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Byna Concert
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Byna on Austin360.com
Austin Interfaith Arts & Music Festival
Composers Forum: Rudy Davenport
Zvents
Austin Soprano Marie Betcher in an encore performance of Rudy Davenport’s BYNA
Soprano Marie Betcher in BYNA
Saturday, August 28, 2010 at 8:00 PM
Central Presbyterian Church, 8th and Brazos, Austin, Texas
Acclaimed soprano Marie Betcher in an encore performance of Rudy Davenport & Delilah Elsen's BYNA:
Life Songs of a Southern Appalachian Woman of Cherokee Descent. Featuring Douglas Harvey- Principal
Cellist- Austin Symphony & Austin Lyric Opera, Austin Haller- Associate Music Director of St. David's
Episcopal Church and Kevin Berg- 2009 Finalist for Principal Oboist-San Francisco Symphony. Presented
by The Austin Interfaith Arts and Music Festival. For more information go to: http://www.
austininterfaithfestival.org/concert.htm or www.rudydavenport.com
Rudy Davenport and Delilah Elsen spent many hours working on this major chamber music work. The
lyrics for BYNA are from a play of the same title, written by Elsen, who is originally from Western North
Carolina. Byna’s songs are based on the character’s life experiences as a mountain woman. It is hailed as
a significant representation of women of Cherokee descent from the early 1900s on; those who lived in the
mountains their entire lives, deeply in tune with the beauty and the natural world around them. Davenport
and Elsen settled on 10 passages from the original play for Byna’s life songs. Altogether, Davenport set
10 sets of lyrics to music and also created and added a new arrangement of an old gospel hymn. The
work also features four original instrumental interludes. Performance time for this work runs just over one
hour.
BYNA not only gives voice to an older mountain woman’s profound memories and perspectives, but also
reminds one of the history and deep cultural heritage that sprang from the Southern Appalachian region,
unique in all America as the original homeland of the Cherokees. Elsen’s words set to Davenport’s music
truly makes for a dynamic musical experience, as evidenced by the fact that BYNA attracted the attention
of both the Smithsonian Institution and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts after only four
performances in the Appalachian region of the country.
The BYNA Ensemble
Marie Betcher has performed in concert at Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, New York University
Recital Hall, The Ambler Music Festival in Philadelphia and Piccolo Spoleto in Charleston, SC, among
many other venues. She has toured England and Sicily in concert performances. Marie was one of the
winners of the Bellini International Opera Competition in Sicily. She also won the West Palm Beach Civic
Opera Competition and was a finalist at the Dallas Dealey Awards Competition. She has sung with The
Las Vegas Symphony, The Pittsburgh Symphony, and The Austin Symphony and traveled with opera
theatre companies, such as Florida State University Opera Theatre and Indiana University Opera. Her
repertoire spans from Puccini and Verdi operas to Brahms Lied and Faure Chanson to Bach and Handel
arias. Classically trained as a pianist by Ray Sinatra in Las Vegas, Nevada, she also obtained her
Bachelor’s degree in Music and Master’s degree in Vocal Performance and studied with Margaret Harshaw
and Elizabeth Mannion, two of the top vocal instructors in the country. Marie received her Certification &
Investiture as a Cantor at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion-School of Sacred Music, New
York City. Cantor Betcher is currently the Spiritual Leader and Education Director for Congregation Shir
Ami in Cedar Park, Texas.
Douglas Harvey is the principal cellist of the Austin Symphony and the Austin Lyric Opera. He performed
his first concert as first cello of the Austin Symphony at age 18, and in 2002 became the youngest
principal cellist in the almost 100 year history of the Orchestra. In 2005, he was appointed principal cellist
of the Austin Lyric Opera Orchestra, which received rave reviews from the NY and LA Times for the US
Premiere of Phillip Glass's 21st opera, Waiting for the Barbarians. He has performed as a soloist across
the United States and in almost 20 different works for Cello and Orchestra. Recent performances included
the Brahms Double Concerto with the Bear Valley Festival Orchestra with violinist Larry Shapiro and
conductor Carter Nice, and two performances of Richard Strauss' Don Quixote with the Austin Symphony
Orchestra under the direction of Peter Bay. Harvey has performed hundreds of chamber works, old and
new, through the Salon Concert Series, Austin Chamber Music Center and the Chamber Soloists of Austin,
the Austin Quartet and guest appearances with other chamber music series. He was the New Young Artist
of the Victoria Bach Festival, the winner of the William C. Byrd, Corpus Christi, and Idyllwild Young Artists
international competitions, as well as the recipient of the UT’s Roy Crane Award.
Austin Haller serves as Organist and Associate Director of Music at St. David’s Episcopal Church (in
Austin), where he plays for over 120 services and concerts annually and conducts the St. David’s Singers,
one of the parish’s adult choirs. As a recitalist and accompanist, he has been heard in Texas, Colorado,
Montana, and South Carolina and plays regularly with a number of local ensembles, including the Austin
Children’s Choir. Austin also music-directs for local and regional theatre productions – recent shows
include The Music Man, My Favorite Year, A Journey through 50 Years of Zilker Summer Musicals (Zilker
Theatre Productions), Golf, the Musical (TexArts), Present Laughter (Zachary Scott Theatre; B. Iden
Payne Nominee for Music Direction), and Rockin’ Christmas Party (Zach). His cabaret act with singer Kara
Bliss can be seen regularly at various venues.
Kevin Berg received his Bachelor’s degree in Performance from the University of Montana at Missoula and
his Masters degree from The Butler School of Music at The University of Texas, where he is currently
studying for his Doctorate. He was a finalist in November 2009, for the Principal Oboist of the San
Francisco Symphony and is the 2nd Oboe/EH player for the Temple Symphony. He has also performed
with the Round Top Festival Orchestra, Evansville Philharmonic (IN), and the Helena, Missoula, and Butte
Symphonies in Montana, among others. Additionally, he performed in the world premiere of Christopher
Stark's Muir 10,188 ft in 2007. His principal teachers have included Rebecca Henderson and Mark
Ostoich.
Composer
Rudy Davenport holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music, and obtained a Masters of Divinity degree from
Sacred Heart School of Theology in Milwaukee. He has studied composition with Harold Schiffman and Dr.
John Boda at Florida State University, and the late Dr. John Downey in Milawaukee. His compositions are
known for the clarity of form, accessibility of harmonic language and inventiveness of melody. Among the
many works premiering recently, his Seven Innocent Dances, for Solo Harpsichord/Piano and pieces from
the Millennium Preludes were finalists and a part of the various collections of Alienor Competition winners
published by Wayne Leopold Editions. Davenport’s compositions for harpsichord have been recorded by
Dr. Larry Palmer, at Southern Methodist University (Music of Rudy Davenport, Limited Editions Recording)
and internationally known recording artist, Elaine Funaro (Dances with Harpsichord on Centaur). Recent
performances have included Ms. Funaro’s Australian premiere of the Sonata for Oboe and
Harpsichord/Piano, the Chamber Music Society of Wilmington's presentation of Songs of the Bride, the
Austin Symphony’s performance of Loving Peace, Chorale and Variations, and his major chamber
music work BYNA: Life Songs of a Southern Appalachian Woman of Cherokee Descent for which he was
awarded a Meet the Composer grant from the Southern Arts Federation, as well as an American
Composer’s Forum ENCORE grant.
Davenport has also recorded Remembering the Earth, featuring twelve original solo piano pieces, and
Christmas Wonder, a collection of twenty Christmas carols arranged for solo piano, as well as composing
for film. Morningstar Music Publishers has published several of Davenport’s collections of hymn
arrangements. He remains active in music ministry each weekend at St. Austin’s, St. Edward’s University
and St. Thomas Moore Catholic Church in Austin, and was the Director of Music at several large Catholic
churches prior to composing full-time.
Lyricist
Delilah Elsen has crafted a half dozen plays. Chief among these is Ida Lewis, A Visit With the Heroine, a
two-act play, based on the life and times of the renowned Victorian lighthouse keeper. The research also
led to a biography. The play was originally produced by the Rhode Island Shakespeare Theatre for the
city of Newport’s 350th anniversary and for the Bicentennial of the United States Lighthouse Service. It was
brought back for a six-week run the following season and scenes from the play formed the basis of A
Conversation With Ida Lewis, a work which toured libraries throughout Rhode Island as part of a state
project, What A Difference A Bay Makes, funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the
Humanities. In 2003 Elsen wrote The Day the Wright Brother’s Airplane First Flew—A Day to Remember, a
monologue first performed in North Carolina for the Chamber Music Society of Wilmington’s concert
celebration of the First Flight. It was later performed on public radio, WHQR, as part of the station’s First
Flight celebration on December 17, 2003 and included in their 20th anniversary CD of best offerings.
Elsen recently crafted lyrics based on her play Byna which spawned a major chamber music offering,
Byna: Life Songs of a Southern Appalachian Woman of Cherokee Descent. She is presently at work on
Winter Star, a two-act play with music and is writing a work based on the life of a Cherokee Indian chief,
Connecourt, also known as “Old Hop,” who lived in Western NC and east Tennessee during the colonial
period. Elsen serves on the board of Chamber Music Wilmington and recently earned a certificate from
Duke University in Non-Profit Management.
Contact:: William Parker, Development Director, AIAMF 512.495.9818 william@parkerinteriors.com
Mary Shanahan, Music Director, AIAMF 512.415.4500
marykshanahan@aol.com
The Interfaith Arts and Music Festival (AIAMF) seeks to provide opportunities for people of all faith
traditions and nationalities to encounter the transforming beauty of art and music.
###
Byna on Austin360.com
Austin Interfaith Arts & Music Festival
Composers Forum: Rudy Davenport
Zvents
Austin Soprano Marie Betcher in an encore performance of Rudy Davenport’s BYNA
Soprano Marie Betcher in BYNA
Saturday, August 28, 2010 at 8:00 PM
Central Presbyterian Church, 8th and Brazos, Austin, Texas
Acclaimed soprano Marie Betcher in an encore performance of Rudy Davenport & Delilah Elsen's BYNA:
Life Songs of a Southern Appalachian Woman of Cherokee Descent. Featuring Douglas Harvey- Principal
Cellist- Austin Symphony & Austin Lyric Opera, Austin Haller- Associate Music Director of St. David's
Episcopal Church and Kevin Berg- 2009 Finalist for Principal Oboist-San Francisco Symphony. Presented
by The Austin Interfaith Arts and Music Festival. For more information go to: http://www.
austininterfaithfestival.org/concert.htm or www.rudydavenport.com
Rudy Davenport and Delilah Elsen spent many hours working on this major chamber music work. The
lyrics for BYNA are from a play of the same title, written by Elsen, who is originally from Western North
Carolina. Byna’s songs are based on the character’s life experiences as a mountain woman. It is hailed as
a significant representation of women of Cherokee descent from the early 1900s on; those who lived in the
mountains their entire lives, deeply in tune with the beauty and the natural world around them. Davenport
and Elsen settled on 10 passages from the original play for Byna’s life songs. Altogether, Davenport set
10 sets of lyrics to music and also created and added a new arrangement of an old gospel hymn. The
work also features four original instrumental interludes. Performance time for this work runs just over one
hour.
BYNA not only gives voice to an older mountain woman’s profound memories and perspectives, but also
reminds one of the history and deep cultural heritage that sprang from the Southern Appalachian region,
unique in all America as the original homeland of the Cherokees. Elsen’s words set to Davenport’s music
truly makes for a dynamic musical experience, as evidenced by the fact that BYNA attracted the attention
of both the Smithsonian Institution and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts after only four
performances in the Appalachian region of the country.
The BYNA Ensemble
Marie Betcher has performed in concert at Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, New York University
Recital Hall, The Ambler Music Festival in Philadelphia and Piccolo Spoleto in Charleston, SC, among
many other venues. She has toured England and Sicily in concert performances. Marie was one of the
winners of the Bellini International Opera Competition in Sicily. She also won the West Palm Beach Civic
Opera Competition and was a finalist at the Dallas Dealey Awards Competition. She has sung with The
Las Vegas Symphony, The Pittsburgh Symphony, and The Austin Symphony and traveled with opera
theatre companies, such as Florida State University Opera Theatre and Indiana University Opera. Her
repertoire spans from Puccini and Verdi operas to Brahms Lied and Faure Chanson to Bach and Handel
arias. Classically trained as a pianist by Ray Sinatra in Las Vegas, Nevada, she also obtained her
Bachelor’s degree in Music and Master’s degree in Vocal Performance and studied with Margaret Harshaw
and Elizabeth Mannion, two of the top vocal instructors in the country. Marie received her Certification &
Investiture as a Cantor at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion-School of Sacred Music, New
York City. Cantor Betcher is currently the Spiritual Leader and Education Director for Congregation Shir
Ami in Cedar Park, Texas.
Douglas Harvey is the principal cellist of the Austin Symphony and the Austin Lyric Opera. He performed
his first concert as first cello of the Austin Symphony at age 18, and in 2002 became the youngest
principal cellist in the almost 100 year history of the Orchestra. In 2005, he was appointed principal cellist
of the Austin Lyric Opera Orchestra, which received rave reviews from the NY and LA Times for the US
Premiere of Phillip Glass's 21st opera, Waiting for the Barbarians. He has performed as a soloist across
the United States and in almost 20 different works for Cello and Orchestra. Recent performances included
the Brahms Double Concerto with the Bear Valley Festival Orchestra with violinist Larry Shapiro and
conductor Carter Nice, and two performances of Richard Strauss' Don Quixote with the Austin Symphony
Orchestra under the direction of Peter Bay. Harvey has performed hundreds of chamber works, old and
new, through the Salon Concert Series, Austin Chamber Music Center and the Chamber Soloists of Austin,
the Austin Quartet and guest appearances with other chamber music series. He was the New Young Artist
of the Victoria Bach Festival, the winner of the William C. Byrd, Corpus Christi, and Idyllwild Young Artists
international competitions, as well as the recipient of the UT’s Roy Crane Award.
Austin Haller serves as Organist and Associate Director of Music at St. David’s Episcopal Church (in
Austin), where he plays for over 120 services and concerts annually and conducts the St. David’s Singers,
one of the parish’s adult choirs. As a recitalist and accompanist, he has been heard in Texas, Colorado,
Montana, and South Carolina and plays regularly with a number of local ensembles, including the Austin
Children’s Choir. Austin also music-directs for local and regional theatre productions – recent shows
include The Music Man, My Favorite Year, A Journey through 50 Years of Zilker Summer Musicals (Zilker
Theatre Productions), Golf, the Musical (TexArts), Present Laughter (Zachary Scott Theatre; B. Iden
Payne Nominee for Music Direction), and Rockin’ Christmas Party (Zach). His cabaret act with singer Kara
Bliss can be seen regularly at various venues.
Kevin Berg received his Bachelor’s degree in Performance from the University of Montana at Missoula and
his Masters degree from The Butler School of Music at The University of Texas, where he is currently
studying for his Doctorate. He was a finalist in November 2009, for the Principal Oboist of the San
Francisco Symphony and is the 2nd Oboe/EH player for the Temple Symphony. He has also performed
with the Round Top Festival Orchestra, Evansville Philharmonic (IN), and the Helena, Missoula, and Butte
Symphonies in Montana, among others. Additionally, he performed in the world premiere of Christopher
Stark's Muir 10,188 ft in 2007. His principal teachers have included Rebecca Henderson and Mark
Ostoich.
Composer
Rudy Davenport holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music, and obtained a Masters of Divinity degree from
Sacred Heart School of Theology in Milwaukee. He has studied composition with Harold Schiffman and Dr.
John Boda at Florida State University, and the late Dr. John Downey in Milawaukee. His compositions are
known for the clarity of form, accessibility of harmonic language and inventiveness of melody. Among the
many works premiering recently, his Seven Innocent Dances, for Solo Harpsichord/Piano and pieces from
the Millennium Preludes were finalists and a part of the various collections of Alienor Competition winners
published by Wayne Leopold Editions. Davenport’s compositions for harpsichord have been recorded by
Dr. Larry Palmer, at Southern Methodist University (Music of Rudy Davenport, Limited Editions Recording)
and internationally known recording artist, Elaine Funaro (Dances with Harpsichord on Centaur). Recent
performances have included Ms. Funaro’s Australian premiere of the Sonata for Oboe and
Harpsichord/Piano, the Chamber Music Society of Wilmington's presentation of Songs of the Bride, the
Austin Symphony’s performance of Loving Peace, Chorale and Variations, and his major chamber
music work BYNA: Life Songs of a Southern Appalachian Woman of Cherokee Descent for which he was
awarded a Meet the Composer grant from the Southern Arts Federation, as well as an American
Composer’s Forum ENCORE grant.
Davenport has also recorded Remembering the Earth, featuring twelve original solo piano pieces, and
Christmas Wonder, a collection of twenty Christmas carols arranged for solo piano, as well as composing
for film. Morningstar Music Publishers has published several of Davenport’s collections of hymn
arrangements. He remains active in music ministry each weekend at St. Austin’s, St. Edward’s University
and St. Thomas Moore Catholic Church in Austin, and was the Director of Music at several large Catholic
churches prior to composing full-time.
Lyricist
Delilah Elsen has crafted a half dozen plays. Chief among these is Ida Lewis, A Visit With the Heroine, a
two-act play, based on the life and times of the renowned Victorian lighthouse keeper. The research also
led to a biography. The play was originally produced by the Rhode Island Shakespeare Theatre for the
city of Newport’s 350th anniversary and for the Bicentennial of the United States Lighthouse Service. It was
brought back for a six-week run the following season and scenes from the play formed the basis of A
Conversation With Ida Lewis, a work which toured libraries throughout Rhode Island as part of a state
project, What A Difference A Bay Makes, funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the
Humanities. In 2003 Elsen wrote The Day the Wright Brother’s Airplane First Flew—A Day to Remember, a
monologue first performed in North Carolina for the Chamber Music Society of Wilmington’s concert
celebration of the First Flight. It was later performed on public radio, WHQR, as part of the station’s First
Flight celebration on December 17, 2003 and included in their 20th anniversary CD of best offerings.
Elsen recently crafted lyrics based on her play Byna which spawned a major chamber music offering,
Byna: Life Songs of a Southern Appalachian Woman of Cherokee Descent. She is presently at work on
Winter Star, a two-act play with music and is writing a work based on the life of a Cherokee Indian chief,
Connecourt, also known as “Old Hop,” who lived in Western NC and east Tennessee during the colonial
period. Elsen serves on the board of Chamber Music Wilmington and recently earned a certificate from
Duke University in Non-Profit Management.
Contact:: William Parker, Development Director, AIAMF 512.495.9818 william@parkerinteriors.com
Mary Shanahan, Music Director, AIAMF 512.415.4500
marykshanahan@aol.com
The Interfaith Arts and Music Festival (AIAMF) seeks to provide opportunities for people of all faith
traditions and nationalities to encounter the transforming beauty of art and music.
###
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