Press Release – Free ECSO concert at Cathedral of St. Patrick – 4.10.22
Tuesday, March 16, 2022
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: CALEB BAILEY, 860-443-2876, [email protected]
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Check out our full 75th Anniversary Season Brochure
Free ECSO concert at Cathedral of St. Patrick – Sunday, April 10, 2022, 7:30pm
213 Broadway, Norwich, CT 06360
On Sunday, April 10 (Palm Sunday) at 7:30pm, the ECSO will perform a free concert at the Cathedral of St. Patrick in Norwich, CT. For more information and to reserve a free ticket, visit ectsymphony.com. This concert is generously sponsored by the Edward and Mary Lord Foundation.
The performance will open with Adagio for Organ and Strings, a sublime piece by 18th-century Venetian master Tomaso Albinoni, as reconstructed by musicologist Remo Giazotto.
Three of the remaining nine pieces on the program were written by Johann Sebastian Bach: Air from Suite No. 3, familiar to many as “Air on the G String”; the Adagio movement from Bach’s Violin Concerto in E Major, featuring ECSO concertmaster Stephan Tieszen; and the aria “Blute nur, du liebes Herz (Bleed now, loving heart)” from the monumental St. Matthew Passion, sung by soprano Jūratė Švedaitė.
Švedaitė, a graduate of the Lithuanian Academy of Music who teaches at Connecticut College, will also sing Desdemona’s moving “Ave Maria” aria from Giuseppe Verdi’s 1887 opera Otello, based on Shakespeare’s Tragedy of Othello. Tieszen, too, will make a second appearance as the soloist in an opera excerpt, playing the heartrending “Méditation” from Jules Massenet’s Thaïs of 1894. The third opera excerpt on the program is the “Intermezzo” from Pietro Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana of 1890.
From the famous setting of the hymn to Mary known as Stabat Mater by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, who died in 1736 aged 26, the ECSO will perform the contrasting sections “Vidit suum” and “Cujus animam.”
Closing out the program will be two late 19th-century pieces: the stately Chanson de Nuit, written by Pomp and Circumstance composer Edward Elgar; and “Preghiera (Prayer),” the gently flowing third movement of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s tribute to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Mozartiana.
Goodwill donations collected at the event will benefit the ECSO and the St. Vincent de Paul Place in Norwich, CT.
Covid Policy:
In order to safely celebrate our 75th anniversary season, we have implemented concert attendance guidelines. Audience members should consult the ECSO website (www.ectsymphony.com) for details. These guidelines are subject to change as the circumstances require and if government and venue recommendations evolve.
About Jūratė Švedaitė
Possessing a vocal artistry and stage presence capable of “transfixing audiences with moments of opera magic,” Lithuanian soprano, Jūratė Švedaitė, has performed on four continents with organizations such as the Lithuanian National Chamber Orchestra, the Israel Chamber Orchestra, Connecticut Lyric Opera, Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra, Connecticut Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, Prolirica de Antioquia (Colombia), Kaunas (Lithuania) Chamber Orchestra, Classical Orchestra of Piła (Poland), the Lithuanian National Ensemble “Lietuva”, Schlern International Music Festival (Italy), Greve Opera Festival (Italy), San Gimignano Music Festial (Italy), Pazaislis International Music Festival (Lithuania), among others, in venues as varied as Carnegie Hall, the Jerusalem Center (Israel), the Lithuanian National Philharmonic and Teatro Metropolitano de Medellin.
Her previous roles include the diva Tosca, Cio-Cio San in Madama Butterfly, Aida, Violetta in La Traviata, Mimi in La Bohème, Contessa in Le Nozze di Figaro, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Desdemona in Otello, Elisabetta in Don Carlo, Senta in Der fliegende Holländer, Marguerite in Faust, Tatyana in Eugene Onegin Antonia / Giulietta in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Nedda in Pagliacci, Micaela in Carmen, and the title role in Floyd’s Susannah, among others.
An active performer of sacred works and oratorios as well, her credits include Monteverdi’s and Vivaldi’s Magnificats; Bach’s Mass in B minor, Christmas Oratorio, Coffe and Peasant Cantatas as well as numerous sacred cantatas; Mozart’s Requiem, Exsultate Jubilate, Solemn Vespers and Missa Brevis; Pergolessi’s Stabat Mater, Brahm’s Ein Deutsches Requiem, Verdi’s Requiem, and Faure’s Requiem.
The granddaughter of one of Lithuania’s most revered composers and arrangers of traditional music, Jonas Švedas, she began performing at an early age and made her recording debut at the age of twelve; also, at that time, she hosted several programs for children on national television. Ms. Švedaitė later attended the Lithuanian Music Academy where she earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Opera Performance and Vocal Instruction. She now resides in SE CT where she is an Associate Professor at Connecticut College as well as voice instructor at Thames Valley Music School.
Ms. Švedaitė is exclusively represented by MIA Artists Management.
ECSO general copy:
We are thrilled to announce our 75th Anniversary Season’s lineup, curated by Music Director
and Conductor Toshiyuki Shimada. This season marks the 12th year under the musical leadership of Music Director and Conductor Toshiyuki Shimada. Visit www.ectsymphony.com for more information and follow us on social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube) @ectsymphony. The ECSO offers a range of affordable seating options from $65 to as low as $12 for attendance to one concert. The ECSO will continue to offer those under 40 years of age and active or retired military members $12 tickets in premium sections.
Founded in 1946 by Norwegian immigrant, Victor Norman, the mission of the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra is to inspire, educate, and connect our communities through live orchestral music.