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UT Concert Hall
Thursdays at 8pm and Sundays at 7pm on WUOT

UT Concert Hall brings you excellent performances that were given at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, spotlighting faculty, guest artist, and graduate student recitals, as well as student ensemble performances. Join local host and producer, Melony Dodson, for this hour-long program, as she transports you to Cox Auditorium and/or the Sandra G. Powell Recital Hall to hear these world class performances. Thursday night at 8pm and Sunday evenings at 7pm.

UT Concert Hall—March 14 and March 17, 2024

GUEST ARTIST/FACULTY RECITAL

Julie Makerov, soprano and Kevin Class, piano

Friday, October 27, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.

Sandra G. Powell Recital Hall
Natalie L. Haslam Music Center

PROGRAM

Dich teure Halle from Tannhauser 
Richard Wagner
(1813-1883)

Zueignung
Allerseelen
Nacht
Freundliche Vision
Richard Strauss
(1864-1949)

Chanson Triste
L’invitation au Voyage 
Henri Duparc
(1848-1933)

At Saint Patrick’s Purgatory from Hermit Songs
Church Bell at Night
St. Ita’s Vision
The Crucifixion
The Desire for Hermitage
Samuel Barber
(1910-1981)

Leise, leise, fromme Weise from Der Freischütz
Carl Maria Von Weber
(1786-1826)

ARTIST BIOS

JULIE MAKEROV

The Toronto Star declares “Julie Makerov as Senta…was every inch the ringing life force Wagner intended.” As winner of the Dora Award, Canada’s most prestigious live theater honor, Ms. Makerov was recognized for her compelling portrayal of Senta in Wagner’s Der Fliegende Holländer and continues to captivate audiences with her performing. This gifted light dramatic soprano’s voice has been described as “gloriously commanding”(la scena musicale), “sumptuous”(ArtsSF.com), and “soaring”(The Oakland Tribune). The New York Times proclaims “Julie Makerov’s plush soprano voice and vulnerability were ideal for the godess Freia”, and of her debut with Los Angeles Opera, The Huffington post wrote “Julie Makerov is triumphant!”.

Ms. Makerov’s most recent engagements include singing in concert with The Pacific Symphony at the SOKA Performing Arts Center and with The Los Angeles Verdi Chorus. Her previous engagements include singing with the Lyric Opera of Chicago and Los Angeles Opera, singing the role of The Mother in Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel, and Senta in Der Fliegende Holländer. Ms. Makerov’s engagements also include singing with Seattle Opera as Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus and Houston Grand Opera performing the role of Gerhilde their productions of Wagner’s Die Walküre and Overseer in Strauss’s Elektra under the baton of Patrick Summers.

Ms. Makerov’s International career also includes singing with Oper Frankfurt, in the title role of Tosca and the role of Margherita in Boito’s Mefistofele. The sought after soprano sang with the Canadian Opera Company where she garnered outstanding critical acclaim singing the roles of Senta in Wagner’s Der Fliegende Holländer, Tosca in Puccini’s Tosca, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni and Rusalka in Dvořák’s Rusalka. In addition, she reprised the role of Rusalka in the Czech Republic with the Český Krumlov International Music Festival.

Ms. Makerov’s other notable engagements include singing Sieglinde in Die Walküre with the American Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Leon Botstein, singing the role of Chrysotemis in Elektra and The Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors with Des Moines Metro Opera and performing the roles of the Queen of Hearts in Unsuk Chin’s Alice in Wonderland and Lady Macbeth in Verdi’s Macbeth with Opera Theater of Saint Louis. The award-winning soprano also performed the role of Senta in Der Fliegende Holländer in Salzburg under the baton of Sir Ivor Bolton and covered many roles with the Metropolitan Opera from 2003-2007 as well as joining the 2006 tour to Japan.

The multi-talented soprano is currently Director of Vocal Studies and Opera theater and voice faculty at California Baptist University in Riverside, California

KEVIN CLASS

Kevin Class presently serves as Professor of Collaborative Piano, and Music Director & Conductor of the Opera Theatre, at the University of Tennessee. He has previously served on the piano faculty of SUNY-Potsdam and the conducting faculty of Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music.

Born in Belgium, Kevin studied piano at the Royal Conservatory in Brussels with Daniel Blumenthal, as well as in the US and Canada with Gyorgy Sebok and Ralph Votapek. As a soloist, he has been performed numerous times in venues such as Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, New York’s Carnegie Hall and Vienna’s Musikverein, including series of the complete piano sonatas of Mozart and Schubert. In response to performances and promotion of both standard repertoire and contemporary music, Kevin was named a Fellow of the Flemish Community by the Belgian government in 1998. In 2015, Kevin was awarded third place in the American Prize competitions for solo piano (professional division). As pianist, he has most recently performed as soloist with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, has performed cycles of the complete collaborative works of Brahms and the complete sonatas for Piano & violin by Beethoven. Kevin has more than 15 commercial recordings to his credit on Centaur, Albany, MMO, CRS
and Jackal Records.

In addition to work as a piano soloist, Kevin has been active for more than 30 years as a conductor. With a repertoire of 60 operas and more than 100 orchestral works, he has taken the podium of the National Opera La Monnaie in Brussels and the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden and National Opera Studio in London, Shanghai Opera and Opera Illinois (Peoria). From 2001-2005 he served as Guest Music Director and Resident Conductor of the Illinois Opera Theatre in Champaign-Urbana. He has conducted the Northern Illinois Philharmonic, the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra, University of Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, Illinois New Music Ensemble, Ensemble Noir’ (Brussels) and orchestras in Taipei, Shanghai, Chongqing, Seoul, Kunming, Kuala Lumpur and Manila. Conducting students have appeared with San Francisco Symphony and Opera, Los Angeles Philharmonic, BBC Scottish Orchestra, Miami Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Deutsche Oper Berlin, and Salzburg and Glimmerglass Festivals.

In summers, Kevin is conductor of Berlin Opera Academy in Germany and Saluzzo Opera Academy in Italy. From 2014-2018, he conducted for the Arezzo Opera Festival in Italy, where he also served as head of the conducting and collaborative piano programs, and was music director of the Emerging Artists programs for Oberlin in Italy.

Kevin has been profiled by PBS, BBC, CBC, CCTV (China), KBS (Korea) and Radio Noord-Holland