Pike Opera\u2019s seventh annual concert was held on Sunday, August 30 in Ann Street Park, and Jim Pedranti, chairman of their board, said, \u201cThis was the best one yet.\u201d His reason was that the selection of music for this concert was the most relatable. In addition to the classical arias like Mozart\u2019s \u201cLe Nozze di Figaro\u201d or Bizet\u2019s \u201cPres des remparts de Seville from Carmen,\u201d these five accomplished singers from the Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA) in Philadelphia sang Leonard Bernstein\u2019s \u201cMaria,\u201d George Gershwin\u2019s \u201cSummertime\u201d from Porgy and Bess, and Rogers and Hammerstein\u2019s \u201cYou\u2019ll ever Walk Alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
There were others in the audience who might point out that the 600-plus members of previous concerts were very happy with more of an emphasis on the classics.<\/p>\n
Whatever one\u2019s opinions are about this, AVA Board member Barbara Donnelly Bentivoglio enthusiastically pointed out that \u201cNothing brings people together like good music in a beautiful community, with the sun shining, and everyone enjoying the music.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe audience\u2019s response at yesterday\u2019s seventh annual Opera in the Park was extraordinary. People of all ages filled the park with excitement and applause, from the opening note through the final performance. We are deeply grateful to our donors, volunteers, sponsors, friends, and supporters, whose generosity made this unforgettable evening possible,\u201d said Javier Morales, founder and artistic director of Opera! Pike! Park!<\/p>\n
Academy of Vocal Arts members return year after year<\/p>\n
There were about six members from AVA who make it their business to come every year because they love the music, the people, and the setting. In fact, Donnelly Bentivoglio was overheard making her room reservation at the Fauch\u00e8re for next year. Scott Guzielek, the new president and artistic director of AVA was in awe of the concert. Although he had been here before a few years back, he was happy to see the growth of the concert. \u201cWe are so delighted to bring opera to this wonderful community, and I hope that this entices them to come to Philadelphia to one of our concerts,\u201d Guzielek said.<\/p>\n
There is a real bond developing between Pike Opera and AVA. Pianist, conductor, and vocal coach Jose Melendez worked with Artistic Director, Javier Morales from the very beginning to help develop Pike Opera and as Melendez brought his talented student opera stars to Milford every year, that bond grew stronger.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s artists were Soprano Jasmine Rose, Mezzo-Soprano Maiya Williams, Tenor Ryan Michi, Bass-Baritone Dylan Gregg, and Pike Opera\u2019s darling, Soprano Emily Margevich.<\/p>\n
Margevich holds a special place in the hearts of Pike Opera fans. She has sung with the Opera for the past three years and has most notably been recognized for her work with the local children performing on stage and getting them introduced to opera. She was co-host with entertainer Jamie Harris (senior vice president of Clear Talent Group) for this performance. Margevich was recently appointed to Pike Opera\u2019s Board of Directors.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am very proud and fortunate to be the newest member of the Opera Pike Board! Milford is such a wonderful, generous community and to be included in conversations, to work hard alongside you as you build your future and carry on your mission to its fullest potential is an honor that I cherish,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Lisa Winkler was selling her new book, \u201cGershwin\u2019s Bess\u201d and was \u201cexcited to hear the talented Maiya Williams\u2019 rendition of \u2018Summertime.\u2019 I love making connections with readers,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Program honors memory of Ken Ferris<\/p>\n
In the centerfold of the program, there was a loving photo of Ken Ferris with the caption,<\/p>\n
\u201cKen Ferris (1941-2026 ) This year\u2019s concert is in memory of and tribute to Ken Ferris, who loved Amy, his garden, his community and Pike Opera,\u201d It was a bittersweet moment for Amy Ferris who said, \u201cKen loved Pike Opera because it brought the community together. One of the things he wished for when he was dying was for me to make a donation to Pike Opera and I did it for him\u2014and for Javy (Morales) and the opera.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pike Opera\u2019s seventh annual concert was held on Sunday, August 30 in Ann Street Park, and Jim Pedranti,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":276895,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[116070,69,71,70],"class_list":["post-276894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-jim-pedranti","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-headlines","tag-philadelphia-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=276894"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276894\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/276895"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=276894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=276894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=276894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}