Jim Lees
Sara Snider Schone
Tim Mercer
The MACC offers a summer presentation of chamber music on Fri, July 22 at 7:30 p.m. Mezzo-soprano Sara Snider Schone, clarinetist Tim Mercer, and pianist Jim Lees will offer music for voice with clarinet, including Schubert's Evergreen The Shepherd on the Rock, opera arias by Mozart, and song sets by Gordon Jacobs, Antonio Salazar, and Simon Sargon.
The concert will be presented in informal "cabaret" style in the MACC Cafeteria with coffee and water provided; come as you are. Admission is $10; $5 for students.
About the authors:
A native of upstate New York, mezzo-soprano Sara Snider Schone completed an undergraduate degree in bassoon before turning in earnest to a vocal career. With a plush, wide-ranging voice she has sung such principal roles as Mozart’s Dorabella, Dinah in Trouble in Tahiti, and the title role of George Wakefield Chadwick’s Shanewis; Rosina in Rossini's The Barber of Seville comes up next season. She created the role of Lillith, Adam’s first wife in Tim Hinck’s experimental opera, Eve Apart which was written for her. An accomplished recitalist, Sara has performed numerous song cycles by such composers as Britten, de Falla, Mahler, Rorem, Ravel, and Ricky Ian Gordon among many others. She is a frequent soloist with the Chattanooga Bach Choir and Orchestra and is the Artistic Director of Chattanooga's own grassroots opera company, Artisti Affamati.
A lover visual art and music, Tim Mercer received degrees in clarinet performance and graphic design from Southern Adventist University. Though he has made his career in graphic design, he is still an active musician in Chattanooga. Tim has performed concertos with the Southern Adventist University (SAU) Wind Symphony and the SAU Jazz Ensemble and he continues to contribute to the East Tennessee Symphony Orchestra and SAU Symphony Orchestra as principal clarinet. His instructors include Nikolasa Tejero and Patricia Silver.
Jim Lees is the former pianist for the San Francisco Ballet with whom he made several tours, and he makes his home in St. Elmo where he is a founding member of the St. Elmo Piano Trio.