QUEEN SOFIA SPANISH INSTITUTE cordially invites you to a recital by

Amaya Arberas, Soprano

accompanied by
Antón Armendariz, Tenor
Ana Ruth Bermúdez, Cello
&
David Shenton, Piano

Wednesday, March 3, 2010 at 6:00 p.m.

Amaya Arberas began her professional career in 2002, performing recitals throughout her native Basque Country as a lyric coloratura soprano. She has studied musical language and piano at the San Sebastián High School of Music and Ancient Music at the University of Salamanca, where she also received her Master’s in Social Work. During 2006 she performed in numerous recitals commemorating the 250th anniversary of Mozart’s birth, as well as in a recital of opera and zarzuela in San Sebastián and in Segovia. Amaya came to New York in 2005 to take classes in song, repertoire and diction with eminent teachers such as Dodi Protero, Diana Soviero, Beth Roberts and Joan Dornemann. In 2007 she was selected by the prestigious IVAI (International Vocal Arts Institute) as an active member to collaborate on various projects in operas. She has also performed several concerts of arias and zarzuelas at Queen Sofía Spanish Institute. Last year the IVAI selected Amaya to participate in numerous opera productions in Caguas, Puerto Rico. She performed as a soloist with the symphonic orchestra of Puerto Rico conducted by Paul Nadler of the New York Metropolitan Opera.

Tenor Anton Armendariz began his career in 2002 in Spain singing in the Coral Santa Maria de la Redonda as the baritone soloist. As the baritone soloist of “RiojaLirica,” he has performed many concerts, recitals and full stage operas, (L’elisir d’amore. Dulcamara; Le nozze di Figaro. Figaro; Don Giovanni. Leporello; Don Pascuale. Don Pascuale). He is currently the soloist of the Coro Sinfónico de La Rioja, in Logroño (north Spain). In 2008, after several master classes he discovered he was a tenor, and has been working to solidify this new register. Since his debut as an opera singer he has always been recognized for his powerful and visceral acting. He has been noted for his clear and bright voice and also for his natural musicality and his purity of tone. After the concert “El vino en la opera” local newspaper La Rioja said of him “He played the two difficult parts of Macbeth brindisi, and Duet Nemorino-Dulcamara with knowledge and good technique making a brilliant performing”. All media in his area of working emphasizes his style warm voice and zealous in his singing. He studies a wide range of the barroco arias and Spanish zarzuela and Spanish camera music (Lorca, Montselvatge, Falla, Chueca, Chapi…). He currently studies with Beth Roberts and Christian Sebek in New York City.

Ana Ruth Bermúadez. A sought-after soloist, recitalist and pedagogue, she studied at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory of Moscow and graduated in Cello Performance from Amadeo Roldan Conservatory of Music and the Instituto Superior de Arte de La Habana, Cuba. Her solo and chamber music appearances have led her to play in Cuba, Russia, Spain, Venezuela, Brazil, Mexico, England, and in the USA, where she has resided since 2000. In addition to her several recordings of contemporary music, she has recorded for television, theater, radio and cinema in Cuba, Spain, Venezuela, and USA. Among others, she has played with the Moscow International Orchestra, and the Havana Chamber Orchestra, of which she was artistic director from 1991 to 1993. She founded and is a member of the Duo Roldán, with Cuban guitarist René Izquierdo.

A committed teacher, Ana R. Bermúdez taught at Escuela Nacional de Música and at the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana, Cuba, and at the Simon Bolivar Conservatory of Music and the Instituto Universitario de Estudios Musicales in Caracas, Venezuela. Currently, she teaches at Wisconsin Conservatory of Music and at Alverno College, and is a member of the Skylight Opera Theater.

David Shenton has established an enviable reputation as a pianist, composer, violinist and arranger. He is the composer of 5 musicals (Tart, Barsong, Creole Nights, Anna the Storyteller and Avarice), all of which have premièred in New York. He is also the composer of more than 120 original works including everything from short piano pieces to full scale orchestral works (David composed his first piece, Grande Valse for Piano, at age 9 and his first symphony at age 12). Equally at home on the violin or the piano, David performed his first violin concerto (Bach E major) with orchestra at age 14 and his first piano concerto (Chopin F minor) at age 15. From 1993 to 1997 David studied at the Royal College of Music in London, from which he graduated with highest honors.

$10.00 for members/ $15.00 for non-members

Please R.S.V.P. to 212-628-0420 or rsvp@queensofiasi.org