Over the Rainbow Association's CELEBRATION December 12, 2010

Join us for an afternoon of beautiful contemporary, classical and holiday music.
Meet The Stars!
Two-time Grammy Award winner Sylvia McNair lays claim to a stellar, twenty-five-year career in the musical realms of opera, oratorio, cabaret and musical theater. Sylvia’s journey has taken her to many venues around the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, the Salzburg Festival, the New York Philharmonic, the Rainbow Room, the Ravinia Festival, The Plaza, the Terrace Room at The Plaza, the Carlyle Hotel, and Feinstein’s in New York, to name just
a few.

Nancy Gustafson, a world-acclaimed opera star and older sister of one of Rainbow’s residents, organized the first CELEBRATION benefit concert in 1989 at Pick-Staiger to raise funds to complete the renovation of Hill Arboretum Apartments in Evanston. Out of that initial concert an annual tradition was born. Over the ensuing 20 years, Nancy has brought over 50 world-renowned artists, choirs, and orchestras to the CELEBRATION stage and raised over $3.5 million dollars to increase independent living and employment opportunities for adults with physical disabilities. We are all very grateful to Nancy for her devotion to Over The Rainbow Association and its mission.

Michael DeVries, new to the CELEBRATION stage, has been playing the role of Father in the Broadway production of Wicked for over five years. His other Broadway credits include CATS, Grand Hotel , Secret Garden, Hello Dolly and King David. His TV credits include numerous episodes of Law & Order, and guest spots on Sex and the City, Philly, The District, and Royal Pains. Concert performances include Carnegie Hall and the Hollywood Bowl.

American tenor Richard Leech has been referred to in the press as “A National Treasure.” For more than twenty years, he has been singing many of the most demanding and well-known roles of the Italian and French repertoire, both on disc and on the stages of the world’s leading opera houses. Richard’s versatility as a performer of so many genres is truly awe-inspiring and timeless.

Dominic Armstrong is a tenor on the rise. A graduate of both The Curtis Institute and The Juilliard School, Mr. Armstrong has performed a vast range of operas in many styles. From the early music of Cavalli to the contemporary works of Argento, to the standards of Mozart, Donizetti, and Puccini, and even the musical theatre of Bernstein and Loesser, Dominic has continued to successfully prove his vocal versatility.

Paul LaRosa is welcomed back by Over The Rainbow Association for its 21st annual CELEBRATION concert. From opera to the Broadway musical genre, Paul LaRosa continues to prove his vocal talent as a masterful baritone. A member of the Julliard Opera Center, he has performed all over the world. This season he performs with the Lyric Opera of Chicago in Carmen, A Masked Ball, and Girl of the Golden West.

Matthew Worth was hailed by the Dallas Morning News for his “dashing, fine bright baritone” and the New York Times for a voice that is “fully powered and persuasively expressive.” Matthew has traveled to the Juilliard Opera Center, the Glimmerglass Opera, Carnegie Hall, and Zankel Hall. As a member of the Juilliard Opera Center, Mr. Worth has appeared in many productions, including numerous title roles.