Jan
22
2024
Events
Opera 101
Monday, Jan 22, 2024 @ 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Category:
The Sandcastle, Kiawah Island SC
Opera 101 welcomes both the uninitiated and experienced lovers of classical western opera from its inception in Italy over 400 years ago to the present, and is open to all Kiawah residents.
Contact Susan Wright Sullivan at [email protected] to be included in email communications for related reading materials and suggested videos.
Wojciech Milewski – Music Director, Charleston Opera Theater Music Director, Summerville Orchestra Adjunct professor, Music Director for CofC Opera, and staff accompanist at the College of Charleston
Le Nozze di Figaro – Music interpretation of the opera
Maestro Milewski will lead our second Opera 101 class, focusing on the music from Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro. In this discussion he will discuss how and why the work revolutionized the operatic genre (both musically and socio-politically), and how it easily remains a key part of the repertoire today.
Conductor Milewski is an energetic and dynamic presence on and off the podium. A recent winner of the 2023 American Prize in Conducting, he is also the recipient of the 2019 HSO Harold Farberman Prize and was a finalist in the 2019 Los Angeles Conducting Competition. Wojciech is in his eighth season as Music Director of the Summerville Orchestra (S.O.) and in his third season as Music Director of Charleston Opera Theater. Under his baton, the Summerville Orchestra received the 2023 American Prize in Orchestral Performance. Since his tenure began in 2016, the S.O. has directly engaged the community by starting three separate outreach series, a youth orchestra program as well as commissioning two new works by composers Rene Orth and Chris Pilsner. The S.O. has expanded in size and scope, effectively doubling its active musician roster. Wojciech has appeared on stage with global artists such as Michael Chioldi, Cassie Pilgrim, Robert Auler, and Phillip Bush. As a conductor, he is passionate about creating lively and interactive concert experiences, fostering community development, audience engagement and inclusion.
A native of Poland, Wojciech grew up in New York City. He graduated with distinction with his Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Mexico, and graduated summa cum laude from the State University of New York at Oswego.
Location
The Sandcastle