Nov 22, 2002 6 min read

The second concert of the Asbury Festival Recital Series will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 30, in the sanctuary of Asbury United Methodist Church, Uniontown. The featured work will be Camille Saint-Saens “Christmas Oratorio.”

The Asbury Festival Choir will be assisted by area soloists, harp and organ in this musical prelude to the Advent season. The oratorio will be conducted by William M. Dreucci and accompanied by organist, Jim Hutchinson.

Five professional soloists have been engaged to sing the solo roles in “Christmas Oratorio.” They are Alison Show, soprano; Lisa Brovey Kovach, mezzo soprano; Linda Kay Jukes, alto; David M. Martin, tenor; and Eric Mountain, bass. The harpist will be Christine Mazza.

Show, a native of Uniontown and graduate of Uniontown Area Senior High School, is a graduate of the West Virginia University Creative Arts Center, where she began her voice study under Augusto Paglialungs, artist-in-residence at West Virginia University.

She was a 1997 recipient of a presidential scholarship to study at WVU. Show performed numerous operatic roles during her undergraduate career, including Pamina in “The Magic Flute,: Barbarina in “The Marriage of Figaro,” Alma in “Summer In Smoke” and Sophie in “Der Rosenkavalier.”

Her oratorio credits have included Handel’s “Messiah and Chichester Psalms” with the Wheeling Symphony and John Rutter’s “Requiem” in Madrid, Spain. She was selected to participate in the Austrian-American Mozart Academy in Saltzburg, Austria, in 1998 and 2000.

While in Austria, Show performed the roles of Queen of Night in “The Magic Flute” and Valencienne in “The Merry Widow.” She accepted a scholarship and graduate assistantship position at Bowling Green State University, where she currently studies with Andreas Poulimenos and Myra Merrit.

Show received first place award in the Frances Yeend Solo Voice Competition, a Pennsylvania Governor’s School for the Arts Scholarship, first place in the National Association Teachers of Singing Eastern Regional Conference competition and the Theodore Pressar Award and Scholarship.

Kovach, mezzo soprano, has performed as soloist with the Greater Uniontown Chorale on numerous occasions. She most recently performed with the chorale in the fall 2001 East Meets West concert.

She sang the mother’s role in the Greater Uniontown Chorale’s 1999 production of “Amahl and the Night Visitors” at the State Theatre Center for the Arts. In addition to performed as a frequent soloist at Asbury, she also sang the role of Bloody Mary in the Asbury Theatre Guild’s presentation of “South Pacific.”

Kovach earned bachelor and master degrees in voice performance from Duquesne University. Among her opera roles, she has performed Arminda in Mozart’s “La Finta Giardiniera,” and she regularly performs with the Pittsburgh Opera in the Opera Chorus. She is on the voice faculty at Point Park College.

Jukes, alto soloist, is a native of the Philadelphia area. She is a frequent guest soloist for various churches and civic groups through the Mon Valley. She has been a member of the Greater Uniontown Chorale for seven years and a former member of the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh and the California Chorale. Jukes studied voice with Dr. Walter Weave of Monongahela. She is currently director of choirs at the California United Methodist Church.

Jukes earned bachelor and master degrees in special education from California University of Pennsylvania. She also holds elementary certification and multimedia technology certification and is employed as a transition support teacher with the Intermediate Unit I.

Martin, tenor, holds a bachelor of arts degree in vocal music from Seton Hill College in Greensburg. He is a voice teacher and coach in the Fayette, Washington, Westmoreland and Allegheny County areas. He has studied with Curt Scheib, Joann Luchsinger and Roland Wyatt.

He currently studies voice with Katerina Musetti. Martin has performed with the Pittsburgh Opera Chorus in Verdi’s “Un Ballo in Maschera,” Donizetti’s “Lucia di Lammermoor” and Puccini’s “Turandot.” He has performed with the Greater Uniontown Chorale and Johnstown Symphony Orchestra in Handel’s “Messiah.” He was showcased in the Seton Hill College’s Fall 2002 Sacred Music Series in J.S. Bach’s solo cantata “No. 82 Ich Habe Gemug.”

Martin has also performed with the Westmoreland Choral Society and Westmoreland Symphony in works such as Stainer’s “Crucifixion” and Mozart’s “Regina Coeli.” He has portrayed King Melchoir in the Greater Uniontown Chorale’s 1999 production of Menotti’s “Amahl and the Night Visitors.” He is currently the tenor section leader and soloist for the First Presbyterian Church and soloist for the First Methodist Church, both of Greensburg.

Eric Mountain, bass soloist, is a resident of Cranberry Township. He has been performing for 35 years in various vocal capacities, including church and wedding music, musical theater and as a soloist for 28 years with the popular top 40s band, Ken Hill and Company. He has performed across the country from Minnesota to Florida and Pennsylvania to Nevada, including performances in Disney World.

His stage roles credits include “Carousel,” “Kirmet,” “Music Man,” Oklahoma” and “Kiss Me Kate.” Mountain’s vocal stylings take him from powerful pieces such as “Music of the Night” from “Phantom of the Opera” to the high falsetto stylings of hits like “Sherry” and “Walk Like a Man.” He is equally comfortable with the bass vocal demands of oratorio.

Mazza, harpist, resides in Morgantown, W.Va., and teacher harp through the Community Arts School at West Virginia University and at her home studio. She is principal harpist with the Johnstown Symphony and performs regularly with the Fairmont Symphony, the West Virginia University Symphony and the West Virginia Symphony in Charleston.

Past credits including the New Jersey Symphony, the Cleveland Opera Orchestra, the Cincinnati Ballet and the Wheeling Symphony. Mazza has performed in stage orchestras for Sammy Davis Jr., Barry Manilor, Gladys Knight and Mannheim Steamroller, as well as for several off-Broadway productions. She is co-founder and performer of the “278 Strings” duo with pianist Carol Beall. Mazza is also founder and direction of the Morgantown Harp Ensemble.

Mazza studies harp with Alice Chalifoux at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she received her master’s degree in harp performance.

Besides the oratorio, the program will also include John Rutter’s “Angel’s Chorus,” “O Little Town of Bethlehem” cantata arranged by John Leavitt and An Advent Song Cycle by Jim Hutchinson, which includes “Come Ye People,” “Ah, Peaceful Night,” “Down in the Valley,” “While He Sleeps” and “He Shall Be.”

Tickets for this second series offering are available at the Fayette Chamber offices, Judy’s Do-Re-Me Music Shop, which are both located in Uniontown; Amend’s Jewelry in the Uniontown Mall; and White Picket Fence in Hopwood.

Non-subscription tickets are $12 each. Tickets will also be sold at the Dunbar Street entrance to Asbury Church from 5:30 to 6:45 the evening of the concert. The doors will open to all ticket holders at 6:45 p.m. Asbury Church is located at the corner of South Beeson Avenue and Dunbar Street in Uniontown. The church is handicapped accessible.