Perfect Pairing

Sunday, January 29, 2023
3:00 pm

Hosted by Cary & Dorothy Lewis
25 Guests • $75

What better pairing than these two remarkable, beloved Portland artists: soprano Arwen Myers and pianist Cary Lewis? The scenic Southwest hills provides the setting for this program of cherished vocal music. Enjoy tasty appetizers and wines as you savor this perfect blend of piano and song.

More About Arwen Myers

Praised for her “crystalline tone and delicate passagework” (San Francisco Chronicle), soprano Arwen Myers captivates audiences with her timeless artistry and exquisite interpretations. Transmitting a warmth and “deep poignancy” (Palm Beach Arts Paper) onstage, Arwen shines in solo performance across the US and beyond. With outstanding technique and mastery of a wide range of vocal colors, Arwen’s dazzling oratorio and solo appearances feature repertoire from the baroque to modern day, and everything in between. Her history includes appearances with Portland Baroque Orchestra, Early Music Vancouver, Pacific MusicWorks, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra & Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, working with such notable conductors as Nicholas McGegan, Monica Huggett, David Fallis, John Butt, David Hill, Scott Allen Jarrett, Erick Lichte & Matthew Dirst.

Recent and upcoming solo highlights include Handel with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra; Bach & Purcell with Portland Baroque Orchestra; Vivaldi, Monteverdi & Gabrieli with Early Music Vancouver; Handel with Oregon Bach Festival; and Fauré with Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Arwen featured as a soloist alongside Vancouver’s award-winning Chor Leoni in the world premiere of Zachary Wadsworth’s JUNO award-nominated armistice oratorio When There is Peace, which received national broadcast across Canada, and also in Vivaldi’s festive cantatas with Early Music Vancouver on an all-female tour under the direction of Monica Huggett. Of her title role in Handel’s Semele with American Bach Soloists Academy in 2018, San Francisco Classical Voice noted, “some of these star turns were shiny indeed, with soprano Arwen Myers leading the way… her musicality and demure demeanor remained a renewable pleasure.”

An exceptionally talented and generous chamber musician, Arwen features with some of the nation’s premiere ensembles, including Seraphic Fire, Bach Akademie Charlotte & Bach Collegium San Diego, and Spire Chamber Ensemble, and she is the sole vocalist in acclaimed Portland-based new music ensemble Fear No Music. Arwen’s impressive range and depth of feeling shine in her many performances of new music, which include the world premieres of two title roles written specifically for her by celebrated composer Robert Kyr: Paradiso (Beatrice) in 2016 and Passion According to an Unknown Witness (Other Mary) in 2019. She has also enjoyed solo roles in world premiere performances and recordings of pieces by Renée Favand-See, Will White & Emerson Eads with Northwest Art Song; by Michel Petrossian with Sacred Music at Notre Dame; by Don Freund at Indiana University; and by GRAMMY-award winning J.J. Wright on his Billboard chart-topping commercial release O Emmanuel. 

A native of Augusta, Georgia, Arwen holds advanced degrees from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where she studied with Alan Bennett and Patricia Brooks Havranek. Based in Portland, Oregon, Arwen belongs to Beyond Artists, a coalition of artists that donates a percentage of their concert fee to organizations they care about, and is an individual member of 1% of the Planet. Arwen is represented by Aligned Artistry.

More About Cary Lewis

Pianist Cary Lewis is in frequent demand as a collaborative pianist for soloists and chamber music groups. He joined William Preucil (concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra) and his wife, cellist Dorothy Lewis, to form the Lanier Trio, whose recording of the complete Dvorak Trios was honored by TIME Magazine as one of the Ten Best Recordings in 1993. With degrees from the University of North Texas as well as a doctorate and Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music, he was a Fulbright scholar for two years in Vienna. His teachers included Eugene List, Brooks Smith, and Dieter Weber. He has performed at Carnegie Hall, Bargemusic, the Library of Congress, the White House, the Kennedy Center, Wigmore Hall in London, the National Philharmonic in Warsaw, and in other music capitals of the United States and Europe. Dr. Lewis is retired from the faculty of Georgia State University in Atlanta and is now based in Portland, Oregon. In recent years he has participated in festivals in Montana, Colorado, Michigan, Maine, Hawaii, St. Croix and Turkey, and has recorded over three dozen albums featuring works from the standard literature as well as music by American composers.

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