About

KMFA'S PRESTO SERIES PRESENTS

KEY'MON MURRAH & DONALD LEE III

FROM THE HEART

Friday, October 4 at 7:00 p.m. | Draylen Mason Music Studio

KMFA's Presto Series presents a special performance called FROM THE HEART by rising American countertenor Key'mon Murrah and pianist Donald Lee III on Friday, October 4 at 7:00 p.m. in the Draylen Mason Music Studio.

FROM THE HEART is a musical exploration of love as a timeless force that connects people with each other as well as the divine. The repertoire performed examines expressions of love over distance, love that is unrequited, the love of life partners, and the love of God to humankind and vice-versa. Spanning from 1747 to 2013, this program is a mixture of works arranged for voice and piano, and solo piano performed by Key’mon Murrah and Donald Lee III. 

Tickets include complimentary sips from Tito's Handmade Vodka, Milam & Greene Whiskey, and wine courtesy of Georgetown Winery and Vineyard.

Thanks to our in-kind sponsors:

ABOUT KEY’MON MURRAH

Acclaimed American countertenor, Key’mon Murrah, heralded for his wide range and “hot coal core o tone” by Schmopera.com, is performing across the world on top opera, oratorio, and concert stages.

Murrah has performed at the University of Kentucky Opera Theatre and the Bluegrass Opera. He has sung the role of Tolomeo from Handel’s Giulio Cesare with the Red River Lyric Opera and Asprano in Vivaldi’s Montezuma with the America Baroque Opera Co. He was selected in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute in a Masterclass with Joyce DiDonato in 2018, and he continued his studies at the International Vocal Arts Institute. In 2020, he toured with the American Spiritual Ensemble and was a young artist at the Glimmerglass Opera Festival. In 2021, Key’Mon was a featured artist at the Florida Grand Opera for their 2020-2021 season and sang Bertarido from Handel’s Rodelinda as a Fleming Artist at Aspen Music Festival.

IN the 2021-2022 season, Murrah debuted the title role in Gluck’s “Orfeo ed Euridice” at Seattle Opera, the role of Leonardo with a new production of “Frida y Diego” with San Diego Opera, and Hyacinthus in Mozart’s “Apollo and Hyacinthus” with America Baroque Opera Co. and debuted at the Houston Grand Opera and the Grand Rapids Symphony.

In 2021, he was heard on the stage of the Houston Grand Opera as the First-Place winner of the 33^rd Annual Concert of Arias, as the Grand Prize winner of the Premiere Opera Foundation + NYIOP International Vocal Competition, and Finalist and Encouragement award winner of Operalia. In 2022, he became a Sullivan Foundation Award and Career Bridges Award recipient. He also won first place in the Belvedere Singing Competition. He has also won the first prize award from the Giulio Gari Vocal Competition.

In the current season, he makes his debuts at Los Angeles Opera as Leonardo in Frank’s “El último sueño de Frida y Diego,” Bayerische Staatsoper as the Sorceress and Spriit in “Dido and Aeneas,” New Jersey Symphony, and The Metropolitan Opera as Balthazar in John Adam’s, El Niño.

ABOUT DONALD LEE III

A Virginia native, Lee is the inaugural Ryan Opera Center conductor and pianist, an Ensemble position started in 2021-2022. While with Lyric, he has conducted selections for Sunday in the Park. Recent engagements as a conductor and pianist include Des Moines Metro Opera for Carmen (2023) and Porgy and Bess (2022) and Opera Theatre of St. Louis for their New Works Festival (2023) and other projects.

Lee recently programmed and performed in digital recitals titled Where Honor is Due with Salon 21 in Cincinnati and Adaptations with Piano by Nature, highlighting music of Black composers alongside canonical works. For the Indictus Project, he recorded for the first time a set of cotillions by Black composer Franci Johnson.

Lee achieved success as a solo pianist with Liszt’s Totentanz (Eastern Music Festival’s Young Artist Orchestra). He has participated in the Chautauqua Institution, the Art of the Piano Festival, and the Wintergreen Music Festival. An alumnus of James Madison University and the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, Lee has served as assistant professor of piano at Kentucky State University.

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KMFA's Offbeat Concert Series presented by Audio Nova | Estes Audiology returns on Sunday, September 22 at 4:00 p.m. (pre-concert talk at 3:00 p.m.) with Austin Unconducted featuring the world premiere of NIGHT POEM, a piece by 2024 Draylen Mason Composer-in-Residence Sophie Mathieu, commissioned by KMFA specifically for this event.

Event Details

• Date: Friday, October 4
• Time: 7:00 p.m.
• Venue: Draylen Mason Music Studio
• Website: https://fromtheheart.planningpod.com/

Ticket Information

• Cost: General Admission: $40.00 | Student Ticket: $20.00

Presenter Details

• Name: KMFA Classical

KMFA 89.5 is an independent public classical radio station in Austin, TX. Established in 1967, KMFA serves approximately 120,000 listeners each week and features locally produced shows like Classical Austin, Early Music Now, and From The Butler School, as well as nationally distributed programming from Public Radio International, American Public Media, and National Public Radio.

KMFA supports many regional arts organizations such as the Austin Symphony Orchestra, Austin Opera, and Texas Performing Arts with on-air and online promotions, co-sponsorships, and interviews with KMFA hosts. Our Listen Local initiative broadcasts Austin’s finest classical music performances, making classical music and cultural events available to all. With popular programs like the “Kids On Key” and the Free Midday Concert Series, KMFA encourages arts education and supports the Central Texas community.

Venue Details