Celebrate ARCA's 20th Anniversary - A Gala Pops Concert!

Join the fun and celebrate ARCA’s 20th Anniversary at the Gala Pops Concert “Birthday Party” performed by mezzo-soprano Katherine (Kathy) Soroka who sang the first concert in Lincoln Hall in 2006 – with virtuoso pianist and ARCA favorite Nathan Carterette, celebrated violinist Maureen Conlon Gutiérrez and acclaimed tenor Robert Frankenberry in his return to Lincoln Hall.

Enjoy a champagne toast at the intermission – and the reception at the Red Brick Gallery following the concert for the opening of the exhibit of Rafi and Klee.

The Pops Concert program will include an eclectic mix of genres of music that ARCA audiences have enjoyed over the years – “Something for Everyone” – from virtuosic classical piano, violin chamber music & tangos to spirituals, folk songs, art song, opera, jazz standards and musical theatre. The repertoire will include works by Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Medtner and Bach, violin duos by Tchaikovsky and tangos by Piazzola, and vocal solos and duets by Mahler and Ravel, plus Autumn Leaves and musical theatre from Les Miserables and Pippin to a Sondheim medley.

Known to audiences as an ARCA Board member greeting the audience at the back of the hall, Katherine (Kathy) Soroka has had a double career both onstage and backstage in the performing arts. Hailed for her “masterful” and “heartfelt vocalism” (Pittsburgh Post Gazette), she is known for her moving and vivid performances as a singer-actress, “finding both lush lines and dramatic intensity… commanding the stage”. (TribLive)

A winner of the Pittsburgh Concert Society Auditions and appearing nationally and regionally with orchestras and in recital, opera, musical theatre and cabaret, Kathy’s characters and song interpretations are brimming with life, pathos and humor.

Kathy has performed frequently over the years with pianist Nathan Carterette on series at Chatham University, Tuesday Musical Club and First Fridays in Pittsburgh and in Walker Recital Hall at Mercyhurst University. This is their first collaboration for ARCA in Lincoln Hall.

ARCA welcomes back pianist Nathan Carterette hailed as “wonderfully poetic,” (Westfalen Post) “exuberant yet sensitive,” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) and “very compelling in his power and presence” (International Composer).

Bringing to ARCA his “Poets of the Piano” series that he took on a 25-city American tour, Nathan Carterette has dazzled ARCA audiences in three solo piano concerts as well a collaborative performance with the Renaissance City Winds in ARCA’s 10th Anniversary concert. A favorite pianist of Dr. Arthur Steffee, Nathan also performed for a ARCA donor dinner in the RiverStone mansion.

Robert Frankenberry, a polymathic Renaissance music man, enjoys a multi-faceted relationship with music as a singer, pianist, conductor, orchestrator, producer, director, and composer.

A charter member of the New Mercury Collective, he originated the role of Robbie in Daron Hagen’s intimate musical, I Hear America Singing, (also serving as music director and pianist for the premiere production at Milwaukee’s renowned Skylight Music Theatre). Continuing his association with Hagen and New Mercury in the realm of operafilm, he portrayed Orson Welles in the international award-winning Orson Rehearsed (2021) and Cory in 9/10: Love Before the Fall (2023).

Rob and Kathy have appeared together frequently in Pittsburgh with Aria 412 and in Chatham University Opera’s concert performances of Elektra, and Un ballo in maschera and in recital at Mercyhurst University.

Maureen Conlon Gutiérrez is making her ARCA debut in Lincoln Hall, long admired for her solo and chamber artistry and as a concertmaster of the Johnstown Symphony. A native of Mexico, Miss Conlon has performed to acclaim across the globe as soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player – participating on recordings as a classical artist, cross genre violinist, light rock improv and tango violinist. Miss Conlon has appeared on television and radio internationally and is prize winner of many national and international competitions in both the United States and in Mexico.

Raise a glass of champagne at intermission and, after the concert, enjoy a wine & appetizer reception at the Red Brick Gallery for the opening of the exhibit of the RBG exhibit of award winning Rafi & Klee, presenting Interwoven, a celebration of growth, connection, and the resilience of the human spirit.

This collection of art and jewelry explores the beauty of our interconnected lives through nature. Each piece invites you to reflect on the threads that shape your journey, honoring the power of the human spirit.