The Villages Opera Club is preparing to host its annual concert featuring talented college musicians.
The event, titled “An Enchanted Evening,” will be held Saturday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. at Eisenhower Recreation Center. Tickets are $30 and can be purchased at Villages Box Office locations or online at the thevillagesentertainment.com.
The net proceeds from the event will help fund Harold S. Schwartz music scholarships for local high school seniors. A special donation also will be made to Villagers for Veterans to help pay for a smart house that’s being built on the Historic Side of The Villages for disabled Army Sgt. Pam Kelly.
The concert will feature:
- Violinist Yefim Romanov, a Yale graduate now performing with the New World Symphony. He performed under John Williams in May and has played alongside such renowned artists as Midori, Joshua Bell, Gil Shaham and Valery Gergiev.
- Flutist Julia Sills, who is pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree and plays with the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra. She has performed at Carnegie Hall and as an international soloist and in a quartet at a music festival in Germany. She also was the 2018 first-place winner of a Harold S. Schwartz music scholarship.
- Soprano Victoria Sexton, who was born in Ireland and grew up in Ocala. She is studying vocal performance at the University of South Florida in Tampa and has had major roles in “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Guys and Dolls” and “Beehive: The 60s Musical.” On weekends, she is known for being a singing server at Katie Belle’s in Spanish Springs Town Square.
- Pavel Suliandziga, a tenor and master graduate of the Russian Academy of Music. He is completing his professional studies at Mannes College in New York City. He is the recipient of many awards, winner of Licia Albanese-Puccini competition and recently performed at Carnegie Hall.
Maestro Bill Doherty, the program coordinator, will accompany the vocalists and Linda Charlton will accompany the instrumentalists.
Since its founding in 1997, The Villages Opera Club has presented Harold S. Schwartz scholarships to 89 graduating seniors from Marion, Sumter and Lake counties.
