Soprano Andrea Lauren Brown

Purposefully Peripatetic

VoxAmaDeus’ Prima Donna

Andrea Lauren Brown

In Conversation with Richard A. Shapp

A native of Wilmington, Delaware, and a great favorite with the audiences of VoxAmaDeus, coloratura soprano Andrea Lauren Brown paid a visit to Philadelphia last mid-October.  Once again she captivated her loyal fans during a thrilling performance of Mozart’s Grand Mass in c minor in the Kimmel Center with the Ama Deus Ensemble conducted by Valentin Radu. Then it was back to Europe for a whirlwind of performances. And now she returns home for what will surely prove to be her signature interpretation of Handel’s Messiah with the Ama Deus Ensemble. Then Andrea will fly off again to perform concert after concert in Europe. Such is the busy life of this renowned vocal artist.

Andrea and I caught up with each other before the Mozart Mass in c minor last October. With time being limited I asked Andrea to capsulize what she had performed since her last visit home, and what lies ahead in her busy artistic schedule.

November E-Newsletter

Valentin Radu
Speaks Candidly About VoxAmaDeus
Past … Present … Future …

  

 Dear Friends of VoxAmaDeus …

Please consider this to be like a partial "shareholders' report" for a musical organization that I founded 27 years ago and that I love and which you support through your concert attendance, ticket purchases and/or financial donations. I'll break this report down into four major areas:

1) My satisfaction with the tremendous growth of the Camerata Ama Deus chamber orchestra from a dream of mine to a full-fledged ensemble which, at its last performance, played to a standing-room-only, capacity audience in Daylesford Abbey on September 15;

2) My artistic vision in programming combinations of (pardon the expression) old warhorses like the Messiah or the Mozart Requiem with lesser-known works - musical gems that are "new" to the audience, even though they are centuries old;

3) Developing and continuing the concept of conducting from the keyboard; and

4) Performing "outside-the-box" repertoire, as we began to do with our Gershwin and More concerts starring the fabulous British virtuoso Peter Donohoe on the piano.

October E-Newsletter

VoxAmaDeus Welcomes the Return of 

Soprano Sarah Davis

VoxAmaDeus is happy to announce that Sarah Davis will return to its concert stage on Friday, October 11, as a soprano soloist in Mozart’s Grand Mass in c minor at the Kimmel Center, conducted by Valentin Radu. Sarah is more active than ever and has spent, and will spend, plenty of quality music-making time in the Philadelphia area. Here is Sarah in conversation with Richard A. Shapp.

 RAS: Sarah Davis, welcome back to the electronic pages of the VoxAmaDeus E-Newsletter. It’s been a while; what have you been doing?

SD: The last concert I sang with VoxAmaDeus was the Vivaldi Gloria in December 2011 at the Kimmel Center. It’s been a whirlwind since then! I am thrilled to be back singing with Valentin and my friends in VoxAmaDeus on October 11. It is an honor to have been invited to sing with such esteemed colleagues and to get the chance to perform this glorious music—the Mozart Grand Mass in c minor.

September Newsletter

Meet STEVEN ZOHN
flute soloist in the season-opener concert on
September 15 at Daylesford Abbey

...in conversation with Richard Shapp

Valentin Radu has programmed an exciting all-Bach concert to open the 2013-14 VoxAmaDeus concert season. Johann Sebastian Bach’s six Brandenburg Concertos are among the most popular musical creations of all times. On Sunday, September 15, in the acoustically glorious and architecturally beautiful Daylesford Abbey in Paoli, Maestro Radu will lead exciting performances of Concertos Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 5.

Baroque Spring ~ Final concerts of the season

With spring fully established, what better music to capture the season’s happy mood than the energetic and enchanting music of the late Baroque period (about 1700 to 1750). Under the vibrant direction of Artistic Director & Conductor Valentin Radu, the Camerata Ama Deus Baroque period-instrument chamber orchestra will offer two performances of effervescent works by three masterful Baroque composers—Johann Sebastian Bach, Benedetto Marcello and Georg Philipp Telemann.

From the musical genius of Bach, Maestro Radu and the Camerata Ama Deus will perform the Concerto for Two Violins in d minor, a triple Concerto for Flute, Violin and Harpsichord in a minor and the famed Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F. From Italy comes the well-known Oboe Concerto in d minor by Marcello. And returning to Germany, the artists of the Camerata Ama Deus will perform two stunning works by Telemann—his Concerto for Recorder in g minor and the virtuosic Suite for Trumpet in D. This program will be offered twice in different neighborhoods of the Delaware Valley. 

 BUY TICKETS HERE

On Friday, May 31 at 8:00 PM, the concert will be presented at the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, 8000 St. Martin’s Lane (at Willow Grove Avenue) in Chestnut Hill. Then on Sunday, June 2 at 6:00 PM, the concert will be repeated in Daylesford Abbey, 220 South Valley Road in Paoli. Tickets for both concerts are priced at $25 for general admission, $20 for seniors and $10 for students & children. Doors open 45 minutes before the concert. 

Our CDs will be available at the concert, including our latest release: Gershwin & Ellington (see details below). 

Season 27 Announced! Click on the picture to enlarge.