Concierto De Aranjuez For Guitar and Orchestra Joaquín Rodriguez
Guest Guitar: Massimo Delle Cese
Guest Artist: Sarah Purser
Sarah Purser
Sarah Purser, mezzo-soprano, is an active performer and arts educator in Central Florida, known for her expressive musicianship and leadership in the region's operatic and choral community. She serves as Education Director of Opera Orlando, maintains a private voice studio, and is on the administrative staff of Orlando Sings. A founding member of the professional women's vocal ensemble The Helena Collective, Purser was a featured artist in the company's original production 6/VIII: The Six Wives of Henry VIII, which received a Critic's Choice Award at the Orlando Fringe Festival. She performs frequently with Opera Orlando and other regional companies.
Favorite operatic credits include Marcellina (Le nozze di Figaro), Hansel (Hansel and Gretel), Tisbe (La Cenerentola), Abby Borden (Albert Herring), Prince Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus), and Maddalena (Rigoletto).
An in-demand concert and oratorio soloist, Purser has appeared with the Florida Orchestra, Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, Space Coast Symphony Orchestra, the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park, and the Messiah Choral Society. She is a member of the professional vocal ensemble Solaria Singers and was a soloist in their 2024 production of Considering Matthew Shepard.
She sings regularly with the Basilica Choir at the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe and performs original music with The Sarah Purser Band alongside her husband, bassist Marco Bojorque.
Michael Anthony Rodriguez
Born and raised in Miami, FL, Cuban-American tenor Michael Anthony Rodriguez is currently based in Orlando, FL, where he can be found performing regularly as Crush in Walt Disney World's Finding Nemo: The Big Blue & Beyond, as a Dapper Dan in Disney's Magic Kingdom on Main Street USA, and with Disney's internationally-acclaimed ensemble The Voices of Liberty. Before his move to Orlando, Michael was most formerly a Mainstage Artist with Opera Southwest, where he performed the roles of Pong in Puccini's Turandot and Le comte Albéric in the American premiere of Louise Bertin's Le loup garou, where he was praised for his "sweet though powerful tenor voice [which] could produce a really dulcet sound" (Donizetti Society, 2022). A former artist in residence with the Houston Grand Opera for their 2021-2022 season, he was seen in their mainstage productions of Bizet's Carmen, Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmélites, Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Puccini's Turandot, and Gounod's Roméo et Juliette, as well as in the role of Almaviva in their touring production of Rossini's The Barber of Seville. During his time in Houston, Michael also sang the role of the Navigator in a second-round workshop of composer Jeremy Howard Beck's new opera: Another City, and was able to work as part of HGO's Community & Learning program in several of their outreach projects. He received his BM and MM in Vocal Performance from Stetson University and Louisiana State University respectively under the tutelage of esteemed Professors Robert Grayson, Craig Maddox, and Metropolitan Opera sensation Paul Groves. Mr. Rodriguez came to national attention as a four-time district and regional winner/encouragement winner of the Metropolitan Opera's National Council Auditions in 2021-24, and internationally as a finalist in the 10o Concorso internazionale "Città di Pisa" Omaggio a Titta Ruffo, as well as during his recital tour in Vienna. His previous roles include Eisenstein in Strauss II's Die Fledermaus, Rinuccio in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi, Sesto in Händel's Giulio Cesare, Le Chevalier des Grieux in Massenet's Manon, Ferrando in W.A. Mozart's Così fan tutte, the Chevalier de la Force in Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmélites, the title role of Britten's Albert Herring, Valetto in Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea, Niki in Straus's Ein Walzertraum, Franz/Dennis in Sondheim's Sunday in the Park with George, Ben in Menotti's The Telephone, St. Aphrodisus in Menken & Schwartz's The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Yakuside in Puccini's Madama Butterfly. Additional highlights include various Gilbert & Sullivan roles, such as Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance, Ko-Ko in The Mikado, and both roles of Sir Jospeh Porter & Boatswain in H.M.S. Pinafore. Michael has also performed as a featured soloist with Opera Orlando, New Orleans Opera, Vero Beach Opera, the Bel Canto Singers of Daytona, Treasure Coast Community Singers, and the Millennium Master Chorale, and looks forward to making his solo debut with the Orlando Philharmonic in their May 2026 performance of Beethoven's 9th Symphony, as well as with Orlando Sings in February 2026, as the tenor soloist for Florida's first-ever performance of Händel's Messiah in Spanish.
Massimo Delle Cese
Regularly concert touring Italy and abroad, Massimo has appeared in international guitar festivals all over the world, and is a former member of the St.Cecilia Guitar Trio, with whom he recorded two CDs. His solo recordings have received great acclaim from audiences, critics and international guitar magazine reviewers. His recording of the Italian guitarist/composer Mario Gangi's 22 Studies has been a great success, as has his latest album, "Tributes Y Homenajes: from Bach to Tommy Emmanuel," just released on major music digital stores, published by News for Guitar recording label.
Massimo is both a professional concert artist and a dedicated educator, being chair professor at "Santa Cecilia" Conservatory/Academy of Music in Rome and giving a permanent master-class course at AVOS Project Academy. He's also given master classes in several international guitar festivals, conservatories and universities all over the world. He is art director of the ARC Rome Guitar Festival, the Conservatorio Santa Cecilia "GuitFest" in Rome, and the News for Guitar Summer Camp. Massimo performs exclusively on Savarez Cantiga Premium Strings and guitars made for him by Leonardo De Gregorio.
Based in Florida's friendliest hometown, "The Villages Philharmonic" is a professional Orchestra presenting the highest possible standard for excellence in musical performance since 2003.
Under the musical direction of acclaimed Conductor Pasquale Valerio, the orchestra has grown in stature while enriching and shaping cultural life. The orchestra presents musical masterpieces to nourish the hearts, souls and minds of local music patrons.
Most members live in the Orlando area but we have regular members who come from as far afield as Jacksonville, Tampa, Daytona and St. Petersburg. The Philharmonic gives 13-15 concerts per year and so we don't provide full time employment for any of the players. Our players are comprised of resident and international artists who collaborate with symphonic and operatic companies at large. Although most orchestra members are not Villagers, there are two professional orchestra members who are Village residents and there are six amateurs who train each Saturday so that they can meet the standards required to play with the Philharmonic.
