Baritone David Wolfe is the headline performer this week at Nantucket Musical Arts Society’s third concert of its stellar 2023 summer season. Wolfe will perform at 7 pm this Tuesday, July 25 in Saint Paul’s Church, 20 Fair Street, the Society’s new venue for its summer series, now in its 64th season.
He will be accompanied by Jonathan Gmeinder, a Chicago-based pianist and vocal coach who recently completed his second year as a studio artist and staff pianist at Houston Grand Opera.
“We are anticipating a grand evening of music, with David’s remarkable voice and Jonathan’s professional accompaniment,” said Eva-Maria Tausig, NMAS President. “They have prepared a program that will delight audiences of all ages.”
NMAS will also host the popular, free “Meet the Artist” event with the Atheneum, 1 India Street, at 5:30 p.m. Monday, July 24. An informal, unscripted chat with Wolfe and Gmeinder will allow audience members to interact with them, ask questions, and explore their musical careers and future plans. Students and children especially are welcome.
A native of Shamokin, PA, Wolfe was a Grand Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera’s 2023 Eric and Dominique Laffont competition. He is currently an apprentice artist with Des Moines Metro Opera, where he is covering Moralés in Carmen, as well as joining the choruses of both Carmen and The Love for Three Oranges by Prokofiev.
Wolfe received his Master of Music degree from Northwestern University, where he studied with acclaimed voice teacher W. Stephen Smith. He made his Northwestern Opera Theater debut as Paul in the Midwestern premiere of Jake Heggie’s opera, If I Were You, later appearing as Schaunard in La Bohème. He is currently scheduled to sing the role of Luther Harlow/The Outlaw in Northwestern Opera Theater’s production of the opera In a Grove by Christopher Cerrone.
Wolfe earned his undergraduate degree from the Eastman School of Music, where he studied with both Jan Opalach and Robert Swensen. As a student, he performed in A Postcard from Morocco by Dominick Argento and Der Kaiser von Atlantis by Viktor Ullmann. With a strong passion for art song performance, as well as opera, last August, he attended the Steans Music Institute at the Ravinia Festival in Chicago, appearing in several recitals with faculty such as Steven Blier, Patricia McCaffrey, Graham Johnson, Alan Darling, Gerald Martin Moore, and Lee Musiker.
Since moving to Chicago, Gmeinder has also worked extensively as a vocal coach, collaborator, and piano teacher. He currently teaches and coaches opera students at Roosevelt and Northwestern Universities, where he has been a vocal coach for La Bohème, Don Giovanni, Les pêcheurs de perles, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Norma, La traviata, and the world premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon’s The House Without a Christmas Tree, for which he provided the piano accompaniment on the original cast recording.
Tickets for Tuesday’s 7pm performance are available at Saint Paul’s Church, 20 Fair Street, for $30. Doors open at 6:30pm. Tickets may also be purchased in advance at the Antiques Depot, 2 South Beach St.
The three remaining concerts in NMAS’ 2023 summer season will feature the Cavatina Duo of Spanish flautist Eugenia Moliner and Bosnian guitarist Denis Azabagic on August 1; Boston’s Balourdet Quartet, currently in residency at the New England Conservatory’s Professional String Quartet Program, on August 8; and noted pianist Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner on August 15.
For details about the final three performances of the 2023 season or to learn more about NMAS, call 508-228-1287 or visit nantucketmusicalartssociety.org.
