Seton Hill University’s Division of Visual and Performing Arts is proud to present the Kent Camerata on Saturday, March 24 at 7:30 p.m. in Cecilian Hall on Seton Hill’s Greensburg, Pa. campus. Tickets are $10 (Seton Hill students and Sisters of Charity will be admitted free) and can be purchased by calling 724-552-1722. Tickets will also be available at the door. A free reception with the Kent Camerata will follow the performance. The Kent Camerata’s performance at Seton Hill is dedicated to the Sisters of Charity who have served as Seton Hill music faculty members, and the proceeds will support the Seton Hill University Center for the Performing Arts project.

The Kent Camerata performance at Seton Hill marks a homecoming for mezzo soprano Mary Sue Hyatt, a native of Ruffs Dale, Pa., who earned her bachelor of music degree from Seton Hill in 1970. Hyatt brings to the concert stage a well-seasoned American and European career after having sung in major cities such as New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Cleveland, Washington, D.C., Phoenix, Toronto, London, Belfast, Munich, Lucerne, Rome, Venice, Tessaloniki, Guadalajara, Paris, and Florence. The mezzo soprano has also performed as soloist and presented master classes in Shanghai, Beijing and Tianjin during the Kent Camerata’s China Tour of 2002. Hyatt studied voice with Sister Helen Muha and Margaret Garrity at Seton Hill, and with Joyce Zastrow at Western Michigan University. She is also a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music with formal training under Max Rudolf, Dino Yannopoulos, Giulio Gari, and Maria Callas. Hyatt held the title and rank of Professor at Kent State University and served her last two years as Interim Director of the Hugh A. Glauser School of Music. She has been recognized for her “outstanding contributions to international culture” by receiving the Kent State University International Award in the field of International Communication and Cross-Cultural Achievements for teaching and performing. In the course of her career, Hyatt has performed in over twenty operas, including Madame Butterfly, Don Giovanni, Carmen, Dido and Aeneas, Hansel und Gretel, and Cavalleria Rusticana. Her CD releases include: Song Upon Song (TimeGrabber, 1997), Dvorak duets and songs; an American premier of Vivaldi’s La Fida Ninfa (Analog Café Studio, 2000), and A Musical Painting Comes to Life (Crystal CD841, 2001), where she is a featured soloist.

“Performance is a shared experience,” says Hyatt. “When you perform for an audience you leave with them forever a piece of yourself and take with you a memory that lasts a lifetime. The prospect of returning to Seton Hill to perform the upcoming concert with the Kent Camerata transports me back over 4 decades to the time when I walked through the hallowed halls of Seton Hill for my voice lessons, which I began at age 15. I hope to repay in a small way some of the musical treasure that I received from my exceptional training at Seton Hill.”

The Kent Camerata is an international touring American vocal/instrumental ensemble. Through varying combinations of voices and instruments they offer a wide and colorful repertoire ranging from Baroque, Classic, Romantic, and Impressionist masters to the present. Through engaging audience rapport, the Kent Camerata members share their enjoyment of the spirit and meaning of these works. In addition to appearances in New England, the Midwest, and Southwestern United States, the Kent Camerata has performed in Canada, Ireland, Germany, and Italy. In 2002, their cultural ambassadorship extended to China, where they gave master classes at the three leading conservatories of music and performances for enthusiastic audiences of thousands in Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai. Members of the Kent Camerata are Amanda-Joyce Abbott, soprano; Mary Sue Hyatt, mezzo soprano; David DeBolt, bassoon; Katharine Gerson DeBolt, viola; and Jan Meyer Thompson, pianist. Founded in 1995, the Kent Camerata is affiliated with the Hugh A. Glauser School of Music at Kent State University, Kent, Ohio.

The University Center for the Performing Arts, designed by MacLachlan Cornelius & Filoni Architects, Inc., will bring two of Seton Hill’s most vibrant programs – theatre and music – into the heart of the city of Greensburg. The Center will also serve as the completing piece of Greensburg’s Cultural District, with the Westmoreland Museum of American Art at one corner and Seton Hill University at the other, linked by the historic Palace Theatre, the restored Greensburg Train Station, cafes, restaurants and bookstores. Once completed, the 73,000 square foot center will include a flexible theatre, music hall, rehearsal spaces, set and costume design rooms, classrooms, and faculty offices for Seton Hill’s programs in music and theatre. The University Center project is the result of a collaboration among the City of Greensburg, the Redevelopment Authority of Westmoreland County, the Greensburg Salem School District, local legislators, and the Westmoreland Cultural Trust. As of January 2007, the University Center for the Performing Arts Campaign, chaired by Michele and Tom Ridge and Anne and Jack Robertshaw, has achieved more than $18 million toward its projected $21 million goal.