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One of my dearest friends from my time at Juilliard is Sasha Cooke, a mezzo who should be very familiar to NYFOS audiences. Her vulnerability and honesty comes to life in this early performance of her, of Debussy's Chansons de Bilitis. The poet Louÿs composed Chansons...
As our country once again reacts to a horrific act of violence, I found myself coming back to Dylan's "Masters of War" performed by the incredible voice of the civil rights movement, Odetta. This song is a bit of a rage aria, directed through gritted teeth at the...
My favorite singer of all time is Lorraine Hunt Lieberson. Watching Lorraine in this performance, I'm awed once again by the depth of the connection between her body, heart, and voice. To me, her sound is like the voice of the earth and of our deepest humanity. In...
I love singing and listening to choral music. One of my favorite groups is the Blue Heron Renaissance Choir, which is from my hometown of Boston and includes many of the finest singers there, including my masterful early teacher and dear friend, Pamela Dellal. This...
I fell in love with this recording of Dawn Upshaw's Naumberg recital with Margo Garrett on the piano when I was a student at Juilliard. It was actually Steve Blier who divined that this song would turn out to be a life-changingly meaningful piece for me, and assigned...