Ivan Plazačić, baritone and Djordje Nešić, piano

Guest: Hayden Keefer, bass

Program:
Max Richter
On the Nature of Daylight
ĐORĐE NEŠIĆ, piano

Franz Schubert
Der Wanderer, D. 489
Der Wanderer an den Mond, D. 870

Carl Orff
Litanei eines Kranken
Nacht

Richard Wagner
Wolfram’s Song to the Evening Star from the Opera Tannhäuser

Arvo Pärt
My Heart’s in the Highlands
IVAN PLAZAČIĆ, baritone

Matt Boehler
The Song cycle Forsqare Cathedral
Ruin
My House is Small
The Wallpaper
What Yesterday Appeared a Scar
Another Hand
HAYDEN KEEFER, bass

Giuseppe Verdi
Rodrigo’s aria from the Opera Don Carlos
IVAN PLAZAČIĆ, baritone

Gaetano Donizetti
Duet of Don Pasquale & Malatesta from the Opera Don Pasquale
IVAN PLAZAČIĆ, baritone
HAYDEN KEEFER, bass

Biography
Baritone Ivan Plazačić holds a Master of Music Degree from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh where he studied with prof. Daniel Teadt. He graduated from University of Arts in Belgrade with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Pedagogy, where he also studied Vocal Performance with prof. Nikola Mijailović. He performed roles such as: Count Almaviva (Le Nozze di Figaro, Mozart) and Count Robinson (Il Matrimonio Segreto, Cimarosa), with Carnegie Mellon Opera; Coline (La Bohème, Leoncavallo) in New York; Zuniga (Carmen, Bizet) with Operosa Festival, Montenegro; Papageno (Die Zauberflöte, Mozart), Belcore (L’elisir d’amore, Donizetti), and Prince Gindelbach (Wiener Blut, Strauss) with Opera and Theater Madlenianum in Belgrade. He performed as a soloist in Beethoven’s IX Symphony, Handel’s Messiah, Duruflé’s Requiem, as well as Jesus in Bach’s St. John’s Passion.
His most recent performances include the premiere of “Sirens vs Amazons” by Jodi Goble, as well as “L’Étoile” by Emmanuel Chabrier, with Carnegie Mellon Opera.

Hayden Keefer is a performer and educator active throughout the Western Pennsylvania region. His recent performances include Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, bass soloist in Mozart’s Requiem, at Virginia Tech University, as well as the role of Zeus in a recent premiere of “Sirens vs Amazons” by Jodi Goble. He often performs with Pittsburgh Opera, “Voce Solis” ensemble, Pittsburgh Camerata, Opera SERIO, Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Festival Opera, as well as Thousand Bridges Opera, where he performed as Pan in Offenbach’s “Daphnis et Chloé”. Hayden holds a Master of Music degree from Duquesne University and additional certificates in Vocal Performance and Music Technology from Carnegie Mellon University. In addition to performing, he maintains a private teaching studio at Winchester Thurston School and remains passionate about music education and community outreach.

Djordje Stevan Nesic’s performances have been described as artful, assertive, sensitive and quietly virtuosic, and his career highlighted by recital, concerto, chamber, and collaborative performances, both in the U.S. and internationally. He strives to promote music addressing contemporary, social justice, and human rights issues. Most recent engagements include conducting The Barber of Seville at Charlottesville Opera in Virginia, Handel’s Alcina at the Opera Seme Festival in Arezzo, Italy; at Manhattan School of Music: Kurt Weill and Bertold Brecht’s Seven Deadly Sins, Jack Perla and Jessica Murphy Moo’s An American Dream, Mozart’s La finta giardiniera, Ullmann/Kien’s Der Kaiser von Atlantis, as well as Ana Sokolovic’s Svadba at both MSM and the Peabody Conservatory. Other recent engagements include: a world premiere of She Who Dared by Jasmine Barnes and Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton with ALT, recitals in Belgrade, Serbia, and a return to Opera Saratoga. He appeared with the Berkshire Opera Festival, Carnegie Hall Joyce DiDonato masterclasses in NYC, Kolarac Hall in Belgrade, the Prototype Festival in NYC, the KotorArt Festival in Montenegro, the Serbian Cultural Center in Paris, and the Caixa Cultural in Brasilia. With a group of his students from Carnegie Mellon University, he presented the staged premiere of the opera Svadba by Ana Sokolovic.
Recordings include Marc Blitzstein’s The Cradle Will Rock on Bridge Records, Ricky Ian Gordon’s Ellen West on Bright Shiny Things, and Opera America Songbook. Other venues include Lincoln Center, the United Nations General Assembly Hall, the Mann Performing Arts Center in Philadelphia, FUJI TV in Japan, the Aspen Music Festival, Tanglewood Festival, Glimmerglass Opera, Houston Grand Opera, the Greenwich Music Festival, and the Phoenicia Voice Festival.