Recital features music of women composers
The next Cornell Concert Series event features a voice recital celebrating talented and inspirational women composers from the 17th to 21st centuries.
Soprano Jessica Patel will perform a voice recital titled “Music of Women Composers” at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 20, in Ringer Recital Studio, Armstrong Hall. Joining the Iowa City-based singer will be pianist Minji Kwon. Those attending this free concert are required to follow campus COVID protocols.
Works by Barbara Strozzi and Amy Beach are featured along with lesser-known composers such as Croatian composer Dora Pejačević and Argentinian composer Irma Urteaga. These pieces, sung in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, and spanning hundreds of years, tell the familiar and poignant stories of mothers, daughters, orphans, those who have loved and lost, and the dreams we have that keep us going.
Patel has been noted for her “exquisite control and warm vocal timbre” and for her “indomitable spirit” and “sweet, clear quality.”
The soprano holds a master of music in voice from the Yale School of Music, and a bachelor of music from the University of Iowa. Patel has recently performed with the Jacksonville Symphony, Eastern Connecticut Symphony, Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre, Yale Symphony Orchestra, and at Carnegie Hall. In 2021-2022 she performed as the soprano soloist in Mozart’s “Requiem” (Cedar Rapids Concert Chorale), Handel’s “Messiah” (Orchestra Iowa), Villa-Lobos’ Bachianas Brasileiras (Iowa Cello Dayz), and Haydn’s “Missa in Angustiis” (Chamber Singers of Iowa City). Jessica resides in Iowa City and owns Patel Voice Studio, where she has been teaching voice lessons since 2018.
Korean-born pianist Minji Kwon was granted the Ambassadorial Scholarship from the Rotary Foundation to study in the U.S. She was the recipient of the Iowa Performance Fellowship while working on her doctorate at the University of Iowa, where she won the university’s Concerto & Aria Competition. Kwon taught as adjunct professor at New York University, where she earned her master’s degree in collaborative piano. Recently she has collaborated with oboist Courtney Miller for a CD titled “Portuguese Perspectives.” Kwon is a co-founder of Ensemble Yeon, a member of Apas Piano Duo, and currently serves as a staff pianist for the University of Iowa.
Remaining Cornell Concert Series events for 2022
The Palisades Ensemble will feature music for eight, nine, and 10 wind instruments at 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 28, in Kimmel Theatre. Joshua Neuenschwander, director of instrumental music at Cornell, will direct the ensemble featuring some of the region’s finest musicians.
The Spring Music Festival is from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 23, in Kimmel Theatre. The Jim Buennig Jazz Ensemble and the Mektoub Ensemble will perform.
