Thu March 15, 7:30 pm
St. John's Church, Lunenburg
Vocal Trio
Simone Osbourne soprano
Tyler Duncan baritone
Erika Switzer piano
A collaboration with Debut Atlantic
A St Cecilia by-the-Sea concert

Program
Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
   Road Side Fire
   Silent Noon

Copland (1900-1990)
   Simple Gifts

MacGillivray, arr. Greer
   Song for the Mira

Traditional, arr. Chilcott
   She's like the Swallow

Coulthard (1908-2000)
   She Walks in Beauty

Quilter (1877-1953)
   Love's Philosophy

Rachmaninoff (1873-1943)
   Zdes khorosho, Op. 21, No. 7
   Vocalise
   Ne py krasavitsa, pri me, Op. 4, No. 4

Barber (1910-1981)
   Three Songs, Op. 45
   Now I Have Fed and Eaten Up the Rose
   Green Lowland of Pianos
   O Boundless, Boundless Evening

Simone Osborne, soprano
Simone is a Vancouver native and a new member of the COC Ensemble Studio. She made her mainstage debut with the company in 'The Nightingale and Other Short Fables' singing the Chorus Solo Soprano and Pribaoutki solo.

Ms Osborne attended the Music Academy of the West and the University of British Colombia, studying under Marilyn Horne and Nancy Hermiston. Operatic credits include the title role in Mignon with the Music Academy of the West, Laeticia in 'The Old Maid and the Thief' with Wexford Opera Festival, Nannetta in 'Falstaff' with University of British Columbia Opera, and she appeared as a guest soloist with the Prince George Symphony.

She was the winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 2008, Marilyn Horne Foundation Competition in 2008, International Czech and Slovak Voice Competition in 2007, and the University of British Columbia Concerto Competition in 2007.

With the COC this season, she will perform Frasquita in 'Carmen', Anna Kennedy in 'Maria Stuarda' and Ilia in the Ensemble Studio production of 'Idomeneo'. Other upcoming engagements include performances with the Hong Kong International Music Festival and Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.

Tyler Duncan, baritone
British Columbia born and New York-based baritone Tyler Duncan enjoys international renown for bringing consummate musicianship, vocal beauty and interpretive insight to recital, concert and–increasingly–operatic literature. 

In the Spring of 2010 he had his debut at the American Spoleto Festival in the role of Friendly in the 18th-century ballad opera 'Flora'. 

He has sung Demetrius in Britten’s 'A Midsummer Night’s Dream' at the Princeton Festival; roles in Lully’s 'Armide' with Houston’s Mercury Baroque; Purcell’s 'The Faerie Queen' with Early Music Vancouver; Papageno in Mozart’s 'Die Zauberflöte' in Rotterdam and Utrecht; the title role of Mozart’s 'Le nozze di Figaro' on a Swiss tour with the Munich Chamber Orchestra under Christoph Poppen; and the High Priest in the Richard-Strauss adaptation of Mozart’s 'Idomeneo', conducted by Ion Marin at the Strauss Festival in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. 

Forthcoming on the CPO label is his Boston Early Music Festival recording of the title role of John Blow’s 'Venus and Adonis'.

An excellent oratorio singer performing a remarkable range of repertoire, Mr. Duncan’s concerts include Haydn’s Die Schöpfung with the Québec and Winnipeg Symphonies; Haydn’s Die Jahreszeiten with the Calgary Philharmonic;  Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in Munich, Berlin, Stuttgart and Frankfurt with the Philharmonie der Nationen under Justus Frantz; Händel’s Messiah with the Toronto Symphony, San Francisco’s Philharmonia Baroque and Portland Baroque; Händel’s La Resurrezione at Germany’s Halle Händel Festival and the Vancouver Early Music Festival; Brahms’ Requiem at Festival Vancouver; Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with the Montreal Symphony/Kent Nagano and the Dresdner Kreuzchor;  Bach’s Ich habe genug and Weihnachtsoratorium with Toronto’s Tafelmusik and Symphony Nova Scotia; Vaughan-Williams’ Five Mystical Songs in Vancouver (Berkshire Choral Festival) and Carnegie Hall with Kent Tritle and the Oratorio Society of New York.  

He has sung the title role of Mendelssohn’s Elijah in Munich, Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius at Canada’s Elora Festival; and made an extensive North American tour of Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers with Tragicomedia and Concerto Palatino. 

Awaiting release on the ATMA label are recordings of works by Purcell, and Carissimi’s oratorio Jepthe with Les Voix Baroque.

Mr. Duncan’s considerable gifts in the realm of art song have earned him prizes from the Naumburg, Wigmore Hall (London) and ARD (Munich) Competitions. 

Frequently accompanied by pianist Erika Switzer, he has given acclaimed recitals in New York, Boston, Paris and Montreal, as well as throughout Canada, Germany, Sweden, France and South Africa.  

He was also winner of the 2008 New York Oratorio Society Competition, 2007 Prix International Pro Musicis Award and the Bernard Diamant Prize from the Canada Council for the Arts.  

He holds music degrees from the University of British Columbia; Germany’s Hochschule für Musik (Augsburg) and Hochschule für Musik und Theater (Munich), Edith Wiens and Helmut Deutsch among his teachers. He is a founding member on the faculty of the Vancouver International Song Institute.

Erica Switzer, piano
Widely known for her brilliant, expressive, and technically confident playing, Erika Switzer grows her reputation as the collaborative pianist of choice. Throughout Europe, North America, and South Africa, she has been praised for her ability to match emotional playing to dramatic texts. 

She performs with many of Canada’s finest singers: baritone Tyler Duncan, soprano Martha Guth, tenor Colin Balzer, and soprano Edith Wiens. 

During the 09/10 season, Erika was honoured to be an official pianist for voice division of Munich’s prestigious ARD International Music Competition.  Ms. Switzer has also performed in many of the world’s most prestigious venues, including New York’s Alice Tully Hall and Carnegie Hall, Boston’s Longy Hall, and Paris’ Salle Cortot. 

Other European performances include the New Discoveries series in Baden-Baden Festspiele, and the Winners & Masters concert series in both Munich and Bielefeld.  She has also played at the Cape Classic Chamber Music Festival in Capetown, South Africa.

In her native Canada, she has performed at the Chamber Music Festival of Montreal and MusicFest Vancouver. Ms. Switzer has been recorded by the CBC, Dutch Radio (Radio 4) and in Germany for SWR and the Bayerische Rundfunk. 

She has been broadcast live on WGBH in Boston in concert with Tyler Duncan, which broadcast on NPR in the US.  A committed teacher, Erika is a founding faculty member of the Vancouver International Song Institute, and has coached throughout Europe and North America. 

Erika is also online with her bi-weekly podcast 'Sparks and Wiry Cries', on iTunes, co-hosted with soprano Martha Guth.  'Sparks and Wiry Cries' is becoming the online source for all things song, singers, and pianists; its first season of 24 episodes has now been completed.

Erika Switzer won First Prize for best pianist at the Wigmore Hall International Song Competition and the Best Pianist award at the Robert Schumann International Vocal Competition.

Following seven years of studies in Germany, Ms. Switzer is currently based in New York City where she is a C.V. Starr Doctoral Fellow at the Juilliard School of Music.