Sondheim Unveiled: A Musical Journey
Arts Wayland presents
Sondheim Unveiled: A Musical Journey
Featuring Mezze-Soprano Leslie Jacobson Kaye and Collaborative Pianist, Tim Steele
Sunday, March 30th from 2:30-4:30 pm
at The Weston Library Community Room
87 School St, Weston, MA 02493
Tickets for the concert are $20.
Arts Wayland is proud to present an intimate performance and discussion exploring the genius of Stephen Sondheim. Featuring Mezzo-Soprano, Leslie Jacobson Kaye and Collaborative Pianist, Tim Steele, the program will showcase both beloved classics and hidden gems from Sondheim's repertoire. Attendees will discover the depth, complexity, and emotion behind his music as we delve into the stories and themes that make his work timeless.
Bios:
Leslie Jacobson Kaye, Mezzo Soprano
Hailed as "magnetic" and a "powerhouse" (Boston Music Intelligencer), mezzo soprano Leslie Jacobson Kaye is equally at home on the opera and recital stages.
Recent performances include the Alto Soloist in Bach’s Cantata BWV 80 with the Fine Arts Chorale, and Mrs. Segstrom in Sondheim’s A Little Night Music. Leslie’s Mixtape Recital Series Competition win and performance included the world premiere of Oliver Caplan’s Woman in an Ermine Collar, and followed performances as Nursing Sister in Giacomo Puccini's Suor Angelica, Madeline Mitchell in Jake Heggie's Three Decembers and participation in the Vianden International Music Festival.
Her warm vocal timbre and command of the stage have opened the door to a wide variety of operatic roles over the years ranging from Hansel in Hansel & Gretel and Dorabella in Cosi Fan Tutte, to Nicklaus in Tales of Hoffman, Florence Pike in Albert Herring and the Mother in Hansel & Gretel.
Early in her career Leslie performed as a participant in the Chautauqua Vocal Institute, as an apprentice artist with Lyric Opera Cleveland, and extensively throughout New England and the Mid-Atlantic region with companies such as Queens Opera, Berks Grand Opera, Lyric Opera Cleveland, Delaware Valley Opera Company, Mozart & Friends, Longwood Opera and Symphony Pro Musica.
Leslie's recital work focuses on bringing attention to new and rarely performed works alongside the great American storytellers, French Chanson, German Lieder, Yiddish, Italian and Spanish repertoire.
An alum of the New England Conservatory and Boston Conservatory opera programs, Leslie has also made an impact as a senior fundraising professional for arts institutions such as The Curtis Institute of Music and Boston Conservatory at Berklee. She was honored by the Boston Business Journal in 2014 as a WomenUp - Women of Influence
and received the Cole Porter Arts Recognition Award in 2021 from Worcester Academy for her impact on the arts.
Timothy Steele is an active vocal coach, collaborative pianist, and conductor, and is currently in his thirty-first year on the opera faculty at New England Conservatory. He has conducted for outreach tours with the Boston Lyric Opera (more than 200 performances for school children) and is a former music director for Opera Providence. He has served as conductor/pianist for more than 200 operatic productions with 33 companies, including Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Boston Lyric Opera, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Wolf Trap Opera, Central City Opera, and Opera Maine. For workshops and rehearsals he assisted with the Pulitzer Prize-winning opera MADAME WHITE SNAKE in productions in Boston and Taiwan.
He has played for thousands of opera auditions and competitions, assisted as recording producer for two award-winning recordings, and as a vocal coach has worked with both young singers and seasoned professionals. He is currently the producer of Milton Community Concerts and is the music director/organist at historic First Parish Church in Milton, MA. In Boston he has performed with Emmanuel Music (where he played for a decade of weekly Bach cantatas), the Handel and Haydn Society, and the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, among others.
A native of Des Moines, Iowa, Timothy received his Bachelor of Music from Drake University and a Master of Music from the University of Southern California, where he studied collaborative piano with Gwendolyn Koldofsky.
Leslie Jacobson Kaye, Mezzo Soprano
Hailed as "magnetic" and a "powerhouse" (Boston Music Intelligencer), mezzo soprano Leslie Jacobson Kaye is equally at home on the opera and recital stages.
Recent performances include the Alto Soloist in Bach’s Cantata BWV 80 with the Fine Arts Chorale, and Mrs. Segstrom in Sondheim’s A Little Night Music. Leslie’s Mixtape Recital Series Competition win and performance included the world premiere of Oliver Caplan’s Woman in an Ermine Collar, and followed performances as Nursing Sister in Giacomo Puccini's Suor Angelica, Madeline Mitchell in Jake Heggie's Three Decembers and participation in the Vianden International Music Festival.
Her warm vocal timbre and command of the stage have opened the door to a wide variety of operatic roles over the years ranging from Hansel in Hansel & Gretel and Dorabella in Cosi Fan Tutte, to Nicklaus in Tales of Hoffman, Florence Pike in Albert Herring and the Mother in Hansel & Gretel.
Early in her career Leslie performed as a participant in the Chautauqua Vocal Institute, as an apprentice artist with Lyric Opera Cleveland, and extensively throughout New England and the Mid-Atlantic region with companies such as Queens Opera, Berks Grand Opera, Lyric Opera Cleveland, Delaware Valley Opera Company, Mozart & Friends, Longwood Opera and Symphony Pro Musica.
Leslie's recital work focuses on bringing attention to new and rarely performed works alongside the great American storytellers, French Chanson, German Lieder, Yiddish, Italian and Spanish repertoire.
An alum of the New England Conservatory and Boston Conservatory opera programs, Leslie has also made an impact as a senior fundraising professional for arts institutions such as The Curtis Institute of Music and Boston Conservatory at Berklee. She was honored by the Boston Business Journal in 2014 as a WomenUp - Women of Influence
and received the Cole Porter Arts Recognition Award in 2021 from Worcester Academy for her impact on the arts.
Timothy Steele is an active vocal coach, collaborative pianist, and conductor, and is currently in his thirty-first year on the opera faculty at New England Conservatory. He has conducted for outreach tours with the Boston Lyric Opera (more than 200 performances for school children) and is a former music director for Opera Providence. He has served as conductor/pianist for more than 200 operatic productions with 33 companies, including Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Boston Lyric Opera, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Wolf Trap Opera, Central City Opera, and Opera Maine. For workshops and rehearsals he assisted with the Pulitzer Prize-winning opera MADAME WHITE SNAKE in productions in Boston and Taiwan.
He has played for thousands of opera auditions and competitions, assisted as recording producer for two award-winning recordings, and as a vocal coach has worked with both young singers and seasoned professionals. He is currently the producer of Milton Community Concerts and is the music director/organist at historic First Parish Church in Milton, MA. In Boston he has performed with Emmanuel Music (where he played for a decade of weekly Bach cantatas), the Handel and Haydn Society, and the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, among others.
A native of Des Moines, Iowa, Timothy received his Bachelor of Music from Drake University and a Master of Music from the University of Southern California, where he studied collaborative piano with Gwendolyn Koldofsky.