2014 SHOWCASE OF NEW SONGS AND ARIAS
November 17, 2014
National Opera Center
OVERVIEW
New music, particularly vocal pieces, represents the legacy of the cultural heritage of the magnificent and long-enduring genre of opera. Our “Showcase of New Songs and Arias” is an evening presentation of 8-10 new vocal works—either stand-alone songs, or arias from a larger works—keeping the operatic genre alive and fresh. The pieces are selected from a Call for Scores, yielding typically over 200 submissions, by a panel of Board members and advisors. The criteria for selecting pieces includes: overall quality—is the piece finished, does the orchestration make sense, is it sing-able; innovation—what does the piece to uniquely, how has the composer’s idiom pushed through the lyrics; programmability—how well does it fit into the overall program of the “Showcase”, ; ensuring that our “Showcase” is of the highest caliber. Musicians are selected from our Core Company Residents, who are vocalists and instrumentalists that are enthusiastic about new music and meet our high standards of excellence and professionalism in performance.
COMPOSERS
Jason Bahr
Whitney George
Wang Jie
MUSICIANS
Eric Cooper, cello
Denise Crawfort, piano
Sarah Franklin, violin
Elise Frawley, viola
RECORDINGS
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PROGRAM
Moppet Songs, Jason Bahr (1998)
Wayne Paul, baritone
Markus Kaitila, piano
Fools, Philip Wharton (2014)
Wayne Paul, baritone
Markus Kaitila, piano
Eating Poetry, Andrew Watts (2011)
Devony Smith, soprano
Paul Kerekes, piano
Joy, Aleks Savitski (2011)
Devony Smith, soprano
Paul Kerekes, piano
My Song, David Morneau (2013)
Rachel Silverman, soprano
Elyse Levine, cello
Selection from “The Yellow Wallpaper”, Whitney George (2010)
Denise Crawfort, soprano
Paul Kerekes,piano
Selections from “An Australian Backyard”, Paul Kopetz (2011)
Denise Crawfort, soprano
Alex Yu, clarinet
Eric Cooper, cello
Paul Kerekes, piano
A Silence Older Than Love, Wang Jie (2014)
Jane Hoffman, soprano
Sarah Franklin, violin
Eric Cooper, cello
Markus Kaitila, piano
Void, Nina Young (2013)
Jane Hoffman,
soprano Elise Frawley, viola
Markus Kaitila, piano
Paul Kopetz
David Morneau
Aleks Savitski
Andrew Watts
Philip Wharton
Nina Young
Jane Hoffman, soprano
Markus Kaitila, piano
Paul Kerekes, piano
Elyse Levine, cello
Wayne Paul, baritone
Rachel Silverman, soprano
Devony Smith, soprano
Alex Yu, clarinet