Athens, Ga. – Brandon Cedel, one of six winners of the 2013 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, will be a featured soloist with the University of Georgia Symphony Orchestra Sept. 12 at 8 p.m. in Hodgson Hall. The performance opens the Hugh Hodgson School of Music’s 2013-2014 Second Thursday Scholarship Concert Series.
The UGA Symphony Orchestra will showcase bass-baritone Cedel in a series of opera arias by Handel, Bellini and Rachmaninoff in addition to Suite No. 2 from Manuel de Falla’s “The Three-Cornered Hat” and Rachmaninoff’s “Symphonic Dances.”
The concert marks the first time Cedel has appeared under the baton of his uncle, Mark Cedel, who is a Hodgson School professor and director of orchestral activities.
“I couldn’t be more excited to collaborate with one of my family members,” Cedel said. “I remember hearing stories growing up of my dad’s siblings playing chamber music and in orchestras together. Now I have my chance to collaborate with Mark—I’ve been waiting for this for a long time.”
Like his uncle, Cedel is a graduate of Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music, where he is pursuing his master’s degree. He has performed with the Opera Company of Philadelphia, Opera Santa Barbara and Opera Orchestra of New York and has worked with the Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Hershey and Marina del Rey symphonies.
“I’ve been incredibly lucky thus far in my career,” Cedel said. “I’d advise young musicians to audition often. It teaches you a lot—how to perform if you’re not feeling well, how to sing if you’re not in the mood. And it really shows you what works well and what doesn’t. I am actually at the point now where I really enjoy auditioning. My friends think I’m crazy, but it’s fun. It gives me a rush.”
Tickets for the performance are $18 for the general public and $5 for UGA students and are available at the UGA Performing Arts Center box office, by calling 706-542-4400 or online at www.pac.uga.edu.
The next concert in the series will be Oct. 17 at 8 p.m. in Hodgson Hall. The UGA Wind Ensemble will present “Land of White Nights: Music of the Tsars and Beyond.”
Established in 1980, the Second Thursday Scholarship Series offers showcase performances by UGA students and faculty the second Thursday of each month throughout the academic year. Proceeds from individual ticket sales and season subscriptions help fund yearlong academic scholarships and assistantships for students and give donors the opportunity to sponsor individual students in the music school at several levels of giving.
Subscriptions to the 2013-2014 Second Thursday Scholarship Series are on sale by calling the UGA Performing Arts Center box office at 706-542-4400 or toll free at 888-289-8497.
For more information on the Second Thursday Series or the Hodgson School of Music, see www.music.uga.edu.