The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
TSO celebrates St. Patrick’s Day March 11
Soprano Heather O’Connor to accompany group
TORRINGTON >> The Torrington Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Maurice Steinberg, will perform a St. Patrick’s Day Celebration on Saturday, March 11, featuring a mix of traditional Irish favorites and popular music such as Londonderry Air and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The orchestra’s guest vocalist is Heather O’Connor.
The Lions Club of Torrington is the Bronze Sponsor of this event to be held at the Elks Lodge, 70 Litchfield St., Torrington, starting at 8 p.m. Tickets are general admission, $18 per person, and children 12 and under are admitted free of charge. The lodge will provide a cash bar and snacks for purchase.
There will be a cash bar and snacks available for purchase. Reservations are recommended; call 860489-9183. Some tickets will be sold at the door. For further information, visit www.torringtonsymphony. org.
About Heather O’Connor, from heatheroconnorsoprano.com
O’Connor, an American soprano, has been described as having a luminous voice, and brilliant stage presence. She has sung extensively in oratorio and opera, and has performed through out New England with various opera companies. Performed in such concert halls as Carnegie Hall, Symphony Hall, The Palace Theater, Tanglewood, and Jordan Hall. Recent performances have included; Soprano soloist for The Priests, Bound for Broadway Soloist, Mozart’s Requiem, Verdi’s Requiem, Don Giovanni, Maria De Buenos Aires, Handel’s Messiah, Bizet’s Carmen, Puccini’s Suor Angelica, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, Porgy and Bess, La Belle Dame sans Merci, and Magic Flute.
O’Connor recently shared the stage with performers such as John Williams, Kristin Chenoweth, Vanessa Williams, Keith Lockhart, and Susan Graham, and Anne Sofie Von Otter. She has performed all over New England in, Boston, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut. Her recent opera credits include Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Maria in Maria De Buenos Aires, and Frasquita with the Connecticut Lyric opera, Lay Sister in the New York Lyric Opera Theater’s Suor Angelica, La Belle in La Belle Dame san Merci for the Hartford Opera Theater, Concert soloist for the Simsbury Light Opera Company, and Empress Matilda for the Troupers Light Opera Company.
She was a featured soloist for the Bound for Broadway Showcase in New York City, and has been the soprano soloist for multiple Handel’s Messiahs, Vivaldi’s Beatus vir with the Nashua Symphony Orchestra, Faure’s Requiem, Mozart’s Requiem, Vaughn Williams’s Dona Nobis Pacem. Special guest artist for the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, J.D. Productions, Mort and Ray Productions in New York City, and concert soloist for the Torrington Symphony Orchestra, and Keene State Band. She has also performed Verdi’s Requiem with the Monadnock Chorus where she was the rehearsal soloist.
O’Connor has had the pleasure of working with conductors such as Charles Dutoit, John Williams, Kurt Masur, Bramwell Tovey, Keith Lockhart, Matthew Lobaugh, John Greer, Carroll Lehman, John Oliver, and Don Baldini.
In 2011, she completed her Master’s Degree in vocal performance at the New England Conservatory of Music, Boston. She holds a bachelors degree from Keene State College, where she studied with Dr. Carroll Lehman. Her major voice teachers include Mark St. Laurent, Carroll Lehman, and Tay Cope. She now studies with Matthew Lobaugh in New York City. O’Connor has also studied under John Moriarty, Cameron Stowe, John Greer, Tim Steele, Greg Smucker, Michael Strauss, Damien Francoeur- Krzyzek, and Daniel Wyneken.
O’Connor is the full time cantor at St. Anthony Church in Prospect. She owns her own voice studio, and also teaches at multiple different High Schools throughout Connecticut. If interested in voice lessons, Master classes, or workshops, feel free to contact. O’Connor for availability, and pricing at http://www. heatheroconnorsoprano. com