Friday, August 21, 2026
Mireille Asselin, soprano
Tyler Duncan, baritone
Richard Pearson Thomas, piano
Will's Shed, 5:30 PM
Program
AMERICAN SONGBOOK
Good Evening, Montana
Blue Skies IRVING BERLIN
Don’t Fence Me In COLE PORTER
A Gershwin Affair
Someone to Watch Over Me GEORGE & IRA GERSHWIN
But Not For Me
I’ve Got a Crush on You
Fascinating Rhythm
I’ve Got Rhythm
Our Love is Here to Stay
It’s Complicated
In the Still of the Night COLE PORTER
I Wish it So MARC BLITZTSTEIN
My Funny Valentine RICHARD RODGERS & LORENZ HART
Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off GEORGE & IRA GERSHWIN
Fatal Attractions
Mack the Knife theme KURT WEILL
Poisoning Pigeons in the Park TOM LEHRER
The Ballad of the Shape of Things SHELDON HARNICK
In Summer-y
I Love a Piano IRVING BERLIN
Some Other Time LEONARD BERNSTEIN & BETTY COMDEN / ADOLPH GREEN
Damaged RICHARD PEARSON THOMAS
Mireille Asselin, soprano
Deemed “a treasure” by The Toronto Star, soprano Mireille Asselin enjoys a diverse international career that spans concert, opera, and recital work. As a member of the Metropolitan Opera’s roster for five years, she performed Adele in Die Fledermaus and Poussette in Manon, in addition to covering many other lead roles. This season she had her London West End debut, starring in Handel’s Giustino at the Royal Opera House. She is a respected interpreter of contemporary and early music and performs regularly with leading orchestras and period ensembles in North America and Europe.
In recent seasons Asselin has sung with the Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Garsington Opera, and the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris and at Carnegie Hall. Up next, she looks forward to performing the lead role of Nellie in 10 Days in a Madhouse, with Tapestry Opera and the Luminato Festival, and releasing a new album of works that were written for her by composer Tom Cipullo. Asselin is a graduate of the Canadian Opera Company Studio, Yale University, and the Royal Conservatory of Music. She has recorded for the Marquis Classics, Centrediscs, and CORO labels.
Tyler Duncan, baritone
With a voice described by The Globe and Mail as “honey-coloured and warm, yet robust and commanding,” Tyler Duncan has performed worldwide to great acclaim in both opera and concert repertoire. He has collaborated with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Tafelmusik, Minnesota Orchestra, and the Kansas City Symphony.
He appears regularly at the Metropolitan Opera, featured in roles such as Prince Yamadori in Madama Butterfly, The Journalist in Lulu, and Fiorello in The Barber of Seville. He also performed in its recent production of Terence Blanchard’s Champion. Recent roles in newer operas include Raymond in Nic Gotham’s Nigredo Hotel with City Opera Vancouver and in the world premiere of Jonathan Berger’s Leonardo at New York’s 92nd Street Y.
A renowned Bach interpreter, Duncan has sung with Les violons du Roy, Tafelmusik, Early Music Vancouver, Music of the Baroque, and The Handel and Haydn Society, among others. He has performed widely in recital, often with pianist Erika Switzer. They have released two albums: English Songs à la française and A Left Coast, both on Bridge Records.
As a faculty member of the prestigious Vocal Arts Program Bard College, Mr. Duncan finds joy in helping the next generation of singers find their true voice.
Richard Pearson Thomas, piano
The composer and pianist Richard Pearson Thomas has had works performed by the Boston Pops, Covent Garden Festival, Sydney Opera House, Houston Grand Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, Banff Centre, Portland Opera, Skylight Opera, and Encompass Opera. His songs have been sung in Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Merkin Concert Hall, Wigmore Hall, and Joe’s Pub, as well as before the U.S. Congress.
Thomas has received commissions from the Mirror Visions Ensemble, American Composers’ Forum, Great Falls Symphony Orchestra, Empire State Youth Orchestra, Lebanon Valley College Orchestra, United States Air Force Band of the Golden West, Cal State Fullerton Opera, Westchester Philharmonic Orchestra, and Riverside Philharmonic Orchestra. His work Race for the Sky, a commemoration of the events of 9/11, has been performed in recitals nationwide and abroad.
Thomas's chamber music has been performed by Five Boroughs Music Festival, Duo Terlano, Trillium Ensemble, and South Country Concerts and recorded by Music of the Spheres Society for broadcast on NPR.
As a pianist, Thomas has concertized with singers and chamber musicians worldwide.
Thomas is on faculty at Columbia University Teachers College. He has taught at Yale and the University of Central Florida. A native of Montana, he is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and the University of Southern California.
Good Evening, Montana
Blue Skies IRVING BERLIN
Don’t Fence Me In COLE PORTER
A Gershwin Affair
Someone to Watch Over Me GEORGE & IRA GERSHWIN
But Not For Me
I’ve Got a Crush on You
Fascinating Rhythm
I’ve Got Rhythm
Our Love is Here to Stay
It’s Complicated
In the Still of the Night COLE PORTER
I Wish it So MARC BLITZTSTEIN
My Funny Valentine RICHARD RODGERS & LORENZ HART
Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off GEORGE & IRA GERSHWIN
Fatal Attractions
Mack the Knife theme KURT WEILL
Poisoning Pigeons in the Park TOM LEHRER
The Ballad of the Shape of Things SHELDON HARNICK
In Summer-y
I Love a Piano IRVING BERLIN
Some Other Time LEONARD BERNSTEIN & BETTY COMDEN / ADOLPH GREEN
Damaged RICHARD PEARSON THOMAS
Mireille Asselin, soprano
Deemed “a treasure” by The Toronto Star, soprano Mireille Asselin enjoys a diverse international career that spans concert, opera, and recital work. As a member of the Metropolitan Opera’s roster for five years, she performed Adele in Die Fledermaus and Poussette in Manon, in addition to covering many other lead roles. This season she had her London West End debut, starring in Handel’s Giustino at the Royal Opera House. She is a respected interpreter of contemporary and early music and performs regularly with leading orchestras and period ensembles in North America and Europe.
In recent seasons Asselin has sung with the Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Garsington Opera, and the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris and at Carnegie Hall. Up next, she looks forward to performing the lead role of Nellie in 10 Days in a Madhouse, with Tapestry Opera and the Luminato Festival, and releasing a new album of works that were written for her by composer Tom Cipullo. Asselin is a graduate of the Canadian Opera Company Studio, Yale University, and the Royal Conservatory of Music. She has recorded for the Marquis Classics, Centrediscs, and CORO labels.
Tyler Duncan, baritone
With a voice described by The Globe and Mail as “honey-coloured and warm, yet robust and commanding,” Tyler Duncan has performed worldwide to great acclaim in both opera and concert repertoire. He has collaborated with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Tafelmusik, Minnesota Orchestra, and the Kansas City Symphony.
He appears regularly at the Metropolitan Opera, featured in roles such as Prince Yamadori in Madama Butterfly, The Journalist in Lulu, and Fiorello in The Barber of Seville. He also performed in its recent production of Terence Blanchard’s Champion. Recent roles in newer operas include Raymond in Nic Gotham’s Nigredo Hotel with City Opera Vancouver and in the world premiere of Jonathan Berger’s Leonardo at New York’s 92nd Street Y.
A renowned Bach interpreter, Duncan has sung with Les violons du Roy, Tafelmusik, Early Music Vancouver, Music of the Baroque, and The Handel and Haydn Society, among others. He has performed widely in recital, often with pianist Erika Switzer. They have released two albums: English Songs à la française and A Left Coast, both on Bridge Records.
As a faculty member of the prestigious Vocal Arts Program Bard College, Mr. Duncan finds joy in helping the next generation of singers find their true voice.
Richard Pearson Thomas, piano
The composer and pianist Richard Pearson Thomas has had works performed by the Boston Pops, Covent Garden Festival, Sydney Opera House, Houston Grand Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, Banff Centre, Portland Opera, Skylight Opera, and Encompass Opera. His songs have been sung in Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Merkin Concert Hall, Wigmore Hall, and Joe’s Pub, as well as before the U.S. Congress.
Thomas has received commissions from the Mirror Visions Ensemble, American Composers’ Forum, Great Falls Symphony Orchestra, Empire State Youth Orchestra, Lebanon Valley College Orchestra, United States Air Force Band of the Golden West, Cal State Fullerton Opera, Westchester Philharmonic Orchestra, and Riverside Philharmonic Orchestra. His work Race for the Sky, a commemoration of the events of 9/11, has been performed in recitals nationwide and abroad.
Thomas's chamber music has been performed by Five Boroughs Music Festival, Duo Terlano, Trillium Ensemble, and South Country Concerts and recorded by Music of the Spheres Society for broadcast on NPR.
As a pianist, Thomas has concertized with singers and chamber musicians worldwide.
Thomas is on faculty at Columbia University Teachers College. He has taught at Yale and the University of Central Florida. A native of Montana, he is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and the University of Southern California.