The Music Ministries of Saint Joseph’s Church will present a concert of Irish and Italian music by I-Squared, Saturday, March 7th, 2020, at 7:30 pm at Saint Joseph’s Church, 95 Plum Brook Road, Somers, New York 10589.

Tenors Jim Russell and Matt Surapine will perform a program of Irish and Italian classical and folk music. Concert held in the church; reception follows in the parish center. Tickets are $20, and can be purchased in advance in the Parish Office, beginning on Monday, February 10th. Tickets will also be available for sale in the Church Narthex after all masses the weekend of February 29-March 1, and at the main doors on the evening of the concert.

For more information, contact the Music Office at 914-232-910 or email us at [email protected].

A Program of Irish and Italian Song, I² is a concert event that combines the music of Italy with the music of Ireland. Conceived in 2000, this is a delightful program that has been thrilling audiences by coupling the world’s best loved arias and Neapolitan songs with music from the Emerald Isle. The program is presented by Matthew Surapine and Jim Russell, world class tenors, who, for the last 10 years, have performed extensively with the world’s leading opera companies and orchestras, on television, at music festivals and in recital. Mr. Surapine and Mr. Russell combine their magnificent tenor voices with traditional Irish instruments to create a performance unlike any other. In addition to the classic Irish ballads, Mr. Surapine and Mr. Russell add a classical flair to music usually reserved for the Pubs and Irish Festivals. They combine the soaring operatic lines of Rossini, Donizetti, & Verdi, with the sunny music of Naples, to create the quintessential experience for the lover of Italian Music. This unique synthesis of music from two cultures well known for their great tenors, provides an experience no music lover will want to miss.

American tenor Jim Russell is well known as an opera performer recitalist and concert singer. He has appeared as a soloist in many of North America’s major concert halls. In New York he has appeared hundreds of times at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall: with the New York City Opera, National Chorale, and The Opera Orchestra of New York. Other notables include his solo work on PGM Recording’s The Buxtehude Project Volume I – Sacred Cantatas: which received “Four Stars for sound and performance” from the BBC and was called “A Must Have” by Gramophone Magazine.. He can also be heard on the PGM Recording Heavens Resounding – A Baroque Christmas and on the Delos label singing the role of the Concessionaire in William Schuman’s The Mighty Casey. Jim lives in Pearl River, NY with his wife Jeanette two sons Aidan and Owen and daughter Grace. He serves as Music Director of St. Paul’s Church in Congers, NY.

Matthew Surapine, Tenor, has won acclaim across North America for the beauty and incisiveness of his singing and for his spirited stage portrayals. Mr. Surapine has sung with many of the country’s leading opera companies and orchestras. Career highlights include performances with: The New York City Opera, St. Louis Opera Theatre, Kansas City Lyric Opera, El Paso Opera, Opera Grand Rapids, Jacksonville Symphony, Little Orchestra Society as well as 3 seasons as a principal singer with the Metropolitan Opera. As a strong supporter of introducing arts to children, Mr. Surapine has appeared in many children’s operas and music programs with The Crystal Opera (where he serves as a board member) and was guest artist at the Inauguration of The Franklin Performing Arts Center in Franklin, MA. Mr. Surapine resides in Norwalk, CT with his wife Elizabeth, and three daughters, Isabel, Gisela, and Irene and serves as Director of Music for The Roman Catholic Church of St. Mary in Norwalk, CT

Pianist/Arranger Sol Bloch is highly regarded as one of the brightest most versatile musicians working today. He is an assistant choral director at CUNY’s Herbert Lehman College, music director of several summer theatre programs for children, and most recently was named Director of Choral Music at Fieldstone Intermediate School. He is in great demand as an accompanist, clinician and arranger. Sol has studied with some of the country’s foremost musicians including Academy Award and Pulitzer Prize winning composer John Corigliano. In addition to his classical and theatre endeavors Sol has been recognized with a MAC Award nomination for his work as a performer and arranger with the popular vocal group High Five.