Opera and Broadway!
The ALLENTOWN BAND, Ronald Demkee, Conductor plays Opera and Broadway Favorites
7:00 pm, Tuesday August 12, Waldheim Park, 2400 South Hall Street, Allentown, free
7:00 pm, Thursday, August 14, Christ Lutheran Church, 1245 Hamilton St., Allentown, free
At Waldheim, concert goers are seated in the beautiful outdoor Tabernacle, which is covered by a breathtaking arched roof and features excellent acoustics. The concert will be repeated at Allentown’s Christ Lutheran Church, which also provides wonderful acoustics, and will be joined by Summer Harmony, the Lehigh Valley’s premier men’s chorus.
The band opens the program with Richard Wagner's stirring Prelude to Act III from “Lohengrin” followed by Georges Bizet’s exuberant Toreador’s Song from “Carmen.” Grace Lerew will then deliver one of Renee Flemming’s trademark arias, the beautifully haunting Song to the Moon from Anton Dvorak’s “Rusalka.” After the band’s performance of Musetta’s Waltz from Giacomo Puccini’s “La Boehm,” Daniel Rodriguez, will offer Puccini’s E lucevan le stelle from “Tosca” and Giuseppe Verdi’s popular La donna e mobile from “Rigoletto.” The band concludes the first half of the concert with the Three Dances from “The Bartered Bride” by Bedrich Smetana.
Daniel opens the second half of the program with two blockbuster songs from Broadway- Into the Fire from “The Scarlet Pimpernel” and Anthem from “Chess.” Members of the band’s brass section are then featured in a unique transcription of Donizetti’s well-known Sextet from “Lucia di Lammermoor,” with Gregory Seifert and DeVaughn on trumpets; Caitlin Heckman, Jeff Krause, and Jon Conrad, on trombones; and Clearnce Weber on Euphonium. Grace returns with A Little Bit in Love from Leonard Bernstein’s “Wonderful Town.” Daniel will conclude the program with what many consider the definitive tenor aria, Puccini’s Nessun Dorma from “Turandot.”
Admission is free at both concerts, with free will donations appreciatively accepted to support the venue’s Concert Series.
DANIEL RODRIGUEZ, Profile
Daniel Rodriguez, the Brooklyn born, now-retired police officer, helped bring the country an uplifting spirit of promise and hope with his stirring rendition of “God Bless America” after the 2001 World Trade Center terrorist attack.
Formal voice training began early, with Daniel's first recital in Carnegie Hall at age 16. Singing has been his lifelong passion; however, it didn't always pay the bills. He worked at a series of jobs until joining the NYPD at age 30, where he became known as "The Singing Policeman".
On September 11, 2001, Officer Rodriguez was driving to work when the first plane hit the World Trade Center. Arriving at the site as a first responder, he witnessed the destruction of both towers, nearly losing his own life. At "Prayer for America" in Yankee Stadium his inspirational voice gave hope and strength to a grieving nation. His music career had turned into a calling.
Daniel's philanthropic and patriotic efforts have been recognized with numerous honors, such as the USO Lifetime Achievement Award, the DAR Medal of Patriotism and others. Now known as "America's Beloved Tenor," he continues to uplift and inspire in performances for his chosen charities, at high profile events, and concert halls around the world.
GRACE LEREW, Profile
Grace Lerew is a native of Allentown, Pennsylvania. Recently, she won the Metropolitan
Opera Competition in Indianapolis. She has performed several contemporary works in collaboration with Renée Fleming, including Garner’s A Forest Unfolding, Zohn-Muldoon’s Songtree, and Kaija Saariaho’s Quatre Instants. The latter was subsequently reprised with the Oberlin Conservatory Contemporary Orchestra. She has also been seen onstage in Aspen, Colorado, in several performances of Mozart’s Idomeneo (Ilia cover), and in scenework including The Rake's Progress (Anne Truelove), Little Women (Amy March), and Le Nozze di Figaro (Susanna). She is a graduate of the IU Jacobs School of Music, where she studied vocal and bassoon performance. While there, she appeared as Nannetta (Falsta?), Beth March (Little Women), Norina (Don Pasquale), Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi), Niña (Ainadamar), and Blumenmädchen (Parsifal) across various stages. Her international performances include Massenet’s Cendrillon in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte in Berlin, Germany.
