The  Johnstown Symphony Orchestra will mark a milestone Saturday as it celebrates the 20th anniversary of Opera Festival.

Johnstown’s most elegant annual celebration will begin at 7 p.m. at the Pasquerilla Performing Arts Center in Richland Township by welcoming four world-class opera stars.

William Locher, senior vice president of Somerset Trust Co. and festival chairman, said the milestone is an appropriate time to launch the symphony orchestra’s inaugural High Note of Appreciation Award, which was created to acknowledge persons or organizations that exemplify the highest standards of service and commitment to the symphony orchestra and the Opera Festival.

The board will recognize longtime friend and patron of the orchestra Edward J. Sheehan Jr. as its award winner.

Sheehan is president and chief executive officer of Concurrent Technologies Corp.

“It’s a dual award because Ed, a past symphony board president, has played such a special leadership role in support of the orchestra,” Locher said.

“CTC’s involvement dates back to when Dan DeVos was president, and that support continues and has been unwaivering.”

Sheehan is not only surprised at the distinction, but he also is humbled by it.

“It is a special honor to receive the first High Note of Appreciation Award from the Johnstown Symphony Orchestra,” he said. “I understand that the JSO means a lot to our community.”

He said that when employees relocate to the Greater Johnstown area to work for CTC, they want to know what the community has to offer.

“I always think of the Johnstown Symphony. I believe in their mission, and I believe they make a positive impact on our community,” Sheehan said.

“I hope I can be one of the leaders who paves the way for others to support such a fine organization.”

 During a press conference last week, Locher said the Opera Festival anniversary also is a  suitable time to recognize its benefactors.

“It is very appropriate that in celebration of 20 years of opera in Johnstown, we are holding a press conference in the lobby of the Crown American building in recognition of the late Frank and Sylvia Pasquerilla’s vision to bring opera to Johnstown,” he said.

“Thanks to the generosity of Mark Pasquerilla and his sister, Leah McCullough, this tradition of world-class opera has continued and will continue into the future life of the JSO and our community.”

Locher said the black-tie optional event is vital to sustaining the orchestra.

Concert ticket sales represent only a small percentage of the symphony’s $700,000 operating budget.

“The Opera Festival is our largest fundraiser, which amounts to about 25 percent of our revenue,” Locher said.

Maestro Istvan Jaray said that although the opera seed was planted by Frank and Sylvia Pasquerilla, he didn’t know if it would grow.

“People scoffed and said we would be lucky if it would last two or three years,” Jaray said. “That small seed has grown into a mighty tree on our performance landscape.”

Jaray is pleased to say that not many cities, if any, the size of Johnstown can boast about attracting world-renown opera stars for a single evening of entertainment.

This year’s performers are soprano Chloé Moore, mezzo-soprano Cherry Duke, tenor Raúl Melo and bass Jeremy Galyon.

Moore holds dual Canadian and French citizenships. Her voice lends itself particularly to the Bel Canto and French Grand Opera repertory and has brought her to perform in North America, Central America, Europe and Africa.

Currently a resident artist at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, Moore has performed roles with the Central City Opera, Arizona Opera, Chesapeake Concert Opera, Center City Opera Theater and New York Lyric Opera.

Duke, a Texas native, is a singer who critics say impeccably communicates both the music and the text.

Her striking voice, acting and stage movements are evident in her performances of leading roles such as “Carmen,” “The Coronation of Poppea” and “Little Women.”

As an orchestral concert soloist, she has performed at major venues such as Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall in New York City.

Duke received her graduate degree in opera performance from The Hartt School of Music at the University of Hartford.

Metropolitan Opera tenor Melo is a celebrated performer in the United States, Europe and Asia.

He has performed the principal tenor roles with Berlin’s Deutsche Opera and State Opera, Hamburg State Opera, Stuttgart’s State Opera, Zurich State Opera, Frankfurt Opera and Dresden State Opera, to name a few.  In the United States, he has performed with the Metropolitan Opera, Washington Opera, Dallas Opera, New York City Opera, Seattle Opera, Cleveland Opera, Palm Beach Opera, and Connecticut Opera, among others.

Melo, who won the “Best Lyric Tenor” in the 1992 Alfredo Kraus Competition, returns to the Met this season to cover “La Rondine.”

Galyon continued his association with the Metropolitan Opera in 2011-12, singing the roles of the high priest in “Nabucco,” commissioner in “Madame Butterfly,” jailer in “Tosca” and second mate in “Billy Budd.”

A native of Bethlehem, Northampton County, Galyon was a regional finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and a finalist in the DiPanni Bel Canto Competition.

He holds an Opera Index Encouragement Award.

“Melo is a star on the Metropolitan Opera stage, and while the others are young, each one of them has achieved a great deal of acclaim,” Jaray said.

Jaray sees the Opera Festival program as a sumptuous banquet.

“For an appetizer, we will offer a light serving of Mozart,” he said. “For the main entrée, we will serve up a little Puccini, and to top the meal off, we will give the audience something sweet and delicate for dessert.”

Jaray said there also will be a few musical surprises, including a selection he and Melo have been working on together.

Locher said the festival has grown each year and credits corporate and community support for its success.

The concert will be followed by a reception at the Frank J. Pasquerilla Conference Center, 301 Napoleon St., Johnstown.

Live and silent auctions will feature such prizes as tickets to cultural and sporting events, gift certificates, fine jewelry and even a piano.

A special table will be dressed in red, white and blue that will feature items donated by Joyce Murtha, honorary chairwoman of the event and widow of Congressman John P. Murtha.

“There is a photo of John Murtha and (the late Speaker of the House) Tip O’Neill standing at the Great Wall of China,” Locher said.

“Mrs. Murtha also donated several White House Christmas cards she and her husband received from past presidents and first ladies.”

Patrons also will have a chance to meet the artists during the reception.

“We also will be auctioning the maestro’s baton during the live auction,” Locher said.

The winning bidder will have a chance to conduct the orchestra at a later date.

Ticket prices are $60 for the concert only, $150 for the concert and post-concert reception, with sponsorship levels and pricing for tables of two, four, eight or 10 at the reception that include additional sponsorship benefits.

Information: 535-6738.

 

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