Julianne Casey is fulfilling a long-held dream this weekend.
Casey, a 2016 Tyler Junior College graduate and Whitehouse native, will perform for her hometown crowd Saturday as special guest soloist with the East Texas Symphony Orchestra. The performance is set for 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 25, in the UT Tyler Cowan Center. Tickets are on sale at etxsymphony.org.
“During my time at TJC, I secretly made a goal for myself that I would one day return home to perform with the East Texas Symphony Orchestra,” Casey said. “This performance signifies the ability to set a goal which took years to achieve. It confirms that dreams do take time, consistency, and a lot of love.”
For more than a century, the Boston Pops Orchestra has entertained audiences with programs featuring a mix of light classics, selections from film and stage musicals, patriotic tunes and popular classical fare. Saturday’s ETSO program, “A Tribute to the Boston Pops,” will include familiar works by Leonard Bernstein, John Philip Sousa and Johann Strauss Jr., as well as tunes from “Les Miserables,” “Harry Potter” and “Game of Thrones.”
Casey added, “This performance also represents the incredible arts community that we have in East Texas, who consistently show up, encourage and support the young artists in our area. I'm so thankful to share this joyful moment with the community that raised me.”
It started at TJC
With no prior musical training, Casey’s operatic studies first began as a TJC vocal performance major within the studio of Professor Andrea Trent.
During her time at TJC, Casey performed the leading role of Janet van de Graff in the spring musical, “The Drowsy Chaperone.” She was also a two-year Mewbourne scholarship recipient, a member of Harmony & Understanding, TJC Chamber Singers and the TJC Choir.
After TJC, Casey moved to New York, where she earned her bachelor’s degree from the SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Music and her master’s degree from The New School’s Mannes School of Music.
Julianne Casey (center) shines in the leading role of Janet van de Graff in TJC’s 2016 spring musical, “The Drowsy Chaperone.”
She recently appeared at the Festival Internazionale di Mezza Estate alongside the Orchestra Sinfonica Abruzzese in Tagliacozzo, Italy, performing Puccini arias. During her time in Italy, she performed scenes from Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly,” singing the role of Cio-Cio San, as well as “Turandot “in the role of Liù, with Classic Lyric Arts of New York City.
Along with her opera performances, Casey can be seen on HBO Max’s “And Just Like That,” the Showtime series “Billions,” “Gossip Girl” and the 2023 Netflix film, “Maestro.”
“The professors at TJC educated, nurtured and inspired me from day one to go as far as possible in my studies, even when I had no idea what was truly possible,” she said. “I was able to build a foundation by performing wherever I could, which was only made possible through this excellent institution and its immense scholarship opportunities. In just two years, I was able to continue on to a music conservatory in New York where I completed a bachelor’s and a master’s degree.”
She added, “Without my experience at TJC, I never would have been able to go as far as I have in my career. Thankfully, I have remained very close with my professors at TJC and continue to seek their guidance in my endeavors as I navigate a career in opera.”