The At the Parish House performing arts series of Middleburg's Emmanuel Church is pleased to welcome husband-and-wife duo James and Mary Shaffran on Sunday, February 16, at 3 p.m. In keeping with the season, they will perform love songs and duets from Bach to Broadway – sacred, operatic and pop. Noted pianist Sonya Subbayya Sutton will serve as accompanist.

Baritone James Shaffran's versatility and audience appeal have established him as a Washington, DC favorite – equally at home on concert and opera stages. His work on John Corigliano's Of Rage and Remembrance, with Leonard Slatkin and the National Symphony Orchestra, helped earn a Grammy for Best Classical Album. He created the role of The Principal on the newly released recording of the opera Paul's Case by Gregory Spears, which was just named one of the Five Best New Works of 2019 by Opera News, and among "The Best Opera in the 2010s" by the New York Observer. He has been a Washington Area Music Award (Wammie) nominee for Best Classical Vocal Soloist for the past five years. He is a frequent guest performer with most instrumental organizations and choral societies in the Washington-Baltimore area, and with various ensembles across the nation.

Soprano Mary Shaffran enjoys an active career as a versatile soloist and ensemble member, having appeared with major Washington-area organizations from early music to opera. She is a regular presence in such venues as the Kennedy Center, Wolf Trap, Washington National Cathedral, and Atlanta's Symphony Hall, appearing on several of Robert Shaw's Grammy-winning choral recordings. She appears annually on NBC's Christmas in Washington broadcasts and is a soloist on the influential and critically acclaimed Albany Records recording of Amy Beach's Canticle of the Sun.

Accompanist Sonya Subbayya Sutton is an organist, pianist, conductor, and blogger in the Washington area – with more than 30 years' experience in building Episcopal Church music programs. Her choirs have sung concert tours and residencies at major European churches and cathedrals, including St. Peter's in Rome, Notre Dame in Paris, St. Stephen's in Vienna, and Coventry, Wells and St. David's Cathedrals in the U.K., and she has also served as organist for choirs during residencies at Durham and Canterbury Cathedrals. She earned degrees in music from the College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati.

The concert is Sunday, February 16, at 3 p.m. at Emmanuel Episcopal Church's Parish House, 105 East Washington St., in Middleburg. Reservations are recommended but not required (540-687-6297). A donation of $10 is suggested but not required. All are welcome.