Really Big voices
By Casey Gillis on Apr. 17, 2008
The first time Tara Bouknight sang the lead role in “Mary, the Mother of Jesus” in 2006, she was six months pregnant with her third child.
“Just to be pregnant and sing the role of Mary was just really cool,” says the mezzo-soprano. “It’s a beautiful piece. The story is very accessible, and the music is really tuneful and beautiful. It’s something people can like on first hearing.”
Bouknight, a Floyd resident, will be singing the role again for two performances with the Jefferson Choral Society. The performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Trinity Ecumenical Parish in Moneta and 4 p.m. Sunday at Heritage United Methodist Church in Lynchburg.
She says she’s come back to the part with a renewed focus.
“I think every time you do a role again, you have a new perspective because you’ve had new experiences and you are growing and changing,” Bouknight says. “I think it’s even better this time.”
Jefferson Choral Society music director Aaron Garber composed the piece, a full-length oratorio, based on a text by the Rev. Richard Bansemer, retired bishop of the Virginia Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
“The story was really good,” Garber says of Bansemer’s text. “It starts with the Angel Gabriel coming to Mary, then the birth (of Jesus).
“It covers various parts of Jesus’ life, through the eyes of Mary.”
Both he and Bouknight say it’s an emotional, moving piece.
“People will be in tears, absolutely,” Garber says. “It grips you.
“It’s the combination of the music and the story. I don’t know if it’s the best thing I’ve ever written … but in combination, there’s just something beyond my explanation.”
The oratorio — a style that is very much like an opera in terms of singing and a storyline, but with no staging or costuming — features a full orchestra and an 80-member chorus. There are two other guest soloists who sing alongside Bouknight: soprano Amanda Pauley as Mary Magdalene and tenor Christopher Swanson as Jesus.
All three bring a lot of experience to the table.
Bouknight has performed in many operas, including “Carmen,” “Hansel and Gretel,” “The Crucible” and “The Barber of Seville.” She earned her master’s in music education from Indiana University and her master’s in performance from the University of Tennessee.
“Tara has a really pleasing voice. People just love (it),” Garber says. “She can be heard, but she’s not too gung-ho operatic.”
He doles out similar praise to Swanson, a music professor at Longwood University.
“(His voice) can be heard, but it’s not too over-the-top,” Garber says.
Swanson’s operatic roles include Ferrando in “Cosi fan tutte” and Eisenstein in “Die Fledermaus,” as well as lead roles in Robert Ward’s “The Crucible,” Stravinsky’s “The Rake’s Progress” and Britten’s “The Turn of the Screw.” He’s earned degrees in music from Michigan State University, the University of Tennessee and Florida State University.
“He has a beautiful tenor that is just warm and inviting,” says Bouknight, who performed with Swanson often while both were students at the University of Tennessee. They also recently sang together in “The Pilgrim” at St. John’s Episcopal Church.
Bouknight has also performed before with Pauley, who studied music at Ouachita Baptist University and the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. She has performed in lead roles in “The Marriage of Figaro,” “Cosi fan tutte” and “La Rondine,” and at the age of 19, she sang the role of Cio-Cio San in “Madama Butterfly.”
Says Garber: “Amanda has a really big voice.”
IF YOU’RE GOING:
WHAT: ‘Mary, the Mother of Jesus’
WHEN & WHERE: 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Trinity Ecumenical Parish (40 Lakemount Drive) in Moneta and 4 p.m. Sunday at Heritage United Methodist Church (582 Leesville Road) in Lynchburg
TICKETS: $15 for adults, $8 for students 12 and older, and free for those younger than 12 attending with an adult. Tickets can be purchased at Givens Books and VA-BAY.com (21430 Timberlake Road) in Lynchburg; the Shop of John Simmons in Bedford; Hill House Interiors in Amherst; Miller’s Jewelry in Altavista; Aylor’s Feed and Seed in Forest; Arthur’s Jewelry in Wyndhurst and Bedford; and Artfully Framed at the Westlake Plaza, The General Store (219 Scruggs Road) and the Little Gallery in Bridgewater Plaza, all in Moneta.
INFO: (434) 528-5700 or www.
jeffersonchoralsociety.org
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