May 13th: Florence Symphony Presents A Night at the Opera

Chrissy Welch

Nick Townsend

Greg Jebaily

Don't miss your last chance to see the Florence Symphony Orchestra perform this season! The last concert of the season is on May 13, 2013 at 7:30PM in the FMU Performing Arts Center.  The FSO has titled this concert "A Night at the Opera" and will feature local guest singers Christy Welch, Nick Townsend, and Greg Jebaily.

"A Night at the Opera" will feature classic opera pieces by Mozart, Verdi, Bizet, Tchaikovsky, Donizetti, and more. There will be amazing pieces from operas like Rigoletto, Cosi fan tutte, La Rondine, Don Giovanni, The Pearl Fishers and Etc. This will definitely be a night of music and singing not to be missed!

Chrissy Moss Welch, soprano, is a graduate of Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina.  While at Furman, she studied music education and performed with both the Furman Singers and Chamber Choir as a choir member and soloist.  Since graduating in 2006, Chrissy has taught elementary music in Florence, South Carolina, most recently at Greenwood Elementary where she was voted Teacher of the Year for 2010-2011.  Chrissy performs locally with the Masterworks Choir, the Florence Symphony Orchestra, and the First Presbyterian Church Chancel Choir.  Recent solo performances include Vivaldi's Gloria, J.S. Bach's Cantata 140, Handel's Messiah, and Mozart's Grand Mass in c minor.  With the Florence Symphony Orchestra, Chrissy has performed in Gilbert and Sullivan's H.M.S. Pinafore and Barbara Gallagher's The Flowers for soprano and string orchestra.  She and her husband, Aaron, welcomed their daughter, Miriam, in September 2012.

Nick Townsend, a native of Lake View, South Carolina, made his singing debut at the age of four in his kindergarten version of “A Tom Thumb Wedding” and has been singing ever since. Nick is a local chef and singer who earned a Bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance from Wofford College in conjunction with Converse College in Spartanburg, South Carolina. As well as appearing as a soloist and chorus member with the Converse College Opera Workshop and the Brevard School of Music Summer Opera Workshop in operas including Rigoletto (Verdi), Manon Lescaut (Puccini), and The Girl of the Golden West (Puccini), Nick has performed in and directed numerous musical theatre productions with the Mullins Playmakers, Theatre Spartanburg, the Wofford College Theatre workshop and Encore Theatre including: Annie, Hello, Dolly!, Grease, The Wiz, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Pump Boys and Dinettes.

He is a member of Florence’s Masterworks Choir and the Chancel Choir at Central United Methodist Church. Nick was a featured soloist at Charleston’s revered Spoleto Festival during the 1986 Opening Ceremonies and has spent three weeks traveling in Europe as a guest soloist with the St. James Choir of Concord, North Carolina. During work hours, Nick can found roaming the halls of Carolinas Hospital System where he is a manager for the hospital food service department.

This evening’s performance marks Nick’s forth appearance with the Florence Symphony Orchestra.

  

Gregory Jebaily has performed to capacity audiences all over the world. Recognized as a clear and open baritone sound, he offers a thrilling infusion of freshness and clarity to the lyric baritone voice in America.

Jebaily’s performances bring critical acclaim as he engages audiences with his maturing instrument. In his April 2010 operatic debut as Wagner in Dayton Opera’s production of Gonoud’s Faust, Opera News acknowledged Jebaily as “a vocal powerhouse” and “a mature, compelling Wagner…” The Dayton Opera production was conducted by Mo. Jospeph Mechavich and directed by Kathleen Clawson. Jebaily returns to the Dayton Opera stage in 2011 as Artist in Residence, where he will work in the Educational Outreach program and perform the role of Hortensius in La Fille du Regiment.

Mr. Jebaily completed his Masters of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where he studies with bass- baritone Kenneth Shaw. At CCM, Jebaily performed the role of Junius in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia (2010 NOA Division 5 prize winner) and the title role of Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss

We hope you will come out and see our talented symphony and guest artists perform what will be an unforgettable night of music at our last concert of the 2012/13 season! The concert will be followed with a Champagne reception in the lobby.

Please call and reserve your seats today! Season Adult tickets start as low as $28 with senior and student discounts available. Contact the FMU Performing Arts Box Office for your tickets by visiting or calling 843.661.4444 today!