World-renowned vocalists Milagro Vargas and Lucy Shelton will perform a series of duets tonight at Beall Concert Hall.
The show is one in a series of performances organized by the School of Music and the Department of Dance showcasing faculty, student ensembles and guest artists. The night begins at 7 p.m. with a lecture by professor Robert Hurwitz describing the music, and the performance begins at 8 p.m. Reserved seating tickets range from $10 to $25.
“We have some treats in store, which I can’t divulge,” Vargas said. “But there will be something for everyone in there.”
Vargas has taught vocal performance at the University since 1992. As a mezzo-soprano, she has performed in opera, orchestral works, chamber music and recitals. She spent 10 years in Europe singing opera and just completed a series of concerts in New York, California and Washington. Vargas has premiered work by Philip Glass, Kryzysztof Penderecki and others.
She said the goal of her performance is to “make more people fans of this music.”
Shelton currently teaches at the New England Conservatory and Tanglewood Music Center. She has performed as a soprano with the Cleveland Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic as well as many others. A number of contemporary composers have written music especially for her, and she is the only artist to receive the International Walter Naumberg Award twice, for both chamber music and solo singing.
Vargas and Shelton have performed together a number of different times, including in November when the Eugene Symphony premiered Robert Kyr’s “The Spirit of Time.”
Vargas said there are many different challenges in performing a duet of chamber music.

“You have to breathe together, and you have to feel the words together,” she said. “Chamber music is about making music together.”
The performance will feature a world premiere of Tom Manoff’s “Honor is so Sublime,” a piece inspired by the English poet John Donne. Manoff is a local composer and a music critic for National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.”
“The piece is a beautiful work in minimalist style,” said Fritz Gearhart, a violinist and faculty member who will perform with Vargas and Shelton. Kathryn Lucktenberg, also a faculty member, will join Gearhart in playing violin during the piece.
The performance will also include pieces from the 17th century to the 20th century, including works by Handel, Brahm and a set of duets by Mendelssohn.
In his lecture preceding the performance, Hurwitz will examine the relationship between the words of the pieces and the way the composer set the music. He said this will help the listener understand how “the music provides a window into the way the composer interprets the words.”
Gearhart said Beall Concert Hall, which seats about 500 people, provides the ideal setting for an intimate interaction between the audience and the performers.
“Beall Hall is one of the best chamber music halls in the country,” he said. “The sound is beautiful and robust.”