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Maria Ferrante

Lincoln Mayorga

The Chautauqua County Historical Society is pleased to announce that on Friday, Sept. 19, SUNY Fredonia music students will have an opportunity to study with soprano Maria Ferrante and pianist Lincoln Mayorga. The two-hour class begins at 4 p.m. and will be held at Rosch Recital Hall.

Students are encouraged to participate and to attend Ferrante’s and Mayorga’s performance the next evening. Titled “Best Kept Secrets: An Evening of Passionate American Song,” their performance will take place at the 1891 Fredonia Opera House, 9 Church Street in Fredonia. Curtain is at 8 p.m. Student tickets cost only $10 and are available now by calling 716-679-1891.

Ms. Ferrante will perform songs that were popular in the mid- to late-nineteenth century, when the piano in the parlor was the center of family entertainment. A native of Worcester, Massachusetts, she has appeared throughout the United States and in Europe performing in concert, oratorio, and opera. Ferrante will sing over two dozen songs she found through her research at the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester.

Before iPods, computers, television and radio, families entertained themselves by singing for each other and for friends. “We’re living in tough times, and so was our country during and after the Civil War. These songs came from the people,” said Ferrante, adding that “At least they were together. I feel there’s an innocence in this music and innocence is what we lack.”

Mr. Mayorga’s professional success transcends the varied world of classical music, popular music, and jazz. He was the staff pianist for Walt Disney Studios and contributed to a variety of popular motion pictures including “Ragtime,” “The Rose,” “Chinatown,” and “The Competition.” Mayorga has recorded with such popular artists as Johnny Mathis, Barbra Streisand, Vicki Carr, Mel Torme, Andy Williams, and Quincy Jones to name a few. Having performed in classical solo recitals and orchestral appearances in over two hundred fifty cities in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Russia, he has also collaborated with such musicians as Itzhak Perlman, Richard Stoltzman, Michael Tilson Thomas and others.

This concert is made possible by the generous support of the Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation and Lake Shore Savings Bank.