NYFOS Programs

Subscription Concert Series

NYFOS Artistic Directors Steven Blier and Michael Barrett have hosted New York Festival of Song's signature NYC series since NYFOS was founded in 1988. This intimate series, consisting of both subscription and standalone concerts, features original programs showcasing rarely-heard songs or presenting more familiar repertoire in surprising ways that enable audiences to hear it with fresh ears.. "An evening of transporting theatre – with music" (The New York Times), each NYFOS concert is organized thematically and draws from song repertoire across musical genres and styles. Thoroughly researched program notes and animated commentary from the stage guide the listener along each concert's musical and dramatic arc.

Get more information on this season's subscription concert series >
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NYFOS Next

A miniseries, held in intimate venues with a relaxed atmosphere, NYFOS Next looks to the future, opening a forum for the next generation of song composers and interpreters. Audiences enjoy an up-close encounter with the creative process, and freshly-minted songs are shared among creative companions—some for the first time. With an emphasis on spontaneity, novelty, and collaboration, NYFOS Next pioneers an experimental venue for song, paralleling New York Festival of Song's original subscription concert series

Get more information on this season's NYFOS Next performances >
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NYFOS@Juilliard

Since 2006 NYFOS has partnered annually with The Juilliard School and its Vocal Arts Department, now the Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts. The program trains young vocalists in the NYFOS model of research, program building, rehearsal process, text analysis, presentation/production and performance. From October through January, participants work directly with NYFOS's artistic directors to conceive, build and present their own thematic vocal program, engage their audiences through carefully crafted programming, write their own program notes, and deliver verbal commentary from the stage. Each annual program concludes with a performance, free to the public, presented in one of the premiere Juilliard School theaters.

Get more information on this season's NYFOS@Juilliard performance >
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No Song is Safe from Us! Radio Series on WFMT

NYFOS' new radio series, hosted by legendary mezzo-soprano Frederica Von Stade, continues on the WFMT Radio Network, with broadcast and distribution throughout the United States. Radio audiences will hear unique NYFOS concerts and recordings drawn from nearly a quarter century of recorded archives and critically acclaimed recordings. Singers featured in the radio segments include Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Stephanie Blythe, Joseph Kaiser, Judy Kaye, Dina Kuznetsova, and William Burden.

Among the programs are:
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson (highlights from this great artist's 13 performances with NYFOS)
Lost Tribes of Vaudeville (a celebration of Black and Jewish vaudeville)
Latin Lovers (art song and theater music from Argentina, Brazil, and Cuba)
Kurt Weill's Berlin (including cabaret songs from 1920s Berlin)
Poets Without Heroes (settings and of poetry by Soviet poet Akhmatova and her circle)
Fugitives (music by composers who fled Nazi Germany in the 1930s and '40s)

Get more program details >
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Tours

Each year NYFOS brings several of its programs to additional venues along the East coast, and occasionally beyond. NYFOS has toured nationally and internationally, from the Moab Music Festival in Utah, the Chicago Humanities Festival, The Musical Society at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and to the prestigious Wigmore Hall in London, England.

Get more information on this year's touring schedule >
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Education

Learning is a central aspect of every NYFOS program. All NYFOS concerts have an educational component including strong thematic programming, detailed and thoroughly-researched program notes with text and translations, and informative narration by pianist and host Steven Blier (NYFOS' Artistic Director). Any audience member willing to share his or her email address automatically receives NYFOS program notes in advance of each concert, permitting ample time to become familiar with the program and participate more fully in the performance experience in the hall. NYFOS is committed to making its concerts accessible to as wide an audience as possible and offers free tickets to high school groups and discounted tickets to college students and young music professionals.

NYFOS' artistic directors are dedicated to developing young talents and train singers at several residencies each year, including NYFOS@Juilliard at The Juilliard School, the Caramoor Rising Vocal Stars Program at Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, and residency programs at San Francisco Opera and Wolf Trap. Many of these singers are mentored throughout their early careers and often return to sing for NYFOS as main stage artists. NYFOS also offers internships to young people who are interested in exploring the realm of non-profit arts administration.

Email info@nyfos.org if you are interested in learning more about internship opportunities or our free and discounted student ticket programs.
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Support

If you are interested in funding any of the particular programs listed above, please contact the NYFOS office at 646-230-8380; email: info@nyfos.org make a donation through PayPal on our Support Us page.

To learn more about all the ways you can help >

New York Festival of Song, Inc. is a 501c(3) organization; all donations are 100% tax-deductible.