Voci Angelica Trio

Bio:

1+1+1= ? 
What do you get when you take 2 sopranos, add a cellist, and stir? 
In the case of Voci Angelica’s multi-talented members, you get far more than you’d imagine.


Voci Angelica performs evocative and emotionally resonant folk music from Asian, Latin American, African and European traditions. These traditional songs are transformed into engaging original arrangements for two sopranos, cello, percussion, and piano.


The trio has global DNA: soprano Meena Malik was born in Japan, cellist Aristides Rivas in Venezuela, and American soprano Jodi Hitzhusen has performed and studied in the Philippines, Panama, England, Canada, France and Scotland.


Beginning with the folk music they learned at home as children, the Trio continued their exploration of folk music traditions around the world. Their repertoire includes songs overheard in a pub in Ireland, a YouTube discovery, and sheet music unearthed in a used bookstore.


They joined forces in 2007 after graduating from New England Conservatory and found a shared interest in musical explorations. For the trio, the meaning of exploration is two fold: immersion in the musical traditions of diverse cultures, and discovery of the possibilities of arranging for their unique instrumentation.


Members of the trio have performed at the Teatro Colon in Argentina, National Theatre in Spain, Chartres Cathedral in France, Caramoor Music Festival, Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Sapporo Concert Hall in Japan, Symphony Hall and Jordan Hall in Boston, and the Montreal Jazz Festival.


“We love connecting with audiences and designing programs that stir memories and emotions,” soprano Hitzhusen explains. “It’s great to have a listener tell us that they hadn’t heard this favorite song in many years!” says soprano Malik. Cellist Rivas adds, “Sometimes, I find that audiences connect most strongly with a piece sung in a language they don’t understand. I think it has to do with evoking a sense of home."


Members


Soprano Meena Malik began singing in her native Japan. Malik has performed the roles of Sandman in Hansel and Gretel, Nestoria in Schindelmann's Ego, Miles in The Turn of the Screw, title role of Cinderella, the novice in Suor Angelica, First Witch in Dido and Aeneas, La Chouette/Una Pastourelle in L’Enfant et les Sortilèges, premiered the role of Muriel in Bell’s Holy Ghosts, and Fredrika Armfeldt in A Little Night Music. She has been a featured soloist with various choirs and orchestras in works such as Vivaldi’s Gloria, Mozart’s Requiem, Fauré’s Requiem, Fairouz’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah and Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem. She has sung with Opera Providence, New England Conservatory, Cedar House Theater, MetroWest Opera, Calliope, New England Orchestra, Symphony Pro Musica, and Boston Opera Collaborative. Malik received her BM in Vocal Performance and a Minor in German from University of Redlands and her MM In Vocal Performance from New England Conservatory. Currently, Malik freelances in the Boston area and continues her private studies with Carole Haber. For more information, please visit www.meenamaliksoprano.com


At the age of 10, Jodi Hitzhusen made her singing debut as a soprano soloist in Britten's Ceremony of Carols. Since then, she has performed all across the United States, as well as in the Philippines, Panama, England, Canada, France and Scotland. In 2003, Hitzhusen made her operatic debut as Pamina in the Springfield Regional Opera Young Artist production of Mozart's "The Magic Flute." She has been instructing both voice and piano students since 1999 and has performed outreach programs with the Handel and Haydn Society and on her own as a soloist. Hitzhusen received her BA in Music and English from Evangel University and her Masters in Vocal Performance from the New England Conservatory. Along with her vocal activities, Hitzhusen is an accomplished pianist and an advocate for ethnomusicology. In 2008, she was awarded an Emerging Artists Grant from the St. Botolph Foundation to travel to France and Scotland. She is also a music director for the Wellesley Village Congregational Church. Hitzhusen began playing the djembe in 2007 and is also a commissioned composer. For more information, please visit www.jodihitzhusen.com


Aristides Rivas is becoming one of the most versatile cellists nowadays. While trained and fully active as a classical musician, Rivas is also part of projects in the styles of jazz, folk, and world music, among others. Rivas’ education includes a Bachelor in Music from Baylor University in Texas, and a Master in Music from the New England Conservatory of Music. He has performed numerous times with multiple Grammy award-winner Paquito D’Rivera, one of the living legends in Latin Jazz. In the summer of 2008 he joined the up and coming world renown jazz guitarist Julian Lage for the recording of his first album Sounding Point, which was nominated for a Grammy for the 2010 awards. Rivas is also an Adjunct Faculty at UMass Lowell, Project STEP in Symphony, and privately. In his experience as a cellist, he has performed in some of the most prestigious halls and venues in the world, including the Teatro Colon in Argentina, National Theatre in Spain, Caramoor Music Festival in Katonah, New York, Carnegie Hall in New York, Kennedy Center in Washington DC, Sapporo Concert Hall in Japan, Symphony Hall in Boston, and the Montreal Jazz Festival. For more information, please visit www.aristidesrivas.com

Member Since:

April 27, 2008

Members:

Soprano, MEENA MALIK
Soprano and Piano, JODI HITZHUSEN
Cello and Cuatro, ARISTIDES RIVAS

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Record Label:

Unsigned