Lyrics by Shakespeare – 10/9/1988
Greenwich House Music School

Brenda Harris, soprano
Braden Harris, bass-baritone
Blythe Danner, narrator
Steven Blier, 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

Karen Holvik, soprano
William Sharp, baritone
Steven Blier, 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

Carmen Pelton, soprano
Peter Kazaras, tenor
Michael Barrett, keyboards
Leslie Tomkins, viola
Paula Robison, flute

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

Karen Holvik, soprano
Christopher Trakas, baritone
Carol Yahr, mezzo-soprano

A 50th anniversary concert performance of the 1938 smash hit with full cast

 

From Rio to Buenos Aires – 4/9/1989
Greenwich House Music School

Bernarda Fink, mezzo-soprano
Christopher Trakas, baritone
Steven Blier, 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

Carol Yahr, mezzo-soprano
Peter Kazaras, tenor
William Sharp, baritone
Steven Blier, 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. 

Red, White and Blues – 5/7/1989
Greenwich House Music School

Kurt Ollmann, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, 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.

 

An Evening of Ballads – 3/18/1990
Greenwich House Music School

Amy Burton, soprano
Christopher Trakas, baritone
Steven Blier, 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

George Gershwin’s Girl Crazy – 2/24/1990
Greenwich House Music School

Gwenneth Bean (Frisco Kate)
Kim Criswell (Molly Gray)
Margaret Jane Wray (Patsy West)
William Sharp (Danny Churchill)
Michael Hume (Slick)
John Sloman (Gieber Goldfarb)
Steven Goldstein; Richard Holmes; Michael Hume; John Keuther (Foursome)
Eric Stoltz (Narrator)
Michael Barret, piano
Steven Blier, piano

A concert version of Gershwin’s musical theater play.

 

George Gershwin’s Girl Crazy – 2/25/1990
Greenwich House Music School
Repeat cast of 2/24/1990
Repeat of program of 2/24/1990

 

Total Eclipse – 4/22/1990
Greenwich House Music School

Rosemarie Landry, soprano
Kurt Ollman, baritone
Alvin Epstein, narrator
Leslie Tomkins, viola
Steven Blier, piano

The poetry of Verlaine and Rimbaud set to music by Debussy, Fauré, Reynaldo Hahn, Lee Hoiby, and Benjamin Britten

New American Works – 5/20/1990 
Greenwich House Music School

Amy Burton, soprano
Rondi Charleston, soprano
Michael Hume, tenor
Joanne Lessner, mezzo-soprano
Don Mayo, bass
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano

A program of songs by Aaron Jay Kernis, Michael John LaChiusa, Ricky Ian Gordon, James Sellars, Jamie Bernstein, and Scott Frankel

 

Music, Marriage and Madness – 10/21/1990
Greenwich House Music School

Lorraine Hunt, mezzo-soprano
Kurt Ollmann, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Lieder by Robert Schumann, nearly all written in 1840.

 

Ticket to Ride – 11/8/1990
Greenwich House Music School

Marsha Hunter, soprano
Brian Kent, baritone
Mark Stewart, cello
Steven Blier, piano
A concert of the songs on Lennon and McCartney in unusual arrangements

 

Ticket to Ride – 11/11/1990
Greenwich House Music School
Repeat cast of 11/8/1990
Repeat of program of 11/8/1990

 

Promised Lands – 11/30/1990
Greenwich House Music School

Carmen Pelton, soprano
Pamela Smith, contralto
Christopher Trakas, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Folk music from many countries, from art songs through popular tunes.

 

Promised Lands – 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

Cyndia Sieden, soprano
William Sharp, baritone
Steven Blier, 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

Amy Burton, soprano
Katherine Buffaloe, mezzo-soprano
Chris Groenndaal, tenor
Eddie Korbich, tenor
William Bolcom, Special Guest
Joan Morris, Special Guest
Steven Blier, piano
Michael Barrett, 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 the Holy Trinity, Philadelphia, PA

Katherine Buffaloe, soprano
Louise Edeiken, soprano
Stephen Bogardus, tenor
William Sharp, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano
Jamie Bernstein Thomas, 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 of cast of 4/6/1991
Repeat of concert of 4/6/1991

From Rio to Buenos Aires – 4/14/1991
Greenwich House Music School

Bernarda Fink, mezzo-soprano
Christopher Trakas, baritone
Steven Blier, piano
Songs from Brazil and Argentina featuring the music of Guastavino, Villa-Lobos, Ginastera, Braga, Piazzolla, Nazareth, and others.

 

New American Works – 5/12/1991
Greenwich House Music School

Karen Holvik, soprano
Beverly Morgan, soprano
Luretta Bybee, mezzo-soprano
Frances Schopick, mezzo-soprano
John Musto, piano
Steven Blier, 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.

 

Arias and Barcarolles – 8/17/1991
The Jewish Center of the Hamptons, East Hampton, NY

Katherine Buffaloe, soprano
John Brandstetter, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano
Music of Leonard Bernstein, Marc Blitzstein, William Bolcom, Cole Porter, and others.

 

Americans on America – 10/1/1991
Luther College, Decorah, IA

Jane Bunnell, mezzo-soprano
William Sharp, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano
Leonard Bernstein’s last work, Arias and Barcarolles, along with selections from On the Town, Trouble in Tahiti, and songs by Marc Blitzstein.

Americans on America – 10/6/1991
Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, NY
Same cast as program of 10/1/1991
Repeat of the program of 10/1/1991

 

American Passions – 10/13/1991
Greenwich House Music School

Jane Bunnell, mezzo-soprano
William Sharp, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano
Bernstein’s Arias and Barcarolles, songs by Ives, Ellington, Blitzstein, and Porter.

 

Spanish Song, Wine, & Food – 11/22/1991

Lorraine Hunt, mezzo-soprano
Christopher Trakas, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano
Benefit hosted by Jamie Bernstein

 

Spanish Love Songs – 11/24/1991
Greenwich House Music School

Lorraine Hunt, mezzo-soprano
Christopher Trakas, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven, Blier, piano

Selections from Wolf’s Spanisches Liederbuch, Schumann’s Spanische Liebeslieder, songs by Granados, Fauré, Turina, Mompou, Saint-Saëns, Obrador, and others.

 

The Diary of One Who Vanished – 1/26/1992
Greenwich House Music School

Karen Holvik, soprano
Jane Bunnell, mezzo-soprano
Frances Schopick, mezzo-soprano
Deborah Berruete, mezzo-soprano
Peter Kazaras, tenor
Steven Blier, piano

A complete performance of the Janàcek work, plus songs by Dvorák, Chabrier, Brahms, and Wolf.

Scenes from Childhood – 2/23/1992
Greenwich House Music School

Edrie Means, soprano
Joanne Lessner, soprano
Adrien Reju Finckel, girl soprano
Parker Conrad, boy soprano
Michael Barrett, piano

Arioso and Scene from Foss’ Griffelkin, songs by Ives, Bernstein, Barab, Copland, Debussy, and Poulenc.

 

New American Works – 3/22/1992
Greenwich House Music School

Amy Burton, soprano
Lorraine Hunt, mezzo-soprano
Tony Boutté, tenor
Patrick Mason, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano
John Musto, piano
Paul Woodiel, violin
Hanne-Berit, violin
Dorothy Lawson, violincello
Roger Wagner, contrabass

Robert Maggio’s Love and Travel, songs by Robert Baksa, Joelle Wallach, John Musto, Danna Kelly Eastman, Ned Rorem, and James Sellars.

 

Total Eclipse – 4/4/1992
Bowdoin College, Brunswick, ME

Lorraine Hunt, mezzo-soprano
Kurt Ollmann, baritone
Robert Chapline, baritone
Steven Blier, 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

Cyndia Seiden, soprano
William Sharp, baritone
Steven Blier, piano
Roger Wagner, double bass

Songs by Brahms, Wolf, Beethoven, Berlin, Schoenberg, Britten, Rebecca Clarke, and the Bobs.

 

Guilty Pleasures and Confessions – 4/27/1992
Walter Reade Theater, New York, NY
Same cast as program of 4/26/1992
Repeat program of 4/26/1992

 

Picnic Cantata / L’amour Masqué – 5/31/1992
Greenwich House Music School

Amy Burton, soprano
Karen Holvik, soprano
Rebecca Mercer-White, mezzo-soprano
Carmen Pelton, soprano
Cynthia Rose, contralto
Robert Sapolsky, baritone
Nathaniel Watson, baritone
Jacqueline Chambord, narrator
Christian Aubert, narrator
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano
James Saporito, percussion

A concert double bill of the works by Paul Bowles and André Messager

 

Backer’s Audition – 9/20/1992
Greenwich House Music School

Beth Fowler, mezzo-soprano
Joe Grifasi, baritone
Dana Hanchard, soprano
Howard McGillin, baritone
Steven Blier, 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.

 

Words Without Songs – 10/25/1992
Greenwich House Music School

Steven Goldstein, tenor
John Deak, instrumentalist
Robert Black, instrumentalist
Dorothy Lawson, cello
Karen Marx, violin
Susan Radcliffe, cornet
James Saporito, percussion
Glenn Stulpen, soprano saxophone
Christian Aubert, narrator
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, 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.

 

Ticket to Ride – 11/2/1992
Walter Reade Theater, New York, NY

Same cast as program of 11/8/1990
Repeat of program of 11/8/1990

 

Picnic Cantata – 11/13/1992
Weill Recital Hall

Karen Holvik, soprano
Amy Burton, soprano
Rebecca Mercer-White, mezzo-soprano
Carmen Pelton, soprano
Jennifer Lane, mezzo-soprano
William Sharp, baritone
James Saporito, percussion
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano

Songs by Copland, Blitzstein, Rorem, Musto, Wallach, Bernstein, Bolcom plus Paul Bowles’ Picnic Cantata.

 

Die Schöne Magelone – 12/6/1992
Greenwich House Music School

William Sharp, baritone
Beth Dixon, narrator
Steven Blier, piano

Johannes Brahms’ 1868 song cycle performed with original narration.

 

The Ages of Bel Canto – 1/7/1993
Greenwich House Music School

Jon Villars, tenor
Andrea Matthews, soprano
Linda Maguire, mezzo-soprano
Michael Barrett, piano

Songs by Donizetti, Mascagni, Puccini, and Dallapiccola.

 

Romance in the Belle Epoque – 2/14/1993
Greenwich House Music School

Lorraine Hunt, mezzo-soprano
Kurt Ollmann, baritone
Steven Blier, piano

Fauré’s song cycle Le jardin clod, songs by Massenet, Debussy, Satie, Chabrier, and Pladilhe

 

Spanish Love Songs – 3/8/1993
Walter Reade Theater

Lorraine Hunt, mezzo-soprano
Christopher Trakas, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano

Selections from Wolf’s Spanisches Liederbuch, Schumann’s Spanische Liebeslieder, songs by Granados, Fauré, Turina, Mompou, Saint-Saëns, Obrador, and others

Songs of the Irish Poets – 4/4/1993
Greenwich House Music School

Amy Burton, soprano
Glenn Siebert, tenor
Paul Woodiel, violin
Dorothy Lawson, cello
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano

The words of Yeats, Wilde, Moore, and Joyce, in settings by Britten, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Ricky Ian Gordon, and Barber.

 

Red, White and Blues – 4/12/1993
Walter Reade Theater

Milagro Vargas, mezzo-soprano
Kurt Ollmann, baritone
Marcia Butler, oboe
Sue Hineman, bassoon
Jo-Ann Sternberg, clarinet
James Baker, percussion
Karen Marx, violin
Dorothy Lawson, cello
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano

Poulenc’s L’Amour Masqué, the music of Milhaud, Gershwin, Duparc, and Ives.

 

New American Works – 5/2/1993
Greenwich House Music School

Debra Vanderlinde, soprano
Belinda Pidgeon, soprano
John Horton Murray, tenor
Christopher Trakas, baritone
Kathleen Nestor, flute
Marianne Gythfeldt, clarinet
Marshall Coid, violin
Leslie Tomkins, viola
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, 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.

 

Music of Leonard Bernstein – 9/11/1993
Moab Music Festival, Moab, UT

Lucy Schaufer, mezzo-soprano
Kurt Ollmann, baritone
Jon Villars, tenor
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano
Arias and Barcarolles, selections from On the Town, Wonderful Town, Candide, Mass, and others.

 

A Tribute to Leonard Bernstein – 9/28/1993
Emory University, Atlanta, GA
Same cast as 9/11/1993
Same program as 9/11/1993

Women’s Work – 10/17/1993
Greenwich House Music School

Christopher Trakas, baritone
Karen Holvik, soprano
Jennifer Lane, soprano
Michael Barrett, 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

Christopher Trakas, baritone
Amy Burton, soprano
John Musto, 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

 

The Afterlife – 11/13/1993
Greenwich House Music School

Lorraine Hunt, mezzo-soprano
Brenda Harris, soprano
Steven Blier, piano

Songs by Vaughan Williams, Argento, Thomson, Bolcom, Handel, Wolf, Barber, Ricky Ian Gordon, Foss, Schumann, and John Musto.

 

Unsung Strauss – 12/12/1993
Greenwich House Music School

Linda McGuire, mezzo-soprano
Cyndia Seiden, soprano
Christopher Trakas, baritone
Steven Blier, piano

Rarely-heard music of Richard Strauss, including the original version of Zerbinetta’s aria from Ariadne auf Naxos and Krämmerspiegel, Op. 67.

 

A Ned Rorem Birthday Tribute – 1/23/1994
Greenwich House Music School
Kurt Ollmann, baritone
Lucille Beer, mezzo-soprano
NYFOS String Quartet
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, 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
Dominique Labelle, soprano
Kimberly Barber, mezzo-soprano
William Sharp, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano
Music of John Musto, Arlen, William Bolcom, Aaron Kipnis, Copland, and others.

 

Modern Scenes from American Life – 3/6/1994
Wigmore Hall, London, UK

Same cast as 2/13/1994
Same program as 2/23/1994

 

The Russian Masters – 4/17/1994
Greenwich House Music School
Juliana Gondek, soprano
Nancy Allen Lundy, mezzo-soprano
Zhou Zeng, baritone
Peter Kazaras, tenor
Mark Pakman, piano
Steven Blier, piano
Music of Glinka, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, and contemporary Russian composers.

 

New American Works – 5/8/1994
Greenwich House Music School
Amy Burton, soprano
Claron McFaddon, soprano
Lucy Schaufer, mezzo-soprano
David Ossenfort, tenor
William Sharp, baritone
Sheryl Henze, flute
Margaret Parkins, cello
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano
John Musto, piano

Music by Bolcom, Davide Zannoni, Nancy Gunn, Donald St. Pierre, Dan Wechler, Ricky Ian Gordon, Jeffrey Stock (commission), and James Sellars.

 

Red, White, and Blues – 9/9/1994
Moab Music Festival, Moab, UT
Constance Haumann, soprano
Kurt Ollmann, baritone
Steven Blier, piano

A collection of French and American songs by Hahn, Ravel, Duparc, Gershwin, Ives, Copland, and others.

 

American Dreams – 10/8/1994
92nd Street Y
Lauren Flanigan, soprano
Amy Burton, soprano
Kimberly Barber, mezzo-soprano
Joan Morris, mezzo-soprano
Steven Goldstein, tenor
Jamie Offenbach, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano
William Bolcom, piano

A gala program of songs about love, famly, and freedom in American life, featuring the music of Bernstein, Bolcom, Griffes, Gershwin, Arlen, and others.

 

Vienna: Turn of the Centuries – 11/12/1994
92nd Street Y
Cheryl Parrish, soprano
Suzanne Mentzer, mezzo-soprano
William Sharp, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano

Music from the two decades surrounding 1900 by Mahler, Strauss, Schoenberg, Pfitzner, and others.

 

New American Works – 1/19/1995
Weill Recital Hall
Nancy Lundy, soprano
Laura Tucker, mezzo-soprano
Jon Villars, tenor
Christopher Trakas, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, 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.

 

Les Années Folles – 2/11/1995
92nd Street Y
Amy Burton, soprano
Karen Holvik, soprano
Carolyn Scimone, soprano
Lorraine Hunt, mezzo-soprano
Peter Kazaras, tenor
Kurt Ollmann, baritone
Nathaniel Watson, baritone
Christian Aubert, narrator
Jacqueline Chambord, narrator
NYFOS Chamber Players

A double bill of André 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 at Carnegie Hall
Lauren Flanigan, soprano
Kimberly Barber, mezzo-soprano
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, 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
Kimberly Barber, mezzo-soprano
William Sharp, baritone
Steven Blier, piano

A tribute to the late American composer and conductor.

 

From Rio to Buenos Aires – 6/3/1995
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
Bernarda Fink, mezzo-soprano
Christopher Trakas, baritone
Steven Blier, piano

Songs from Brazil and Argentina featuring the music of Guastavino, Villa-Lobos, Ginastera, Braga, Piazzolla, Nazareth, and others.

 

Romance in the Belle Epoque – 6/29/1995
Wigmore Hall, London, UK
Lorraine Hunt, mezzo-soprano
Kurt Ollmann, baritone
Steven Blier, piano

Fauré’s songs cycle Le jardin clos, songs by Massenet, Debussy, Satie, Chabrier, Paladilhe.

 

Rivers and Rainbows – 9/9/1995
Moab Music Festival, Moab, UT
Cyndia Seiden, soprano
Patrick Mason, baritone
Steven Blier, piano

Songs about nature by Rorem, Ives, Schuber, Richard Strauss, Harold Arlen, Weill, and others.

 

Guilty Pleasures and Confessions – 9/10/1995
Moab Music Festival, Moab, UT
Cyndia Seiden, soprano
Patrick Mason, baritone
Steven Blier, piano

A survey of venial and deadly sin in songs by Conrad Susa, Brahms, Schubert, Christopher Berg, Johann Strauss and others.

 

Songs from the Diaspora – 10/28/1995
92nd Street Y
Tovah Feldshuh, soprano
Lorraine Hunt, mezzo-soprano
Peter Kazaras, tenor
Robert Abelson, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, 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.

 

Broadway Orphans – 12/12/1995
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
Brent Barrett, tenor
Beth Fowler, mezzo-soprano
Joe Grifasi, baritone
Karen Holvik, soprano
Steven Blier, piano

Showstoppers and unpublished gems from the vintage Broadway musicals of Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Harold Arlen, Kurt Weill, Richard Rogers, and Irving Berlin.

 

A Langston Hughes Celebration – 1/16/1996
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
Harolyn Blackwell, soprano
Camellia Johnson, soprano
Arthur Woodley, bass
Arnold Rampersad, narrator
Steven Blier, piano
Dorothy Lawson, 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
Dominique Labelle, soprano
Kurt Ollmann, baritone
Steven Blier, piano

The poets’ works heard in classic settings by Gabriel Fauré, Caude Debussy, Benjamin Britten, Reynaldo Hahn, and Frederick Delius, with excerpts from Total Eclipse, Christopher Hampton’s drama about the lives of Verlaine and Rimbaud.

 

Teatros Españoles – 3/9/1996
92nd Street Y
Yvonne Gonzales, soprano
Nancy Herrera, soprano
Antonio Barasorda, tenor
Christopher Trakas, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano
Pablo Zinger, program consultant

A celebration of theater music from Spain, Argentina, Brazil, and Cuba; tangos and zarzuela arias from Villa-Lobos, Chapi, Carlos Lopez-Buchardo, and others.

 

Spanish Love Songs – 3/25/1996
Vocal Arts Society, Washington, DC
Lorraine Hunt, soprano
Christopher Trakas, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano

Works by Granados, Turina, Obradors, Luna, Fauré, Chabrier, as well as excerpts from Schumann’s Spanisches Liebeslieder and Wolf’s Spanisches Liederbuch.

 

The Unsung Strauss – 4/14/1996
Greenwich Chamber Music Society, Greenwich, CT
Risa Renae Harman, soprano
Susan Graham, mezzo-soprano
Jon Villars, tenor
Steven Blier, 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.

 

The Unsung Strauss – 4/16/1996
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
Risa Renae Harmon, soprano
Marguerite Krull, mezzo-soprano
Jon Villars, tenor
Steven Blier, piano

Same program as 4/14/1996

 

American Love Songs/Brahms Liebeslieder – 5/11/1996
92nd Street Y
Stephanie Blythe, mezzo-soprano
Philip Cutlip, bass-baritone
Nancy Allen Lundy, soprano
Steven Tharp, tenor
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano

Brahms’ classic 1868 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
Risa Renae Harman, soprano
Lucy Schaufer, mezzo-soprano
Philip Cutlip, bass-baritone
Jeffrey Picon, tenor
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano

Same program as 5/11/1996

 

Dove Sta Amore – 10/2/1996
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
Cyndia Seiden, soprano
Rodney Gilfry, baritone
Steven Blier, 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.

 

An Ira Gershwin Celebration – 11/20/1996
Tyne Daly, mezzo-soprano
Diane Fratanoni, soprano
David Garrison, baritone
William Sharp, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, 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 at Carnegie Hall
Christine Goerke, soprano
Kimberly Barber, mezzo-soprano
Jeffrey Picon, tenor
William Sharp, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, 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
Christine Goerke, soprano
Margaret Lattimore, mezzo-soprano
William Sharp, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano

Same program as 1/15/1997

 

The English Landscape and Façade – 2/26/1997
92nd Street Y
Rebecca Evans, soprano
Kevin McMillan, baritone
Francis Conroy, narrator
Brian Murray, narrator
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, 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 Coward; coupled with a performance of William Walton’s Façade on poems of Edith Sitwell, performed with the NYFOS chamber ensemble.

 

Romance in the Belle Epoque – 3/26/1997
The Barns, Wolftrap, VA
Emily Mannhart, mezzo-soprano
Scott Hendricks, baritone
Steven Blier, piano

Fauré’s song cycle Le jardin clod, songs by Massenet, Debussy, Satie, Chabrier, and Paladilhe

 

The Russian Masters – 4/23/1997
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
Sheri Greenawald, soprano
Peter Kazaras, tenor
Zhou Zeng, baritone
Steven Blier, piano

Music of Glinak, Borodin, Medtner, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, and contemporary Russian composers

 

Paris at Night – 6/4/1997
92nd Street Y
Frederica von Stade, mezzo-soprano
Helene Delevault, mezzo-soprano
Kurt Ollmann, baritone
William Schimmel, accordion
Greg Utzig, guitar
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano

A cabaret evening featuring the wit and passion of French popular songs by Jacques Brel, Charles Trénet, Edith Piaf and many others.

 

American Love Songs/Brahms Liebeslieder – 8/21/1997
Trinity Church, New York, NY
Nancy Ann Lundy, soprano
Mary Phillips, mezzo-soprano
Jeffrey Picon, tenor
Philip Cutlip, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano

Brahms’ classic 1868 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.

 

A Bel Canto Celebration – 10/15/1997
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
Jane Jennings, soprano
Jami Rogers, soprano
Vivica Genaux, mezzo-soprano
Jan Opalach, baritone
Curt Peterson, tenor
Steven Blier, piano

The vocal fireworks and melodic genius of Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti, as well as the composers they influenced throughout Europe, including Schubert, Balfe, Glinka, Barbieri, Chopin, and Pauline Viardot.

 

Heaven on Earth – 11/20/1997
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
Lorraine Hunt, mezzo-soprano
Dominique Labelle, soprano
Steven Blier, piano

Musicians, including Handel, Schubert, Wolf, Mahler, Liszt, Duke, Hoiby, Argento, and Copland, create impressions of the soul’s ascent to paradise.

 

Evidence of Things Not Seen – 1/18/1998
Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY
Lisa Saffer, soprano
Kurt Ollmann, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, 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.

 

Evidence of Things Not Seen – 1/22/1998
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
Lisa Saffer, soprano
Delores Ziegler, mezzo-soprano
Rufus Muller, tenor
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano

Same program as 1/18/1998

 

Four on the Aisle – 2/19/1998
92nd Street Y
Amy Burton, soprano
Dana Hanchard, soprano
William Burden, tenor
Arthur Woodley, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, 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 Albeniz’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
Lauren Skuce, soprano
Leslie Johnson, mezzo-soprano
Ted Keegen, tenor
Steven Blier, piano

Music of George Gershwin and his contemporaries

 

The Youth’s Magic Horn – 3/19/1998
92nd Street Y
Suzanne Mentzer, mezzo-soprano
Zhou Zheng, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, 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.

 

Evidence of Things Not Seen – 4/18/1998
Library of Congress, Washington, DC
Monique McDonald, soprano
Delores Ziegler, mezzo-soprano
Rufus Muller, tenor
Kurt Ollmann, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano

Same program as 1/18/1998

 

Tenth Anniversary Gala Concert – 5/14/1998
92nd Street Y
Harolyn Blackwell, soprano
Amy Burton, soprano
Risa Harmon, soprano
Sylvia McNair, soprano
Roberta Peters, soprano
Stephanie Blythe, mezzo-soprano
Susan Graham, mezzo-soprano
Joan Morris, mezzo-soprano
Peter Kazaras, tenor
Steven Tharp, tenor
Kurt Ollmann, baritone
Williams Sharp, baritone
Philip Cutlip, bass-baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano
William Bolcom, piano

Singers familiar to NYFOS audiences join new friends to celebrate 10 successful seasons in a program of favorites.

 

Twentieth Century Masters II: Gabriel Fauré – 6/7/1998
The Kaye Playhouse
Margaret Lattimore, mezzo-soprano
Kamel Boutros, baritone
Steven Blier, piano
Peter Orth, piano

Music of Gabriel Fauré

 

Twentieth Century Masters II: Gabriel Fauré – 6/8/1998
The Kaye Playhouse
Margaret Lattimore, mezzo-soprano
Kurt Ollmann, baritone
Steven Blier, piano
Peter Orth, piano

Music of Gabriel Fauré

 

Evidence of Things Not Seen – 8/18/1998
Nantucket Musical Arts Society, Nantucket, MA
Monique McDonald, soprano
Delores Ziegler, mezzo-soprano
Steven Tharp, tenor
Kurt Ollmann, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano

Same program as 1/18/1998

 

Evidence of Things Not Seen – 9/13/1998
Moab Music Festival, Moab, UT
Monique McDonald, soprano
Delores Ziegler, mezzo-soprano
Steven Tharp, tenor
Kurt Ollmann, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano

Same program as 1/18/1998

 

George Gershwin is 100! – 9/26/1998
Friends of Music, Ossining, NY
Margaret Lattimore, mezzo-soprano
Ted Keegen, tenor
Steven Blier, piano
John Musto, 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.

 

New York, New York – 10/15/1998
The Kaye Playhouse
Amy Burton, soprano
Judy Kaye, mezzo-soprano
William Sharp, baritone
Lewis Cleale, baritone
Tony Kushner, narrator
Steven Blier, 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.

 

Evidence of Things Not Seen – 11/8/1998
Chicago Humanities Festival, Chicago, IL
Sari Gruber, soprano
Delores Ziegler, mezzo-soprano
Steven Tharp, tenor
Kurt Ollmann, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano

Same program as 1/18/1998

 

George Gershwin is 100! – 11/12/1998
The Kaye Playhouse
Audra McDonald, soprano
Margaret Lattimore, mezzo-soprano
Ted Keegen, tenor
Steven Blier, piano
John Musto, piano

Same program as 9/26/1998

 

George Gershwin: Sung and Unsung – 1/9 and 1/10 1999
The University Musical Society, Ann Arbor, MI
Karen Holvik, soprano
Ted Keegan, tenor
Steven Blier, piano
John Musto, piano

Same program as 9/26/1998

 

Romance in the Bell Epoque – 2/4/1999
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
Bernarda Fink, mezzo-soprano
Kurt Ollmann, baritone
Steven Blier, 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.

 

Dance Date with Cuba – 3/2/1999
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
Monique McDonald, soprano
Vivica Genaux, mezzo-soprano
Jeffrey Picon, tenor
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano
James Saporito, percussion
Dorothy Lawson, cello
Christopher Cullen, clarinet

Created in cooperation with the American Composers’ Orchestra – Sonidas de Las Americas – Cuban Festival. The concert, theater, and dance songs of Cuba, from rhythm masters Ernesto Lecuonas, Gomzalo Roig, Alejandro Gracia Caturla and others.

 

Songs of Sense and Sensibility – 4/8/1999
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
Cyndia Seiden, soprano
Rufus Muller, tenor
Brett Polegato, baritone
Steven Blier, 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.

 

Love and Betrayals – 5/13/1999
The Kaye Playhouse
Jane Jennings, soprano
Mary Phillips, mezzo-soprano
Bejun Mehta, countertenor
John Hancock, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, 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
Leah Summers, mezzo-soprano
Christopheren Nomura, baritone
Steven Blier, piano

 

Kurt Weill’s Berlin – 10/14/1999
The Kaye Playhouse
Constance Hauman, soprano
Kimberly Barber, mezzo-soprano
Peter Kazaras, tenor
Mark Steward, banjo, guitar, cello
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano

The irony, satire, and sentiment of centerarian Kurt Weill, with contributions from fellow cabarettists Tucholsky, Eisler, and Hollaender.

 

Latin Lovers – 11/30/1999
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
Jennifer Aylmer, soprano
Jeffrey Picon, tenor
Scott Hendricks, baritone
Oren Fader, guitar
James Saporito, percussion
Steven Blier, 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.

 

Great American Songwriting Teams – 12/10/1999
Library of Congress, Washington, DC
Jennifer Aylmer, soprano
Judy Kaye, mezzo-soprano
John Hancock, baritone
Steven Blier, piano

A salute to a century of America’s best creative collaborators, including songs by Gershwin & Gershwin, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Rodgers & Hart, Kalmaer & Rudy, Bolcom & Weinstein, Dietz & Schwartz, and Lieber & Stoller.

 

Latin Lovers – 1/7/2000
Vocal Arts Society, Washington, DC
Jennifer Aylmer, soprano
Nancy Herrara, mezzo-soprano
Jeffrey Picon, tenor
Scott Hendricks, baritone
Steven Blier, piano

Same program as 1/30/1999

 

Songs of Travel – 2/17/2000
The Kaye Playhouse
Petra Lang, mezzo-soprano
Wolfgang Holzmair, baritone
Steven Blier, piano

Wanderers and lovers on a romantic journey throuh Europe, with music by Mahler, Dvorák, Vaughan Williams, Schubert, Mendelssohn, and Krenek.

 

Evidence of Things Not Seen – 3/12/2000
Louisville, KY
Lisa Saffer, soprano
Delores Ziegler, mezzo-soprano
Rufus Muller, tenor
Philip Cutlip, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano

Same program as 1/18/1998

 

From Rags to Riches: A Hundred Years of American Song – 3/23/2000
The Kaye Playhouse
Stephanie Blythe, mezzo-soprano
William Burden, tenor
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, 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 includes 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
Jennifer Aylmer, soprano
Judy Kaye, mezzo-soprano
John Hancock, baritone
Steven Blier, piano

Same program as 12/10/1999

 

Birthday Bash for Francis Poulenc – 4/14/2000
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
Rinat Shaham, mezzo-soprano
Kurt Ollmann, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano

A musical gathering of Francis Poulenc and his circle, including Satie, Milhaud, Rorem, 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
Jennifer Aylmer, soprano
Theodore Green, tenor
Steven Powell, baritone
Steven Blier, piano

Same program as 4/8/1999

 

Songs of the Irish Poets – 5/18/2000
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
Amy Burton, soprano
Theodore Green, tenor
Paul Woodiel, violin and arranger
Dorothy Lawson, cello
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, 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 Beethove, Britten, Bax, Barber, Daron Hagen, and others; with a gropu 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
Monique McDonald, soprano
Scott Hendrick, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano

Music of Aaron Copland, Nadia Boulanger, Paul Bowles, Ned Rorem, and others.

 

Harry, Haogy and Harold – 10/12/2000
The Kaye Playhouse
Sandra Bonitto, soprano
Judy Kaye, mezzo-soprano
Kurt Ollman, baritone
Greg Utzig, guitair
John Miller, bass
Steven Blier, 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.

 

Evidence of Things Not Seen – 11/4/2000
Market Square Concerts, Harrisburg, PA
Monique McDonald, soprano
Delores Ziegler, mezzo-soprano
Steven Tharp, tenor
Kurt Ollmann, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano

Same program as 1/18/1998

 

Aimez-vous Brahms? Lieben Sie Fauré? – 11/9/2000
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
Jennifer Welch-Babidge, soprano
Stephanie Houtzeel, mezzo-soprano
John Hancock, baritone
Steven Blier, piano

The radient 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 at Carnegie Hall
Amy Burton, soprano
Scott Hendricks, baritone
Michael Barrett, 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.

 

Songbook for a New Century – 3/22/2001
The Kaye Playhouse
Jennifer Aylmer, soprano
Theodora Hanslowe, mezzo-soprano
Ted Schmitz, tenor
Mel Ulrich, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, 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 was 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
Suzanne Ramo, soprano
Allyson McHardy, mezzo-soprano
Brian Anderson, tenor
Daniel Teadt, baritone
Steven Blier, 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 includes a new work by John Musto and Denise Lanctot commissioned by NYFOS.

 

Beyond the Iron Curtain – 4/25/2001
Vocal Arts Society, Washington, DC
Lisa Saffer, soprano
Bernarda Fink, mezzo-soprano
Steven Blier, piano

NYFOS explores the soulful melodies and coloful musical traditions of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, 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.

 

Beyond the Iron Curtain – 4/26/2001
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall

Same cast and program as 4/25/2001

 

Happily Ever After: An Operetta Junket – 5/23/2001
The Kaye Playhouse
Jane Jennings, soprano
Leslie Johnson, mezzo-soprano
Ted Green, tenor
Ian Greenlaw, baritone
Philip Cutlip, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, 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.

 

The Unknown Bernstein – 6/6/2001
The Library of Congress, Washington, DC
Judy Kaye, mezzo-soprano
Patrick Mason, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano

Leonard Bernstein’s unpublished and lesser-known works.

 

At Harlem’s Height – 10/11/2001
The Kaye Playhouse
Dana Hanchard, soprano
Darius de Haas, tenor
James Martin, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, 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.

 

Spanish Gold – 11/15/2001
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
Jennifer Aylmer, soprano
Vivica Genaux, mezzo-soprano
Giuliani Belotti, guitar
Steven Blier, piano

The Iberian Peninsula, rich with history and the multifarious traditions of Catalonia, Castille, and the Sephardic homelands, yields up its treasures of songs from the Baroque to the Romantic to our own time. Featuring works by Granados, Rodrigo, Guridi, Mompou and others, sung in Spanish, Catalan and Galician.

 

P. G.’s Other Profession – 12/1/2001
Wigmore Hall, London, UK
Sylvia McNair, soprano
Hal Cazalet, tenor (great-grandson of Wodehouse)
Henry Goodman, baritone
Steven Blier, piano

Peerless comic novelist P. G. Wodehouse, in his lesser-known second career, wrote brilliant lyrics for songwriters including Jerome Kern, Ivor Novello, and the Gershwin brothers to create shows that lit up Broadway and London’s West End.

 

Song of the Midnight Sun – 1/7/2002
Vocal Arts Society, Washington, DC
Charlotte Hellekant, mezzo-soprano
Paul Groves, tenor
Steven Blier, piano

The great Scandinavian songwriters, including Grieg, Sibelius, Stenhammer, 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.

 

Song of the Midnight Sun – 1/9/2002
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall

Same cast and program as 1/7/2002

 

At Harlem’s Height – 1/14/2002
Aaron Davis Hall, CUNY College of NY, NY

Same cast and program as 10/11/2001

 

At Harlem’s Height – 1/16/2002
The Library of Congress, Washington, DC

Same cast and program as 10/11/2001

 

P. G.’s Other Profession – 2/28/2002
The Kaye Playhouse
Sylvia McNair, soprano
Christianne Tisdale, soprano
Hal Cazalet, tenor
David Costabile, baritone
Steven Blier, piano
Scott Kuney, guitar, banjo, mandolin
Laurence Maslon, stage director

Same program at 12/1/2001

 

Our Pride and Joy – 4/4/2002
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
Cynthia Watters, soprano
Cyndia Seiden, soprano
Rinal Shaham, mezzo-soprano
Philip Cutlip, baritone
Kurt Ollmann, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano

NYFOS celebrates fourteen seasons of commissions and premieres by reprising the best of its “firsts.” Selections 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.

 

Killer “B”s – 5/1/2002
The Kaye Playhouse
Amy Burton, soprano
Elizabeth Shammash, mezzo-soprano
Jeffrey Lentz, tenor
John Hancock, baritone
Steven Blier, 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 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
Christianne Tisdale, soprano
Anna Bergman, soprano
John Hancock, baritone
Steven Blier, piano

A concert of classic and rarely heard songs in honor of the great American composer and lyricist 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.

 

Lyrics by Shakespeare – 10/9/2002
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
Jennifer Aylmer, soprano
Rufus Muller, tenor
Anton Belov, baritone
Steven Blier, piano
Kathleen Chalfant, narrator

Works by Finzi, Quilter, Saint-Saens, Brahms, Kabalevsky, Virgil Thomason, Stephen Sondheim, and others with readings from Shakespeare’s plays and verses

 

Dvorák and the American Soul – 11/20/2002
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
Dana Hanchard, soprano
Dagmar Peckova, mezzo-soprano
James Martin, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, 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.

 

Sons and Brothers – 2/6/2003
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
Jennifer Dudley, mezzo-soprano
William Ferguson, tenor
John Hancock, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, 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.

 

Songs of Peace and War – 3/12/2003
The Kaye Playhouse
Dana Hanchard, soprano
Sari Gruber, soprano
Christine Antenbring, mezzo-soprano
Charlotte Hellekant, mezzo-soprano
Adriana Zabala, mezzo-soprano
Darius de Haas, tenor
Jeffrey Picon, tenor
Anton Belov, baritone
William Sharp, baritone
Joseph Kaiser, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano
Tanya Tomkins, cello
Cenovia Cummins, violin

 

Some Enchanted April in New York, A Vernon Duke & Richard Rodgers Celebration – 4/12/2003
The Kaye Playhouse
Sylvia McNair, soprano
Judy Kaye, mezzo-soprano
Joseph Kaiser, baritone
Steven Blier, piano
Laurence Maslon, stage director

The 2002-2003 season marks both the close of Richard Rodgers’s much-celebrated hundredth birthday year, 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 kind, an elusive duke—to contrast their shining glories.

 

The Crystal Anniversary Concert – 5/22/2003
The Kaye Playhouse
Jennifer Aylmer, soprano
Amy Burton, soprano
Karen Holvik, soprano
Rinat Shaham, soprano
Eric Cutler, tenor
Ross Hauck, tenor
Peter Kazaras, tenor
Ricardo Herrera, baritone
Kurt Ollmann, baritone
William Sharp, baritone
Ryan Taylor, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano
William Bolcom, piano
Joan Morris, vocalist

NYFOS celebrates its fifteenth anniversary with a sparkling evening of song, featuring many of our favorite members of the NFYOS family of artists.

 

The New York Poets – 10/15/2003
Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center
Amy Burton, soprano
Joseph Kaiser, tenor
Philip Cutlip, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, 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 evullient 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.

 

Evidence of Things Not Seen – 10/24/2003
Miller Theater, Columbia University, NY
(presented with the Works & Process program of the Guggenheim Museum)
Lisa Saffer, soprano
Christine Antenbring, mezzo-soprano
Rufus Muller, tenor
Philip Cutlip, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano

Same program as 1/18/1998

 

Lost Tribes of Vaudeville – 11/12/2003
Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center
LaChanze, soprano
Judy Kaye, mezzo-soprano
Darius de Haas, tenor
Bruce Adler, tenor
James Martin, baritone
Greg Utzig, guitar, banjo, ukelele
Alan R. Kay, clarinet
Steven Blier, 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 Waters, Bert Williams, Cab Calloway and others.

 

Homage to Barcelona – 1/27/2004
Vocal Arts Society, Kennedy Center, Washington, DC
Jennifer Aylmer, soprano
Hugh Russell, baritone
Steven Blier, piano

Composers born or educated in Barcelona capture the heart of that enchanting city in song. Works by Mompou, Toldra, Granados, Vives and many others, in styles ranging from art song to zarzuela.

 

Homage to Barcelona – 1/29/2004
Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center

Same cast and program as 1/27/2004

 

A Bel Canto Dynasty – 3/4/2004
Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center
Dina Kuznetsova, soprano
Stephanie Blythe, mezzo-soprano
John Hancock, baritone
Steven Blier, 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-Saens, Gounod, Fauré, Massenet, Rossini; and the Russian composers Rubinstein, Rimsky-Korsakov.

 

Men, Women,  and Food – 4/8/2004
Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center
Anna Christy, soprano
Karen Holvik, soprano
Elizabeth Shammash, mezzo-soprano
Adriana Zabala, mezzo-soprano
Kurt Ollmann, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano
Joseph Tompkins, percussion

Songs containing references to food by Irving Berlin, Martin Hennessy, Christopher Berg, Barber, Bernstein, Bolcom, Rodgers, Joni Mitchell, Heitor Villa-Lobos. The second half of the program was devoted to the Picnic Cantata by Paul Bowles.

 

A Multitude of Sins – 5/19/2004
Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center
Carolyn Betty, soprano
Angela Gilbert, soprano
Marie Lenormand, mezzo-soprano
Ross Hauck, tenor
Ryan Taylor, baritone
Steven Blier, piano

Songs by Brahms, Beethoven, Schubert, Poulence, Berlioz, and American composers from Irving Berlin throught Tom Lehrer to Stephen Sondheim, all with a slightly risqué slant.

 

A Multitude of Sins – 6/25/2004
SPCO Center, St. Paul, MN

Same cast and program as 5/19/2004

 

Spanish Love Songs – 7/9/2004
Caramoor Festival, Katonah, NY
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, mezzo-soprano
Joseph Kaiser, tenor
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano

Same program as 11/24/1991

 

At Harlem’s Height – 9/24/2004
Moab Music Festival, Moab, UT
Dana Hanchard, soprano
Darius de Haas, tenor
James Martin, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano

Same program as 10/11/2001

 

Kurt Weill’s Berlin – 10/14/2004
Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center
Constance Hauman, soprano
Kimberly Barber, mezzo-soprano
Peter Kazaras, tenor
Mark Stewart, banjo, guitar, cello
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano

Same program as 10/14/1999

 

At Harlem’s Height – 10/20, 10/21, 10/22/2004
Krannert Center, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL

Same cast and program as 10/11/2001

 

At Harlem’s Height – 10/24/2004
Caramoor Festival, Katonah, NY

Same cast and program as 10/11/2001

 

Latin Lovers – 11/6/2004
University of Maryland Performing Arts Center, MD
Jennifer Aylmer, soprano
Jeffery Picon, tenor
Hugh Russell, baritone
Steven Blier, piano

Same program as 11/30/1999

 

From the Grecian Isles – 11/17/2004
Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center
Amy Burton, soprano
Dimitri Pittas, tenor
John Hancock, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano
John Musto, 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, Washignton, DC
Dina Kuznetsova, soprano
Nikolai Janitzky, baritone
Juliette Kang, violin
Thomas Kraines, cello
Steven Blier, piano
Kathleen Chalfant, narrator

An homage to two great 20th century Russian poets, Alexander Blok and Anna Akhmatova, their poet friends and followers. Shostakovich’s seven songs on poems by Blok (op. 127); works by Slominsky, Sviridov, Prokofiev, and others.

 

Blok and Akhmatove: Poets Without Heroes – 1/19/2005
Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center

Same cast and program as 1/14/2005

At Harlem’s Height – 2/23/2005
Lincoln Center’s American Songbook Series, Allen Room, Rose Hall, NY

Same cast and program as 10/11/2001

 

At Harlem’s Height – 2/24/2005
University of DC, Washington, DC

Same cast and program as 10/11/2001

 

Fats and Fields – 2/16/2005
Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center
Jennifer Aylmer, soprano
Judy Kaye, mezzo-soprano
Jason Graae, tenor
James Martin, baritone
Steven Blier, 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 at Kaufman Center
Caroline Betty, soprano
Ann Christy, soprano
Adriana Zabala, mezzo-soprano
Joseph Kaiser, tenor
Jeffrey Picon, tenor
Alexander Tall, baritone
Daniel Mobbs, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, 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.

 

The Last Time I Saw Paris – 4/20/2005
Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center
Julie Bouliane, mezzo-soprano
Alexandra Montano, mezzo-soprano
Hugh Russell, baritone
Steven Blier, piano

Modernism and resistance: the coming of age of French song, from the lost innocense 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.

 

Lost Tribes of Vaudeville – 5/11/2005
Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center
Anika Noni Rose, soprano
Judy Kaye, mezzo-soprano
Darius de Haas, tenor
Bruce Adler, tenor
James Martin, baritone
Greg Utzig, guitar, banjo, ukelele
Alen R. Kay, clarinet
Steven Blier, piano

Same program as 11/12/2003

 

Lost Tribes of Vaudeville – 5/17/2005
Coolidge Auditorium, Jefferson Building, Library of Congress, Washington, DC

Same cast and program as 5/11/2005

 

Latin Lovers – 6/14/2005
SPCO Center, St. Paul, MN
Jennifer Aylmer, soprano
Hugh Russell, baritone
Aaron Barnel, percussion
Steven Blier, piano

Same program as 11/30/1999

 

Dance Date with Cuba – 7/15/2005
Caramoor Festival, Katonah, NY
Monique McDonald, soprano
Vivica Genaux, mezzo-soprano
Jeffrey Picon, tenor
Danny Villanueva, percussion
Alexander Fiterstein, clarinet
Thomas Kraines, cello
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, 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
Michelle Areyzaga, soprano
Susan Narucki, soprano
Steven Tharp, tenor
Ian Greenlaw, baritone
Leslie Tomkins, viola
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano

An appreciation of the wit and lyricism of our finest 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 at Kaufman Center

Same cast and program as 10/16/2005

 

Teatros Españoles – 11/15 and 11/16/2005
Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center
Dina Kuznetsova, soprano
Adriana Zabala, mezzo-soprano
Jeffrey Picon, tenor
Ricardo Herrera, baritone
Marcos Granados, flute
Steven Blier, 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.

 

Fats and Fields – 1/31/2006
Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center

Same cast and program of 11/15/2005

 

All Together Now – 2/14 and 2/16/2006
Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center
Jane Archibald, soprano
Leena Chopra, soprano
Alexandra Montano, mezzo-soprano
Christianne Rushton, mezzo-soprano
William Ferguson, tenor
Javier Abreu, tenor
James Martin, baritone
Evan Rogister, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano

Ensemble works from Monteverdi and Schubert to the Beach Boys and the Bobs, including a cappella and accompanied pieces.

 

The Banquet Years – 3/8/2006
Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center
Marie Lenormand, mezzo-soprano
Hugh Russell, baritone
Steven Blier, piano

Celebration of the chaotic brilliance of France’s avant-garde at the close of the Belle Epoque and the eve of the Great War. Works by Satie, Chabrier, Ravel, Yvette Guilbert and others.

 

The Banquet Years – 3/12/2006
Vocal Arts Society, Kennedy Center, Washington, DC

Same cast and program as 3/8/2006

 

Godmothers of Song – 4/11/2006
Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center
Carolyn Betty, soprano
Sasha Cooke, mezzo-soprano
Charlotte Hellekant, mezzo-soprano
William Sharp, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano

Works commissioned by Princesse de Polignac, Isabella Steward 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 well as a new work by Paul Moravec commissioned by NYFOS specifically for the program.

 

Hands Across the Sea – 5/16 and 5/17/2006
Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center
Lisa Vroman, soprano
Mary Testa, mezzo-soprano
Hal Cazalet, tenor
Jason Graae, baritone
Steven Blier, piano

Follow the transatlantic drift in the 1920s and 30s 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 tohers had their vogue in New York.

 

English Gardens, Earthly Delights – 10/11 and 10/12/2006
Lisa Vroman, soprano
Hal Cazalet, tenor
Andrew Garland, baritone
Steven Blier, 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.

 

Brava Italia! – 11/11/2006
Vocal Arts Society at the Terrace Theater, Washington, DC
Carolyn Betty, soprano
Sasha Cooke, mezzo-soprano
Jeremy Little, tenor
Steven Blier, 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.

 

Brava Italia! – 11/15 and 11/16/2006
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall

Same cast and program as 11/11/2006

 

Songs of Peace and War – 1/17/2007
Peter Jay Sharp Theater at The Juilliard School
Charlotte Dobbs, soprano
Ariana Wyatt, soprano
Faith Sherman, mezzo-soprano
Paul Appleby, tenor
Alex Mansoori, tenor
Paul La Rosa, baritone
Sidney Outlaw, baritone
Marc Webster, bass
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano

The second yearly collaborative concert between New York Festival of Song and The Juilliard School.

 

Dvořák and the American Soul – 2/7 and 2/8/2007
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
Dina Kuznetsova, soprano
Jonita Lattimore, soprano
James Martin, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano

Same program as 11/20/2002

 

Since the Seventies – 2/18/2007
San Francisco Opera Center, Schwabacher Series
Rhoslyn Jones, soprano
Katharine Tier, mezzo-soprano
Noah Steward, tenor
Jeremy Galyon, bass-baritone
Matthew Piatt, piano
Steven Blier, piano and arranger

Same program as 10/16/2005

 

Island Journeys – 3/14 and 3/15/2007

Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall

Leena Chopra, soprano
Rinat Shaham, mezzo-soprano
Paul Appleby, tenor
Matthew Worth, baritone
Edward Arron, cello
Marco Granados, flute
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, 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.

 

Amores Nuevos – 4/11 and 4/12/2007

Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall

Michelle Areyzaga, soprano
Jennifer Aylmer, soprano
Jeffrey Picon, tenor
Ricardo Herrera, baritone
James Baker, percussion
Steven Blier, piano and 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, Chuba 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.

 

Amores Nuevos – 4/15/2007
Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, University of Maryland, College Park, MD

Same cast and program as 4/11/2007

 

We Open in Paris – 5/9 and 5/10/2007
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall

Sari Gruber, soprano
Marie Lenormand, mezzo-soprano
Mary Testa, mezzo-soprano
Nicholas Phan, tenor
Hugh Russell, baritone
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano

Paris is the ever-beckoning backdrop for four musical theater works in vest-pocket NYFOS productions, including Jacques Offenbach’s La Vie Parisienne and Cole Porter’s Fifty Million Frenchmen.

 

No Song Is Safe from Us – 10/16 and 10/18/2007
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall

Renee Tatum, mezzo-soprano
Javier Abreu, tenor
Paul Appleby, tenor
Alex Mansoori, tenor
Paul La Rosa, baritone
David McFerrin, baritone
William Sharp, baritone
Marc Webster, bass
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano
Leslie Tomkins, 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 literary power of the great poets of Europe; and 4) Latin song, from the Iberian peninsula to Cuba, Mexico and South America.

 

Love at the Crossroads –11/13 and 11/15/2007
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall

Sari Gruber, soprano
Paula Murrihy, mezzo-soprano
Hal Cazalet, tenor
Matthew Worth, baritone
Steven Blier, 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 Jay Sharp Theater at The Juilliard School

Jennifer Zetlan, soprano
Meredith Lustig, soprano
Rebecca Jo Loeb, mezzo-soprano
Renee Tatum, mezzo-soprano
Paul Appleby, tenor
Alex Mansoori, tenor
Paul La Rosa, baritone
David McFerrin, baritone
Tae-Hee Im, violin
Heidi Schaul-Yoder, viola
Min-Jeong Kany, cello
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, piano

The Juilliard School’s Vocal Arts Division’s third annual installment 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 NFYOS’s distinctive programming and performing style.

 

Harry, Hoagy, and Harold – 2/5 and 2/7/2008
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall

Jonita Lattimore, soprano
Mary Testa, mezzo-soprano
James Martin, baritone
Greg Utzig, banjo and guitar
Vince Giordano, bass
Steven Blier, piano

A reprise of the program of 10/12/2000

 

Bastianello and Lucrezia – 3/11 and 3/13/2008
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall

Lisa Vroman, soprano
Sasha Cooke, mezzo-soprano
Paul Appleby, tenor
Patrick Mason, baritone
Matt Boehler, bass
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, 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 folktake 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.

 

Obsession à la Russe – 4/15 and 4/17/2008
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall

Dina Kuznetsova, soprano
Nicholas Phan, tenor
Anton Belov, baritone
Steven Blier, 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 as 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.

 

Bastianello and Lucrezia – 9/5/2008
Moab Music Festival, Moab, UT

Lisa Vroman, soprano
Rebecca Jo Loeb, mezzo-soprano
Paul Appleby, tenor
Patrick Mason, baritone
Matt Boehler, bass
Michael Barrett, piano
David Shimoni, piano

Same program as 3/13/2008

 

A Bernstein / Bolcom Celebration – 9/23 and 9/25/2008
Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center

Sari Gruber, soprano
Joan Morris, mezzo-soprano
Rebecca Jo Loeb, mezzo-soprano
Renee Tatum, mezzo-soprano
Alex  Mansoori, tenor
William Sharp, baritone
Marc Webster, bass
William Bolcom, piano
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, 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.

 

The Last Time I Saw Paris – 10/26/2008
Chester Meeting House, Chester, CT

Julie Boulianne, mezzo-soprano
Paul Appleby, tenor
Steven Blier, 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.

 

The Last Time I Saw Paris – 11/9/2008
West Parish Church, Andover, MA

Same cast and program as 10/26/2008

 

Fugitives – 11/14/2008

Vocal Arts Society, Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington, DC

Kate Lindsay, mezzo-soprano

Joseph Kaiser, tenor

Steven Blier, piano

An evening of songs from the concert stage, the movies, Broadway, and Berlin’s cabarets that trace the varid 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.

 

Fugitives – 11/18 and 11/20/2008

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center

Same cast and program as 11/14/2008

 

Latin Lovers – 1/14/2009

Peter Jay Sharp Theater at The Juilliard School

Meredith Lustig, soprano

Jennifer Zetlan, soprano

Rebecca Jo Loeb, mezzo-soprano

Isabel Vera, mezzo-soprano

Paul Appleby, tenor

Christopher Tiesi, tenor

Carlton Ford, baritone

Adrian Rosas, bass-baritone

Eric Roberts, percussion

Rupert Boyd, guitar

Steven Blyer, piano

Jeanne Slater, choreographer

A Collection of songs and zarzuela from Spain and Latin America; passion, melody, and rhythem of De Falla, Albéniz, Guastavino, Lecuona, and others.

 

Voices of the Jewish Diaspora – 2/10 and 2/12/2009

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center

Dina Kuznetsova, soprano

Rinat Shaham, mezzo-soprano

Steven Goldstein, tenor

Laura Goldberg, violin

Lisa Tipton, violin

Leslie Tomkins, viola

Dorothy Lawson, cello

Michael Barrett, piano

Steven Blier, piano

Songs in many languages celebrate the culturally diverse Jewish communities that fourished 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 Ruinstein; plus music by Gershwin, Harold Rome, and Bernstein.

 

Voices of the Jewish Diaspora – 2/15/2009

Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, College Park, MD

Same cast and program as 2/10/2009

 

Songs of the Irish Poets – 3/14/2009

Caramoor’s Vocal Rising Stars, Caramoor, Katonah, NY

Joelle Harvey, soprano

Lisa Forrester, mezzo-soprano

Paul Appleby, tenor

Deavid McFerrin, baritone

Jessica Lee, violin

Karen Ouzounian, cello

Christopher Layer, uilleann pipes, flute and whistle

Michael Barrett, piano

Steven Blier, 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.

 

Songs of the Irish Poets – 3/17/2009

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center

Same cast and program as 3/14/2009

 

Carried Away…with the Lyrics of Comden and Green Spring Gala – 4/15/2009

Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall

Meredith Lustig, soprano

Tyne Daly, mezzo-soprano

Amanda Green, mezzo-soprano

Alex Mansoori, tenor

Darius de Haas, tenor

Walter Bobbie, tenor

Brooks Ashmanskas, baritone

David Krohn, baritone

Steven Blier, piano

 

The Welcome Shore – 5/19 and 5/21/2009

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center

Michelle Areyzaga, soprano

Sasha Cooke, mezzo-soprano

Philp Cutlip, baritone

Rupert Boyd, guitar

Steven Blier, 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 at Kaufman Center

Amy Burton, soprano

Sari Gruber, soprano

Dina Kuznetsova, soprano

Sasha Cooke, mezzo-soprano

Kate Lindsey, mezzo-soprano

Paul Appleby, tenor

Benjamin Sosland, tenor

Carlton Ford, baritone

William Sharp, baritone

Matt Boehler, bass

Michael Barrett, piano

Steven Blier, piano

Songs of home, offered by members of the newly created NYFOS Artist Counsel, saluting their birthplaces and their musical roots.

 

Great American Songwriting Teams – 11/13/2009

Vocal Arts DC, Terrace Theater at Kennedy Center, Washington, DC

Sylvia McNair, vocals

Liza Forrester, vocals

Jason Graae, vocals

Steven Blier, piano

An evening of famous and rarely-heard songs honoring the genius of America’s classica songwriting collaborators: George & Ira Gershwin, Rodgers & Hart, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Lerner & Loewe, Dietz & Schwartz, Bock & Harnick, Kander & Ebb, Lieber & Stoller, Bolcom & Weinstein.

 

Great American Songwriting Teams – 11/17 and 11/19/2009

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center

Sylvia McNair, vocals

Mary Testa, vocals

Jason Graae, vocals

Steven Blier, piano

An evening of famous and rarely-heard songs honoring the genius of America’s classica 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

Peter Jay Sharp Theater at The Juilliard School

Catherine Hancock, soprano

Meredith Lustig, soprano

Carla Jablonski, mezzo-soprano

Naomi O’Connell, mezzo-soprano

Carlton Ford, baritone

Timothy McDevitt, baritone

Adrian Rosas, bass-baritone

Michael Barrett, piano

Steven Blier, piano and arranger

 

The Voluptous Muse – 2/16 and 2/18/2010

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center

Dina Kuznetsova, soprano

Kate Lindsey, mezzo-soprano

Joseph Kaiser, tenor

Michael Barrett, piano

Steven Blier, piano

Lush harmonies and exotick 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, Caramoor, Katonah, NY

Charlotte Dobbs, soprano

Rebecca Jo Loeb, mezzo-soprano

Matthew Peña, tenor

John Brancy, baritone

Michael Barrett, piano

Steven Blier, piano

A celebration of the first great flowering of French art song in a program of works by Gounod, Fauré, Bizet, Chabrier, and others.

 

The Sweetest Path – 3/16/2010

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center

Same cast and program as 3/13/2010

 

Let Yourself Go! A gala evening of Irving Berlin – 4/12/2010

Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall

Kate Baldwin, soprano

Judy Kaye, mezzo-soprano

Rebecca Jo Loeb, mezzo-soprano

Terri White, mezzo-soprano

Howard McGillin, tenor

John Brancy, baritone

Johathan Estabrooks, baritone

Michael Barrett, piano

Steven Blier, piano

 

The Newest Deal – 5/4 and 5/6/2010

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center

Anne-Carolyn Bird, soprano

Paul Appleby, tenor

Andrew Garland, baritone

Michael Barrett, piano

Steven Blier, 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.

 

Killer “B”s – 8/13/2010

Alice Busch Opera Theater, Glimmerglass Opera

 

Beginner’s Luck – 10/19 and 10/21/2010

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center

Sasha Cooke, mezzo-soprano

Paul Appleby, tenor

Steven Blier, piano and arranger

 

Beginner’s Luck – 10/24/2010

Vocal Arts DC, Terrace Theater at Kennedy Center, Washington, DC

Same cast and program as 10/19/2010

 

NYFOS Next: Gabriel Kahane & Friends (series premiere) – 11/16/2010

Gilman Performance Space at Baryshnikov Arts Center; presented in the Movado Hour series

Gabriel Kahane, pianist, vocalist and host

Lacey Jo Benter, mezzo-soprano

David Deporis, singer/songwriter

Michael Barrett, piano

NYFOS Next offers a forum for the next generation of song composers and interpreters to share their work, and gives audiences an intimate look inside the creative process, as freshly-minted songs are presented—some for the first time—in the warm atmosphere of an informal performance. With an emphasis on spontaneity, novelty, and collaboration between performers and composers, the newly-created series NYFOS Next pioneers an experimental venue for song, paralleling (on a new track) New York Festival of Song’s long-celebrated concert series.

 

Manning the Canon – 11/15 and 11/17/2010

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center

Scott Murphree, tenor

Jesse Blumberg, baritone

Matthew Worth, baritone

Matt Boehler, bass

Steven Blier, piano and arranger

 

Road Trip: A Musical Travelogue of the United States – 1/12/2011

NYFOS@Juilliard; Alice Tully Hall, Linoln Center

Meredith Lustig, soprano

Lacey Benter, mezzo-soprano

Naomi O’Connell, mezzo-soprano

Daniel Curran, tenor

Tobias Greenhalgh, baritone

Willie Liverman, baritone

Timothy McDevitt, baritone

Michael Barrett, piano

Steven Blier, piano

Jeanne Slater, choreographer

 

Night & Day / USA – 2/12/2011

Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, College Park, MD

Sari Gruber, soprano

Liza Forrester, mezzo-soprano

Joseph Shadday, tenor

James Martin, baritone

Michael Barrett, piano

Steven Blier, piano

 

Night & Day / USA – 2/15 and 2/17/2011

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center

Sari Gruber, soprano

Liza Forrester, mezzo-soprano

Christopher Tiesi, tenor

James Martin, baritone

Michael Barrett, piano

Steven Blier, piano

Same program as 2/12/2011

 

Spanish Gold – 3/13/2011

Caramoor’s Vocal Rising Stars, Caramoor, Katonah, NY

Corinne Winters, soprano

Wallace Giunta, mezzo-soprano

Andrew Owens, tenor

Carlton Ford, baritone

Michael Barrett, piano

Steven Blier, piano

 

Spanish Gold – 3/15 and 3/17/2011

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center

Same cast and program as 3/13/2011

 

Amores Nuevos – 3/27/2011

Schwabacher Recitals, San Francisco Opera Center, San Francisco, CA

 

A Fine Romance: A gala evening celebrating the songs of Jerome Kern – 4/4/2011

Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall

Kelli O’Hara, soprano

Joseph Kaiser, tenor

Steven Blier, piano

Jonathan Estabrooks, Timothy McDevitt, Matthew Peña and Lauren Worsham, additional vocals

 

NYFOS Next: Phil Kline & Friends – 5/3/2011

Gilman Performance Space at Baryshnikov Arts Center; presented in the Movado Hour series

Phil Kline, host

Katherine Dain, soprano

Lauren Worsham, soprano

Carla Jablonski, mezzo-soprano

Michael Barrett, piano

Kathleen Supové, piano

Todd Reynolds, violin

Ashley Bathgate, cello

A snapshot of New York’s “downtown” experimentalist scene.

 

In the Memory Palace – 10/22/2011

Vocal Arts DC; George Washington University, Washington, DC

Michelle Areyzaga, soprano

Rebecca Jo Loeb, mezzo-soprano

Paul Appleby, tenor

Andrew Garland, baritone

Michael Barrett, piano

Steven Blier, piano

 

In the Memory Palace – 10/25 and 10/27/2011

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center

Same cast and program as 10/22/2011

 

NYFOS Next: Joseph Thalken & Friends – 11/8/2011

DiMenna Center for Classical Music

Joseph Thalken, pianist and host

Marcy Richardson, soprano

Lauren Worsham, soprano

Rita Gardner, soprano

Miles Mykkanen, tenor

Jonathan Estabrooks, baritone

Sam Davis, piano

Peter Foley, piano

New musical theater works by Joseph Thalken, Sam Davis and Peter Foley.

 

Manning the Canon – 11/15/2011

Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, College Park, MD

Scott Murphree, tenor

Jesse Blumberg. baritone

Timothy McDevitt, baritone

Matt Boehler, bass

Steven Blier, piano and arranger

Same program as 11/15/2010

 

Manning the Canon – 11/17/2011

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center

Same program and cast as 112/15/2011

 

A Goyishe Christmas to You! – 11/29 and 12/1/2011

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center

Lauren Worsham, soprano

Stephanie Blythe, mezzo-soprano

Judy Kaye, mezzo-soprano

Joshua Breitzer, tenor

John Brancy, baritone

Joshua Jeremiah, baritone

Steven Blier, piano

Alan R. Kay, clarinet

Yuletide songs by Jewish composers

 

Invitation to the Dance – 1//18/2012

Peter Jay Sharp Theater at The Juilliard School

Simone Easthope, soprano

Karen Vuong, soprano

Elizabeth Sutphen, mezzo-soprano

Rachael Wilson, mezzo-soprano

Kyle Bielfield, tenor

Miles Mykkanen, tenor

Nathan Haller, tenor

Tobias Greenhalgh, baritone

Leo Radosavljevic, bass-baritone

Michael Barrett, piano

Steven Blier, piano and arranger

Andrew Stenvall, percussion

Jeanne Slater, choreographer

Songs about dancing and songs with dancing

 

A Modern Person’s Guide to Hooking Up and Breaking Up – 2/12/2012

Gardner Museum, Boston, MA

Anne-Carolyn Bird, soprano

Liza Forrester, mezzo-soprano

Alex Mansoori, tenor

Andrew Garland, baritone

Steven Blier, piano

with Gennard Lombardozzi, tenor and Adrian Rosas, bass-baritone

 

A Modern Person’s Guide to Hooking Up and Breaking Up – 2/14 and 2/16/2012

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center

Same cast and program as 2/12/2012

 

New York to Paris, Paris to Paradise – 3/11/2012

Caramoor’s Vocal Rising Stars, Caramoor, Katonah, NY

Meredith Lustig, soprano

Kristin Hoff, mezzo-soprano

Ryan Brenton, tenor

Eugene Chan, baritone

Michael Barrett, piano

Steven Blier, piano and arranger

 

New York to Paris, Paris to Paradise – 3/13/2012

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center

Same cast and program as 3/11/2012

 

Over the Rainbow: A gala evening of Harold Arlen – 4/2/2012

Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall

Laquita Mitchell, soprano

Stephanie Blythe, mezzo-soprano

Mary Testa, vocalist

Darius de Haas, tenor

Jason Danieley, baritone

Bucky Pizzarelli, guitar

Steven Blier, piano

 

NYFOS Next: Russell Platt & Friends – 4/24/2012

DiMenna Center for Classical Music

Russell Platt, host

Sarah Wolfson, soprano

Blythe Gaissert, mezzo-soprano

Kyle Bielfield, tenor

Mischa Bouvier, baritone

Carla Kihlstedt, vocalist/violinist

Matthais Bossi, percussionist

Thomas Sauer, pianist

Michael Barrett, pianist

 

Dvořák and the American Soul – 10/14/2012

Gardner Museum, Boston, MA

Julia Bullock, soprano

Dina Kuznetsova, soprano

James Martin, baritone

Michael Barrett, piano

 

Mr. Gershwin Goes to Washington – 10/20/2012

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center

Marc Kudisch as John P. Wintergreen

Anne-Carolyn Bird as Mary Turner

Lauren Worsham as Diana Devereaux

David Garrison as Horace J. Fletcher/Alexander P. Throttlebottom/Chief Justice of the Supreme Court/Comrade  Kruger/Governor John P. Tweedledee/Representative of France

Leonard Lopate, host and announcer

Steven Blier, piano

Joseph Thalken, piano

Laurence Maslon, stage director

 

Mr. Gershwin Goes to Washington – 10/22/2012

Vocal Arts Society, Terrace Theater, Kennedy Center, Washington, DC

Marc Kudisch as John P. Wintergreen

Anne-Carolyn Bird as Mary Turner

Lauren Worsham as Diana Devereaux

David Garrison as Horace J. Fletcher/Alexander P. Throttlebottom/Chief Justice of the Supreme Court/Comrade  Kruger/Governor John P. Tweedledee/Representative of France

Carl Kasell, host and announcer

Steven Blier, piano

Joseph Thalken, piano

Laurence Maslon, stage director

 

NYFOS Next: Carla Kihlstedt & Friends – 11/13/2012

DiMenna Center for Classical Music

Carla Kihlstedt, host, violin/vocals

Eden MacAdam-Somer, violin/vocals

Anne-Carolyn Bird, soprano

Susan Botti, soprano

Charlotte Dobbs, soprano

Camila Parias, soprano

Nicholas Canellakis, cello

Matthais Bossi, piano and percussion

Michael Barrett, piano

Kristina Bachrach, Augusta Caso, Martha Cluver, Kimberly Hawkey, Charlotte Mundy and Caroline Shaw, additional vocals.

 

Women – 12/4/2012

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center

Corinne Winters, soprano

Sasha Cooke, mezzo-soprano

Andrew Garland, baritone

Jay Campbell, cello

Michael Barrett, piano

Steven Blier, piano

The lives of women, sung in their own words and seen through the eyes of men. Featuring world premieres by Mark Adamo, Mohammed Fairouz, and Carla Kihlstedt.

 

A Night at the Operetta – 1/17/2013

Alice Tully Hall

Simone Easthope, soprano

Raquel González, soprano

Virginie Verrez, mezzo-soprano

Rachael Wilson, mezzo-soprano

Kyle Bielfield, tenor

Nathan Haller, tenor

Miles Mykkanen, tenor

Philip Stoddard, baritone

Davone Tines, bass-baritone

Steven Blier, piano

Michael Barrett, pinao

Andrew Stenvall, percussion

Jeanne Slater, choreographer

Mary Birnbaum, stage director

NYFOS continues its annual collaboration with The Juilliard School’s Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts, this year touring the world of operetta—witty, charming music from England, France, Spain, Austria, and America by composers ranging from Emmerich Kálmán and Federico Moreno Torroba to Arthur Sullivan and Stephen Sondheim.

 

Jacques Brel and Charles Trenet – 2/19/2013

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center

Marie Lenormand, mezzo-soprano

Phillipe Pierce, tenor

Bill Schimmel, accordian

Greg Utzig, guitar

Steven Blier, piano

This program celebrates two of the 20th century’s greatest balladeers, the passionate social critic Jacques Brel and the endlessly imaginative Charles Trenet. Featuring both hidden gems and signature pieces, inclduing Brel’s “Ne me quitte pas” and Trenet’s “La mer.”

 

Jacques Brel and Charles Trenet – 2/21/2013

Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, College Park, MD

Marie Lenormand, mezzo-soprano

Phillipe Pierce, tenor

Bill Schimmel, accordian

Greg Utzig, guitar

Steven Blier, piano

This program celebrates two of the 20th century’s greatest balladeers, the passionate social critic Jacques Brel and the endlessly imaginative Charles Trenet. Featuring both hidden gems and signature pieces, inclduing Brel’s “Ne me quitte pas” and Trenet’s “La mer.”

 

NYFOS Next: Kevin Puts & Friends  – 2/5/2013

DiMenna Center for Classical Music

Stacey Tappan, soprano

Krysta River, mezzo-soprano

Jesse Blumberg, baritone

Charles Yang, violin

Michael Barrett, Ricky Ian Gordon and Kevin Puts, piano

 

Song of the Midnight Sun – 3/10/2013

The Caramoor Center, Katonah, NY

Julia Bullock, soprano

Sarah Larsen, mezzo-soprano

Theo Lebow, tenor

Tobias Greenhalgh, baritone

Michael Barrett and Steven Blier, piano

Great Scandinavian songwriters, including Greig, Sibelius, Stenhammar, Nielsen, and Rautavaara, reveal a world of hidden loves, night confessions, and natural beauty. Concluding NYFOS’s fifth annual professional training residency, this concert showcases Caramoor’s Terrance W. Schwab Vocal Rising Stars.

 

Song of the Midnight Sun – 3/12/2013

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center

Julia Bullock, soprano

Sarah Larsen, mezzo-soprano

Theo Lebow, tenor

Tobias Greenhalgh, baritone

Michael Barrett and Steven Blier, piano

Great Scandinavian songwriters, including Greig, Sibelius, Stenhammar, Nielsen, and Rautavaara, reveal a world of hidden loves, night confessions, and natural beauty. Concluding NYFOS’s fifth annual professional training residency, this concert showcases Caramoor’s Terrance W. Schwab Vocal Rising Stars.

 

NYFOS Next: Mohammed Fairouz & Friends – 4/30/2013

DiMenna Center for Classical Music

Kristina Bachrach and Fang Tao Jiang, sopranos

Samuel Levine, tenor

Adrian Rosas, baritone

Catalyst Quartet: Karla Donehew-Perez, violin; Jessie Montgomery, violin;
Christopher Jenkins, viola; Karlos Rodriguez, cello
Emily Daggett Smith, violin; Matthew Zalkind, cello; Narek Arutynian, clarinet
Michael Barrett and Michael Brown, piano

 

NYFOS Emerging Artists:

NYFOS @ North Fork: Off to the Island – 8/25/2013

Poquatuck Hall, Orient, NY

Alexandra Batsios and Meredith Lustig, sopranos

David Margulis, tenor

Tobias Greenhalgh, baritone

Steven Blier, piano

 

NYFOS After Hours: Autumn in New York – 9/23/2013

HENRY’s Restaurant, New York, NY

Corinne Winters and Lauren Worsham, sopranos

Kyle Bielfield and Ben Bliss, tenors

John Brancy and Tobias Greenhalgh, baritones

Steven Blier, pianist, arranger, and host

 

Ned Is Ninety – 11/1/2013

The Granoff Center Martinos Auditorium at Brown University, Providence, RI

Kate Lindsey, mezzo-soprano

Andrew Garland, baritone

Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, piano

 

Ned Is Ninety – 11/3/2013 

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, MA

Kate Lindsey, mezzo-soprano

Andrew Garland, baritone

Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, piano

 

NYFOS Mainstage:

Ned Is Ninety – 11/5/2013 

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center, New York, NY

Kate Lindsey, mezzo-soprano

Andrew Garland, baritone

Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, piano

 

Cubans in Paris, Cubans at Home – 12/3/2013

Reston Cummunity Center, Reston, VA

Corinne Winters, soprano

Jeffrey Picon, tenor

Ricardo Herrera, baritone

Danny Villanueva, percussion

Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, piano

 

Cubans in Paris, Cubans at Home – 12/5/2013

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center, New York, NY

Corinne Winters, soprano

Jeffrey Picon, tenor

Ricardo Herrera, baritone

Leonardo Granados , percussion

Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, piano

 

NYFOS After Hours:  A Goyishe Christmas To You! – 12/16/2013

HENRY’s Restaurant, New York, NY

 

NYFOS Emerging Artists:

NYFOS @ Juilliard:

The Land Where the Good Songs Go: Lyrics by P.G. Wodehouse – 1/15/2014

Peter Jay Sharp Theater at The Juilliard School

Mary Feminar and Raquel González, sopranos

Hannah McDermott, mezzo-soprano

James Edgar Knight and Alex McKissick, tenors

Joseph Eletto and Benjamin Lund, baritones

Greg Utzig, banjo, guitar, mandolin, and ukulele

Steven Blier, piano

 

NYFOS Next:  Mark Adamo & Friends – 1/28/2014

OPERA America’s National Opera Center, New York, NY

Olivia Betzen, soprano

Natalie Douglas, vocalist

Joseph Eletto, Joshua Jeremiah and Alexander Sage Oyen, baritones

Momenta Quartet: Emilie-Anne Gedron, violin; Adda Kridler, violin;
Stephanie Griffin, viola; Michael Haas, violincello

Michael Barrett, Michele Brourman, John Bucchino and Leann Osterkamp, piano

 

Warsaw Serenade – 2/16/2014

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, MA

Dina Kuznetsova, soprano

Joseph Kaiser, tenor

Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, piano

 

Warsaw Serenade – 2/18/2014

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center, New York, NY

Dina Kuznetsova, soprano

Joseph Kaiser, tenor

Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, piano

 

NYFOS Next: An Evening with John Musto & Friends – 3/4/2014

OPERA America’s National Opera Center, New York, NY

Amy Burton, soprano

Vale Rideout, tenor

William Burton, baritone

John Musto, piano

 

NYFOS Emerging Artists:

Ports of Call: an Itinerary of Song – 3/16/2014

Music Room, Rosen House, Caramoor Festival of the Arts, Katonah, NY

Caramoor 2014 Vocal Rising Stars:  Olivia Betzen, soprano; Annie Rosen, mezzo-soprano

Miles Mykkanen, tenor; Theo Hoffman, baritone; Leann Osterkamp, piano

with Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, piano

 

NYFOS Emerging Artists:

Ports of Call: an Itinerary of Song – 3/18/2014 and 3/19/2014

OPERA America’s National Opera Center, New York, NY

Caramoor 2014 Vocal Rising Stars:  Olivia Betzen, soprano; Annie Rosen, mezzo-soprano

Miles Mykkanen, tenor; Theo Hoffman, baritone; Leann Osterkamp, piano

with Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, piano

 

NYFOS Next:  Harold Meltzer – 4/1/2014

OPERA America’s National Opera Center, New York, NY

Justine Aronson and Elizabeth Farnum, sopranos

Mary Nessinger, mezzo-soprano

Barry Crawford and Jessica Schmitz, flute

Alan R. Kay and Jo-Ann Sternberg, clarinet

William Anderson, mandolin

Oren Fader, guitar

Michael Barrett and Thomas Sauer, piano

 

Spring Gala: Remembering Lenny – 4/28/2014

Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY

Alexander, Jamie, and Nina Bernstein; Barbara Cook; Tobias Greenhalgh; Theo Hoffman; Marilyn Horne; Judy Kaye; Timothy McDevitt; Miles Mykkanen; Jessye Norman; Kurt Ollmann; Adrian Rosas; Annie Rosen; Stephen Sondheim; and Lauren Worsham with Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, piano

 

NYFOS After Hours:

Ports of Call: An Itinerary of Song – 4/7/2014

HENRY’s Restaurant, New York, NY

Caramoor 2014 Vocal Rising Stars:  Olivia Betzen, soprano; Annie Rosen, mezzo-soprano

Miles Mykkanen, tenor; Theo Hoffman, baritone

with Steven Blier, piano

 

NYFOS After Hours:

The Land Where Good Songs Go – 5/5/2014

HENRY’s Restaurant, New York, NY

Mary Feminar, soprano

Avery Amereau and Hannah McDermott, mezzo-sopranos

James Edgar Knight and Alex McKissick, tenors

Joseph Eletto and Benjamin Lund, baritones

Steven Blier, piano

 

NYFOS Emerging Artists:

NYFOS@North Fork:  Craigslistlieder and Other Love Songs – 8/23/14

Christ Episcopal Church, Bellport, NY

Chelsea Morris, soprano

Lauren Eberwein, mezzo-soprano

William Goforth, tenor

Theo Hoffman, baritone

Steven Blier, piano

 

NYFOS Emerging Artists:

NYFOS@North Fork:  Craigslistlieder and Other Love Songs – 8/24/14

Poquatuck Hall, Orient, NY

Chelsea Morris, soprano

Lauren Eberwein, mezzo-soprano

William Goforth, tenor

Theo Hoffman, baritone

Steven Blier, piano

 

NYFOS After Hours:

Crystal Anniversary Cabaret for HENRY’s – 10/20/2014

HENRY’s Restaurant, New York, NY

Julia Bullock and Meredith Lustig, soprano

Benjamin Bliss, Theo Lebow, and Miles Mykkanen, tenors

Jonathan Estabrooks and Theo Hoffman, baritones

Steven Blier, piano

 

Art Song on the Couch: Lieder in Freud’s Vienna – 11/9/2014

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, MA

Janai Brugger, soprano

John Brancy, baritone

Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, piano

 

NYFOS Mainstage:

Art Song on the Couch: Lieder in Freud’s Vienna – 11/11/2014

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center, New York, NY

Janai Brugger, soprano

John Brancy, baritone

Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, piano

 

NYFOS After Hours:

CD Release Party for Canción amorosa with Corinne Winters – 11/17/2014

HENRY’s Restaurant, New York, NY

Corinne Winters, soprano

Steven Blier, piano

 

Harlem Renaissance – 12/5/2014

Reston Community Center, Reston, VA

Julia Bullock, soprano

Darius de Haas, tenor

James Martin , baritone

Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, piano

 

NYFOS Mainstage:

Harlem Renaissance – 12/9/2014 

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center, New York, NY

Julia Bullock, soprano

Darius de Haas, tenor

James Martin, baritone

Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, piano

 

NYFOS After Hours:

A Goyishe Christmas To You! – 12/15/2014

HENRY’s Restaurant, New York, NY

 

NYFOS Emerging Artists:

NYFOS @ Juilliard:  Great American Songwriting Teams – 1/14/2015

Peter Jay Sharp Theater at The Juilliard School

Tiffany Townsend , soprano

Kelsey Lauritano and Hannah McDermott, mezzo-sopranos

James Edgar Knight and Alex McKissick, tenors

Aaron Mor and Theo Hoffman , baritones

Steven Blier, piano

 

NYFOS Next:  Opening Night – 2/3/2015

OPERA America’s National Opera Center, New York, NY

Ilana Davidson and Meredith Lustig, sopranos

Luca Padovan, boy soprano

Jonathan Estabrooks and Theo Hoffman, baritones

Michael Barrett, Steven Blier, John Musto and Leann Osterkamp, piano

 

NYFOS Next:  Paul Moravec – 2/10/2015

OPERA America’s National Opera Center, New York, NY

Meredith Lustig, Dominique McCormick, and Amy Owens, sopranos

Jonathan Estabrooks and Shea Owens, baritones

Charles Yang, violin

Jay Campbell, cello

Michael Barrett, piano

 

NYFOS Next:  Bright Sheng – 2/17/2015

OPERA America’s National Opera Center, New York, NY

Amy Owens, soprano

Annie Rosen, mezzo-soprano

Mingjei Lei, tenor

Shea Owens, baritone

Michael Barrett, Leann Osterkamp, and Bright Sheng, piano

 

NYFOS Emerging Artists:

Bel Canto / Can Belto – 3/15/2015

Music Room, Rosen House, Caramoor Festival of the Arts, Katonah, NY

Caramoor’s 2015 Schwab Vocal Rising Stars: Chelsea Morris, soprano; Julia Dawson, mezzo-soprano

Alec Carlson, tenor; Shea Owens, baritone; Christopher Reynolds, piano

with Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, piano

 

NYFOS Mainstage:

Bel Canto / Can Belto – 3/17/2015 

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center, New York, NY

Caramoor’s 2015 Schwab Vocal Rising Stars: Chelsea Morris, soprano; Julia Dawson, mezzo-soprano

Alec Carlson, tenor; Shea Owens, baritone; Christopher Reynolds, piano

Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, piano

 

Spring Gala: Cream of the Crop! – 3/30/2015

Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY

Julia Bullock, soprano
Annie Rosen, mezzo-soprano

Paul Appleby and Theo Lebow, tenors

John Brancy, baritone

Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, piano

 

NYFOS Mainstage:

Letters from Spain: A World of Song in Spanish Poetry – 4/28/2015 

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center, New York, NY

Corinne Winters, soprano

Theo Lebow, tenor

Alexey Lavrov, baritone

Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, piano

 

Letters from Spain: A World of Song in Spanish Poetry – 4/30/2015

Vocal Arts DC, Kennedy Center, Washington, DC

Corinne Winters, soprano

Theo Lebow, tenor

Alexey Lavrov, baritone

Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, piano

 

NYFOS After Hours:  

Great American Songwriting Teams – 5/4/2015

HENRY’s Restaurant, New York, NY

Tiffany Townsend, soprano

Amanda Bottoms and Hannah McDermott, mezzo-sopranos

James Edgar Knight and Alex McKissick, tenors

Aaron Mor and Theo Hoffman , baritones

Steven Blier, piano

 

NYFOS Emerging Artist:

NYFOS@North Fork:  Latin Lovers – 8/22/15

Christ Episcopal Church, Bellport, NY

Anna Dugan, soprano

Amanda Lynn Bottoms, mezzo-soprano

Alexander McKissick, tenor

Dimitri Katotakis, baritone

Joshua Vonderheide, percussion

Steven Blier, pianist/arranger

 

NYFOS Emerging Artist:

NYFOS@North Fork:  Latin Lovers – 8/23/15

Poquatuck Hall, Orient, NY

Anna Dugan, soprano

Amanda Lynn Bottoms, mezzo-soprano

Alexander McKissick, tenor

Dimitri Katotakis, baritone

Joshua Vonderheide, percussion

Steven Blier, pianist/arranger

 

NYFOS After Hours:

Fall Colors – 10/12/15

HENRY’s Restaurant, New York, NY

Mikaela Bennett, soprano

Amanda Lynn Bottoms, mezzo-soprano

Gerard Schneider, tenor

Theo Hoffman, baritone

Joshua Vonderheide, percussion

Steven Blier, piano

 

NYFOS Tour:

From Russia to Riverside Drive: Rachmaninoff and Friends – 11/8/2015

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, MA

Dina Kuznetsova, soprano

Shea Owens, baritone

Dalit Warshaw, theremin

Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, piano

 

NYFOS Mainstage:

From Russia to Riverside Drive: Rachmaninoff and Friends – 11/10/2015

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center, New York, NY

Dina Kuznetsova, soprano

Shea Owens, baritone

Dalit Warshaw, theremin

Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, piano

 

NYFOS Mainstage:

Schubert/Beatles – 12/8/2015

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center, New York, NY

Sari Gruber, soprano

Paul Appleby, tenor

Andrew Garland, baritone

Theo Hoffman, baritone

Charles Yang, violin

Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, piano

 

NYFOS After Hours:

A Goyishe Christmas to You! – 12/14/15

HENRY’s Restaurant, New York, NY

Lauren Worsham, soprano

Alex Mansoori and Miles Mykkanen, tenor

Theo Hoffman, baritone

Joshua Breitzer, cantor

Alan Kay, clarinet

Steven Blier, pianist/arranger

 

NYFOS Emerging Artists:

NYFOS@Juilliard: Harry, Hoagy, and Harold – 1/13/16

Peter Jay Sharp Theater at The Juilliard School, NY

Mikaela Bennett, soprano
Christine Taylor Price, soprano
Amanda Lynn Bottoms, mezzo-soprano
Kelsey Lauritano, mezzo-soprano
Samuel Levine, tenor
Gerard Schneider, tenor
Dimitri Katotakis, baritone
Steven Blier and Chris Reynolds, piano

 

NYFOS Emerging Artists and Tour:

NYFOS@Juilliard: Harry, Hoagy, and Harold – 1/17/16

Five Boroughs Music Festival, Flushing Town Hall, Flushing, NY

Mikaela Bennett, soprano
Amanda Lynn Bottoms, mezzo-soprano
Kelsey Lauritano, mezzo-soprano
Samuel Levine, tenor
Gerard Schneider, tenor
Dimitri Katotakis, baritone
Steven Blier and Chris Reynolds, piano

 

NYFOS Next:

David T. Little & Friends – 2/4/2016

OPERA America’s National Opera Center

Justine Aronson, Gelsey Bell, Kate Soper, and Brett Umlauf, sopranos

Eve Gigliotti, mezzo-soprano

Ted Hearne and Matthew Worth, baritones

Ayano Ninomiya and Danbi Um, violin

Leslie Tomkins, viola

Alice Yoo, cello

Michael Barrett, piano

 

NYFOS Next:

An Evening with Manhattan School of Music – 2/11/2016

OPERA America’s National Opera Center

Justine Aronson, Susan Botti, and Amy Owens, sopranos

Matthew Worth, baritone

Ayano Nimomiya and Airi Yoshioka, violins

Ann Hung, clarinet

Michael Barrett and Leann Osterkamp, piano

 

NYFOS Next:

Lowell Liebermann & Friends – 2/18/2016

OPERA America’s National Opera Center

Justine Aronson, soprano

Matthew Worth, baritone

Bart Feller, flute

William Hobbs, piano

 

NYFOS Emerging Artist and Tour:

Ports of Call:  A musical travelogue – 2/28/2016

Schwabacher Debut Recital
Diane B. Wilsey Center for Opera, San Fransisco, CA

Amina Edris, soprano

Edward Nelson, baritone

Brad Walker, bass-baritone

Steven Blier, pianists and host

 

NYFOS Emerging Artist and Tour:

At Home – 3/13/16

Caramoor, Katonah, NY

Liv Redpath, soprano

Abigail Levis, mezzo-soprano

Galeano Salas, tenor

Justin Austen, baritone

Steven Blier and William Kelley, pianists

 

NYFOS Mainstage:

At Home – 3/15/16

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center, New York, NY

Liv Redpath, soprano

Abigail Levis, mezzo-soprano

Galeano Salas, tenor

Justin Austen, baritone

Steven Blier and William Kelley, pianists

 

NYFOS Spring Gala:

Topsy-Turvy: The NYFOS Guide to Gilbert & Sullivan – 4/5/16

Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY

Lauren Worsham, soprano

Abigail Levis, mezzo-soprano

Hal Cazalet, tenor

David Hyde Pierce, baritone

Bryce Pinkham, baritone

Steven Blier, piano

 

NYFOS Mainstage:

Compositora: Songs by Latin American Women – 4/26/16

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center, New York, NY

María Valdés, soprano

Efraín Solís, baritone

Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, piano

 

NYFOS After Hours:

NYFOS@Juilliard: Harry, Hoagy, and Harold – 5/2/16

HENRY’s Restaurant, New York, NY

Mikaela Bennett, soprano
Christine Taylor Price, soprano
Amanda Lynn Bottoms, mezzo-soprano
Kelsey Lauritano, mezzo-soprano
Samuel Levine, tenor
Gerard Schneider, tenor
Dimitri Katotakis, baritone
Steven Blier and Chris Reynolds, piano

 

NYFOS Emerging Artist:

NYFOS@North Fork: Killers ‘B’s – 8/21/2016

Poquatuck Hall, Orient, NY

Christine Taylor Price, soprano

Kelsey Lauritano, mezzo-soprano

Miles Mykkanen, tenor

Dimitri Katotakis, baritone

Steven Blier, piano

 

NYFOS Tour:

Schubert/Beatles – 9/1/2016

Moab Music Festival, Moab, UT

Sari Gruber, soprano

Andrew Owens, tenor

Andrew Garland, baritone

Theo Hoffman, baritone and guitar

Charles Yang, violin

Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, piano

 

NYFOS Tour:

Schubert/Beatles – 10/1/2016

Lyric Opera Kansas City, Kansas City, MO

Sari Gruber, soprano
Andrew Owens, tenor
Theo Hoffman, baritone & guitar
Charles Yang, violin
Michael Barrett, piano
Steven Blier, arranger & piano

 

NYFOS Mainstage:

Rodgers, Rodgers & Guettel – 11/1/2016 and 11/3/2016

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center, New York, NY

Lauren Worsham, soprano

Mary Testa, mezzo-soprano

Hal Cazalet, tenor

John Brancy, baritone

Steven Blier, piano

 

NYFOS Next: Gabriela Lena Frank & Friends – 11/2/2016

National Sawdust, Brooklyn, NY

Amy Owens, soprano

Joshua Blue, tenor

Mischa Bouvier and Andrew Garland, baritone

Momenta Quartet

Michael Barrett, piano

 

NYFOS Next: Christopher Cerrone & Friends – 12/8/2016

National Sawdust, Brooklyn, NY

Justine Aronson, soprano

Theo Bleckmann, baritone

Erin Mack, clarinet

Patrick Swodoba, bass and guitar

Robby Bowen, percussion

Timo Andres and Michael Barrett, piano

 

NYFOS After Hours:

A Goyishe Christmas to You! – 12/12/2016

Mikaela Bennett and Lauren Worsham, sopranos

Amanda Lynn Bottoms and Donna Breitzer, mezzo-sopranos

Joshua Breitzer and Alex Mansoori, tenor

Joshua Jeremiah, Andrew Lippa, and Thomas West, baritones

Alan R. Kay, clarinet

Steven Blier, piano

 

NYFOS Tour:

Pyotr the Great:  The Songs of Tchaikovsky and His Circle – 1/22/2017

Vocal Arts DC, Washington DC

Antonina Chehovska, soprano

Alexey Lavrov, baritone

Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, piano

 

NYFOS Mainstage:

Pyotr the Great:  The Songs of Tchaikovsky and His Circle – 1/24/2017

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center, New York, NY

Antonina Chehovska, soprano

Alexey Lavrov, baritone

Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, piano

 

NYFOS Tour:

Picnic Cantata/ Dinner at Eight – 2/18/2017

Reston Community Center, Reston, VA

Chelsea Shephard and Amy Owens, sopranos

Amanda Lynn Bottoms and Naomi Louisa O’Connell, mezzo-sopranos

Jesse Blumberg, baritone

Barry Centanni, percussion

Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, piano

 

NYFOS Mainstage:

Picnic Cantata/ Dinner at Eight – 2/21/2017

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center, New York, NY

Chelsea Shephard and Amy Owens, sopranos

Amanda Lynn Bottoms and Naomi Louisa O’Connell, mezzo-sopranos

Jesse Blumberg, baritone

Barry Centanni, percussion

Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, piano

 

NYFOS Emerging Artist and Tour:

Four Islands – 3/12/2017

Caramoor, Katonah, NY

Christine Taylor Price, soprano

Hannah Dishman, mezzo-soprano

Jack Swanson, tenor

Benjamin Dickerson, baritone

Marco Granados, flute

Karen Ouzounian, cello

Steven Blier and Ho Jae Lee, piano

 

NYFOS Mainstage:

Four Islands – 3/14/2017

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center, New York, NY

Christine Taylor Price, soprano

Hannah Dishman, mezzo-soprano

Jack Swanson, tenor

Benjamin Dickerson, baritone

Marco Granados, flute

Nan-Cheng Chen, cello

Steven Blier and Ho Jae Lee, piano

 

NYFOS Emerging Artists:

NYFOS@Juilliard:  Protest Songs – 3/31/2017

Mikaela Bennett and Christine Taylor Price, sopranos

Amanda Lynn Bottoms, mezzo-soprano

Joshua Blue, tenor

Dimitri Katotakis and Jacob Scharfman, baritones

Andrew Munn, bass

Jack Gulielmetti, guitar

Matthew Chen, cello

Steven Blier and Chris Reynolds, piano

 

Spring Gala:  Honoring Stephen Sondheim – 4/19/2017

Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall

Meredith Lustig, soprano

Luretta Bybee and Pamela Myers, mezzo-soprano

Theo Hoffman and Ron Raines, baritones

Greer Grimsley, bass-baritone

Steven Blier, piano

 

NYFOS Next: Lauren Worsham, Kyle Jarrow & Sky-Pony – 5/10/2017

National Sawdust, Brooklyn, NY

Sky-Pony: Lauren Worsham, Kyle Jarrow, David Blasher, Eric Day, Kristin Piacentile, Perry Silver, Jessi Suzuki, Kevin Wunderlich

 

NYFOS Emerging Artist:

NYFOS@North Fork:
Red, White, & Blues: An Afternoon of French and American Song – 8/27/2017

Poquatuck Hall, Orient, NY

Mikaela Bennett, soprano

Sam Grosby, tenor

Robert Mellon, baritone

Steven Blier, piano

 

NYFOS Tour:

Arias & Barcarolles and other Bernstein Songs – 10/14/2017

Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Kansas City, MO

Katherine Pracht, mezzo-soprano

Matt Worth, baritone

Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, piano

 

NYFOS Tour:

Take Care of This House: A Bernstein Celebration – 11/5/2017

Vocal Arts DC, Washington, DC

Chelsea Shepherd, soprano

Lucia Bradford and Annie Rosen, mezzo-sopranos

Miles Mykkanen, tenor

Justin Austin, baritone

Adrian Rosas, bass-baritone

Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, piano

Barry Centanni, percussion

 

NYFOS Mainstage:

Take Care of This House: A Bernstein Celebration – 11/7/2017

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center

Chelsea Shepherd, soprano

Lucia Bradford and Annie Rosen, mezzo-sopranos

Miles Mykkanen, tenor

Justin Austin, baritone

Adrian Rosas, bass-baritone

Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, piano

Barry Centanni, percussion

 

NYFOS Next: Leonard Bernstein’s Legacy – 12/2/2017

Baisley Powell Elebash Recital Hall at The Graduate Center, CUNY

Amy Owens, soprano

Katherine Pracht, mezzo-soprano

Vale Rideout, tenor

Jesse Blumberg, baritone

Michael Barrett and Leann Osterkamp, piano

 

NYFOS After Hours:

A Goyishe Christmas to You! – 12/11/2017

HENRY’s Restaurant, New York, NY

Mikaela Bennett, sopranos

Lucia Bradford, Donna Breitzer, and Annie Rosen, mezzo-sopranos

Joshua Breitzer and Alex Mansoori, tenor

Joshua Jeremiah, baritone

Alan R. Kay, clarinet

Steven Blier, piano

 

NYFOS Emerging Artists:

NYFOS@Juilliard:
William Bolcom and John Corigliano: An 80th Birthday Tribute – 1/11/2018

Peter Jay Sharp Theater at The Juilliard School

Kathryn Henry, soprano

Myka Murphy and Nicole Thomas, mezzo-sopranos

Matthew Pearce, tenor

Dominik Belavy and Gregory Feldmann, baritones

Jack Gulielmetti, guitar

Mary Birnbaum, stage director

Steven Blier and Chris Reynolds, piano

 

NYFOS Tour:

Arias & Barcarolles and other Bernstein Songs – 1/31/2018

Arizona Friends of Chamber Music, Tucson, AZ

Rebecca Jo Loeb, mezzo-soprano

Joshua Jeremiah, baritone

Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, piano

 

NYFOS Tour:

Arias & Barcarolles and other Bernstein Songs – 2/2/2018

Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts, Vienna, VA

Rebecca Jo Loeb, mezzo-soprano

Joshua Jeremiah, baritone

Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, piano

 

NYFOS Mainstage:

Protest – 2/27/2018

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center

Shereen Pimentel and Christine Taylor Price, sopranos

Rihab Chaieb, mezzo-soprano

Joshua Blue, tenor

Dimitri Katotakis and Jacob Scharfman, baritones

Andrew Munn, bass

Jack Gulielmetti, guitar

Steven Blier and Chris Reynolds, piano

 

NYFOS Tour:

Protest – 3/3/2018

Hudson Hall, 327 Warren St. Hudson, NY

Shereen Pimentel and Christine Taylor Price, sopranos

Nicole Thomas, mezzo-soprano

Joshua Blue, tenor

Dimitri Katotakis and Jacob Scharfman, baritones

Andrew Munn, bass

Jack Gulielmetti, guitar

Steven Blier and Chris Reynolds, piano

 

NYFOS Emerging Artist/Tour:

From Lute Song to the Beatles:
Songs of the British Isles – 3/11/2018

Music Room, Rosen House, Caramoor Festival of Arts, Katonah, NY

Madison Leonard, soprano

Kayleigh Decker, mezzo-soprano

Matthew Pearce, tenor

Greg Feldmann, baritone

Steven Blier and Adam Rothenberg, piano

 

NYFOS Mainstage:

From Lute Song to the Beatles:
Songs of the British Isles – 3/13/2018

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center

Madison Leonard, soprano

Kayleigh Decker, mezzo-soprano

Matthew Pearce, tenor

Greg Feldmann, baritone

Steven Blier and Adam Rothenberg, piano

 

Spring Gala:  30! – 3/26/2018

Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall

Mikaela Bennett, soprano

Tyne Daly and Mary Testa, mezzo-soprano

Gabriel Ebert, tenor

Theo Hoffman, baritones

Steven Blier, piano

 

NYFOS Mainstage:

A 30th Anniversary Celebration – 4/24/2018

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center

Julia Bullock, Antonina Chehovska, and Lauren Worsham, sopranos

Mary Testa, mezzo-soprano

Paul Appleby, tenor

John Brancy and Theo Hoffman, baritones

Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, piano

 

NYFOS Next: Clarice Assad & Friends – 5/4/2018

SubCulture, New York, NY

Clarice Assad, piano and voice

Jorge Continentino, winds

João Luiz, guitar

Keita Ogawa, percussion

Shin Sakaino, bass

 

Lyrics by Shakespeare – 8/8/2018
Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse, New York, NY

Naomi Louisa O’Connell, mezzo-soprano
Matt Boehler, bass
Kathleen Chalfant, actor
Steven Blier, piano

 

NYFOS Emerging Artists:

NYFOS@North Fork:  The Art of Pleasure – 8/26/2018

Poquatuck Hall, Orient, NY

Maria Lacey, soprano

Amanda Lynn Bottoms, mezzo-soprano

Philippe L’Esperance, tenor

Johnathan McCullough, baritone

Steven Blier, piano

 

NYFOS Tour:

Arias & Barcarolles and other Bernstein Songs – 9/21/2018

Forrestal-Bowld Music Building; Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, NH

Katherine Pracht, mezzo-soprano

Joshua Jeremiah, baritone

Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, piano

 

NYFOS Tour:
Arias & Barcarolles and other Bernstein Songs – 9/23/2018
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, MA

Rebecca Jo Loeb, mezzo-soprano
Joshua Jeremiah, baritone
Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, piano

 

NYFOS Mainstage:
W. C. Handy & the Birth of the Blues – 11/14/2018
Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center

Shereen Pimentel, soprano
Lucia Bradford, mezzo-soprano
Joshua Blue, tenor
Justin Austin, baritone
Scott Robinson, winds and brass
Vince Giordano, string bass, tuba and guitar
Steven Blier and Joseph Li, piano
Elliott Hurwitt, program consultant

 

NYFOS After Hours:
A Goyishe Christmas to You!
Boulevard Seafood Company – 12/10/2018
Mise-En-Scene Studios – 12/11/2018

Donna Breitzer, Cantor Joshua Breitzer, Joshua Jeremiah, Rebecca Jo Loeb, Alex Mansoori, and Lauren Worsham, vocalists
Alan R. Kay, clarinet
Steven Blier, piano

 

NYFOS Emerging Artists:
NYFOS@Juilliard:
Kurt Weill’s Berlin – 1/17/2019
Peter Jay Sharp Theater at The Juilliard School

Anneliese Klenetsky and Jaylyn Simmons, sopranos
Shaked Bar, mezzo-soprano
Chance Jonas-O’Toole, tenor
Gregory Feldmann and Jack Kay, baritones
William Socolof, bass-baritone
Jack Gulielmetti, banjo
Mary Birnbaum, stage director
Steven Blier, piano

 

NYFOS Mainstage:
Hyphenated-Americans – 2/20/2019
Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center

Amy Owens, soprano
Alexandra Urquiola, mezzo-soprano
Jesse Blumberg, baritone
Tien-Hsin Cindy Wu, viola
Michael Barrett, Steven Blier, and Leann Osterkamp, piano 

 

NYFOS Mainstage/Emerging Artists:
Love at the Crossroads
Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts – 3/17/2019
Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center – 3/19/2019

Devony Smith, soprano
Gina Perregrino, mezzo-soprano
Philippe L’Espérance, tenor
Erik Van Heyningen, baritone
Steven Blier and Danny Zelibor, piano

Two couples enact a series of linked romantic scenarios through songs and ensemble pieces by a wide range of composers, from Sondheim and Cy Coleman to Fauré and Brahms.

NYFOS Next:
Kate Soper & Friends – 3/28/2019
DiMenna Center for Classical Music

Kate Soper, composer/vocalist
Charmaine Lee, composer/vocalist
Charlotte Mundy, soprano
Sam Pluta, composer/electronics performer
Devony Smith, soprano
James Smith, electric guitar
Laura Barger, piano
Thomas Feng, keyboard
Michael Rau, director

NYFOS Mainstage:
García Lorca: Muse & Magician – 4/24/2019
Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center – 3/19/2019

Corinne Winters, soprano
Efraín Solís, baritone
Oren Fader, guitar
Leonardo Granados, percussion
Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, piano

A portrait of the great Spanish poet Federico García Lorca through songs by an international roster of composers including Poulenc, Montsalvatge, Revueltas, Billy Strayhorn, Leonard Cohen, William Bolcom, Carlos Surinach, and Manuel de Falla and the writer himself (who studied music in his youth).

NYFOS Spring Gala
George & Ira: A Celebration of the Gershwin Brothers – 5/13/2019
Racquet & Tennis Club

Laura Osnes, Shereen Pimentel, Bryce Pinkham, Lauren Worsham, Tony Yazbeck, vocalists
Kate Davis, vocals and bass
Steven Blier, piano

NYFOS Next:
Laura Kaminsky & Friends – 6/11/2019
The LGBT Center

Devony Smith, soprano
Heather Johnson, mezzo-soprano
Jorell Williams, baritone
Michael Barrett, Mila Henry, and Serene, piano

A salon of contemporary songs by LGBT-identified composers and librettists.

NYFOS Tour:
Manning the Canon
Poquatuck Hall, Orient, NY – 6/22/2019
The LGBT Center – 6/25/2019

Daniel McGrew and Scott Murphree, tenors
Efraín Solís, baritone
Matt Boehler, bass
Steven Blier, piano

A tribute to gay composers and a celebration of gay lives.

NYFOS Emerging Artists:
Ports of Call
Poquatuck Hall, Orient, NY – 8/25/2019

Elaine Daiber, soprano
Olivia Cosio, mezzo-soprano
Jesse Darden, tenor
Thomas West, baritone
Steven Blier, piano

A musical travelogue around the globe.

 

NYFOS Mainstage
Lyrics by Shakespeare
Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center, New York NY – 10/16/2019

Naomi Louisa O’Connell, mezzo-soprano
Matt Boehler, bass
Steven Blier, piano

An updated revival of NYFOS’s very first program exploring the Bard’s influence on composers from Brahms to John Dankworth.

 

 

NYFOS Mainstage
Tain’t Nobody’s Business If I Do: Song of Gay Harlem
Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center, NYC — 12/12/2019

Bryonha Marie, soprano
Lucia Bradford, mezzo-soprano
Joshua Blue, tenor
Justin Austin, baritone
Steven Blier and Joseph Li, pianists
Brian Nalepka, bass and tuba
Scott Robinson, brass and reeds

Music from Harlem’s gay underground, including works by Billy Strayhorn and Porter Grainger, as well as songs popularized by Bessie Smith, Alberta Hunter, Ethel Waters, Gladys Bentley, and ‘Ma’ Rainey.

NYFOS Emerging Artists
Cubans in Paris
Peter Jay Sharp Theater, The Juilliard School, NYC — 1/15/2020

Ian Castro, Shawn Chang, Olivia Cosio, Joyce Kang, Aaron Keeney
Kyle Miller, César Andrés Parreño, Santiago Pizarro, Jaylyn Simmons 

Steven Blier, music director and pianist
Mary Birnbaum, stage director
Adam Cates, choreographer

Music straddling the concert hall, night club, and theater by Cuban expatriates living in Paris, including Ernesto Lecuona, Moisés Simons, and many others.

 

NYFOS Next
Director’s Choice
DiMenna Center for Classical Music, NYC — 2/13/2020

Gina Perregrino, mezzo-soprano
Mario Diaz-Moresco, baritone
Michael Barrett, pianist

NYFOS’s own Michael Barrett curates this evening featuring some of his favorite songs from NYFOS’s long history of presenting new music, including pieces by Derek Bermel, Jonathan Dove, Adam Guettel, John Harbison, Aaron Jay Kernis, Lowell Liebermann, Peter Lieberson, James Primosch, Ned Rorem, and Errollyn Wallen.

NYFOS Emerging Artist
The Art of Pleasure
Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, Katonah, NY — 3/15/2020

Elaine Daiber, soprano
Sienna Licht Miller, mezzo-soprano
Terrance Chin-Loy, tenor
Thomas West, baritone
Michael Barrett, Steven Blier, and Shawn Chang, pianists

A program exploring intimate moments of pleasure—the beauties of the seashore, romance, and dreams—before veering into a tour of guilty pleasures and “things you might not want your parents to know about.”

NYFOS Gala
Now Playing on Riverside Drive
Premiered on 5/4/2020

and Steven Blier and Michael Barrett

 

NYFOS@Home
We’ll Be Together Again
Premiered 9/30/2020

Amelie Aldner and Erin Morley, sopranos
Amanda Lynn Bottoms and Sasha Cooke, mezzo-sopranos
Lawrence Brownlee, tenor
Samuel Kidd and Efraín Solís, baritones
Steven Blier, Daniel Gerzenberg, Myra Huang, Joseph Li, pianists

To alleviate the stress of our long self-quarantine, a digital concert of songs about sweet reunions with loved ones.

 

NYFOS@Home
“Black Market” and Other Songs for Survival
Premiered 10/21/2020

Janai Brugger, soprano
Lucia Bradford, Denyce Graves, and Kate Lindsey, mezzo-sopranos
Leroy Davis and Theo Hoffman, baritones
Davóne Tines, bass-baritone
Steven Blier, Adam Nielsen, Christopher Reynolds, and JoyAnne Amani Richardson, pianists

 

NYFOS@Home
Myths to Live By
Premiered 11/18/2020

Julia Bullock and Aundi Marie Moore, sopranos
Sasha Cooke, mezzo-soprano
Aaron Crouch, tenor
Elliott Carlton Hines, baritone
Steven Blier, Christian Reif, and Susan Ricci Regel, pianists

NYFOS Emerging Artists
Tour de France
Poquatuck Hall, Orient, NY — 8/1/2021

Nicoletta Berry, soprano
Samuel Kidd, baritone
Steven Blier, piano

A musical voyage to the four corners of France before a deluxe stay in Paris, the City of Light.

 

NYFOS on Tour
TAIN’T NOBODY’S BUSINESS IF I DO: Songs of Gay Harlem
The Amph at Little Island, New York City — 8/29/2021

Shereen Pimentel, soprano
Justin Austin, baritone
Chaz’men Williams-Ali, tenor
Steven Blier and Joseph Li, pianists
Vince Giordano, bass and tuba

 

NYFOS@Home
Heroes
Premiered 10/12/2021

Kara Dugan, mezzo-soprano
John Brancy, baritone
Charles Yang, violinist and vocalist
Peter Dugan, pianist
Steven Blier, pianist

A video concert that explores what it means to be a hero in the year 2021.

NYFOS Emerging Artists/NYFOS@Juilliard:
Ports of Call
Premiered 10/14/2021

Chea Young Kang and Deborah Love, Sopranos 
Maggie Reneé and Jasmin White, Mezzo-Sopranos 
Cesar Andres Parreño and Santiago Pizarro, Tenors 
Kyle Miller and Jarrett Porter, Baritones
Joseph Parrish, Bass-Baritone
Steven Blier, Pianist, Arranger, and Artistic Director of NYFOS
Mary Birnbaum, Stage Director
Shawn Chang, Assistant Pianist
Jonathan Estabrooks, Video Producer

Our musical travelogue around the globe on video.

 

NYFOS Next
9 UNDER 34
Ann Goodman Recital Hall at Kaufman Music Center, New York, NY — 10/22/2021

Erin Wagner, mezzo-soprano
Gregory Feldman, baritone
Rupert Boyd, guitar
Thapelo Masita, cello
Shawn Chang and Nathaniel LaNasa, pianists

A fascinating compendium of songs by brilliant composers born after NYFOS’s first program in 1988. Featured composers include Jake Landau, Sato Matsui, Shawn Chang, Iván Enrique Rodríguez, David Clay Mettens, Emily Cooley, Tariq al-Sabir, Curtis Stewart, and Molly Joyce.

 

NYFOS Next
A Tribute to James Primosch
Ann Goodman Recital Hall at Kaufman Music Center, New York, NY — 11/1/2021

Lucy Fitz Gibbon, soprano
Daniel McGrew, tenor
Ryan MacEvoy McCullough, pianist

Vocal music by the late American master, curated and performed by one of his premiere interpreters, soprano Lucy Fitz Gibbon.

 

NYFOS Mainstage
And…We’re Back!
Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center, New York, NY — 11/16/2021

Amanda Lynn Bottoms, mezzo-soprano
Rebecca Jo Loeb, mezzo-soprano
Maggie Reneé, mezzo-soprano
Paul Appleby, tenor
Johnathan McCullough, baritone
Steven Blier, piano

A reunion with our New York audience, whom we last saw 20 months ago. The program includes songs that got us through the pandemic, along with songs that celebrate being together again, from Schubert to Jobim. 

Special Event
A Goyishe Christmas to You!
Merkin Hall lobby at Kaufman Music Center, New York, NY — 12/6/2021

NYFOS’s beloved holiday tradition: Yuletide songs by Jewish composers. Featuring Donna Breitzer, Cantor Joshua Breitzer, Joshua Jeremiah, Rebecca Jo Loeb, Alex Mansoori, Lauren Worsham, with Alan R. Kay on clarinet and Steven Blier at the keyboard. 

NYFOS@Home
A Goyishe Christmas to You! — 12/15/2021

Enjoy a one-night-only digital performance of last year’s A Goyishe Christmas to You! video, with all your favorite holiday songs by Jewish composers from the comfort of your own home. Light a fire, make some eggnog, and be, as songwriting team Marc Miller and Howard Levitsky put it, “a Christmas Jew!” Same cast as 12/6/21.

NYFOS@Home
And…We’re Back!
Premiered on 2/1/2022

Selections from the reunion at Merkin Hall with our New York audience after 20 months apart. The program includes songs that got us through the pandemic as well as songs that celebrate being together again. The premiere was followed by a live Q&A with the artists. Same cast as 11/16/2021.

NYFOS Mainstage
Buenos Aires: Then and Now
Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center, New York, NY — 2/15/2022

Nicoletta Berry, soprano
Raquel González, soprano
Federico De Michelis, bass-baritone
Jainardo Batista, percussion
Steven Blier, piano
Shawn Chang, piano

A tribute to the diverse musical culture of Buenos Aires, with music from its iconic masters (Guastavino, Ginastera, López Buchardo, Piazzolla, Ramírez) and two of its contemporary voices, Esteban Benzecry and Ezequiel Viñao. Created in collaboration with Opera Hispánica, with the assistance of Jorge Parodi.

 

NYFOS@Home
UNDER 34: Composers Younger Than NYFOS
Premiered 3/6/2022

A fascinating compendium of songs by brilliant composers born after NYFOS’s first program . Co-curated by baritone Gregory Feldmann, and performed by Feldmann and mezzo-soprano Erin Wagner, with Nathaniel LaNasa and Shawn Chang at the piano, guitarist Rupert Boyd, and cellist Thapelo Masita. Featured composers include Jake Landau, Sato Matsui, Shawn Chang, Iván Enrique Rodríguez, David Clay Mettens, Emily Cooley, Curtis Stewart, and Molly Joyce. The premiere was followed by a conversation with some of the artists.

NYFOS Mainstage
Love Songs in 176 Keys: 4 voices, 4 hands, 4 countries
Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center, New York, NY — 3/15/2022

Meredith Wohlgemuth, soprano
Natalie Lewis, mezzo-soprano
Cesar Andres Parreño, tenor
Seonho Yu, baritone
Francesco Barfoed, piano
Steven Blier, piano
Bénédicte Jourdois, piano

Caramoor’s 2022 Schwab Vocal Rising Stars perform love songs from Spain, Germany, France, and America; each chapter begins with a virtuoso duo-piano overture. Music by Granados, Brahms, Fauré, Milhaud, Gershwin, and many others.

NYFOS@Home
Buenos Aires: Then and Now
Premiered 4/6/2022

A tribute to the diverse musical culture of Buenos Aires, with music from its iconic masters (Guastavino, Ginastera, López Buchardo, Piazzolla, Ramírez) and two of its contemporary voices, Esteban Benzecry and Ezequiel Viñao. Created in collaboration with Opera Hispánica, with the assistance of Jorge Parodi. The premiere was followed by a live Q&A with the artists. Same cast as 2/15/2022.

NYFOS Mainstage
The Wider View:  Songs by Black Composers
Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center, New York, NY — 4/13/2022

Keratin Piper Brown, soprano
Lucia Bradford, mezzo-soprano
Jorell Williams, baritone
Steven Blier, piano
Nathaniel LaNasa, piano

Music by Hale Smith, Margaret Bonds, Adolphus C. Hailstork, H. Leslie Adams, Robert Owens, William Grant Still, and Harry Burleigh.

NYFOS Emerging Artists
Rodgers, Rodgers, & Guettel
The Ellen and James S Marcus Studio at The Juilliard School — 4/30/2022 & 5/1/2022

The young talents of Juilliard’s Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts celebrate three generations of Broadway legends from one family: Richard Rodgers, Mary Rodgers and Adam Guettel. 

Spring Gala
Still in Love
A private club in New York, NY — 5/17/2022

Shereen Pimentel, soprano
Justin Austin, baritone
Sasha Cooke, host
Steven Blier, host and piano
Jason Yeager, piano

NYFOS celebrates the classic songs of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn with a gala fundraiser, featuring cocktails, dinner, and performances at a landmark private club on Park Avenue. 

NYFOS Emerging Artists
Gracias a la vida
Poquatuck Hall, Orient, NY — 8/28/2022

Shelén Hughs, soprano
César Andrés Parreño, tenor
Steven Blier, piano 

Featuring songs by Guastavino, Piazzolla, Villa-Lobos, Ernesto Nazareth, Jorge Anckermann, Chabuca Granda, Violeta Parra, and others.

 

NYFOS Mainstage
Heroes
Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center, New York, NY — 9/28/2022

Kara Dugan, mezzo-soprano
John Brancy, baritone

Charles Yang, violinist & vocalist
Steven Blier, piano

A vibrant and eclectic tribute to the men and women who inspire us, with music by Schubert, Gluck, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, and others. 

 

 

NYFOS Next
Songs of Errollyn Wallen
Rubin Museum of Art – 10/16/2022
Lucia Bradford, mezzo-soprano

Leah Wool, mezzo-soprano

Nathaniel LaNasa, piano

Belize-born British composer Errollyn Wallen is most well-known for her large ensemble pieces. Wallen’s songs – many of which she performs herself – demonstrate an intimate side of her compositions. The lyrics, also by Wallen, examine our quickly changing world, using mythology, mystery, and even a modern household appliance to communicate both soulful and humorous bafflement about how we manage, and also fail to connect. 

 

NYFOS Next
The Threefold Terror of Love
Rubin Museum of Art – 11/13/2022
Robin Steitz, soprano

Dominik Belavy, baritone

Nathaniel LaNasa, piano

This concert features music by Matthew Ricketts, Thomas Adès, Katie Balch, Jake Landau, Shawn Jaeger, Tonia Ko, and others. The title of the program, taken from one of Matthew Ricketts’ pieces, inspired Mr. LaNasa to explore intimacy’s push and pull with this concert’s programming. Asserting vulnerability as a superpower, Mr. LaNasa notes that this is a time when many have had to learn how to be closer to one another again, saying, “it’s amazing how sweetly tender life feels when we are open to the possibility of pain.” 

 

 

NYFOS Mainstage
Kabarett
Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center, New York, NY — 11/16/2022

Sari Gruber, soprano

Naomi Louisa O’Connell, mezzo-soprano
Justin Austin, baritone
Steven Blier, piano

Songs from Berlin’s fabled Weimar era nightspots, including music by Friedrich Hollaender, Mischa Spoliansky, Olaf Bienert, and Kurt Tucholsky. 

 

 

NYFOS Mainstage
Amor
Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center, New York, NY — 2/15/2023

Lucia Bradford, mezzo-soprano

Kate Lindsey, mezzo-soprano

Federico De Michelis, bass-baritone
Steven Blier, piano

Celebrating his fiftieth anniversary onstage, Steven Blier offers songs by Astor Piazzolla, Kurt Weill, Gabriel Fauré, Fats Waller, and many others. 

 

 

NYFOS Mainstage/Emerging Artists
Mediterranean
Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts – 3/12/2023
Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center, New York, NY — 3/14/2023
Caramoor’s 2023 Schwab Vocal Rising Stars:

Shelén Hughs, soprano
Maggie Reneé, mezzo-soprano

Colin Aikins, tenor

Joseph Parris, bass-baritone

Yihao Zhou, piano
Steven Blier, piano, co-director
Bénédicte Jourdois, piano, co-director

A musical voyage around the Mediterranean Sea, with stops in Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Israel, Lebanon, Egypt, and Tunisia. 

 

NYFOS@Juilliard

5/3 & 5/4/2022

Night & Day/USA

Night & Day/USA will take audiences through a whirlwind of a day — 24 hours — somewhere, or maybe anywhere, in the United States. The program explores how people’s work lives measure up — or don’t — with their dreams. It is the chronicle of a workday in America told in song: five characters who get up in the morning, go to a variety of jobs, daydream about love, worry about money, and eventually find their way through the night — alone or in company. Featuring students in the Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts at The Juilliard School with Steven Blier as pianist and host.

 

Spring Gala
Feelin’ Groovy
Racquet & Tennis Club, New York, NY — 5/15/2023

Julie Benko, soprano
Lucia Bradford, mezzo-soprano
Joshua Blue, tenor

Daniel McGrew, tenor
Steven Blier, host and piano
Jason Yeager, piano

NYFOS puts on a groovy performance featuring songs by Laura Nyro, Simon & Garfunkel, Joni Mitchell and the Beatles, along with some Motown hits and—who knows?—maybe even a tune from Hair.

 

 

NYFOS Emerging Artists
Broadway Love
Poquatuck Hall, Orient, NY — 8/27/2023

Kerrigan Bigelow, soprano

Sophia Baete, mezzo-soprano
Shavon Lloyd, baritone
Steven Blier, piano 

Featuring a century of love songs—including some out-of-love songs—from the great American composers.

 

NYFOS Mainstage
Perennials: Songs for Every Season
Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center, New York, NY — 9/28/2023

Raquel González, soprano
Lucia Bradford, mezzo-soprano

Samuel Kidd, baritone

Wm. Clay Thompson, bass
Steven Blier, piano & co-host

Peter Dugan, piano & co-host

Perennials celebrates the steadying power of music to guide us through the year with works by Schubert, Strauss, Toldrà, Sondheim, Carole King, and others.

 

NYFOS Next
Lost in Translation
Rubin Museum of Art – 10/15/2023

Robin Steitz, soprano

Paulina Swierczek, soprano

Gregory Feldmann, baritone

Nathaniel LaNasa, pianist & curator

NYFOS features the world premiere performance of We Two, a song cycle by British composer Iain Bell with text by Walt Whitman, Reena Esmail’s Rosa de Sal with text by Pablo Neruda, Andrew Cheung’s 2017 All thorn, but cousin to your rose with texts by Vladimir Nabokov, and additional songs by Gity Razaz, Hilary Purrington, Arlene Elizabeth Sierra, and Nkeiru Okoye.

 

 

NYFOS Next
In Her Own Words
Rubin Museum of Art – 11/19/2023

Lucy Dhegrae

Dicky Dutton

Molly Joyce

Nathaniel LaNasa, pianist & curator

A spotlight on singer-songwriters who emerged from the classical tradition. Featuring performer-composers Molly Joyce, Dicky Dutton, and Lucy Dhegrae.

 

NYFOS Mainstage
Gracias a la vida
Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center, New York, NY — 12/5/2023

Shelén Hughes, soprano
César Andrés Parreño, tenor
Steven Blier, piano & host

A musical tour of South America, with songs from Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, Ecuador, Peru, and Chile. 

 

 

NYFOS Mainstage
All Together Now
Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center, New York, NY — 2/21/2024

Chelsea Guo, soprano & pianist

Megan Moore, mezzo-soprano

Erin Wagner, mezzo-soprano

Daniel McGrew, tenor

Joseph Parrish, bass-baritone

Francesco Barfoed, pianist

Steven Blier, pianist & host

The program travels through six centuries of vocal ensembles, from the Renaissance to present day with music by Mozart, Chabrier, Libby Larsen, the Bobs, and many others. 

 

NYFOS Mainstage/Emerging Artists
Eros & Co.
Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts – 3/17/2024
Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center, New York, NY — 3/19/2024
Caramoor’s 2024 Schwab Vocal Rising Stars:

Shan Hai, soprano
Sophia Baete, mezzo-soprano
Scott Rubén La Marca, tenor
Michael Hawk, baritone
Amber Scherer, piano
Steven Blier, piano, co-director
Bénédicte Jourdois, piano, co-director

Songs by Saint-Saëns, Granados, Serge Gainsbourg, Sondheim, and many others refract the chaos and the delight of Cupid’s arrow.

Spring Gala
100 Years of Broadway Love
Racquet & Tennis Club, New York, NY — 5/13/2024

Shereen Pimentel
Mary Testa
Tony Yazbeck
Shavon Lloyd
Steven Blier, host and piano
Jason Yeager, piano

NYFOS presents an evening of cocktails, dinner, and performances covering a century of love songs–including some out-of-love songs–from Kern to Sondheim.

 

NYFOS Emerging Artists
Happily Ever After: A Modern Person’s Guide to Operetta
Poquatuck Hall, Orient, NY — 8/25/2024

Adriana Stepien, soprano
Scott Rubén La Marca, tenor
Philip Stoddard, baritone
Katherin M. Carter, stage director
Steven Blier, piano 

For decades, operetta charmed audiences across the globe with the promise of happy endings and the allure of sweet melodies. Its perfume is still potent – and surprisingly varied, from the wit of Gilbert & Sullivan, to the opulence of Lehár, to the grit of masters like Sondheim, Kurt Weill, and Astor Piazzolla. Happily Ever After is not just a feast for the ears but also a bracing exploration of popular culture from eight countries. 

 

NYFOS Next
Learning, Fast and Slow
Rubin Museum of Art – 9/29/2024

Blythe Gaissert
Britt Hewitt
Steven Palacio
Nathaniel LaNasa, pianist & curator

Learning, Fast and Slow, features soprano Britt Hewitt and mezzo-soprano Blythe Gaissert, with Steven Palacio on bassoon and Nathaniel LaNasa on piano performing works by Kamala Sankaram, Theo Chandler, Karim Al-Zand, and LJ White, including White’s recent Music Library Love Song for soprano and piano, and the premiere of Timo Andres’s On My Fortieth Birthday. 

Curator Nathaniel LaNasa on the concert — “In programming this recital, I wanted to explore time’s passing and life lessons that come only in their own time. Kamala Sankaram’s meditations on aging, Theo Chandler’s explorations of repetition, and a birthday song premiere by Timo Andres join two occasions of queer discovery by LJ White. These songs celebrate flux, flashes of inspiration, moments of instruction: twinkles in which I am no longer who I was, but am not yet who I will be.”

 

NYFOS Next
A Space to Make
Rubin Museum of Art – 11/3/2024

Gregory Feldmann, baritone
Theo Hayes, mezzo-soprano
Robin Steitz, soprano
Eric Sedgwick, pianist
Nathaniel LaNasa, pianist & curator 

A program tracing ways we create our spaces and ways they create us. Soprano Robin Steitz, mezzo-soprano Theo Hayes, and baritone Greg Feldmann come together with pianist Nathaniel LaNasa to present songs by Hannah Kendall, Sarah Kirkland Snider, Isabella Gellis, and Joe Rubinstein, as well as the premiere of Iván Rodriguez’s Mother of Exiles, a towering rhapsody on Emma Lazaruz’s “The New Colossus.”

 

NYFOS Mainstage
My Brother’s Keeper
Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center, New York, NY — 11/19/2024

Joshua Blue, tenor
Will Liverman, baritone
Joseph Parrish, bass-baritone
Alan Williams, bass-baritone
Jorell Williams, baritone
Chaz’men Williams-Ali, tenor 

A  story of brotherly love, caretaking, and community among Black men in America told through art song, soul, gospel, and opera, My Brother’s Keeper features a stellar team of Black American male singers, including tenor Joshua Blue, baritone Will Liverman, bass-baritone Joseph Parrish, bass-baritone Alan Williams, baritone Jorell Williams, and tenor Chaz’men Williams-Ali, alongside NYFOS’s own Steven Blier. Conceived and co-artistic directed by long-time NYFOS artist Justin Austin. 

 

NYFOS@Juilliard
Take Care of This House: Songs for America
Peter J Sharp Theater at the Juilliard School – 1/15/2025

Take Care of This House: Songs for America is a musical exploration of our country: its glories, its perils, and most importantly its many cultures. The program ranges through theater music by Leonard Bernstein and George Gershwin, popular songs by Paul Simon and Cab Calloway, a Cherokee hymn, a hit song from a Yiddish movie,  and an evocative Chinese folk song. Celebrating America’s enormous diversity with a superb cast of singers from Juilliard’s Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts, Take Care of This House examines where we are and searches for ways forward to a brighter future. 

NYFOS Mainstage
Le Tour de France
Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center, New York, NY — 2/26/2025

Nicoletta Berry, soprano
Erin Wagner, mezzo-soprano
Daniel McGrew, tenor
Theo Hoffman, baritone
Bénédicte Jourdois, pianist
Steven Blier, pianist 

A musical voyage to the four corners of France from Brittany to the Riviera, ending with a deluxe stay in Paris. The program includes songs by Francis Poulenc, Joseph Canteloube, André Caplet, Gustav Mahler, Michel Legrand, Charles Trénet, and others.

NYFOS Mainstage/Emerging Artists
Beginner’s Luck
Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts – 3/17/2024
Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center, New York, NY — 3/19/2024
Caramoor’s 2024 Schwab Vocal Rising Stars:

Chea Kang, soprano
Kate Morton, mezzo-soprano
Reed Gnepper, tenor
Jamal Al Titi, baritone
Zoey Zhou, piano
Steven Blier, piano, co-director
Bénédicte Jourdois, piano, co-director

Beginner’s Luck takes a wide-angle view of early adulthood—an apt subject for a super-talented quintet of artists in their twenties.The music ranges through art song (Grieg and Fauré) to theater song (Gershwin and Jason Robert Brown) as it explores first loves, the thrill of leaving home, the early steps of a career in the arts, and the dizzying promise (and peril) of everything that life can bring.