SOU Music Recital Hall Will Feature Portland Opera Couple in a Wide-Ranging Show
ASHLAND, Ore. — Jocelyn Clare Thomas and Zachary Lenox will sing the song “One Hand, One Heart” from their hearts when they perform on Sunday, February. 18, in their “The Meaning of Love” performance. They sang this song on their wedding day in 2017.
Romance in Opera
The couple, who live in Portland, met while singing opposite each other as romantic leads in “La Boheme,” “Pagliacci,” “The Magic Flute, ”” Don Giovanni,” ”The Marriage of Figaro,” and Anima Mundi Productions’ “Tango of the White Gardenia.” They worked together with Opera Bend, Harmonia Seattle, the Portland Opera, and the Oregon Symphony, along with the Eugene Opera, Symphony Tacoma, and other opera houses.
Amina Mundi’s resident composer and executive director said that on February 18, “The Meaning of Love,” which will be performed at 3 p.m. in the Southern Oregon University Music Recital Hall, will feature pianist Jodi French.
The show will also feature classical duet and solo songs, which will include new compositions by Tiziana DellaRovere, Gans-Morse, and Michael Silversher, as well as Broadway show tunes.
A Unique Duo Recital
As Gans-Morse said, “‘The Meaning of Love’ is our continuing commitment to bring extraordinary talent to our area. We want them to explore societal, artistic, and environmental themes. The goal is to reach the hearts and lives of our community.” According to Gans-Morse, we wish to present love recitals that uniquely celebrate love in a rich variety of musical styles and themes.”
Tiziana DellaRovere (resident poet), as Anima Mundi’s co-artistic director, agreed with Gans-Morse, saying, “This is a unique concert because it extends Valentine’s Day celebrations to include expressions of love other than romance, such as love for the Earth, all of humanity, and spirituality.”
New Works and All Time Favorites
In addition to new works by Gans-Morse, DellaRovere, and Silversher, the “eclectic program” will feature songs and music from popular TV shows and movies like “West Side Story” and “The Music Man,” as well as from classical composers like Antonín Dvořák, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and Richard Strauss.
For this program, Gans-Morse stated, “We have commissioned a song from Silversher specifically for this program.” Similarly, Thomas and Lenox have performed at many different venues for a variety of audiences. The couple has entertained audiences of all ages with show tunes, Disney songs, and selections from the Great American Songbook. In addition to opera houses, they have performed the national anthem three times during Portland Trail Blazers NBA games.
Tiziana DellaRovere and composer Michael Silversher will present new works at the concert as well.
Even though its main goal is to introduce viewers to local and regional talent, “The Meaning of Love” concert has a deeper meaning, according to Gans-Morse. He said, “Previous seasons premiered over 15 new commissions and several Grammy-winning and Grammy-nominated artists.”
“Our aim is to engage our audiences with regional and worldwide themes of environmental and societal healing, as we do with all of our programs.”
Visit HumanityTickets.com, give 541-833-3066 a call, or send an email to [email protected] for ticket information.
Students under 25, Oregon Trail cardholders, and SOU faculty and staff can purchase discounted tickets at the door. We ask that customers who buy discounted tickets arrive thirty minutes in advance.