Sonic Crossroads

Upcoming recital at the Southern Ohio Museum, Saturday, November 14, 2026, 2 p.m.

”Magical Thinking: Stories and Myths”

Program:

The Monk and His Cat (from Hermit Songs, Op. 29) by Samuel Barber (1910-1981)

Little Monster (2026, world premiere; from Star-Flavored Air) by Kathryn Woodard (b. 1969)

The Seal Man (1922) Rebecca Clarke (1886-1979)

Poems by Nikita Gill (2018) by Melissa Dunphy (b. 1980)

From the Other Diary (1992) by İlhan Mimaroğlu (1926-2012)

No One Knows the Time (2025-26) by Kathryn Woodard

Trois Chansons de Bilitis (1897-1898) by Claude Debussy

Related lecture-performance at Shawnee State University, Friday, November 13, 2026, 3 p.m.
 

Mezzo-soprano Amanda Staub has been praised as “brilliant and beautiful… a jewel.” (West Hawaii Today). Amanda began the 2026-2027 season debuting Zerlina in Art City Opera’s production of Don(na) Giovanni.  The 2025–2026 season saw Amanda debuting roles including Prince Charmant in Cendrillon (Art City Opera), Papagena in The Magic Flute (Mobile Opera) and the Secretary in Menotti’s The Consul (Liberty City Arts). Amanda is an acclaimed interpreter of operatic roles such as Hänsel (Hänsel und Gretel), Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro), Stephano (Roméo et Juliette), Dido (Dido & Aeneas), Sesto (Giulio Cesare), and Tisbe (La Cerentola), as well as a sensitive performer of new works and art song. Other roles include Gil in Peter Hilliard’s The Filthy Habit, Deborah (Non motus), Emma Jones (Street Scene), Bessie (Mahagonny Songspiel), and Hannah (after) in Laura Kaminky’s As One.

In 2025, Amanda made her Mozart Requiem soloist debut at Rowan University. She has performed in concert as a soloist with the Philadelphia Chorus, at The Phillips Collection in Washington, DC, and with the Capital City Symphony alongside renowned operatic stars Kevin Short and Delores Ziegler. Throughout her career as a soloist and chorister, Amanda has sung under the baton of accomplished conductors including Alexandra Enyart, Marin Alsop, Christoph Eschenbach, Natalie Stutzmann, Matthew Halls, and Gianandrea Noseda with world class ensembles such as Opera Delaware, Opera Philadelphia, Maryland Opera, the National Symphony Orchestra, and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. 

Passionate about education and providing students with opportunities, Amanda has held multiple positions as a private instructor and artistic administrator. As a student, she co-founded OperaTerps at the University of Maryland, a student-run opera company now in its eleventh season. Amanda serves as Vice President of Liberty City Arts, where she is committed to serving the community of Philadelphia, the city she now calls home.

Kathryn Woodard is a noted pianist, educator, scholar, and composer. She first encountered new music while studying piano with Jo Boatright of Voices of Change and through experimental improvisation sessions at Booker T. Washington Arts Magnet High School in Dallas. As a pianist she has specialized in new music, performing numerous premieres and curating programs that draw connections across regions and cultures. Her recitals have taken her across the globe often collaborating with other artists, including composers Allen Otte, Paula Matthusen, Ge Gan-ru and the Shanghai Quartet, and most recently with choreographer Beth Soll. In recent years Woodard has focused increasingly on composition and has had performances of her work presented by SpliThesis in Croatia, at the Music By Women Festival in Mississippi, on the Liberty City Arts program, “Philly Voices”, for the 2025 Philadelphia Fringe Festival, and at the Women Composers Festival Hartford. She holds degrees from the University of Music and Performing Arts in Munich (B.M.) and from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (M.M., D.M.A.).