Richard Zeller, in rehearsal with PYP before the Concert-at-Christmas
(Photo: Jean Choi)

. . . the orchestra was joined by bass-baritone Richard Zeller. Before singing the toreadore’s song, Richard told the audience how this appearance was, for him, the fulfillment of a dream that he has had for 30 years. Zeller’s mahogany-rich voice, humour and natural modesty make him a performer of rare quality and on Saturday night it showed. His toreador was larger than life and every bit the ladies man we have come to expect and elicited big cheers from the crowd. In a dramatic change of pace he then sang Billy Bigelow’s Soliloquy from Carousel, and let us see Bigelow for the flawed charmer he is. In a deserved encore, Zeller treated us to Old Man River from Showboat. It brought the audience to its feet. It was very noticeable that while Richard Zeller was the star of this part of the evening he took every opportunity to applaud and encourage the young musicians playing with him. I expect they will have fond memories of that for many years. I think Zeller will, too. And so will I. The Waltz, also from Carousel, ended the formal part of the concert before Maestro Hattner and the orchestra left us with another brief excerpt from Carmen. In a very short time I have become a huge fan of Portland Youth Philharmonic. They perform with commitment and skill and an amazing degree of musicality inculcated in them by a conductor who knows how to have them give their best at every moment and who will settle for nothing less. In a few months they will be performing Shostakovitch’s 5th Symphony. Now that’s gonna be a trip!

Stephen Llewellyn, Operaman

Working with an Opera singer for the first time was an incredibly rewarding and exciting experience. Richard Zeller is not only a fantastic singer, but also a great man to work with. I’m glad we could help him realize his dream of being part of PYP!

Galen Viktor Nahas, cello, PYP

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I’m really excited for “Concert at Christmas!” All of us have worked really hard, and I think that the audience is going to enjoy all of the pieces that we have prepared as much as we have enjoyed playing them. With Richard Zeller as our featured soloist, and the tremendous amount of energy from all of our sections, this concert will amaze a lot of listeners.

Jenny Lee, cello, PYP

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The Prelude Concert went pretty well, being the first concert for PYCO. It was a bit strange getting off the stage and returning after each piece, but it went quite smoothly. The piano concerto went quite smoothly. For Glinka and Borodin, we did better as the piece progressed. Personally, there were several missed notes on my part during the opening measures. For the Concert-at-Christmas, we shall be playing Glinka again, so I will be practicing quite a bit on the troublesome passages I had during the concert. This next concert we shall performing with all groups so we will have to play to our best.

Arthur Halim, viola, PYCO

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