Dynamic solo and duet performance: Raymond Tymas-Jones and Edward Payne

Renowned performers Raymond Tymas-Jones, tenor and Edward Payne, baritone will perform in an exclusive concert on Friday, May 21 at 8 p.m. at the Recital Hall in Ohio University's Music Building.

With a diverse concert of classical Baroque, German Lieder (art songs), Romantic songs and traditional Negro Spiritual music, the evening will feature a combination of moving solo and duet performances. These gifted artists are collaborating for the first time.

Tymas-Jones is Dean of the Ohio University College of Fine Arts. A highly accomplished and critically acclaimed performer, he has been a featured soloist with orchestras throughout the country and is known internationally for his magnificent voice and outstanding musicianship.

Payne is Assistant Professor of Music at Wright State University and Music Director/Conductor of the Wright State University Opera Theater. Prior to his tenure at Wright State he was on faculty at Ohio University for 14 years. An acclaimed baritone soloist, Mr. Payne continues to perform internationally.

Held in conjunction with Ohio University's Black Alumni Reunion, this premiere performance, which brings these two dynamic voices together for the first time, has been more than a year in the making.

"I was thrilled with the opportunity to work with Ed, when former Ohio University registrar Bill Jones approached me with the idea last year," says Tymas-Jones. "We worked together to create a rich program inspired by music of the standard repertory."

The program will feature a collection of George Frideric Handel's Baroque arias, Lieder by Schubert and Brahms, and Georges Bizet's famous tenor-baritone duet "Au fond du temple saint" from the opera Les Pecheurs des Perles (The Pearl Fishers). The evening will culminate with a moving selection of classic and contemporary arrangements of Spiritual music. This performance will offer something for everyone!

Fact Sheet

Concert: Raymond Tymas-Jones and Edward Payne in Concert
Date: May 21, 2004, 8 p.m.
Location: Music Building, Recital Hall, Ohio University, Athens
Admission: Free and open to all
Artists: Raymond Tymas-Jones, tenor
Edward Payne, baritone
Gail Berenson, piano
Sylvia Henry, piano

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