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Soiree Lyrique presents an Italian Festival

Soirée Lyrique, NFP presents an Italian Festival outdoor concert at 3 p.m. Sunday, June 14, on the terrace of Snuffy's Villa in West Dundee.

Seating area available or bring your own lawn chair or blanket and enjoy the beautiful 3 acres of rolling landscape.

Come and be enraptured by your favorite excerpts from "La Traviata," "La Bohème," "Madama Butterfly," and Italian songs such as "O Sole Mio," "Torna a Surriento," "Catari," "Mamma," "Mattinata" and more.

Listen to the astounding young prodigy, 16-year-old Sofiya Kyrylyuk, play Paganini on her electronic viola.

Cast includes Franco Martorana of Schaumburg and Simon Kyung Lee of Woodridge from the Other 3 Tenors, soprano and artistic director Solange Sior of Elgin, violist Sofiya Kyrylyuk of Huntley and Dr. Chiayi Lee of Batavia at the piano.

In case of rain the performance will be moved to the music room of Snuffy's Villa. Reservations will secure your seats in the music room in case of rain.

For reservations, call (224) 595-1526 or email ssior@soireelyrique.org.

For more information and a map of the location, visit www.soireelyrique.org.

There are no ticket sales; suggested donation is $15-$30 per person.

Soirée Lyrique, NFP is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization.

Snuffy's Villa, 17N405 Oak Ave. in West Dundee, is surrounded by Snuffy's Prairie and Raceway Woods Forest Preserve.

Solange Sior, soprano

Founder and artistic director of Soirée Lyrique NFP, Sior is a former winner of the Canadian Music Competition and winner of the National Bel Canto Competition, as well as finalist of The Metropolitan Opera National Council.

Sior has performed with many organizations in the Midwest and in Canada, including Lyric Opera of Chicago, Florentine Opera Company, Light Opera Works, Lincoln Opera, Chamber Opera Chicago, Chicago Concertante, New Music Chicago, New Millennium Orchestra, Albany Symphony Orchestra, Elgin Symphony Orchestra, Elgin Choral Union, and Youth and Music Canada.

At the prestigious Shaker Mountain Music Festival she performed 3 years in a row and sang the lead roles of Marguerite (highly acclaimed!), Suor Angelica, and Manon. She sang Mimi in "La Bohème" at the Amalfi Coast Music Festival in Italy. She has also performed the roles of Madama Butterfly, Violetta, Musetta, Pamina, Fiordiligi, Monica, and the title role in "Rose-Marie" and "The Incomplete Education" by Chabrier.

She is the recipient of the 2014 Elgin YWCA's Margaret Hillis Award for the Arts and received Elgin's 2010 Image Award for her 10 years of accomplishments as the founder and artistic director of Elgin OPERA.

Sior has been serving as music panelist on the Illinois Arts Council for several years.

Simon Kyung Lee

Tenor Simon Kyung Lee has performed such roles as Cavaradossi in "Tosca," Calaf in "Turandot," Rodolfo in "La Boheme," Alfredo in "La Traviata," Radames in "Aida," Duke in "Rigoletto," Manrico in "Il Trovatore," Riccardo in "Un Ballo in Maschera," Don Jose in "Carmen, Luigi in "Il Tabarro," Rinuccio in "Gianni Schicchi."

He has appeared as leading tenor with companies in U.S., Europe as well as in Asia include Singapore Lyric Opera, Busan Natoyan Opera, Opera New Hampshire, Vail Opera, Palm Desert Opera, the Gold & Treasure Coast Operas, Panama City Opera, Utah Festival Opera, da Corneto Opera, Chamber Opera Chicago, Chicago Festival Opera, Kansas City Puccini Festival, Opera North Carolina, Opera Tulsa, Sunstate Opera, Teatro Lirico D'Europa and World Classical Musical Society.

A two-time recipient of awards from the National Bel Canto Foundation, Lee has utilized his flair with Italian music to his advantage in scores of solo concerts and recitals around the Midwest, including a gala concert in which the musical artists of North and South Korea performed together on the same Chicago stage for the first time.

Future engagements include Radames in "Aida," Cavaradossi in "Tosca," Rodolfo in "La Boheme," Don Jose in "Carmen" and Calaf in "Turandot" with Teatro Lirico D'Europa tour in U.S. and Europe in 2015-16 and numerous concerts throughout the United States.

Franco Martorana

Born in Geneva, Switzerland to Sicilian parents, tenor Franco Martorana immigrated to the United States at an early age and settled in Chicago. Franco's stage debut was as Camille in "The Merry Widow" for Chicago's Lincoln Opera. While with Lincoln Opera, Franco journeyed to Germany with the company for performances of "La Bohème," "Madama Butterfly" and "La Traviata." Following studies with Pavarotti's teacher, Arrigo Pola, the young tenor enrolled at University of Oklahoma, where he worked with some the country's top voice teachers and coaches. Franco then returned to Chicago and joined the chorus of the Lyric Opera of Chicago. One of the highlights of Franco's tenure with Lyric happened in December of 1994 when he was chosen to sing the role of the Messenger in a production Verdi's "Aïda." In 1997, he performed the roles of Alfredo in "La Traviata" and Turiddu in "Cavalleria Rusticana" for Zwei-Groschen-Oper in Humbach, Germany. In recent seasons, Franco has appeared in Bellissima Opera's productions of "La Traviata" and "Madama Butterfly" and as Michele in "The Saint of Bleecker Street" in Chamber Opera of Chicago's Menotti Gala. This golden voiced tenor has also gained a well-deserved reputation for his interpretations of Italian and Neapolitan songs.

Sofiya Kyrylyuk

Sofiya Kyrylyuk "Viola" was born in 1999 in Bucha, Ukraine. At the age of 4, she moved to the United States and began studying violin a year later. She added viola to her priorities when she was 12. Sofiya's previous teachers include Stefan Hersh (professor at Roosevelt University), Alexander Belavsky (violinist at Lyric Opera), and Lisa Chodorowski. Her current teacher is Rami Solomonow for viola. Kyrylyuk has been playing as a concertmaster in multiple orchestras including the Canzonetta, CYSO, the MYA Philharmonia and Concert Orchestras. At the moment, she is the principal violist at Midwest Young Artists Symphony Orchestra, while also participating in MYA chamber groups, sonata class and previously attending composition class, music theory, and conducting class. She held the position of principal violist with North Suburban Symphony from 2012-14.

Sofiya's awards include co-overall winner in Junior Division of Walgreens National Concerto Competition (2012); semifinalist in the Johansen International Competition (2015); finalist in the Crain-Maling Foundation Chicago Symphony Orchestra Youth Auditions (2014); second place in senior viola division at Society of American Musicians Competition (2013); grand prize at Talent of Ukrainian Diaspora Competition (2013); Dora Bartelt Memorial Award in Junior Strings division at Chandler Starr Miller Scholarship Competition (2011, 2012); first place in Woodstock Fiddle Contest, Junior Division (2007); honorable mention at DePaul Concerto Festival (2013, 2014); Honorable Mention in Senior Division of Walgreens National Concerto Competition (2014); honorable mention at ISU Contemporary Music Competition for Young Performers (2012); first place at RSO/RVC Concerto Competition (2014); honorable mention at American Music Institute Violin Competition (2014).

As a soloist, she appeared at the Chicago Symphony Center, Chicago Cultural Center, Bennett Gordon Hall at Ravinia, Ukrainian National Museum of Chicago, Ukrainian Institute of Modern Arts and Ukrainian Cultural Center in Chicago, Elgin Art Showcase, local nursing homes, Huntley High School PAC, Huntley Library, Morton Grove Library and many others. On Sundays she plays at St. John's United Church of Christ in Union. Sofiya's recent solo performances include playing Vivaldi "Winter" with an MYA chamber orchestra (2012); Bach Double Violin Concerto with MYA Concert Orchestra (2013); Vivaldi Concerto for Four Violins with North Suburban Symphony (2013); Telemann Viola Concerto with MYA "I'Solisti" chamber orchestra (2013, 2014); Saint-Saens "Introduction et Rondo Capriccioso" with the Rockford Symphony Youth Orchestra (2014); J.C. Bach Viola Concerto in C minor with MYA "I'Solisti" chamber orchestra (2014).

Chiayi Lee

Dr. Chiayi Lee is an active pianist with an extensive performance background in both solo and chamber music. She has performed with numerous ensembles, instrumentalist and vocalists. Chiayi has served as a member of the piano faculty at Coe College, and was the staff accompanist at Cornell College. She also worked for Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre, DuPage Opera Theatre, Interactive Opera Company, and Elgin Opera. She is currently the staff accompanist at Harper College. Lee is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda, the national Music Honor Society.

She received her doctor of musical arts degree in piano performance and pedagogy from the University of Iowa. She also holds both a masters of music in piano performance and a performer's certificate from Northern Illinois University.

Sofiya Kyrylyuk
Simon Kyung Lee
Chiayi Lee
Franco Martorana
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