It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to SAS Performing Arts Company and Studios, Incorporated  streaming concert entitled "A Night at the Opera."

Our program features a range of singers, many who were introduced to our company through our 2020 vocal competition, and some old friends including former Metropolitan Opera luminary Isola Jones, and newly Grammy award winner international Kammersaengerin Tichina Vaughn.

You will hear music of many composers ranging from Mozart to Bernstein, encompassing styles such as classical, and Bel Canto, and excerpts sung in 5 different languages Italian, French, Czech, German and English.

During these months of the pandemic, SAS has continued to reach out to our community with streamed concerts, theatrical works and the finals of our 2020 vocal competition last December featuring participants from all across the United States, Europe and the far East. Interspersed in this concert, you will see and hear some of the excellent competition submissions.

I am thrilled that you will discover the artistry of each of these performers.  In addition, our company is pleased to present the winners of our 2020 Vocal Competition Young Kwang Yoo Baritone, Jonathan Kaufman Tenor and Melissa Joseph Soprano.

In deciding how to put together this program, our main challenge to overcome was how to present ensemble pieces with singers spread across the world.  Such as the Der Rosenkavalier trio, which is a tricky piece to perform when the three singers are together, we had soprano Elizabeth Lewis in Chicago, Soprano Michelle Capano in New York and Mezzo Soprano Camille Sherman in Portand or Offenbach;s The Barcarolle from Les Contes D’Hoffmann with Isola Jones in Arizona and Tichina Vaughn in Germany.

Our very talented Collaborative Pianist Maestro Jonathan Parks recorded all the ensemble musical accompaniment and then each singer recorded their vocal lines to the pre-recorded musical track.  Once completed, I edited the individual tracks to achieve what you are hearing and seeing today.  The work was tedious, to say the least, but I believe the artistry of the performers and the beauty of the music prevailed and we achieved a small miracle of modern technology without the high-tech wizardry of a large editing studio.  

Finally, at the end of the concert, we take a moment to remember all those who lost their lives during this pandemic. We pray that they rest in peace and may their memories always be a blessing.

SAS Performing Arts Company, Inc. introduces the brilliant talents of emerging artists, together with active professionals, in a wide-ranging repertoire.  SAS Main-stage and virtual theater focuses its efforts to promote classic  
and contemporary plays, American musical theater works, Opera, and classical Music, by bringing them to audiences that might not have the opportunity to attend and enjoy live theater, thus enriching the community's
cultural life.

Our virtual theater makes these intricate art form more accessible to our audience. We hope the exhilarating connection generated between the music, text, and drama becomes more immediate in an intimate, up-close
environment. We are a home for performances of acknowledged masterpieces as well as
the rarely performed works that deserve a more extensive hearing.