Voices of Ascension Gala

Thursday, October 13, at 6PM
The Ramscale Penthouse
463 West St, New York, NY 10014

Honoring James Taylor and the Manton Family

Musical performance
Awet Ademicael, Soprano
Brian Giebler, Tenor
Will Healy, Piano

Evening Events
6pm Cocktails and Hors d'oeuvres Reception
6:45 Honoree Program and Announcement
7:15 Musical Performance
7:45 Dessert Reception

Cocktail Attire
Silent Auction
Masks Optional, Testing Encouraged

Our Gala Honoree, James Taylor

With an extensive repertoire ranging from the medieval period to the twenty-first century, tenor James Taylor devotes much of his career to oratorio and concert literature. As one of the most sought-after Bach tenors of his generation, he has performed and recorded extensively with many of today’s preeminent Bach specialists, including Nicholas Harnoncourt, Philippe Herreweghe, René Jacobs, and Masaaki Suzuki. Since 1993, Taylor has maintained a close relationship with conductor Helmuth Rilling and the International Bach-Academy Stuttgart, performing and teaching master classes worldwide. On several occasions, he has been a juror and consultant for the International Bach-Competition Leipzig. In 2008 he debuted with the New York Philharmonic under the direction of Kurt Masur, singing the role of the Evangelist in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion. Taylor’s career as an oratorio specialist has taken him throughout the United States, South America, Japan, Korea, and Israel, and to virtually all the major orchestras and concert halls of Europe. He is particularly proud to have performed Britten’s War Requiem in the Munich Residence on the sixtieth anniversary of the end of World War II. Taylor has recorded extensively on the Hänssler, harmonia mundi, Limestone, Naxos, and ArkivMusik labels. He joined the Yale faculty in 2005 and serves as coordinator for the voice program in Early Music, Art Song, and Oratorio.

B.Mus. Texas Christian University; Master’s Diploma, Hochschule für Musik, Munich

Our Gala Honoree, The Manton Family

The Manton Foundation focuses its giving in New England and supports a range of organizations and causes, including, but not limited to, education, arts and culture, medical research, historic preservation and conservation. It is a collaborative family endeavor, created by Jim and Gretchen Manton to support their local and artistic interests. In the early 2000s they appointed their daughter and granddaughters to serve on the Foundation board, thus beginning what is today an ongoing family project.  Upon Jim’s passing in 2005, the Manton trustees oversaw the first major grants from the Foundation. 

The Mantons had a close relationship to the Church of the Ascension for sixty years, and were particularly enamored with its musical program, run by Dennis Keene.  After Jim and Gretchen Manton passed away, the Manton Foundation funded the research, construction, and installation of the Manton Memorial Organ, as a tribute to Jim and Gretchen.  Founded by Dennis Keene at the church, Voices of Ascension and its choral program have since benefited from the incredible gift of the Manton Memorial Organ and generosity of the Manton Foundation countless times, from Voices’ inception through the bleakest moments of the pandemic.  The Mantons have been longtime benefactors of the arts, offering support for critical projects that are not flashy but rather fundamental to an organization’s operations.  Their pragmatic and loyal style of philanthropy has been a bedrock for Voices of Ascension and other arts organizations in New England and beyond.  

Awet Andemicael, Soprano

Joy is the hallmark of soprano Awet Andemicael’s artistry.  She has been acclaimed for her “sparkling solo verses” (Opera News), “vivid musical personality” (Boston Globe), “honeyed tone” (San Francisco Classical Voice), “fine comic interplay and […] superb singing” (Washington Times). 

Awet has performed with ensembles like the Boston Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Knights at the Tanglewood and BRIC Festivals, the Sebastians Chamber Ensemble, and in concert halls including Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center, and festivals including the Tanglewood, Ravinia, and Aldeburgh Festivals.

Although she enjoys a wide range of repertoire, Awet is associated especially with sacred music. Her affinity for eighteenth-century sacred music has been featured in concerts with the Bach Collegium Japan, the Handel and Haydn Society, and the Colorado Bach Ensemble, and with symphony orchestras across North America, including Charleston, Pittsburgh, and Orlando. She has also premiered works of spiritual and religious significance, including Bernard Gilmore’s  Journey to Freedom and Two Songs from Torah.

One of Awet’s most cherished musical experiences was performing at a reenactment of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2014, at the invitation of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, and later singing at St. George’s Anglican Cathedral in Cape Town.

A writer and theologian as well as a musician, Awet holds degrees from Harvard, Yale, UC Irvine, and the University of Notre Dame. She currently serves as Associate Dean for Marquand Chapel and Lecturer in Theology at Yale Divinity School and the Institute of Sacred Music.

Brian Giebler, Tenor

Praised for his “lovely tone and deep expressivity” by The New York Times, GRAMMY® nominated tenor Brian Giebler radiates “shine and clarity” (Opera News) in every phrase using “his high-placed tenor with great skill” (Opera Magazine). His debut solo album a lad's love garnered high praise from Gramophone, Opera News, and San Francisco Classical Voice, and earned him his first GRAMMY® Award nomination for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album. 

In 2022/23, Mr. Giebler can be seen in Considering Matthew Shepard at Music at Trinity Wall Street,  with the Rhode Island Philharmonic (Messiah), Voices of Ascension (Bach St. John Passion Evangelist), and make return appearances with Santa Fe Pro Musica, Boston Early Music Festival, and in a performance of Bach’s B Minor Mass at Carnegie Hall with the Oratorio Society of NY. 

“The sweetness of Giebler's impressive high tenor” and his "expressive and elegant phrasing" (Cleveland Classical) have been heard recently as Apollo in Handel's Semele with The English Concert under Harry Bicket; Stravinsky with The Cleveland Orchestra; Adam in REV 23 at the Prototype Festival; Arnalta in Monteverdi's Poppea with Boston Baroque; Evangelist in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with Trinity Wall Street; Bach Cantatas with the Grand Rapids Symphony and Handel & Haydn Society; Handel’s Messiah with Music of the Baroque (available on recording), and the Charlotte, Memphis, and Virginia Symphonies; Haydn Creation with Santa Fe Pro Musica;  and on stage with Boston Modern Orchestra Project and Boston Early Music Festival. Last season highlights included a tour of the Ravinia and Caramoor Festivals with Apollo’s Fire, and Handel’s L’Allegro, il Penseroso with Mark Morris Dance Group (BAM).

Will Healy, Piano

Will Healy is a composer, pianist, improviser, and educator based in New York. Aiming to write music that enables collaborations among inspiring artists regardless of genre boundaries, he is the artistic director of ShoutHouse, a collective of hip-hop, jazz, and classical musicians. He recorded and released his first full-length album in 2019, including a 40-minute song cycle for rappers, soloists, and chamber orchestra, which was released on New Amsterdam Records. As a pianist, he has a passion for both new and old music, particularly the works of J.S. Bach, with a repertoire that includes the complete Goldberg Variations and Well-Tempered Clavier. He studied composition at the Juilliard School, where his teachers were Samuel Adler, John Corigliano, and Steven Stucky.

Recent projects include directing and arranging for Kanye West, writing original music for the New York Philharmonic's Young People's Concerts, and composing a piano concerto for Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra with himself on piano. Healy’s awards include a Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, two ASCAP Morton Gould Awards, the W.K. Rose Fellowship, and a J-Fund commission. His work has appeared recently at The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, New York City Ballet, and (le) Poisson Rouge, among others. He recently moved to Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, where he has been enjoying spending time with friends on his roof.