Vocalist Anqi He and pianist Wendy Wang, Doctor of Musical Arts students at James Madison University, will perform as part of the Bel Canto Trio concert on Tuesday, February 18 @ 8 pm at the Forbes Center for the Performing Arts. The two JMU School of Music students will perform “Va! laisse couler mes larmes” from the French opera Werther by Jules Massenet.

“I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to be able to sing one of my favorite arias as a part of the Bel Canto Trio concert at the Forbes Center,” says He. Wang adds, “I am thrilled to have this opportunity.”

With music direction by Christopher Allen, the Bel Canto trio features bass-baritone Nicholas Brownlee, soprano Julie Adams and tenor Joshua Guerrero, three of opera’s most critically-acclaimed stars performing the world’s greatest arias, duets, and trios from Rigoletto, Faust, I Lombardi, La traviata, Manon Lescaut, La bohème, and more. The concert commemorates the 70th anniversary of the original Bel Canto Trio, and features the program that toured the United States in the 1947-1948 season.

According to The New York Times, Nicholas Brownlee is “charismatic and charming,” Julie Adams possesses a voice that is “rich, full and slightly earthy in an expressive way,” and Grammy Award-winning Joshua Guerrero is a “gifted young tenor.”

Anqi He, mezzo-soprano, from Anhui, China, received her bachelor’s degree in violin performance at Anhui Normal University as a scholarship student. She earned her master’s and graduate performance degrees in voice as a scholarship student at the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University. She is currently pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in the studio of Dr. Carrie Stevens at James Madison University.

Huanwen (Wendy) Wang is a Chinese pianist. She has studied with many excellent teachers, and holds degrees from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and Manhattan School of Music. Wang completed the Certificate Program in Injury-Preventive Keyboard Technique at Salem College. She is currently pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at James Madison University with Dr. Lori Piitz.

Tickets to the Forbes Center event are $37-$39. For tickets, visit www.jmuforbescenter.com or call the Forbes Center Box Office at (540) 568-7000.