New Cardiff Singer of the World and Aspen school alumna is invited for special congratulatory concert

It’s not every day that a school alumna wins one of the world’s most prestigious music competitions. Mind you, when the school has so storied a history as the Aspen Music Festival and School, it’s far from unheard of either – a quick browse of their list of distinguished alumni turns up such palmtaking names as Joshua Bell, Renée Fleming, Philip Glass, James Levine, Itzhak Perlman, Dawn Upshaw and Sarah Chang. But there’s always a reason to celebrate great achievements, and upon hearing of mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton’s victory in Cardiff (the double - she won both the song prize and the main award, a very rare achievement), they immediately tore up the festival schedule to invite her “home” for this year’s festival, in her first major US appearance after her win.

Jamie Barton will sing Elgar’s Sea Pictures, one of the works with which she competed, with the Aspen Chamber Symphony Orchestra on Friday, August 9. Fellow Aspen alumnus James Feddeck (himself this year’s winner of the Georg Solti Foundation’s prize) will conduct. This replaces the previously-announced work, Respighi’s Ancient Airs and Dances. Sarah Chang will also appear with Barber’s violin concerto, and the concert will conclude with Schumann’s Symphony No 3.

Aspen-watchers will note as well that another of the pieces which she sang in Cardiff, the witch’s aria from Hansel and Gretel, is from a role she has previously sung complete at the Festival. Alan Fletcher, President and CEO of the Aspen Music Festival and School, says, “We are absolutely thrilled for Jamie’s success and delighted to be able to mark it with this special invitation. It felt absolutely right that she should in a sense be invited home so that we can show her how proud we all are. At the same time it’s a testament to the continuing high standards of our wonderful faculty members and staff here at Aspen, and a celebration of the work done and great things achieved by all of our students here. Jamie’s honour is also in some ways theirs too and we’re delighted that she will share her talents with us once more, that we can share in her joy.”

For more information, please contact either Laura Smith at Aspen (lsmith@aspenmusic.org / 970-205-5070) or James Inverne at Inverne Price Music Consultancy (james@inverneprice.com / +44 7870-203181)