A recording of the Choral Arts Philadelphia February concert will be up soon.

Choral Arts gives masterful tour of Rossini piece – David Patrick Stearns for The Philadelphia Inquirer, February 11, 2013

Mezzo-soprano Maren Montalbano, one of four vocal soloists, sang a wonderful “Agnus Dei.”

Choral Arts sings Rossini’s ‘Petite Messe’ – Tom Purdom for Broad Street Review, February 12, 2013

For his soloists, Glandorf recruited experienced early music performers, who absorbed the peculiarities of 19th-Century French style just as they normally master the styles of 18th-Century England or 16th-Century Portugal. Glandorf headed his cast with a world-class early music star, soprano Julianne Baird, but the other three soloists were all A-list vocalists with the strong, supple voices that this mass requires.

One of the evening’s highlights was a trio for mezzo, tenor and baritone that blended three distinctive, richly colored voices singing three distinct, perfectly harmonized melody lines.

…Good as Baird was, she was upstaged by mezzo Maren Montalbano, who followed her with the kind of passionate outcry that pulls opera audiences out of their seats. The soprano may get the hero in operas, but the mezzo got the last word in Rossini’s version of the Mass.

FLORENCE: Christmas Music of the Trecento
with The Folger Consort

Where
Folger Shakespeare Library – Elizabethan Theatre
201 East Capitol Street Southeast
Washington, DC 20003
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When
December 14, 2012 8pm
December 15, 2012 5pm
December 15, 2012 8pm
December 16, 2012 5pm
December 16, 2012 2pm
December 19, 2012 7:30pm
December 20, 2012 7:30pm
December 21, 2012 8pm
December 22, 2012 2pm
December 22, 2012 5pm
December 23, 2012 2pm
Tickets: $50

Pre-concert discussion
Friday, December 14, 7pm
Free

Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.

A Lenten Memorial Concert and Fundraiser

Carol Chickering, soprano
Maren Montalbano, mezzo-soprano
William Burden, tenor
Brian Ming Chu, baritone

with orchestra and the Redeemer choirs
Michael Stairs, organist
Michael Diorio, director

Where
Church of the Redeemer
230 Pennswood Road
Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
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When
Friday, March 16, 2012 at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets $20, ($10 students) available online or at the door.
Advance ticket purchase is recommended for priority seating.
Childcare available by advance online request.

All proceeds go to benefit the music program at The Redeemer.

Click here to purchase tickets

Millersville University

Maren Montalbano, mezzo-soprano
Millersville University choirs
Dr. Mark Boyle, conductor

Where
Steinman Hall
The Ware Center
Millersville University Lancaster
42 N. Prince St.
Lancaster, PA 17603

When
MASTERCLASS: Saturday, March 3, 2012 at 12:00 PM (free)
CONCERT: Saturday, March 3, 2012 at 7:30 PM (tickets: $10 – free for students)

For more information, contact the Millersville music department at 717-872-3357.

Lyric Fest’s ‘Bawdy Bard’ – Tom Purdom for Broad Street Review, September 27, 2011

Mezzo Maren Montalbano added color and personal liveliness; bass Colin Dill contributed a pleasingly unforced masculinity; and tenor Steven Bradshaw spanned a broad range with a knowledgeable feel for the nuances of period music. They’re all notably expressive vocalists.
…
Montalbano: Cheerfully risqué.

Michael Caruso of Chestnut Hill Local, September 26, 2011

Leslie Johnson’s soprano rang with scintillating brilliance beautifully paired with creamy refinement. Maren Montalbano’s mezzo rang with throaty vibrancy and tawny resonance. Steven Bradshaw’s tenor took flight with effortless projection and eloquent lyricism. And Colin Dill’s baritone coursed with power cloaked in velvet. Glandorf achieved equally exemplary results with the choir as a whole. Blend and balance were flawless, pitch and tuning were immaculate, and phrasing was arched and shapely.

Musically, the Undark Ages – by Lewis Whittington for ConcertoNet.com, October 11, 2011

…“L’autrier jost’una sebissa,” a 12th century pastorale by Marcabru sung by Montalbano and Dill made it a saucy mezzo and basso duet. “Le Chant des oiseaux” from the 14th century by Clément Janequin is an a capella quartet for the soloists who all displayed both silky technique in the vocal overlays and crisp interlocks in the transitional phrases.

Choral Arts Society’s Gesualdo Program (2nd Review):

David Price’s dark tenor and Maren Montalbano’s mezzo created a vivid, remorseless picture of a father tormented by divided loyalties and a son who gradually works out the truth of his situation.

Choral society in top form for program of sacred works

The soloists, who were featured throughout the concert, were impressive…Soprano Jennifer Michalik (who sings with the Wheatland Chorale) has a crystalline timbre, and alto Maren Montalbano Brehm is equally clear in the lower range. The four blended beautifully in all their work.

Reading Choral Society

Peter Hopkins, conductor
Jennifer Michalik, soprano
Maren Montalbano, mezzo-soprano
Steve McMahon, tenor
Jackson Williams, bass

Where
Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church
701 Franklin Street
West Reading, PA 19611

When
Sunday, April 10, 2011 at 4:00 PM

General Admission
$18 advance tickets
$20 at door
Students $1 at door
To order tickets, call the RCS office: (610) 898-1939

Written in 1952, Britten adapted text from medieval language of the Chester Miracle Plays rather than the authorized version of Bible. During this canticle, Britten portrays the most dramatic moment in the life of Abraham as recounted in Genesis 22, the binding and near sacrifice of his beloved son Isaac in obedience to God.
- program notes from Krista Tippett’s Being from American Public Media

Benjamin Britten

David Price – Abraham
Maren Montalbano – Isaac
Matthew Glandorf – conductor

Where:
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church
1625 Locust Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103

When:
Friday, April 8, 2011 at 8:00pm

Click here to purchase tickets