SOLARIS VOICES DIVAS REPRISE CONCERT TO BENEFIT THE BEACON ARTS & EDUCATION FOUNDATION, SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 9, 2012
Tickets for this event: www.cdhvny.org
When distinguished sopranos Courtenay Budd (Poughkeepsie), Kelly Ellenwood (Beacon) and Irina Mozyleva (Beacon) joined forces to create Solaris Voices, an organization that presents classical vocal concerts as benefits for local charities, they knew they had something good to offer. What they realized after their inaugural concert last spring was that they had something truly extraordinary. The response they received for their performance was overwhelmingly positive, and on May 18,2012 they presented a $2,500 check to the Center for Prevention of Child Abuse in Poughkeepsie, their first beneficiary non-profit. “Our goal is to help raise awareness and funds for local non-profits, and also to expand the audience for classical vocal music in the Hudson Valley. Communities outside of major metropolitan areas, like Beacon and Poughkeepsie, truly require the support of many to sustain a high quality of life, safety, culture, and proper education for our children. Solaris Voices offers an opportunity for everyone to take part in keeping our striving communities alive and vibrant, to care and to make a difference. We are so grateful to all the businesses and individuals who supported our first concert.” said co-founder Irina Mozyleva.
Two Solaris Voices concerts-benefits have been scheduled for the fall.
On September 9, 2012, Solaris Voices will reprise their March program this time to benefit the Beacon Arts and Education Foundation (BAEF), an organization whose mission is to support a more comprehensive education in the Beacon City School District. One of its goals is to fully fund the 24th Annual Calico Ball, a 10-week program which teams all third grade students across the district with professional artists and dancers from the critically acclaimed dance company, the Vanaver Caravan. Each third grade class focuses on a different region of the world, learns about the cultural traditions there and is trained in a dance representing that country. This program culminates in a global dance festival at Beacon High School where students perform in full costume, accompanied by live music. The program had been a treasured tradition for 19 years when it was cut from the Beacon City School District budget. In addition, the BAEF is working this year to establish annual programs in the middle and high school. “We are thrilled to have been approached by Solaris Voices to become one of their beneficiaries,” said BAEF Chairperson Meredith Heuer. “This event is a great way to start off the school year. We hope that many Beacon residents and parents will support the BAEF and bring their kids to the concert too, taking advantage of an amazing cultural experience and helping raise money to support district-wide programming that wouldn’t be possible otherwise.” For more information regarding the Beacon Arts and Education Foundation, visit www.beaconeducationfoundation.
On November 17th, a new concert program, featuring mezzo-soprano Audrey Babcock and soprano Irina Mozyleva, will help raise funds for the new Beacon Dog Park. More information about this concert/fundraiser and purchase of tickets will be available at the beginning of October.
All contributions are made to Solaris Opera Fund, a component fund at the Community Foundation of Hudson Valley, and are tax-exempt to the fullest extent of the law. www.cfdcny.org
About September 9th Concert: Solaris Voices in Concert is an entertaining evening featuring a diverse and dynamic repertoire of songs and arias from Purcell to Puccini, with a little Neil Young and Leonard Bernstein thrown into the mix, sung by three versatile Hudson Valley performers: Sopranos Courtenay Budd (Young Concert Artists International Auditions Winner), Kelly Ellenwood (Broadway’s “The Phantom of the Opera”) and acclaimed Belarus-born diva Irina Mozyleva. They will be accompanied on the Howland’s Steinway Grand by virtuoso pianists Sylvia Buccelli and Douglas Coates. For more information, www.solarisvoices.org and www.beaconeducationfoundation.
Where: The Howland Cultural Center, 477 Main Street, Beacon, NY 12508
When: Sunday, September 9, 2012 at 5:30 pm.
Tickets: Tickets for SOLARIS VOICES recitals will be available at the Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley web site www.cfhvny.org on Monday, August 13. Advance purchase is strongly encouraged due to the limited seating capacity of the Howland Cultural Center. Tickets are $30 in advance ($5 for children under 18), and $35 at the door. Howland Cultural Center members are invited to attend the performance for $20. Donations in support of the event and the two organizations will also be accepted at the Community Foundation’s website.
Click here for more information on the artists: About the Artists
