Each year, the Rhinebeck Chamber Music Society (RCMS) presents a concert featuring rising stars of the opera world. And year after year, alumni of this series go on to win prestigious competitions and achieve international reputations. Recent examples include French mezzo-soprano Virginie Verrez, who performed in Rhinebeck in February 2014, and Julia Bullock, who participated in the program in October 2014. Verrez went on to be one of five winners of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, the world’s most prestigious singing competition. Bullock has since been hailed as an “impressive, fast-rising soprano…poised for a significant career” in the New York Times, and she will sing the lead role in the Berlin Philharmonic’s November presentation of Le Passion de Simone.
The latest iteration of this RCMS tradition happens this Sunday, January 17 at 3 p.m. at the Church of the Messiah in Rhinebeck. In the spotlight this year are two promising students of Juilliard professor Edith Weins: mezzo-soprano Avery Amereau and soprano Christine Price.
To whet your appetite for this event, RCMS is also offering a pre-concert talk this Wednesday, January 13 at 7 p.m. at Rhinebeck’s Starr Library. Admission to this background discussion with musical examples of the upcoming live concert is free. You can register by calling (845) 876-4030 or visiting www.starrlibrary.org and clicking on Calendar.
The Rhinebeck Chamber Music Society will present Avery Amereau and Christine Price, with pianist Sophia Muñoz, at 3 p.m. on Sunday, January 17 at the beautiful Church of the Messiah, 6436 Montgomery Street in Rhinebeck. Tickets cost $25 general admission, $5 for students, and are available at https://rhinebeckmusic.org. Tickets can be purchased online until the day before the concert. You can purchase tickets at the door on the day of the concert.