Dolce Armonia concert, Feb. 8

The Ridgecrest Chamber Music Society is excited to present a departure from its historical instrumental offerings with Dolce Armonia. This extraordinary concert will feature a blend of local and interna-tional talent, performing masterpieces by renowned composers Puccini, Verdi, and Mozart, led by bari-tone David Hodgson, on Saturday, Feb. 8, at 4 p.m. at the Ridgecrest Methodist Church, 639 No. Norma St., in Ridgecrest.

David Hodgson, the Director of the recently established Ridgecrest Opera Workshop and former Artis-tic Director of the Ridgecrest Opera Guild, is continuing his mission to bring world-class opera to Ridgecrest audiences. With the support of the Ridgecrest Chamber Music Society, Mr. Hodgson builds on his legacy of organizing beloved productions such as La Bohème, The Magic Flute, and Le nozze di Figaro, delighting local classical music enthusiasts.

David will be joined by Swedish soprano Emma Berggren, Chilean tenor Felipe Prado, pianist Helen Wu and beloved Ridgecrest resident-artist and mezzo soprano Amber Peterson.

David Hodgson has sung principal baritone in many operas including The Magic Flute, Rigoletto, La Bohème, Pagliacci, Cavalleria Rusticana, The Tales of Hoffmann, Susanna, Romeo and Juliet, Carmen, Oedipus Tex by P.D.Q. Bach, and Der Freischütz over the past two decades. He has also been selected by notable composers John Biggs and Enrique Gonzales Medina to originate leading roles for the premieres of their operas: Hobson's Choice, by John Biggs, and Serafina y Arcangela, by Enrique Gonzales Medina.

Swedish soprano Emma Berggren was recently a finalist in the 2024 Bayreuth-Stipendium Wagner Society Gothenburg Vocal Competition in collaboration with GöteborgsOperan. Operatic highlights in-clude singing Violetta in La Traviata with Pacific Lyric Association, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, Mimì in La Bohème, Angelica in Suor Angelica, the title role in Tosca with Guild Opera Company, covering Ger-trude and the Gingerbread Witch in Hansel and Gretel with Lyric Opera of Orange County, being fea-tured as a soloist in the Falsterbo-Skanör music summer program in Sweden and attending the AIMS Opera Studio in Graz, Austria.

Amber Peterson, mezzo soprano, who most recently featured as a soloist with Desert Community Or-chestra at Parker Performing Arts Center in Ridgecrest, studied voice with Dr. Susan Kane at Califor-nia State University, Los Angeles earning BA in Choral Music Education and an MA in Vocal Perfor-mance and Pedagogy. Having performed on stages from California to Rome, Italy Petersen's roles include: Arnalta in L'Incoronazione di Poppea, La Zia Principessa in Suor Angelica, Maddalena in Rigoletto, Marmee in Little Women, and Kate in Kiss Me, Kate. Amber premiered works of composer Patrick Rindt, Aunt Imogene and Three Parables.

Tenor Felipe Prado from Chile who has been part of several opera productions in Southern California. He sang the role of Padre Matias en El milagro del Recuerdo, El Remendado in Carmen, Aldeano in El ultimo sueño de Frida y Diego and, The Prince of Persia in Turandot with San Diego Opera, Mario Cavaradossi in Tosca, Alfredo in La Traviata, and Alfred in Die Fledermaus with Pacific Lyric Association, Tamino in Die Zauberflöte by W.A. Mozart with Lyric Opera of Orange County, Il Duca di Mantova in Rigoletto with Guild Opera Company. He was also Rodolfo in La Opera de Tijuana´s pro-duction of La Boheme, and Ferrando in Cosi Fan Tutte with Pacific Palisades Symphony.

Helen Wu was the recipient of a Trustee Scholarship and graduated with a Bachelor of Music from the University of Southern California. She continued her studies with Mikhail Voskresensky at the Moscow Conservatory and Jerome Lowenthal at the Juilliard School. She has appeared with the Pacific Sym-phony and the Philharmonic Society of Orange County and performed at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts and the Kosciuszko Foundation. She has participated in the Aspen Music Festival, Holland In-ternational Music Festival, and Chopin International Music Festival. Her awards include the gold medal from the J.S. Bach Piano Recording Competition and silver medal from the Stravinsky Awards Inter-national Competition. She has worked with the Guild Opera Company's outreach program introducing opera to young students in Los Angeles school districts.

Audiences can look forward to a captivating showcase of exceptional artistry and beautiful singing as Ridgecrest continues to shine as a home for classical music. Don't miss this unforgettable celebration of operatic brilliance.

Ridgecrest Chamber Music Society (RCMS) is a non-profit organization located in Ridgecrest, Califor-nia in the Indian Wells Valley, 155 miles NE of Los Angeles. Their mission is to promote education and awareness of the genre of chamber music and provide opportunities for community members to expe-rience this music in our small desert city. RCMS brings excellent, top rate, professional classical music groups to Ridgecrest for four to six concerts per season.

For ticket information and event details, please contact the Ridgecrest Chamber Music Society http://www.rcchambermusic.org/2024-25/DolceArmonia.html/.