Today I've committed to raising money for cancer research by riding in the 2014 Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC). On the first weekend in August, I will join 5,500 cyclists in the PMC ride, an annual bike-a-thon that raises money for research and care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) in Boston. This year's goal is $40 million!
I hope I can count on your support
The PMC raises more money for charity than any other single event in the country, $414 million since 1980 and $39 million last year alone! This success is the result of a lot of people riding for, and caring about, a cure. And because every penny matters, 100 percent of your donation goes to DFCI.
I've made a personal commitment to ride and raise $6,700. So I hope you can help me achieve this significant goal.
Please donate to my PMC ride at one of the following links:
Click hereto make a donation from a Fidelity Donor Advised Fund
Every donation brings us closer by the mile.
Thank you, Andrew Garland
Your donation is tax deductible and 100% will go to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. If you prefer to write a check, please make it out to the PMC, The Jimmy Fund or Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and mail it to me directly at:
Andrew Garland 24 Clifton Drive Kingston, MA 02364
If your employer has a matching gift program, ask your Human Resources department for a form, and follow the process for matches.
To learn more about the PMC, please visit pmc.org.
For many of you Spring has not yet sprung. I am very sorry to hear about this as I prepare to open in a production at Hawaii Opera Theatre. This is a role and company debut for me singing Silvio in I Pagliacci and my first staged production of Carmina Burana. This unusual and exciting double bill is a production that originated in Portland some 13 years ago and deservedly has made rounds to many cities throughout the United States. Here is a clip from our final room run on March 17:
This is a terrific cast. If you need an excuse to visit Hawaii, come see the show next weekend: March 28, 30 and, no fooling April 1.
I will return home April 2, celebrate my 9th 29th birthday and prepare to head out to Lafayette College for the premiere of more Songs of Cifar, an epic song-cycle-in-progress for soloists, chorus and orchestra by the dynamic, talented and always fascinating Gabriela Lena Frank.
At the end of the month I perform at home in Massachusetts in an afternoon of songs with which I am very much at home: Copland's Old American Songs and Steven Mark Kohn's Folk Song Set. Kudos to conductor Michael Driscoll of the Andover Choral Society for bringing these songs together.
May 9, 10, 11 I make another role debut: Danilo in The Merry Widow in Sarasota. This is another role I have wanted to check off my list for a long time.
On May 16 Plymouth, MA has the honor of hearing Warren Jones play in our new Spire Center for the Performing Arts. We will present our Carnegie Hall program: The Quest: Don Quixote and Other Wanderers (Songs by Vaughan Williams, Schubert, Ravel, Gabriela Lena Frank, Steven Mark Kohn and yes, the favorite by Mitch Leigh.) We then take this program to the Cleveland Art Song Festival on May 22.
In June I return to the Colorado Bach Festival for two weekends of concerts: first the Bach St. John Passion, then a program of Handel concert works. .
Later that month I return to Cincinnati for Cavalli's La Calisto with a star-studded cast as a part of Cincinnati Opera's World-Class 2014 season.
During Calisto rehearsals I make a quick trip home to Boston to present a recital for the NATS national conference. With lifelong collaborator Donna Loewy, we will present our absolute favorite American Songs from the past 10 years of programs. And that does include something from Craigslistlieder.
And as every first weekend in August comes around, I will be riding in the Pan Mass Challenge to support the Jimmy Fund: the charity of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.
November 8 and 9 I head down to Bahnstable (that's "Barnstable" for you non-Massachusetts natives) for two performances of opera favorites with the Cape Symphony.
November 16 Donna and I will take our song program to Matinée Musicale in the city where it all started, Cincinnati.
November 30 I am pleased to once again sing Handel's Messiah in the beautiful, historic St. Anthony's Cathedral with the New Bedford Symphony. And right before Christmas I sing Handel's complete masterwork with the Colorado Bach Ensemble.
The holidays aren't over yet. New Year's Eve and New Year's day Boston Baroque presents their annual concert / champagne and chocolates party including Cimarosa's Il Maestro di Capella and Mozart arias with the lovely and talented Sara Heaton. This year we will likely not feature coffee served on stage during the performance or a period instrument rendition of Cole Porter, but if you want to relive those memories, you can listen to them on WGBH.
At the end of February, 2015 I sing again with America's first (and best) period instrument band in Bach's St. John Passion along side John Mark Ainsley, Mary Wilson, Nicholas Phan and Christopher Lowrey.
And now I can finally announce that I will be returning to Seattle Opera for my debut as Harlekin in Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos. A fascinating opera at a great company and a knock-out cast including Kate Lindsey, Sarah Coburn, and Arnold Rawls. May 2-16, 2015.
Speaking of Naxos, copies of American Portraits are selling at concerts all around the country and stores world wide. My next song CD comes out soon. Songs by Jorge Martín with the lovely and talented Heather Johnson and an amazing and delightful collaborator, Jason Wirth.
There are lots of other performances soon to be announced. Thank you for reading.
