One Enchanted Evening: A Community Celebration of Aquinas College's 125th Anniversary

One Enchanted Evening” is a special celebration for donors and benefactors with live music, wine and a delicious strolling dinner in the historic Holmdene mansion and Carriage House (built 1908).

These classic and elegant buildings, and the college's new Performing Arts Center, will be the setting for the gourmet dinner and concert. Historical tour guides and signage will intrigue guests who will wine and dine to the strains of live music. Antique replica trolleys will transport guests from the Plymouth parking lot through the beautifully wooded campus to the dining and performance venues.

The highlight of this enchanted evening will be a gala concert of vocal and instrumental music from the worlds of opera, Broadway and jazz performed by Aquinas alumni Sara Jakubiak '02, Dr. Andy Fleser ’02, and Barbara Witham McCargar, chair of Aquinas College’s music department, in the college’s Performing Arts Center.

Sara Jakubiak and Dr. Andrew Fleser are rising stars in the world of music. Sara's career has included lead roles with the New York City Opera and opera companies worldwide. Andrew, based in Minneapolis, has performed on A Prairie Home Companion. (See additional biography below.)

Holmdene and the historic buildings on campus were constructed in 1906-1908 by Grand Rapids lumber barons Edward and Susan (Blodgett) Lowe. The building was hailed as the finest estate in the area by the Grand Rapids Press when the Lowes moved in. Historic Holmdene became a social center of the city’s elite, featuring many prestigious guests, including former president Teddy Roosevelt who spent the night when he was in town for a Lincoln Day speech in 1911.

For sponsorship opportunities and ticket information, contact Ellen Harburn, (616) 632-2805 or email at harbuell@aquinas.edu. Tickets for the dinner and concert are $175. Sponsorship opportunities are available at many levels.

Sara Jakubiak ’02 is a rising star in the opera world. She has been described by the New Haven Register as "a singer who is going places and should delight audiences for years to come." Tulsa World says she is possessed of a voice which is "rich and resonant, highly expressive and solid from top to bottom." In 2010-11, she made her New York City Opera debut as Dede in the New York premiere of Leonard Bernstein's A Quiet Place.

Sara's 2011-12 season has included singing Eurydice with the Virginia Opera in Philip Glass' Orphée, and her February performance with the New York City Opera as Fiordiligi in Mozart’s Così fan tutte. She also sang the part of Fiora in Montemezzi’s L’amore dei tre re at the Warsaw Beethoven Festival (CD release date TBD). Future engagements include debuts with Boston Lyric Opera and the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Barbara Witham McCargar, associate professor of music and chairperson of the Aquinas College music department, holds a Master of Music in Voice, with secondary emphasis in Opera, from the University of Michigan, with further study at the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria, and with Mr. Stanley Kolk.

She was a teacher of both Sara Jakubiak and Andrew Fleser.