San Luis Obispo Master Chorale presents
Songs of Joy
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2025 | 3 PM
Performing Arts Center San Luis Obispo
The San Luis Obispo Master Chorale invites you on a joyful sonic journey!
Enjoy an afternoon of inspiring music for chorus and orchestra, performing alongside talented soloists for a delightful concert of uplifting compositions.
Antonín Dvořák – Te Deum
The Te Deum is a ceremonial cantata in four parts that follows the formal arrangement of a classical symphony that was commissioned as a piece for the 400th anniversary of Columbus Day. Its composition marks the beginning of Dvořák’s American period, reflecting his engagement with both religious and cultural themes.
Amy Beach – The Canticle of the Sun
The chorus, orchestra, and solo voices combine into a symphonic style rooted in the Romantic tonal tradition that’s an expression of gratitude to all of nature’s elements: the heavenly bodies, air, water, and fire.
W.A. Mozart – Vesperae solennes de confessore
Mozart’s final choral work composed for the cathedral, this piece is divided into six movements. The first three psalms are bold and exuberant, followed by the fourth psalm in a cappella style and a tranquil fifth movement, plus a sixth movement that returns to the style of the opening settings.
With soloists Jamie Chamberlin, soprano; Max Potter, mezzo-soprano; Manfred Anaya, tenor; Joel Balzun, bass
Songs of Joy is generously sponsored by Joan G. Sargen.
The concert will be held in Harold Miossi Hall at the Performing Arts Center San Luis Obispo on the Cal Poly campus.
Tickets are $10-$60 and are available at www.slomasterchorale.org or by calling the PAC box office at 805-756-4849.
Harold Miossi Hall
Performing Arts Center
1 Grand Avenue
San Luis Obispo, CA
93407-0441
Jamie Chamberlin
Soprano
Praised by Opera News for her “shimmering tones,” Jamie Chamberlin enjoys a diverse career as a soprano, master teacher, and interpreter of new works; memorably, as Marilyn Monroe in the US Premiere of Gavin Bryars’ Marilyn Forever at Long Beach Opera.
Jamie’s 25/26 season includes her debut as Violetta Valéry in La Traviata with Festival Opera and Opera Orlando’s Decade of Divas 10th Anniversary Gala Concert, both alongside husband, renowned tenor Nathan Granner.
Career highlights include Lucia di Lammermoor and COVID Fan Tutte with Pacific Opera Project, Cunegonde in Candide at LBO, Lucy in the award-winning opera film The Telephone, and Hazel George in the US Premiere of Philip Glass’s The Perfect American at Chicago Opera Theatre. Jamie has appeared as soloist with LA Opera, LA Phil, Opera Parallèle, and The Pasadena Symphony. She is a Delos Recording Artist, and her recognizable voice can be heard during the epic water ballet scene in the 2016 Coen Brothers film Hail, Caesar!
Jamie is an alumna of the Merola Opera Program at San Francisco Opera and earned her BA and MM from UCLA’s Herb Alpert School of Music, where she has served as Lecturer in Vocal Technique.
Max Potter
Mezzo-Soprano
Regarded as a “virtuoso singing actor,” mezzo-soprano Max Potter is an engaging artist known for her expressive vocalism and dynamic stage presence.
Recent season highlights include Max’s role debut as Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier with Pacific Northwest Opera, performances as Mercedes in Bizet’s Carmen and Ines in Il Trovatore with Opera Santa Barbara. Max also made her symphonic debut as the alto soloist in Mendelssohn’s Elijah at Washington National Cathedral, and her mainstage debut with Chautauqua Opera as Jenny Reefer in The Mother of Us All.
As a resident singer for The American Opera Project’s Composers and the Voice Fellowship, she gave world premiere performances of art songs and opera excerpts by established and emerging composers. She also sang the world premiere of “Women Have Loved Before as I Love Now” from Margaret Bonds’ Six Songs on Poems by Millay, and joined I Cantori di Carmel on a tour featuring Max Bruch’s rarely-heard “Gruss an die heilige Nacht.”
Manfred Anaya
Tenor
Praised for his “wonderful lyric tenor” (BizJournal Reviews) and “standout” performances (Parterre Box), tenor Manfred Anaya is quickly gaining recognition for his versatile performances.
As a young artist, he trained with Des Moines Metro Opera and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. Mr. Anaya has appeared as Gastone in La Traviata with Dayton Opera and Telamone in Ercole su’l Termodonte with Pacific Opera Project. Additionally, he was the tenor soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the South Bay Wind Ensemble. An alumnus of Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, he portrayed Doctor Caius in Falstaff and the Chevalier de la Force in Dialogues of the Carmelites. Most recently, he made his mainstage debut with Opera Santa Barbara as Don Basilio in The Marriage of Figaro.
Joel Balzun
Bass
Praised for his “voluminous sound” and “imposing, ringing baritone,” Canadian baritone and composer Joel Balzun is a recent grantee of the Olga Forrai Foundation and award-winner in the Wagner Society of New York Singers Competition. Highlights of the upcoming 2025/26 season include house debuts with Amarillo, Pittsburgh and Wichita Grand Operas, his role debut as Tonio (Pagliacci) with Pacific Opera Project and a world premiere by Dale Trumbore, supported by the Barlow Endowment. Recent engagements include Marcello (La bohème) as well as the orchestral workshop of the title role in Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek’s Lincoln in the Bardo with Chautauqua Opera. He also previewed Lincoln for the Metropolitan Opera. Other recent performance highlights include his debut at Los Angeles Opera (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Giorgio Germont (La traviata) with Opera Santa Barbara, Escamillo (Carmen) with Union Avenue Opera, and world premieres by Tom Cipullo and Kurt Erickson. His past appearances with San Luis Obispo Master Chorale include Mozart’s Mass in C, Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs and Dona Nobis Pacem, and Verdi’s Requiem. He is a proud alum of the Eastman School of Music.
Beyond the Notes
Beyond the Notes features leading scholars whose presentations highlight the times and culture surrounding the works performed by the San Luis Obispo Master Chorale. The educational events offer an in-depth look at pieces being performed and the background and history behind the music, including the opportunity to meet and learn from a noted expert on the subject, an enhanced understanding of the context of the music, an increased appreciation for the music and live performance, and spreading awareness about the arts.
The San Luis Obispo Master Chorale is hosting two educational presentations given by E. Douglas Bomberger, Professor of Music Emeritus at Elizabethtown College.
Beyond the Notes is sponsored by the Harold J. Miossi Charitable Trust.
Doctor E. Douglas Bomberger
E. Douglas Bomberger, PhD, is professor of music emeritus in the Department of Music at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania. He teaches music history courses, a seminar in musicology, repertoire class, and applied piano. His music history classes connect music of all eras and genres with the persons who created them and perform them today. His particular areas of interest include 19th-century American music, piano literature, and transatlantic musical connections.
Dr. Bomberger has published seven books and over 100 articles on diverse subjects, and his most recent book is The Cambridge Companion to Amy Beach (Cambridge University Press, 2023), which was completed with the help of a SCARP grant in Summer 2022. He served as senior editor for nineteenth-century concert music for the New Grove Dictionary of American Music (2013), editing 450 articles and writing 40. He was the recipient of Elizabethtown College’s Ranck Prize for Research Excellence in 2018–2019.
Dr. Bomberger serves as President of the Society for American Music and is an active member of the American Musicological Society and the College Music Society. On campus, he has served as the president of Faculty Assembly, Chair of the Division of Fine and Performing Arts, and Music Program Chair. In addition to his scholarly activities, he performs regularly with his wife, soprano Teresa Bomberger.
Saturday, November 22, 2025 | 3:00 pm
SLO Master Chorale presents Beyond the Notes: “Amy Beach and the Power of Connections”
“Amy Beach and the Power of Connections” presented by E. Douglas Bomberger, PhD
In a time and place when musical composition was considered a male endeavor, how did Amy Beach manage to break the glass ceiling of her time? Learn about Beach’s music and explore her knack for using her social skills to cultivate friendships that would aid her professionally.
Location: Indian Hill Clubhouse at San Luis Bay Estates, 6375 Firehouse Canyon Road, Avila Beach, CA, 93424
Directions to Indian Hill Clubhouse at San Luis Bay Estates:
Address: 6375 Fire House Canyon Rd, Avila Beach, CA 93424
From the 101 southbound:
- Take exit 196 for San Luis Bay Dr. toward See Cyn/Avila Beach
- Turn right onto San Luis Bay Dr. and continue for 1.4 miles
- Turn right onto Bay Laurel Pl.
- At the traffic circle, take the 2nd exit to enter the gated area through the “Guest” lane; stay on Bay Laurel Pl.
- Tell the guard your name and that you are attending the SLO Master Chorale event at the Clubhouse
- After passing through the gate, turn left onto Lupine Canyon Rd.
- Take the next right onto Fire House Canyon Rd., and the venue will be on your right.
- Parking is available in the lots on either side of the Clubhouse.
From the 101 northbound:
- Take exit 195 for Avila Beach Dr.
- Continue on Avila Beach Dr. for 1.3 miles
- Turn right onto San Luis Bay Dr.
- Take the next left onto Bay Laurel Pl.
- At the traffic circle, take the 2nd exit to enter the gated area through the “Guest” lane; stay on Bay Laurel Pl.
- Tell the guard your name and that you are attending the SLO Master Chorale event at the Clubhouse
- After passing through the gate, turn left onto Lupine Canyon Rd.
- Take the next right onto Fire House Canyon Rd., and the venue will be on your right.
- Parking is available in the lots on either side of the Clubhouse.
Sunday, November 23, 2025 | 1:15 pm
SLO Master Chorale presents Beyond the Notes: “Dvořák, Beach, and American Music in the 1890s”
“Dvořák, Beach, and American Music in the 1890s” presented by E. Douglas Bomberger, PhD
The establishment of major orchestras, the building of concert halls, and the explosive popularity of ragtime reflected America’s hunger for music of the 1890s. Explore the cultural climate of the decade through the works of renowned Czech composer Antonín Dvořák and America’s leading female composer Amy Beach.
Location: Pavilion, Performing Arts Center, 1 Grand Avenue, San Luis Obispo
Free admission with concert ticket