$83 per person
Dress code: Fashionable / Black Tie Optional
Program
Baroque Period (1600-1750)
Furie terribili from Rinaldo by Geroge Frideric Handel
Tornami a vagheggiar from Alcina
Ich will die mein Herze schenken from St. Matthew Passion by Johann Sebastian Bach
Romantic Period (1830-1900)
Quando Men Vo from La Bohéme by Giacomo Puccini
Depuis le jour from Louise by Gustave Charpentier
Aria from Goldberg Variation - BWV 988 by Johann Sebastian Bach
Modern and Contemporary (1900-Present)
Summertime form Porgy and Bess by George Gershwin 1935
Green Finch and Linnet Bird from Sweeney Todd by Stephen Sondheim 1978
Oratorio and Sacred Set
Pie Jesu from Requiem by Gabriel Fauré
Laudamus Te from Gloria by Vivaldi
Laudate Dominum from Vesperae solennes de confessore by Mozart
Surprise Encore Finale...
About the Artists
Soprano Jennifer Simone Smith made her solo debut with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra during the 2025 Holiday Pops Concert. Ms. Smith is currently a soprano soloist with the Baltimore Choral Arts Society in the Vocal Fellows program and performs frequently with their esteemed ensemble. She made her Loudoun Lyric Opera debut singing the role of 1st lady in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. Ms. Smith is also a soprano soloist with the Heritage Signature Chorale and will premier the HSC Opera Initiatives program this fall. In addition to performing, Ms. Smith works as a PreK-Middle School Music Teacher in Baltimore city and as a teaching artist in Opera Baltimore’s education outreach programming. Her 2024 performances with The Heritage Signature Chorale include Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony under the baton of Marin Alsop at The National Cathedral and a performance with The National Pops Orchestra at The Kennedy Center with Heather Headley. In 2022 Ms. Smith performed with the Los Angeles Opera in the Pulitzer Prize winning opera, Omar, a new composition by Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels. In 2021 Ms. Smith was featured on the Amazon Prime live concert with Sunday Service, Kanye West’s choir, at The Coliseum in Los Angeles featuring Drake. Other operatic roles include Alice in Verdi’s Falstaff performed with The Bronx Opera, Poppea in L’incoronazione di Poppea performed at Symphony Space and Scorca Hall, and Violetta in scenes from La Traviata with the New York Lyric Opera Theatre performed at Carnegie Hall. Originally from Baltimore, MD, Jennifer’s local venues include The National Cathedral, The Arts Club of Washington, The Hippodrome, The Kennedy Center, Basilica of the Assumption, and with The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra at the Meyerhoff. Ms. Smith received her Master of Music in performance and Bachelor of Science in music from Towson University. Additional operatic education includes the Juilliard School Evening Division and Washington National Opera’s Summer Institute. Ms. Smith is a Baltimore native and resides there with her two sons.
Esther Lee is a pianist, organist, and harpsichordist whose musical interests span the rich keyboard traditions of the Baroque era to modern and contemporary repertoire. Trained in Korea and Europe and active as a performer and collaborative musician in the United States for more than fifteen years, she has developed a diverse musical career encompassing a broad range of repertoire and performance settings.
Esther received her B.A. in Organ Performance from Presbyterian College and Theological Seminary in Seoul before pursuing advanced studies in harpsichord performance at the Korean National University of Arts and the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. She completed her Konzert Examen in harpsichord performance at the Musikhochschule Lübeck in Germany. Her studies in Korea and Europe provided her with a rich musical perspective, embracing both the historically informed performance practices of early music and the diverse repertoire of later periods.
As a soloist and collaborative musician, Esther has performed extensively throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. Her performance experience includes solo recitals, chamber music, vocal and instrumental collaboration, masterclasses, university performances, and church music. She has appeared at venues and festivals including the Seoul Arts Center and the Utrecht Early Music Festival.
Based in Baltimore, Esther currently serves as organist at Roland Park Presbyterian Church and as a collaborative pianist at Towson University. She regularly collaborates with singers and instrumentalists in recitals, lessons, masterclasses, and other performances. Her work across the piano, organ, and harpsichord reflects her broad musical background and her continuing interest in connecting diverse musical traditions, styles, and periods.
Sopranos Jennifer Smith and Justine Godfrey met as vocal performance majors in college and have remained friends and occasional singing partners ever since, despite going different directions after undergrad. While Jennifer continued to pursue her career as a professional musician and teacher, Justine decided to pursue a second interest-- nursing, for the sake of practicality. This path developed into her working in the activities department at a long term care facility incorporating music into the daily lives of the residents there as well as giving performances a few times a year there as well as other local facilities. While not a career, singing has remained a part of her life. Today, Justine teaches part time and spends most of her other time wrangling her four kids. When she gets the chance, she loves to sing and perform.
Justine Godfrey especially enjoys listening to and singing music from the baroque period, especially Bach, Handel and Vivaldi. As a light lyric coloratura, Justine loves to sing (and listen to) pieces that have a lot of movement and ornamentation. Tonight, however, she will be singing a piece from Bach's Saint Matthew's Passion that is a favorite of hers.
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