By Kathleen Suss, Executive Director, Concordia Conservatory

Mall 11, 2022: The Hoch Chamber Music Series at Concordia Conservatory concludes its 2021-22 season with a world premiere opera, The End: A Fairytale.  This one-act chamber opera with orchestra is written and composed by JP Redmond and Julia Hoch and will be performed for the first time, on Saturday, May 14 at the Sommer Center, Bronxville. The opera is led by music director and conductor James Lowe.

Writer and composer JP Redmond

Writer and composer Julia Hoch

Music Director James Lowe

The cast includes Helen Zhibing Huang as the Heroine, Sun Young Chang as Anna, Eliza Bonet in the roles of the Bride & Wedding Guest, Christian Sebek as Miller & the Sidekick, George Heath as Joseph and Erik Tofte in the role of the Villian.

The opera chamber orchestra features violinist Elizabeth Lim-Dutton, violist Emanouil Manolov, cellist Sachi Patitucci, and bassist Stephen Sas, flutist Julietta Curenton, clarinetist Kaichi Hirayama, trombonist Jeff Nelson, percussionist John Ying, and pianist Jon Klibonoff.

The opera story is based on a Grimm’s Fairytale.  There are stories that cry out to be told: to celebrate, to condemn, to connect.  Anna and Joseph have just such a story to tell…if only this time they can get it right, finally.  Inspired by the oral tradition of fairytales and the archetypes they explore, The End: A Fairytale, brings to life a retelling of The Grimm Brothers’, “The Robber Bridegroom.”

About the opera composer and librettist

Composer and keyboard player, J.P. Redmond was born in California in 1999 and grew up in Yonkers, New York. He is currently pursuing a Master of Music degree at The Juilliard School, where he completed his undergraduate degree in 2021, studying with Matthias Pintscher and formerly with Christopher Rouse.  Currently, J.P.’s musical pursuits include composing and producing for contemporary, film, and multimedia works, collaborating with other artists as an arranger, and performing on keyboard in a variety of genres.

J.P. has been recognized with a number of honors, including a Davidson Fellowship, Bruce Montgomery Foundation Springboard Grant, four ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composer Awards, and a BMI Student Composer Award, and he was a National YoungArts Foundation Finalist. Summer festivals J.P. has participated in include Chamber Music Northwest, National Youth Orchestra of the USA, Chelsea Music Festival, Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Curtis Institute of Music’s Young Artist Summer Program, and NYU/ASCAP Foundation Film Scoring Workshop.

Recent projects include an orchestra piece for the Juilliard Orchestra, which was premiered in February 2020 with Maestro Jeffrey Milarsky, a choral work for The New York Virtuoso Singers and conductor Harold Rosenbaum, an opera scene with playwright Matthew Capodicasa for Juilliard’s OperaComp program, a wind nonet for Imani Winds and the Kenari Saxophone Quartet commissioned by and premiered at Chamber Music Northwest, and several chamber and solo works for friends and colleagues.

Julia Hoch is a storyteller creating new work as a writer and director across the mediums of theater, opera, creative writing, and video. Her work has taken her around the county, and she currently has works in development on both coasts. Julia founded Hyacinth Productions, a company focused on artistic collaboration and conversation across disciplines. She is a proud alumna of Williams College and The National Theater Institute at The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center.

Recent projects include The Campfire, a new musical, which Julia directed and co-wrote with frequent collaborator composer/lyricist Tim Parker, Over/Again, a devised play with music, which she directed and co-wrote, and a series of popular music comedy videos about life in the pandemic which she wrote, directed and produced.

Julia created and directed the recurring series “The Salon,” [Out]/Take/[Out], and A Day’s Work with Hyacinth Productions. Other New York directing credits include: L’Histoire Du Soldat (by Stravinsky and Ramuz), What Does She See?, A Night for Josh, And Friends!, and The Guardian.

Assistant Directing credits include Oklahoma at Charlottesville Opera, La Fanciulla Del West at OperaColorado, Iris at Bard Summerscape, Standard Time at The Duke at 42nd Street, Man of La Mancha, Gypsy, and The Wedding Singer at Pittsburgh CLO.

Julia’s creative writing has been published in the book Everyone Is Asleep But Me, featuring her narrative poem “In The Middle of Night”, and the novella Wanted. She has several pieces in development, including a new play Vissi D’Arte and an as yet untitled novel.

Opera tickets are $44 for adults and $22 for seniors and children. To purchase tickets, visit www.concordiaconservatory.org or call 914-395-4507.