Roots of Gypsy

les couleurs de l'Inde avec Sayari
danses & chants traditionnels
en grande premi��re Nord-Am��ricaine parrain��e par
Denis Bouchard, metteur en sc��ne &
DJ St��phane Cocke

Montr��al ��� eXcentris vous invite �� une s��rie de spectacles magiques et flamboyants avec la chanteuse indienne Sayari, ses musiciens et ses danseuses.

Sayari ��� Un destin gitan

Tout comme ses anc��tres gitans l'ont fait il y a mille ans, Sayari Sapera a quitt�� son village du d��sert pour un voyage qui lui fit faire le tour du monde. N��e sur la route pr��s de Samrau dans le Rajasthan, Sayari commence �� chanter �� l'��ge de 10 ans, donnant de nombreux spectacles, puis elle apprend la danse. Elle gravit les ��chelons un �� un, gagnant la reconnaissance et l'int��r��t du public, ce qui la m��ne dans une tourn��e mondiale qui dure plus de douze ans. De Paris �� Tokyo, en passant par New York et Stockholm, elle s'enrichit des exp��riences et rencontres sur les routes occidentales. Elle a voulu partager ses connaissances avec les siens et les aider �� suivre ses traces en revenant chez elle �� Udaipur, pour fonder Sayari ��� Roots of Gypsy.

Sayari ��� Roots of Gypsy

Les familles qui vivent �� l'��cole Sayari s'ouvrent au respect de leur art, �� sa transmission et �� la c��l��bration de leurs origines avec tout le professionnalisme que l'on conna��t aux artistes indiens. Ces artistes apprennent �� mettre en valeur la tradition, tout en composant de nouvelles pi��ces qui contribuent �� l'��volution de leur culture.

Le groupe de musiciens et les danseuses de Sayari ��� Roots of Gypsy font fureur partout au Moyen-Orient et en Europe, acclam��s par le pr��sident Sarkosy, le Cirque du Soleil �� Moscou et les palais de Duba��. Le qu��b��cois Philippe Tapp, professionnel du cirque et amoureux du Rajasthan, fait partie de la famille Sayari et nous pr��sente ces artistes et leur art vieux de mille ans en grande premi��re en Am��rique du Nord, dans la salle Fellini �� eXcentris.

Denis Bouchard, metteur en sc��ne, r��cemment en Inde lors d'une mission humanitaire, a fait la connaissance de Philippe, de Sayari et de leurs musiciens et danseuses par un heureux hasard : �� C'est comme revenir mille ans en arri��re, aux racines de la culture gitane, c'est le brut, le vrai, adroitement m��l�� au savoir-faire occidental en terme de performance sc��nique. C'est la survivance d'une culture dans toute sa splendeur, le folklore dans sa version la plus pure, crois�� au langage sc��nique moderne. ��

St��phane Cocke, DJ, m��lomane et photographe, a v��cu avec Sayari ��� Roots of Gypsy pendant plusieurs mois. Il en a tir�� un magnifique livre de photos, disponible �� eXcentris lors des spectacles. �� C'est la beaut�� pure et brute d'un art vieux d'au moins mille ans, qui a surv��cu par la transmission orale. C'est l'essence m��me de la musique, du chant et de la danse, c'est un bouleversement qui vous met des larmes dans les yeux. ��

3 soirs ��� 3 spectacles en 1
Les palais du Rajasthan

Musique semi-classique du nord de l'Inde aux textes romantiques r��v��lant l'amour et la d��votion d'une jeune femme pour Krishna. Le style musical est flexible et laisse place �� l'improvisation. Il refl��te un mixage entre les musiques classique et folklorique.

Les filles du Cobra

Danse de charmeurs de serpents et marchands de venin du d��sert, l'une des danses les plus sensuelles et les plus f��minines du Rajasthan. Les corps des danseuses tournent si rapidement, les mouvements sont si acrobatiques et le tempo si rapide qu'ils laissent les spectateurs �� bout de souffle. Vous serez conquis par la beaut�� de la voix de Sapera et par le charme des robes ��voquant l'oeil du cobra, qui transportent au c��ur du d��sert du Rajasthan.

Roots of Gypsy

Le c��ur du Rajasthan, de sa culture, de ses traditions, en musique, en chant et en danse. Toute la richesse de l'Inde, les racines de son th����tre de rue et de ses rythmes gipsy, ��nergisant, haut en couleur et en ��motions.

��blouissement, recueillement, magie, intensit��, v��rit��, d��paysement : tout ��a les 30 septembre, 1er et 2 octobre prochains, �� 19 h 30.

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the colours of India with
Sayari
dances & traditional music
in a major North American premiere sponsored by
director Denis Bouchard &
DJ St��phane Cocke

Montreal ��� eXcentris invites you to a series of magical and flamboyant concerts starring Indian singer Sayari, with her musicians and dancers.

Sayari ��� A gypsy destiny

As her gypsy ancestors did a thousand years ago, Sayari Sapera left her desert village for a journey that would take her around the world. Born on the road near Samrau in Rajasthan, Sayari first began singing and performing at the age of 10, and went on to learn dance. Working her way up step by step, she won public recognition that would take her on a world tour lasting over 12 years. From Paris to Tokyo, New York and Stockholm, she absorbed the experiences and encounters of her travels in the west. Determined to share her knowledge with her people and help them follow in her footsteps, she returned to Udaipur to found Sayari ��� Roots of Gypsy.

Sayari ��� Roots of Gypsy

The families living in the Sayari school respectfully address their art, communicating it and celebrating their roots with all the professionalism we've come to expect from Indian artists. They learn to showcase their tradition, while also composing new pieces that contribute to the evolution of their culture.

The musicians and dancers of Sayari ��� Roots of Gypsy have sparked a frenzy throughout the Middle East and Europe, winning acclaim from French president Sarkosy, the Cirque du Soleil in Moscow and in the palaces of Dubai. Quebecer Philippe Tapp, a circus professional in love with Rajasthan, is part of the Sayari family and hereby presents these artists and their ancient thousand-year-old art in a major North American premiere, in the Fellini room in eXcentris.

During a recent humanitarian mission in India, director Denis Bouchard met and got to know Philippe, Sayari and their musicians and dancers through a stroke of luck: "It's like traveling back a thousand years, to the roots of gypsy culture, the raw, real thing, skillfully fused with western know-how in terms of stagecraft. It's the survival of a culture in all its splendour, folklore in its purest incarnation, crossed with the modern techniques and language of the stage."

St��phane Cocke, DJ, music lover and photographer, lived with Sayari ��� Roots of Gypsy for several months. He produced a photo book from the experience, which will be available in eXcentris during the performances. "It's the pure, raw beauty of an art that's at least a thousand years old, one that has survived through word of mouth. It is the very essence of music, song and dance, a moving experience that brings tears to your eyes."

3 nights ��� 3 shows in 1
Les palais du Rajasthan

Semi-classical music from northern India featuring romantic lyrics revealing a young woman's love and devotion for Krishna. The musical style is flexible, leaving room for improvisation, in a mixture of classical and folkloric music.

Les filles du Cobra

The dance of snake-charmers and desert venom merchants, one of the most sensual and feminine dances in all of Rajasthan. The dancers' speedily-turning bodies, acrobatic moves and rapid tempo leave spectators breathless. The beauty of Sapera's voice and her charming cobra-eye dresses will win you over, transporting you to the heart of the Rajasthan desert.
Roots of Gypsy

The heart of Rajasthan ��� its culture and traditions ��� in music, song and dance. All the richness of India, the roots of its street theatre and gypsy rhythms, full of energy, colour and passion.

Dazzling, contemplative, magical, intense, genuine, transporting: all this and more, on September 30, October 1 and 2, at 7:30 p.m.

On December 19 the Amadeus Choir is joined by True North Brass in "Glorious Choir and Brass"

The acclaimed Amadeus Choir, conducted by Artistic Director Lydia Adams, presents its annual Christmas concert "Glorious Choir and Brass" featuring the Amadeus Choir's 23rd Annual Christmas Carol and Chanukah Song Writing Competition and special guests True North Brass, and the Bach Children's Chorus with its director Linda Beaupr��, on Saturday, December 19th, 7:30 p.m. in Yorkminster Park Baptist Church, 1585 Yonge Street, one block north of St. Clair, Toronto.

The Choir and Children���s Chorus will perform winning compositions from composers, known and unknown, who entered The Amadeus Choir's 23rd Annual Christmas Carol and Chanukah Song Writing Competition*. The Competition this year was open to composers in all categories. The winners have been notified, many of whom will be present at this concert to receive their prizes and hear their beautiful compositions in world premi��re performances by The Amadeus Choir and Bach Children's Chorus, accompanied by Eleanor Daley, piano and organ. Lydia Adams and her Amadeus Choir are committed to celebrating and promoting the vibrancy of emerging composers.

The distinctly Canadian flavour of the program features such joyful music as No��l Canadien, a suite of carols arranged by one of Canada���s foremost arrangers and national treasures, Howard Cable. The True North Brass will collaborate with the Amadeus Choir in a special arrangement of Canadian composer Jason Jestadt���s work Aagiuuk, which won the Judges��� Special Award in the 2007 Competition, professional adult category. Aagiuuk ��� from poetry collected among the Inuit of the Hudson Bay region in Knud Rasmssen���s Report of the Fifth Thule Expedition, 1921-24.

The beautiful young voices of The Bach Children's Chorus conducted by Linda Beaupr�� will delight the audience singing favourite Christmas carols and songs.

This festive concert includes traditional Christmas carols, and the audience will join the Amadeus Choir, True North Brass and Bach Children's Chorus in heart-felt sing-alongs under the enthusiastic baton of Lydia Adams.

Tickets: General Seating. $35.
Student Rush Seats: $10 (at the door only)
To purchase tickets in advance, call the Amadeus Choir: 416-446-0188.
Visit the Choir's web site: www.amadeuschoir.com

*In 1987, conductor Lydia Adams created this unique Competition which has grown to include submissions from around the world. It serves as an inspiration to composers of all ages and experience to write new carols and songs, thus enriching Canada���s outstanding choral tradition and infusing the Canadian choral repertoire with several new works each year.

The Amadeus Choir gratefully acknowledges the continuing support received from the Toronto Arts Council, Ontario Arts Council and Canada Council for the Arts as well as BDO Dunwoody, the John McKellar Charitable Foundation and the Julie-Jiggs Foundation.

The Collegiate Chorale Announces the Appointment of �ĮNew Music Director �ĮJames Bagwell

"It is a privilege and honor for me to be the new Music Director of The Collegiate Chorale. This chorus, under the dynamic leadership of Robert Bass and the past legacies of Robert Shaw, Abraham Kaplan and Richard Westenburg, is a strong artistic presence in New York and the nation at large. I am thrilled to become a part of this innovative and ground-breaking cultural institution," said James Bagwell.

"James Bagwell brings a wealth of choral experience and a profound knowledge of the vocal repertoire to The Collegiate Chorale. He will be a visionary leader, a champion of the organization's mission to present exciting vocal music of the highest artistic standard. From an intensive eight-month search, the board, staff and singers reached complete consensus that James' musicianship and magnetism will lead us toward a brilliant next phase in The Chorale's artistic life," said George J. Grumbach, Jr., Co-Chairman of the Board of Directors of The Collegiate Chorale.

James Bagwell maintains an active schedule throughout the United States as a conductor of choral, operatic, and orchestral music. He has recently been named Principal Guest Conductor of the American Symphony Orchestra in New York. Since 2003 he has been Director of Choruses for the Bard Music Festival, conducting and preparing choral works during the summer festival at the Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College. He has also prepared The Concert Chorale of New York for performances with the American Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Mostly Mozart Festival (broadcast nationally in 2006 on Live from Lincoln Center) all in Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. In 2005 he was named Music Director of The Dessoff Choirs in New York, who under his leadership have made numerous appearances at Carnegie Hall in addition to their regular season. In 2009 the Dessoff Symphonic Choir appeared with the New York Philharmonic performing both Mahler's Eighth Symphony and Britten's War Requiem for Lorin Maazel's final concerts as Music Director.

James Bagwell has trained choruses for a number of major American and International orchestras, including the San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, NHK Symphony (Japan), St. Petersburg Symphony, The American Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. He has worked with noted conductors such as Lorin Maazel, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Michael Tilson Thomas, Louis Langr��e, Leon Botstein, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Raymond Leppard, James Conlon, Jes��s L��pez-Cobos, Erich Kunzel, Leon Fleischer, and Robert Shaw.

For eleven seasons, he has been Music Director for the May Festival Youth Choir in Cincinnati, which was recently featured on the radio program From the Top. He has conducted some 25 productions as Music Director of Light Opera Oklahoma, including Candide, Sweeney Todd, and The Merry Widow, among others. At Bard SummerScape he has led numerous theatrical works, most notably The Tender Land, which received unanimous praise from The New York Times, The New Yorker, and Opera News. He frequently appears as guest conductor for orchestras around the country and abroad, including the Jerusalem Symphony, Tulsa Symphony, and the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra. For three seasons he was Artistic Director of The Indianapolis Symphonic Choir. He holds degrees from Birmingham-Southern College, Florida State University, and Indiana University. He has taught since 2000 at Bard College, where he is Director of the Music Program.

The Collegiate Chorale, among New York's foremost vocal ensembles, has added to the richness of the city's cultural fabric for more than 65 years. Founded in 1941 by the legendary conductor Robert Shaw, The Chorale achieved national and international prominence under the leadership of Robert Bass. The Chorale has established a preeminent reputation for its interpretations of the traditional choral repertoire, vocal works by American composers, and rarely heard operas-in-concert, as well as commissions and premieres of new works by today's most exciting creative artists. In the Summer of 2009, The Chorale performed for the fourth season at Switzerland's Verbier Music Festival. In July 2008, The Chorale toured with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under Zubin Mehta in Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Jerusalem.

The mission of The Collegiate Chorale is to enrich its audiences through innovative programming and exceptional performances of a broad range of vocal music featuring a premier choral ensemble. Inherent in its mission is The Chorale's belief that choral music is a compelling collaboration that creates a powerful, shared experience unifying listeners and musicians of all backgrounds, beliefs and ages.

For more information, visit www.collegiatechorale.org.

Danielle de Niese celebrates the release of The Mozart Album

Danielle de Niese celebrates the release of
The Mozart Album
with appearances at
Vogue���s Fashion���s Night Out and (le) Poisson Rouge

"De Niese has a voice made for Mozart: bright, beautiful, agile and creamy." National Public Radio

New York, NY ��� On September 8th, 2009, Decca releases The Mozart Album, the hotly anticipated second solo recording from soprano Danielle de Niese. To celebrate the release, Danielle de Niese will be making two special appearances in New York City where she is in town to perform at the Metropolitan Opera as Susanna in Mozart���s Le Nozze di Figaro from September 22nd-October 9th. On September 10th, Van Cleef & Arpels will welcome Danielle de Niese to perform in their showroom as part of Vogue magazine���s Fashion���s Night Out, a global celebration of fashion with special events happening at designer showrooms throughout the city. On October 6th, Danielle de Niese will make a rare appearance off the opera stage at (le) Poisson Rouge in New York���s Greenwich Village to perform selections from The Mozart Album together with pianist Cameron Stowe.

An Australian���born American soprano of Dutch and Sri Lankan heritage, the exotically beautiful de Niese has been captivating audiences since childhood, when she was a fixture of Los Angeles local television hosting a weekly arts showcase for teenagers, for which she won an Emmy Award. De Niese was just 18 when she was accepted as the youngest artist ever into the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program of the Metropolitan Opera. She made her Met debut as Barbarina in Le nozze di Figaro, alongside Ren��e Fleming, Bryn Terfel, and Cecilia Bartoli and led by James Levine. On September 22nd of this year, de Niese returns to the Met to perform the leading role of Susanna in the same Jonathan Miller production of Le Nozze di Figaro in which she made her debut over a decade ago.

From the age of 19, when Danielle de Niese made that auspicious Metropolitan Opera debut it was clear that she was destined to be a major Mozart singer, given her extraordinary ability to communicate emotion through her beautiful crystalline voice, personal charisma, star quality and the irresistible force of her personality. So Mozart is a natural next step for de Niese in her recording career following up on her chart-topping debut album of Handel arias released in 2007. The selections on The Mozart Album reflect her career on stage, as well as her own favorite Mozart arias. De Niese was honored to work with Sir Charles Mackerras, a world authority on Mozart, who leads the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.

In addition to her engagement with the Metropolitan Opera, the 2009-10 season sees Danielle de Niese performing as Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro with Lyric Opera of Chicago under the direction of Edward Gardner. She also sings the title roles in both L���incoronazione di Poppea with the Teatro Real and Semele with Th����tre des Champs Elys��es. Additionally, Ms. de Niese will tour Europe with the period instrument group Il giardino armonico with an all Handel program with performances in Amsterdam, Vienna, Berlin and Madrid.

Visit Danielle de Niese on her website at www.danielledeniese.com and join her more than 1000 friends at www.myspace.com/danielledeniese.

Danielle de Niese at Vogue���s Fashion���s Night Out
WHEN: Thursday, September 10th at 7:45 pm
WHERE: Van Cleef & Arpels 744 Fifth Avenue at 57th Street
Open to the Public
www.vancleef-arpels.com

Danielle de Niese performs at (le) Poisson Rouge
WHERE: Le Poisson Rouge
158 Bleecker Street, between Thompson & Sullivan, NYC 10012
WHEN: Tuesday, October 6th at 7:30 pm
TICKETS: $15
Phone: 212 505 FISH (3474)
Ticket Hotline: 866 55 TICKETS
Website: www.lprnyc.com

Edith Wiens Voice Masterclasses

Order of Canada soprano presents masterclasses at Faculty of Music

TORONTO ��� The Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto presents renowned soprano Edith Wiens in masterclasses with students of voice and opera. On Monday, March 23 and Tuesday, March 24, the soprano will coach students singing opera, oratorio, and Lieder repertoire. Other stops on Wiens' 2009 teaching tour include masterclasses at Juilliard and the Royal College of Music in London.

*Edith Wiens was born in Saskatoon and educated at Oberlin, making her debut with the Berlin Philharmonic in 1981. As a soprano in the concert field, Wiens has performed with such conductors as Daniel Barenboim, Colin Davis, Charles Dutoit, Sir Neville Marriner, and Sir Georg Solti, and appeared at many major music festivals. She has sung with many major London and North American orchestras, as well as the Israeli Philharmonic, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Munich Philharmonic, and the Dresden State Orchestra. In Canada Wiens has sung with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony, the Calgary Philharmonic, the CBC Vancouver Orchestra, and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.

Highlights of Wiens' busy recording career include Bach cantatas and the St. Matthew Passion with conductor Helmuth Rilling, multiple recordings of Mozart's Mass in C Minor, numerous discs of German song, and the album Ae Fond Kiss with CBC Records.

In recital, Wiens favoured works by Brahms, Schubert, Schumann, and Strauss, but her repertoire extended to Gershwin, Stephen Foster, and North American folksongs. She made her Toronto recital debut in 1994, a year in which she also gave masterclasses at the University of Toronto. She was inducted into the Order of Canada in 2000.

Monday, March 23, 12:10 pm, Walter Hall, and
Tuesday, March 24, 12:10 - 2:30pm, Geiger Torel Room
Edward Johnson Building, University of Toronto, 80 Queens Park. Free admission.

*with materials from www.edithwiens.com and the Encyclopedia of Music in Canada

Faculty of Music presents Darryl Edwards voice recital

Faculty of Music presents Darryl Edwards in recital

TORONTO ��� The University of Toronto Faculty of Music presents Earth, Water, Wind and Fire, a vocal recital featuring faculty artists Darryl Edwards, tenor, with Liz Upchurch, piano, Friday, March 20, 7:30 pm, in Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building, 80 Queens Park. Tickets ($25 adults and $15 seniors/students) can be purchased at the box office in person or by calling 416-978-3744.

This is the final concert in the Faculty Artist Series, featuring tenor Darryl Edwards and pianist Liz Upchurch in a widely varied program showcasing art song, Shakespeare songs with lutenist John Edwards, and a dramatic cantata with mezzo-soprano Erin Crooks. Operatic selections round out the program, from Mozart's Idomeneo to Toronto composer Raymond Luedeke's I Confess, I Have Lived, based on the stormy poetry of Nobel winner Pablo Neruda. Each selection portrays vivid human emotions ��� fear, love, longing for home ��� experienced and described in terms of the visceral, concrete world around us, made of earth, water, wind and fire.

Tenor DARRYL EDWARDS has appeared to critical acclaim in oratorio, recital, and opera in England, Germany, France, Italy, Corsica, the United States, and across Canada. His recent and upcoming engagements include Kod��ly's Psalmus Hungaricus with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, the Verdi Requiem at Dalhousie University: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Orff's Carmina Burana with the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, Mozart Requiem with the Toronto Philharmonia, and Handel's Messiah with the Elmer Iseler Singers.

Darryl Edwards is the Artistic Director of the Centre for Opera in Sulmona, Italy, and the Concert Opera Group. His voice students appear with major companies and orchestras across Canada, the United States and Europe (Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera Covent Garden, New York City Opera, Philadelphia Opera, San Francisco Opera, Washington National Opera, Bavarian State Opera��� Munich, Zurich Opera, Chicago Lyric Opera, Chicago Opera Theatre, Greek National Opera, and the Canadian Opera Company). He has served as the Ontario District Governor of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, and is the voice columnist for the Canadian Music Educator.

Critics praise him as a "rich-voiced, cultured tenor who mastered the high notes effortlessly" (Coburg Tageblatt, Germany), and an "effective communicator who expressed the text with sensitivity and fervour" (Hamilton Spectator). His recordings and broadcasts include performances with American National Public Radio (NPR), the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC Radio 2), and the Canadian Music Centre (Centrediscs).

LIZ UPCHURCH is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music in London, England, where she won several prizes as solo pianist and accompanist. As a music director, vocal coach and repetiteur she has worked in 21st-century and traditional opera, music theatre and theatre. She has also covered a wide range of working techniques with singers, actors and instrumentalists in community and educational projects. For many years she worked with young artists at the Britten-Pears School in Aldeburgh where she played for masterclasses with artists such as Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Suzanne Danco, William Pleeth and Dame Joan Sutherland. Ms Upchurch has also worked at the Kammeroper Schloss Rheinsberg festival in Germany and the National Theatre in London. She held a faculty position in the 20th-century Opera and Song program at the Banff Centre for the Arts and was repetiteur and chorus director at Edmonton Opera. As a pianist she has performed all over Europe and has been broadcast with the BBC, Norwegian Radio and the CBC. Ms Upchurch also appeared as a judge on Bravo���s hit series, Bathroom Divas: So you want to be an opera singer!

Featuring music faculty members, the FACULTY ARTIST SERIES has a long tradition of presenting some of Canada���s most celebrated artists and is considered one of the finest recital series in Toronto. For more information on this or other Faculty of Music concert series, please visit our website at http://www.music.utoronto.ca/ or contact the Box Office at 416-978-3744.

Shannon Mercer & Skye Consort - Wales, The Land of Song - AN2 9965

Montreal, February 24, 2009 ��� Shannon Mercer, one of Canada's most promising brilliant rising stars, featured recently on the Analekta recording Bach and the Liturgical Year, nominated for a Juno, invites us to discover the Welsh folksong repertoire with the Skye Consort.

To those who know the singer as a classical vocalist, this album may seem odd but this is the culture that shaped her path in life. "This music, this Welsh culture and heritage is the reason I became a singer," she explains. "My father always showed a passion and love for music. He discovered the Ottawa Welsh Society and began to sing with the Gwalia Singers. As a girl, I was able to carry on this inherited tradition when, at the age of 15, I travelled to Llangollen, Wales to sing in the prestigious Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod."

The folksongs presented on this recording, a mix of familiar and not-so-familiar, date back to the 1800s. They transcend time and gender, melding themes of innocent youth and love, joy and sadness, birth and death and tell the journey of an honest and passionate people. Love is a common theme ��� as in Y Deryn Pur, Fenyw Fwyn or the famous Welsh lullaby Suo G��n���as memory, as in the old maid who is tediously weaving on the loom as she recalls her hardships in Y G��ydd or the tragic and haunting Dafydd y Gareg Wen. Many of these songs, whether song melodies or dance tunes, are very well-known and Se��n Dagher spent a great deal of time deciding which elements of previous arrangements (harmony, counter-melody, even rhythm) to keep and which to set aside.

Critically acclaimed by the international press for her musical artistry, Shannon Mercer has been hailed as "one of Canada's most promising young sopranos" and a "Leader of Tomorrow" (Maclean's). The 2008-2009 season features Shannon in multiple productions of The Magic Flute including performances in Hamilton, Toronto, Victoria, and London (Ontario). Season highlights include concerts with the OffCentre Series in Toronto, the Vancouver Chamber Choir, Symphony Nova Scotia, and Les Violons du Roy.

Skye Consort was formed in 1999 and since then has toured and participated in music festivals and concert series across eastern Canada and the United States. The group's goal is to bring art-music aesthetic and interest to the music of different world traditions.

www.analekta.com

Canadian powerhouse quartet joins the ESO for one night only - May 4

The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra presents vocal sensations and powerhouse quartet The Canadian Tenors

One Night Only!

Monday, May 4, 2009 ��� 7:30 pm

Edmonton, AB �Ķ The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (ESO) is thrilled to present one of Canada���s national treasures, The Canadian Tenors, live on-stage, for one night only! Having captivated audiences from coast to coast, and around the world, now is your opportunity to experience the incredibly powerful vocals, undeniable charm and dazzling blend of crowd-pleasing repertoire that will take your breath away. It will be a concert event unlike any other, featuring an eclectic mix of classical and contemporary pop ballads and operatic arias, performed in English, French, Spanish and Italian.

Tickets are on sale now! Ticket prices range from $20 - $65 (agency fees apply) and are available by calling the Winspear Centre Box Office at (780) 428-1414.

Feb 13 Choral Concert - Vox Femina

Faculty of Music Choral Concert Celebrates Music for Female Voices

TORONTO ��� On Friday, February 13, 2009, the University of Toronto Women���s Chorus is joined by guest choir, the University of Guelph Chamber Choir, in Vox Femina, a concert featuring music for female voices spanning 500 years. Conducted by Robert Cooper C.M. and Marta McCarthy, the program includes music by Palestrina, John Tavener, Francis Poulenc, Pavel Chesnokov, Eric Whitacre, Brahms, Duke Ellington and folksong arrangements. The concert takes place at 7:30 pm in Christ Church Deer Park, 1570 Yonge Street (NW corner of Yonge & Heath). Tickets ($14 adults, $8 students/seniors) can be purchased at the Faculty of Music box office in person or by calling 416-978-3744 and are also available at the door on performance night.

One of Canada���s foremost choral conductors, Robert Cooper C.M. is currently Artistic Director of Chorus Niagara, Orpheus Choir of Toronto, the Opera in Concert Chorus, and the University Women���s Chorus, University of Toronto, Faculty of Music. Mr. Cooper has had the honor of conducting the National Youth Choir of Canada and made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1997 for a Celebration of Canadian Choral Music. He has conducted symphony orchestras in Halifax, Winnipeg, Edmonton and London (ON), opera companies in Victoria, Ottawa and Winnipeg, leading choirs across Canada, as well as Toronto Operetta Theatre and Opera in Concert. Acknowledged as an innovative programmer, Mr. Cooper has also commissioned and premiered many new works by both Canadian and international composers. Mr. Cooper has adjudicated the international choral competition Let The Peoples Sing on many occasions, guest conducted Newfoundland���s Festival 500, Parry Sound���s Festival of the Sound, the 2007 Ontario Youth Choir, and Ottawa���s Thirteen Strings to which he returns once again in December 2008 to conduct works by Haydn and Britten. In addition to his work as a popular clinician, Mr. Cooper will conduct Toronto Operetta Theatre���s spring production of Iolanthe. Mr. Cooper recently left CBC Radio Two after 31 years of bringing fine choral music and operatic performances to all of Canada as Executive Producer of Opera and Choral Music. He has served as President of the Ontario Choral Federation and the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors and presently serves on the Board of Directors of Chorus America. Robert Cooper is the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate from Brock University for his significant contribution to the Canadian choral community and is a member of the Order of Canada.

Dr. Marta McCarthy, conductor, is an Assistant Professor at the University of Guelph, where she has been directing the choirs and teaching musicianship for thirteen years. She also conducted the University of Waterloo Choir, and taught choral techniques at Wilfrid Laurier University and at the University of Toronto. Marta is a graduate of Westminster Choir College of Princeton (M.Mus), the Royal Conservatory of Music (ARCT, piano performance) and of the University of Toronto (B.Mus, B.Ed., Ph.D.). Recent honours include the 1999 Elmer Iseler Conducting Fellowship, an Ontario Volunteer Service Award, and being named a member of the June Callwood Circle of Caring. In 2005, she was awarded the Guelph Woman of Distinction for Arts & Culture.

Part of Canada���s top university, the University of Toronto Faculty of Music has an illustrious history as one of North America���s leading centres for the scholarly and professional study of music, offering a rich array of degree and diploma programs from the undergraduate to post-graduate levels. The Faculty of Music presents an annual concert season of over 100 public events. Highlights of the 2008-09 season include cellists Steven Isserlis and Shauna Rolston, baritone Sherrill Milnes, composer Maria Schneider, conductors David Briskin and Miah Im, jazz great Phil Nimmons, the Mir��, and St. Lawrence String Quartets, the Gryphon Trio and Nexus. For more information, please visit our website at www.music.utoronto.ca or contact the Box Office at 416-978-3744.

The Faculty of Music 2008-2009 concert season is made possible by the generous support of our pillar sponsors: Manulife Financial, MBNA Canada, and TD Meloche Monnex Insurance.


Ticket sales and general inquiries:
Faculty of Music Box Office
Hours: 1 ��� 7 pm, Monday to Friday, with extended hours on performance nights.
Phone: 416-978-3744
Address: Lobby level, Edward Johnson Building, 80 Queen���s Park, Toronto ON M5S 2C5

Classics: Elmer Iseler Singers

CLASSICS

Friday, February 13, 2009

Glenn Gould Studio - Toronto (7:00 P.M.)

The Elmer Iseler Singers continue their 30^th anniversary celebrations with a splendid concert entitled CLASSICS. Lydia Adams, who also celebrates her 10^th anniversary as Artistic Director and Conductor, has designed a programme which highlights the ensemble���s ���pure mastery and virtuosity��� through J. S. Bach���s rousing Motet BWV 230, Lobet den Herrn and Lutheran Mass #4. The evening also includes the serene Responsorium in Memoriam Annon Lee Silver by British composer John Tavener and Arvo P��rt���s beautiful Berliner Messe. The EIS share the stage with a hand-picked chamber orchestra led by concertmaster Jacques Israelievitch, with the participation of organist Christopher Dawes at Toronto���s Glenn Gould Studio on Friday, February 13, 2009 at 7:00 P.M.

Lobet den Herrn (Sing to the Lord a New Song) is one J. S. Bach���s famous and beloved six motets. The text comes from the Bible (Psalm 117). His Lutheran Mass #4 (Mass BWV 236 in G major) is one of four Lutheran Masses, which were the standard type of Mass composition to be performed in the Lutheran worship service in Leipzig on high feasts of the church year. Celebrated composer John Tavener (born in 1944), who has been closely linked with religious music, is much admired throughout the world. His best-known (or at least most widely heard) piece is the 'Alleluia' sung at the close of the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales. Responsorium in Memoriam Annon Lee Silver, composed in 1971, is one of Tavener���s most profound memorial works. Born in 1935 in Estonia, Arvo P��rt is recognized worldwide as one of today���s most significant composers. He has written a succession of magnificent sacred choral works. The Berliner Messe (or Berlin Mass) uses P��rt's tintinnabuli technique (from the Latin, little bells), while at the same time following in form standard mass settings.

This concert will be recorded for future broadcast on 94.1 F.M. CBC Radio Two, Choral Concert, hosted by Peter Togni.

���The Iseler Singers demonstrated at the top of the show just why they are one of the world's great chamber choirs. They sing with a single intent. Their tone is luminous, thrillingly tuned, blended into bloom like the colour of a hybrid rose.��� - Stephen Pedersen (Chronicle Herald)

CLASSICS

The Elmer Iseler Singers, Lydia Adams ��� conductor

With Orchestra - Jacques Israelievitch, Concert Master; Christopher Dawes, Organist

Friday, February 13, 2009 at 7:00 pm

Glenn Gould Studio ��� 250 Front Street West, Toronto

For tickets (Reg. $40/ Sen. $35/ Students $10) please call 416-217-0537

Group rates available.

http://www.elmeriselersingers.com/

Valentines Day concert and workshop with SHEILA JORDAN

Girls Night Out Jazz and Art of Jazz Present

SHEILA JORDAN CONCERT & WORKSHOP

Tickets on sale through TicketWeb online www.ticketweb.ca
or by phone 1-888-222-6608 as of January 15, 2009 .

Lisa Particelli's Girls Night Out jazz is launching a NEW vocal jazz event format to mark its fourth anniversary. The series begins with very special Valentine���s Day concert featuring Vocal Jazz Legend Sheila Jordan at Chalkers Pub on February 14, 2009. Ms Jordan will also provide an intensive vocal workshop on February 15, 2009 at the Art of Jazz Studio at the Distillery Historic District.

February 14, 2009: Valentines Day concert with SHEILA JORDAN
Vocal jazz treasure Sheila Jordan returns to Toronto to perform an intimate Valentines Day concert. Sheila Jordan will be joined by Toronto jazz virtuosi, Dave Restivo on piano and Don Thompson on bass at Chalkers Pub. Seating is limited and reserved for ticketholders.

Critically acclaimed for her improvisational prowess as well as a deep emotional connection with her eclectic material, this 80 old shows no signs of slowing down. She maintains a busy schedule as a performer, recording artist, educator and jazz ambassador. Her latest release on the Canadian Justin Time record label titled Winter Sunshine was captured live at Montreal���s Upstairs jazz club on Valentine���s Day just last year.

Miss Jordan is a recent recipient of numerous prestigious awards, including the Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs Lifetime Achievement Award (2006), the International Association of Jazz Educators Humanitarian Award (2007) and the Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz for Lifetime of Service Award (2008).

There will be two seatings for this concert at Chalkers Pub, 247 Marlee Avenue,
North York on Sat, Feb 14, 2009:
�� First show: doors open at 2:00pm. Showtime 2:30-4:00pm
�� Second show: doors open at 6:00pm. Showtime 6:30-8:00pm.

February 15, 2009 from 1-5 pm: INTENSIVE VOCAL JAZZ WORKSHOP WITH SHEILA JORDAN
Art of Jazz and Girls Night Out jazz are thrilled to have Sheila Jordan conduct a 4 hour, in depth workshop in Toronto's Distillery Historic District. The workshop will be held at the Art of Jazz Studio, Toronto. Doors open at 12:30 pm and the workshop runs from 1:00-5:00pm.

Ms. Jordan���s workshops typically explore the art of improvisation, vocal technique, methods of practice, repertoire choices and proper lead sheets. Pianist Dave Restivo will accompany Ms. Jordan. A limited number of participants will have the opportunity to perform and receive Ms. Jordan���s feedback on their singing while those seated in the audience learn by observation.

Ms. Jordan is a much sought-after jazz educator who has mentored thousands of students over the past 30 years. She began teaching in 1978 (NYC), is a current faculty member of "Jazz in July" at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a visiting professor at Stanford University.

She has also been a featured teacher and performer at the annual Art of Jazz Celebration. Thanks to her extensive knowledge of the jazz idiom, many years��� experience as a performer and a personality that can be described as gracious, selfless and sensitive, Sheila is an ideal teacher for aspiring jazz singers of all levels.

Tickets go on sale at www.ticketweb.ca on Thurs, Jan 15, 2009 or by calling Ticketweb at 1.888.222.6608

Concert ticket price: *$25 each per show in advance or *$35 at the door.
Workshop ticket price: *$60 for participants and *$30 for audience seating.
Please note that participant tickets for the workshop are limited.

* ticket prices listed above do not include applicable service charges

For the Young at Heart: Talisker Players

When We Were Young

Stories, rhymes and word-play for the young at heart

Tuesday, February 10, 2009, at 8 pm

Wednesday, February 11, 2009, at 8 pm

Trinity St. Paul���s Centre

For Immediate Release ��� Toronto, January 12, 2009: Toronto���s Talisker Players return to Trinity St. Paul���s Centre on Tuesday & Wednesday, February 10 and 11 with When We Were Young. A sure cure for the February blues, this is an evening of rhymes and word-play for the young at heart, set to music by composers with a sense of humour... Soprano Xin Wang and tenor James McLennan, both rising stars on the vocal scene, are the guest artists joining the instrumentalists of Talisker Players.

The programme features the magical setting of seven fantastical poems by Federico Garc��a Lorca, Federico's Little Songs for Children by George Crumb. This tour de force for soprano, accompanied by harp, and every member of the flute family (flute, piccolo, alto flute, and bass flute) is one of the great works of the 20th-century vocal repertoire.

Talisker Players always take pride in featuring Canadian composers. When We Were Young includes Palm Court Songs of the Bubble Ring by John Greer. This setting of Dennis Lee poems for tenor with cello, clarinet and piano was commissioned by the late Greta Kraus as part of her Toronto Arts Award in 1991. Where the Geese Go Barefoot by Stephen Brown is a set of humourous rhymes and tongue twisters, for soprano with clarinet, viola and guitar. And Renovated Rhymes by Elizabeth Raum is a setting of nursery rhymes, all 'renovated' by the poet John Hicks to end in an ironic twist, for tenor with violin and piano.

What's for Supper? by the inventive American composer Zae Munn rounds out the entertaining programme. The piece is a set of four songs, for soprano with clarinet and piano, originally written for children (text by Peg Lauber, with references to Winnie the Pooh, the Cat in the Hat and other characters in children's literature) to teach them about contemporary art music. But its wit and charm have made it equally popular with adult audiences.

As always, this Talisker Players production includes the spoken word. Readings will be from The World of Pooh by A.A. Milne, offering gentle comments on the foibles of humanity, with the wisdom of innocence and simplicity.

A native of China, Canadian soprano Xin Wang studied music in Winnipeg and Toronto where she is now based. She has distinguished herself as an acclaimed performer of contemporary music, having worked with Canadian and international composers. Most recently she won rave reviews for her performance as the lead (an aged elephant) in the premiere of Sanctuary Song by Abigail Richardson (as part Toronto���s Luminato Festival) and appeared as soloist in the world premiere of Pimooteewin, the first Cree opera by composer Melissa Hui. Xin Wang made her Covent Garden debut (London, U.K.) with the role of Sally in the European premiere of the Queen of Puddings production of Ana Sokolovic's The Midnight Court. She also recently premiered works by Christopher Butterfield and Jacques Bank at Toronto's Music Gallery.

Acclaimed for his "sweet lyric voice" (Opera Canada) and his "emotional intensity" (Opera News), James McLennan is winning praise for his compelling performances in repertoire ranging from Bach to contemporary works. He is recognized on opera stages across the country as a performer of great range and diversity. Hailed as the "ideal Candide" in the title role of Candide with Toronto Operetta Theatre, McLennan appeared in the premiere production of Filumena at the Banff Centre, and in R. Murray Schafer's monumental outdoor opera The Palace of the Cinnabar Phoenix. He has appeared in several productions with Calgary Opera, as well as with Vancouver Opera, Pacific Opera Victoria, Saskatoon Opera, Tapestry New Opera, and Opera Atelier. Engagements this season include the complex role of Antoine Tassy in Opera in Concert's world premiere of Kamouraska by Charles Wilson, Triquet in Eugene Onegin and the Fourth Jew in Salome with Vancouver Opera, as well as Adam in The Bird Seller with Toronto Operetta Theatre.

When We Were Young

Tuesday & Wednesday, February 10 & 11, 2009, 8 PM

Trinity St. Paul's Centre, 427 Bloor Street West

Xin Wang, soprano; James McLennan, tenor

The Talisker Players with Peter Longworth, piano

Stories, rhymes and word-play for the young at heart

Music for voice with strings, winds and piano

by George Crumb, Elizabeth Raum, Stephen Brown, John Greet and Zae Munn

TICKET INFORMATION

Individual tickets: $30 / $20 (seniors) / $10 (students)

Tel: 416-504-7529

Email: words.music@taliskerplayers.ca

www.taliskerplayers.ca

Giorgia Fumanti on NBC

After singing at the Beijing Olympics Giorgia Fumanti will perform live on NBC on the Red Carpet in New York City and in Nanning, China

Montreal, October 9, 2008 ��� Following her triumph last August in Beijing, where she performed at the Beijing Olympics for CCTV, Italian-born soprano Giorgia Fumanti has been invited to return to China to perform, on October 22^nd, at the Nanning International Folk Song Art Festival in Nanning City, the capital of south China���s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. China���s national network, CCTV, will be broadcasting the event live for millions of television viewers.

But before heading off to China, Giorgia Fumanti will perform on Monday, October 13^th at 12h45 on the Red Carpet (5^th Avenue, between 68^th and 69^th Street) during the 2008 Columbus Day Parade in New York City, the largest celebration of Italian and Italian-American heritage and culture in the world. This event will be broadcasted live on NBC from 12h00 to 15h00 anchored by NBC Producer, anchor and financial reporter Maria Bartiromo and entertainer Joe Piscopo. This event will also be broadcasted by RAI and RAI International. Giorgia Fumanti will be among the many celebrities that will attend the Columbus Celebration Gala Dinner at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel on Saturday, October 11^th.

Ms Fumanti has already been performing on the world���s greatest stages and is now being regularly invited to take part in some of the most prestigious musical events this planet has to offer to promote her debut EMI CD From My Heart. Following her tour with Jos�� Carreras in Asia and London, he quoted ���with such a voice I am sure you have a great career in front of you���. Giorgia had also the privilege to perform with Lang Lang who said ���she is an amazing singer and one of the best voices in the world���. She recently also performed with Mario Frangoulis, Lucio Dalla, Zucchero, Justin Hayward (Moody Blues), Patrizio Buanne and more.

Wherever she appears around the world, Giorgia Fumanti invariably enthrals audiences with her charismatic vocal performances and heart-stopping simplicity.

www.myspace.com/giorgiafumanti www.giorgiafumanti.com

The ESO Welcomes Back Finnish Vocal Sensations Rajaton for a Tribute to Queen!

The Music of Queen with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra & Rajaton

Tuesday, October 14, 2008- 7:30pm

Edmonton, AB �Ķ The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (ESO) is pleased to welcome back Finnish vocal sensation Rajaton. After dazzling their audience at their Winspear Centre debut in April, 2005, the Finnish a cappella group joined the ESO on June 10^th, 2008 for an exciting salute to ABBA. Fresh off the heels of that triumph, Rajaton returns to rock the ESO stage for another salute - this time, the towering power pop of Queen on Tuesday, October 14^th.

Edmonton audiences will be dancing in the aisles at the North American premiere of this Tribute performance. Rajaton will be performing classic Queen hits such as We Will Rock You, Somebody to Love, Another One Bites the Dust and many more.

Rajaton consists of Essi Wuorela (soprano), Virpi Moskari (soprano), Soila Sariola (alto), Jussi Chydenius (bass), Hannu Lepola (tenor), and Ahti Paunu (baritone). The group struck gold with their first-ever album with accompaniment - Rajaton sings ABBA, recorded with the Lahti Symphony. The album sold platinum in Finland, and has become a worldwide cult hit. Joining Rajaton and the ESO will be conductor Jaakko Kuusisto.

Tickets for this performance range from $36 to $53 (agency fees apply). Tickets are available through the Winspear Centre Box Office.

Media Sponsor: The Bear 100.3 FM

Bernstein Opens NY Festival Of Song 9/23

NEW YORK FESTIVAL OF SONG 2008-2009, 21st SEASON
OPENS SEPTEMBER 23 IN NYC WITH A BERNSTEIN / BOLCOM CELEBRATION

NEW YORK CONCERTS AT MERKIN CONCERT HALL, WEILL RECITAL HALL, THE JUILLIARD SCHOOL

SASHA COOKE, JOAN MORRIS AND WILLIAM BOLCOM, KATE LINDSEY,
JOSEPH KAISER, DINA KUZNETSOVA, RINAT SHAHAM AMONG GUEST ARTISTS

NATIONALLY: TOURING TO KENNEDY CENTER, CARAMOOR FESTIVAL, CONNECTICUT, MARYLAND, MASSACHUSETTS, UTAH

BRIDGE RECORDS CD OF BASTIANELLO / LUCREZIA SCHEDULED FOR DECEMBER RELEASE

New York Festival Of Song (NYFOS, www.nyfos.org), co-founded and directed by pianists Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, who "reinvented the song recital during the 1990's with daring and dramatic programming" (The New Yorker), announces its 21st season (2008-2009).

The company's New York City concerts begin on September 23 at the newly renovated Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center, with A Bernstein / Bolcom Celebration. The concert pays tribute to two of NYFOS's guiding lights, Leonard Bernstein and William Bolcom; Bolcom and his wife, mezzo-soprano Joan Morris, will cap the evening with a selection of songs from their vast repertoire. The program also celebrates the ninetieth birthday of NYFOS's Founding Advisor, Leonard Bernstein, who bestowed the American premiere of his last work, Arias and Barcarolles, to the newly-formed company. Their subsequent recording of the work in 1989, with Judy Kaye and William Sharp, earned the composer a posthumous Grammy Award for Best New Composition.

Other concert programs this year include Fugitives (Nov. 18 and 20), works by composers who fled Europe during Hitler's rise to power; Voices of the Jewish Diaspora (Feb. 10 and 12), songs in many languages from the worldwide Jewish community; Songs of the Irish Poets, scheduled for St. Patrick's Day, featuring the lyricism of the Emerald Isle's greatest writers set to music by Beethoven, Britten and others; and The Welcome Shore (May 19 and 21), songs of rivers and oceans, by composers ranging from Brahms to No��l Coward. Special events include Latin Lovers (January 14), the fourth annual NYFOS@Juilliard concert. The collaboration between NYFOS and The Juilliard School's Vocal Arts Department celebrates the students' creative energy and superior vocal talent; alumni of the program have begun to participate in NYFOS's regular season concerts. NYFOS will also have a Gala Concert on April 17 at Weill Recital Hall, program to be announced.

In December, 2008, Bridge Records will release an original cast recording of John Musto's Bastianello and William Bolcom's Lucrezia, the critically acclaimed one-act comic operas commissioned and premiered by NYFOS last season. Both operas have librettos by Mark Campbell. Bastianello is a family fable of love and folly based on a poignant Italian folk tale; Lucrezia retells Machiavelli's La Mandragola from the point of view of its wise and captivating heroine. This wickedly funny seduction story is set in Argentina ��� "A Latin American zarzuela as imagined by the Marx Brothers," according to the composer. The recording features soprano Lisa Vroman, mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke, tenor Paul Appleby, baritone Patrick Mason and bass Matt Boehler, with pianists Steven Blier and Michael Barrett.

Curtain time for all concerts is 8 PM. Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center is at 129 West 67th Street, New York, NY 10023. Single tickets are available by calling (212) 501-3330, or visiting www.kaufman-center.org. Student discounts are available. Free tickets for the January 14 concert at Juilliard will be available at The Juilliard School's box office beginning January 5.

Guest artists at NYFOS for 2008-2009 include mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke, the Lucrezia in Bastianello / Lucrezia last spring, and soon to sing Kitty Oppenheimer in the Metropolitan Opera's New York Premiere of Doctor Atomic; mezzo-soprano Kate Lindsey, who will be seen as Cherubino and in many other roles at the Metropolitan this season; tenor Joseph Kaiser, the Tamino of the Kenneth Branagh film version of The Magic Flute, and Narraboth in the Met's Salome this year as well as at Covent Garden; soprano Dina Kuznetsova, featured in NYFOS's Obsession �� la Russe, who will star as Alice Ford in a new production of Falstaff at Glyndebourne, and will appear with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center; and mezzo-soprano Rinat Shaham, who will be featured in opera and concert at Paris' Theatre de la Champs-��lys��es and the Lucerne Festival.

On its touring schedule, NYFOS brings Bastianello / Lucrezia, the acclaimed double-bill of one-act comic operas by William Bolcom and John Musto with librettos by Mark Campbell, to the Moab Music Festival in Utah on September 5; The Last Time I Saw Paris, French song from The Jazz Age to post-World War II, to the Robbie Colomore Concert Series in Chester, Connecticut (October 26) and the Andover Chamber Music Series in Massachusetts (November 9); Fugitives to the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., presented by the Vocal Arts Society (November 14); Voices of the Jewish Diaspora to the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland at College Park (February 15); and Songs of the Irish Poets to the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts in Katonah, NY (March 14), which culminates a week-long professional training residency, Caramoor Vocal Rising Stars, sponsored by and presented at Caramoor. Leading the week's events will be NYFOS artistic directors and pianists Steven Blier and Michael Barrett who will be working with a select group of young singers from around the country invited to participate in this auspicious project. The program will be repeated as part of NYFOS's New York City 2008-2009 concert season at Merkin Concert Hall on March 17, 2009.
The initial season of the Caramoor Vocal Rising Stars Program will be underwritten, in part, by The Terrance W. Schwab Fund for Young Vocal Artists.

NEW YORK SEASON SCHEDULE

Tuesday and Thursday, SEPTEMBER 23 & 25, 2008
Merkin Concert Hall
"A Bernstein / Bolcom Celebration"
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, On the Town, Arias and Barcarolles; Bolcom's Cabaret Songs, I Will Breathe a Mountain, Briefly It Enters, McTeague; and a special appearance by Joan Morris and William Bolcom, who will share signature songs from their repertoire.
Artists: Sari Gruber, soprano; Rebecca Jo Loeb, mezzo-soprano; Joan Morris, mezzo-soprano; Ren��e Tatum, mezzo-soprano; Alex Mansoori, tenor; William Sharp, baritone; Marc Webster, bass; William Bolcom, Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, piano


Tuesday and Thursday, NOVEMBER 18 & 20, 2008
Merkin Concert Hall
"Fugitives"
An evening of songs from the concert stage, the movies, Broadway, and Berlin's cabarets that trace the varied fortunes 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 fates. Music by Kurt Weill, Franz Schreker, Arnold Zemlinsky, Kurt Tucholsky, Erich Korngold, Hanns Eisler, Friedrich Hollaender, Emmerich K��lm��n, and many others.
Artists: Kate Lindsey, mezzo-soprano; Joseph Kaiser, tenor; Steven Blier, piano

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2009
Peter Jay Sharp Auditorium at The Juilliard School
"Latin Lovers: An Evening of Cuban and South American Song," the fourth annual NYFOS@Juilliard concert.
Songs by Guastavino, Astor Piazzolla, Carlos L��pez-Buchardo, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Ernesto Lecuona, and many others.

Tuesday and Thursday, FEBRUARY 10 & 12, 2009
Merkin Concert Hall
"Voices of the Jewish Diaspora"
Songs in many languages celebrate the culturally diverse Jewish communities that flourished as the tribes of Israel spread out across the globe. Sephardic melodies arranged by Alberto Hemsi and Roberto Sierra; Second Avenue specialties by Irving Berlin and Joseph Rumshinsky; art songs by Ravel, Milhaud, and Rubinstein; plus music by Gershwin and Bernstein.
Artists: Dina Kuznetsova, soprano; Rinat Shaham, mezzo-soprano; Steven Goldstein, tenor; Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, piano

Tuesday, MARCH 17, 2009
Merkin Hall
"Songs of the Irish Poets"
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; with a group of traditional Irish songs featuring the fiddle playing of Paul Woodiel.
Artists: Paul Appleby, tenor; other members of Caramoor's Terrence W. Schwab Vocal Rising Stars Program; Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, piano

TUESDAY, APRIL 14, 2009
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
Spring Gala
Program TBA

Tuesday and Thursday, MAY 19 & 21, 2009
Merkin Concert Hall
"The Welcome Shore"
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), Faur��, Guastavino, Rachmaninoff, Brahms, No��l Coward, Pauline Viardot, and many others.
Artists: Michelle Areyzaga, soprano; Sasha Cooke, mezzo-soprano; Philip Cutlip, baritone; Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, piano

New York Festival of Song was founded in 1988 by Steven Blier and Michael Barrett. NYFOS is dedicated to creating intimate song concerts of great beauty, humor and originality, combining music, poetry, and history to entertain, educate and create community among audiences and performers. With a far-ranging repertoire of art songs, concert works and theater pieces, its thematic recitals have included programs from Brahms to the Beatles, from the nineteenth-century salons of Paris to Tin Pan Alley, from Russian art song to Argentine tangos, from sixteenth-century lute songs to new music. NYFOS particularly celebrates American song literature and culture, and specializes in premiering and commissioning new American works. They have produced five recordings on the Koch label, including a Grammy Award-winning disc of Bernstein's Arias and Barcarolles, as well as the Grammy-nominated recording of Ned Rorem's Evidence of Things Not Seen on New World Records, and the Bridge Records release of the NYFOS program Spanish Love Songs. NYFOS's concert series, touring programs, radio broadcasts, recordings, and educational activities have inspired a new interest in the creative possibilities of the song program, and have inspired the creation of thematic vocal series around the world.

Artistic Director Steven Blier has programmed, performed, translated and annotated over 100 song programs with repertoire spanning the entire range of American song, art song from Schubert to Szymanowski, and popular song from early vaudeville to Lennon-McCartney. In addition, Mr. Blier enjoys an eminent career as an accompanist and vocal coach. Among the many artists he has partnered in recital are Ren��e Fleming, Cecilia Bartoli, Samuel Ramey, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Susan Graham and Frederica von Stade. Associate Artistic Director Michael Barrett is also the CEO of Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, and General Director of the Caramoor International Music Festival. In 1992 Mr. Barrett and his wife Leslie Tomkins founded The Moab Music Festival in Utah, for which he serves as music director. He has conducted major orchestras here and abroad in the symphonic, operatic, and dance repertoire, and is the former director of the Tisch Center for the Arts at the 92nd Street Y. Mr. Barrett has conducted and played premieres by Bernstein, Blitzstein, Bolcom, Kernis, Sellars, Harrison, Takemitsu, Del Tredici and John Corigliano.

Funding for the Bastianello / Lucrezia CD release on Bridge Records was provided by the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Inc. Commission and first performance of Bastianello by John Musto and Mark Cambell and Lucrezia by William Bolcom and Mark Campbell by New York Festival of Song, Inc. were supported by the New York State Music Fund, established by the New York State Attorney General at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.

NYFOS's New York City concert series is funded, in part, by the City of New York Department of Cultural Affairs and New York State Council on the Arts.