Saturday, October 15, 2022 at 7pm
Lincoln Park, Chicago (address sent upon ticket purchase)
The ensemble’s ninth performance season opens with a gala that celebrates the musical, sculptural, and visual art that connects Chicago. Repertoire will feature performances of songs that are inspired by Chagall's Four Seasons mosaic, the Picasso, Chicago's Miró, Cloudgate, and others. This event will be held in a private home on Saturday, October 15 and tickets include access to the cocktail hour, concert, hors d’oeuvres, and sweets throughout the night.

Patrons will receive a tax deductible receipt of $225 for each ticket purchased.  All proceeds benefit the artistic and operating expenses of Fourth Coast Ensemble, 501(c)(3).

If you plan to attend the gala, consider taking advantage of our limited-time season subscription package and receive 10% off pricing for all of our 2022-23 events. 
Generously hosted by Eszter Borvendeg and Mark Wight.

ABOUT FOURTH COAST ENSEMBLE

Fourth Coast Ensemble has cultivated a loyal and growing audience through imaginative programming and intimate performances, and earned a reputation of excellence “built on the quality of its small roster of artists” (Vocal Arts Chicago). The ensemble's core members - soprano Sarah van der Ploeg, mezzo-soprano Bridget Skaggs, tenor Ace Gangoso, and bass-baritone David Govertsen - perform regularly with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Chicago Opera Theater, Haymarket Opera, Chicago a cappella, Chicago Fringe Opera, Folks Operetta, and the Chicago Symphony Chorus. Fourth Coast Ensemble performs with a roster of elite collaborative pianists, including Dana Brown, Kuang-Hao Huang, Mark Bilyeu, Andrew Rosenblum, and Yasuko Oura. The ensemble is featured on two studio recordings; Are Women People?: The Music of Lori Laitman, and Human to Human: New Works for Vocal Quartet, both released in 2021 and available for streaming on all platforms.
MISSION STATEMENT

Fourth Coast Ensemble is a vocal chamber quartet committed to performing programs of creative and accessible vocal chamber music. With a repertoire spanning Romantic to Contemporary, Fourth Coast Ensemble presents salon-style performances in venues ranging from parlor to concert hall. The goal at each performance is to communicate an atmosphere of warmth, variety, and genuine expression. Fourth Coast Ensemble creates a dialogue that invites each audience member to feel comfortable, as though they were listening to music in their own living room surrounded by friends.​

ARTISTS

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Sarah van der Ploeg is an American lyric soprano who has been praised for her “thoughtful musicality”, “clarity of tone” and “versatility”.  The New Jersey native has performed in London, New York, Chicago, Vienna, and elsewhere around the US and Europe. Performance highlights include “Une bête” in Ravel’s L’Enfant with Esa Pekka Salonen and CSO; Stella/Muse in Pittsburgh Festival Opera’s Tales of Hoffmann: Retold; solo turns at the Royal Albert Hall and Wigmore Hall; and Mozart’s Requiem with Chicago Chamber Orchestra & Elmhurst Choral Union.  Sarah holds degrees from the Royal Academy of Music (Diane Forlano), Northwestern University (Theresa Brancaccio & Alan Darling), and Princeton University (Public Policy & Music Performance). 
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Mezzo-soprano Bridget Skaggs has gained the attention of Chicago audiences as “a compelling force” with an “agile, expressive voice” (Chicago Classical Review) equally at home in opera, art song, and oratorio. This year she sings Zosia in Two Remain with Chicago Fringe Opera, where she also debuted the role of Austin in The Great God Pan, and sang the song cycle Naomi Songs in Love Wounds. Bridget is increasingly recognized for her excellence in Baroque repertoire, having performed Giunone in Cavalli's La Didone with Haymarket Summer Opera Program and Bradamante in Handel's Alcina with Chicago Vocal Arts Consortium. A passionate advocate for art song, Skaggs is a founding member of vocal quartet Fourth Coast Ensemble. 
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Ace Gangoso, tenor, enjoys an eclectic musical career in Chicago as a singer, music director, pianist, and teacher. Ace joined Fourth Coast Ensemble in the fall of 2019, adding to his ongoing singing engagements with the Chicago Symphony Chorus, Grant Park Chorus, and Chicago a cappella.  His recent appearances as a concert soloist include Mozart’s Requiem, Schubert’s Mass in G (DuPage Chorale), Bach’s Christmas Oratorio (Chicago Choral Artists), and various performances with the Bach Cantata Vespers (Grace Lutheran-River Forest). Ace is the Director of Music Ministry at St. Nicholas Parish in Evanston, and he is a pianist for the Chicago Black Catholics Choir.  A native of Little Rock, Arkansas, Ace holds degrees in music from the University of Central Arkansas and Northwestern University.
Chicago native David Govertsen has been active as a professional singer for nearly twenty years, portraying a wide variety of opera’s low-voiced heroes, villains, and buffoons.  Mr. Govertsen has appeared as a soloist with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Santa Fe Opera, Tulsa Opera, Chicago Opera Theater, and the Haymarket Opera Company.  As a concert soloist Mr. Govertsen has performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Madison Symphony Orchestra, and Grant Park Orchestra, among many others.  He made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2011 as the Herald in Otello with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Riccardo Muti.  He is an alumnus of the Ryan Opera Center and the Santa Fe Opera and Central City Opera apprentice programs and holds degrees from Northwestern University, Northern Illinois University and the College of DuPage.

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American pianist Dana Brown is highly regarded for both his solo and collaborative performances. He recently received rave reviews for his new CD with soprano Michelle Areyzaga, Were I With Thee, and he has been heard many times on Chicago’s WFMT 98.7, in addition to the Ravinia Festival, the Tanglewood Festival, the Grant Park Music Festival, WTTW’s Chicago Tonight, and the Chicago Humanities Festival.  A nationally prominent vocal coach, he has coached at the Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago, where he also played lessons and masterclasses of Marilyn Horne, Renata Scotto, Renée Fleming and Sir Andrew Davis. He supports young singers through his work at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, where is an Associate Professor of Opera and Vocal Coaching. Learn more at www.danabrownmusic.com.