Sounds For All Seasons at Sachem Library

In November 2000, 10-year old Robert Cinnante and his 7-year old best friend, Michael Dougherty asked to perform a holiday music concert at the .  The Holbrook youths auditioned, performed and began what was to become an annual music tradition.

Now, a decade later, both are Sachem East graduates.  Cinnante, 21, was accepted to Juilliard Pre-College and started at 13 years old.  Two years later he performed at the Tanglewood Music Festival outside Boston, and at 16 years old he participated in the Bel Canto Institute's summer program in Florence, Italy.  He now attends the New England Conservatory of Music, and has performed with the Amato Opera.  The tenor, who works with acclaimed vocal coach Pat Meslin, also appeared in 2006 in a master class at C.W. Post with Russian pianist, Natasha Paremski.

Dougherty, 18, has performed for the National Guild of Piano Teachers, and is now in his first year at Cornell University.

The show began with Giordani's "Caro Mio Ben", followed by Mozart's "Per pieta non Ricercate," which the audience was informed is a standard piece in every tenor's repertoire.  It's from an opera that was lost, but this piece was saved.  Cinnante explained, "The character is a count deriding the trials and tribulations of love."

Dougherty got to shine during a piano solo of Chopin's "Polonaise in A Flat Major," a haunting melody executed with precision and confidence.

The pianist was once again joined by his friend for two pieces by Tosti, whom Cinnante called one of his favorite composers.  He filled the audience in on the Italian composer's life.  Tosti live in Italy in the late 1800s, and early 1900s.  While he wrote approximately 300 songs, he never penned an opera.  The first selection, "Non t'amo piu" has the character of an aria and translates to "I don't love you anymore." 

The second Tosti song included was "L'ultima Canzone" or "The Last Song."  It's about a man singing a serenade to the woman he loves the night before she marries another.  "He sings that even though you're going to marry someone else, you'll always remember my song," said Cinnante.

The tenor succinctly and eloquently detailed the history of both the featured composers, and the meaning behind their compositions, before rendering each selection with a passion and mastery far beyond his years.

The audience didn't need to understand the language being sung to grasp the emotions behind it.  Their performance was an excellent introduction to opera.  It made the urbane art form eminently accessible to the average person, through pairing it with back stories to which almost anyone could relate.

Cinnante plans on going to graduate school, and then on to get his doctorate.  He hopes to study in Europe this summer, and is planning to pursue a career as an opera singer.

Dougherty is undecided about his future career path. "He's at Cornell; it's a good start," said his best friend and musical collaborator.

The boys began performing Broadway and Disney songs together when Cinnante was 7 years old and Dougherty was just 4 years old. Cinnante's first instrument was the flute, and then he decided he wanted to sing.  The budding musicians put on a show in their gated community as youngsters that ignited a lifelong love of music in both, and secured a lasting bond of friendship.

The concert ended, after a standing ovation, with an encore including Irving Berlin's "God Bless America." Cinnante's brother, Danny, 13, is autistic and came on stage to provide sign language for the patriotic piece. 

Cinnante said of the touching number, "It's sort of a tradition.  We do it at every concert since around 9/11.  It started in honor of our country and our armed forces overseas."

After the performance, a forum was opened up for a brief question and answer period with the audience.  There, Cinnante revealed that going from the flute to singing was actually a natural progression. 

"The flute is the closest instrument to the human voice," he said. 

The singer proved to be a talented flutist as well during Saint -Saens "Le Cygne", and on the Irish tune "Danny Boy." 

"What I think is most special is that they found each other, found a kindred spirit," said Joan Catz-Wurtzel, a retiree who enjoys coming to many performances and seminars at the library. "Talent like that is not run of the mill.  What a gift for each of them, and for us."

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