AngolaConcertPressRe.. - Academy of Vocal Arts

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Revised May 29, 2012
For more information contact: Denise Stuart, Director of Marketing and Public Relations
1920 Spruce Street Philadelphia, PA 19103
215 735-1685 dstuart@avaopera.org
ACADEMY OF VOCAL ARTS’ TENOR NELSON EBO’S
TRIUMPHANT RETURN TO ANGOLA
Mr. Ebo, soprano Chloé Moore, and pianist David Antony Lofton to perform a
series of concerts in Luanda in June.
PHILADELPHIA: Angolan tenor Nelson Ebo, who has just completed his first year as a resident artist at
Philadelphia’s prestigious Academy of Vocal Arts, will present a series of three concerts in Luanda,
Angola. He will be joined by fellow AVA artist, soprano Chloé Moore, in a program that includes opera,
musical theatre, art song and even some Gershwin and Edith Piaf songs. AVA faculty member David
Antony Lofton will accompany the singers. The three concerts will be held over a period of one week,
with performances on June 6 th , June 8 th , and June 9 th in three different locations: Casa 70, Luanda’s
Convention Centre, and the National Theatre, respectively. All concerts will be open to the public. The
last concert, on June 9 th , will be attended by the President and First Lady of the Republic of Angola as
well as other government authorities and diplomatic corps in Luanda. This will be Nelson’s first time
back in his home country since obtaining a scholarship to study in Madrid, Spain in 2001.
The second youngest of fifteen children, Nelson’s formative years were spent singing in his parish choir
where he began to experiment with opera and found his vocal passion. His first professional
opportunities were on the stage at Casa 70, Luanda’s premier music hall. As Casa 70 is celebrating their
50 th anniversary, they have invited Nelson to once again impress Angolan audiences with his lyrical
style.

Nelson’s performances at Casa 70 led to an opportunity to further his vocal studies, when a U.N. Human
Rights officer from Spain happened to hear him sing one evening. With the help of the Spanish
Embassy, arrangements were made for Nelson to travel to Madrid to audition for the Royal
Conservatory of Music and Carlos III University in Madrid. When Nelson arrived in Madrid his health had
deteriorated and he had been diagnosed with early-stage tuberculosis. Even so, Nelson knew this was a
“make or break” opportunity. He sang an impressive audition, scoring a perfect “10” and was accepted
on full scholarship to Carlos III University of Madrid.
The next few years saw a transformation in Nelson, as he quickly adjusted to life in Madrid, embracing
the language and culture, and throwing himself into his vocal studies. It was in Genoa in 2004, that the
late Julian Rodescu of Philadelphia, heard Nelson sing. He was by all accounts bowled over by Nelson’s
voice, and became a mentor, friend, and teacher. He encouraged Nelson to audition for the prestigious
Academy of Vocal Arts, which he did in 2005. He was not accepted, and this first-ever rejection sent him
into a period of self-evaluation and even depression. With the support of friends such as Mr. Rodescu
and others, he enrolled in Westminster Choir College, then the Hartt School of Music and continued his
vocal studies. He re-auditioned for AVA in 2011, and this time, he was accepted. He currently studies
with Bill Schuman, the legendary teacher who has had particular success with tenors.
As the AVA trio prepares to depart for Angola, they recognize the fact that, although it is a growing part
of Angola’s musical culture, opera is still rather unique. Nelson’s achievements, and those of other
young Angolan opera singers studying and performing abroad, are a great source of pride for his
compatriots. The June concerts are being billed as the triumphant return of Nelson Ebo, who left Angola
a poor, sickly teenager with big hopes and dreams, and returns a poised, educated, talented artist on
the cusp of a career in opera.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Nelson Ebo, tenor, a first-year resident artist from Angola, attended the University of Carlos III in
Madrid, Spain, Westminster Choir College, and the Hartt School of Music. Among his awards and
recognitions are an encouragement award from the Giulio Gari Foundation in 2011 and 2010, second
prize in the 2011 Gerda Lissner Foundation International Vocal Competition, first place in the 2010
Connecticut Concert Opera Competition, and first place in the 2008 Lakes Region Opera Competition in
New Hampshire. Mr. Ebo has sung in a variety of concerts, including the Richard Tucker Foundation,
Gerda Lissner Foundation, Marcello Giordani and Friends, Scenes from Carmen, and the UN Human

Rights Day in Geneva, Switzerland. He has also performed solo recitals in New Hampshire, Connecticut,
and Spain.
Chloé Moore, soprano, from Calgary, Alberta, is a second-year AVA resident artist. She is a recipient of
the George London Award from the George London Foundation, third-prize winner of the Liederkranz
Competition, third prize winner in both the Gerda Lissner Foundation International Vocal Competion,
and the Loren L. Zachary Society Vocal Competition, all in 2012. In 2011, Ms. Moore received the Leoš
Janácek Prize and Donald James Goldberg Prize, both with the Czech & Slovak International Voice
Competition at Théâtre Lyrichorégra 20, the Rosalind Jackson Memorial Award from the Crested Butte
Music Festival, first place in the Sacred Vocal Competition with Concerts@First, and encouragement
awards from the Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition and the Licia Albanese-Puccini
Foundation International Vocal Competition. At AVA she has sung Adina in L’elisir d’amore, Mélisande in
Pelléas et Mélisande, Antonia and Stella in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Zdenka
in Arabella, Mistress Brown in The Scarlet Letter, and Sister Osmina, Sister Dolcina and the Infirmary
Sister in a concert version of Suor Angelica. Other performances include Giulietta in I Capuleti e i
Montecchi, Frasquita in Carmen, and Antonia in Les Contes d’Hoffmann with the Crested Butte Music
Festival. She holds a M.M. in Vocal Performance from the University of Arizona and a B.M. from the
University of Toronto.
David Antony Lofton, pianist, is a native Philadelphian and a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music,
where he studied piano accompanying with Dr. Vladimir Sokoloff. While at Westminster Choir College
he developed his choral conducting skills and studied the organ. He has served as artistic director of
Opera North (Opera Ebony) and as conductor of La traviata, Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Faust, L’elisir
d’amore, Die Zauberflöte, Susannah, and Der Vampyr for Mozart & Friends Opera Company.While at
Curtis, he was the accompanist and vocal coaching apprentice of the late Todd Duncan for eight years.
He has been a recital collaborator for many renowned singers including, Stephen Costello, Aylin Pérez,
Marietta Simpson, Angela Brown, Indra Thomas, Wilhelmenia Fernandez, Nancy Fabiola Herrera, Eglise
Gutiérrez, Burak Bilgili, John Packard and Othalie Graham. He has also served as coach and accompanist
for the Luciano Pavarotti International Voice Competition and participated in the Festival dei Due Mondi
in Spoleto, Italy, where he was assistant conductor for televised productions of Carmen and Amahl and
the Night Visitors, staged by the composer Gian Carlo Menotti himself. Mr. Lofton has performed as a
pianist in both solo and chamber music performances. He appeared as piano soloist in Beethoven’s
Choral Fantasy with the New Jersey MasterChorale. He has conducted full concerts of operatic and

symphonic music including one with the famed Harlem Boys Choir at Carnegie Hall and Hansel and
Gretel with the University of Minnesota at Duluth.
Prior to joining the AVA faculty, he began a ten-year period as faculty member of the Curtis Institute of
Music and was also on the faculty at the Combs College of Music. Aside from being a conductor and
accomplished pianist, Mr. Lofton has composed spanish music for television commercials and served as
a vocal consultant for Sony Recordings. He has conducted the Mozart and Faure Requiems and was
pianist for numerous recitals at Neumann University. Three times he was chosen to conduct “Opera on
the Square” for Sunoco’s Welcome America Celebration. In 2010 Mr. Lofton made his debut with Opera
Delaware conducting Puccini’s La bohème. He is Music Director of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church of Elkins
Park, which presents a series of recitals each year with AVA artists.
David Antony Lofton has been the exclusive Music Director and Conductor of AVA’s Jubilate. A Concert
of Sacred Music for fourteen years.
ABOUT THE ACADEMY OF VOCAL ARTS
The mission of The Academy of Vocal Arts, founded in 1934 by Helen Corning Warden, is to provide
tuition-free vocal and opera training of the highest quality, and financial support during training, to
exceptionally talented and committed young singers who have the potential for international stature,
and to present them in professional performances that are accessible to a wide community.
Gifted singers come from throughout the world to seek the exceptional guidance and training that The
Academy of Vocal Arts offers. AVA’s four-year program is unique, not only because it is a fully tuitionfree
institution that focuses solely on operatic training, but also because it has established a niche as an
organization that produces opera. Admission is determined by competitive annual auditions, with an
average of 8 to 10 singers admitted each year. The total roster of resident artists is purposely kept low
and averages 25-30 in total. Those who are accepted receive training equivalent to more than $70,000
per year. A faculty of individuals who are among the finest in their fields provides intensive training in
voice, acting, stage combat, repertoire, languages, and other related subjects necessary for an operatic
career.
Over the past seven decades, outstanding singers of international stature have attended AVA, including
David Adams, Lando Bartolini, Joyce DiDonato, Ryan Edwards, Wilhelmenia Fernandez, Nancy Fabiola
Herrera, Luis Ledesma, James Morris, Stuart Neill, John Packard, Julien Robbins, Valerian Ruminski, Jane

Shaulis, Ruth Ann Swenson, Indra Thomas, Richard Troxell, Beverly Wolff, and currently making their
mark in the opera world, recent graduates Burak Bilgili, Stephen Costello, Ellie Dehn, Joyce El Khoury,
Michael Fabiano, Othalie Graham, Eglise Gutiérrez, Bryan Hymel, Angela Meade, Keith Miller, Latonia
Moore, Ailyn Pérez, Dongwon Shin, Taylor Stayton, James Valenti, and Corinne Winters.
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