National Symphony Orchestra hits a high note with breast-cancer charity show fea
Date:
7 October 2014
Classical-music lovers can rejoice – the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is back. The Abu Dhabi institution kicks off its 2014-15 season on Saturday with a concert at the Brighton College Abu Dhabi Auditorium to raise awareness about the non-profit organisation Breast Cancer Arabia.
The Sing for Pink performance will mark the debut of three vocalists: Sonia González, Louise Merrifield and Gretchen Hewitt.
Performing as The Three Sopranos, the professionally trained trio will be joined by the pianist Aurora Muratti as they take on – solo and as an ensemble – a number of operatic and Broadway classics, including songs from Carmen, La Traviata, Carnival and The Wizard of Oz.
A typical UAE story
The Three Sopranos are a new subgroup within the NSO and their Saturday performance is set to be the first of many.
The group's formation is a very typical UAE story, in which expats arrive from all corners of the globe and use their talents to make friends. The trio were brought together by the NSO's director Janet Hassouneh.
"It has been fantastic, because we do complement each other vocally," says the Venezuelan González. "For example, my voice is darker. Louise has a great range and Gretchen has this beautiful light voice. So you really have this spectrum of the soprano colours."
A personal connection
For the 35-year-old Merrifield, Saturday's performance is the perfect stage from which to announce her arrival to the Abu Dhabi community. "It's a fun way to bring us three girls together and do something," she says. "It will be also be a nice way to go out and meet people."
A regular performer in her native England, Merrifield came to Abu Dhabi in December last year after her husband landed a job here. As well as being a freelance opera singer, Merrifield teaches voice lessons at The British School Al Khubairat.
She explains that her Saturday performance will be more personal – especially since she survived her own battle with breast cancer after being diagnosed in 2004. Fortunately, it was detected early and she has been in remission since. She says that as a result, fundraising for breast-cancer charities is close to her heart.
"I simply wouldn't be here today if money wasn't given to breast-cancer care and charity centres in the UK," she says. "Going through that, it made me embrace life. This is what also brought me to Abu Dhabi really, for a new journey and adventures."
Finding her measure
Saturday's show marks a transition for González – from being behind the scenes to the main stage. For two years she has been the NSO's marketing director – and now she is the artist being promoted.
"It is very exciting," says the 44-year-old. "I studied music when I was in college, so this is definitely my passion."
As well as gaining vocal chops, González's college experience also earned her a degree in mechanical engineering. Perhaps surprisingly, she states the qualification helped her music career. "When you think about it, music is really all about mathematics," she says. "In singing, you have to make measurements and be creative in your approach – this is really the same when it comes to engineering."
It's all fun
Hewitt says she has had a wonderful time preparing for the concert.
"It has been a lot of fun. Everything has been great, from us getting together to rehearsing. I have been really enjoying it."
A seasoned performer in America, the 63-year-old says her lightheartedness comes from understanding opera's history. "You have to remember that opera used to be like the movies," she says. "It was the big, fun event and people would rush to see them because the stories gave people everything that they could possibly want."
A voice teacher at Brighton College Abu Dhabi, Hewitt has called the capital home for two years. A former resident of Seattle and Missouri, Hewitt had visited the UAE to perform numerous times before landing a job with the Abu Dhabi school. She says her ambition is to nurture the country's next batch of sopranos.
"My passion now is to create children's operas," she says. "I want to work with the children, where we create these stories and short operas together and then they can perform them."
More shows to come
González says The Three Sopranos concert is only the first of a batch of NSO performances encompassing different musical themes.
With the official concert announcements on the way, she gave us a hint on what the NSO has in store for the capital. "There will be a chamber concert in December and we will also be present at the Volvo Ocean Race in December with a 75-piece orchestra," she says. "There will also be an opera in January and another great concert around May next year."
Sing for Pink is at the Brighton College Abu Dhabi Auditorium on Saturday at 7.30pm. Tickets from Dh125; Dh75 for students. Visit www.nsouae.org for more details
sasaeed@thenational.ae
The Sing for Pink performance will mark the debut of three vocalists: Sonia González, Louise Merrifield and Gretchen Hewitt.
Performing as The Three Sopranos, the professionally trained trio will be joined by the pianist Aurora Muratti as they take on – solo and as an ensemble – a number of operatic and Broadway classics, including songs from Carmen, La Traviata, Carnival and The Wizard of Oz.
A typical UAE story
The Three Sopranos are a new subgroup within the NSO and their Saturday performance is set to be the first of many.
The group's formation is a very typical UAE story, in which expats arrive from all corners of the globe and use their talents to make friends. The trio were brought together by the NSO's director Janet Hassouneh.
"It has been fantastic, because we do complement each other vocally," says the Venezuelan González. "For example, my voice is darker. Louise has a great range and Gretchen has this beautiful light voice. So you really have this spectrum of the soprano colours."
A personal connection
For the 35-year-old Merrifield, Saturday's performance is the perfect stage from which to announce her arrival to the Abu Dhabi community. "It's a fun way to bring us three girls together and do something," she says. "It will be also be a nice way to go out and meet people."
A regular performer in her native England, Merrifield came to Abu Dhabi in December last year after her husband landed a job here. As well as being a freelance opera singer, Merrifield teaches voice lessons at The British School Al Khubairat.
She explains that her Saturday performance will be more personal – especially since she survived her own battle with breast cancer after being diagnosed in 2004. Fortunately, it was detected early and she has been in remission since. She says that as a result, fundraising for breast-cancer charities is close to her heart.
"I simply wouldn't be here today if money wasn't given to breast-cancer care and charity centres in the UK," she says. "Going through that, it made me embrace life. This is what also brought me to Abu Dhabi really, for a new journey and adventures."
Finding her measure
Saturday's show marks a transition for González – from being behind the scenes to the main stage. For two years she has been the NSO's marketing director – and now she is the artist being promoted.
"It is very exciting," says the 44-year-old. "I studied music when I was in college, so this is definitely my passion."
As well as gaining vocal chops, González's college experience also earned her a degree in mechanical engineering. Perhaps surprisingly, she states the qualification helped her music career. "When you think about it, music is really all about mathematics," she says. "In singing, you have to make measurements and be creative in your approach – this is really the same when it comes to engineering."
It's all fun
Hewitt says she has had a wonderful time preparing for the concert.
"It has been a lot of fun. Everything has been great, from us getting together to rehearsing. I have been really enjoying it."
A seasoned performer in America, the 63-year-old says her lightheartedness comes from understanding opera's history. "You have to remember that opera used to be like the movies," she says. "It was the big, fun event and people would rush to see them because the stories gave people everything that they could possibly want."
A voice teacher at Brighton College Abu Dhabi, Hewitt has called the capital home for two years. A former resident of Seattle and Missouri, Hewitt had visited the UAE to perform numerous times before landing a job with the Abu Dhabi school. She says her ambition is to nurture the country's next batch of sopranos.
"My passion now is to create children's operas," she says. "I want to work with the children, where we create these stories and short operas together and then they can perform them."
More shows to come
González says The Three Sopranos concert is only the first of a batch of NSO performances encompassing different musical themes.
With the official concert announcements on the way, she gave us a hint on what the NSO has in store for the capital. "There will be a chamber concert in December and we will also be present at the Volvo Ocean Race in December with a 75-piece orchestra," she says. "There will also be an opera in January and another great concert around May next year."
Sing for Pink is at the Brighton College Abu Dhabi Auditorium on Saturday at 7.30pm. Tickets from Dh125; Dh75 for students. Visit www.nsouae.org for more details
sasaeed@thenational.ae