Interweaving

The classical duo of Gretchen Farrar, soprano, and Francisco Roldán, guitar has performed together for years. Interweaving is the duo's debut CD by these accomplished artists. Gretchen Farrar is a versatile soprano with repertoire in both concert and opera.  A committed recitalist, Ms. Farrar debuted at Weill Hall with Elysium-Between Two Continents performing 20th Century German Lieder.  She has performed German and American songs with Elysium's festivals in Germany and New York.  Also with Elysium, Ms. Farrar has been assistant stage director for Piscator's Metropolis - Berlin, The Pursuit of Happiness, and Elysium's International Summer Academy for young singers.   In the contemporary realm, Ms. Farrar has performed chamber music with New Music New York, where she first met Francisco Roldán, and she has sung in concert with pianist LeAnn Overton at Merkin Hall and other venues around the Northeast.  Ms. Farrar has commissioned works by composers Rebecca Oswald and Lily Barmor Rose. Ms. Farrar has also collaborated with pianist Alexander Wu performing music of the Americas. Opera credits include Anchorage Opera, Eugene Opera, Belleayre Festival Opera, Opera at Florham, Dicapo Opera, National Lyric Opera, and Hudson Opera Theatre.  Some of her roles have included Micaela, Serpina, Susanna, and Despina.   The recipient of study grants from the German Academic Exchange Service and the Italian Cultural Institute, Ms. Farrar has been a teaching artist for the Metropolitan Opera Guild.  Ms. Farrar received her Master's in Music from the University of Oregon, where she was also a graduate teaching fellow. In 2010, Ms. Farrar was selected to participate in NYFA's Artists as Entrepreneurs Boot Camp. Francisco Roldán has played internationally in Russia, Spain, Argentina, Paraguay, and in his home country of Colombia, and has appeared throughout the United States. ?In New York City, Mr. Roldán has played at Merkin Concert Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Weill Recital Hall, Bargemusic, CAMI Hall, the Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium, the Museum of the City of New York, Gracie Mansion, and the Americas Society. He has also played at Harmony Hall in Maryland, St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Milwaukee, the Philadelphia Guitar Society, the Puffin Gallery and Cultural Forum and New Jersey Chamber Music Society in New Jersey, the Colombian consulates in New York and Boston, the Smithsonian Library in Washington, D.C., Round Top Music Festival, the Spanish Institute, and at various universities and libraries. Mr. Roldán has participated as an invited artist at numerous national and international festivals. He has played various concerti and chamber music recitals with singers, choruses, and instrumentalists. Mr. Roldán has released two solo cds: Latin Guitar and Almost all Bach, and performs with the ZigZag Quartet on their debut CD, ZigZag. Interweaving, with soprano Gretchen Farrar, is Mr. Roldán's fourth CD. Mr. Roldán is currently on the faculties of the Mannes College Music Extension and Preparatory Divisions and of Lehman College, City University of New York. He is a founding member of the ZigZag Quartet and Instruments of the People.