Three very close musical friends reunite for the Community Music Center‘s Spring Gala this Saturday: composer Jake Heggie, mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, and Frederica von Stade, who’s being honored by the CMC for her artistry and community outreach.
There’s more information about the fundraising event at the Community Music Center‘s website.
Jake Heggie says the schedule that allows DiDonato to take part is a bit crazy: “She finishes Cendrillon at the Met on Friday night, May 11th, and she’s flying out May 12th to be there for us on that evening for the Gala at the Four Seasons, and then she flies to Barcelona the next morning. Off to the next gig!” But they wanted to celebrate their good friend, and help the CMC’s fundraising efforts. “Joyce and I have talked about this, we both learned a lot of that from Flicka… But really, you learn from the best, and Flicka has been a mentor, guide, role-model and best buddy for so many years, and we’ve both learned so much from her.” For her part, von Stade says the Community Music Center has an atmosphere that’s conducive to musical life. “The music seeps around… It’s just, for me, how I would want to learn music, because it’s a house. So you hear it everywhere. And it actually makes me think of the Mannes College of Music, where I tried to become a musician.” DiDonato and Heggie will perform as part of the Gala, as will ensembles from the CMC.
