Sigma Alpha Iota

sai-national.org • Spring 2022 19 Member Spotlight in Williamsburg, and Clara in Porgy and Bess at the Teatro di San Carlo. She portrayed the role of Mrs. McDowell in the world premiere of Rise for Freedom: e John P. Parker Story by Adolphus Hailstork with Cincinnati Opera. John P. Parker was an enslaved person who saved enough money to buy his own freedom and subsequently became a conductor on the Underground Railroad. She sang with the Center for Contemporary Opera as Epiphany Proudfoot in the world premiere of Mark Scearce's Falling Angel, based on the William Hjortsberg novel also filmed as Angel Heart. Ms. Brown has also begun work on Glenn McClure's new piece, Promised Land: An Adirondack Folk Opera, based on the efforts of abolitionist Gerrit Smith in the 1850s to enfranchise 3,000 free African Americans by giving away over 120,000 acres of Adirondack farmland in order to fulfill New York State's onerous property requirement necessary for Blacks to vote. In addition to her operatic work, Ms. Brown has performed internationally as a concert soloist. Her appearances include the Palais Augarten in Vienna, a gala of American music with the Moscow City Symphony Orchestra, Knoxville Summer of 1915 with the San Jose Chamber Orchestra, Handel's Messiah with the Lebanon Symphony, the Festival Classique's Opera Under the Stars concert with the Residentie Orkest in e Hague and the Edison Awards Gala 2010 with the Amsterdam Sinfonietta, both of which were televised live in the Netherlands, as well as concerts with the Pasadena Symphony and Pops, Cedar Rapids Chorale and Symphony, and the Hines-Lee Opera Ensemble at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. In Rochester, NY, Ms. Brown has sung the Vaughan Williams Dona Nobis Pacem with the Rochester Oratorio Society, and at the Gateways Music Festival, Rochester Early Music Festival, KeyBank Rochester Fringe Festival, and with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra with Jeff Tyzik. Ms. Brown starred in a gala concert Our Songs – e Music of African American Composers at the Bruno Walter Auditorium at Lincoln Center with Opera Ebony, and the year before she was heard at Jazz at Lincoln Center under the auspices of the Licia Albanese- Puccini Foundation. A versatile soprano, she has also toured with the 3 Mo' Divas (sister group of the 3 Mo' Tenors) and scored an early success as Sarah in the Light Opera Works Chicago regional premiere of Ragtime, earning her a "Best Actress in a Musical" nomination from the Black eater Alliance in Chicago, and made a triumphant return to the role with the Utah Festival Opera. In addition, she has appeared in theater productions in the Washington, DC area with the Studio eater, Roundhouse eatre, Arena Stage, and e Kennedy Center eatre for Young Audiences. She has also made virtual appearances with the American Spiritual Ensemble and Nicole Heaston's Purple Robe Song Series. Ms. Brown has won prizes in several international competitions, including the Montserrat Caballé International Competition, the William Matheus Sullivan Foundation, the Gerda Lissner Foundation Vocal Competition, and the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation International Vocal Competition. Shirley Blandino, President of the Rochester Alumnae Chapter says "I am thrilled and impressed with Ms. Brown's dedication to Sigma Alpha Iota. She updates us regularly on her schedule, and when she is able, joins our meetings on Zoom. She has even sung for our musicales, to the delight of all." When Ms. Brown isn't on the road, she volunteers with the William Warfield Scholarship Fund, enjoys new dining adventures with her husband, and goes hiking and fishing with her two sons. — Submitted by Shirley Blandino, President, Rochester Alumnae Chapter Kearstin Piper Brown sings with the Dallas Kearstin Piper Brown sings with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra with conductor Jeff Tyzik Symphony Orchestra with conductor Jeff Tyzik

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