New Music Gathering: Sense of Self
Free
- Jordan Bowman, soprano
- Madelein Bowman, mezzo-soprano
- Stephanie Thompson, piano
Join Opera Elect at Portland’s New Music Gathering for the live world premiere of composer/mezzosoprano Lisa Neher and librettist Kendra Preston Leonard's short opera drama Sense of Self, featuring soprano Jordan Bowman, mezzo-soprano Madelein Bowman, and pianist Stephanie Thompson on June 23rd in the Lincoln Hall Studio Theater. Admission is free.
Sense of Self gives voice to the power and joy of female athleticism, the strength of women's friendships, and to the challenging decisions women must make when confronted with breast cancer. The opera explores the impact of cancer on women's sense of empowerment, plans for the future, family obligations, and self-image, and offers a vision of strength and hope for reinvention and renewal.
In the opera, triathlete Maya's hopes for the coming race season come to a sudden halt when she is diagnosed with breast cancer and must decide between surgical options. Her coach, Naomi is ready to tackle recovery and reconditioning with a positive attitude and the latest wellness trends, but Maya isn’t ready for those yet. She has to consider how her choice impacts her future – as an athlete and as a whole person.
About Jordan Bowman, soprano
Soprano and composer Jordan Bowman is a three-time District Winner and Regional Participant of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, a first-place winner of the NYC SongSLAM competition, and is a founder and the artistic director of the independent new music company, Opera Elect. In 2022, she made four role debuts: as the Angel of Death in Nathan Scalise's new opera, A Great Resignation, at the Hartford Fringe Festival; Dido in Purcell's Dido & Aeneas; Dido in Jake Landau's new epilogue opera, & Aeterna, at the Narnia Festival in Italy; and Susanna in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro with Gemma Arts. Previously, she performed the title role in Puccini's Suor Angelica (Narnia Festival), the title role in her new opera The Tale of Josephine Garrett (Opera Elect), and was a featured artist in several Opera Elect films made amidst the pandemic. During her time in New York, Jordan performed full and partial roles as Belinda in Purcell's Dido & Aeneas, Konstanze in Mozart's Die Entführung in aus dem Serail, Lady with the Cake Box in Argento's Postcard from Morocco, and Susanna from Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro. She was also a soloist with the Binghamton Baroque Orchestra and the Binghamton University Wind Symphony. She currently resides in Pocatello, teaches voice at the Bowman Voice Studio, studies with renowned soprano and director Andrea DelGiudice, and is on the roster of Randsman Artists Management. This year she has performed the role of Dagda in the new children's opera Peter Prickles by Brian Hosefros, Fiordiligi in a concert version of Così fan tutte with Gemma Arts and RAM, and is excited for her live debut of Maya in the new opera Sense of Self by Lisa Neher and Kendra Preston Leonard at the New Music Gathering in Portland.
https://www.jordanbowmansoprano.comAbout Madelein Bowman, mezzo-soprano
Madelein Bowman currently spends her days producing and editing audio for several radio stations and spends her nights singing opera parties at multiple venues in Southeast Idaho. She has sung a wide range of classic mezzo-soprano roles from Carmen to Cenerentola, but also spends time learning contemporary opera, the most recent being Aeterna, daughter of Dido and Aeneas in a sequel production produced in Narni, Italy. Madelein is ecstatic to reprise her role in Lisa Neher and Kendra Leonard's Sense of Self in summer 2023.
About Stephanie Thompson, piano
Pianist Stephanie Thompson takes delight in exploring textures and tone colors in solo and collaborative repertoire. A passionate advocate of art song, she is committed to text analysis and expressing poetic nuance in music. Thompson is staff accompanist and teaches classical piano, class piano, and piano accompaniment at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon, where she performs with all three choral ensembles. She is an alumni of the Aspen Music festival and is a founding member of the Lewis & Clark Faculty New Music Ensemble, The Friends of Rain. Her music degrees are from Willamette University and USC, teachers include Jean-David Coen, Antoinette Perry, and Daniel Pollack. She lives in NE Portland with her husband and daughter.