International opera star and University of Redlands alumnus, Angel Blue, will perform the Star-Spangled Banner to open the Redlands Symphony’s 69th season on Saturday, November 3, 2018. Ralph W. Kuncl, PhD, MD, President of the University of Redlands will conduct the orchestra performing the national anthem, an honor he “won” as the winning bidder for the conducting stint at the Symphony’s annual Gala fundraiser last June.
The concert continues with Maestro Ransom Wilson on the podium conducting a program celebrating “The Genius of Bernstein” in honor of the great composer’s 100th birthday. The concert features BERNSTEIN’S Symphony No. 2 – The Age of Anxiety, expertly performed by noted pianist, Christopher O’Riley. The Concert begins at 8 PM; doors open at 7 PM. Single tickets starting at $15 are now on sale at www.redlandssymphony.com, through the box office at (909) 587-65565 and at the door on concert night.
American soprano Angel Blue (Redlands alum '05) has performed with the Berliner Philharmoniker, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Münchener Philharmoniker, Israel Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera House, Wiener Staatsoper, Semperoper Dresden, Teatro alla Scala Milan, Seattle Opera, San Francisco Opera, Frankfurt Opera, and at the Walt Disney Concert Hall,
Theater an der Wien, Auditorio Nacional de Música, Seoul Arts Center, Edinburgh International Festival, and the Bregenz Festival.
Her operatic roles include Violetta (La traviata), Mimì (La Bohème), Micaëla (Carmen), Lucia (Lucia di Lammermoor), Helena (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Liù (Turandot), Manon (Manon), Contessa Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro), Giulietta and Antonia (Les Contes d'Hoffmann), Dido (Dido and Aeneas), and Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), while on the concert platform she sings Strauss's Vier letzte Lieder, Mahler’s Symphony No 2, Peri in Schumann’s Das Paradies und die Peri, Beethoven 9th Symphony, Zwei Lyrische Gesange by Franz Shreker, and Verdi’s Requiem.
During the Christmas season of 2017 she shared the stage with Thomas Quasthoff for seasonal concerts at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg. In the 2018-2019 season Ms. Blue will sing Musetta in the Metropolitan Opera's revival of La Boheme, she will make a series of debuts; Carneige Hall with the American Symphony Orchestra, Mimi in La Boheme at the Canadian Opera Company, and as Violetta in La Traviata at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden.
Angel Blue is the CEO & founder of the non-profit organization, "Sylvia's Kids." The Sylvia's Kids Foundation is dedicated to enriching the lives of inner city youth by providing monetary scholarships each year to graduating high school seniors who will continue their studies. For more information visit sylviaskids.org
Dr. Ralph W. Kuncl is the 11th president of the University of Redlands. He joined the University in 2012, having served before as provost, executive vice president, and chief research officer at the University of Rochester in New York.
Most of his early career was spent at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where he served as professor of neurology, pathology, and cellular and molecular medicine. He received international recognition in the study of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, for laboratory discoveries of important disease mechanisms that helped rationalize its first effective treatment. While at Hopkins, he was appointed as the university’s founding Vice Provost of Undergraduate Education.
He began taking music lessons at the age of 7, and over the years was more of a fan than a pro at the piano, organ, and clarinet. Dr. Kuncl studied in the college chorus at Occidental College under the guidance of nationally recognized choral conductor Howard Swan, a contemporary colleague of Robert Shaw. He continued singing at University of Chicago and then was a member of the Baltimore Choral Arts Society for 23 years, performing in concert with the National Symphony Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony, and jazz great Dave Brubeck.
While at Redlands, Dr. Kuncl has had the good fortune of singing with the University Chapel Singers at Carnegie Hall in New York City, and most recently he joined the Chapel Singers and the University’s symphony orchestra, on Valentine’s Day 2018, for a performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. His only conducting experience (self-taught amateur) was leading the University of Redlands Feast of Lights chorus and orchestra in 2014 in a rousing Hallelujah Chorus from Messiah. He has hoped by commissioning Angel Blue you will be enthralled by her singing our national anthem instead of watching him.
Full subscriptions of six concerts for the symphony season are still available and offer a savings of up to 25% over single ticket prices. There is a special discount for students and University of Redlands students are always free. There are special discounts available for groups of 10 or more. More information is available by calling the Symphony box office.
The Symphony office is located at 210 E. Citrus Avenue, in Redlands, California.