“Songs of the American Landscape,” July 23

Tenor Corey Dalton Hart and organist Kyle Ritter will perform O Boundless Evening: Songs of the American Landscape at the Cathedral of All Souls on Thursday, July 23.

Press release from event organizers:

Asheville native and classically trained tenor, Corey Dalton Hart, will join local organist, Kyle Ritter, to present O Boundless Evening: Songs of the American Landscape, a recital of American music on Thursday, July 23rd, 2015 at 7:30 p.m. at the Cathedral of All Souls in Biltmore Village. The concert is sponsored by the Cathedral Arts Commission and is free and open to the public. An offering will be taken to benefit one of Asheville’s local charities, Loving Food Resources, and to create a scholarship for music students in need at the Academy for the Arts at First Baptist Church Asheville. Hart was born and raised in Asheville, graduating from A.C. Reynolds High School in 2010. He is currently earning his masters in music from the Bard College Conservatory Graduate Vocal Arts Program headed by world-renowned operatic soprano Dawn Upshaw.

Music
This recital will feature works by American composers spanning four centuries and will cover themes of war, religion, patriotism, love and the beauty of the American landscape. Hart will perform music by Francis Hopkinson, Carrie Jacobs-Bond, Charles Ives, Aaron Copland, Samuel Barber, Leslie Adams, Stephen Sondheim and Asheville native Samuel Hunter.

About Corey Dalton Hart

Corey Dalton Hart, tenor, is a native of Asheville, North Carolina and is completing his second year in the Bard Graduate Vocal Arts Program where he recently performed as Uriel in Haydn’s Die Schöpfung with the American Symphony Orchestra and as Ahasuerus, King of Persia in Handel’s first oratorio, Esther with the Bard Baroque Ensemble. This summer, Corey attended SongFest 2015 at The Colburn School in Los Angeles where he was chosen as an inaugural recipient of the Nancy and David Art Song Fellowship by the New York Singing Teacher’s Association. After graduating with highest honors from A.C. Reynolds High School, Corey completed his undergraduate studies at Furman University where he graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Music ’14. During his time at Furman, Corey spent four months studying performance and Italian language in Arezzo, Italy at the Accademia dell’Arte.. He has appeared with the Furman University Symphony Orchestra as soloist in Handel’s Messiah and Haydn’s Harmoniemesse and most recently as Charlie in Furman Lyric Theater’s production of Lerner and Loewe’s Brigadoon! Corey has given solo recitals across North and South Carolina and has toured Europe with the Furman University Singers. In addition to pursuing a vocal career, he has studied conducting and classical saxophone, and is a member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia and Phi Eta Sigma. Corey is currently studying with Lorraine Nubar.

About the Causes

Loving Food Resources
The mission of Loving Food Resources (LFR) is to provide food, health and personal care items to people in 18 counties of Western North Carolina who are living with HIV/AIDS or who are in home hospice care with any diagnosis. LFR was founded in November 1991 by three gentlemen living with HIV/AIDS who, along with their friends, were too often having to choose between buying food or the medications keeping them alive. LFR has grown to serve more than 80 clients per week. It was an all-volunteer agency for its first 23 years, and volunteers remain the heart and soul of the organization. More than 150 volunteers participate in LFR’s work.

Academy for the Arts
The Academy for the Arts at First Baptist Church of Asheville seeks to empower students of all ages and backgrounds in reaching their greatest potential both as artists and as human beings. Its highly-skilled teachers create an atmosphere of nurture and expectation in which students pursue excellence in their artistic crafts, developing mature and disciplined character. Believing that artistic inspiration and talents are gifts which need to be shared in order to be fully realized, it offers regular and exciting opportunities for individual and group performance.