Sunday July 16, 2023 | 5 p.m. - 7 p.m.

$20 General Admission | $15 Museum Members

This concert has SOLD OUT. Tickets are required for entry.

Jodi Burns and Thao Nguyen return to BRAHM for an evening of Broadway and Classical vocal duets. Jodi and Thao will make their return to BRAHM after a sold out performance in 2019 where they took the audience on a review of legendary Broadway love songs. This performance is a must see for lovers of stage and song alike.

About the Performance

Wanderer’s Stars: Songs that Illuminate Our Path Toward Home
Jodi Burns, Soprano
Thao Nguyen, Baritone
Natalie Barela, Piano

The tapestries of our existence are woven in song. Lyrics rhythms and melodies guide us, illuminating our paths and providing solace, inspiration, and connection. They evoke memories, feelings and stories that are uniquely ours. We each embody our own big tiny universe, and the songs are the stars in our constellations, their light reflecting who we are. They capture the essence of our individuality, shaping our perspectives and influencing the way we navigate and describe the world.

No matter where we travel, these songs are with us and part of us; they urge us to laugh, to dance, to celebrate and they permit us to grieve.

These songs become a part of our language, expressing the depth and complexity of our relationships, our beliefs, our hopes, dreams, and fears. They make us miss those we’ve lost, and help us to uncover deeper love for those with whom we wander each day.

Wanderer’s Stars is a celebration of the power of the human voice to transcend boundaries, and of the power of song to help us define our sense of home, of who we are. It bridges the gaps between genres -- from the soaring to the vibrant, the polished to the raw --- from Classical to Pop, Musical Theater to folk. Soprano Jodi Burns, Baritone Thao Nguyen and Pianist Natalie Barela invite the audience into an immersive experience of connection and discovery. Pouring their hearts out onstage, illuminating the constellations of their personal tales and creating an unforgettable musical journey for all who listen.

About the Performers

Jodi Burns has been described as singing with a “plush voice and rich expressivity”(The New York Times). In her appearance as Anna Sorenson in Kevin Puts’ Silent Night, (Piedmont Opera), The Winston-Salem Journal notes, “Burns dazzle[s] with her lustrous soprano and bright charisma. The production is elevated whenever she appears on stage." Whether performing in intimate venues or on the opera stage, she appeals to a rich and diverse audience.

In her most recent appearance with Piedmont Opera in March 2019, Jodi gave, “another rather perfect performance”(Opera Lively), and “her Adina was fanciful but honorable… the ascents to the top Bs adroitly managed. Burns delivered the cantabile ‘Chiedi all’aura lusinghiera’ in the duet with Nemorino with dulcet tones…”(Voix des Arts).

Roles include, Anna Sorenson (Silent Night), Adina (The Elixir of Love), Ann Trulove (The Rake's Progress), Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi), Micaela (Carmen), Josephine (H.M.S. Pinafore), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Barbarina (The Marriage of Figaro), the Dew Fairy (Hansel and Gretel), Ida (Die Fledermaus), Maria Stuarda (Maria Stuarda), Mary Turner (Of Thee I Sing, Gershwin) and she has performed time and again with Piedmont Opera, The Princeton Festival, The Opera Theatre of the Rockies, The Mozart Club, The Piedmont Wind Symphony, The Winston-Salem Symphony, Magnolia Baroque Festival, the Carolina Chamber Symphony Players, Carolina Symphony SummerFest, and toured with The North Carolina Symphony.

In summer of 2018 Jodi appeared in a concert series with composer and pianist Ken Frazelle, collaborating on a program of music from his song sets "Appalachian Songbooks I and II" and "Songs from the Rearview Mirror".

A performer with a great deal of range and versatility, Jodi collaborated with The Piedmont Wind Symphony on a concert of her own compositions along with her band Judy Barnes. She duetted with Ben Folds at his 2015 “Home for the Holidays” Concert.

Jodi holds a Masters of Music from the A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts where studied with Dr. Marilyn Taylor and Jamie Allbritten. BME from The Ohio State University.

Thao Nguyen is a Director/Producer/Actor/Singer who is comfortable on both the operatic and musical theatre stage. He is acclaimed by critics for his "velvety baritone and his ease and grace on stage."

Notable Performances: Off Broadway/Regional- Tropical Angels, Miss Saigon, Shrek, 25th annual..., South Pacific and Pippin in which he was voted "Best Performer in a Musical" BroadwayWorld CT.

As a champion for new music in the classical world, he was delighted to be a part of the premiere of acclaimed composer David Wolfson’s opera
Fortune's Children with Hartford Opera Theater, which is now streaming on BroadwayOnDemand.

An active film/tv/commercial actor, you can catch him in Marvel's She-Hulk available on Disney+ and in the feature film "Nemesis Eterna" coming in 2024, along with many national commercials.

He is represented by The Brock Agency for Film/TV/Commercial. A graduate of UNC School of the Arts, Thao is currently based in Winston Salem, where he maintains a private voice studio. You can follow him on all social media @‌thetaoofThao and http://www.thaotnguyen.com
for further information.