Past events

LAUREN SKUCE, SOPRANO, AND MARIJA STROKE, PIANO IN CONCERT AT KOSCIUSZKO FOUNDATION

Sunday, May 2, 2010, at 3:00pm

 Soprano Lauren Skuce is distinguished for her versatility on both the opera and concert stage. Her 2007 appearance at Tanglewood was hailed by The New York Times:"Ms. Skuce gave a splendid performance, singing with warm, rich tone and endless agility." Recent recital and concert credits include the World Premiere of Bruce Adolphe's song cycle for soprano and piano trio, Wind Across the Sky, at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, and at the Juneau Jazz and Classics Festival. She was soprano soloist in Mahler's Symphony No. 2 with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra; and performed Shostakovich's Blok Songs with Ida Kavafian, Anne Marie McDermott, and Fred Sherry at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.
 In 2006 she was showcased at Chamber Music Northwest and the Skaneateles Chamber Music Festival. In the summer of 2004, Ms. Skuce was the soprano soloist in Shostakovich's Symphony No. 14 with the American Symphony Orchestra at the Bard Music Festival.
 A Sullivan Award winner, Ms. Skuce is the recipient of many prizes, including the DeRosa Career Grant, the Catherine Filene Shouse Grant from Wolf Trap Opera, the Richard Gold Career Grant from New York City Opera, and an Opera Index Award. She was a semi-finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, and in May of 2005, she was the sole finalist from the United States in the Montreal International Singing Competition where she received the prestigious Prix du Public. In April 2007 she was the first place winner of the International Concert Alliance Competition in both the aria and art song categories.

 Pianist Marija Stroke performs at such chamber music festivals as Caramoor, the City of London Festival, Chamber Music Virginia, the Moab Festival in Utah, La Jolla Summerfest, and Chamber Music Northwest. Her solo performances have included recitals throughout Europe, the US, Canada, and the former Soviet Union, and concerto appearances in Vienna, Paris, Bonn, and the OK Mozart International Festival.
 Ms. Stroke is a founding member of the Apollo Trio, with violinist Curtis Macomber and cellist Michael Kannen. The ensemble, formed in 1997, has appeared in Europe and the United States, including New York performances at Bargemusic, Caramoor, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and the Mostly Mozart Festival. Marija is Co-Artistic Director of The Garden City Chamber Music Society. She has performed with the Brentano, Miami, Borromeo, and Daedalus string quartets. Her recordings include chamber music of Bruce Adolphe with the Brentano String Quartet and the three sonatas for violin and piano of Edvard Grieg, with violinist Curtis Macomber. With the Apollo Trio, Ms. Stroke will soon record the complete Dvorak piano trios.

<< Return to Past events