Duke Symphony Orchestra: Centennial Celebrations 2

Program includes Verdi: Overture to "La Forza del destino" and excerpts from "Otello," "La Traviata," and "Aida" with soprano soloists Heather Engebretson and Catheryne Shuman; Britten: "Soirees Musicales," Op. 9, after Rossini; Wagner: "Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg" (Preludes to Acts I and III). Heather Engebretson has been praised by the New York Times for her "sweet-voiced soprano." In the summer of 2012, she was first place winner of Finland's prestigious Savonlinna Opera Festival Competition. She was also awarded the Sonderpreis der Oper Graz in the International Hans Gabor Belvedere Competition, after which she appeared in concert at the Stadttheatre of Baden bei Wien. 2012-2013 appearences include her Carnegie Hall Stern Auditorium debut as the soprano soloist in Schubert's G Major Mass, Gretel (Hansel und Gretel) with the Macon Symphony Orchestra, the soprano solo in Verdi's Requiem with Kirchenmusik an St. Sebald in Germany, and the soprano solo in Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem with the Virginia Consort. She currently pursues a Master of Music degree in vocal performance at The Juilliard School. Catheryne Shuman is a member of Chicago Opera Theater's Young Artists Program and Roosevelt University Chicago College of Performing Arts' Professional Diploma in Opera program. She received her Master of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she was awarded the prestigious Irvin Bushman Memorial Vocal Prize for outstanding vocal artistry.