PITTSBURGH—Maestro Ronald Zollman will lead the Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic in concert at 8 p.m., Thursday, April 8 in New York City’s Carnegie Hall. The event, which serves as the capstone of a College of Fine Arts weekend in New York City, will feature rising Metropolitan Opera star and School of Music alumnus Liam Bonner in Mahler’s “Lieder eines Farhrende Gesellen.” The concert also will include a New York premiere performance of Jacob Druckman’s “Demos” (1992), and will close with Stravinsky’s vibrant and fanciful “Petrouchka.”

Bonner and the Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic will perform a Pittsburgh preview of the concert for local audiences at 8 p.m., Tuesday, April 6 in Oakland’s Carnegie Music Hall.

“We are thrilled to welcome Liam Bonner back to Carnegie Mellon for this momentous occasion,” said Noel Zahler, head of the School of Music. “The great success he has already enjoyed in his professional career is a testament to both his incredible talent and his training; it is an honor to have him perform with the Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic in both Pittsburgh and New York City.”

Bonner was heralded by Opera News for his “rich, versatile voice” and “beautiful instrument.” The Washington Times said the rising baritone possesses a “deft comic touch backed by a hefty, well-supported instrument that would make for a wonderful Figaro.”
Bonner recently made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Morales in “Carmen” and will join the company for its production of “Hamlet.” He will make his role and company debut as Dottore Malatesta in “Don Pasquale” with Opera New Jersey.

In the 2008-09 season, Bonner made his European operatic debut as Guglielmo in “Così fan tutte” at English National Opera, returned to Houston Grand Opera for Claudio in “Béatrice et Bénédict” and Demetrius in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” and appeared in a gala concert with L’Opéra de Québec. He holds a bachelor’s degree in vocal performance from Carnegie Mellon, where he studied with Douglas Ahlstedt, associate professor of voice. Bonner earned a master’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music.

Tickets for the Carnegie Hall concert are $15 and $25.

The Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic is comprised of student musicians from across the United States and 19 foreign countries.

Philharmonic performances have been received enthusiastically by audiences and critics at such prestigious institutions as New York City’s Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Boston’s Symphony Hall and Severance Hall in Cleveland. Its recordings appear on the Mode Records, New World Records, New Albion and Carnegie Mellon record labels. The orchestra has alumni in the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the Seattle Symphony, among many others.