A Benefit For The Red Church Preservation Fund



 

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About Catherine Gordon, Soprano

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  Catherine has her BA in Theatre from Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Indiana. In 2017, she was invited to join the alumni of Saint Mary’s Women’s Choir in a performance of American composer Libby Larsen’s, “Magnificat,” at Carnegie Hall.  Her preparation for that concert inspired a shift from Musical Theatre to classical, sacred, and ballad singing.  Catherine worked for 11 years as an actor, singer, dancer, and choreographer in Los Angeles.  She played principal roles opposite Lucy Arnaz in “Wonderful Town,” Vicki Lawrence in “Hello Dolly,” and Bill Hayes in “42 nd Street.” She was also a principal singer/dancer for Holland America Line.  Catherine came to Sonora to play Joan in “Dames at Sea,” for Sierra Repertory Theatre, met her husband Van there, and stayed for good. She recently joined the congregation here at St. James, and she is grateful for the warm welcome, and the chance to share the stories of a remarkable woman of Tuolumne County and the famou...
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Engaging Women: A Musical Tale of Tuolumne County

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  The upcoming benefit concert and Victorian Tea at The Red Church in Sonora features the stories and songs of engaging women in Tuolumne County. Elizabeth Leary of Columbia California was one of the first women to take advantage of the Sole Trader act, which allowed her to start her own business in the Performing Arts.  There is a lingering misconception that amusements in Columbia during the Gold Rush were all in the nature of saloons, fandangos, and gambling halls.  The surprising truth is that by 1853, Elizabeth Leary, the wife of Constable John C. Leary, was presenting some of the finest performing artists in the world right here in Tuolumne County. Two of the "Celebrity Songbirds," of the era: Eliza Biscaccianti (The American Thrush) and Catherine Hayes (The Swan of Erin) performed at Mrs. Leary's Assembly Hall at Fulton and Broadway in Columbia. Both of these famous Cantatrices were represented by P.T. Barnum, who had begun promoting opera stars as a way to build h...
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