Don’t miss Bravo Nights this Tuesday, September 17 at the Little Café!

Enjoy a night of opera, up close, personal and free.

Bravo Nights kicks off its 2019-2020 season this Tuesday, September 17 at the Little Café with mezzo-soprano Veena Akama-Makia and tenor Nathaniel Catasca, accompanied by Brock Tjosvold.

Performances will include selections from Gounod, Porgy and Bess, Carousel and Carmen, among others you’ll know and love. It’s a great event for opera newcomers who can enjoy learning about the music in a casual setting, plus it’s free of charge!

More about our performers...

Award-winning Veena Akama-Makia was the mezzo soloist in Liszt’s Missa Solemnis with the Eastman Symphony Orchestra and was a finalist in the Jesse Kneisel Lieder Competition, both in 2019. This Fall, she will debut the role of Mother and Grandmother in Little Red’s Most Unusual Day (Davies) at the Rochester Fringe Festival and make her Mass Opera debut as Gloria in Dan Shore’s Freedom Ride.

Nathaniel Catasca has just returned from a summer with the Florentine Opera Company in Milwaukee. He is a recent graduate of the Eastman School of Music, having completed a Master’s in Performance and Literature under the study of Robert Swensen. In 2019, he earned second place in the Friends of Eastman Opera Vocal Competition.

In demand as both an instrumental and vocal collaborator, pianist Brock Tjosvold has performed throughout the US.  Brock is currently pursuing a Doctorate of Musical Arts at the Eastman School of Music, studying with Dr. Jean Barr.  Currently the music director at First Universalist Church of Rochester, Brock enjoys playing organ and directing the choir in addition to his work as a pianist.