Album Notes

Gerald J. Blanchard

Lyric baritone Gerald Blanchard has performed primarily throughout the United States and has made appearances in Canada, Europe and the Caribbean. Mr. Blanchard's voice has been described by critics as "rich and expressive..." He has been featured on public radio and television stations throughout the U. S. In 1994, Mr. Blanchard made his operatic debut at the Grand Teton Music Festival's Walk Festival Hall (Wyoming) in performances of Il Barbiere di Siviglia under the baton of Maestro Ling Tung. Subsequently, he has made appearances with the Bel Canto Lyric Opera Company of Philadelphia, Opera Delaware, Midland Music Society Opera, Dorian Opera Theatre, Delaware humanities Players and BCV Performing Artist Opera Association which he is Artistic Director and Founder.

Recent oratorio performances have included Requiem Mass (Mozart), The Lord Nelson Mass (Haydn), Requiem (Faure), Carmina Burana (Orff), Christmas Oratorio (Saint Saens), Messiah (Handel). Additional performances include several recitals, operatic performances, lectures and master classes. Mr. Blanchard is a featured soloist on the Detroit Symphony Civic Orchestra's 2000 release of Mozart's Requiem Mass.

Mr. Blanchard serves on the voice faculties of the University of Michigan-Flint where he directs the UM-Flint Opera Theatre Workshop, studio voice and African American music, The Community Music School at Michigan State University and the Lansing Community College.
Dominic Dousa (b. 1973) holds degrees from Ball State University (D.A., Theory & Composition, 2003), Central Michigan University (M.M., Composition, 2000), Iowa State University (M.S., Statistics, 1998), and Harvard University (A.B., Music, 1995). He also has studied composition in Prague. His primary composition teachers include Jody Nagel, David Gillingham, Craig Weston, and Milan Slavický.

Mr. Dousa's works have received performances both in the U.S. and abroad, at events such as the World Saxophone Congress in Montreal (July 2000), the 7th International Bach Festival in Trujillo, Peru (August 2000), and a concert in Toluca, Mexico sponsored in part by the Mexican Institute of Culture (March 2001). The National Symphony Orchestra of Peru, under the baton of José-Luis Maúrtua, performed his Visions of the American Great Plains in Lima in March of 2003.