Although we perform at the Holt Hickman Center this night, we celebrate that on April 20, we performed for the fist time at the River Legacy Living Science Center, our […]
Soprano Youna Jang Hartgraves
Connect with Youna on social media! (Youna Hartgraves – OperaMyWay on Facebook, Instagram, tiktok, and Youtube) Her content showcases her unique and refreshing take on classical vocal music with impeccable storytelling. Featured as a “piano playing opera singer mama who lost 100 lbs” she strives to communicate with her fellow music lovers and advocates for a healthy lifestyle.
“Youna Jang excelled in the role of Susan B. Anthony—she has a big voice, large range, and well developed vibrato.” – TheaterJones
“Youna Jang displayed a voice of beauty and power that was more than adequate to convey the emotional turmoil of her character in Menotti’s “The Consul” and the needed vocal agility for a fine rendition of Marguerite’s “Jewel Song” from Gounod’s Faust.” -Annapolis Patch
“Mirroring Onegin’s tragic descent into desperate loneliness, Tatyana conversely blossoms into womanhood before the audience’s eyes. It is fascinating to watch how actresses confront this challenge of transitioning from youth to maturity. Youna Jang met this challenge adeptly, singing the famous “Letter Scene” with manic hormonal shifts from lovesick despair to ecstatic bliss. In the final scene, when Onegin begs her not to reject him, Ms. Jang expertly balanced Tatyana’s tortured pathos with a self-assured grace. Her powerful voice effortlessly filled the room, yet her soft singing immediately commanded attention. With a controlled and heart wrenching diminuendo, her exclamation, “Ah, happiness was in our reach. So close…” encapsulated a lifetime of suffering within a single phrase.” – InstantEncore
Acclaimed for her electrifying and passionate performances, soprano Youna Jang Hartgraves has sung leading operatic roles throughout the United States, including the title role of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, which she sang when she was 23 years old at Opera Delaware. She was then invited to sing Mimì in Puccini’s La Bohème as well as many recitals and concerts.
At Temple University in Philadelphia, she performed Natalia Petrovna in Hoiby’s A Month in the Country, Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro, Mimì in La Bohème, Climene in L’Egisto, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, and Antonia in Les Contes d’Hoffmann. A rare opportunity to sing the role of Susan B. Anthony in Thomson’s The Mother of Us All was given to her at The University of North Texas.
Youna has participated in the young artist programs at Opera Saratoga (formerly Lake George Opera) for two seasons and sung the role of Louise in La Vie Parisiènne and covered the title role of Madama Butterfly. She participated in the apprentice and studio programs at Sarasota Opera and sang the title role of Madama Butterfly at the Sarasota Chalk festival. As a resident artist at The Academy of Vocal Arts, she sung the roles of Amelia in Un ballo in maschera and Tatyana in Eugene Onegin.
She has recognitions from the Fritz & Lavinia Jensen Foundation, two-time awards from The Annapolis Opera Competition, Gerda Lissner International Competition, and New Jersey State Alfredo Silipigni Vocal Competition. She was also invited to participate in Dallas Opera Guild Vocal Competition, Elizabeth Connell prize for Dramatic Sopranos (New York and San Francisco) Compositione dell’opera in Germany and Hariclea Darclée Competition in Romania. She received the Boyer Merit scholarship in recognition of her musical excellence and was the soprano soloist in Bruckner’s Te Deum at the Kimmel Center – Verizon Hall.
Youna earned a Master of Music degree and a Bachelor of Music degree in Voice and Opera Performance from Temple University before appearing as a resident artist at the prestigious Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. She received a Doctorate degree in Voice Pedagogy from University of North Texas and held teaching positions at UNT, Texas State University, Tarrant County College, and University of Mary while maintaining her successful private studio for singing and piano.
Dr. Alice (Jeong-A) Lee is the Principal Cellist in the Richardson Symphony and currently teaches cello at Texas Women’s University. She earned her doctorate and master’s degrees in cello performance from the University of North Texas under Eugene Osadchy.
Dr. Lee has extensive experience in solo, chamber music, and orchestra in the United States, Canada, South Korea, and Taiwan. Over the years, besides giving numerous solo recitals, she has performed professionally at numerous events and venues as a soloist, a chamber musician as well as an orchestra player. She has played with the Trans Siberian Orchestra and also performed alongside the following famous artists: Luciano Pavarotti, Andrea Bocelli, Yoyo Ma, and pop artist Kanye West. Her cello playing can be heard on recordings of famous Korean pop music artists, Seung Hwan Lee and Jun Seun Kim. In 2017, She appeared as a featured concerto soloist within the Northeast Orchestra in Texas. In addition, her cello solos are frequently heard on national and international broadcasts of the Insights for Living radio program and she was a featured musician on the Insight for Living website in October 2013.
Dr. Lee currently is a member of Stonebriar Quartet. Her passion for chamber music is evident in her playing and she has had many international experiences, performing in various string quartets. While in South Korea, she was a member of the Euphonia String Quartet that performed in Seoul. She also toured Taiwan and Korea with the Kyung-won String Chamber Group, recording a CD. While in Vancouver, Canada, she won First Place in the Elsje de Ridder Armstrong Chamber Music Competition and the CDMF Performing Arts Festival. Dr. Lee was also the recipient of the Liberace Scholarship while pursuing her graduate studies at the University of North Texas. As a member of the Liberace Graduate String Quartet, she performed throughout Texas representing the University of North Texas.
In addition to playing as the Principal Cellist in the Richardson Symphony Orchestra, she has performed with many other professional orchestras in the DFW area, including the Plano Symphony, East Texas Symphony, Lewisville Lake Symphony, Irving Symphony, and Abilene Phillharmonic. In Canada, she played with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and Vancouver Island Symphony Orchestra. In South Korea, with the Royal Symphony Orchestra and New Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra. She is also Principal Cellist at Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas, where she frequently appears as a soloist.
Presently, Dr. Lee also has her own cello studio in Denton, Texas where she teaches a number of talented young musicians who have won chairs in UIL regional orchestras, UIL state orchestras, the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra (GDYO) and Fort Worth Youth Orchestra.
Violinist and violist Dr. Timothy Angel is a dedicated performing artist and instructor/violin lecturer at the University of Texas at Arlington.
Dr. Angel has previously been invited to act as a guest concertmaster for the Amarillo Symphony and won the Principal Second violin chair in the Lubbock Symphony. In the past, he has also won section violin positions with the Las Colinas Symphony and the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra. He has also won numerous competitions, including the Coeur d’Alene Symphony Orchestra National Young Artist competition in January 2015, where he performed the Glazunov Violin Concerto in a minor with the symphony the following May. Angel’s other solo engagements include works by Sarasate, Camille Saint-Saëns, and Jean Sibelius. In 2022, Dr. Angel performed the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the Mesquite Symphony.
In the spring of 2018, Angel completed his Doctorate of musical arts in violin performance at Texas Tech University. There he held a prestigious position in the Graduate String Quartet, was awarded concertmaster in the University Symphony Orchestra, and was a graduate teaching assistant for his instructor, Dr. John Gilbert. Additionally, during his time in Lubbock, Angel also directed the Ramirez Suzuki Violin Program at Ramirez Elementary School and worked with the Suzuki Talent Education of the Lubbock Region program.
Each summer, he continues his studies by attending training institutes and music festivals around the country, including the Brevard Music Center, Meadowmount School of Music, Suzuki Teacher Development Training, Bravo String’s Institute, and the Symphony Orchestra Academy of the Pacific.
Dr. Angel has won additional awards, including the American Suzuki Institute’s John and Catherine Kendall Memorial Scholarship for 2016, the CodaBow International Scholarship for 2017, and the Most Outstanding Graduate Student at the University of Texas at Arlington for the 2014-2015 school year.
His first performance with Timeless Concerts was in April 2019. Dr. Angel is also a licensed realtor. He resides in Arlington with his wife, Erin, and two young children, a boy and a girl.
Cellist Oliver Bennett Schlaffer joined Timeless Concerts again in 2021 after having performed with Timeless earlier in its development. Having pursued performance work, Oliver has now created a business that not only involves teaching cello lessons, but coaching other teachers of music instruments in teaching techniques and other forms of mentoring that help aspiring artists gain success in the performing arts and beyond, using simple strategies for mastery. His website is oliverandcello.com.
An expert in teaching the science of achievement through the study of excellence in the performing arts, Oliver helps ambitious young people transform their unique gifts and vision into extraordinary achievement and mastery, through his lessons on life, leadership, and excellence. As a mentor to youth, Oliver’s students learn the true skills for achievement and mastery, consistently ranking within the top 1% of students in the state of Texas for music as well as the top 10% academically, and are regularly accepted into many of the nation’s top learning institutions such as Harvard, Stanford, and MIT.
From conformity to Carnegie Hall, Oliver discovered that the journey to mastery in the performing arts reveals the true secrets of living a purposeful life through passion and excellence, which often requires one to become a “non-conformist” in order to be truly exceptional.
He has performed in over a dozen orchestras across the United States, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and on stages around the United States, Europe, and Asia, including seven appearances at Carnegie Hall in New York City. A versatile performer, he has collaborated with a variety of genres and mainstream artists, including live concerts with Josh Groban and Andrea Bocelli, in addition to nationally televised appearances with rappers P. Diddy and Snoop Dogg on MTV’s Video Music Awards.
Oliver was honored with a distinguished award in 2017 from the National Academy of Bestselling Authors for his contribution to the recently published book, Mastering the Art of Success, which he co-authored with the legendary New York Times best-selling author Jack Canfield. A champion for excellence, Oliver has captured the imagination of over fifty-thousand students through his live presentations. On a mission to inspire and empower the next generation to master their passions in order to design a life true to themselves.
Oliver holds degrees in cello performance from Southern Methodist University and Northwestern University, and he has studied under the principal cellists of seven major symphony orchestras, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Several of his primary teachers include Orlando Cole of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, Japanese cello soloist Ko Iwasaki, and Danish cello pedagogue Hans Jørgen Jensen, who was highlighted in the book, The Talent Code, by Daniel Coyle in 2009.
This talented artist was born in New York, NY, raised in Dallas, TX, and now resides in Plano, TX.
Erik Barnes was born in Buffalo, New York, raised there and in Seattle, Washington. His formal education in music began with private piano lessons followed by degrees from Yale College (B.A.), Washington State University (M.A.) and doctoral studies at the University of North Texas, where he was both a teaching fellow and part time faculty member.
Mr. Barnes has always been eclectic in his musical tastes. whether classical, jazz, blues or popular styles. He has performed concerts in many of the major cities in the U.S. including, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle, Minneapolis, Phoenix, San Antonio, Chicago, New York, Boston, Buffalo, Tampa and Atlanta. He has also played with four orchestras in the southwest.
Mr. Barnes also frequently accompanies vocalists with the Dallas chapter of Opera on Tap. For the past twenty years, Barnes has been the lead entertainer as a pianist-vocalist at the Library Bar in the Melrose Hotel. It is a classic venue featuring an old school charm with a hint of modern hipness. This venue is a perfect fit for Barnes. Whether you are interested in an elegant evening featuring the American song book including Gershwin and Porter, or interested in the latest popular genres – or anything in between, Erik Barnes will perform these with a the touch of class. Don’t just have a party, make some memories!
The Arlington Today Magazine described Sabrina as bringing ” music to our ears and our souls.” Sabrina recently moved back to Fort Worth after over a decade of performing in San Francisco and is excited to collaborate with Timeless Concerts once again. She has performed with Lamplighters Music Theatre, Opera Parallèle, San Francisco Opera’s Education Outreach, Sing for America, and San Diego Opera. Sabrina was previously the assistant music director and head cantor at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in San Francisco. Highlighted roles include the title role in the world premiere Xochitl and the Flowers, Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Giannetta (L’elisir d’amore), Sister Catherine (Dead Man Walking), Susanna and Barbarina (Le nozze di Figaro), Claudia Nardi (Nine), and Little Red (Into the Woods). Sabrina holds undergraduate and master’s degrees from San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
What sparked as a passion for working with nonprofits and her enthusiasm to create custom business solutions, Sabrina is the proud founder and owner of Romero-Wilson Consulting, LLC. Her services include strategic marketing, communications, certified Salesforce administration, and non-profit strategy.
For more information about Sabrina’s consulting services please contact romerowilsonconsulting@gmail.com
Korean-American mezzo-soprano, Rachel Moon has appeared on many stages around the world, most notably with The Dallas Opera, Opera Naples, Red River Lyric opera, Opera Breve, the historic opera theater of Cagli in Italy, also including performances in Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth Texas, as well as with the Irving Symphony Orchestra, and many more.
This year, in addition to singing with the Dallas Opera Chorus, Rachel has joined the Miami Classical Music Festival as an Apprentice artist performing the role of Le Prince Charmant in Massenet’s Cendrillon. The summer of 2019, Rachel has performed the role of High Priestess in Verdi’s Aida, as well as covering the role of Dorabella in Mozart’s Così fan tutte, and the role of Secretary in Menotti’s The Consul with Spotlight on Opera. In 2017-2018, Rachel joined The Dallas Opera’s outreach program as an educational artist covering the role of Despina in Mozart’s Three Little Pigs. Rachel has participated in training programs such as VOICExperience, Opera Naples, OperaWorks, and Opera in Concerts in Italy.
Rachel’s previous appearances include Musetta (La bohème), Beth (Little Women), Madame Pompous (Too Many Sopranos), Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), and Ruggiero (Alcina). Her other repertoires include Dorabella (Così fan tutte), Romeo (I Capuleti e i Montecchi), Prince Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus), and Nicklausse (Les contes d’Hoffmann).
Rachel was awarded a full-tuition scholarship to Texas Christian University, College of Fine Arts. She studied with J. David Brock and earned her master’s degree in Vocal Performance. Rachel’s bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance is from the University of North Texas, where she studied with Dr. Stephen F. Austin. With UNT Opera, she performed the roles of Ruggiero in Alcina, Käthchen in Werther, and Cinderella’s Mother in Into the Woods. At Texas Christian University, amongst other performances, she performed the demanding role as Don Elvira in Don Giovanni and Madame Pompous in Too Many Sopranos.
Simon Petty is a Fort Worth born pianist who holds an active performance schedule in DFW with the top jazz artists in the area. As a recent recipient of the Steinway Top Teacher Award, Simon is a prolific music educator through his lectures, masterclasses, and private lessons.
Violinist LeeAnne Chenoweth began taking violin and piano lessons at age 5, in her hometown of Enid, Oklahoma. By age 12, her father was taking her to Tulsa, weekly, for violin lessons with the concertmaster of the Tulsa Philharmonic. At age 16, she spent a summer studying violin at the Meadowmount School of Music in upper New York state. She graduated from the SMU Meadows School of Arts with a bachelor’s degree in violin performance, having been a recipient of the Meadows Artistic Achievement Award Scholarship.
Soon after receiving her degree, she began working with the Dallas Opera Orchestra violin section; two seasons later, she won a violin audition in Ft. Worth Symphony Orchestra, working in FWSO until 2007. In early 2007, she imagined a chamber music series like Timeless Concerts and began planning. She produced her first concert in the summer of 2007 Ms. Chenoweth was honored in 2010 by receiving the Legacy of Women of Tarrant County award in the arts division..
During her orchestral career in Ft. Worth, she shared the stage with great classical artists such as Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, Pavarotti, Van Cliburn, Joshua Bell, and others. Plus, pops artists as diverse as Natalie Cole, Marvin Hamlisch, Wynona Judd, Pink Martini, The Beatles tribute band “Classical Mystery Tour,” and more. She has also shared the stage with artists like Ricky Martin and Depeche Mode, even accompanying members of Cirque du Soleil.
Ms. Chenoweth currently works as a substitute violinist with several area symphonies in the DFW area, but most regularly with the Waco Symphony, where in 2015 she collaborated with Yo-Yo Ma, and in 2017 with superstar soprano Renee Fleming.”
In addition to concert performance work, Ms. Chenoweth contracts ensembles for special events throughout Texas; some examples are wine tastings at the Anatole, Christmas parties at the Ft. Worth Club, and weddings in a variety of locations from the Ritz Hotel to a family ranch.
Ms. Chenoweth plays on a French violin (Nicolas Vuillaume), made approximately in 1848. Her passion is to keep beautiful music alive to be heard by future generations. She frequently performs free educational programs in elementary schools, encouraging children to appreciate music of all eras, pointing out that composers of movie music they enjoy were influenced by the classics. Hear more about Ms. Chenoweth’s mission in the promotional video on the home page of Timeless Concerts.
Chenoweth is the president and artistic director of a nonprofit organization; Timeless Concerts. Her concerts offer an evening of beautiful music of strings and piano, often joined by a vocalist. Audience members enjoy a relaxed atmosphere while sipping complimentary beverages. Interesting stories are told about the history of music and composers. A post-concert party offers time to mingle with the musicians, take photos of great memories, and enjoy the comradery with other music lovers.
She married Richard Lawson while still attending SMU. They live in north Arlington and have two grown daughters, Cayla and Jessica.
Tenor Sergio Cepeda has been highly acclaimed for his exciting, passionate tenor voice and commanding stage presence, making this young and upcoming tenor the “whole package.” Reviewing a recent performance of The Magic Flute, a critic wrote: “Mr. Cepeda’s beautiful tenor voice handled Tamino’s music with elegance, appropriate color, and well balanced tone throughout. His acting was clear and direct. He made a handsome and dashing young prince.” Another critic said about Mr. Cepeda’s Orchestra of New Spain debut, “Sergio Cepeda has a wonderful lyric tenor voice. Pure honey. It is perfectly produced, and even throughout all of the registers.” Mr. Cepeda’s performances on the operatic stage have taken him throughout the USA and Europe, performing such roles as Tamino in The Magic Flute, Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore, Alfredo in La Traviata, Romeo in Roméo et Juliette, Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, and Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni.
Mr. Cepeda’s most recent performances include Bato in La Pastorela with Orchestra of New Spain, covering the lead role in the world premiere of Héctor Armenia’s Zorro with Fort Worth Opera, The Juliet Letters with Neo Camerata, Flavio in Bellini’s Norma, Manuel Garcia in Dudas satisfechas for Orchestra of New Spain, Obadiah in Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, along with miscellaneous concert work.
Mr. Cepeda is at ease performing a wide variety of musical genres, such as classical, jazz, tango, and mariachi. In vocal competitions, Mr. Cepeda has been a solid contender and was the 1st prize recipient of the UNT Winspear Opera Scholarship Competition, and 1st Audience Prize (5th Prize with the judges) at Shreveport Opera’s Singer of the Year Competition. Florida Grand Opera/Young Patronesses of Opera awarded him the 2nd Prize. Mr. Cepeda’s formal studies earned him degrees from the University of Texas at Arlington (B.M. Music Business), TCU (M.M. VoicePerformance), and University of North Texas (Post-Graduate Artist Certificate in Opera Performance.) He continues his training with Inci Bashar, Gioacchino LiVigni and his Mediterranean Opera Studio in Sicily and New York.
His professional mariachi career started at age 15, when he began training and performing as a guitarist and vocalist with members of Mariachi de Oro in Fort Worth, Mariachi Cobre of Tucson and Disney World/Epcot, Rigoberto Alfaro of Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán, and the brothers Jesús and José Hernandez of Mariachi Sol de México, all 3 ensembles considered among the most elite of their genre. At age 17, he was invited to what would become a life-changing event when DECCA recording label invited him to collaborate with the Fort Worth Symphony and the rising star tenor, Juan Diego Flórez, on the album Sentimiento Latino.
Mr. Cepeda’s performances for charity and fundraising events helped raise over $600,000 for various local, national, and international organizations and disaster relief programs. He is a regular performer with Timeless Concerts, as well as a member of the board.
Additionally, he is a licensed Dallas/Fort Worth real estate agent with Ready Real Estate.
Pianist Dr. Heejung Kang was born in Seoul, Korea, and studied at the Seoul Music and Art High School for musically gifted teenagers. She graduated with the highest honors from the College of Music, Ewha Woman’s University in Seoul and later at the same university she earned her Master’s Degree in Piano, receiving the Ewha Graduate Research Fellowship Scholarship. Completing her doctoral dissertation on Rachmaninoff, she received her doctorate in Piano Performance at the College of Music at the University of North Texas in 2004.
In 2002, She made a recording of “Rediscovered Lieder and Piano Pieces by Kletzki, Oppel, and Schenker,” sponsored by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Jewish Federation, and College of Music at UNT. In December 2004, she performed music by Paul Kletzki, Reinhard Oppel, Arnold Mendelssohn and other composers live on Israel Radio. In November 2005, she performed solo piano music by Heinrich Schenker at the inaugural meeting of the Korean Society for Music Theory in Seoul and premiered Kletzki’s Sonata for Piano and Violin with Robert Davidovici on Korean National Radio (KBS FM1). Dr. Kang has recorded Reinhard Oppel’s solo piano music for Toccata Classics in England, which was released in 2011.
Currently a Senior Lecturer in Piano at the University of North Texas, she teaches courses in Piano Literature, Sight-reading, Score Reading, and Keyboard Harmony. She has been a judge for the Lewisville Lake Symphony Young Artists Competition since 2007. She is a guest member of Lewisville Lake Symphony Orchestra. Her latest commercial CD, is of Anton Eberl’s violin/piano sonatas, and is available on Amazon. Dr. Kang’s first performance with Timeless Concerts was February 2012. She is married to UNT music theory prof Timothy Jackson and they have 2 children; a girl and a boy.
CELLIST Drew Johnson has played professionally with the Las Colinas Symphony since 2002. He is also a founding member of the 440 Alliance, and performs and records with many local bands. As well as performing, Mr. Johnson teaches a full award-winning private studio in Arlington where he resides. Mr. Johnson has studied chamber music throughout his life at many festivals and schools, including the Chamber Music Festival of Nebraska, Mimir Chamber Music Festival, Heifitz Institute, and the Credomatic Music Festival in Costa Rica. Mr. Johnson holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Performance from the University of Texas at Arlington.
Harpist Laura Logan received her Master’s and Doctorate of musical arts degree in harp performance from Texas Tech University. A native of New Orleans, she earned her bachelor of music in harp performance from Louisiana State University.
She is the founder and director of the Octavia Harp Ensemble, a performing group of 8 professional harpists. They have released two recordings on the Traditional Sounds Label.
Laura Logan Brandenburg, DMA, served as harp instructor on the Texas Christian University School of Music faculty from 2001-2020. In addition, she maintained an active pre-college studio through the TCU Music Prep Department, teaching Suzuki harp students ages five through young adult.
She currently teaches and coaches private students of all ages in her home studio. A highly regarded freelance harpist with four decades of professional experience, Laura enjoys a wide variety of collaborative performance opportunities in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Whether harp solo, in a duo with violin or flute, or in a trio setting including cello, she specializes in providing elegant classical music for your special event.