The Chamber Singers from Lone Star College-Montgomery will perform the 2nd annual opera gala on Friday, May 6, at 7:30 p.m. in the new music Recital Hall (Building H). The performance of Handel Acis and Galatea will start with a reception, silent auction and preconcert talk at 7 p.m. Dr. Earl Holt, chair of performing arts, will introduce the public to the mythology behind Acis and Galatea and provide some historical context for the opera. Light refreshments will be served and the performance will start at 7:30 p.m.

"We are so excited about the 2nd annual opera here at LSC-Montgomery. This will be a truly remarkable evening of stage and song. We encourage you to come and hear the incredible sound our students in our beautiful new recital hall," said Dominick DiOrio, assistant professor of music at LSC-Montgomery.
 
Acis and Galatea is a charming pastoral opera by George Frederic Handel. It tells the story of the nymph Galatea and her shepherd lover, Acis, as they attempt to ward off the advances of the cyclops Polyphemus. The opera stars Kerry Jennings, a tenor and director of opera at Lamar University; soprano Elizabeth Borik and baritone Michael Walsh, both LSC-Montgomery adjunct instructors of voice. It also features the talented Divisi Strings and Daryl Robinson playing harpsichord.   
    
The choir is directed by DiOrio.

Acis and Galatea is also being used as a major fundraising event for the music department at LSC-Montgomery. All proceeds from ticket sales and the silent auction will go toward the music department’s scholarship program, which seeks to provide financial assistance to talented students who successfully audition into the Chamber Singers or Symphonic Band ensembles. The talented singers performing in the opera are all scholarship recipients, and it is with the continued support of gracious individuals that the music department can offer these students this opportunity.  

Currently, DiOrio is a doctoral candidate in choral conducting at Yale University. He received his master’s degree in choral conducting from Yale University in 2008, studying with noted professors Marguerite L. Brooks and Simon Carrington. DiOrio received his bachelor’s degree in composition from the Ithaca College School of Music in 2006, graduating summa cum laude.

For more information about the opera performance or the music department at LSC-Montgomery, contact Denise Meyers at 936.273.7021 or visit www.LoneStar.edu/music-Montgomery.  

LSC-Montgomery is located at 3200 College Park Drive, one-half mile west of Interstate 45, between Conroe and The Woodlands. For more information about the college, call 936.273.7000, or visit www.LoneStar.edu/montgomery.
 
With more than 69,000 students in credit classes for spring 2011, and a total enrollment of more than 85,000, Lone Star College System is the largest institution of higher education in the Houston area, and the fastest-growing community college system in Texas. Dr. Richard Carpenter is the chancellor of LSCS, which consists of five colleges including LSC-CyFair, LSC-Kingwood, LSC-Montgomery, LSC-North Harris, and LSC-Tomball, six centers, LSC-University Park, LSC-University Center at Montgomery, LSC-University Center at University Park, Lone Star Corporate College, and LSC-Online. To learn more visit LoneStar.edu.