Local vocalists to perform with TSO

Niswonger PAC information

Musical hometown heroes Jake Wilder (tenor) and Mary Ann Falk (soprano) will grace the Niswonger stage as the featured vocalists for the Toledo Symphony Orchestra’s performance of Rodgers & Hammerstein on March 9 at 3 p.m. The program, filled with beloved Rodgers & Hammerstein favorites, will take the audience on a musical journey.

Music has also taken Wilder and Falk on performance journeys both near and far, but their hearts have stayed here in Van Wert.

Wilder’s breathtaking voice has helped him win first place honors in numerous music competitions. He has been the honored guest in master classes with Ann Baltz of Opera Works, L.A., Margot Garret of The Julliard School, and Frederic West. Wilder studied voice with tenor Chris Scholl and baritone Sean Cooper while pursuing a vocal music performance degree at Bowling Green State University.

The Toledo Blade hailed him as having a “powerful and unique timbre”. Wider toured with Toledo Opera on Wheels for two months, performing 64 shows, along with various other extraordinary performances.

Falk developed her talent in musical theatre. Her passion has helped her win both local and regional awards for acting, directing, set design, and light design. Falk has performed several different roles at the Van Wert Civic Theatre in productions that include The Sound of Music, The Music Man, Godspell, and many more.

She has also been heard singing for weddings and special occasions throughout the region. While a student at BGSU, she sang and toured the United States in choruses under the direction of Professor Richard Mathey.  Falk is currently a teacher at Vantage Career Center.

Both Wilder and Falk can be heard singing regularly in the Senior Choir at First United Methodist Church in Van Wert, where they are frequently featured soloists.

Rodgers and Hammerstein’s music is iconic to American culture. Richard Rodgers (composer) and Oscar Hammerstein II (librettist/lyricist) joined forces to create the most consistently fruitful and successful partnership in American musical theatre.

Oklahoma! was the first Rodgers & Hammerstein musical and also the first of a new genre, the musical play. Oklahoma! represented a unique fusion of Rodgers’ musical comedy and Hammerstein’s operetta. A milestone in the development of the American musical, it also marked the beginning of the most successful partnership in Broadway musical history, and was followed by Carousel, Allegro, South Pacific, The King and I, Me and Juliet, Pipe Dream, Flower Drum Song and The Sound of Music.

Rodgers & Hammerstein wrote one musical (State Fair) specifically for the big screen and another (Cinderella) for television.

Collectively, the Rodgers & Hammerstein musicals earned 35 Tony Awards, 15 Academy Awards, two Pulitzer Prizes, two Grammy Awards and two Emmy Awards. In 1998, Rodgers & Hammerstein were cited by Time magazine and “CBS News” as among the 20 most influential artists of the 20th century.

Experience The Toledo Symphony Orchestra and the region’s finest vocalists as they present musical memories with the songs of Rodgers & Hammerstein on March 9.

Tickets are available for $20 at the Niswonger Box Office, 10700 Ohio 118 on the south edge of Van Wert. The Box Office is open Monday-Friday from noon-4 p.m. Tickets can also be purchased online at www.npacvw.org.

The Toledo Symphony Orchestra’s performance of Rodgers and Hammerstein is part of the Niswonger Community Concert Series. The Community Concert Series is presented by Vancrest Health Care Centers and is underwritten by Slusher’s Jewelry, Taylor Auto Sales Inc., Stephanie Dawn, Central Insurance Companies, Van Wert County Hospital, and Bob Evans Restaurant.