The Charles Wesley Music Foundation and Sewickley United Methodist Church are excited to host two of Pittsburgh’s premiere musicians, pianist Ellen Fast and soprano Charlene Canty, for an afternoon of beautiful music for piano and soprano voice.
Soprano, Charlene Canty is an accomplished performer of operatic and sacred works, and she is in demand as a concert soloist and recitalist and has been broadcast in recital by WQED-FM 89.3.
She has performed major operatic roles in Don Giovanni, Norma, Porgy & Bess, Le Nozze di Figaro, and La Bohème and she is equally at home on the concert stage as a recitalist and soloist and has been featured in an array of choral works from Bach’s Passions to the Requiems of Verdi & Brahms. Ms. Canty enjoys performing with various organizations throughout the region including the Pittsburgh Camerata, the Pittsburgh Opera and Resonance Works.
.A recipient of numerous awards and honors, Charlene Canty is a previous winner of the Pittsburgh Concert Society Major Auditions and she is a two-time scholarship recipient of the Ezio Pinza Council for American Singers of Opera.
Pianist, Ellen Fast is an active contributor to Pittsburgh’s music scene. She founded the Jade Piano Trio, which gave its debut performance in October 2018 and was selected to participate in the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra’s SoundBites: Musician Takeover concert in April 2021.
Ellen is a sought-after choral accompanist and plays (and sings!) for the chamber choirs Pittsburgh Camerata and Voces Solis. Additionally, she is a member of the Chancel Choir at Shadyside Presbyterian Church and previously sang with the twelve-voice women’s ensemble Seraphic Singers and as a professional Core member for the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh.
Ellen received a master’s degree in collaborative piano performance from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where she was a student of Martha Fischer and a recipient of several scholarships. Her undergraduate degree is from Goshen College in northern Indiana, where she studied with Marvin Blickenstaff and was a winner of the school’s annual Concerto-Aria Competition.
Admission is free, and all are welcome to join us for this intimate musical experience.
Donations will be gratefully accepted to support the music ministries of Sewickley United Methodist Church, and the ongoing work of the Charles Wesley Music Foundation, which continues to bring music and community together.