New Kerrytown opera house series
Operetta scenes and arias
Sunday, November 13th @ 4:00 PM
This first installment of KCH’s new Kerrytown “Opera” House series will feature Resident Artists from the Toledo Opera in an Operetta Scenes & Arias Program led by Toledo Opera’s Co-Artistic Director and pianist, Kevin Bylsma. This program is inspired by Toledo Opera’s upcoming February production of Franz Lehár’s The Merry Widow.
KCH and Toledo Opera believe that opera is transformative! It brings together people from all walks of life to experience beauty, passion, awe – everything that makes us human. Don’t miss this extraordinary opportunity to experience opera – up close and personal!
KCH’s Classical Salon presentations are generously supported in part by Genre Underwriters, Maurice & Linda Binkow.
COVID-19 Safety Policy for Indoor Concerts
- Masks are strongly encouraged and available as needed.
- Please do not attend a performance if you are feeling ill or have any symptoms of COVID-19.
Noted for her shimmering, soaring voice, soprano Sara Mortensen is a proud Michigan native. She earned her bachelor’s degree in music from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee where she was a vocal scholarship recipient. In the May of 2022, Ms. Mortensen received her master’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music. During her time at the Manhattan School she had the privilege to perform the title role in Massenet’s Cendrillon in MSM’s opera outreach, scenes from Idomeneo (Ilia), The Crucible (Ann Putnam), as well as preparing the role of Cupid in Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld, scenes from A Quiet Place (Dede), and Falstaff (Nannetta). Ms. Mortensen has also performed abroad in both Italy and France including scenes from La bohème (Musetta), Le Villi (Anna) at Opera Viva!, Faust (Marguerite), Les Contes D’Hoffmann (Antonia) and Cendrillon (Cendrillon) at Classic Lyric Arts. Other previous credits include Lucinda (Dark Sisters) and Solo Nina (Ainadamar) at The Miami Music Festival. In the fall of 2022, Ms. Mortensen looks forward to singing Bachianas Brasilerias No.5 with the Broadway Bach ensemble in New York City.
Hailed for her expressiveness and lush sound, Imara Miles is a Mezzo-Soprano from the Washington, DC area. With experience in both operatic and musical theater repertoire, Miss Miles has been a featured performer in shows such as Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Berta), The Drowsy Chaperone (Title Role), Gianni Schicchi (Zita), and Porgy & Bess (Lily) to name a few. As a graduate of York College of Pennsylvania (B.A.) and Indiana University (M.M.), Imara has been a young artist in programs such as The Glimmerglass Festival, Grant Park Music Festival, Pensacola Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, and is currently a Resident Artist with Toledo Opera. Her past awards and recognitions include the Mollie Shapiro award at Des Moines Metro Opera, a finalist for the Jette Parker Program with The Royal Opera House, an Encouragement award winner from the Metropolitan Opera’s Laffont Competition, and a semi-finalist in the George Shirley Vocal Competition. Her upcoming credits include Olga in The Merry Widow with Toledo Opera, Nettie Fowler in Carousel with Pensacola Opera, and Marcellina in Le Nozze di Figaro with Knoxville Opera.
Hailing from Topeka, Kansas, tenor Brendan Boyle has been praised for a heroic sound and imposing stage presence. Having developed a strong reputation across central Texas for his passionate work in vocal education, Mr. Boyle has since begun to appear on large performing stages across the country. He has most recently been seen performing Rodolfo (La bohème) under the baton of Arthur Fagen and has privately workshopped some of opera’s most well-known roles with legendary soprano Carol Vaness. Mr. Boyle also boasts an extensive list of operatic roles across Texas venues on stages such as the Austin Opera House, the Hooper-Schaefer Fine Arts Center, and Waco Hall. Equally comfortable across musical genres, he has been seen in works spanning the artistic spectrum, in roles such as Sir Joseph Porter (H.M.S Pinafore), the title role in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, and covering the role of the Duke of Mantua (Rigoletto). A student of world-renowned bass Peter Volpe and an enthusiastic trainee at an internationally acclaimed powerlifting gym, Mr. Boyle brings a striking combination of a rich, dramatic tenor sound and a heroic physicality to the operatic stage.
Matthew Payne, English-American baritone, completed his Master of Music degree at the prestigious Maryland Opera Studio (University of Maryland) in May 2022. Mr. Payne has also received bachelor’s degrees in vocal performance and in biology from Oberlin Conservatory and College. Last summer, he was a young artist at Central City Opera, where he covered the role of Marullo and Count Monterone (Rigoletto). During the 2021/22 season Mr. Payne recently played the role of Papageno (Die Zauberflöte), premiered the role of Aaron in Nailah Nombeko’s new opera Sunder, and portrayed Joe Harland in John Musto’s Later the Same Evening. In 2019, Mr. Payne performed as a baritone fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center. While there, he participated in a masterclass with Renée Fleming (broadcast on The Today Show), performed Othmar Schoeck’s Notturno with the New Fromm Players, and sang Schlendrian in Bach’s Coffee Cantata with conductors John Harbison and Killian Farrell. Mr. Payne has also been an artist at the Chautauqua Institute (2018), where he studied with the esteemed Marlena Malas. Mr. Payne’s previous roles include: Roberto (cover) (La finta giardiniera), Billy Bigelow (Carousel), Mr. Gobineau (The Medium), Charlie (Three Decembers), Executor in John Kander’s workshopped production of The Enchanted, Victor in (Cabaret), Lysander in Purcell’s Fairy Queen (Opera Neo), and Massetto (cover) (Don Giovanni). As a soloist, Mr. Payne has performed in concerts with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, the Oberlin Conservatory Orchestra, the Society for New Music, Bel Cantanti Opera Company, the Mid-Atlantic Symphony, Central City Opera, and with the French Embassy. He has also been a finalist in the Sigma Alpha Iota Competition and a semi-finalist in the Orpheus Vocal Competition. Mr. Payne is currently studying with the notorious Kevin Short.
Steven Naylor graduated from Bowling Green State University in 2022, earning undergraduate degrees in performance and composition. A Michigan-native, he graduated from Interlochen Arts Academy in 2017. His piano mentors have included Laura Melton, Thomas Rosenkranz, Michael Coonrod, Catherine McMichael, and Steve Rodriguez; his composition mentors have included Elainie Lillios, Mikel Kuhn, Marilyn Shrude, Christopher Dietz, and Catherine McMichael. Mr. Naylor has presented seven solo piano and composition recitals, performing music from the Renaissance through the present. A fierce advocate for contemporary music, he performed solo works at the 8th International Conference on Music and Minimalism and the 2020 Bowling Green New Music Festival; he also frequently collaborates with living composers. Mr. Naylor won 1st place in the graduate division of the 2022 Marjorie Conrad Art Song Competition, performing alongside Carolyn Anderson, soprano; he also won 1st place in the undergraduate division of the 2019 Douglas Wayland Chamber Music Competition, playing alongside Gretchen Hill, clarinet, and Taylor Francis, flute. His micro-opera Visionary won BGSU’s 2021 Competition in Music Composition and will be performed at the 2022 BG New Music Festival. His score to the short film A Study of Weathering and Erosion, directed by Michael Miller, won the award for “Best Original Score” at the 2021 BG University Film Organization Film and Media Award Ceremony. His recent compositions focus on astronomical and ecological themes, and have included works written for the icarus Quartet, the Newphonia Ensemble, and the Heidelberg University Single Reed Ensemble. While attending BGSU, Mr. Naylor was awarded the Hansen Music Fellowship, which provides funding to selected undergraduate students for musical experiences vital to students’ long-term advancement. His debut album, idyll, was released in 2021 and features his own solo piano compositions. Mr. Naylor is an engraver for St. James Music Press.
With more than two decades experience as a vocal coach, collaborative pianist, choral conductor, and organist, Kevin J. Bylsma is a musician of impressive depth and ability, well known for his work in opera, art song, and oratorio. A longtime member of the Toledo Opera staff, Mr. Bylsma is currently the Head of Music Preparation and Chorus Master, and was recently names Co-Artistic Director with the company. He was formerly Music Director of the Department of Community Programs for the Michigan Opera Theatre and vocal coach, accompanist, and chorus master for OPERA! Lenawee. In recitals and master classes he has collaborated with the great American singers Samuel Ramey, Diane Soviero, Marilyn Horne, Dawn Upshaw, Michelle De Young, Irina Mishura, Katherine Lewek, and Jennifer Rowley. He is the Co-founder and Artistic Director of the Ann Arbor Festival of Song, and, for the past twenty-eight years, he has served the historic Mariners’ Church of Detroit as Associate Organist and Choirmaster.
Dedicated to the education and training of the next generation of operatic talent, Mr. Bylsma is Coordinator of Opera and Repetiteur at Bowling Green State University’s College of Musical Arts, responsible for vocal coaching and serving as a collaborative pianist for the school’s large body of young singers. Mr. Bylsma also served on the artistic staff of OperaWorks, an intensive opera training program, based in Los Angeles, CA.
A native of Grand Rapids, MI, Mr. Bylsma received his musical training at Calvin College, Bowling Green State University, and the University of Michigan—where he received the Robert Glasgow Organ Scholarship. He currently resides in Toledo, Ohio’s Old West End historic neighborhood with his cats: Rex and Dickens!
