BAY HEAD — While Bay Head Chapel is not technically an opera house, the acoustics seemed up to the task last Sunday, as singers performed in “A Taste of Broadway & Opera.”
As part of an ongoing concert series, the chapel welcomed acclaimed artists to perform a variety of Broadway and operatic songs for a packed house of residents on Sunday afternoon.
The artists were Julia Radosz, an American-Canadian soprano who currently lives in Slovakia; Edgar Jaramillio, a New York-born opera singer by night; and Christopher Cooley, who played piano throughout the whole performance.
Doug Schwarz, trustee of Bay Head Chapel, told The Ocean Star he thought the whole evening went phenomenally, as he struggled to find the right words. He commended two other church trustees, Stephanie and Bobby O’Donnell, who helped organize the event.
“We are just so happy to have this turnout on a rainy Sunday in April,” Schwarz said. “It has been very fulfilling. The singers, and everything has been fantastic.”
Bobby O’Donnell, who was also emceeing the event, said, “It may be a gloomy day, but it is beautiful on the inside. We have a great turnout and I think it is amazing that we get so much unbelievable talent coming in to perform in Bay Head.”
Stephanie O’Donnell echoed this point and added, “It helps that this chapel has beautiful acoustics and piano. I have never seen these people perform live before, but I have seen them online.”
She explained that she and Radosz have a mutual friend, so she was aware of her capabilities as a singer long before she ever saw her online. Stephanie O’Donnell commended both Radosz and Jaramillo for their incredible voices and powerful songs throughout the show.
Powerful is an understatement for this performance, as their voices carried and echoed throughout the church, hitting all who attended. The passion and presence they evoked with each of the pieces resonated throughout the crowd, as thunderous applause rang out after each performance.
“Being in between New York City and Philadelphia, to get this kind of talent you would have to travel to a metropolitan area, but in our little town here of Bay Head in the Bay Head Chapel we feel just so blessed and fortunate to get such amazing, internationally acclaimed talent right here for the locals,” said Bobby O’Donnell.
One of the attendees of the event was Mayor Bill Curtis, who told The Ocean Star, “I don’t think we have ever had an event like this in Bay Head before. This is phenomenal, combining the classics with opera and show business. This is an amazing feat and these performers were top-notch. Stephanie and Bobby, who are trustees, did a great job in putting this together. I just can’t speak highly enough of it.”
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