A Heavenly Banquet: Irish texts in Songs from the British Isles

A Heavenly Banquet: Hermit Songs by Samuel Barber & vocal and piano works from the British Isles

PERFORMERS:
Una McMahon, mezzo-soprano
Gina Kruger, piano

PROGRAMME:
Mezzo-soprano Una McMahon returns to sing Barber's setting of texts drawn from Irish monks' writings. We will hear other song settings of Irish poetry by English composers and two piano compositions by Irish composer June Armstrong.

Drinks and food will be served.

BIOGRAPHIES

Úna McMahon, Mezzo soprano,
Una studied at the Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM), before completing her masters training at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD). Úna has performed in concert across the UK and Ireland in works such as Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, St John Passion, and Magnificat, Handel’s Messiah, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, Haydn’s Paukenmesse, Mahler’s 2nd and 4th Symphonies and the Lieder Eines Fahrenden Gesellen, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Mozart’s Requiem and Spatzenmesse, Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater and Szymanowski’s Stabat Mater.
Her operatic roles include, Amore (L’incoronazione di Poppea), Dorothee (Cendrillon), cover of Stewardess (Flight), cover of Nancy (Albert Herring), Dorabella (Cosi fan Tutte), Rosina (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), and the title role in La Cenerentola. Una has toured with the National Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company performing the roles of Tessa (The Gondoliers), and Peep-Bo (The Mikado). She also premiered Laura Bowler’s solo work Women Conduct at the Tete a Tete festival.
Una has worked with the chorus of Scottish Opera, Glyndebourne Festival Opera and covered the role of Margarida for the Glyndebourne on Tour production of Julian Philips’ The Yellow Sofa.
Úna is a vocal tutor at Morley College London.
Gina Kruger, piano

Gina Kruger - Piano/Soprano
Gina holds degrees in piano from the United States and a post-graduate diploma from the Royal College of Music, London. During her studies at the Royal College of Music, she won the Fossat Award for Chamber Music which resulted in performances for the Queen of Denmark and a residency in France. She continues to appear as a recitalist locally and internationally. Her performance in the National Concert Hall, Dublin, featuring Spanish repertoire was deemed a ‘finely turned performance’ by the Irish Times in 2010. Other international venues have included solo performances in Altdorf Switzerland and in the Vienna Conservatory. She has performed extensively in Croatia, as a soloist, and with guitarist Igor Paro.
Performance engagements in the United States have included two broadcasts of solo piano works (Messiaen, Beethoven, and Schumann) on Nebraska Public Radio, and appearances at such prestigious venues as Merkin Concert Hall and The Juilliard School.
After completing studies in musicology, the result of which was a National Endowment for the Humanties grant (through Columbia University, NY) Gina has continued to develop her interest in church music as an organist, choral director, and soprano (singing regularly with choirs for Evensong and as a soloist in church settings). Having held posts in several boarding schools, chapels, and churches in London and further afield, she is currently organist at St Mary, Tottenham.