New York Festival of Song Program History
Includes: Title, Date, Venue, Artists, Program
This page is dedicated in loving memory to Jean Trotzky,
our wonderful volunteer, whose dedicated efforts
created and maintained this list for many years.
Click on a highlighted program title to see an excerpt from program notes for the concert.
The concerts are listed in chronological order.
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10/9/1988
Greenwich House Music School
Harris, Brenda, soprano
Harris, Braden, bass-baritone,
Danner, Blythe, narrator
Blier, Steven, piano
Shakespeare's words set to music -- including a rare performance of Kabalevsky's Shakespeare's Sonnets sung in Russian. Other works by Hector Berlioz, Roger Quilter, Thomas Arne, William Schuman, Dick Hyman, and John Dankworth, all setting Shakespeare's poetry to music
Americans on America
10/23/1988
Greenwich House Music School
Holvik, Karen, soprano
Sharp, William, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
Songs about people and places in our country. Composers include Charles Ives, Leonard Bernstein, William Bolcom, Virgil Thomson, Samuel Barber and John Musto.
Obbligato
11/13/1988
Greenwich House Music School
Pelton, Carmen, soprano
Kazaras, Peter, tenor
Barrett, Michael, keyboards
Tomkins, Leslie, viola
Robison, Paula, flut
A concert of vocal chamber music, featuring works of J. S. Bach, Franz Schubert, Aaron Jay Kernis, and the world premiere of Bright Sheng's Chinese Folk Songs
Rodgers and Hart's Boys From Syracuse
12/18/1988
Greenwich House Music School
Holvik, Karen, soprano
Trakas, Christopher, baritone
Yahr, Carol, mezzo-soprano
A 50th anniversary concert performance of the 1938 smash hit with full cast
4/9/1989
Greenwich House Music School
Fink, Bernarda, mezzo-soprano
Trakas, Christopher, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
Tangos, ballads, love songs---the rhythm and melody of South America. Works by Heitor Villa-Lobos, Francisco Braga, Ernesto Nazareth, Alberto Ginastera, and Carlos Guastavino
Night Songs
4/23/1989
Greenwich House Music School
Yahr, Carol, mezzo-soprano
Kazaras, Peter, tenor
Sharp, William, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
A musical journey through the night: romance, incantations, dreams, seductions, people together and people alone. Works by Hugo Wolf, Charles Griffes, Camille Saint-Saens, Robert Schumann, Marc Blitzstein, John Musto, and others.
5/7/1989
Greenwich House Music School
Ollmann, Kurt, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
French and American Music before and after the Jazz Age. Francis Poulenc's Bal Masqué. The program also includes Darius Milhaud's Scaramouce for two pianos and songs by George Gershwin, Henri Duparc and Charles Ives.
3/18/1990
Greenwich House Music School
Burton, Amy, soprano
Trakas, Christopher, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
Love stories, ghost stories, stories with morals and stories with no morals by Hugo Wolf, Franz Schubert, Karl Loewe, Lee Hoiby, Benjamin Britten, Cole Porter, and others
2/24/1990
Greenwich House Music School
Bean, Gwenneth (Frisco Kate)
Criswell, Kim (Molly Gray)
Wray, Margaret Jane (Patsy West)
Sharp, William (Danny Churchill)
Hume, Michael (Slick)
Sloman, John (Gieber Goldfarb)
Goldstein Steven; Holmes, Richard; Hume, Michael; Keuther, John (Foursome)
Stoltz, Eric (Narrator)
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
A concert version of Gershwin's musical theater play.
2/25/1990
Greenwich House Music School
Repeat cast of 2/24/1990
Repeat of program of 2/24/1990
4/22/1990
Greenwich House Music School
Landry, Rosemarie, soprano
Ollman, Kurt, baritone
Epstein, Alvin, narrator
Blier, Steven, piano
Tomkins, Leslie, viola
The poetry of Verlaine and Rimbaud set to music by Debussy, Fauré, Reynaldo Hahn, Lee Hoiby, and Benjamin Britten
5/20/1990
Greenwich House Music School
Burton, Amy, soprano
Charleston, Rondi, soprano
Hume, Michael, tenor
Lessner, Joanne, mezzo-soprano
Mayo, Don, bass
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
A program of songs by Aaron Jay Kernis, Michael John LaChiusa, Ricky Ian Gordon, James Sellars, Jamie Bernstein, and Scott Frankel
10/21/1990
Greenwich House Music School
Hunt, Lorraine, mezzo-soprano
Ollmann, Kurt, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Lieder by Robert Schumann, nearly all written in 1940.
11/8/1990
Greenwich House Music School
Hunter, Marsha, soprano
Kent, Brian, baritone
Stewart, Mark, cello
Blier, Steven, piano
A concert of the songs on Lennon and McCartney in unusual arrangements
11/11/1990
Greenwich House Music School
Repeat cast of 11/8/1990
Repeat of program of 11/8/1990
11/30/1990
Greenwich House Music School
Pelton, Carmen, soprano
Smith, Pamela, contralto
Trakas, Christopher, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Folk music from many countries, running from art songs through rough "street" songs
12/2/1990
Greenwich House Music School
Same cast as program of 11/30/1990
Repeat of program of 11/30/1990
Unquiet Peace: The Lied Between the Wars
2/10/1991
Greenwich House Music School
Sieden, Cynthia, soprano
Sharp, William, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
A program of early 20th century German composers, including Hans Eisler, Kurt Weill, Richard Strauss, Alexander Zemlinsky, and others
Theater and Cabaret Music of William Bolcom
3/25/1991
Alice Tully Hall
Buffaloe, Katherine, mezzo-soprano
Burton, Amy, soprano
Groenndaal, Chris, tenor
Korbich, Eddie, tenor
Bolcom, William, SPECIAL GUEST
Morris, Joan, SPECIAL GUEST
Blier, Steven, piano
Barrett, Michael, conductor
Songs composed by William Bolcom and Darius Milhaud with selections from The Beggar's Opera by John Gay, arranged by Bolcom and Milhaud
Leonard Bernstein, A Concert Tribute
4/6/1991
Church of Holy Trinity, Philadelphia, PA
Buffaloe, Katherine, soprano
Edeiken, Louise, soprano
Bogardus, Stephen, tenor
Sharp, William, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Thomas, Jamie Bernstein, narrator
Arias and Barcarolles, and selections from West Side Story, On the Town, Candide, Wonderful Town, Trouble in Tahiti, Mass, and Peter Pan
Leonard Bernstein: From Concert Stage to Broadway
4/7/1991
Brooklyn College
Brooklyn, NY
Repeat cast of 4/6/1991
Repeat of concert of 4/6/1991
4/14/1991
Greenwich House Music School
Fink, Bernarda, mezzo-soprano
Trakas, Christopher, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
Songs from Brazil and Argentina featuring the music of Guastavino, Villa-Lobos, Ginastera, Braga, Piazzolla, Nazareth, and others
5/12/1991
Greenwich House Music School
Holvik, Karen, soprano
Morgan, Beverly, soprano
Bybee, Luretta, mezzo-soprano
Schopick, Frances, mezzo-soprano
Musto, John, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Songs by Chris DeBlasio, Eric Klein, David Leisner, Deniz Ulben, Ricky Ian Gordon, Tobias Picker, Hayes Biggs, with premiere performances of songs by Stewart Wallace, John Musto, and Aaron Jay Kernis
8/17/1991
The Jewish Center of the Hamptons, East Hampton, NY
Buffaloe, Katherine, soprano
Brandstetter, John, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Music of Leonard Bernstein, Marc Blitzstein, William Bolcom, Cole Porter and others
10/1/1991
Luther College, Decorah, IA
Bunnell, Jane, mezzo-soprano
Sharp, William, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Leonard Bernstein's last work, Arias and Barcarolles, along with selections from On the Town, Trouble in Tahiti, and songs by Marc Blitstein
10/6/1991
Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, NY
Same cast as program of 10/1/1991
Repeat of the program of 10/1/1991
10/13/1991
Greenwich House Music School
Bunnell, Jane, mezzo-soprano
Sharp, William, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Bernstein's Arias and Barcarolles, songs by Ives, Ellington, Blitzstein, and Porter
Spanish Song, Wine, & Food
11/22/1991
Hunt, Lorraine, mezzo-soprano
Trakas, Christopher, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Benefit hosted by Jamie Bernstein
11/24/1991
Greenwich House Music School
Hunt, Lorraine, mezzo-soprano
Trakas, Christopher, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Selections from Wolf's Spanisches Liederbuch, Schumann's Spanische Liebes Lieder, songs by Granados, Fauré, Turina, Mompou, Saint-Saens, Obrador, etc.
1/26/1992
Greenwich House Music School
Holvik, Karen, soprano
Bunnell, Jane, mezzo-soprano
Schopick, Frances, mezzo-soprano
Berruete, Deborah, mezzo-soprano
Kazaras, Peter, tenor
Blier, Steven, piano
A complete performance of the Janacek work, plus songs by Dvorák, Chabrier, Brahms, and Wolf
2/23/1992
Greenwich House Music School
Means, Edrie, soprano
Lessner,Joanne, soprano
Finckel, Adrien Reju, girl soprano
Conrad, Parker, boy soprano
Barrett, Michael, piano
Arioso snd Scene from Foss' Griffelkin, songs by Ives, Bernstein, Barab, Copland, Debussy, and Poulenc
3/22/1992
Greenwich House Music School
Burton, Amy, soprano
Mason, Patrick, baritone
Hunt, Lorraine, mezzo-soprano
Boutté, Tony, tenor
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Musto, John, piano
Woodiel, Paul, violin
Hahnemann, Hanne-Berit, violin
Lawson, Dorothy, violoncello
Wagner, Roger, contrabass
Robert Maggio's Love and Travel, songs by Robert Baksa, Joelle Wallach, John Musto, Danna Kelly Eastman, Ned Rorem, James Sellars
4/4/1992
Bowdoin College, Brunswick, ME
Hunt, Lorraine, mezzo-soprano
Ohllmann, Kurt, baritone
Chapline, Robert, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
The poetry of Verlaine and Rimbaud set to music by Debussy, Fauré, Reynaldo Hahn, Lee Hoiby, and Benjamin Britten
Guilty Pleasures and Confessions
4/26/1992
Greenwich House Music School
Seiden, Cyndia, soprano
Sharp, William, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
Wagner, Roger, double bass
Songs by Brahms, Wolf, Beethoven, Berlin, Schonberg, Britten, Rebecca Clarke, and the Bobs
Guilty Pleasures and Confesions
4/27/1992
Walter Reade Theater, New York, NY
Same cast as program of 4/26/1992
Repeat of program of 4/26/1992
Picnic Cantata / L'amour Masqué
5/31/1992
Greenwich House Music School
Burton, Amy, soprano
Holvik, Karen, soprano
Mercer-White, Rebecca, mezzo-soprano
Pelton, Carmen, soprano
Rose, Cynthia, contralto
Sapolsky, Robert, baritone
Watson, Nathaniel, baritone
Chambord, Jacqueline, narrator
Aubert, Christian, narrator
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Saporito, James, percussion
A concert double bill of the works by Paul Bowles and Andre Messager
9/20/1992
Greenwich House Music School
Fowler, Beth, mezzo-soprano
Grifasi, Joe, baritone
Hanchard, Dana, soprano
McGillin, Howard, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
Selections from the Gershwin's Pardon My English, La La Lucille, and Strike Up the Band; Porter's Wake up and Dream, Anything Goes; Weill's One Touch of Venus, Lady in the Dark; Arlen's Hooray for What
10/25/1992
Greenwich House Music School
Goldstein, Steven, tenor
Deak, John, instrumentalist
Black, Robert, instrumentalist
Lawson, Dorothy, cello
Marx, Karen, violin
Radcliffe, Susan, cornet
Saporito, James, percussion
Stulpen, Glenn, soprano saxophone
Aubert, Christian, narrator
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Works scored for narrator and chamber ensembles: Poulenc's The Story of the Barber, the world premieres of James Sellars' Beulah in Chicago, and Aaron Jay Kernis' Le Quattro Stagioni dalla Cucina Futurismo
11/2/1992
Walter Reade Theater
Same castas program of 11/8/1990
Repeat of program of 11/8/1990
11/13/1992
Weill Recital Hall
Holvik, Karen,soprano
Burton, Amy, soprano
Merger-White, Rebecca, mezzo-soprano
Pelton. Carmen, soprano
Lane, Jennifer, mezzo-soprano
Sharp, William, baritone
Saporito, James, percussion
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Songs by Copland, Blitzstein, Rorem, Musto, Wallach, Bernstein, Bolcom plus Paul Bowles's Picnic Cantata
12/6/1992
Greenwich House Music School
Sharp, William, baritone
Dixon, Beth, narrator
Blier, Steven, piano
Johannes Brahms' 1868 song cycle performed with original narration
1/7/1993
Greenwich House Music School
Villars, Jon, tenor
Matthews, Andrea, soprano
Maguire, Linda, mezzo-soprano
Barrett, Michael, piano
Songs by Donizetti, Mascagni, Puccini, and Dallapiccola
2/14/1993
Greenwich House Music School
Hunt, Lorraine, mezzo-soprano
Ollmann, Kurt, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
Fauré's song cycle Le jardin clod, songs by Massenet, Debussy, Satie, Chabrier, Pladilhe
3/8/1993
Walter Reade Theater
Hunt, Lorraine, mezzo-soprano
Trakas, Christopher, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Selections from Wolf's Spanisches Liederbuch, Schumann's Spanische Liebeslieder, songs by Granados, Fauré, Turina, Mompou, Saint-Saens, Obrador, etc.
4/4/1993
Greenwich House Music School
Burton, Amy, soprano
Siebert, Glenn, tenor
Woodiel, Paul, violin
Lawson, Dorothy, cello
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
The words of Yeats, Wilde, Moore, and Joyce, in settings by Britten, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Ricky Ian Gordon, and Barber.
4/12/1993
Walter Reade Theater
Vargas, Milagro, mezzo-soprano
Ollmann, Kurt, baritone
Butler, Marcia, oboe
Hineman, Sue, bassoon
Sternberg, Jo-Ann, clarinet
Baker, James, percussion
Marx, Karen, violin
Lawson, Dorothy, cello
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Poulenc's L'Amour Masqué, the music of Milhaud, Gershwin, Duparc, and Ives.
5/2/1993
Greenwich House Music School
Vanderlinde, Debra, soprano
Pidgeon, Belinda, soprano
Murray, John Horton, tenor
Trakas, Christopher, baritone
Nestor, Kathleen, flute
Gythfeldt, Marianne, clarinet
Coid, Marshall, violin
Tomkins, Leslie, viola
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Tom Cipullo's The Husbands; Robert Maggio's Four Men at the Door; selections from Jeffrey Stock's The Voice of Temperance and William Bolcom's McTeague; songs by Ricky Ian Gordon, John Musto, Daron Hagen, and Steven Sametz.
9/11/1993
Moab Music Festival, Moab, UT
Schaufer, Lucy, mezzo-soprano
Ollmann, Kurt, baritone
Villars, Jon, tenor
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Arias and Barcarolles, selections from On the Town, Wonderful Town, Candide, Mass, etc.
A Tribute to Leonard Bernstein
9/28/1993
Emory University, Atlanta, GA
Same cast as 9/11/1993
Same program as 9/11/1993
10/17/1993
Greenwich House Music School
Trakas, Christopher, baritone
Holvik, Karen, soprano
Lane, Jennifer, soprano
Barrett, Michael, piano
Music of Clara Schumann, Fanny Mendelssohn, Alma Mahler, Josephine Lang, Joelle Wallach, Nadia Boulanger, Lili Boulanger, and Pauline Viardot.
Republic of Verse: A marathon of 19th Century American Poetry and Song
10/24/1993
92nd Street Y, New York, NY
Trakas, Christopher, baritone
Burton, Amy, soprano
Musto, John, piano
Works by Arthur Farwell, John Duke, Ives, Bernstein, Bolcom, and Copeland.
Music of Leonard Bernstein
11/8/1993
Library of Congress, Washington, DC
Same cast as 9/11/1993
Same program as 9/11/1993
11/13/1993
Greenwich House Music School
Hunt, Lorraine, mezzo-soprano
Harris, Brenda, soprano
Blier, Steven, piano
The music of Vaughan Williams, Argento, Thomson, Bolcom, Handel, Wolf, Barber, Ricky Ian Gordon, Foss, Schumann, and John Musto.
12/12/1993
Greenwich House Music School
McGuire, Linda, mezzo-soprano
Seiden, Cyndia, soprano,
Trakas, Christopher, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
Rarely-heard music of Richard Strauss, including the original version of Zerbinetta's aria from Ariadne auf Naxos and Krämmerspiegel, Op. 67.
1/23/1994
Greenwich House Music School
Ollmann, Kurt, baritone
Beer, Lucille, mezzo-soprano
NYFOS String Quartet
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Songs and vocal chamber music of Rorem, including Santa Fe Songs and selections from Nantucket Songs.
Modern Scenes from American Life
2/23/1994
Greenwich House Music School
Labelle, Dominique, soprano
Barber, Kimberly, mezzo-soprano
Sharp, William, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Music of John Musto, Arlen, William Bolcom, Aaron Kipnis, Copland, and others.
xxx
Modern Scenes from American Life
3/6/1994
Wigmore Hall, London, UK
Same cast as 2/31/1994
Same program as 2/23/1994
4/17/1994
Greenwich House Music School
Gondek, Juliana, soprano
Lundy, Nancy Allen, mezzo-soprano
Zeng, Zhou, baritone
Peter, Kazaris, tenor
Pakman, Mark, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Music of Glinka, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, and contemporary Russian composers.
5/8/1994
Greenwich House Music School
Burton, Amy, soprano
McFaddon, Claron, soprano
Schaufer, Lucy, mezzo-soprano
Ossenfort, David, tenor
Sharp, William, baritone
Henze, Sheryl, flute
Parkins, Margaret, cello
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Musto, John, piano
Music by Bolcom, Davide Zannoni, Nancy Gunn, Donald St. Pierre, Dan Wechler, Ricky Ian Gordon, Jeffrey Stock (commission), and James Sellars.
9/9/1994
Moab Music Festival, Moab, UT
Haumann, Constance, soprano
Ollmann, Kurt, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
A collection of French and American songs by Hahn, Ravel, Duparc, Gershwin, Ives, Copland, and others.
10/8/1994
92nd Street Y
Flanigan, Lauren, soprano
Burton, Amy, soprano
Barber, Kimberly, mezzo-soprano
Morris, Joan, mezzo-soprano
Goldstein, Steven, tenor
Offenbach, Jamie, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Bolcom, William, piano
A gala program of songs about love, family, and freedom in American life, featuring the music of Bernstein, Blitzstein, Griffes, Gershwin, Arlen and others.
11/12/1994
92nd Street Y
Parrish, Cheryl, soprano
Mentzer, Suzanne, mezzo-soprano
Sharp, William, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Music from the two decades surrounding 1900 by Mahler, Strauss, Schonberg, Pfitzner, and others.
1/19/1995
Weill Recital Hall
Lundy, Nancy, soprano
Tucker, Laura, mezzo-soprano
Villars, Jon, tenor
Trakas, Christopher, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
NYFOS Chamber Players
Annual program of contemporary American composers with works by Ricky Ian Gordon, Aaron, Kempnis, Chris DeBlasio, Rob Maggio, Christopher Berg, and James Sellars.
2/11/1995
92nd Street Y
Burton, Amy, soprano
Holvik, Karen, soprano
Scimone, Carolyn, soprano
Hunt, Lorraine, mezzo-soprano
Kazaras, Peter, tenor
Ollmann, Kurt, baritone
Watson, Nathaniel, baritone
Aubert, Christian, narrator
Chambord, Jacqueline, narrator
NYFOS Chamber Ensemble
A double bill of Andre Messager's 1924 hit L'Amour Masqué and French chamber pieces; Delage: Chansons Hindoues; Ravel: Chansons madécasses; Poulenc and others.
Sisters, Mothers, and Daughters
4/28/1995
Weill Recital Hall
Flanigan, Lauren, soprano
Barber, Kimberly, mezzo-soprano
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Explores the relationship between women in families through the music of Richard Strauss, Shostakovich, Britten, Brahms, and others.
Bernstein and Friends
5/20/1995
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Barber, Kimberly, mezzo-soprano
Sharp, William, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
A tribute to the late American composer and conductor
6/3/1995
Weill Recital Hall
Fink, Bernarda, mezzo-soprano
Trakas, Christopher, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
Songs from Brazil and Argentina featuring the music of Guastavino, Villa-Lobos, Ginastera, Braga, Piazzolla, Nazareth, and others.
6/29/1995
Wigmore Hall, London, UK
Hunt, Lorraine, mezzo-spprano
Ollmann, Kurt, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
Fauré's song cycle Le jardin clos, songs by Massenet, Debussy, Satie, Chabrier, Paladilhe
Rivers and Rainbows
9/9/1995
Moab Music Festival, Moab, UT
Seiden, Cyndia, soprano
Mason, Patrick, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
Songs about nature by Rorem, Ives, Schubert, Richard Strauss, Harold Arlen, Weill and others.
Guilty Pleasures and Confessions
9/10/1995
Moab Music Festival, Moab, UT
Seiden, Cyndia, soprano
Mason, Patrick, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
A survey of venial and deadly sins in songs by Conrad Susa, Brahms, Schubert, Christopher Berg, Johann Strauss and others.
Songs from the Diaspora
10/28/1995
92nd Street Y
Feldshuh, Tovah, soprano
Hunt, Lorraine, mezzo-soprano
Kazaras, Peter, baritone
Abelson, Robert, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Music of Ravel, Milhaud, Mahler; songs from the Yiddish theater; traditional Sephardic songs; and contemporary American Jewish art songs by Bernstein, Lazar Weiner and others.
12/12/1995
Weill Recital Hall
Barrett, Brent, tenor
Fowler, Beth, mezzo-soprano
Grifasi, Joe, baritone
Holvik, Karen, soprano
Blier, Steven, piano
Showstoppers and unpublished gems from the vintage Broadway musicals of Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Harold Arlen, Kurt Weill, Richard Rogers, and Irving Berlin.
1/16/1996
Weill Recital Hall
Blackwell, Harolyn, soprano
Johnson, Camellia, soprano
Woodley, Arthur, bass
Rampersad, Arnold, narrator
Blier, Steven, piano
Lawson, Dorothy, cello
Songs and poems in celebration of the writer's centennial; music of Ricky Ian Gordon, John Musto, Arnold Zemlinsky, Kurt Weill, and many others.
Total Eclipse: The Poetry of Verlaine and Rimbaud
2/12/1996
92nd Street Y
Labelle, Dominique, soprano
Ollmann, Kurt, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
The poets' works heard in classic settings by Gabriel Fauré, Claude Debussy, Benjamin Britten, Reynaldo Hahn, and Frederick Delius, with excerpts from Total Eclipse, Christopher Hampton's drama about the lives of Verlaine and Rimbaud.
3/9/1996
92nd Street Y
Gonzales, Yvonne, soprano
Herrera, Nancy, soprano
Barasorda, Antonio, tenor
Trakas, Christopher, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Zinger, Pablo, program consultant
A celebration of theater music from Spain, Argentina, Brazil, and Cuba; tangos and zarzuela arias by Villa-Lobos, Chapi, Carlos Lopez-Buchardo, and others.
3/25/1996
Vocal Arts Society, Washington, DC
Hunt, Lorraine, soprano
Trakas, Christopher, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Works by Granados, Turina, Obradors, Luna, Fauré, Chabrier, as well as excerpts from Schumann's Spanisches Liebeslieder and Wolf's Spanisches Liederbuch.
4/14/1996
Greenwich Chamber Music Society, Greenwich, CT
Harman, Risa Renae, soprano
Graham, Susan, mezzo-soprano
Villars, Jon, tenor
Blier, Steven, piano
Rarely heard songs by Richard Strauss, including excerpts from his 1918 cycle Krämerspeigel and Zerbinetta's aria from the original version of Ariadne auf Naxos.
4/16/1996
Weill Recital Hall
Harman, Risa Renae, soprano
Krull, Marguerite, mezzo-soprano
Villars, Jon, tenor
Blier, Steven, piano
Same program as 4/14/1996
American Love Songs/Brahms Liebeslieder
5/11/1996
92nd Street Y
Blythe, Stephanie, mezzo-soprano
Cutlip, Philip, bass-baritone
Lundy, Nancy Allen, soprano
Tharp, Steven, tenor
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Brahms's classic 1869 suite of waltzes for four voices and piano four-hands is a curtain raiser to a newly-commissioned companion piece, a collection of love songs by over a dozen contemporary composers.
American Love Songs/Brahms Liebeslieder
9/6 & 9/7/1996
Moab Music Festival, Moab, UT
Harman, Risa Renae, soprano
Schaufer, Lucy, mezzo-soprano
Cutlip, Philip, bass-baritone
Picon, Jeffrey, tenor
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Same program as 5/11/1996
10/2/1996
Weill Recital Hall
Sieden, Cyndia, soprano
Gilfry, Rodney, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
A concert featuring the New York premiere of John Musto's most recent vocal work Dove Sta Amore, along with song cycles about the progress of love by Poulenc, Lopez-Buchardo, and Strauss.
11/20/1996
92nd Street Y
Daly, Tyne, mezzo-soprano
Fratanoni, Diane, soprano
Garrison, David, baritone
Sharp, William, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
A concert of classics and rarely heard songs in honor of the great lyricist's 100th birthday. The program includes his collaborations with Harold Arlen, Jerome Kern, Kurt Weill, Vernon Duke, as well as his brother George.
Modern Scenes from American Life
1/15/1997
Weill Recital Hall
Goerke, Christine, soprano
Barber, Kimberly, mezzo-soprano
Picon, Jeffrey, tenor
Sharp, William, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
An updated revival of the critically-acclaimed program that introduced NYFOS to London in 1994, including the premiere of a new commission by Lowell Liebermann, as well as songs by Bolcom, Musto, Kernis, Gordon and others.
Modern Scenes from American Life
2/10/1997
The Barns, Wolftrap, VA
Goerke, Christine, soprano
Lattimore, Margaret, mezzo-soprano
Sharp, William, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Same program as 1/15/1997
The English Landscape and Façade
2/26/1997
92nd Street Y
Evans, Rebecca, soprano
McMillan, Kevin, baritone
Conroy, Francis, narrator
Murray, Brian, narrator
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
NYFOS's first journey through England's seascapes, stately mansions and dens of iniquity in a century of British song, from Vaughan Williams to Elgar to Britten to Coward; coupled with a performance of William Walton's Façade on poems of Edith Sitwell, performed with the NYFOS chamber ensemble.
3/26/1997
The Barns, Wolftrap, VA
Mannhart, Emily, mezzo-soprano
Hendricks, Scott, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
Fauré's song cycle Le jardin clos, songs by Massenet, Debussy, Satie, Chabrier, Paladilhe
4/23/1997
Weill Recital Hall
Greenawald, Sheri, soprano
Kazaras, Peter, tenor
Zeng, Zhou, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
Music of Glinka, Borodin, Medtner, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, and contemporary Russian composers
6/4/1997
92nd Street Y
von Stade, Frederica, mezzo-soprano
Delevault, Helene, mezzo-soprano
Ollmann, Kurt, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
A cabaret evening featuring the wit and passion of French popular songs by Jacques Brel, Charles Trenet, Edith Piaf and many others.
American Love Songs/Brahms Liebeslieder
8/21/1997
Trinity Church, New York, NY
Lundy, Nancy Allen, soprano
Phillips, Mary, mezzo-soprano
Picon, Jeffrey, tenor
Cutlip, Philip, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
Barrett, Michael, piano
Brahms's classic 1869 suite of waltzes for four voices and piano four-hands is a curtain raiser to a newly-commissioned companion piece, a collection of love songs by over a dozen contemporary composers.
10/15/1997
Weill Recital Hall
Jennings, Jane, soprano
Rogers, Jami, soprano
Genaux, Vivica, mezzo-soprano
Opalach, Jan, baritone
Peterson, Curt, tenor
Blier, Steven, piano
The vocal fireworks and melodic genius of Rossini, Bellini and Donzetti as well as the composers they influenced throughout Europe, including Schubert, Balfe, Glinka, Barbieri, Chopin, and Pauline Viardot.
11/20/1997
Weill Recital Hall
Hunt, Lorraine, mezzo-soprano
Labelle, Dominique, soprano
Blier, Steven, piano
Musicians including Handel, Schubert, Wolf, Mahler, Liszt, Duke, Hoiby, Argento, and Copland, create impressions of the soul's ascent to paradise.
1/18/1998
Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY
Saffer, Lisa, soprano
Ollmann, Kurt, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
Barrett, Michael, piano
A monumental new song cycle by Ned Rorem set to the poetry of W. H. Auden, Robert and Elizabeth Browning, Walt Whitman, and others, commissioned by NYFOS and the Library of Congress to celebrate Mr. Rorem's 75th birthday.
1/22/1998
Weill Recital Hall
Saffer, Lisa, soprano
Ziegler, Delores, mezzo-soprano
Muller, Rufus, tenor
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
A monumental new song cycle by Ned Rorem set to the poetry of W. H. Auden, Robert and Elizabeth Browning, Walt Whitman, and others, commissioned by NYFOS and the Library of Congress to celebrate Mr. Rorem's 75th birthday.
2/19/1998
92nd Street Y
Burton, Amy, soprano
Hanchard, Dana, soprano
Burden, William, tenor
Woodley, Arthur, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Four infrequently performed discoveries from the world's musical theater; Kurt Weill's satiric, yet melodic Der Kuhhandel, Noel Coward's witty Conversation Piece, Isaac Albéniz's Pepita Jiminez, and the groundbreaking 1903 Broadway hit, In Dahomey, the first musical written and performed entirely by black artists.
The Gershwins and Their World
3/14/1998
Library of Congress, Washington, DC
Skuce, Lauren, soprano
Johnson, Leslie, mezzo-soprano
Keegan, Ted, tenor
Blier, Steven, piano
Music of George Gershwin and his contemporaries
3/19/1998
92nd Street Y
Mentzer, Suzanne, mezzo-soprano
Zheng, Zhou, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
The beloved nineteenth century folk poetry anthology Des Knaben Wunderhorn-stories of love, war, and nature- in musical settings by Brahms, Strauss, and Schumann, as well as Mahler's classic song cycle in both piano and chamber orchestra arrangements.
4/18/1998
Library of Congress
Washington, DC
McDonald, Monique, soprano
Ziegler, Delores, mezzo-soprano
Muller, Rufus, tenor
Ollmann, Kurt, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Same program as 1/22/1998
Tenth Anniversary Gala Concert
5/14/1998
92nd Street Y
Blackwell, Harolyn, soprano
Burton, Amy, soprano
Harman, Risa, soprano
McNair, Sylvia, soprano
Peters, Roberta, soprano
Blythe, Stephanie, mezzo-soprano
Graham, Susan, mezzo-sorpano
Morris, Joan, mezzo-soprano
Kazaras, Peter, tenor
Tharp, Steven, tenor
Ollmann, Kurt, baritone
Sharp, William, baritone
Cutlip, Philip, bass-baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Bolcom, William, piano
Singers familiar to NYFOS audiences join new friends to celebrate 10 successful seasons in a program of favorites.
Twentieth Century Masters ll: Gabriel Fauré
6/7/1998
The Kaye Playhouse
Lattimore, Margaret, mezzo-soprano
Boutros, Kamel, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
Orth, Peter, piano
Music of Gabriel Fauré
Twentieth Century Masters ll: Gabriel Fauré
6/8/1998
The Kaye Playhouse
Lattimore, Margaret, mezzo-soprano
Ollmann, Kurt, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
Music of Gabriel Fauré
8/18/1998
Nantucket Musical Arts Society, Nantucket, MA
McDonald, Monique, soprano
Ziegler, Delores, mezzo-soprano
Tharp, Steven, tenor
Ollmann, Kurt, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Same program as 1/22/1998
9/13/1998
Moab Music Festival, Moab, UT
McDonald, Monique, soprano
Ziegler, Delores, mezzo-soprano
Tharp, Steven, tenor
Ollmann, Kurt, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Same program as 1/22/1998
9/26/1998
Friends of Music, Ossining, NY
Lattimore, Margaret., mezzo-soprano
Keegan, Ted, tenor
Blier, Steven, piano
Musto, John, piano
A celebration of Gershwin classics, duo-piano suites from Porgy and Bess and Lady be Good! and a selection of his rarely-heard unpublished songs.
10/15/1998
The Kaye Playhouse
Burton, Amy, soprano
Kaye, Judy, mezzo-soprano
Sharp, William, baritone
Cleale, Lewis, baritone
Kushner, Tony, narrator
Blier, Steven, piano
A musical celebration of New York City's centenary - songs from the theater, the concert stage, and vaudeville by composers including Marc Blitzstein, John Musto, Irving Berlin, Leonard Bernstein, Cole Porter, John Duke, and Ricky Ian Gordon.
11/8/1998
Chicago Humanities Festival, Chicago, IL
Gruber, Sari, soprano
Ziegler, Delores, mezzo-soprano
Tharp, Steven, tenor
Ollmann, Kurt, baritone
Barrett, Michael
Blier, Steven, piano
Same program as 1/22/1998
11/12/1998
The Kaye Playhouse
McDonald, Audra, soprano
Lattimore, Margaret, mezzo-soprano
Keegan, Ted, tenor
Blier, Steven, piano
Musto, John, piano
Same program as 9/26/1998
George Gershwin: Sung and Unsung
1/9 & 1/10/1999
The University Musical Society, Ann Arbor, MI
Holvik, Karen, soprano
Keegan, Ted, tenor
Blier, Steven, piano
Musto, John, piano
Same program as 9/26/1998
2/4/1999
Weill Recital Hall
Fink, Bernarda, mezzo-soprano
Ollmann, Kurt, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
Music from the turn of the century, France's Golden Age of song, featuring Gabriel Fauré's cycle Le jardin clos, and works by Reynaldo Hahn, Claude Debussy, Albert Roussel, Erik Satie, and Emmanuel Chabrier.
3/2/1999
Weill Recital Hall
McDonald, Monique, soprano
Genaux, Vivica, mezzo-soprano
Picon, Jeffrey, tenor
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Saporito, James, percussion
Lawson, Dorothy, cello
Cullen, Christopher, clarinet
Created in cooperation with the American Composers' Orchestra - Sonidas de Las Americas - Cuban Festival. The concert, theatre, and dance songs of Cuba, from rhythm masters, Ernesto Lecuona, Gomzalo Roig, Alejandro Gracia Caturla and others.
Songs of Sense and Sensibility
4/8/1999
Weill Recital Hall
Seiden, Cyndia, soprano
Polegato, Brett, baritone
Muller, Rufus, tenor
Blier, Steven, piano
The clarity of the age of reason shares the stage with the passion of the early Romantic era in songs and arias by Mozart, Haydn, Salieri, Schubert, and Stephen Storace.
5/13/1999
The Kaye Playhouse
Jennings, Jane, soprano
Hancock, John, baritone
Mehta, Bejun, countertenor
Phillips, Mary, mezzo-soprano
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Courtship and marriage, jealousy and vengeance: the joys and perils of true love in music from Haydn to Richard Rodgers.
Twentieth Century Masters: Samuel Barber
6/4/1999
The Kaye Playhouse
Summers, Leah, mezzo-soprano
Nomura, Christopheren, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
Music of Samuel Barber
10/14/1999
The Kaye Playhouse
Hauman, Constance, soprano
Barber, Kimberly, mezzo-soprano
Kazaras, Peter, tenor
Stewart, Mark, banjo, guitar, cello
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
The irony, satire, and sentiment of centenarian Kurt Weill, with contributions from fellow cabarettists, Tucholsky, Eisler, and Hollaender.
11/30/1999
Weill Recital Hall
Aylmer, Jennifer, soprano
Picon, Jeffrey, tenor
Hendricks, Scott, baritone
Fader, Oren, guitar
Saporito, James, percussion
Blier, Steven, piano
A new collection of songs and zarzuela from Spain and Latin America; passion, melody, and rhythm of De Falla, Albéniz, Guastavino, Lecuonas, and others.
Great American Songwriting Teams
12/10/1999
Library of Congress, Washington, DC
Aylmer, Jennifer, soprano
Kaye, Judy, mezzo-soprano
Hancock, John, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
A salute to a century of America's best creative collaborators---including songs by Gershwin & Gershwin, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Rodgers & Hart, Kalmaer & Ruby, Bolcom & Weinstein, Dietz & Schwartz, and Lieber & Stoller.
1/7/2000
Vocal Arts Society, Washington, DC
Aylmer, Jennifer, soprano
Herrara, Nancy, mezzo-soprano
Picon, Jeffrey, tenor
Hendricks, Scott, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
Same program as 1/30/1999
2/17/2000
The Kaye Playhouse
Lang, Petra, mezzo-soprano
Holzmair, Wolfgang, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
Wanderers and lovers on a romantic journey through Europe, with music by Mahler, Dvorák, Vaughan Williams, Schubert, Mendelssohn, and Krenek.
3/12/2000
Louisville, KY
Saffer, Lisa, soprano
Ziegler, Delores, mezzo-soprano
Muller, Rufus, tenor
Cutlip, Philip, barieone
Blier, Steven, piano
Same program as 1/22/1996
From Rags to Riches: A Hundred Years of American Song
3/23/2000
The Kaye Playhouse
Blythe, Stephanie, mezzo-soprano
Burden, William, tenor
Blier, Steven, piano
Barrett, Michael, piano
A century of American music--from MacDowell to Musto, Berlin to Bernstein, Griffes to Gordon--offers a panoramic view of how we lived in the twentieth century. The program will include a new work by John Musto and Denise Lanctot, commissioned by NYFOS.
Great American Songwriting Teams
4/12/2000
Anti-Defamation League Benefit, Roosevelt Hotel, NY
Aylmer, Jennifer, soprano
Kaye, Judy, mezzo-soprano
Hancock, John, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
Same program as 12/10/1999
Birthday Bash for Francis Poulenc
4/14/2000
Weill Recital Hall
Shaham, Rinat, mezzo-soprano
Ollmann, Kurt, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
A musical gathering of Francis Poulenc and his circle--including Satie, Milhaud, Ned Rorem, Georges Auric-- to celebrate the Parisian composer's hundredth birthday with songs and vocal chamber music
Songs of Sense and Sensibility
5/5/2000
The Barns, Wolftrap Opera, VA
Aylmer, Jennifer, soprano
Green, Theodore, tenor
Powell, Steven, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
Same program as 4/8/1999
5/18/2000
Weill Recital Hall
Burton, Amy, soprano
Green, Theodore, tenor
Woodiel, Paul, violin and arranger
Lawson, Dorothy, cello
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano and arranger
The lyricism of the Emerald Isle's greatest writers, including Thomas Moore, W. B. Yeats, James Joyce, and Paul Muldoon, as set to music by Beethoven, Britten, Bax, Barber, Daron Hagen, and others; with a group of traditional Irish ballads and theater songs; featuring the fiddle-playing of Paul Woodiel.
Twentieth Century Masters: Aaron Copland and his Circle
5/23/2000
The Kaye Playhouse
McDonald, Monique, soprano
Hendrick, Scott, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Music of Aaron Copland, Nadia Boulanger, Paul Bowles, Ned Rorem and others.
10/12/2000
The Kaye Playhouse
Bonitto, Sandra, soprano
Kaye, Judy, mezzo-soprano
Ollmann, Kurt, baritone
Utzig, Greg, bass
Miller, John, bass
Blier, Steven, piano
Greatest hits and rarities by three American song-writing heroes: Harry ("I Only Have Eyes for You") Warren, Hoagy ("Stardust") Carmichael, and Harold ("Stormy Weather") Arlen.
11/4/2000
Market Square Concerts, Harrisburg, PA
McDonald, Monique, soprano
Ziegler, Delores, mezzo-soprano
Tharp, Steven, tenor
Ollmann, Kurt, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Same program as 1/22/1998
Aimez-vous Brahms? Lieben Sie Fauré
11/9/2000
Weill Recital Hall
Welch-Babidge, Jennifer, soprano
Houtzeel, Stephanie, mezzo-soprano
Hancock, John, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
The radiant music of two late-Romantic masters, as well as a sampling of songs by their students Zemlinsky, Ravel, and others.
Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking
2/3/2001
Weill Recital Hall
Burton, Amy, soprano
Hendricks, Scott, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Songs on the beauty and folly of youth, the fountain of youth, lost youth, and the envy of youth in works by the child Mozart, Reynaldo Hahn, Aaron Kernis, Poulenc and others.
3/22/2001
The Kaye Playhouse
Aylmer, Jennifer, soprano
Hanslowe, Theodora, mezzo-soprano
Schmitz, Ted, tenor
Ulrich, Mel, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
NYFOS embarks on a full evening commission of sixteen composers and lyricists in songs examining the future. Works by Rorem, Bolcom, Kernis, Tan Dun, Peter Lieberson, Susan Botti, Paquito d'Rivera, Ricky Ian Gordon, as well as emerging American composers. This collection will be published by Boosey & Hawkes.
From Rags to Riches: 100 Years of American Song
2/18/2001
Schwabacher Recitals, San Francisco Opera Center, San Francisco, CA
Ramo, Suzanne, soprano
McHardy, Allyson, mezzo-soprano
Anderson, Brian, tenor
Teadt, Daniel, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
A century of American music--from MacDowell to Musto, Berlin to Bernstein, Griffes to Gordon--offers a panoramic view of how we lived in the twentieth century. The program will include a new work by John Musto and Denise Lanctot, commissioned by NYFOS.
4/24/2001
Vocal Arts Society, Washington, DC
Saffer, Lisa, soprano
Fink, Bernarda, mezzo-soprano
Blier, Steven, piano
NYFOS explores the soulful melodies and colorful musical traditions of Czech, Hungarian, Romanian, and other former Soviet Block countries. Music from the nineteenth century to the present day by Dvorák, Janácek, Enesco, Chopin, Szymanowski, Bartok, Lutoslawski, and others.
4/26/2001
Weill Recital Hall
Same cast as 4/24/2001
Same program as 4/24/2001
Happily Ever After: An Operetta Junket
5/23/2001
The Kaye Playhouse
Jennings, Jane, soprano
Johnson, Leslie, mezzo-soprano
Green, Ted, tenor
Greenlaw, Ian, baritone
Cutlip, Philip, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Peter Kazaras, stage director
The NYFOS Chorus
A joyous celebration of light opera from Vienna to Broadway. Romance, humor, and melody from the masters of the genre: Lehár, Kálman, Offenbach, Gershwin, Kern, Sullivan, Chapi Luna, and others.
6/6/2001
The Library of Congress, Washington, DC
Kaye, Judy, mezzo-soprano
Mason, Patrick, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Leonard Bernstein's unpublished and lesser-known works.
10/11/2001
The Kaye Playhouse
Hanchard, Dana, soprano
De Haas, Darius, tenor
Martin, James, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
A salute to the music of the Harlem Renaissance, when jazz clubs throbbed to the music of Eubie Blake, Duke Ellington, and Fats Waller, and William Grant Still and Harry Burleigh broke new ground in the recital genre with lyrics by Langston Hughes, Andy Razaf, and many others.
1/14/2002
Aaron Davis Hall, Cuny College of NY, NY
Same cast as 10/11/2001
Same program as 10/11/2001
1/16/2002
The Library of Congress, Washington, DC
Same cast as 10/11/2001
Same program as 10/11/2001
11/15/2001
Weill Recital Hall
Aylmer, Jennifer, soprano
Genaux, Vivica, mezzo-soprano
Belotti, Giuliani, guitar
Blier, Steven, piano
The Iberian Peninsula, rich with history and the multifarios traditions of Catalonia, Castille, and the Sephardic homelands, yields up its treasures of songs from the Baroque to the Romantic to our own time. The songs will be performed in Spanish, Catalan, and Galician and feature works by Granados, Rodrigo, Guridi, Mompou and many others.
12/1/2001
Wigmore Hall, London, UK
McNair, Sylvia, soprano
Cazalet, Hal, tenor (great-grandson of Wodehouse)
Goodman, Henry, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
Peerless comic novelist P. G. Wodehouse, in his lesser-known second career, wrote brilliant lyrics for songwriters to create shows that lit up Broadway and London's West End -- Jerome Kern, Ivor Novello, and the Gershwin brothers-- and collaborated with Cole Porter adapting shows like Anything Goes for audiences in England.
1/7/2002
Vocal Arts Society, Washington, DC
Hellekant, Charlotte, mezzo-soprano
Groves, Paul, tenor
Blier, Steven, piano
The great Scandivinavian songwriters, including Grieg, Sibelius, Stenhammr, Nielsen, and Sinding, reveal in song their world of hidden loves, nighttime confessions and the poetry of nature. An air of austerity, freshness, and intense privacy lends these songs a rare beauty.
1/9/2002
Weill Recital Hall
Same cast as 1/7/2002
Same program as 1/7/2002
2/28/2002
The Kaye Playhouse
Mc Nair, Sylvia, soprano
Tisdale, Christianne, soprano
Cazalet, Hal, tenor
Costabile, David, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
Kuney, Scott, guitar, banjo, mandolin
Maslon, Laurence, stage director
Same program as 12/1/2001
4/4/2002
Weill Recital Hall
Watters, Cynthia, soprano
Seiden, Cyndia, soprano
Shaham, Rinat, mezzo-soprano
Cutlip, Philip, baritone
Ollmann, Kurt, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
NYFOS celebrates fourteen seasons of commissions and premieres by reprising the best of its "firsts." Selections will include songs from Musto's Dove Sta Amore, Liebermann' s Appalachian Liebeslieder, Rorem's Evidence of Things Not Seen, and NYFOS's commissioned collections American Love Songs and American Songbook for a New Century, an historic collection of new works by America's finest living composers and writers.
5/1/2002
The Kaye Playhouse
Burton, Amy, soprano
Shammah, Elizabeth, mezzo-soprano
Lentz, Jeffrey, tenor
Hancock, John, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
To find a collection of America's best songwriters, look no further than "B" in the Grove Dictionary, where you find Barber, Beach, Berlin, Bernstein, Blitzstein, Bolcom, and Bowles. Their songs full of the hopes, joys, and struggles of twentieth-century Americans from the working class stiff to the patrician blue blood, remind us how much this country has to sing about.
Great American Songwriting Teams
5/4/2002
Friends of Music Concerts, Inc., Ossining, NY
Tisdale, Christianne, soprano
Bergman, Anna, soprano
Hancock, John, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
A concert of classic and rarely heard songs in honor of the great American composer teams of the twentieth century: the Gershwin brothers; Bernstein, Comden and Green; Rodgers and Hart; Rodgers and Hammerstein; Lerner and Loewe; Bock and Harnick; Kander and Ebb; Leiber and Stoller and others.
10/9/2002
Weill Recital Hall
Aylmer, Jennifer, soprano
Muller, Rufus, tenor
Belov, Anton, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
Chalfant, Kathleen, narrator
Works by Finzi, Quilter, Saint-Saëns, Brahms, Kabalevsky, Virgil Thomson, Stephen Sondheim, and others with readings from Shakespeare's plays and verses.
11/20/2002
Weill Recital Hall
Hanchard, Dana, soprano
Peckova, Dagmar, mezzo-soprano
Marin, James, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Antonin Dvorák discovered America's voice in the Negro spirituals brought to him by Harry T. Burleigh, his African-American composition pupil at New York's National Conservatory of Music, where Dvorák taught from 1892-1895. Our program celebrates this inspiring creative exchange, its profound influence on Dvorák and his other pupils, and on the path of American music. The program includes works by Dvorák, Burleigh, Will Marion Cook, and others.
2/6/2003
Weill Recital Hall
Dudley, Jennifer, mezzo-soprano
Ferguson, William, tenor
Hancock, John, baritone
Barrett, Michael,piano
Blier, Steven, piano
A newly commissioned song cycle by Robert Beaser explores the familiar yet mysterious world of the men of the family, with other vocal works on themes paternal, fraternal and filial, including Britten's Abraham and Isaac, Loewe's Erlkönig, and Ives's The Greatest Man.
3/12/2003
The Kaye Playhouse
Hanchard, Dana, soprano
Gruber, Sari, soprano
Antenbring, Christine, mezzo-soprano
Hellekant, Charlotte, mezzo-soprano
Zabala, Adriana, mezzo-soprano
de Haas, Darius, tenor
Picon, Jeffrey, tenor
Belov, Anton, baritone
Sharp, William, baritone
Kaiser, Joseph, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Tomkins, Tanya, cello
Cummins, Cenovia, violin
Some Enchanted April in New York, A Vernon Duke & Richard Rodgers Celebration
4/12/2003
The Kaye Playhouse
McNair, Sylvia, soprano
Kaye, Judy, mezzo-soprano
Kaiser, Joseph, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
Maslon, Lawrence, stage director
The 2002-2003 season marks both the close of Richard Rodgers's much-celebrated hundredth birthday, and the hundredth birthday of Rodgers's unjustly neglected contemporary Vernon Duke. NYFOS pairs rarely heard works by two monarchs of American songwriting---a beloved king, an elusive duke--- to contrast their shining glories.
The Crystal Anniversary Concert
5/22/2003
The Kaye Playhouse
Aylmer, Jennifer, soprano
Burton, Amy, soprano
Holvik, Karen, soprano
Shaham, Rinat, soprano
Cutler, Eric, tenor
Kazaras, Peter, tenor
Herrera, Ricardo, baritone
Sharp, William, baritone
Ollmann, Kurt, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Bolcom, William, piano
Morris, Joan, vocal duo with Bolcom
NYFOS celebrates its fifteenth anniversary with a sparkling evening of song, featuring many of our favorite members of the NYFOS family of artists.
10/24/2003
Miller Theater, Columbia University, NY
(Presented with the Works & Process program of the Guggenheim Museum)
Saffer, Lisa, soprano
Antenbring, Christine, mezzo-soprano
Muller, Rufus, tenor
Cutlip, Philip, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
A performance of Evidence of Things Not Seen by Ned Rorem, commissioned by New York Festival of Song.
10/15/2003
Merkin Concert Hall
Burton, Amy, soprano
Cutlip, Philip, baritone
Kaiser, Joseph, tenor
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
An irreverent group of Harvard schoolmates, the New York School of poets and their friends shocked and delighted audiences of the 1950s-60s with their ebullient sense of the absurd. Poems by Koch, Ashbery, O'Hara, Schuyler, Weinstein and others, set to music by Ned Rorem, William Bolcom, Virgil Thomson, Ricky Ian Gordon, Christopher Berg and others.
10/24/2003
Miller Theater, Columbia University, New York, NY
(Presented by Works in Process of the Guggenheim Museum)
Saffer, Lisa, soprano
Antenbring, Christine, mezzo-soprano
Muller, Rufus, tenor
Cutlip, Philip, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
A performance of Evidence of Things Not Seen by Ned Rorem, commissioned by New York Festival of Song.
11/12/2003
Merkin Concert Hall
Kaye, Judy, mezzo-soprano
Lachanze, soprano
Martin, James, baritone
deHaas, Darius, tenor
Adler, Bruce, tenor
Utzig, Greg, guitar, banjo, ukelele
Kay, Alan R., clarinet
Blier, Steven, piano
Jewish and Black Vaudeville--two great entertainment cultures, their contributions to each others' worlds and to ours. Songs by Creamer and Layton, Shelton Brooks, Eubie Blake, Sholom Secunda and Irving Berlin, as popularized by Fannie Brice, Sophie Tucker, Ethel Wateers, Bert Williams, Cab Calloway and many others.
1/27/2004
Vocal Arts Society, Kennedy Center, Washington, DC
Aylmer, Jennifer, soprano
Russell, Hugh, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
Composers born or educated in Barcelona capture the heart of that enchanting city in song. Works by Mompou, Toldra, Granandos, Vives and many others, in styles ranging from art song to zarzuela.
1/29/2004
Merkin Concert Hall
Same cast as 1/27/2004
Same program as 1/27/2004
3/4/2004
Merkin Concert Hall
Blythe, Stephanie, mezzo-soprano
Kuznetsova, Dina, soprano
Hancock, John, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
Music of Pauline Viardot, great coloratura soprano of the late 19th century. The program includes songs written by her father, Manuel Garcia; her sister, Maria Malibran; those she inspired, Franz Liszt, Hector Berlioz; those who were in her artistic circle, Saint-Saëns, Gounod, Fauré, Massenet, Rossini; and the Russian composers Rubinstein, Rimsky-Korsakov, and others.
4/8/2004
Merkin Concert Hall
Christy, Anna, soprano
Holvik, Karen, soprano
Shammash, Elizabeth, mezzo-soprano
Zabala, Adriana, mezzo-soprano
Ollmann, Kurt, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Tompkins, Joseph, percussion
Songs containing references to food by Irving Berlin, Martin Hennessy, Christopher Berg, Barber, Bernstein, Bolcom, Rodgers, Joni Mitchell, Heitor Villa-Lobos. The secnd half of the program was devoted to the Picnic Cantata by Paul Bowles.
5/19/2004
Merkin Concert Hall
Betty, Carolyn, soprano
Gilbert, Angela, soprano
Lenormand, Marie, mezzo-soprano
Hauck, Ross, tenor
Taylor, Ross, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
Somgs of Brahms, Beethoven, Schubert, Poulenc, Berlioz, and American composers from Irving Berlin through Tom Lehrer to Stephen Sondheim-- all with a slightly risqué slant.
6/25/2004
SPCO Center, St. Paul, MN
Same cast as 5/19/2004
Same program as 5/19/2004
7/9/2004
Caramoor Festival, Katonah, NY
Lieberson, Lorraine Hunt, mezzo-soprano
Kaiser, Joseph, tenor
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Same program as 11/24/1991
9/24/2004
Moab Music Festival, Moab, UT
Hanchard, Dana, soprano
De Haas, Darius, tenor
Martin, James, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Same program as 10/11/2001
10/14/2004
Merkin Concert Hall
Hauman, Constance, soprano
Barber, Kimberly, mezzo-soprano
Kazaras, Peter, tenor
Stewart, Mark, banjo, guitar, cello
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Same program as 10/14/1999
10/20, 10/21, 10/22/2004
Krannert Center, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL
Same cast as 10/11/2001
Same program as 10/11/2001
10/24/2004
Caramoor Festival, Katonah, NY
Same cast as 10/11/200
Same program as 10/11/2001
11/6/2004
University of Maryland Performing Arts Center, MD
Aylmer, Jennifer, soprano
Picon, Jeffery, tenor
Russell, Hugh, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
Same program as 11/30/1999
11/17/2004
Merkin Concert Hall
Burton, Amy, soprano
Hancock, John, baritone
Pittas, Dimitri, tenor
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Musto, John, piano
Scenes and verses inspired by Greek mythology and poetry, ancient and modern. Featuring John Musto's song cycle Penelope with works by Schubert, Grieg, Ravel, Theodorakis and others.
Blok and Akhmatova: Poets Without Heroes
1/14/2005
Vocal Arts Society, Kennedy Center, Washington, DC
Kuznetsova, Dina, soprano
Janitzky, Nikolai, baritone
Kang, Juliette, violin
Kraines, Thomas, cello
Blier, Steven, piano
Chalfant, Kathleen, narrator
An homage to two great 20th century Russian poets, Alexander Blok and Ann Akhmatova, their poet friends and followers. Shostakovich's seven songs on poems by Blok (op. 127); works by Slonimsky, Sviridov, Prokofiev, and others.
Blok and Akhmatova: Poets Without Heroes
1/19/2005
Merkin Concert Hall
Same cast as 1/ 14/ 2005
Same program as 1/14/2005
2/23/2005
Lincoln Center's American Songbook Series, Allen Room, Rose Hall, NY
Same cast as 10/11/2001
Same program as 10/11/2001
2/24/2005
University of DC, Washington, DC
Same cast as 10/11/2001
Same program as 2/11/2001
2/16/2005
Merkin Concert Hall
Aylmer, Jennifer, soprano
Kaye, Judy, mezzo-soprano
Graae, Jason, tenor
Martin, James, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
A centennial tribute to the song legacies of brilliant lyricist Dorothy Fields, and prodigious virtuoso/singer songwriter Fats Waller, tracing their wide-ranging, occasionally criss-crossing musical paths from the Cotton Club to Broadway, via Tin Pan Alley.
A Delicate Drama: Songs of the Opera Composers
3/23/2005
Merkin Concert Hall
Betty, Caroline, soprano
Christy, Anna, soprano
Zabala, Adriana, mezzo-soprano
Kaiser, Joseph, tenor
Picon, Jeffrey, tenor
Tall, Alexander, baritone
Mobbs, Daniel, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
The composers of opera's grand stages show their gentler side in the salon. Rarely heard song works by Verdi, Puccini, Sullivan, Wagner, Meyerbeer, Gounod, and others.
4/20/2005
Merkin Concert Hall
Bouliane, Julie, mezzo-soprano
Montano, Alexandra, mezzo-soprano
Russell, Hugh, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
Modernism and resistance: the coming of age of French song, from the lost innocence of the jazz age and the ripe sensuality of pre-war Paris to the enduring lyrics of the liberation, forged in passionate activism. Works by Roussel, Poulenc, d'Ollone, Auric, Milhaud, Weill, Trenet.
5/11/2005
Merkin Concert Hall
Kaye, Judy, mezzo-soprano
Rose, Anika, soprano
Martin, James, baritone
deHaas, Darius, tenor
Adler, Bruce, tenor
Utzig, Greg, guitar, banjo, ukelele
Kay, Alan R., clarinet
Blier, Steven, piano
Same program as 11/12/2003
5/17/2005
Coolidge Auditorium, Jefferson Building, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Same cast as 5/11/2005
Same program as 11/12/2003
6/14/2005
SPCO Center, St Paul, MN
Aylmer, Jennifer, soprano
Russell, Hugh, baritone
Barnell, Aaron, percussion
Blier, Steven, piano
A new collection of songs and zarzuela from Spain and Latin America; passion, melody, and rhythm of De Falla, Albéniz, Guastavino, Lecuona, and others.
7/15/2005
Caramoor Festival, Katonah, NY
McDonald, Monique, soprano
Genaux, Vivica, mezzo-soprano
Picon, Jeffrey, tenor
Villanueva, Danny, percussion
Fiterstein, Alexander, clarinet
Kraines, Thomas, cello
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
The concert, theatre, and dance songs of Cuba, from rhythm masters, Ernesto Lecuona, Gonzalo Roig, Alejandro Gracia Caturla and others.
Since the Seventies: A Generation of Song
10/16/2005
Gildenhorn Recital Hall, University of Maryland, College Park, MD
Areyzaga, Michelle, soprano
Narucki, Susan, soprano
Tharp, Steven, tenor
Greenlaw, Ian, baritone
Thomson, Leslie, viola
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
An appreciaion of the wit and lyricism of our finst songwriters in the last quarter of the 20th century. These "most singable" works come from composers including William Bolcom, John Musto, Adam Guettel, John Corigliano, Ricky Ian Gordon, Lee Hoiby, Richard Thomas and more.
Since the Seventies: A Generation of Song
10/19/2005
Merkin Concert Hall
Same cast as 10/16/2005
Same program as 10/162005
11/15/2005
Merkin Concert Hall
Kuznetsova, Dina, soprano
Zabala, Adriana, mezzo-soprano,
Picon, Jeffrey, tenor
Herrera, Ricardo, baritone
Granados, Marcos, flute
Blier, Steven, piano
A fiesta for lovers of zarzuela, the music theater from Spain and Latin America, with works by Pablo Luna, Pablo Sorozabal, Ernesto Lecuona, Carlos Lopez-Buchardo, Ruperto Chapi and others.
11/16/2005
Merkin Concert Hall
Same cast as program of 11/15/2005
Same program as 11/15/2005
1/31/2006
Merkin Concert Hall
Same cast as program of 2/16/2005
Same program as 2/16/2005
2/14/2006, 2/16/2006
Merkin Concert Hall
Archibald, Jane, soprano
Chopra, Leena, soprano
Montano, Alexandra, mezzo-soprano
Rushton, Christianne, mezzo-soprano
Ferguson, William, tenor
Abreu, Javier, tenor, tenor
Martin, James, baritone
Rogister, Evan, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Ensemble works from Monteverdi and Schubert to the Beach Boys and the Bobs, including a cappella and accompanied pieces.
3/8/2006
Merkin Concert Hall
Lenormand, Marie, mezzo-soprano
Russell, Hugh, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
Celebration of the chaotic brilliance of France's avant-garde at the close of the Belle Époque and the eve of the Great War. Works by Satie, Chabrier, Ravel, Yvette Guilbert and others.
3/12/2006
Vocal Arts Society, Kennedy Center, Washington, DC
Same cast as 3/8/3006
Same program as 3/8/2006
4/11/2006
Merkin Concert Hall
Betty, Carolyn, soprano
Hellekant, Charlotte, mezzo-soprano
Sharp, William, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Works commissioned by Princesse de Polignac, Isabella Stewart Gardner, Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, Alice Esty and other women whose patronage of song composers enriched the song repertoire. Works by Fauré, Poulenc, Thomson, Bowles, Rorem and others, as wel las a new work by Paul Moravec commissioned by NYFOS specifically for the program.
5/16/2006
Merkin Concert Hall
Vroman, Lisa, soprano
Cazalet, Hal, tenor
Graae, Jason, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
Follow the transatlantic drift in the 1920's and 30's musicals when London and New York carried on an exchange program of talent and audience appeal: Kern, the Gershwins, Rodgers, Porter and others mounted musicals in London, while Coward, Novello and others had their vogue in New York.
English Gardens, Earthly Delights
10/11/06, 10/12/06
Weill Recital Hall
Vroman, Lisa, soprano
Cazalet, Hal, tenor
Garland, Andrew, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
NYFOS wanders the primrose path of the English garden and roves its countryside in the company of British composers — from Vaughan Williams and Elgar to Britten and Coward — who found inspiration in nature (including human nature) and the special beauty of their native land over the last century and longer.
11/11/2007
Vocal Arts Society at the Terrace Theater, Washington, DC
Betty, Carolyn, soprano
Cooke, Sashe, mezzo-soprano
Little, Jeremy, tenor
Blier, Steven, piano
Twentieth century Italian song, from the late Romantic era to the beginnings of Neo-Realism. The music of Puccini, Mascagni, Respighi, Pizzetti and Castelnuovo-Tedesco will be complemented by that of Italian-American composers Harry Warren, Menotti, Argento, Musto and others.
11/15/06, 11/16/06
Weill Recital Hall
Same cast as 11/11/2006
Same program as 11/11/2006
1/17/2007
Peter J. Sharp Theater at The Juilliard School
Dobbs, Charlotte, soprano
Wyatt, Ariana, soprano
Sherman, Faith, mezzo-soprano
Appleby, Paul, tenor
Mansoori, Alex, tenor
La Rosa, Paul, baritone
Outlaw, Sidney, baritone
Webster, Marc, bass
Blier, Steven, piano
Barrett, Michael, piano
The second yearly collaborative concert between New York Festival of song and The Juilliard School.
2/7/07, 2/8/07
Weill Recital Hall
Kuznetsova, Dina, soprano
Lattimore, Jonita, soprano
Martin, James, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
Barrett, Michael, piano
Antonin Dvorák discovered America's voice in the Negro spirituals brought to him by Harry T. Burleigh, his African-American composition pupil at New York's National Conservatory of Music, where Dvorák taught from 1892-1895. Our program celebrates this inspiring creative exchange, its profound influence on Dvorák and his other pupils, and on the path of American music. Works by Dvorák, Burleigh, Will Marion Cook and others.
2/18/2007
San Francisco Opera Center, Schwabacher Series
Jones, Rhoslyn, soprano
Tier, Katharine, mezzo-soprano
Stewart, Noah, tenor
Galyon, Jeremy, bass-baritone
Piatt, Matthew, piano
Blier, Steven, piano, arranger
An appreciation of the wit and lyricism of our finst songwriters in the last quarter of the 20th century. These "most singable" works come from composers including William Bolcom, John Musto, Adam Guettel, John Corigliano, Ricky Ian Gordon, Lee Hoiby, Richard Thomas and more.
3/14/07, 3/15/07
Weill Recital Hall
Chopra, Leena, soprano
Shaham, Rinat, mezzo-soprano
Appleby, Paul, tenor
Worth, Matthew, baritone
Granados, Marco, flute
Arron, Edward, cello
Blier, Steven, piano
Barrett, Michael, piano
Songs from and about the world's most mysterious and beautiful islands, from Ireland to the West Indies, and from Madagascar to Manhattan, with detours to the islands of the imagination. Works by Maurice Ravel, Thomas Moore, Benjamin Britten, Kurt Weill, Vernon Duke, Richard Rodgers and more.
4/11/07, 4/12/07
Weill Recital Hall
Areyzaga, Michelle, soprano
Aylmer, Jennifer, soprano
Picon, Jeffrey, tenor
Herrera, Ricardo, baritone
Baker, James, percussion
Blier, Steven, piano, arranger
NYFOS renews its two-decade-long love affair with Latin music in this NEW program of songs from Spain and Latin America. Sephardic melodies set by Alberto Hemsi, Brazilian art songs by Mozart Camaro Guarnieri and Oscar Fernández, Mexican songs by Maria Grever, zarzuela arias by Chapi and Chueca, Cuban songs by Gisela Hernández and Tanya León, as well as vocal music by Granados, Turina, Halffter and many others — all receiving their first NYFOS performances.
4/15/2007
Clarice Smith Center, University of Maryland
Same cast as 4/11 and 4/12/07
Same program as 4/11 and 4/12/07
5/9/07, 5/10/07
Weill Recital Hall
Gruber, Sari, soprano
Lenormand, Marie, mezzo-soprano
Testa, Mary, mezzo-soprano
Phan, Nicholas, tenor
Russell, Hugh, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
Barrett, Michael, piano
Paris is the ever-beckoning backdrop for four musical theater works in vest-pocket NYFOS productions, including Jacque Offenbach's La Vie Parisienne and Cole Porter's Fifty Million Frenchmen.
10/16/2008, 10/18/2008
Weill Recital Hall
Tatum, Renée, mezzo-soprano
Abreu, Javier, tenor
Appleby, Paul, tenor
Mansoori, Alex, tenor
La Rosa, Paul, baritone
McFerrin, David, baritone
Sharp, William, baritone
Webster, Marc, bass
Blier, Steven, piano
Barrett, Michael, piano
Tomkins, Leslie, viola
NYFOS presents four favorite specialties of NYFOS’s Artistic Directors Steven Blier and Michael Barrett: 1) songs by contemporary American composers; 2) popular and musical theater songs from across the world; 3) art song, charged with the literary power of the great poets of Europe; and 4) Latin song, from the Iberian peninsula to Cuba, Mexico and South America.
11/13/2008, 11/15/2008
Weill Recital Hall
Gruber, Sari, soprano
Murrihy, Paula, mezzo-soprano
Cazalet, Hal, tenor
Worth, Matthew, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
Four characters in search of a happy ending; in duets, trios and quartets, four performers enact a series of linked romantic scenarios, set in contrasting languages and eras, in works ranging from Brahms to Sondheim, leading each re-combining pair of lovers to a different emotional conclusion.
A Modern Person's Guide to Hooking Up and Breaking Up
1/16/2008
Peter J. Sharp Theater at The Juilliard School
Zetlan, Jennifer, soprano
Lustig, Meredith, soprano
Jo Loeb, Rebecca, mezzo-soprano
Tatum, Renée, mezzo-soprano
Appleby, Paul, tenor
Mansoori, Alex, tenor
La Rosa, Paul, baritone
McFerrin, David, baritone
Im, Tae-Heeviolin
Schaul-Yoder, Heidi, viola
Kany, Min-Jeong, cello
Blier, Steven, piano
Barrett, piano
The Juilliard School's Vocal Arts Department's third annual installmet of NYFOS@Juilliard. This collaboration between NYFOS and The Juilliard School celebrates the creative energy and superlative vocal talent of tomorrow's brightest stars, building on NYFOS's distintive programming and performing style.
2/5/2008, 2/7/2008
Weill Recital Hall
Lattimore, Jonita, soprano
Testa, Mary, mezz-soprano
Martin, James, baritone
Utzig, Greg, banjo and guitar
Giordano, Vince, bass
Blier, Steven, piano
NYFOS reprises this program, first presented in its 2000-2001 season that features some of the greatest hits and rarities by three American song-writing heroes: Harry ("I Only Have Eyes for You") Warren, Hoagy ("Stardust") Carmichael, and Harold ("Stormy Weather") Arlen.
3/11/2008, 3/13/2008
Weill Recital Hall
Vroman, Lisa, soprano
Cooke, Sasha, mezzo-soprano
Appleby, Paul, tenor
Mason, Patrick, baritone
Boehler, Matt, bass
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Two newly commissioned music theater works in a comic vein by composers John Musto (Bastianello) and William Bolcom (Lucrezia) with book and lyrics by Mark Campbell; both works are scored for five singers and two pianos. Bastianello, based on an Italian folktale and set in 18th century rural Italy, is a family fable of love and folly; Lucrezia, a “riff” on Machiavelli’s La Mandragola, is a wickedly funny seduction satire, rewritten from the viewpoint of the story’s wise and captivating heroine.
4/15/2008, 4/17/2008
Weill Recital Hall
Kunznetsova, Dina, soprano
Phan, Nicholas, tenor
Belove, Anton, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
From as early as the 18th Century, when French became the court language of the Russian aristocracy, to the conquest of Paris by Les Ballet Russes, Russia looked to France as the height of refinement and France sought in all things Russian an exotic charm and vigor Western Europe seemed to lack. Artistic influences ran rampant in both directions, shaping the musical language of composers of both cultures.
9/5/2008
Moab Music Festival
Vroman, Lisa , soprano
Loeb, Rebecca Jo , mezzo-soprano
Appleby, Paul , tenor
Mason, Patrick, baritone
Boehler, Matt, bass
Barrett, Michael, piano
Shimoni, David, piano
Two newly commissioned music theater works in a comic vein by composers John Musto (Bastianello) and William Bolcom (Lucrezia) with book and lyrics by Mark Campbell; both works are scored for five singers and two pianos. Bastianello, based on an Italian folktale and set in 18th century rural Italy, is a family fable of love and folly; Lucrezia, a “riff” on Machiavelli’s La Mandragola, is a wickedly funny seduction satire, rewritten from the viewpoint of the story’s wise and captivating heroine.
A Bernstein / Bolcom Celebration
9/23/2008, 9/25/2008
Merkin Concert Hall
Gruber, Sari, soprano
Morris, Joan, mezzo-soprano
Loeb, Rebecca Jo, mezzo-soprano
Tatum, Renée, mezzo-soprano
Mansoori, Alex, tenor
Sharp, William, baritone
Webster, Marc, bass
Bolcom, William, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Barrett, Michael, piano
A tribute to two of New York Festival of Song’s guiding lights, Leonard Bernstein and William Bolcom, quintessential American composers and great spirits who have long provided wisdom, guidance, and music to NYFOS. Songs from Bernstein's Peter Pan, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Songfest, Wonderful Town, Arias and Barcarolles; Bolcom's Cabaret Songs, I Will Breathe a Mountain, Briefly It Enters, McTeague.
10/26/2008
Chester Meeting House, Chester CT
11/9/2008
West Parish Church, Andover, MA
Boulianne, Julie, mezzo-soprano
Appleby, Paul, tenor
Blier, Steven, piano
Modernism and resistance: the coming of age of French song, from the lost innocence of the jazz age and the ripe sensuality of pre-war Paris to the enduring lyrics of the liberation, forged in passionate activism. Works by Roussel, Poulenc, d'Ollone, Auric, Milhaud, Weill, and Trenet.
11/14/2008
Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington, DC
11/18/2008, 11/20/2008
Merkin Concert Hall
Lindsey, Kate, mezzo-soprano
Kaiser, Joseph, tenor
Blier, Steven, piano
An evening of songs from the concert stage, the movies, Broadway, and Berlin's cabarets that trace the varied fates of the gifted composers who fled destruction during Hitler’s rise to power--some to begin new lives and brilliant careers abroad, others to meet with darker ends. Music by Kurt Weill, Franz Schreker, Alexander Zemlinsky, Kurt Tucholsky, Erich Korngold, Hanns Eisler, Friedrich Hollaender, and many others.
1/14/2009
The Peter Jay Sharp Theater at The Juilliard School
Lustig, Meredith, soprano
Zetlan, Jennifer, soprano
Loeb, Rebecca Jo, mezzo-soprano
Vera, Isabel, mezzo-soprano
Appleby, Paul, tenor
Tiesi, Christopher, tenor
Ford, Carlton, bartione
Rosas, Adrian, bass-baritone
Roberts, Eric, percussion
Boyd, Rupert, guitar
Blier, Steven, piano
Slater, Jeanne, choreographer
A collection of songs and zarzuela from Spain and Latin America; passion, melody, and rhythm of De Falla, Albéniz, Guastavino, Lecuona, and others.
2/10/2009, 2/12/2009
Merkin Concert Hall
2/15/2009
Clarice Performing Arts Center, College Park, Maryland
Kuznetsova, Dina, soprano
Shaham, Rinat, mezzo-soprano
Goldstein, Steven, tenor
Goldberg, Laura, violin
Tipton, Lisa, violin
Tomkins, Leslie, viola
Lawson, Dorothy, cello
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Songs in many languages celebrate the culturally diverse Jewish communities that flourished as the tribes of Israel spread out across the globe. Sephardic melodies arranged by Alberto Hemsi and Roberto Sierra; Second Avenue specialties by Irving Berlin and Joseph Rumshinsky; art songs by Ravel, Mahler, and Rubinstein; plus music by Gershwin, Harold Rome and Bernstein.
3/14/2009
Caramoor's Vocal Rising Stars
3/17/2009
Merkin Concert Hall
Harvey, Joelle, soprano
Forrester, Lisa, mezzo-soprano
Appleby, Paul, tenor
McFerrin, David, baritone
Lee, Jessica, violin
Ouzounian, Karen, cello
Layer, Christopher, uilleann pipes, flute and whistle
Blier, Steven, piano
Barrett, Michael, piano
The lyricism of the Emerald Isle’s greatest writers, including Thomas Moore, W.B. Yeats, James Joyce, and Paul Muldoon, as set to music by Beethoven, Britten, Balfe, Barber and others.
Carried Away...with the Lyrics of Comden and Green
Spring Gala
4/15/2009
Weill Recital Hall
Lustig, Meredith, soprano
Daly, Tyne, mezzo-soprano
Amanda, Green, mezzo-soprano
Mansoori, Alex, tenor
de Haas, Darius, tenor
Bobbie, Walter, tenor
Ashmanskas, Brooks, baritone
Krohn, David, baritone
Blier, Steven, piano
5/19/2009, 5/21/2009
Merkin Concert Hall
Areyzaga, Michelle, soprano
Cooke, Sasha, mezzo-soprano
Cutlip, Philip, baritone
Boyd, Rupert, guitar
Blier, Steven, piano
A hymn to rivers and oceans stirs the heart and the imagination as the summer season draws near. Music by Elgar (the magnificent Sea Pictures), Fauré, Guastavino, Rachmaninoff, Brahms, Noël Coward, Pauline Viardot, and many others.
Where We Come From
10/13/2009
Merkin Concert Hall
Burton, Amy, soprano
Gruber, Sari, soprano
Kuznetsova, Dina, soprano
Cooke, Sasha, mezzo-soprano
Lindsay, Kate, mezzo-soprano
Appleby, Paul, tenor
Sosland, Benjamin, tenor
Ford, Carlton, baritone
Sharp, William, baritone
Boehler, Matt, bass
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Songs of home, offered by members of newly created NYFOS Artist Counsel, saluting their birthplaces and their musical roots.
Great American Songwriting Teams
11/17/2009, 11/19/2009
Merkin Concert Hall
McNair, Sylvia, vocals
Testa, Mary, vocals
Graae, Jason, vocals
Blier, Steven, piano
An evening of famous and rarely-heard songs honoring the genius of America's classic songwriting collaborators: George & Ira Gershwin, Rodgers & Hart, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Lerner & Loewe, Dietz & Schwartz, Bock & Harnick, Kander & Ebb, Lieber & Stoller, Bolcom & Weinstein.
Killer B's: American Song from Amy Beach to the Beach Boys
1/13/2010
The Peter Jay Sharp Theater
Hancock, Catherine, soprano
Lustig, Meredith, soprano
Jablonski, Carla, mezzo-soprano
O'Connell, Naomi, mezzo-soprano
Ford, Carlton, baritone
McDevitt, Timothy, baritone
Rosas, Adrian, bass-baritone
Blier, Steven, pianist and arranger
Barrett, Michael, pianist
The Voluptuous Muse
2/16/2010, 2/18/2010
Merkin Concert Hall
Kuznetsova, Dina, soprano
Lindsay, Kate, mezzo-soprano
Kaiser, Joseph, tenor
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
Lush harmonies and exotic themes are showcased in the songs of late-Romantic masters Erich Korngold, Karol Szymanowski, Nikolai Medtner, Richard Strauss and more.
The Sweetest Path
3/13/2010
Caramoor's Vocal Rising Stars
3/16/2010
Merkin Concert Hall
Dobbs, Charlotte, soprano
Loeb, Rebecca Jo, mezzo-soprano
Peña, Matthew, tenor
Brancy, John, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
A celebration of the first great flowering of French art song in a program of works by Gounod, Fauré, Bizet, Chabrier, and others.
Let Yourself Go! A gala evening of Irving Berlin songs
Spring Gala
4/12/2010
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
Baldwin, Kate, soprano
Kaye, Judy, mezzo-soprano
Loeb, Rebecca Jo, mezzo-soprano
White, Terri, mezzo-soprano
McGillin, Howard, tenor
Brancy, John, baritone
Estabrooks, Jonathan, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
The Newest Deal
5/4/2010, 4/6/2010
Merkin Concert Hall
Bird, Anne-Carolyn, soprano
Appleby, Paul, tenor
Garland, Andrew, baritone
Barrett, Michael, piano
Blier, Steven, piano
An all-new NYFOS program of 21st-century American works, including the premiere of Beautiful Ohio by Howard Meltzer, as well as Gabriel Kahane's Craigslistlieder and songs by Lisa Bielawa, Tom Cipullo, Gabriela Frank, Ray Lustig, and Phil Kline.