Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota Presents: Under the Stars

October 21, 2020 – Sarasota

Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota makes its first foray into outdoor concerts with Under the Stars, an inspired celebration of opera and musical theatre featuring the voices of soprano Jennifer Kreider and tenor John Kaneklides, October 26, 5:30 p.m., on the bay front at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, 900 S. Palm Avenue, Sarasota. Kreider was a top prizewinner at Artist Series Concerts’ 2016 National Voice Competition. Kaneklides is an award-winning young tenor who has appeared as a soloist in Carmina Burana with the Florida Orchestra and Choral Artists of Sarasota. Joined by pianist Joseph Holt, they’ll perform favorites by Brahms, Schubert, Donizetti, Rodgers & Hammerstein and more. To ensure the safety of audience members, musicians and staff, in addition to the outdoor setting, all seating (provided by Michaels on the Bay at Selby Gardens), will be socially distanced, guests’ temperatures will be taken upon arrival and masks or face coverings will be required. As a further safeguard, there will be no will call and tickets must be purchased in advance. Tickets are $25 and are available online at ArtistSeriesConcerts.org or by calling 941-306-1202, Monday – Friday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Jennifer Kreider and John Kaneklides are no strangers to area opera fans. Kreider delighted judges and audience members alike at Artist Series Concerts’ 2016 National Voice Competition, where she took first place. Kaneklides has made numerous appearances with Opera Tampa, the St. Petersburg Opera Company and Choral Artists of Sarasota, amongst many others. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in April 2019 performing in Georgia Shreve’s Don Quixote. “Jennifer and John are both outstanding young singers and are a further embodiment of our mission to present and support the exciting new stars of tomorrow,” says Joseph Holt, director of artist programs for Artist Series Concerts.

Highlights of the one-hour program (with no intermission) include a trio of Brahms’ Lieder, Donizetti’s Veranno A Te Sull’aure from Lucia di Lammermoor, Rodger & Hammerstein’s Younger Than Springtime from South Pacific, a selection of songs from Schubert’s Die schöne Müllerin, plus works by Puccini, Stravinsky and others.
Soprano Jennifer Kreider is pursuing a performer’s diploma under the guidance of Jane Dutton at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. Her past roles include Musetta (La Bohème), Dew Fairy (Hansel and Gretel), Linfea (La Calisto) and many others. She has been a young artist at Opera in the Ozarks, the CoOPERAtive Program in Princeton, New Jersey, and the Franz Schubert Institute in Baden bei Wien, Austria.

Hailed by Opera News as “the very picture of youthful optimism and potential,” John Kaneklides’ “tenor voice cuts through all others with its richness and warmth” (Broadway World). Performances include Alfredo in La traviata (St. Petersburg Opera and Delaware Valley Opera), Hoffmann in Les contes d’Hoffmann (St. Petersburg Opera & Skylight Music Theatre), Rodolfo in La bohème (Festival of Arts Boca & Mid-Ohio Opera), Villiars in Carlisle Floyd’s Prince of Players (LOTNY), Guide/Borgia in Borgia Infami (Winter Opera St. Louis), Ralph in H.M.S. Pinafore (YVTC), Henrik in A Little Night Music (Hawaii Performing Arts Festival), Lt. Cable in South Pacific (St. Petersburg Opera), Carmina Burana (The Florida Orchestra & Choral Artists of Sarasota), and Messiah (Asheville Symphony Chorus & North Carolina Baroque Orchestra).

“It’s hard to believe that after 25 years of presenting concerts in a variety of settings, we’re finally bringing the music outdoors,” says Marcy Miller, executive director of Artist Series Concerts. “And the starry skies, lush greenery and panoramic bay views of Selby Gardens by dusk will be a perfect and safe backdrop for an evening of fresh air and great music under the stars.”