Katie Baughman: Press

Bellingham Herald, The (WA)

`The Marriage of Figaro' an inspiring comic opera;
JOEL HALL Freelance-OK
Published: August 11, 2006
Strong guest cast carries Festival of Music performance Perhaps the mother of romantic comedy, "The Marriage of Figaro" is a story of the struggle of two betrothed servants, Susanna and Figaro, who fend off the hot-headed, buffoonish, hypocrite Count Almaviva who wants to reinstate his right to deflower his servant on her wedding night. When Figaro discovers his master's plan he vows to keep his bride pure and the plot is set in motion.

Bass Andrew Gangestad played a fantastic Figaro. As the story moved along, Figaro, the inventor of excuses, found himself trapped in his own lies, literally slapped to the floor and, at the end, feared Susanna had deserted him. Gangestad seized each opportunity to maximize dramatic and comedic effect. His performance climaxed in the last act when, thinking Susanna had betrayed him, he sang beautifully a solo aria lamenting, "He who trusts a woman is a madman."

But that was just a tease during the standout performances Wednesday night at the Mount Baker Theatre, partway through the 14th annual Bellingham Festival of Music.

Donita Volkwijn, who played the cunning and witty Susanna, was delightful as she fended off the attentions of the Count and, in the end, set everyone straight including Figaro when, with her lovely voice, she pretended she would sleep with the count after all.

Erin Wall, as countess and brilliant throughout the evening, was witty, sexy, and - because of her husband's planned infidelity - morose at times. In the last act, after her golden voice filled the hall with a breathtaking aria, the audience stopped the show with long and loud applause.

In the role of the Count, baritone Kevin Greenlaw, portrayed a man possessed by lust, jealousy and desire for revenge. In his singing and acting he recreated a believable character whose emotions spanned from violent anger to pathetic contrition.

Jossie Perez kept the audience laughing throughout the show with her animated, energetic portrayal of the flirtatious, love-starved and irritating nemesis of the count, Cherubino.

The fine supporting cast kept the show rolling. Young-Bok Kim, Bartolo, was superb as the lawyer hired to enforce a marriage contract on Figaro. Ellen McLain, as the aging Marcellina, entertained throughout, especially when she seductively leaned over the harpsichord to sing to conductor Whitney Reader about how men are traitors. Reader never missed a beat, though.

Young Katie Baughman was delightful in her role as the coy Barbarina, the gardener's daughter, as was Alan Schneider as the cunning but inept Basilio, while Ben Perkins generated much laughter with his exasperation of the turn of events in the last act.

Michael Drumheller played a superb Antonio, the drunken gardener, and Cherubino's comical persecutor.

The chorus, directed by Marie Allen King, appeared colorfully dressed as members of the court. Their enthusiastic performance not only filled in plot points but allowed opportunities for quiet little side shows for the characters.

And finally, the orchestra, with Reader doubling as conductor and harpsichord player, backed up the performers with a precise, musical interpretation.

The audience gave a long and loud ovation then walked into the cool night exhausted after the four-plus-hour concert but inspired and content.

Joel Hall is a Bellingham advertising professional who earned a degree in music performance from Western Washington University.

`THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO'

"Le Nozze di Figaro," a comic opera in four acts

Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte after Beaumarchais' comedy

English captions by Jonathan Dean © Seattle Opera

Program: With Bellingham Festival of Music Orchestra and Chorus, and a 12-member guest cast. Whitney Reader conducting

Cast:

Figaro: Andrew Gangestad

Susanna: Donita Volkwijn

Countess Almaviva: Erin Wall

Count Almaviva: Kevin Greenlaw

Cherubino: Jossie Perez

Bartolo: Young-Bok Kim

Marcellina: Ellen McLain

Barbarina: Katie Baughman

Don Basilio: Alan Schneider

Antonio: Michael Drumheller

Don Curzio: Ben Perkins

Opera that Runs with Scissors

Very few of Atlanta's composers are exploring the genre of traditional dramatic grand opera, primarily due of the scarcity and expense of resources for developing and mounting a production.

However, the Harrower Summer Opera Workshop gave composer Curtis Bryant the opportunity on June 26 to try out the solitary competed scene from his opera in progress, The Anarchists. The libretto, by New York author and forensic psychiatrist Allen Reichman, is based on Joseph Conrad's 1907 novel The Secret Agent. Reichman had selected Bryant out of a list of seven potential composers provided to him by New York City Opera, and proposed the project.

Based in London, England, Scene 1 of Act III involves a confrontation between two characters: Adolf Verloc (Kyle Guglielmo), a stationary shop owner and part-time secret agent in the service of a foreign government, and his wife Winnie (Katie Baughman). The point of contention is the accidental death of Winnie's developmentally impaired brother Stevie (presumably in Act II), killed in her husband's failed mission to blow up the Greenwich Observatory. The urgent, initially neoclassical music underscores both declamatory and lyrical vocal dialogue, and approaching the end, in Winnie's upstage solo soliloquy about Stevie, swells in emotional passion to conclude the scene with a Tosca-esque stabbing of Adolf—but with scissors.

The Anarchists is to be Bryant's second full-length opera. His first, Zabette, libretto by Mary R. Bullard, was premiered in April 1999 by the Georgia State University School of Music.

(as translated by AIMS staff member)
Graz. As a display of its accomplishments, AIMS presented a Liederabend in the Hall of Planets at Eggenberg Palace. "Love in the Lied" was the theme of the evening, which this year's Lied class of 13 singers performed with varying results. In songs ranging from classic to modern, sopranos Megan Bartlett and Katie Baughman were especially noteworthy. Accompanists Daniela Candillari and Kris Carlisle showed professionalism. For some singers, the German language seemed an insurmountable hurdle.

Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra presents the Baughman Memorial Concert
Local musicians pay tribute to teacher, family member, friend
by Caron Cooper


(CARON COOPER/Herald) The Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra presented the Lynn Marie Baughman Memorial Concert Sept. 30. The second half of the program featured a traditional “Suzuki Play-In” that incorporated more than 30 musicians, all of which were Lynn’s friends and students. (click for larger version)
October 04, 2007
The beginnings of what will become the best part-time professional orchestra in the state performed last weekend at Northview High School, paying tribute to a legendary Suzuki string teacher.

The newly formed Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra presented the Lynn Marie Baughman Memorial Concert Sept. 30. Baughman, a Suzuki violin and viola teacher serving the Johns Creek community, passed away unexpectedly April 25 this year.

The orchestra, conducted by Lynn's husband, J. Wayne Baughman, opened with Benjamin Britten's "Simple Symphony," which was followed by a performance by Lynn's youngest daughter, Katie Baughman, singing "Je Suis Titania."

The final piece performed by the chamber orchestra was Johann Sebastian Bach's "Concerto for Two Violins," the two violin solos performed by Adelaide Federici, Lynn's firstborn, and Sheri Peck.

Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra
2007-2008 Debut Season
• St. Benedict Christmas Gala Holiday Pops Concert 8 p.m., Dec. 1
Tickets: $25; 678-992-2055
• Welcome to the Symphony All Classical Concert
8 p.m., Feb. 9, 2008
Tickets: $25; 678-748-5802
• Season Finale
Light Classics and Pops
8 p.m., April 12, 2008
Tickets: $25; 678-748-5802

Wayne told concert attendees that every performer on the stage at one time or another has played both violin parts.

"Lynn taught it for years and years and years, and a few more years after that," said Wayne, bringing tears to his daughter Adelaide's eyes.

But Wayne also kept the concert light and attendees smiling, noting that there were 17 mistakes in the first half of the performance.

"I know most of you didn't hear them, but I heard every one. Actually, it was pretty darn perfect," he said.

The second half of the program featured a traditional "Suzuki Play-In," incorporating more musicians into each part of the performance, all of which were Lynn's friends and students. More than 30 musicians were on stage by the end of the concert that culminated with a standing ovation.

But the standing ovation wasn't just for the performance – it was also for Lynn and for her efforts to perpetuate the Suzuki Method, named for its founder, Shinichi Suzuki.






(CARON COOPER/Herald)Lynn’s youngest daughter, Katie Baughman.
"Suzuki is a person, a philosophy and a teaching technique," said Wayne. "Suzuki believed that all children have great ability. If they are taught well and in a positive manner, they will develop music skills and a noble heart. My wife was a Suzuki teacher."

Lynn was a long-time Suzuki Association of the Americas (SAA) member and teacher trainer. At the time of her death, she was still the only SAA certified violin teacher trainer in Georgia.

Her unparalleled ability as a teacher is reflected by the achievements of her students, who have won every local scholarship offered to young string students and have occupied principal chairs of every youth orchestra.

Her husband Wayne has been working in Johns Creek at St. Benedict Catholic Church for 20 years and started dreaming about forming a symphony orchestra about 10 years ago. Within days of Lynn's death, he took the plunge, forming and incorporating the new orchestra.

"I told the chamber of commerce that our goal is to become immediately the best part-time professional orchestra in Georgia, in the not too distant future the best in the southeast and, at some point in the future, the best in the nation. We want to be the very best part-time orchestra," said Wayne.

The Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra's approach is traditional with its choice of music and playing techniques.






(CARON COOPER/Herald) (click for larger version)
"But our uniqueness is that this is going to be a very good orchestra, a very high quality orchestra."

The full Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra will debut Dec. 1 at the second annual St. Benedict Christmas Gala Holiday Pops Concert.

"If someone isn't satisfied, I will personally refund the price of the ticket," Wayne said.

The highlight of the evening was with no doubt Katie Baughman's vocal performance as Irene Malloy. Her soaring voice hit every note with expression and timing rarely found...

"Katie Baughman has a great voice and stage presence, she was a joy to watch and hear."