Shades of America's Spirit

Shades of America's Spirit

Come join us at Preston Hall for an event celebrating the vibrant spirit of America!

Music by Ives, Barber and Gershwin

Artists:

Emily Casey, Soprano

Rob McGinness, Baritone

Rene Shapiro, Trumpet

Teodora Adzharova, Piano

ABOUR THE ARTISTS:

EMILY CASEY

American soprano Emily Casey has been praised for the clarity, range and flexibility of her voice as well as her skillful dramatic and acting abilities. Reviewed as a "red haired vixen with a sparkling voice" by Opera Canada in a recent performance as Musetta in Puccini's La Bohème, she has performed many leading roles with companies across the United States, Canada and Italy. She has been hailed as a “standout” and praised for her “musical lyricism” and has been noted for her talent in embodying both dramatic and comic characters on the operatic and musical theater stage alike.

Ms. Casey's current season brings about a highlight of role debuts and special projects including Michaela in Bizet’s Carmen and a special commission with the US Naval Academy. Past operatic highlights include performances as Giulietta (I Capuleti e i Montecchi), Konstanze (Die Entführung aus dem Serail), Pamina (The Magic Flute), Musetta (La Bohème), Gulnara in Verdi's Il Corsaro, Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), Juliette (Roméo et Juliette), La Zelatrice (Suor Angelica), Susannah (Susannah), Hannah Glawari (The Merry Widow), Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi) and La Voix in Poulenc's vocally and dramatically demanding La Voix Humaine.

Ms. Casey has appeared in concert with Maryland Lyric Opera, Piedmont Symphony Orchestra, Columbia Orchestra, Trinity Chamber Orchestra and Frederick Symphony Orchestra. She has had the pleasure of working with some of the most famous names in opera including Richard Bonygne, Renée Fleming, Catherine Malfitano, Aprile Millo, Marco Gandini and Sherrill Milnes. More information and schedule can be found at www.EmilyCaseySoprano.com and on social media platforms as @EmilyCaseySoprano

ROB McGUINNESS

Employing his “impressive singing ... well-supported tone and supple phrasing,”(Baltimore Sun) baritone Rob McGinness connects characters to ideas, and listeners to sounds.

As a featured soloist, Rob performed in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall and Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium. Other concert credits include Carmina Burana with Maryland Symphony Orchestra, Duruflé Requiem with the Peabody Symphony Orchestra, and Brahms Requiem with The Washington Chorus, for which the Washington Post praised his “warmbaritone.”

Committed to promoting and performing new works, Rob premiered roles in Grounded with Washington National Opera, Frances Pollock’s award-winning opera Stinney, and the lead role in Shining Brow, Daron Hagen’s opera about Frank Lloyd Wright.

Often featured portraying opera’s “bad boy,” Rob’s operatic credits include the title roles in Eugene Onegin and Don Giovanni, as well as Marcello in La Bohème. He has sungEnrico in Lucia, Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, and Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus, a performance lauded for a “bright baritone and winning jitteriness” by the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

A recent graduate of Arizona Opera’s Marion Roose Pullin Opera Studio, Rob was also a young artist with Opera Theater St. Louis, Pittsburgh Festival Opera, Teatro Nuovo, and Bel Canto at Caramoor. He holds degrees from Oberlin Conservatory and the Peabody Institute, where he currently teaches courses on grant writing and career skills. An award-winning performer, Rob placed first in the Sylvia Greene Vocal Competition, second in the Piccola Opera Competition, and received the Patricia A. Edwards Award in the Annapolis Opera Vocal Competition.

RENE SHAPIRO

A San Diego native, René Shapiro joined the Baltimore Symphony in 2002 as 2nd Trumpet, and then moved to his current position as Assistant Principal Trumpet in 2005. René’s strong passion and talent for music have brought him to travel internationally performing with prestigious orchestras such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Orchestra Sinfonia di Milano in Italy, the Namdo Festival Orchestra in South Korea, the Shira International Festival Orchestra in Israel, and many more. He previously studied with former Principal Trumpet of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Charlie Schlueter at the New England Conservatory of Music and with David Hickman at Arizona State University. In addition to performing on stage, René also enjoys teaching - sharing his expertise as a former Adjunct Trumpet Faculty at Towson University, as well as teaching many students of all ages.

TEODORA ADZHAROVA

Laureate of numerous national and international competitions, Dr. Teodora Adzharova’s career has taken her to multiple performance venues in the United States, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Macedonia, Serbia, and the Czech Republic. Described as a “true musician” with “electrifying energy” and “limitless emotional and dynamic range” (NYCR), the Bulgarian pianist has established herself as one of the most sought-after musicians in the Baltimore, MD-Washington, D.C. region, frequently collaborating with musicians from both the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Some of Dr. Adzharova’s recent performances include appearances at the Peabody Institute, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Goucher College, York College, Catholic University of America, the DiMenna Center, the Bulgarian Embassy in D.C., the Washington Arts Club, and Silo Hill.

Dr. Adzharova’s 2025–2026 season will feature the release of her debut solo album dedicated to the music of Dmitri Shostakovich. The CD will include the composer’s Preludes, Op. 34 and Piano Sonata, Op. 61. One of the few pianists who performs both of Shostakovich’s piano sonatas in a single program, Dr. Adzharova has presented lecture-recitals of the repertoire at Peabody (2025), UMBC (2022), the World Piano Conference (Serbia, 2023), and the DiMenna Center (New York, 2024). Her interest in the legacy of Shostakovich has garnered the recognition of Alan Mercer, editor-in-chief of the international DSCH Journal, leading to collaborations and the publication of Dr. Adzharova’s writings.

As a passionate educator, she teaches at the Peabody Preparatory division, where she also coordinates the Musicianship for Pianists program. Her previous faculty appointments include the Peabody Conservatory, UMBC, Community College of Baltimore County and the Leon Fleisher Academy. Dr. Adzharova is a board member of the Greater Baltimore Music Teacher Association and is a sought-after adjudicator for numerous regional and state competitions and recitals. In 2019, Dr. Adzharova’s dedication to chamber music and community engagement led her to become the Co-founder and Co-Artistic Director of the Annunciation Cathedral Concert Series. Each season, the series offers inventive and accessible classical music programming to the Baltimore community, promoting high-caliber artists from the region and beyond.

Dr. Adzharova holds piano performance degrees from the Peabody Institute (DMA, 2020; Performance Diploma, 2013; MM, 2011), where she studied with Ellen Mack.

Host or Publisher Annunciation Cathedral Concert Series