October Song Fest

Vira + Friends presents October Song Fest, a program of classical and popular song performed by bass Patrick Scully, soprano Brooke Schooley, contralto Vira Slywotzky and pianist David Sytkowski.
Questions? Email [email protected]
About the performers:
is a Chinese-American bass from New York, NY. Patrick has been hailed for his “naturalistic acting” and “burnished, expressive bass” (NJarts.com). He completed his Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance at Northwestern University and also holds both a Bachelor of Music from University of North Carolina School of the Arts and a Bachelor of the Arts from Davidson College, where he majored in Theater. His recent engagements have included roles with Ozarks Lyrics Opera (Alidoro, La Cenerentola), Opera Theater of Connecticut (Jailer, Tosca), Undead Arts (Sarastro, The Magic Flute), Bronx Opera (Lackey/Truffaldin cover, Ariadne auf Naxos), Charleston Opera Theater (Zuniga, Carmen), St. Petersburg Opera (Zuniga, Carmen; Timur cover, Turandot; Rocco cover/First Prisoner, Fidelio), West Edge Opera (Emperor, Le rossignol), MIOpera (Sergeant of Police, The Pirates of Penzance), Light Opera of New Jersey (Sergeant of Police, The Pirates of Penzance; Masetto, Don Giovanni), Teatro Grattacielo (Masetto, Don Giovanni; Sansone, Giulietta e Romeo) and Sarasota Opera (Njegus, The Merry Widow, Caporal, La Fille du Regiment). Patrick currently lives in Shelton, CT.
Coloratura soprano Brooke Schooley has been singing professionally for 15 years, mostly in classical venues in the Northeast. She regularly performs leading coloratura roles with regional opera companies and has appeared with Bronx Opera, Hubbard Hall Opera Theatre, Light Opera of New York, Empire Opera, Delaware Valley Opera and The Martina Arroyo Foundation. She has performed the following roles: Queen of the Night (Die Zauberflöte), Madame Herz (Der Schauspieldirektor), Blonde (Die Entführung aus dem Serail), Adina (L’Elisir d’Amore), Gretel (Hansel and Gretel), Susanna (The Marriage of Figaro), Angelina (Trial by Jury), Monica (The Medium), Lucy (The Telephone), Miss Pinkerton (The Old Maid and the Thief) and Mabel (The Pirates of Penzance).

In 2024, Brooke performed her one woman cabaret show, Who Knows Where or When, about the roller coaster of caring for parents with dementia. She is currently working on a new show about her Wall Street career.“SCHOOLEY SHINES…her voice expertly trills and soars as her character fauns, cajoles, argues and laughs, sometimes like a comical singing hyena.” Schmopera“SUCH AN INCREDIBLE VOICE, and the acting chops to go with it. She was a delight…her performance of “Glitter and Be Gay” was out of this world.” Sullivan Valley Democrat“A MARVELOUS LYRIC AS WELL AS SOARING VOICE.” Times Herald-Record
has performed principal roles with Seattle Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Chelsea Opera, Center for Contemporary Opera, Sarasota Opera and Boston Midsummer Opera. She has sung concerts, recitals and cabarets in New York City venues from The Duplex to Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall and on tour all over the United States. Internationally Slywotzky has been heard in Canada, France, Hungary, Sweden and Wales.
A champion of new music, she has workshopped and premiered more than 30 works including songs, full scale opera and narration with orchestra.

Since February 2022 Slywotzky has been serving as a cultural ambassador and fundraising for Razom for Ukraine and other organizations providing aid to and supporting Ukraine. Her performances have collected over $275,000.

Participant in numerous competitions and winner of awards, most significantly Slywotzky was the sole representative of the USA at the 2009 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition.

She runs the multiform concert series Vira + Friends and is Member Emeritus on the Board of the Berkshire Opera Festival.
“Vira Slywotzky is an immensely talented, charismatic performer who transforms herself, and captivates her audience with her songs and tales.” - The Village View
David Sytkowski is a sought-after pianist, vocal coach, and music director in opera, art song, cabaret and musical theater. He has appeared at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Joe’s Pub and Feinstein’s San Francisco, among others. He often collaborates with legendary cabaret artist Justin Vivian Bond.
As Artist in Residence at Bard College, he is Music Director for Opera Workshop, leads the Musical Theater Performance Workshop and coaches singers and pianists.
He is co-creator of VOWEL MOVEMENTS, a subversive classical/cabaret/drag project with Pretty Lamé, made possible by a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts. It premiered at Hudson Hall in June 2023 and remounted at ICA Miami in February 2024.
Other recent 2025 projects include the production premiere of Steven Schoenberg’s and Richard Michelson’s Dear Edvard at the Martha’s Vineyard Playhouse; Woo Girl Miracles! with Justin Vivian Bond (Joe’s Pub); Giulio Cesare with director RB Schlather (Hudson Hall); Assassins (Fisher Center at Bard); recitals with contralto Vira Slywotzky (NYC, Boston and New Hampshire).
Vira Slywotzky founded in May 2018 with the intent of bringing people together to enjoy the live performance of music written for voice and piano. Since that time Vira + Friends has become a multiform concert series with the expanded missions of developing audiences for classical music and providing a platform for composers traditionally neglected by the Western canon. Vira + Friends is a nonprofit corporation under the auspices of the Ukrainian American Educational Center of Boston, a 501(c)(3).