer, an American opera about boxing legend Joe Louis. Carolyn is a member of the Voice Faculty at Morgan University while maintaining a private studio. She is in demand as a clinician, conducting numerous master classes and workshops for young singers.
Carolyn’s commitment to the arts is illustrated in numerous advocacy efforts. Currently, she serves as Chair of the Baltimore County Commission on Arts and Sciences. She hosts two arts television programs--Kaleidoscope and smARTs--as well as numerous PBS specials. Recently, she wrote, co-edited, and co-produced a special on American opera composer Dominick Argento, which aired on Minnesota Public Television. She co-founded The Steinway Series at Silo Hill, dedicated to reinventing the way people experience live classical music while raising awareness and research funds for Parkinson’s [www.SteinwaySiloHill.org].
Dr. Black-Sotir is a magna cum laude graduate of Eastman School of Music with Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in Vocal Performance. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Voice Performance with a special concentration in Directing from University of Maryland.
Carolyn and her husband Michael have three sons and live at Silo Hill, located in the picturesque farmland of Baltimore County.
Timothy McReynolds
Enjoying a career that embraces art song, opera, chamber music, and cabaret, pianist R. Timothy McReynolds is also active as a teacher and vocal coach. He is a member of the Voice/Opera faculty of the University of Maryland, School of Music.
He has presented concerts, cabarets, and master classes in Mexico, Germany, Italy, and Austria, as well as across the United States. As an accompanist, Tim has performed in recital with such acclaimed artists as Delores Ziegler, Michael Mayes, Emily Pulley, Catherine Cook, Isabel Leonard, Timothy Mix, Corinne Winters, and the late William Warfield.” Tim holds the distinction of playing (and singing) the world premier of Dominick Argento's Cabaret Songs with Linda Mabbs at the University of Maryland. He has travelled to Italy on numerous occasions to play recitals at International ClarinetFest in Assisi and to serve as the Artist-in-Residence Collaborative Pianist for the Summer Music in Tuscany in Sarteano. A little closer to home, Tim was the vocal accompanying Artist-in-Residence at Lynn University in Florida.
Tim enjoys a close association with UrbanArias and Vocal Arts DC. Recent concert venues include the Kennedy Center and the German Embassy in Washington, D.C, the Egyptian Embassy in Vienna, Austria, and both Stern Auditorium and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. In addition to playing chamber music, he continues his work as Keyboardist for the Baltimore Symphony.
Tim holds a B.M. from Indiana University, M.M. from the University of Michigan, and D.M.A. from the University of Maryland. His teachers include Edward Auer, Martin Katz, Jeffrey Gilliam, Robert McCoy and Rita Sloan.
Recordings include Schubert’s Die schöne Müllerin with tenor Bryce Westervelt, and Sur mon Voyage with tenor Duane Moody. Tim has several recordings with Grammy-nominated Inscape Chamber Orchestra on the Sono Luminus label.
Leonard Bernstein
Photo by Al Ravenna, 1955, courtesy of the Library of Congress
LEONARD BERNSTEIN (August 25, 1918- October 14, 1990) was a world-renowned conductor and composer, and one of classical music's icons of the 20th century. He was Music Director of the New York Philharmonic and conducted the world's major orchestras, leaving behind an enormous legacy of audio and video recordings. His books, as well as the much-beloved televised Young People's Concerts with the New York Philharmonic, established him as a leading educator. His orchestral and choral works include three symphonies (No. 1 "Jeremiah", No. 2 "Age of Anxiety", and No. 3 "Kaddish"), Serenade, Mass, Chichester Psalms, Songfest, Divertimento for Orchestra, Arias and Barcarolles, and Concerto for Orchestra. Bernstein's works for the Broadway stage include On the Town, Wonderful Town, Candide and the immensely popular West Side Story. In addition to the West Side Story collaboration, Mr. Bernstein worked with choreographer Jerome Robbins on three major ballets, Fancy Free, Facsimile and Dybbuk. Mr. Bernstein was the recipient of many honors, including eleven Emmy Awards, one Tony Award, the Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award, and the Kennedy Center Honors.
© The Leonard Bernstein Office, Inc. Used with permission.
For more information about Leonard Bernstein, please visit LeonardBernstein.com
