2009 Winter Concert:
Handel's Messiah

Saturday, December 12, 7:30 pm
- pre-concert talk at 6:45 pm; Dr. Gary Boerckel of Lycoming College

Sunday, December 13, 3:00 pm
- pre-concert talk at 2:15 pm; Dr. Gary Boerckel

Zion Lutheran Church
- 5th and Market Street, Sunbury

Soloists: Gregg Bruce, Amanda Robie,
David Steinau and Nina Tober
Co-sponsors: M&T Bank and
Coldwell Banker/Penn One Real Estate

AN ORATORIO FIT FOR A KING! Once again, the SVC is pleased to present Handel's Messiah. This classic was the featured work at the Chorale's first concert, so let us brighten your holiday spirit by presenting this masterpiece--complete with soloists and Orchestra--in our 40th anniversary year. Come and enjoy a glorious performance of this most-loved choral work.

MEET THE ARTISTS

Gregg Bruce - Baritone

Baritone, Gregg Bruce, spent 2008-2009 as an apprentice artist with Opera Tampa where he performed the roles of Betto in Gianni Schicchi and covered Fiorello in Il barbiere di Siviglia. Recent performances include Njegus in St. Petersburg Opera’s production of The Merry Widow, Silvano in Opera Colorado’s production of Un ballo in maschera, and Bel Core in a student matinee of L’elisir d’amore with Opera Colorado’s young artist program. In past seasons, Mr. Bruce has performed Morales with One World Symphony, Frank with Crystal Opera, Schaunard with Amato Opera, and The Herald in Des Moines Metro Opera's production of Rigoletto. Gregg attended the International Institute of Vocal Arts in Chiari, Italy and is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music and Northwestern University.

Amanda Robie - Mezzo-Soprano

A native of New Hampshire, mezzo-soprano Amanda Robie began her musical journey as a small child. After begging her parents for over a year, she began taking violin lessons at the age of 8. Shortly after beginning her violin study, she joined her school choir and thus began her vocal career!

Ms. Robie graduated from Bucknell University with a Bachelor of Music in Music Education with a concentration in Voice Performance and Choral Pedagogy. Upon graduating, Ms. Robie moved to Washington, DC, where she was an associate professional of the Master Chorale of Washington, an alto section leader for local churches as well as a featured soloist for many engagements in the surrounding area.

Ms. Robie completed her Master of Music in Voice Performance at the Boston Conservatory and continues to study with Monique Phinney. She is a member of Boston Opera Collaborative as well as the Membership Chair. She has performed with the Boston Opera Collaborative as Mother Jeanne in Dialogues of the Carmelites, Berta in Countess of Seville, Bradamante in Alcina and most recently as Elizabeth Proctor in The Crucible. The past two summers she has been a Young Artist at the Seagle Music Colony where she performed the roles of The Witch in Hansel and Gretel, Third Lady in The Magic Flute and Tisbe in La Cenerentola. She recently won 2nd place in Division 5 of the 2009 NATS Boston Song & Aria Competition.

Amanda is an avid runner and competes in marathons and half-marathons, recently participating in a 200-mile relay called Reach the Beach. She also plays tennis and enjoys camping and other outdoor activities. She loves spending time with her family in Maine as much as possible!

This is Ms. Robie’s second appearance with Susquehanna Valley Chorale. She last sang with them in 2007 as the alto soloist for their performance of Bach’s Magnificat and Vivaldi’s Gloria. She is thrilled to be singing with Susquehanna Valley Chorale again!

David Steinau

David Steinau is an associate professor of music at Susquehanna University, where he teaches voice and directs the opera studio. He has staged the university’s recent productions of Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo, Weill’s Street Scene, and Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado. Originally from Illinois, he holds degrees from Northwestern University, the New England Conservatory of Music, and the University of Illinois. He has appeared frequently in operas ranging from Mozart to Britten and in the oratorios of Handel, Haydn and Bach. His particular interest in the music of the 20th-century German composer Hanns Eisler and the poet and playwright Bertolt Brecht has taken him to international conferences, where he has presented his studies of Eisler’s songs, most recently at the University of Helsinki, and to concert stages where he has organized and appeared in performances of Eisler’s music, most recently at St. Louis University. In April 2010 he will direct Susquehanna’s production of two rare operas from the 1940s: Hans Krasa’s Brundibar and Viktor Ullmann’s The Emperor of Atlantis.

Nina Tober

Nina Tober, a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, received a Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude with music department honors from Chatham College where she was a student of the late Lorenzo Malfatti. She earned a Master of Music degree in Voice Performance from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in voice performance and performance practice from the Claremont Graduate University. She also studied musicology and ethnomusicology at the doctoral level for two years at the University of Pittsburgh. Her voice teachers and coaches have included Claudia Pinza, Joan Dorneman, Gildo DiNunzio, and Richard Woitach of the Metropolitan Opera; Felix Popper and Anne Elgar Kopta of the New York City Opera; and Carlo Maestrini of La Scala.

A lyric coloratura soprano, she has performed in opera, oratorio, recital and early music performance with the Pittsburgh Opera, the Pittsburgh Chamber Opera Theater, the Los Angeles Mozart Orchestra, and the San Francisco Early Music Society. She was twice a winner of the Metropolitan Opera district auditions and a regional finalist. Her opera roles have included Pamina and Papagena in The Magic Flute, Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Musetta in La Boheme, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, and Cherubino, Susanna, and Barbarina in La Nozze di Figaro.

Dr. Tober began her college teaching career as a graduate student at the University of Pittsburgh where she directed the Men’s Glee Club and taught voice, music theory and piano classes. At Scripps College and Pomona College in Claremont she continued to teach studio voice, voice class and history of art song. Since coming to Susquehanna University in 1993 she has taught studio voice, voice class, vocal literature, music history, music theory, vocal diction and vocal pedagogy, and directed the University Chorale and the Opera Workshop. In addition to teaching she has served Susquehanna as Music Department Head since 2005. She is past vice president and president of the Allegheny Mountain Chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Many of her former students are professional performers, teachers and recording artists, and have pursued graduate work in opera, music education and music therapy at major conservatories and universities in the US and abroad.