Georgia Tech School of Music Presents:
OH JULIETTA!
Thursday, September 24, 2026
7:30pm
Ferst Center
Georgia Tech Symphony Orchestra
Dr. Chaowen Ting, Conductor
Composer Bio – Carol Barnett
Carol Barnett (b. 1949) writes audacious and engaging music. She is known for breaking the mold with meter changes, differing tonal centers, unusual instrument combinations, and her love of fast tempi. Despite these typical thumbprints, Barnett’s works are diverse, uncovering the needs of each piece and each text with her characteristic integrity. Carol’s varied catalog includes works for solo voice, piano, chorus, diverse chamber ensembles, orchestra, and wind ensemble.
The World Beloved: A Bluegrass Mass, commissioned in 2006 by VocalEssence and written with Marisha Chamberlain, had its Carnegie Hall debut in 2013 and has been reprised there multiple times, including most recently in 2024; the “Bluegrass Mass” has become a favorite across the country.
Barnett is a charter member of the American Composers Forum and a graduate of the University of Minnesota, where she studied composition with Dominick Argento and Paul Fetler. She was composer-in-residence with the Dale Warland Singers from 1992 to 2001, and a member of the adjunct faculty at Augsburg College from 2000 to 2015.
For more information, visit: https://carolbarnett.net/
Soloist Bio – Xiaohan Chen
Chinese mezzo-soprano Xiaohan Chen is based in the United States and has performed throughout the United States, Canada, and China. She is a doctoral candidate in Opera Performance at the University of Georgia and holds a Master of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music. Recent engagements include the leading role of Oay Mei Li in The Atlanta Opera’s 2026 presentation of Rosenbaum and Li.
Her operatic roles include Carmen in Carmen, Dorabella in Così fan tutte, Charlotte in Werther, Angelina in La Cenerentola, Siébel in Faust, and Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, among more than twenty roles in her repertoire. Chen has also performed extensively in concert and oratorio. She performed Tan Dun’s Water Passion in New York with composer Tan Dun and has appeared as a soloist in Handel’s Messiah, including multiple performances at Carnegie Hall.
Chen is a two-time First Prize winner of The Atlanta Opera’s 96-Hour Opera Project and a recipient of the University of Georgia Director’s Excellence Award. She is also the founder of Dr. Chen Voice Studio in Suwanee, Georgia, where she mentors aspiring singers.
For more information, please visit xiaohanchen.co.