The Hammond Performing Arts Series Presents the 2014 New England Regional Finalists Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. (April, 4 2014) – Saul Cohen, President of Hammond Residential Real Estate in Chestnut Hill, is pleased to announce that the next concert in the Hammond Performing Arts Series will take place at 3 p.m. on April 13 at the Ruth Corkin Theater at the Brimmer & May School, 69 Middlesex Avenue. The concert will be hosted by pianist John Moriarty, and will feature performances by soprano Katrina Galka, mezzo soprano Abigail Dock and baritone Josh Quinn, who are the 2014 New England Regional Finalists of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.

Katrina Galka is a lyric coloratura soprano from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A summa cum laude graduate of Southern Methodist University, she earned her Master of Music Degree from Boston University in 2013 and is currently a soprano-in-residence at the Opera Institute. Last summer, she made her professional debut with Opera Theater of St. Louis as a Gerdine Young Artist, playing the role of Isabel in “The Pirates of Penzance” while also covering the role of Mabel. She will once again return to the Opera of St. Louis this summer as a Gerdine Young Artist, singing the role of Papagena in Mozart’s “Magic Flute,” and she will cover the role of Sister Constance in Poulenc’s “The Dialogues of the Carmelites.” Galka was the Second Place Winner in the 2014 Metropolitan National Council Auditions.

Mezzo-soprano Abigail Dock hails from Medford, Oregon. She is a 2012 graduate of Rice University in Houston, and she is completing her first year of graduate work at Boston Conservatory of Music. Last summer, she sang Olga in Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin” at the Seagle Music Colony in Schroon Lake, New York. This summer, she will perform as a Young Artist at the Caramoor Festival in New York, where she will be singing the role of Page in Verdi’s “Rigiletto” and covering the role of Orsini in Donizetti’s “Lucrezia Borgia.” Dock is a recipient of the John Moriarty Encouragement Award.

Josh Quinn is currently a Graduate Diploma candidate at the New England Conservatory, studying with Luretta Bybee. He has performed the role of Danilo in the “Merry Widow” with the Janiec Opera Company, as well as Einstein in “Die Fledermaus,” Publio in “La Clemenza de Tito,” and Papageno in “Die Zauberflöte with the New England Conservatory. During the month of April, Quinn will sing as a soloist in Brahms’ “Requiem” with the New Haven Symphony, and this summer he will make his debut with the Opera Theater of St. Louis as a Gerdine Young Artist singing the role of the 2nd Commissioner and covering Marquis de la Force in Poulenc’s “Dialogues of the Carmelites.”

John Moriarty has conducted and stage directed productions at opera companies throughout the United States, including the Boston Lyric Opera, Santa Fe Opera, and Opera Theater of St. Louis. After retiring as chairman of the Opera Department at New England Conservatory in 2001, Moriarty continues to be on the faculty where he teaches Collaborative Piano and Vocal Coaching. For the past fifty years, he has been the official accompanist for the Metropolitan Council Auditions in Boston.

Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions program began in 1954 and now includes 14 regions of the United States and Canada with a total of 41 districts. National Council members and volunteers in the in the regions administer the auditions. Judges are music professionals. The purpose of the program is to discover and assist exceptional young artists in developing their talent. Winners of district auditions advance to the region’s finals, where they compete to win a trip to New York to participate in the National semi-finals held on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House. Approximately ten finalists are then selected to compete in a Grand Finals concert, accompanied by the Metropolitan Opera orchestra. Each of the five Grand National winners is awarded $15,000. Hammond agent Pauline Ho Bynum has been the New England Regional Chairman for the Metropolitan National Council Auditions since 1984.

Throughout its twenty-one year history, Hammond, which is headquartered in Chestnut Hill, has made the visual and performing arts the primary focus of its corporate philanthropy. In 1996, the Hammond Performing Arts Series was created to enrich the cultural communities that Hammond services, as well as to provide talented up-and-coming musicians with performance opportunities. Hammond regularly presents admission-free concerts in Boston, Chestnut Hill, Concord, Hingham, Lexington, and Weston. In addition, Hammond’s South End, Hingham and Hull offices prominently display revolving exhibits featuring well-known artists from the area.

Reservations for the April 13 concert are currently being accepted. If you are interested in attending, please call 617-731-4644 x 254 to reserve your complimentary seats.