LAKE CLEAR – The Orchestra of Northern New York (ONNY), the North Country’s only professional orchestra, and the Secret Sits Pro Musica Ensembles (TSS, Inc.) is hosting its final performance of the 2024 Summer Chamber Music Series.

Closing the series on Thursday, Aug. 29 at the Adirondack Presbyterian Church in Lake Clear will be international opera singer Margaret Chalker and her granddaughter, Mekayla Fountaine, accompanied by Julie Miller on piano. 

They will perform Family Ties, a program of beloved songs, duets, and arias spanning from light opera to modern Broadway.

Margaret Chalker began her career at Opera Theater Syracuse in Syracuse after completing her master's degree at S.U. and an apprenticeship with the St. Paul Opera Co. She went to New York City, succeeded in many competitions, including first place in the prestigious Baltimore Opera Competition, and joined the voice faculty at SUNY Fredonia. 

She performed with the orchestras and/or opera companies of Seattle, Buffalo, Syracuse, Erie, Columbus, El Paso, and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra during her two years in Fredonia, while her performing career continued to flourish. She decided to leave Fredonia to devote herself entirely to her performance career.

Ms. Chalker had successes from Chautauqua and Glimmerglass, Omaha to Houston, and Ft. Lauderdale to New York City before a well-known agent recruited her for the Deustche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf, Germany and her European career was launched. 

She spent three summers with the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York City, singing in Mithridate, La Finta Giardiniera and the title role of Lucio Silla. After two and a half years in the Düsseldorf ensemble she was asked to join the company of the Zürich Opera. In her 25 years with Opernhaus Zuerich, she sang nearly 900 performances of over 60 different roles.

Ms. Chalker joined the faculty of the Crane School of Music in 2017 and has been heard as a soloist with the Orchestra of Northern New York and on numerous recitals and concerts at Crane.

Mekayla Fountaine, a 2024 graduate of the Crane School of Music with degrees in Vocal Performance and Music Education, will perform alongside her grandmother at the Adirondack Presbyterian Church, Lake Clear.

At the Crane School of Music, she was a prize-winning student of international opera singer and Professor Donald George. A favorite of the Community Performance Series Summer Musicals in Potsdam, she has been featured as Wednesday in THE ADDAMS FAMILY, Lady Larkin in ONCE UPON A MATTRESS and in July was a cast member in THE 25th ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE.

Mekayla performed regularly during her years at Crane, singing Monica in THE MEDIUM and the title role of Maria Mitchell in the workshop performance of the 2023 winner of the prestigious Pellicciotti Prize, COMPUTING VENUS, by Timothy Takach, music and Caitlin Vincent, libretto. She also sang on the 2023 Honors Recital, presented both a Junior and Senior solo recital, and sang and danced in the Crane Opera Ensemble production of “Les Mis-ish", a juke-box musical.

She begins as the Middle School/High School Vocal Music Teacher at Brasher Central School District in September. Already a dedicated teacher, she has a thriving private studio of young piano and voice students.

The performance is free and open to the public although donations are welcome.