The EFA and Brooklyn Youth Chorus would like to thank all those who came out in support of our organizations on Thursday evening, December 15, 2011 for an incredible concert with famed soprano Harolyn Blackwell and the BYC. We appreciate your support! "Songs for the Holidays" was a highly anticipated concert event featuring world premiere works by Ricky Ian Gordon and new holiday arrangements by Joel Martin. Hosted at the World Financial Center's incredible Winter Garden, over 200 guests gathered for an amazing display of talent followed by VIP cocktails and hors d'oeuvres under the famed marble staircase. Thank you all for your support, and we hope to see you again next year. Happy Holidays from the EFA & BYC family to you and yours! Special thanks to Dr. Tamer Seckin, EFA President & Founder, and Valerie Lewis, Executive Director of the Brooklyn Youth Chorus Academy.
Harolyn Blackwell (born November 23, 1955) is an American lyric coloratura soprano who has performed in many of the world's finest opera houses, concert halls, and theaters in operas, oratorios, recitals, and Broadway musicals. Initially known for her work within musical theater during the early 1980s, Blackwell moved into the field of opera and by 1987 had established herself as an artist within the soubrette repertoire in many major opera houses both in the United States and in Europe. Feeling that she was being "type cast" into one particular kind of role, Blackwell strove to establish herself within the lyric coloratura repertoire beginning in the mid-1990s. With the aid of such companies as Seattle Opera, Blackwell successfully made this move and is now an interpreter of such roles as Lucia in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor and Olympia in Offenbach's Les contes d'Hoffman. She has also periodically returned to musical theater performances throughout her career in staged productions, concert work, and recitals. Blackwell is known for her interpretations and recordings of the works of Leonard Bernstein.
