About the artists

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=110 BGCOLOR="#99FFFF" TEXT="#F7F7FF" bgproperties="fixed" background="074006e0egerzr.gif"> <div> <B><IMG SRC="08e00390.gif" border=0 width="256" height="57" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> <B>       </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Opera to Go: Educational Outreach for Ch"><U><B>home</B></U></A><B>            </B><A HREF="id7.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us"><U><B>contact us!</B></U></A><B>  </B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=190 BGCOLOR="#99CC80" TEXT="#080000" background="075bec00eoxjkj.gif"> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="About Opera to Go"><U>About Opera to Go</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Opera to Go Programs"><U>Opera to Go Programs</U></A></div> <div> <B>About the artists</B></div> <div> <A HREF="id6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="More Information"><U>More Information</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id7.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us"><U>Contact Us</U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=370 BGCOLOR="#EEEEEE" TEXT="#080000"> <div> The People Behind <B>Opera to Go</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Managing Director: </B></div> <div> <B>Thomas Oesterling, tenor,</B> is heard frequently on the opera and concert stage in the Boston area. He was recently seen as Eisenstein in <I>Die Fledermaus </I>for Commonwealth Opera, where he was acclaimed for having "played.. Eisenstein to the height of comic foppishness, bringing to bear a voice equally at home in the most serious and demanding… repertoire." Last Spring the Boston Globe praised him for the `Sweetness, awe and clarity' of his singing of Uriel in Haydn's <I>Creation </I>under the baton of Robert Shaw.  He has also appeared to critical acclaim with Boston Lyric Opera and Opera New England as well as Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Salisbury Lyric Opera, Lyric Opera Cleveland, Longwood Opera, and Opera North.  His roles include Romeo in <I>Romeo et Juliette</I> Don Ottavio in <I>Don Giovanni</I>, Count Almaviva in <I>The Barber of Seville</I>, Rinuccio in <I>Gianni Schicchi,</I> The Duke in <I>Rigoletto</I> and Alfredo in <I>La Traviata</I>. In oratorio, in addition to Haydn's <I>Creation</I> he is a frequent interpreter of Handel's <I>Messiah</I>, most recently with the Cape Cod Chorale and The Woodstock, Vermont Holiday Festival.</div> <div> He is committed to opera outreach and education, since 1994 serving as managing director and principal tenor soloist with Opera to Go, an outreach opera company which brings opera to thousands of children in schools each year. He has been invited by various music schools to create outreach and classroom programs to introduce school-aged children to opera and to teach them creative ways to participate in abbreviated opera performances. He has served on the faculties of Powers Music School, South Shore Conservatory, and The Rivers Music School.</div> <div> Mr. Oesterling is an alumnus of Washington University and holds a Master of Music degree from The Boston Conservatory and a diploma from the Boston University Opera Institute.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Co-Director:</B></div> <div> Soprano <B>Mary Ann Lanier</B> has been praised by the Boston Globe for her "floating pianissimo from on high" and her "excellent diction." She is a versatile artist who enjoys performing opera, oratorio, improvised music, musical theater, vocal chamber music, and song recitals. Her recent appearances include solo and featured artist performances with Opera Aperta of Boston, MA, Masterworks Chorale, Raylynmor Opera in Keene, NH, Boston Vocal Artists in Boston, MA and Kennebunkport, ME, College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA, MidSummer Macon at Wesleyan College in Macon, GA, East Alabama Arts Society, Nesmith House in Lowell, MA, Fine Arts Chorale of Weymouth, MA, Cape Cod Chorale, Boston Public Library, Longy School of Music, and the SXSW Festival in Austin, TX. Her opera roles include Gretel, Gilda, Zerlina, Despina, Susanna, and Micaela.</div> <div> Lanier may be heard on soundtracks of the films Home Before Dark and Killing the Badge, the Learning Channel television show, Walden, and on the New Opera Theatre Ensemble CD, Horizon Arriving. She is a founding member of American Classics Concert Series. Lanier recently sang the leading role of Dr. Sydney Hill in the world premiere of Charles Shadle's opera, Coyote's Dinner, at MIT. Later this Spring she will sing the role of Barbarina in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro with Raylynmor Opera. She is currently on the music faculties of Groton School, Groton, MA and Brooks School, North Andover, MA. </div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Affiliated Artists:</B></div> <div> Bios coming soon!</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>