Historical April 1989 report or notice. Original dates, prices and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
Mary Henderson, mezzo soprano, will perform a program “All American Song” on Sunday, April 30, 1989, 4 p.m., at Grace United Methodist Church, 6199 Waterman. Henderson will be accompanied by pianist Karen Laubengayer. Henderson states that this program “will trace the development of the Classical American art song from the 1900’s to the 1970’s:’ Henderson will perform works by composers John Carpenter, Charles Ives, Aaron Copland, Samuel Barber and Leonard Bernstein.
The program is divided into pre-World War I music, music composed between the wars, the neo-romantic period following World War II up to the more contemporary works of Bernstein, and will also feature selections of spirituals. Henderson will comment on what she thinks each cornposer was trying to do, and on what influences have gone into creating the music of each era.
Mary Henderson is Artist-in-Residence at Washington University.
A native of South Carolina, she received her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, and continued her studies at L’Ecole Hindemith in Switzerland, and at the University of Cologne in Germany.
As an Opera soloist, Miss Henderson has sung at the Chautauqua Opera in New York, and was resident mezzo-soprano soloist at the Hagen City Opera (Germany) from 1974-1980.
As a guest soloist, she has sung in theaters in Oldenburg, Germany, in Berne, Switzerland, at the Royal Opera in Ghent, Belgium, and with the Opera/ South in Mississippi. Miss Henderson has sung with the St. Louis New Music Circle and the St. Louis Symphony Chamber Orchestra.
Since 1985, she has been a vocal consultant at the Syracuse University L’Ecole Hindemith in Vevey, Switzerland. Karen Laubengayer has appeared in recital and as a soloist with orchestras extensively in the Midwest. Among the competitions she has won are the Jefferson City Symphony, the Webster Symphony, the St. Louis Philharmonic Orchestra, the Dimitri Mitropoulous National Piano Competitions, and the St. Louis Artist Presentation Society Competition. Ms. Laubengayer holds the Ph.D. in Music from Washington University.
She has performed at the American Academy of the Arts in Verona, Italy, and at the L’Ecole Hindemith in Vevey, Switzerland.
In addition, she has studied and performed at the Aspen School of Music in Aspen, Colorado.
In 1987 she and Henderson were chosen as a duo team to perform in the International Art Song Festival held at the Cleveland Institute of Music in Cleveland, Ohio. Currently, Dr. Laubengayer is Assistant Professor of Music at Jackson State University. Henderson and Laubengayer performed “An Afternoon of Spirituals” concert last year at Grace Methodist. That program featured traditional spiritual music arranged/composed by William Grant Still, Margaret Bonds, H. T. Burleigh and John Carter.
The selection of music, the ambience of the sanctuary at Grace and the tremendous performances by Henderson and Laubengayer made for a memorable afternoon.
This concert is sponsored by the Skinker DeBaliviere Community Council and the West End Arts Council with grants from the Regional Arts Commission and support from Grace United Methodist Church and Washington University. Tickets are $4 for adults, $2 for children 12 and under and students. Group rates are also available. Call the SDCC for more information, 862-5122.
Original photograph caption
Mezzo-soprano Mary Henderson. The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, April 1989, page 1. Photographer not credited.
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, April 1989.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1989_04.pdf, printed page(s) 1; PDF page(s) 1.
