Faculty Chamber Music Series: Esther Tonea, Soprano and Madeline Jarzembak, Harp

The Washington Conservatory of Music’s Faculty Chamber Music Series opens with soprano Esther Tonea and harpist Madeline Jarzembak. Tonea, an internationally acclaimed Romanian-American singer and recent San Francisco Opera Adler Fellow, performs with Jarzembak, principal harpist of the U.S. Navy Band. The concert supports the conservatory and its programming and is followed by a light reception.

Tonea has been praised for her powerful, precise, and expressive singing. She is a Grand Finals Winner of the National Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition and has performed roles including Donna Anna in Mozart’s *Don Giovanni*, Rosalinde in *Die Fledermaus*, Iolanta in *Iolanta*, Tatiana in *Eugene Onegin*, Marie in *Les Mousquetaires au Couvent*, Laoula in *L’étoile*, Juliette in *Roméo et Juliette*, and the title role in Handel’s *Semele*. Her recent concert work includes Brahms’ *Ein Deutsches Requiem*, Mendelssohn’s *Lobgesang*, Haydn’s *The Creation*, Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, *Carmina Burana*, and Jake Heggie’s *Another Sunrise*. She has also premiered and workshopped works by composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer.

Jarzembak is a Philadelphia native who earned degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Before joining the U.S. Navy Band as principal harp, she held principal harp positions with the Santa Cruz Symphony and Stockton Symphony. She has also performed with ensembles including the Philadelphia, San Francisco, Baltimore, Reno, Fairfax, Maryland, and Oakland symphonies, and has collaborated with conductors such as Charles Dutoit, Simon Rattle, Valery Gergiev, and Michael Tilson Thomas. Her solo appearances include performances with members of the Philadelphia Orchestra and several other orchestras. She has performed throughout the United States and Europe, received a Lyon & Healy Award, earned recognition at the Golden Harp competition in St. Petersburg, and appeared at the World Harp Congress and on NPR’s *From the Top*.

When: November 14

Showtimes: 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Run time: Approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes

Lineup: Esther Tonea, soprano, and Madeline Jarzembak, harp

Tickets: Price not available

Fundraising: The concert is presented as a free-will fundraiser benefiting the Faculty Chamber Music Series and the Washington Conservatory of Music.

Reception: A light reception follows the performance.

Venue: Episcopal Church of the Redeemer

Address: 6201 Dunrobbin Drive, Bethesda, Maryland 20816