FOLKSONGS AND VOICES OF NATURE
DUO ROSSIGNOL 
 
Thursday, August 6
8:00 PM
 
$15 general admission/$10 students & seniors
Military always free
 
Soprano Hillary LaBonte and flutist Mary Matthews present an evening of musical color and mystique in the works of John Corigliano, Cherise Leiter, Kaija Saariaho, and Hilary Tann.
 
Soprano Hillary LaBonte and flutist Mary Matthews began performing together in 2008 at The Peabody Conservatory of Music.  Since then, they have collaborated on many projects, bringing to life the works of Ravel, Roussel, J.S. Bach, and others in concert across the country.  They formed Duo Rossignol in 2014 with a commitment to performing new and adventurous
works by living and 20th-century composers.    

They have been featured as guest artists at the Baldwin Wallace University Conservatory of Music, The Peabody Conservatory, Harmony Hall in Columbia, Maryland, and they have presented outreach concerts at numerous venues throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.  

Meet the Artists

Soprano Hillary LaBonte has appeared with Loudoun Lyric Opera, hexaCollective, the Vivre Musicale series, Great Noise Ensemble, the Mobtown Modern series, the Handel Choir of Baltimore, at the Baltimore Basilica, and the Nation’s Capitol.  Roles include Yum-Yum (The Mikado), Isabel (El Capitan), Mrs. Anderssen (A Little Night Music), Ann Putnam (The Crucible), and Cupid (Semele). In 2010, she was the recipient of the Phyllis Bryn-Julson Award for the Commitment to and Performance of 20th/21st Century Music.
 
Hillary grew up in Kaneohe, Hawaii.  She is a graduate of Baldwin-Wallace College and the Peabody Conservatory.  This year, she continues to establish herself in opera and new music, singing in the chorus of the Maryland Lyric Opera in their production of Roméo et Juliette. She also appeared with Great Noise Ensemble on their series closer, “The Voice of GNE,” singing on Armando Bayolo’s Sacred Cows. Earlier this year, she presented a recital with mezzo-soprano Megan Ihnen at the inaugural New Music Gathering in San Francisco.
 
Mary Matthews enjoys an active and varied career as a chamber musician, soloist, orchestral performer, and pedagogue. She has performed throughout the United States, South America, and Europe and has presented masterclasses and lectures in the United States and Bolivia. She is a founding member of Cuatro PuntosChamber Music Collective, a chamber ensemble dedicated to musical diplomacy, and she performs with the SoundScape Trio, the Collage Ensemble, and the Colorado-New Music Ensemble. Dr. Matthews joined the Hartford Independent Chamber Orchestra as Principal Flute during the 2012/2013 season, and in this capacity has collaborated with some of New England's leading musical organizations.  

Notable performances include a debut season with the 2012 Newport Music Festival, the 2015 Maryland Wind Festival, four National Flute Association Conventions, the Goethe Institut Música Nueva Festival, and the Jornadas de Música Contemporánea in Cochabamba, Bolivia. She has appeared as a soloist with the Hartford Independent Chamber Orchestra, Firelands Symphony, Pottstown Symphony, and Baldwin-Wallace Symphony Orchestras. She is currently based in Boulder, Colorado. 

She began her formal flute studies in the Eastman School of Music's Preparatory Program where she graduated with distinction in performance. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree from The Hartt School, a Master of Music Degree from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, and a Bachelor of Music Degree from the Baldwin Wallace Conservatory.  Her principal teachers include Janet Arms, Emily Skala, Laurie Sokoloff, George Pope, and Jan Angus.