The ERA Project
Join us May 19th & 20th, 2023, for The ERA Project - a new set of songs for soprano and piano composed by Rain Nox with texts by Maureen Broy Papovich. This concert presentation features Maureen Broy Popovich, soprano, and Jeanne Sasaki, a pianist, with performances by special guests and an all-female new vocal ensemble, VAMP.
Ms. Papovich was inspired to write about the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) by her grandmother, Cecil Norton Broy (1890-1977) who worked beside Alice Paul as the Political Chair Person of the National Women’s Party for 25 years. This set of six songs explores the history of the ERA, the National Women’s Party, and the contributions of Ms. Papovich’s grandmother, and provides reflections on the women’s movement today. Along with the music, Ms. Papovich will present a short lecture and slideshow about the subject. Ms. Papovich and Ms. Nox hope to bring attention to this important and ongoing fight for equality in the Constitution through the ERA. The ERA Project combines beautiful music with inspiring and thought-provoking content.
Maureen Broy Papovich
Maureen Broy Papovich is a classical soprano based in Austin, TX. Ms. Papovich is an active performer, appearing with ensembles around the country, including the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, the Houston Chamber Choir, the San Antonio Chamber Choir, the Arizona and Austin Opera companies, and the Texas Bach Festival. In Austin, she appears regularly with Inversion Ensemble and One Ounce Opera.
Ms. Papovich is passionate about raising awareness and assistance for charities and social groups. Since 2000, she has organized and performed in over a dozen recitals in support of organizations including the Autism Society and the Ross Lynn Foundation.
Inspired by her experience in Austin with brand new music, Ms. Papovich has collaborated with local composers to write two new song cycles, The ERA Project written with composer, Rain Nox, and Most Importantly Loves written with composer, Adrienne Inglis. The ERA Project premiered online in 2020 and is coming to Austin in May 2023 with LOLA.
To learn more about her work and upcoming performances, please visit her website at maureenbroypapovich.com
Jeanne Dayton Sasaki
Jeanne is a Collaborative Pianist and Vocal Coach in Austin, Texas. Her four decades-long career has included collaborations with singers and instrumentalists from throughout the U.S., enjoying positions at Butler School of Music at The University of Texas in Austin, Le Chateau de la Voix in Champaign, IL, Taos Opera Institute in Taos, NM, and Four Corners Opera in Durango, CO.
Recently, she has enjoyed performing in Austin as a pianist with Gilbert & Sullivan Austin, Presbyterian Church of Lake Travis, One Ounce Opera, and presented a concert featuring local operatic singers in the Fall of 2022. She has recorded with trumpeters Ray Sasaki, Adrian Griffin, and Amy Gilreath. Ms. Sasaki earned music degrees from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, and The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her primary vocal accompanying mentor was John Wustman, well-known as an accompanist for tenor Luciano Pavarotti.
Ms. Sasaki is proud of her musical family: husband Ray Sasaki, former Professor of Trumpet at The University of Texas at Austin and The University of Illinois, daughter Sara Sasaki Lam, a violinist in Garland, TX, and member of McKinney Philharmonic Orchestra, and son Mikio Sasaki, Professor of Trumpet at The University of Oregon at Eugene.
VAMP
VAMP is a vocal chamber group of five formidable female artists touting a motley songbook and a bold red lip. VAMP’s programs are unconventional musical experiences that embrace vulnerability and emotional intensity. The singers are committed to amplifying work by living and female-identifying composers; they thrive on diving into new musical worlds and stretching musical boundaries. VAMP's members regularly appear with other powerhouse music organizations including Conspirare, Austin Opera, Verdigris Ensemble, Texas Early Music Project, Inversion, Density512, Less Than <10, and the Tinsel Singers.
Conceived pre-pandemic and born in March 2020, VAMP is a vocal quintet of formidable female artists touting a motley songbook and a bold red lip. VAMP’s programs are unconventional musical experiences that embrace vulnerability and emotional intensity. Deeply committed to amplifying music by living, female-identifying composers, VAMP's members have premiered scores by some of the country’s most exciting composers, including Gabriela Ortiz, Julia Wolfe, Caroline Shaw, Reena Esmail, Dana Lyn, and many others.
* Mary Ashton, soprano
Adrienne Pedrotti-Bingamon, soprano
* Katrina Saporsantos, soprano
Page Stephens, mezzo soprano
* Laura Mercado-Wright, mezzo soprano