Festive Voices fill the DVAA

By CASS COLLINS

NARROWSBURG, NY — Festive Voices, not music fans, filled the recital hall of the Delaware Arts Center last Sunday afternoon. It may have been the beautiful weather or just a lack of advertising, but those few in attendance were treated to a professional-grade afternoon of favorite American songs.

Dorothy Stone, a local opera singer and director of the Campo Doro Vocal Music Institute in Beach Lake, PA, led a company of her students in an all-American celebration of “history, heritage and hope.”

From Samuel Barber’s “Sure, On This Shining Night” to Irving Berlin’s “Blue Skies,” sung by Ricardo Perez-Gonzalez, the company of young performers, most of them recent college graduates and active performers, evoked the spirit and soul of American song throughout history.

Stone’s arrangement (credited as Stone/Andrade) of “At the River,” a traditional southern folk tune, combined with “Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream,” by Ed McCurdy, offered a stirring inspirational message of hope for peace in our world.

Each of the talented students performed a solo piece that highlighted their individual skills, but the company was clearly an ensemble of supportive performers, a credit to Stone’s spirit of collaboration.

A soprano, Stone has a stunning vocal range and a dramatic onstage presence. The performance was further enhanced by Laurence Sobel’s piano accompaniment. Sobel is a jazz pianist who performs nationally and in New York nightclubs and cabarets. His infallible rhythm lent the singers a sturdy springboard for their performances.

The program, while deserving of a bigger venue, benefited from the fine acoustics in the small Krause Recital Hall. With a larger audience, these performers’ voices could easily fill the Tusten Theatre. Maybe next year.

There will be a reception for the artists at Campo Doro on Saturday, May 21 at 3:00 p.m. For more information call 570/729-8469.