EUGENE–Internationally acclaimed vocal soloists Lucy Shelton and Milagro Vargas will perform a program of vocal duets–including a world premiere–during a Chamber Music Series concert scheduled at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 23, in Beall Concert Hall at the University of Oregon School of Music, 961 E. 18th Ave.

The world premiere, "Honour Is So Sublime," is by Eugene composer Tom Manoff, well known as a classical music critic for National Public Radio’s "All Things Considered." His new work is a setting of one of John Donne’s letters in verse that was addressed to the Countess of Bedford. Faculty violinists Fritz Gearhart and Kathryn Lucktenberg will accompany Shelton and Vargas on this piece.

Also included on the program will be selections by Handel, Brahms, Gounod, Berlioz, Chausson, Purcell and Ibert, and a set of six duets by Mendelssohn. Piano accompaniment will be by Kayo Iwana, who has concertized extensively throughout North America, Europe and Japan.

The concert will be preceded by "Musical Insights" at 7 p.m., with Professor Robert Hurwitz offering a free audience-friendly talk about the evening’s repertoire.

Reserved-seat tickets range from $10 to $25, available in advance from the Hult Center, (541) 682-5000, or from the Ticket Office at the Erb Memorial Union, 346-4363. A limited number of discounted student tickets will be sold at the music school the day of the concert.

Shelton is renowned as one of the foremost American concert sopranos of the modern era. Her career encompasses an expansive scope, from Bach and Handel to Babbitt and Carter. She has performed in recital, opera and chamber music, and as an orchestral soloist, and is well known for her innovative programming.

Shelton is in great demand as an interpreter of new music, and numerous works have been written for her, including Elliott Carter’s "Of Challenge and Of Love," Sally Beamish’s "Monster," Stephen Albert’s "Flower of the Mountain," Oliver Knussen’s "Whitman Settings" (her New York Philharmonic debut), Poul Ruder’s "The Bells" and Joseph Schwanter’s "Magabunda."

Among the works Shelton has premiered are David Del Tredici’s "Quaint Events," Alexander Goehr’s "Sing, Ariel" (her Aldeburgh Festival debut), Gerard Grisey’s "L’Icone Paradoxale," Ned Rorem’s "Schuyller Songs," Dmitri Smirnov’s "8 Line Poems" and James Yannatos’s "Trinity Mass."

Career highlights include performances of Pierre Boulez’s "Le Visage Nuptial" with the Chicago Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic and London Symphony orchestras, her BBC Proms debut in Luigi Dallapiccola’s "Il Prigioniero" and the role of Jennifer in Michael Tippett’s "The Midsummer Marriage" for Thames TV.

She made her Vienna and Berlin debuts singing Gyorgy Kurtag’s "The Sayings of Peter Bomemisza" with Andras Schiff. She has sung Luigi Nono’s "Il Canto Sospeso" in London, Holland and Salzburg, Hans-Werner Henze’s "Das Floss der Medusa" in Munich and Cologne, Arnold Schoenberg’s "Erwartung" in the Hague, Peter Maxwell Davies’ "Revelation and Fall" in Los Angeles and Hannover, and Elliott Carter’s "A Mirror on Which to Dwell" at the Warsaw Autumn Festival.

On recent releases for Deutsche Grammophon, Shelton is heard with the Cleveland Orchestra in Stravinsky’s "Faun and Shepherdess," with the London Sinfonietta in Knussen’s "Whitman Settings" and with the Schoenberg Ensemble in chamber music of Ruth Crawford Seeger.

For Koch International, she and pianist John Constable recorded Oliver Messiaen’s "Harawi" as well as the premiere recording of Elliott Carter’s "Of Challenge and Of Love" with the complete songs of Igor Stravinsky. She can also be heard on Bridge Records with the Da Capo Chamber Players in Schoenberg’s "Pierrot Lunaire" and "Herzgewachse."

Shelton is a graduate of Pomona College and the New England Conservatory, both of which have honored her as a distinguished alumna. She currently teaches at the New England Conservatory and at Tanglewood Music Center. Shelton has the distinction of being the only artist to receive the International Walter Naumburg Award twice.

Vargas, a renowned mezzo-soprano, is an associate professor of voice at the University of Oregon, where she has been on the music faculty since 1992. A native of New York, she completed her undergraduate degree at the Oberlin School of Music and received a master’s degree from the Eastman School of Music.

Vargas was a soloist with the Stuttgart Opera from 1983—1992. Among her roles were Cherubino in "The Marriage of Figaro," Orlofksy in Strauss’s "Die Fledermaus" and Nancy in Britten’s "Albert Herring." She sang Charlotte in Zimmerman’s "Die Soldaten," a role she reprised in 1995 at the Opera de Paris Bastille and recorded by Teldec.

Other roles include Dorabella in "Così fan tutte" at Berlin’s Komische Oper and Ramiro in "La Finta Giardiniera" at the Heidelberg Schlossfest. Her portrayal of Nefertiti in the world premiere of Phillip Glass’s "Akhnaten" was recorded by CBS/Sony, Dennis Russell Davies conducting. She sang Fortunata in Bruno Maderna’s "Satyricon," recorded by Harmonia Mundi. In 1996 she sang the role of Carmen with the Eugene Opera.

As a soloist, Vargas has appeared with the American Composer’s Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Beethoven Halle Orchestra, Residentie Orkest (the Hague), Staatsorchester Stuttgart and Saint Luke’s Chamber Orchestra. An avid proponent of vocal chamber music, she has appeared with Da Camera (Houston), Chicago Chamber Players, the Amsterdam Chamber Festival, the Saarbrücken Festival for New Music, and festivals at Aspen, Marlboro, Bard, Chamber Music Northwest and Cabrillo.

Highlights from recent seasons include Bach’s "B Minor Mass" and Beethoven’s "Missa Solemnis" with conductor Helmuth Rilling and the Real Philharmonia (Spain), Copland’s "Emily Dickinson Songs" with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and appearances at Lincoln Center’s Great Performers Series.

In 1998 she was a soloist for the world premiere of Penderecki’s "Credo" (Hänssler recording) at the Oregon Bach Festival, and toured Poland, Russia and Germany for the European premiere. In 1999 she appeared in Carnegie Hall with the American Composer’s Orchestra, Dennis Russell Davis conducting, and joined conductor Murry Sidlin for performances and recording of Copland’s "The Tender Land" with The Third Angle New Music Ensemble on the Koch label.

Both Vargas and Shelton were featured soloists at the Hult Center last November as the Eugene Symphony premiered Robert Kyr’s Symphony No. 9, "The Spirit of Time."

For more information, call the music school weekdays at (541) 346-5678. To confirm concert times and ticket information, call GuardLine from a Touch-Tone phone at 485-2000, ext. 2533, for a 24-hours-a-day taped message of the week’s events.

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