The Voices of Voices of Ascension: FEATURING BJ Fredricks

BJ Fredricks, mezzo-soprano, sings with a number of New York-based choral ensembles, including Voices of Ascension, New York Choral Artists, Musica Sacra, the Choir of St. Ignatius Loyola, New York Virtuoso Singers, and the Concert Chorale of New York. Highlights include Jonathan Miller’s staging of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion at BAM, Lincoln Center Festival’s Grendel directed by Julie Taymor, a flash mob performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with Ivan Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra at Lincoln Center, Les Noces with New York City Ballet, the U.S. premiere of Eric Idle’s Not the Messiah (He’s a Very Naughty Boy) at Caramoor, Bang on a Can’s Lost Objects at BAM with DJ Spooky, and David Lang’s Little Match Girl Passion, webcast live on wqxr.org. She has also sung back-up vocals for Bjork, Carousel at Carnegie Hall with Audra McDonald and Hugh Jackman, Mostly Mozart Festival (broadcast Live From Lincoln Center), annual operas at the Bard SummerScape Festival, and appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. A Brooklyn beekeeper and urban farmer, BJ is a graduate of SUNY Purchase (BM, oboe), the Manhattan School of Music (MM, voice), L’Écoles d’Art Américaines in Fontainebleau, and the French Culinary Institute. 

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When and how did you find your voice?

Still looking for it.

Describe your voice/sound in five words.

I consider my voice 'the "glue" in the section'.

What was the first choral piece you ever performed?

I absolutely cannot remember that far back.

What was your most memorable performance with VoA?

My most memorable performance was one in which I was not included. In fact, it was my first exposure to VoA. It was a performance of the Bach "St. John Passion" with Concert Royal. Sandy Miller, principal flute for this performance, was my solfège teacher in college and is one of the best baroque flute players in the world. I was blown away by both the orchestra and the "Voices" led by Dr. Keene.

How has being in New York City influenced your work?  How has performing with VoA under the direction of Dr. Keene influenced your work? 

There is no other city in the world where one can experience the wide range of choral music as in New York. Dr. Keene embraces choral music like no other conductor I've ever worked with.

Who are some of your favorite composers and musicians from the past and present?

Bach. Oh, and did I mention Bach? Right, Bach

What influences your voice and what inspires you to continue?

The voices I'm singing with on either side of me, and on either side of them, and, and , and . . . Mostly, my colleagues inspire me.

What would be the theme song for your life?  

Really??!!

Is there a particular choral work, text, or musical passage that never fails to move you emotionally?

"Mache dich" from Bach's, "St. Matthew Passion"

What is on the horizon for your work in the next year?

"Crushing" the King Salmon in Alaska and filling my freezer for the year.

If I was to look at your phone right now, what five artists/songs would I see on your recently played list?

Can I install music on my cell phone? Never mind, I left it at home.

What's your motto?

What are you waiting for!

What do you feel most proud of?

The 13lbs of sweet potatoes I harvested from my roof top planters last summer

If you were president, what is the first thing you would do?

I would protect all state and federal park lands in perpetuity

If you could have dinner with anyone living or dead, who would it be and why?

My colleagues and friends Lewis and Margery Daley White, just because . . .

In a parallel universe, if you weren’t a musician, what would you be doing?

Farming

What was the last picture you took with your phone?

My five chickens taking refuge in our little back bathroom during the subzero temperatures.

Have you ever danced in the rain?

If you consider walking the dogs in the rain in Prospect Park dancing, well then , yes.

What is your perfect pizza?

One that my neighbor Orazio makes. I'll let him decide the topping.

What is the best compliment you have ever received? 

I usually take all compliments with a large grain of salt.

If you could wake up tomorrow in the body of someone else, who would you pick and what would you do?

My cat Scooter, and nap.

If you could keep five possessions, what would they be?

Salt from Mexico, All-Clad copper core 4qt saucepan, 10" cast iron skillet, 18% butter fat butter, oh, and my BMW G650GS

What teacher in school made the most impact on you and why?

Bob Levin who encouraged me to go to Fontainebleau.

If you won the lottery what would you do?

Buy a cabin in VT, keep enough money to live on and give the rest away.

What is a skill you’d like to learn and why?

Artisanal cheese making, because cheese is life.

The Voices of Voices of Ascension: FEATURING Heather Petrie

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HEATHER PETRIE, hailed as “a true contralto, with a big, deep, resonant projection that can fill a hall," is a familiar voice throughout the Northeast.  In April 2017 she was a finalist and prize winner in the Lyndon Woodside Oratorio Competition at Carnegie Hall.   As a soloist she has appeared with the American Symphony Orchestra, CT Lyric Opera, Voices of Ascension, and Sacred Music in a Sacred Space.  She performs frequently with the NY Philharmonic, the choir of St Ignatius Loyola, Essential Voices USA,  and Musica Sacra,  and recently received a Grammy nomination for the album "Passion Week" with the Clarion Music Society. Opera roles include: Annina in der Rosenkavalier, Mary in der Fliegende Holländer, Larina in Eugene Onegin, Baba in The Medium, Miss Todd in The Old Maid and the Thief, La Zia Principessa in Suor Angelica, Arnalta in L’incoronazione di Poppea, The Witch in Hänsel and Gretel, Marcellina in Le Nozze di Figaro. She has been a member of the opera chorus at both Bard Summerscape and the Princeton Festival, as well as New York City Opera, and is currently a member of the Metropolitan Opera Extra Chorus.  

Heather is a founding member of the critically acclaimed, eight-voice treble group Etherea Vocal Ensemble, and is prominently featured on both of their recordings, released by Delos. Their first CD, Ceremony of Carols, reached #4 on the Billboard Traditional Classical charts and quickly became an iTunes Best-Seller.  Hymn to the Dawn, their sophomore release, contains world premiere recordings of Amy Beach, Rheinberger, and Rossini pieces, amongst other classics.  In Mendelssohn’s Drei Motetten, Heather “makes a quick but memorable solo contribution with her creamy contralto” (Opera News).  Delos honored the group by highlighting them on their “40 Tracks for 40 Years” anniversary release, choosing Charles Gounod’s Noël, on which Heather is a soloist.  She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Voice from Bard College, a Master of Music in Opera Performance from SUNY Purchase Conservatory, and is a proud member of AGMA.

When and how did you find your voice?

I always loved singing as a child,  and was in a special treble choir in my town, but I was absolutely terrified of singing solos until I was in high school.  I would always audition for solos,  or parts in the school musical, but I'd get so nervous and shaky that it never sounded very good (unless I was singing with the choir,  in which case I would be totally comfortable).  When I was a junior or senior I decided that enough was enough,  and I had to get over my nerves, otherwise I'd never get to sing the parts I wanted….and it worked!  I started taking voice lessons and learned Schubert’s Ave Maria and suddenly had a super power: singing with a resonant,  classical technique.   I quickly became more confident and went to college and grad school to study voice. 

Heather at the Oratorio Society competition

Describe your voice/sound in five words.

Dark, melancholy, sometimes eerily androgynous (which comes in handy when I have to play a boy!) 

What was the first choral piece you ever performed?

I know that an arrangement of the Scottish folk song “Ca’ the Yowes” was my number one favorite piece from my early days in Treble Choir...and I still love it!  Also,  it's an unexpected bonus that it is one of Kathleen Ferrier's signature pieces (she's one of my favorite contraltos). 

What skill would you like to learn and why?

I've started learning how to play the bagpipes...I am very interested in my Scottish heritage, and will be going there this April with my husband.  Maybe it was the influence of that Ca’ The Yowes song in my youth! 

What was your most memorable performance with VoA?

My first performance was Bach's St Matthew Passion, which has double choir portions.   I had experience singing the opposite choir than I was assigned, and was worried about sight reading a new part.   As soon as we started rehearsing,  though,  I was amazed by how well everyone's voices locked in to create a unified sound… it was not hard to find my way through the new sections with such a cohesive group of singers. 

What influences your voice and what inspires you to continue?

For a long time I had people tell me that I was a mezzo-soprano, because that's the normal thing to be as a young woman with a low voice…but I never really believed them.  Once I learned that contralto is a separate category I was so excited to have a label that accurately described my voice.  It would be easier in some ways to call myself a mezzo,  especially in opera, but I'm never going to (comfortably) play Cherubino or Dorabella...I am much more suited to playing the very old ladies, and witches!  Discovering new repertoire in oratorio and opera that really suits me inspires me to stay on my contralto path,  and stay true to my voice. 

Is there a particular choral work, text, or musical passage that never fails to move you emotionally?

Everytime I sing Urlicht from Mahler's Second Symphony I cry in the middle… it's a good thing there's an instrumental section for a few measures before my next entrance! 

What do you feel most proud of?

I am making my living doing what I love! Also, I am in the Metropolitan Opera Extra Chorus,  which is really fun.

Heather Petrie performs Fidelio at the Met last spring

In a parallel universe, if you weren’t a musician, what would you be doing?

I have always worked with children, as a music teacher and a caregiver, so if I were not a musician I would probably be a preschool teacher (which was my college job,  by the way). 

Have you ever danced in the rain?

All the time!

The Voices of Voices of Ascension: FEATURING Michele Kennedy

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SOPRANO MICHELE KENNEDY is a versatile specialist in early classical and new music.  Praised by The Washington Post as “a fine young soprano with a lovely voice," and by The San Francisco Chronicle as "a wonder to hear," Michele has appeared in concert recently at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Davies Symphony Hall, Bard Summerscape, Folger Shakespeare Library, and the Boston Early Music Festival.  Her repertoire ranges from Renaissance and Baroque music - particularly oratorio - to new art song and chamber opera.  

Michele's recent solo engagements include Bach B Minor Mass, Charpentier Te Deum, Faure Requiem, Handel Messiah, Mozart Coronation Mass and Requiem, Schütz Musikalische Exequien, Vivaldi Gloria and appearances with American Bach Soloists (Cupid in Purcell's King Arthur), Folger Consort (featuring works by Francesca Caccini), and American Classical Orchestra (Bach Cantatas). Among Michele’s new music projects are performances with Contemporaneous, Experiments in Opera, Art Song Preservation Society, Harlem Stage Opera, and a song cycle premiere with Tribeca New Music Festival.   Her winter highlights include Handel's Messiah with the Fort Street Chorale & Orchestra of Detroit, her solo debut at Davies Symphony Hall with the San Francisco Girls Chorus, and Monteverdi Vespers with NYC's Voices of Ascension.  She is delighted to join the San Francisco Symphony Chorus this fall and will be a soloist in their Bach Magnificat next spring.

A native of Oakland, CA, Michele is a voice student of Tami Petty and Marguerite Krull, studied music at Yale University and School of Music, and is an associate member of the voice faculty at Rutgers University. She lives in Astoria, Queens with her husband, Benjamin Thorpe.

When and how did you find your voice?

When I was practicing piano as a child, I started singing along with the vocal lines to Shenendoah, Red River Valley, and the other tunes you learn early in your study.  After a while I became much more interested in the singing than the playing!  My parents took note and helped me to join the San Francisco Girls Chorus when I was 8 years old.

Describe your voice/sound in five words.

This is challenging.  Let’s go with clear, warm, lyrical, expressive, and memorable – at least, those are the qualities that I aspire to!

What was the first choral piece you ever performed?