October 8, 2001 Contact: Paula Mlyn

Alumna of the Juilliard Opera Center, soprano Jennifer Aylmer is the winner of the 2001 Alice Tully Vocal Arts Debut Recital which takes place on Wednesday, November 28 at 8 PM in Alice Tully Hall. Her pianist is Kenneth Merrill. Established in 1997, the Alice Tully Vocal Arts Debut Recital is an annual concert event established with a generous gift from the Alice Tully Foundation to promote outstanding young vocalists on the threshold of a professional career. Past recipients of the Alice Tully Vocal Arts Debut Recital Awards include soprano Sari Gruber, mezzo-soprano Stephanie Houtzeel, mezzo-soprano Mariana Karpatova, and baritone Randall Scarlata.

Ms. Aylmer will perform works including Kurt Weill's rarely heard Ofrah's Lieder (1916); Poulenc's Trois pomes de Louise de Vilmorin; and Shostakovich's Satires, op. 109. The program also features songs by de Almeida, Villa-Lobos, Braga, and five selections from Bolcom's Cabaret Songs, Books 1-4 (1970s-90s). Tickets are required for this concert and are $20 and $15. They may be purchased after October 29 at the Alice Tully Hall Box Office, or by calling CenterCharge (212) 721-6500. Alice Tully Hall is located on the northwest corner of 65th Street and Broadway.

A native of Oceanside, NY, soprano Jennifer Aylmer received her bachelor of music degree and Performer's Certificate from the Eastman School of Music. Ms. Aylmer's 2001-2002 performances feature a vast array of appearances. On the opera stage, she makes her debut in A Streetcar Named Desire as Stella Kowalski with the Austin Lyric Opera, a company she will return to later in the season for her first performances of Gilda in Rigoletto; and her debut with the Kentucky Opera as Nanetta in Falstaff. In concert, Ms. Aylmer returns to the Rochester Philharmonic for performances of Barber's Knoxville: Summer of 1915; and in recital she will appear with the New York Festival of Song, as well as the Brownville Concert Series in Nebraska - both under the auspices of the Marilyn Horne Foundation.

In the 2000-2001 seasons, Ms. Aylmer also appeared under the auspices of the Marilyn Horne Foundation at the Kosciusko Foundation in New York, made her Rochester Philharmonic debut as the soprano soloist in Elijah, and her Wheeling Symphony debut in a program of opera favorites. She was the soprano soloist at the Beijing Music Festival in a program celebrating the music of Leonard Bernstein. In New York, Ms. Aylmer appeared in an evening of the music of Kurt Weill presented by Regina Resnik at the Kaye Playhouse, and has performed concerts with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the New York Festival of Song.

With the Houston Grand Opera Ms. Aylmer has appeared as Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro and created the role of Amy in the world premiere of Mark Adamo's Little Women. She has also appeared with the Minnesota Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, New York City Opera, and the Aspen Music Festival as well as on the orchestral stage with the National Symphony Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, and the Florida Philharmonic. A highly experienced performer of contemporary works, Ms. Aylmer sang the role of Cynthia Reid, specifically written for her, in the world premiere of Bernard Rand's Belladonna at the Aspen Music Festival, conducted by David Zinman. Also in Aspen, she has appeared in Augusta Read Thomas' Ligiea. Ms. Aylmer is also the recipient of many honors and awards, most recently including a Career Grant from the William Matheus Sullivan Foundation. Other notable awards include the Palm Beach Opera Competition, the Richard F. Gold Career Grant, an encouragement award from Opera Index, the National Society of Arts and Letters, second prize in the 1997 Oratorio Society of New York Competition, several Opera Fellowship Awards at the Aspen Music Festival and the 1996 Catherine Filene Shouse Career Grant from the Wolf Trap Opera Company.

Pianist Kenneth Merrill has appeared in concert with artists such as Gerard Souzay, Anna Moffo, Robert Merrill, Eleanor Steber, James King, Jan DeGaetani, John Aler, Neil Rosenshein, Paul Groves, Charlotte Hellekant, Faith Esham, and Jeanette Thompson. He recently began an association with Regina Resnik Presents, which sponsors recitals built around specific composers or themes. These recitals are accompanied by narrations from Mme. Resnik and have featured singers including Jennifer Aylmer, Ruth Golden, and Michael Philip Davis.

As conductor of opera, he has led productions of Britten's The Burning Fiery Furnace and The Beggar's Opera, Mozart's The Impresario, Handel's Acis and Galatea, Monteverdi's L'Incoronazione di Poppea, Cavalli's La Calisto, Rossini's La Cenerentola, and most recently, Purcell's Dido and Aeneas and Britten's Albert Herring with the Juilliard Opera Theater. In 1995 he was head of musical preparation and played harpsichord continuo for the Houston Grand Opera production of Rossini's La Cenerentola, with Cecilia Bartoli in the title role. This performance has been issued on London CD and Video. In 1997 he was head of musical preparation for the Houston production of Mozart's Die Zauberflte. As harpsichordist and organist, he has appeared in many concerts of early music, particularly with the Baroque ensemble Affetti Musicali, which he helped to found in 1992.

Mr. Merrill received his bachelor of music degree from the University of Arkansas and his master of music degree from Juilliard and currently coaches singers as a faculty member of The Juilliard School Vocal Arts Department. Also a member of the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music, he teaches song repertoire, accompanying, and vocal-instrumental ensemble. Mr. Merrill has been associated with the Aspen Music Festival since 1980, acting as head coach for the Aspen Opera Theater Center. In 1998 he began an association with the Chautauqua Institution Voice Program, and in 1999 he was appointed a visiting lecturer in vocal repertoire at Princeton University. Most recently he has begun an association with the New National Theater of Tokyo.