“We want to make sure every concert, every lecture is open to the public,” he said. “This is not just about education; we want people to enjoy it, too.”
To that end, Belov also plans to offer some impromptu performances in the community. Students will take the stage at Turkey Rama, as well.
Most of Aquilon’s performances and lectures will be open to the public without charge. Others, including the operas and recitals at local wineries, will cost $10 to $25. Tickets are limited, so they must be ordered in advance through the festival website, www.aquilonmusicfestival.org.
“I don’t want to see any seats empty,” said Belov, a Russian native who performs and teaches globally.
He said one of his most important missions is to bring classical music to the community — to both opera fans and those who have not yet become fans — as well as bring in listeners so that students experience performaning in front of audiences.
For him, opera is irresistible. He agrees with renowned composer Richard Wagner that opera is “gesamtkunstwerk,” a German word that means “complete art,” fusing orchestra, poetry, singing, scenic design, dance and other artistic disciplines into one.
“Opera is a powerful, powerful and beautiful art form,” Belov said. “It’s capable of expressing every human emotion.”
Opera has existed since 1600. Although many people know less about opera than pop, rock and country these days, it has always had a following, he said.
“We just don’t get to hear it live often enough,” he said.
The Linfield professor has been planning for years for the first Aquilon Music Festival. He taught at a similar summer program in Maine for eight years, and after joining the Linfield faculty decided to establish a festival in Oregon. “Everyone wants to be in the Willamette Valley in summer,” he said.
In the case of Aquilon, vocalists will train and perform using unknown and rarely-heard vocal repertoire, he said. In addition to the operas and vineyard performances, the festival will feature multiple vocal chamber music recitals, master classes and lectures, plus master classes in conducting, deconstructing Baroque opera and other topics.
“We’re going to be so busy,” Belov said.
He had hoped the initial festival would attract at least 40 applicants. Instead, almost 140 applied. It took days and days of reviewing résumés and video auditions to narrow the number of students to 35, he said.
These “young artists,” average age 26, are very serious vocal students with extensive training, he said. All have completed college music programs; many have at least a master’s degree. “They’re preprofessionals,” he said.
They come from all over the U.S. — including Oregon. One of the students is Megan Uhrinak, who graduated from Linfield and is pursuing her master’s in vocal performance at Portland State University.
A list of the diverse group of students, with short biographies and the roles they will play in the Aquilon operas, can be found on the website, www.aquilongmusicfestival.org.
Along with top-notch students, Aquilon attracted numerous well-known and highly skilled instructors, said Belov, who will teach in addition to organizing the 21-day festival. The list includes:
- Hideki Yamaya, who specializes in the largest instrument in the lute family, the theorbo. The stringed instrument is one of the lowest in the Baroque orchestra. At more than six feet in length, it is so large, it occupied its own seat on the airplane that brought Yamaya to Oregon, Belov said.
- Hannah Penn, a mezzo- soprano. She will perform, along with students, at An Evening of Renaissance Lute Songs on July 5 and 15 at the Black Walnut Inn and Vineyard in the hills above Dundee.
- Musicologist Natasha Roule, a Harvard Ph.D who did her dissertation on “La Chute de Phaeton.” She discovered the almost-forgotten opera in the dusty stacks of a library in France, Belov said.
- Ian Pomerantz, Roule’s husband, bass-baritone and an expert on the French Baroque period and its music.
- Violinist and conductor Monica Huggett, artistic director of the Portland Baroque Orchestra.
- Barbara Day Turner, a renowned conductor and harpischordist who leads the San Jose Chamber Orchestra.
- Daniel Helfgot, Turner’s husband, who has directed operas all over the world.
- Historical performance specialist Byron Schenkman, a harpsichord and keyboard instructor who focuses on 17th and 18th century Baroque keyboards.
- Baritone Richard Zeller, a performer and vocal teacher whom Belov — as an artist himself — greatly admires.
- Pianist Wenwen Du, who will teach collaborative piano; dancer Alexis Silver, who will teach Baroque choreography; and baritone Jeffrey Williams, who will teach voice.
Belov said Linfield and local arts supporters have helped make the nonprofit festival possible. He hopes to garner more donations and, possibly, grants in the future in order to make it tuition-free for students.
For more about the Aquilon Music Festival, go to the website, www.aquilonmusicfestival.org.
Aquilon Music Festival
Performance highlights:
- “An Evening of Renaissance Lute Songs,” 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 5, and Sunday, July 15, at the Black Walnut Inn & Vineyard, 9600 N.E. Worden Hill Road, Dundee. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students and seniors.
- The Banquet of Bacchus, featuring soloists and small ensembles, 5 p.m. Sunday, July 8, at Youngberg Hill Winery & Inn, 10660 S.W. Youngberg Hill Road, McMinnville. Tickets are $20 adults, $15 for seniors and $10 for students.
- “An Evening of Early Lieder,” or a songfest, 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 10, in the Delkin Recital Hall, Vivian Bull Music Center on the Linfield campus. Tickets are $12 general and $8 students.
- “La Chute de Phaeton,” the modern premiere of a 17th century satirical opera about the embarrassing fall of a once-promising opera company in Lyon, France, 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, July 13 and 14, in the Marshall Theatre on the Linfield College campus. Tickets are $10 to $20.
- Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro,” 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, July 20 and 21, in the Marshall Theatre on the Linfield College campus. Tickets are $15 to $25.
Both operas will feature Aquilon students and other performers. Costumes are by Linda Mattson, a local costumer. English translations will be displayed above the action on stage.
Seating is limited for all the events. Tickets must be purchased in advance through the festival website, www.aquilongmusicfestival.org.
For more information, send e-mail to aquilonmusicfestival@gmail.com.
