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Rosen-Schaffel Competition: 10th Anniversary Celebration

July 25, 2021 | 7:00 pm

ROSEN-SCHAFFEL COMPETITION: 10TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

featuring Andrew René and Morgan Short


This event is dedicated to the memory of An Appalachian Summer Festival’s longtime friend, generous supporter and competition benefactor Mark Tafeen.

This performance and other classical music events at An Appalachian Summer Festival are supported by the Rosen-Schaffel Endowment for Classical Music Programing. Created by Nancy and Neil Schaffel, the endowment honors the legacy of Nancy’s parents, Arnold and Muriel Rosen, and their lifelong commitment to the fine arts, as well as their important role in the founding of An Appalachian Summer Festival.

The Rosen-Schaffel Competition for Young and Emerging Artists has also received generous support from the Bruce J. Heim Foundation, and Mark and Nancy Tafeen.

An Appalachian Summer Festival, in partnership with the Hayes School of Music, proudly presents this special program celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the Rosen-Schaffel Competition for Young and Emerging Artists. Central to the festival’s founding principles is a belief in the importance of supporting young American artists, and promoting the professional endeavors of young artists pursuing careers in the fine arts. The competition is known for the pivotal role it has played in launching the careers of some of our state’s most promising young artists. This program honors the competition’s history, founders, and participants, and will feature performances by previous winners Andrew René and Morgan Short, as well as exclusive interviews with selected contestants and competition sponsors Nancy and Neil Schaffel.

Program Selections:
Suite in Bb major HWV. 440 (1733)                                   George Frideric Handel (1685-1759), arr. Morgan Short
Allemande
Courante
Sarabande
Gigue
“Zitti, Zitti Trio” du Barbier de Seville (1820s)                 Nicolas-Charles Bochsa (1789-1856), Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868)

Morgan Short, harp


Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen                                   
Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)
“Wenn mein Schatz Hochzeit macht”
“Ging heut’ morgen über’s Feld”
“Ich hab’ ein glühend Messer in meiner Brust”
“Die zwei blauen Augen von meinem Schatz”

Andrew René, baritone

LOCATIONS:
Livestream: Online at Appalachian Summer Festival YouTube Live. Following the scheduled premiere, this event will be available to view through August 8 on the App Summer YouTube channel.

SHOW LENGTH: 60 minutes

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact the Box Office at
theschaefercenter@appstate.edu or at 800-841-2787 or 828-262-4046.

ACCOMMODATION STATEMENT: Appalachian is committed to providing an inclusive experience for individuals with disabilities. If accommodations are needed in order to fully participate on the basis of a disability contact the Office of Disability Resources (828.262.3056). It is recommended that accommodation requests be made two weeks prior to the event.

TICKETS:
Virtual: FREE

SHOWTIMES:
Sunday, July 25, 2021 | 7pm ET (virtual)

ANDREW RENE (baritone) has participated in vocal competitions and professional engagements, including performances with the Virginia Opera Association, the Bay View Association, Opera Raw, Piedmont Opera, the A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute, the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, and the Princeton Festival. The summer of 2015 marked his third year of attendance at the Bay View Music Festival, where he performed the role of Marcello in their production of Puccini’s La bohème. In 2017, he returned to sing the role of Escamillo in Carmen. During the summer of 2018, he performed the role of Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola with the Brevard Music Center. He recently won first place in the Heafner-Williams Vocal Competition, the Opera Guild of Charlotte Competition, and the Rosen-Schaffel Young Artist Competition.

His previous roles include John Sorel in Menotti’s The Consul, the Pirate King in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance, Guglielmo in Mozart’s Così fan tutte, Riolobo in Catàn’s Florencia en el Amazonas, Harlequin in Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos, Father Palmer in Silent Night, Sam in Trouble and Tahiti, Dandini in La Cenerentola, Golaud in Impressions de Pelléas, and the title role in Verdi’s Falstaff. In 2018, he played the Celebrant in Bernstein’s Mass, and, in 2019, he played Albert in  Massenet’s Werther, and Garibaldo in Handel’s Rodelinda, all produced by the A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute. During the summer of 2019, he performed the role of Marcello in Puccini’s La bohème with Opera Wilmington.

Mr. René received his undergraduate degree from Capital University where he studied with Élise DesChamps and Brian Banion, and, recently, his Master of Music degree from the A.J. Fletcher Institute of Opera of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, where he studied with Dr. Marilyn Taylor and Robert Overman.

Canadian Brass
MORGAN SHORT (harpist) is an exclusive Classics Alive Artist represented by Jean Schreiber Management. As an international prize-winning harpist, she is quickly building a reputation as a gifted soloist having 18 concerto engagements to her credit. Morgan won her first concerto competition at age 16 performing the Debussy Danses with the US Navy Concert Band. She received the Ambassador Middendorf Award, and has since won the Grand Prize in a dozen concerto competitions, awarding her the opportunity to solo with numerous orchestras across the country.

Winner of the Kathleen Price Award, her 2019 debut with the North Carolina Symphony performing Handel’s Concerto in B-flat Major was received with great enthusiasm, as the audience was “stunned by the uniquely beautiful sound of the instrument, which Short played with remarkable dexterity and sensitivity,” while “carrying the audience on a thoughtful and brilliantly executed musical journey.” (Classical Voice of North Carolina and Wesley Schulz, Associate Conductor, North Carolina Symphony)

A month later she performed Debussy’s Danses with both the Eastern Music Festival and the Appalachian Music Festival. Morgan’s harp playing was described as “exquisite” by Classical Voice of North Carolina. “This was French music with a real French flair and the results were breathtaking to experience.” According to Gerard Schwarz, Music Director of the Eastern Music Festival, “Morgan is well on her way to having a career as a harp soloist.” (Greensboro News and Record)

Her most recent competition awards include First Prize in the American Harp Society National Competition (Advanced Division), First Prize (Strings) in the Ronald Sachs International Music Competition, and Grand Prize in the Classics Alive Artist Management Audition in Los Angeles, Grand Prize and Audience Prize in the Rosen-Schaffel Competition for Emerging Artists, Grand Prize in the Alexandria Symphony/Mary Graham Lasley Concerto Competition, Finalist in the Anne Adams Award National Competition sponsored by the American Harp Society, and Semi-Finalist in the Friends of the Minnesota Orchestra Concerto Competition. Other honors include a 2019 Harp Fellowship at the Eastern Music Festival and an invitation to present a multimedia concert at the 2019 American Harp Society National Conference.

Notable performance venues include: Carnegie Hall Stern Auditorium for a NY International Music Festival as guest artist for VTech at age 15; Arthur Zankel Music Hall, NY, as a featured soloist for the Saratoga Harp Colony; Mora Ferenc Museum (Hungary) and Galeri Caernarfon (Wales) for three international harp competitions and participation in a harp documentary.

Morgan actively freelances as an orchestral harpist and has served as Principal Harpist for the New River Valley Symphony and numerous orchestras in North Carolina and Virginia performing in several operas and over two dozen fully staged Nutcracker performances. Additionally, she is a Substitute Harpist for the Charlotte Symphony. She has worked with renowned conductors: Gerard Schwarz, Steven White, Stefan Sanders, James Ross, Wesley Schulz, Grant Cooper, Miriam Burns, Andrew Sewell, Larry Rachleff, and Xian Zhang, among others.

Morgan’s 2019-2020 solo engagements included a recital for the American Harp Society Piedmont Chapter, and the First Friday’s Music Series at Ferrum College, along with two additional performances of Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez with the Alexandria Symphony under the direction of James Ross. In a recent podcast, Maestro James Ross remarked that Morgan performed this work with great “panache” and “power” at the 2019 Mary Graham Lasley Scholarship Competition.

Morgan received a Bachelor of Music in Harp Performance and a Minor in Arts Entrepreneurship from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (2020). She is currently a Dean’s Scholar at the New England Conservatory pursuing a Master of Music in Harp Performance with Jessica Zhou, Principal Harpist of the Boston Symphony.

You can follow Morgan: @MorganShort.Harpist or subscribe to her YouTube Channel.

RETROSPECTIVE VIDEOS
In celebration of the 10th Anniversary of the Rosen-Schaffel Competition, we take a look back at past winners as they reflect on their experiences, special memories and how the competition impacted their careers.


Andrew René — First Place, 2019
Voice/Baritone

Morgan Short — First Place/Audience Choice, 2018
Harp

Eva Wetzel — First Place/Audience Choice, 2017
Violin

Hunter Bockes — First Place, 2016
Saxophone

Jacob Cook — Third Place, 2015
Vocalist

Amber Carpenter — First Place, 2014
Harp

Molly Reid — Third Place/Audience Choice, 2013
Piano

Julian Rose — First Place, 2012
Flute

Bradley Plesz — Second Place, 2011
Percussion

Details

Date:
July 25, 2021
Time:
7:00 pm
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