What do you get when you take a soprano, a tenor, a pianist and a mezzo-soprano and put them all together.
The foursome is hoping the answer is a really, really great Sing Joy! concert, which will take place on Tuesday evening, Dec. 20, at Lexington Park United Methodist Church in Lexington Park.
The performance will feature tenor David W. Cook, mezzo-soprano Pateley Bongiorni-Cook, soprano Sarah Gravelle and pianist Erin Tennyson playing holiday classics with what Cook called “a jazzy twist.”
“Having been born and raised in this area, I truly feel this concert is an amazing and unique opportunity for our community,” said Gravelle, who is the owner/operator of Gravelle Music Studio in California where she teaches private voice and piano lessons. “Our goal is to spread love and cheer through our music, and I hope to touch many audience members this holiday season.”
“There will be a high caliber of musicianship at this concert, with seasoned and award-winning artists, joining together in song and celebrating the most joyous time of the year,” Cook said. “What’s not to love?”
An international award-winning American tenor, recitalist and philosopher, Cook has started branching out into adult contemporary, operatic pop and musical theater.
The music runs in the family as his wife, Bongiorni-Cook has taught chorus and general music at Esperanza Middle School in St. Mary’s County, though in January she will become the choir director at Chopticon High School.
“I have always been involved with music from choirs and musicals to piano lessons, but it wasn’t until high school that I realized I had a passion for teaching others music,” said Bongiorni-Cook, who earned a degree in musical education from Frostburg State University and said she was inspired to become a music educator by her high school chorus teacher TC O’Brien. “I love the fact that music is a universal language; no matter where you come from, or what language you speak, music speaks to everyone in different ways.”
A 2004 Leonardtown High School graduate, Tennyson earned her bachelors in music education with a concentration in piano from Lebanon Valley College then taught music and chorus at Benjamin Banneker Elementary School from 2008 to 2012. The Clements resident is currently the music director at Lexington Park United Methodist Church.
“I began taking piano lessons at the age of 8 and fell in love with the instrument,” Tennyson said. “I was never forced to practice the instrument, but rather instructed by my mom to stop practicing so I could at least eat dinner. I also distinctly remember a dear friend of mine, Harry Darby, tell me when I was in high school that I could very well make a career playing piano. From then on, I worked every day toward that goal.”
Gravelle, who is currently starring in Port Tobacco Players’ “Hello Dolly!” can also often be found performing at local venues, community events or musical theater productions.
“Music is a passion of mine that I have enjoyed since I was a child,” the California resident said. “I can not remember a time where I didn’t feel an urge to make music. I started with piano and voice lessons as a child and never looked back.”
Cook, who said he was interested in becoming either an English teacher or lawyer, was nudged musically when he became involved with his high school orchestra and chorus as a violinist.
“A substitute teacher Mrs. Shirley Duncan heard me singing one day while I was in the choir room, and as they say, the rest was history,” Cook said. “She gave me some of my first coaching and vocal lessons and was really the first person in my life who encouraged me to pursue my natural talent for singing.”
What was the moment where you realized this was something you excelled at?
Pateley Bongiorni-Cook: When I was in high school, I had a solo [during] my freshman winter concert and I had so many audience members come up to me after the performance saying how moving the solo was. Then when I was a senior, my teacher asked me to be the music director of “The Little Mermaid Jr.” and I fell in love with teaching. Seeing that lightbulb moment of someone who didn’t previously understand but now got it, was the best feeling especially when it is learning beautiful music.
Sarah Gravelle: I don’t know if I ever had a particular moment where I thought “Hey, I’m good at this; but I just knew I had to sing. I always try to stay humble and work hard to continue progressing and perfecting my craft. I have had moments of great encouragement and success, and like everyone, great disappointments. However, I always knew music was something I could not live without.
Erin Tennyson: In middle school, I was [teacher] Sherri Fenwick’s first student to ever accompany the choir at Esperanza Middle School. My high school chorus teacher caught wind of this when I was in ninth grade and gave me two songs to accompany the choir with for their adjudicated festival event — “Dies Irae” from Requiem and an arrangement of Psalm 23 — and many guest adjudicators who came to work with our choir prior to the event were shocked that I was only 14. I went on to accompany my high school for the next four years, as well as all throughout college. It’s true what they say: an accompanist can make or break a performance.
David Cook: It wasn’t until many years later, at a coaching at Betti’s home that I realized that my gift was something that was great, or rather had the potential to be something great. I remember that day as if it were yesterday; [the late great vocal pedagogue] Betti McDonald and her husband Lou, [voice teacher] Kristen Halliday and I had been coaching a piece of music and generally working hard vocally. We were discussing the technical aspect of a piece that I was struggling with and Betti gave me a suggestion of how to approach this particular phrasing. We started the music over and I was successful at finally cracking this difficult concept that we were working on. I remember at the end of the piece, Betti sat in her chair, with her eyes closed and when she opened her eyes they were filled with tears, and she said, “We’re in the presence of a star.” I will never forget that moment.
What is your most memorable musical moment?
ET: I am very proud of what I have accomplished musically [but] it could not have been possible without the love and support of my parents, Kevin and Becky Dean. My mother, who was an unbelievable supporter of my dream to play piano as a career, passed away in 2018 after a 19-year battle with breast cancer. The proudest, most memorable musical moment was playing and singing “Thy Will Be Done” at her funeral. She was my best friend and I truly felt her spirit and strength of encouragement that day. When I finished, I remember thinking, “That’s why I do what I do. Thank you, Mom.”
DC: One of my most memorable moments musically is when I finished the final act of a recent operatic production of La Traviata after a particularly difficult, high pressure situation. When I sang my final high note, realizing that Violetta, my love interest in the opera had died in my arms, I walked back to the wings of the opera house with great pride and a triumphant feeling of success, and was greeted with a standing ovation from the audience when I went to take my final bow. Triumph, amongst all the odds.
SG: Some of my favorite music moments have been creating music with my children and family. I grew up singing with my siblings and family, especially at the holidays. Now, singing or playing the piano with my husband and our own kids has brought me immeasurable joy so to share that with my family is so special.
PBC: I had the opportunity to sing at the Kennedy Center with the Washington Chorus and it was breathtaking. The size of the performance hall, the roar of the applause, the wall of sound that the choir created, all of it was such an awe-inspiring moment for a young musician.
What is it going to be like performing with the others?
DC: This is going to be a fantastic partnership of great friends, sharing their love and passion for music! I think that something that allows for natural and authentic collaboration and expression, is a feeling of camaraderie and comfort amongst colleagues; this is something that runs deep between us. Not only do we each have fine musicianship, but we each share a common care for the other because we’re friends. I am very excited to share the stage with my dear friends, wife and colleagues, sharing and creating beautiful expressions of music!
ET: It will be a true honor performing with the other three musicians. Their talent and passion for music shines through their performing skills. I feel honored they asked me to be their accompanist.
PBC: I love collaborating with other musicians, but it is especially exciting to be able to sing with my husband and such good friends. All of us know each other well enough that when we perform together we can let go and enjoy the music while taking the audience on a musical journey.
SG: I love harmonies and blending with other voices, so I’m very much looking forward to singing with David and Pateley. There is an amazing energy present when you make music with others and I’m excited for that.
