The Palmetto Opera @ Ebenezer Lutheran Church October 18
Join The Palmetto Opera for a free concert in October!
Patrons and Friends of the Arts at Ebenezer and The Palmetto Opera will present a breathtaking operatic performance on Sunday, October 18th at 4:00 pm in the sanctuary of Ebenezer by Columbia vocalists.
Come and enjoy exceptional music, an elegant setting, and perhaps a glass of champagne whether you're a seasoned aficionado or a curious newcomer!
This concert is free and open to the public.
Sunday, October 18th at 4:00PM
Ebenezer Lutheran Church
1301 Richland St.
Columbia, SC 29201
Ashley Briggs Oakey, Soprano
Ashley Briggs Oakey is recognized for her expressive performances in both opera and concert repertoire. She holds a Master of Music in Opera Performance from the University of Maryland and a Bachelor of Music from the University of South Carolina. Operatic highlights include Giorgetta in Il tabarro, Lady with a Cake Box in Dominick Argento's Postcard from Morocco, Georgiana in Miss Havisham's Fire, Emily in Our Town, and Papagena in Die Zauberflöte. While at the University of Maryland's Maryland Opera Studio, she also appeared in the chorus of Florencia en el Amazonas, participated in a workshop reading of Reading Lolita in Tehran as Azin, and performed scenes from Carmen, L'incoronazione di Poppea, Die Zauberflöte, and The Gondoliers.
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An active concert soloist, Ashley's repertoire includes Brahms' Ein Deutsches Requiem, Haydn's Harmoniemesse and Lord Nelson Mass, Mozart's Requiem, Rossini's Stabat Mater, Beethoven's Mass in C Major, and Vivaldi's Gloria. She has performed throughout Maryland, Washington, D.C., and South Carolina, and was featured as soprano soloist in a Prelude to the Olympics concert tour of China featuring Vivaldi's Gloria.
In 2012, Ashley was honored to perform the National Anthem at the Lincoln Memorial during the wreath-laying ceremony commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Morrill Act. She is also a recipient of a First Place Award from the South Carolina District Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.
Dr. Johnnie J. Felder, Tenor
Dr. Johnnie J. Felder is an acclaimed American tenor, educator, and conductor, dedicated to excellence in vocal performance and pedagogy. A native of Vance, South Carolina and known for his powerful voice, dynamic teaching, and visionary leadership, he serves as Assistant Professor of Music (Voice) and Director of Choral Activities at South Carolina State University, where he has revitalized the Choral program and expanded its artistic reach through innovative performances and community engagement.
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Dr. Felder earned the Doctor of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance from the University of South Carolina, and has performed leading operatic roles throughout the United States and Europe, including appearances in Austria and Bulgaria. Most recently, Felder made his Carnegie Hall debut with the New England Symphonic Ensemble in Adolphus Hailstork’s sacred cantata I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes, has performed alongside operatic superstar, Denyce Graves, in Carlos Simon’s The Passion of Mary Cardwell Dawson (Opera Carolina & NC Opera), the world premiere of Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels’ Omar (Spoleto Festival, USA), as soloist in the world premiere of Abels’ choral cycle At War With Ourselves alongside the Kronos Quartet and renowned poet Nikki Finney (San Francisco
Jazz Center), and the world premiere of Gordon Goodwin’s Three Songs to Poems with the South Carolina Philharmonic. An advocate for the music of composers from the African Diaspora, Felder’s research champions underrepresented vocal repertoire and aims to expand the classical music canon in artsong, operatic, and concert literature – all while inspiring the next generation of musicians. Dr. Felder continues to shape the future of vocal music through performance, scholarship, and additional professorships at the University of South Carolina School of Music and Winthrop University respectively.
Ella Canney, Soprano
Soprano Ella Canney is a senior Vocal Performance major at the University of South Carolina, where she studies with esteemed mezzo-soprano Rachel Calloway.
Ella is a two-time winner of the USC Vocal Arts Honors Recital and a recipient of the Columbia Music Clubs Scholarship Fund Competition. She is also a winner of the 2026 USC Concerto-Aria competition. She has appeared in multiple productions with Opera at USC- most recently as Anna Gomez in Menotti’s The Consul and La Ciesca in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi.
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This fall she will sing the titular role in Handel’s Alcina.
Her summer experiences include participation in the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Summer Performing Arts with Juilliard, Opera Lucca, and the USC Castleton Immersion Program. Most recently, she attended the Chautauqua Opera Conservatory where she performed the role of First Lady in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte and covered the role of Lia in Debussy’s L’enfant prodigue.
Colin Cunningham, Baritone
Colin Cunningham, Baritone, is from Pawleys Island, South Carolina and a senior pursuing a degree in Vocal Arts at the University of South Carolina. He studies with Professor Jacob Will and currently performs with Opera at USC. Colin has performed the roles of Henry in Kurt Weill’s Street Scene, Il Commendatore and Leporello in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, the Father in Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel, and Dr. Gibbs in Ned Rorem’s Our Town, and John Sorel in Menotti’s The Consul. Colin has also performed in venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York City, the Musikverein in Vienna, and Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.
Sharon Hudson Rattray, Pianist
An accomplished and versatile musician, Sharon Hudson Rattray, is in constant demand as a performer accompanist, and organist. Mrs. Rattray received her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in piano performance from USC, where she received the prestigious Most Outstanding Senior Award. Mrs. Rattray continued her training as a chamber musician in Munich where she attended the Institute of Chamber Music. In 1991, she was selected to represent USC in a chamber music concert at the Lincoln Center for the Mozart Bicentennial Celebration.
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From 1988 to 1993, Sharon was a member of the Columbia College staff as instructor in the pre-college music program. Mrs. Rattray has performed as a soloist with both the USC Orchestra and the South Carolina Philharmonic.
Currently she serves as staff accompanist at the USC School of Music, accompanist for the Lexington County Choral Society, and organist at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Columbia. Along with her sister, Allison Hudson Hilbish, Sharon frequently performs sacred piano/organ due concerts. She resides in the Midlands with her husband, Marc, and her two sons, Truman and Matthew.
Dr. Peter A. Barton, Master of Ceremonies
Artistic Director, Board of Directors The Palmetto Opera
Dr. Peter Barton, baritone, trained in opera, music and drama at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Texas at Austin. Later in his life, he obtained his Master of Music degree from Winthrop University and completed his doctorate in voice performance at the University of South Carolina in Fall 2011. His voice teaching background includes many years of private voice studio teaching as well as institutional positions with Georgetown University and the University of South Carolina. He currently accepts select students into his studio, both virtually and in person.
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Dr. Barton was involved in recital work, musical theater and opera in the Washington DC area for twenty years. He performed with the Washington Opera Society for five seasons, the Maryland Opera Studio for four seasons and has given recitals at Georgetown University and American University. He has been active in the Southeast region for the last fifteen years, performing Dr. Falke in DIE FLEDERMAUS, Count Almaviva in LE NOZZE DI FIGARO and the title role in GIANNI SCHICCHI. Other major roles include: Figaro in IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA, Malatesta in DON PASQUALE, Germont in LA TRAVIATA, Michele in IL TABARRO, Ravenal in SHOWBOAT, Tommy in BRIGADOON, Billy Bigelow in CAROUSEL and the Pirate King in THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE.
At Georgetown University, Dr. Barton directed all performing arts programs and was instrumental in establishing an Artist in Residence program, which brought prominent musicians and artists to the university community. For ten years, he was the Director of the Vocal and Opera Program for the Amalfi Coast Music & Arts Festival in Italy. Mr. Barton worked for The Department of the Treasury, Price Waterhouse, The Export Import Bank of the U.S. and Fannie Mae in the business, technology and finance world. In higher education, he worked for George Washington University and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
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