Mary
Rice
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Recent Highlights
Description
This season the Moab Music Festival turns its attention to our greatest local resource—the mighty Colorado River. Join us as we explore a range of perspectives of living artists, with the hope to inspire ongoing stewardship of this precious resource.
The banks of the Colorado are the perfect setting to hear two world premieres by up-and-coming composers Maya Miro Johnson and Roydon Tse. Sponsored by the festival’s Commissioning Club and a matching grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, Johnson and Tse’s new commissions are inspired by the river. The program also includes a work by Salt Lake City composer John Costa, original music by Diné composer/pianist Connor Chee, a presentation by the Hopi Nation, and literary readings from Utah authors.
About the venue: Perched on the Colorado River and set against towering red rock walls, Red Cliffs Lodge is a spectacular location for an outdoor evening concert. The stage is set on an expansive lawn adjacent to the Colorado; bring a chair, spread your blanket on the lawn or find your spot in the provided seating area and enjoy the music as the sun sets on this beautiful venue.
Pre-Concert Panel: Just before the Colorado Currents performance, attend a free panel discussion at the Red Cliffs Lodge Colorado Room from 5:30-6:30 pm. Discussion will include the Moab Music Festival’s two world premieres, stewardship of the Colorado River, and the importance of water in the Hopi culture. Panelists include:
John Weisheit, Co-Founder at Living Rivers and the Colorado Riverkeeper,
Howard Dennis, Native American flutist and Hopi Elder, and
Moab Music Festival commissioned composers Maya Miro Johnson and Roydon Tse.
Mary Rice
"A Heron Stands" - Refuge
Dates
Description
Spread out a blanket and soak in one of Moab’s favorite events! It’s the Festival’s 32nd annual free Community Concert. This wide-ranging program includes music from the American Songbook, duos for flute and marimba, a work by Diné composer and pianist Connor Chee about his musical heritage, and a special performance by artists from the Hopi Nation, who bring their own dancing and music to the festivities. The young stars of BAILEN round out the program with fresh, original tunes.
Mary Rice
La Bonne Cuisine
Dates
Description
Leonard Bernstein, whose music graced the stage of the very first Moab Music Festival in 1993, is in the spotlight at the intimate and elegant setting of the House Concert. Bernstein’s legacy is intact as a great composer, conductor, pianist, author, and educator.
Jamie Bernstein, the author of the memoir “Famous Father Girl”, and the Maestro’s eldest daughter joins us, narrating the background stories on Anniversaries—short piano pieces given as gifts to Bernstein’s family, close friends, and colleagues.
Who were the beneficiaries, and what role did they play in his life? Arias and Barcarolles, Bernstein’s final work, explores many perspectives of the American family in a song cycle for mezzo-soprano, baritone, and piano 4-hands.
About the venue: One of Moab’s most beautiful private homes provides the intimate location for a memorable evening of music and fine food. This lively occasion offers an exceptional opportunity to experience a performance up close, followed by a celebratory dinner.
Mary Rice
Arias and Barcarolles
Dates
Description
America in the middle of the 20th Century was buzzing with change. The post-WW II promise of peace and prosperity ushered in an age of new technology, led by advances in science, design, architecture, fashion, and entertainment. As America entered the Space Age, formica, linoleum, aluminum foil, Tupperware, and television came into middle class homes. Clean, structural lines replaced decoration in a style today referred to as Mid-Century Modern.
The musical expressions of mid-century American composers captured the streamlined taste as well as the industrial, smoky bustle of new modern life, while occasionally looking back with fondness at the gentler, slower-paced simplicity of previous generations. Hear some of that Mid-Century sparkle and charm with works by a diverse array of 20th century luminaries, from Charles Mingus to Giancarlo Menotti.
Your ticket includes hors d’oeuvres, beer and wine, and an optional shuttle from downtown Moab.
Venue Description: Red Earth is surrounded by red rock cliffs, native desert vegetation, and big views. With its glass-walled structure and open-air platform, this indoor-outdoor venue has the feel of a private national park.
Mary Rice
Performer
Dates
Mary Rice
Soloist
Dates
Biography
Mary Rice is a charismatic and dynamic mezzo-soprano, known for their "warm tone", "elegant interpretation" (BroadwayWorld), and "polished vocalism" (Voce di Meche).
Their 2021/22 season featured their principle debut with City Lyric Opera as the Queen of Hearts in the American premiere of Elizabeth Raum's The Garden of Alice. they performed Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel with Berlin Opernfest, and joined Opera Fayetteville's production of Matthew Aucoin's Second Nature as the Elder Constance cover. They were featured in concert with both the 2021 and 2022 seasons of the Rome Chamber Music Festival in Rome Italy as a Stephen della Roca Young Professional and Festival Artist, performing Bernstein's Arias and Barcarolles at the Auditorium Conciliazione and a program of American songs at the Teatro Argentina, and the Brahms Zwei Gesänge and other Lieder in concert with Lune di Fiori in Rome. They performed as a soloist in the City Lyric Opera Spring 2022 gala, the 5th Annual Recital for Refugees at Opera America, and made their debut with the Moab Music Festival in Salt Lake City.
In the 2022/23 season they performed the Rachmaninov All Night Vigil and Monteverdi's Vespro de la Beata Vergine as the Alto Soloist with Music At Co-Cath, the David Geffen Hall Opening Galas The Journey and The Joy, The March to Liberation, and Become Desert with the New York Philharmonic, and joined Ars Musica as an Encore Young Artist to perform the Alto Solo in Mozart Requiem, Handel Messiah, and a concert of Brahms Lieder. Additional concert work this season included the Alto Soloist in Mozart's Coronation Mass with the Brooklyn Chamber Orchestra, Alto Soloist in Beethoven's 9th Symphony and the Choral Fantasy with the Choral Arts Society of New Jersey, and in recital with Liz Kiger (violin) and the Brooklyn Telemann Chamber Society at the Snug Harbor Cultural Center, premiering new works and songs from Along the Field by Ralph Vaughan Williams.
Upcoming engagements include performances with Marshall Opera and the Moab Music Festival.
They were a 2020 Mary Trueman Art Song Preservation Society finalist (the final round being cancelled due to Covid) and the 2020 Lyra New York Mozart Competition runner-up.
Further operatic roles include Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro), Sr. St. Charles (Dialogues of the Carmelites), Jean (Le portrait de Manon), Mrs. Nolan (The Medium), Mary Buccelli (The Triangle Fire), L'enfant (L'enfant et les sortileges), Dritte Dame (Die Zauberflöte), and Prince Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus).
Additional oratorio and concert credits include alto soloist in the Vivaldi Gloria with NYUO2; Mozart Requiem, Handel Messiah, and Purcell Magnificat in concert with Tenafly Atonement; Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Foundation for the Revival of Classical Culture at Carnegie Hall, and the world premiere of Talking City and New York premiere of 6 Encounters of Mistrust and Coffee for mezzo, cello, and harp with Dynamic Music Festival.
A versatile crossover performer, their further stage and musical theatre work includes Puck in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Macduff in Macbeth, a dancer in the Hot Box corps in Guys and Dolls, and concerts at Symphony Space including Broadway Premieres, Wall-to-Wall Stephen Schwartz, and the Lifetime Achievement Gala at El Capitale for Broadway producer Hal Prince.
Mary can be found offering adventures, insight, and Q&A's about classical music to 82,000 followers on TikTok @coloratura_runs
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