Lynne McMurtry
A SUNY Fredonia faculty member and alumnus were named soloists in the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra’s recent performance of Mozart’s “Requiem.”
The concert was to be presented Friday and Saturday, Jan. 17 and 18, at Kleinhans Music Hall in Buffalo, NY.
School of Music Senior Lecturer Lynne McMurtry was the alto soloist while Jordan Weatherston Pitts, who earned a Mus.B. in Music Performance with a concentration in Voice in 2012, was the tenor soloist.
This is Ms. McMurtry's second appearance with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. She last performed with the ensemble two years ago for Mozart's “Coronation Mass,” and said she was thrilled to be invited back to join the BPO for this masterpiece and to be sharing the stage with a graduate of the SUNY Fredonia School of Music.
McMurtry has been described as “a force of nature” by the Toronto Star and “an actress of immense talent” by Opera Canada. She has performed with the Boston Symphony, the Winnipeg Symphony, the Edmonton Symphony and Manitoba Opera, and at many major festivals that include Tanglewood, Ravinia and Aldeburgh.
Mr. Pitts, who is based in New York City, was recently featured on “La France a un Incroyable Talent,” a nationally television program equivalent to “America’s Got Talent.” He performed under his drag persona of Creatine Price and advanced to the finals in the show’s 19th season.
He made such a big impression on Hélène Ségara, a French pop star who has sold millions of records, that she invited him to open a major concert of hers in a duet. “It's a pretty cool series of events, and fascinating to see Jordan managing not one, but two singing careers, in a sense,” McMurtry noted.
Pitts, who went on to earn a M.M. in Music from Boston University after graduating from SUNY Fredonia, made his principal artist debut to critical acclaim as drag queen Renata in Iain Bell and Mark Campbell’s world premiere of “Stonewall” with the New York City Opera in 2019. He continues an active performance schedule of romantic and lyric repertoire.
