Donor Appreciation Concert
A Virtual recital by Jack Swanson and Roderick Phipps-Kettlewell
Jack Swanson and Roderick Phipps-Kettlewell present a virtual recital entitled "Songs of Love and Loss".
The hour long program includes songs by Schumann, Grieg, Puccini, Quilter, Rossini and several others and was recorded at the historic Triune Masonic Temple in St. Paul, Minnesota with audio recorded and mastered by Steve Kaul of Wild Sound Studio, and cinematography by Flight Creative Media.
Connect to the biggest screen and best speakers in your home in order to enjoy this cinematic recital at the highest quality with as close to a live-performance experience as is possible in these times.
The password to access the video will be emailed to donors soon.
Jack Swanson, tenor
With an affinity for the high lyric repertoire, Richard Tucker Career Grant Winner Jack Swanson has quickly established himself as one of the most sought-after young tenors in opera. A string of impressive American and European debuts in recent seasons has included his debut at Oper Frankfurt as Rodrigo in Damiano Michieletto’s new production of Rossini’s Otello, his first Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore for Den Norske Opera, Sam Kaplan in Weill’s Street Scene for Oper Köln, Conte Almaviva (Il barbiere di Siviglia) for Glyndebourne on Tour, and Candide in concert at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées and at the Los Angeles Opera alongside costars Kelsey Grammer and Christine Ebersole. This season Jack makes his debut in the title role in Le Comte Ory in a new production by Cal McCrystal and conducted by Valentina Peleggi for Garsington Opera, and returns to both Oslo and Cologne as Conte Almaviva, the latter in the classic staging by Ruth Berghaus. He also makes his Italian debut singing Rossini’s Stabat Mater in Rome with Santa Cecilia under the baton of Myung-Whun Chung.
Following his studies at the University of Oklahoma and the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, Jack performed the title role in Britten’s comic opera Albert Herring as a young artist with The Seagle Music Colony, and subsequently spent two years as an apprentice at the Santa Fe Opera. Jack has since returned to Santa Fe as Lindoro (L’italiana in Algeri) and added Belmonte (Die Entführung aus dem Serail) at Opera Omaha last season.
Equally comfortable on the concert and recital platforms, Jack sang selections from Schumann’s Dichterliebe for his debut at the Kennedy Center in Washington, his first Rossini Messa di Gloria with Speranza Scappucci and the Insula Orchestra, and a series of concerts with Orchestre National de Lille for the Leonard Bernstein centenary. This season he gives his mainstage recital debut at Oper Frankfurt with Malcolm Martineau in a program of Schumann, Liszt, Poulenc and Quilter.
Jack has had great competition success and has been the recipient of several prestigious awards in recent years, including first place in Florida Grand Opera’s Young Patroness Competition, The San Antonio Music Club Competition, The National Opera Association Competition and The Hal Leonard Art Song Competition. He twice received the Richard Tucker Memorial award from Santa Fe Opera, and was a finalist in both Houston Grand Opera’s Eleanor McCollum competition and Fort Worth Opera’s McCammon Competition.
Roderick Phipps-Kettlewell, piano
London-born pianist Roderick Phipps-Kettlewell’s multifaceted musical career includes performing and recording solo piano recitals, song recitals, chamber music, and conducting choirs, orchestras and opera. Specializing in vocal repertoire, he worked closely with Alberta Masiello on Opera, Sir Peter Pears on works of Britten, Gérard Souzay on French Mélodies, Rudolf Piernay and Paul Hamburger on Lieder, and Paul Sperry on American Song Repertoire. His numerous vocal recitals have included recitals and tours with Stephen Salters, Dean Peterson, Jonathan Prescott, Patricia Kent, John Cimino, and tenor Jack Swanson. Together with Jack, they performed for Performance Today on NPR and he has presented many times on live radio and TV, including with Simon Estes on the Today show.
As a collaborative pianist he has performed with many fine instrumentalists, including from the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and Minnesota Orchestra. This versatility and range adds richness and depth to his musical and artistic vision.
Roderick’s performance aims were captured by the reviewer of his concert with soprano Patricia Kent in New York, who wrote: “There are concerts when the stars align such that one leaves this dimension entirely and for a blissful span resides in some world that is more beautiful, more profound, than anything imaginable… [His] contribution was of stunningly beautiful substance, his playing a continuum of every nuance, and replete with the variegated textures and colors that swim and sparkle in this repertoire [and] … delivered a glittering performance of Ravel’s Sonatine for piano solo. I’ve rarely heard the Steinway at Weill sound so good as he was able to coax it.”
Currently he is finishing a memoir for Calumet Editions, incorporating his ideas on how to develop more imagination, creativity and expression in the training of musicians. He also has a vision to establish an innovative space for musicians to continue their growth after college and to expand their artistic and professional performance opportunities.
Roderick received his musical training in England at the Guildhall School, in France at the Académie Ravel and Fontainebleau, and at the Juilliard School, where he was the first to be awarded a degree in Collaborative Piano. In New York he worked with all the major voice teachers and coached singers such as Florence Quivar, Martina Arroyo, Marvis Martin and Harolyn Blackwell. He has performed throughout Europe and the United States (New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Hawaii, Minneapolis, Los Angeles and San Francisco), most notably at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall and the Wigmore Hall, and has been based in London, New York, Boston and now Minneapolis.