Mezzo-soprano Keri Alkema

Mezzo-soprano Keri Alkema, one of the Marilyn Horne Foundation's outstanding young singers, will present a program of songs by Mozart, Rossini, Turina, and Ravel, among others, on Saturday, February 16, at 8 p.m. in the Oberlin Conservatory of Music's Warner Concert Hall, 77 West College Street, Oberlin, Ohio. Her musical collaborator for the evening will be pianist Michael Baitzer.

The New York Times has praised Alkema for having "an appealing brew of dark and creamy colors in her mezzo, which she yields with an incisive musicality." Baitzer's partnership at the keyboard will bring to the evening what critic Harold Liebermann has called "a balance between voice and piano that [will be] perfect. He supports the artist's singing like a cushion, anticipating every nuance."

The first half of the program will feature Mozart's Laudamus te , Rossini's La Regata Veneziana , and Turina's Tres Poemas , followed by Ravel's Shéhérazade, two songs by Ricky Ian Gordon, Will there really be a morning and The Red Dress, and Jake Heggie's arrangement of Danny Boy as well as his own I Shall Not Live in Vain . Gordon is considered an heir to the musical legacy of Stephen Sondheim. His work has been influenced and inspired by such poets as Emily Dickinson, Robert Lowell, and Sylvia Plath. With playwright Terrence McNally, Heggie wrote the opera, Dead Man Walking , based on the book by Sister Helen Prejean.

In addition to being on the roster of the Marilyn Horne Foundation, which sponsored her New York recital debut, Alkema has been a member of several prestigious young artist programs, including the Chautauqua Opera, where she won the Studio and Apprentice Awards; the Music Academy of the West, under the tutelage of Marilyn Horne; and, most recently, the Santa Fe Opera, where she received the Campbell Memorial Scholarship Award for Singers. She is a laureate of many vocal competitions.

Baitzer is a member of the faculty of the Juilliard School and serves on the tenured staff of the Washington National Opera. He is also on the music staff of the Spoleto Festival USA, and serves on the faculty of the Aspen Music Festival and School. He has been pianist for notable vocal master classes by Luciano Pavarotti, Joan Sutherland, and Leontyne Price.

General admission tickets are $5 and available through Oberlin's Central Ticket Service by calling 440-775-8169 or 800-371-0178. This is an Artist Recital Series bonus event. Patrons who purchased season subscriptions received a free ticket and should bring it with them the night of the concert.

Warner Concert Hall is wheelchair accessible. Free parking is available throughout the campus. The concert is presented by the Oberlin Conservatory of Music at Oberlin College in association with the Marilyn Horne Foundation.