Vancouver Symphony Orchestra To Perform Free Concert: Symphony Under The Stars

Esther Short Park Welcomes “Symphony Under The Stars”

In its gift to the City of Vancouver, four outstanding soloists of The Vancouver Children’s Opera join The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in a free family-friendly event in the VSO’s Annual Community Concert in Esther Short Part in downtown Vancouver.

Guest conductor Travis Hatton will lead the orchestra in selections from Lohengrin by Wagner, The Merry Widow by Lehar, the Barber of Seville by Rossini, The Bartered Bride, by Smetana, Tales of Hoffmann by Offenbach and Die Fledermaus by Strauss.

Guest vocalists will be ChristyAnne Hamilton, Brennen Guillory, Amy Cole and Stacey Murdock, performing.

ChristyAnne Hamilton is a soprano from Vancouver, Washington. Her work spans from gospel and musical theater to oratorio and opera. Her work has been heard throughout the Northwest at various venues including Lakewood Theater, The Vancouver Children's Opera, Opera Theater of Oregon, the Portland Chamber Orchestra, the Olympia Symphony, and the Columbia Symphony.

Stacey Murdock has been a steady fixture in the Portland music scene since his arrival in 2000. He has performed extensively throughout Oregon and the Northwest. He made his debut with Portland Opera in the role of Junius in The Rape of Lucretia, and was a member of the Portland Opera Works outreach program for three seasons. He has also been a frequent performer in the Astoria Music Festival and Portland Summerfest.

Brennen Guillory has appeared in a variety of settings, from the opera house to the theatrical stage, but it is in the concert hall that he has focused his efforts since becoming a pastor in 2006. He recently moved back to his beloved Northwest and since then has appeared with companies such as Eugene Opera, Rose City Chamber Orchestra, Willamette Concert Opera and Eugene Concert Choir.

Amy E. Cole graduated from Portland State University with a Bachelor of Music in Operatic Performance. Since her stage debut in 2002, she has performed and been involved in the direction of over thirty productions, both in the United States and abroad. Ms. Cole was a winner of "Young Artists; Live at the Schnitz" and was also a featured soloist with the Metropolitan Youth Symphony.

Travis Hatton is music director of the Vancouver Children's Opera as well as director of the Sunnyside Symphony Orchestra and Chorus at the Sunnyside Seventh-day Adventist Church in Portland, a position he has held since 2002. He is also orchestra director at Valley Catholic School in Beaverton, Oregon, and the first Baptist Church in Portland.

The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra is a 70-member professional orchestra presenting outstanding guest artists and varied programs September through May in a seven-concert season. The Symphony presents a free outdoor concert for the community and performs in-school concerts for over one thousand students, and sponsors.

Season support for the VSO is provided by The Columbian.

For more information, visit our web site at www.vancouversymphony.org.

Date: Thursday, August 28, 2008.

Time: 6:00 pm.

Location: Esther Short Part in downtown Vancouver.