The concert will be presented again on September 29, 2024 at 4:00 P.M. at The Episcopal Church of St. John the Baptist, 6300 SW Nichol Road, Portland.
Jocelyn Claire Thomas, soprano
Zachary Lenox, baritone
Emma Cowell, piano
This romantic recital will feature Lieder (German art songs for voice and piano) by two of music history’s greatest married couples, performed by local operatic power couple Jocelyn Claire Thomas and Zachary Lenox. The program includes the entirety of Robert and Clara Schumann’s collaborative song cycle, 12 Gedichte aus Liebesfrühling, as well as Gustav Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder and songs by Alma Mahler.
This concert will take place in our intimate Parlor, with our historic Chickering parlor grand piano.
Suggested donation $20.
Meet the Artists
Jocelyn Claire Thomas, soprano
Praised for her “staggeringly brilliant...ethereal soprano” (The Source) Jocelyn Claire Thomas has engaged audiences with her haunting sound, musical intelligence, and unusual versatility. She has sung more than 40 operatic roles with Portland Opera, Tacoma Opera, Eugene Opera, Inland Northwest Opera, Opera Theater Oregon, Opera Bend, Brava Opera Theater, Cascadia Chamber Opera, and many others.
Recent solo highlights include Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with the Salem Philharmonia Orchestra, “Amore” in Orpheus & Eurydice with Inland Northwest Opera, Soprano Soloist in Dvorak’s Stabat Mater with Festival Chorale Oregon, and “Nedda” in Pagliacci with Opera Bend. Ms. Thomas was a featured soloist in Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with Portland’s Bach Cantata Choir, about which Oregon ArtsWatch said “Ms. Thomas shone brightly as the angel.” Other highlights include Mozart’s Exsultate Jubilate with the Central Oregon Symphony, ” Susanna" in Le nozze di Figaro with Tacoma Opera, and Soprano Soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, and Handel’s Messiah with Bravo Northwest.
Ms. Thomas is a passionate advocate for new music, and has recently participated in the creation and premiere of many new works including Cantata Caffeinata by John Muehleisen, Free Men and The Dream by Ashley Hastings, The Voice of One by Scot Crandal and Robert Bryant, Tango of the White Gardenia by Ethan Ganz-Morse, Two Yosemities by Justin Ralls, and Via Lactea by Ellen Waterston & Rebecca Oswald, about which Northwest Reverb remarked "Soprano Jocelyn Claire Thomas as Peggy was noteworthy; she has a fine, bright soprano and lent the right verve and spunkiness to a character that could have been annoying and trite in the wrong hands." Jocelyn also serves as Troupe Soprano for Cult of Orpheus, Portland’s only all-original art-song and opera troupe, founded by composer Christopher Corbell. Recordings with Cult of Orpheus include Viva’s Holiday, a new opera in which Jocelyn sings the title role, and also Sacred Works I: The Emerald Tablet, which Willamette Weekly called “fervently beautiful.”
Originally from Columbia, MO, Jocelyn holds a B.M. from the Oberlin Conservatory, and both an M.M. and Graduate Performance Diploma from the Peabody Conservatory. Currently based in Portland, OR, Jocelyn maintains a private studio in voice, piano, and flute. She also serves as Artistic Director for Ping & Woof Opera, which is dedicated to bringing intimate and accessible opera experiences to the Portland-area community, and making opera available to everyone through donation based admission.
Zachary Lenox, baritone
Viewed as “a broad, resonant baritone that is exquisitely controlled throughout his entire range,” Zachary Lenox has performed leading roles across North America. Notable roles include “Germont” in La Traviata, “Silvio” in Pagliacci, “Marcello” in La Bohème, “Mercutio” in Rome et Juliette, “Papageno” in Die Zauberflöte, “Count Almaviva” in Le nozze di Figaro, “El Dancaïro” in Carmen, “Marullo” in Rigoletto, “Guglielmo” and “Don Alfonso” in Così fan tutte, “Father” in Hansel and Gretel, “Gianni Schicchi” in Gianni Schicchi, and “Dick Deadeye” in H.M.S. Pinafore.
Mr. Lenox has appeared with Portland Opera, Oregon Symphony, Eugene Opera, Orpheus PDX, Vashon Opera, Tacoma Opera, Opera Parallèle, Opera Bend, Pacific Music Works, Harmonia Seattle, Cascadia Chamber Opera, Portland Opera in the Park, Portland Chamber Orchestra, and Eugene Concert Choir.
Concert appearances include “Bass Soloist” in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, Coffee Cantata, Christmas Cantatas, as well as BWV 56, Handel's Messiah, Samson, and Judas Maccabeus, Mozart's Requiem, Verdi Requiem, Faure Requiem, Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass, Schubert's Mass in G, and Orff's Carmina Burana.
Zachary is a past winner of the Pacific Northwest Sings competition as well as the MONC Idaho/Montana District Auditions. He received his B.M. and M.M. from the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam.