FRESH SQUEEZED VOCAL LAB​
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We are proud to present 15 virtual world premieres of new pieces for voice and piano, performed by members of the Fresh Squeezed Opera Company and written by composers in our 2021 Fresh Squeezed Vocal Lab.
All concerts will be free and streamed through FSO's Facebook and YouTube pages.
Friday, August 20, 2021, 7:30pm
The Voice of the Rain, by Ian Chung
Performed by Victoria Benson, voice, and Markus Kaitila, piano
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Song of Hypatia, by Holly Winter
Performed by Katie Lipow, voice, and Markus Kaitila, piano
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how i lost my name, by Leo Discenza
Performed by Daniel Klein, voice, and Felix Jarrar, piano
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Leaves, by Melissa D'Albora
Performed by Andrew Wannigman, voice, and Felix Jarrar, piano
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I Cry Out & Salt, by Jane Kozhevnikova
Performed by Allison Gish, voice, and Candace Chien, piano
Saturday, August 21, 2021, 7:30pm
Says the Forest to the Girl, by Kristen Baum
Performed by Stephanie Feigenbaum, voice, and Candace Chien, piano
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What To Do With The Pain in Your Chest, by Cixian Lu
Performed by Joanie Brittingham, voice, and Markus Kaitila, piano
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Mirror, Mirror on the wall, who is the butterfly after all?, by Alex Shanafelt
Performed by Andrew Wannigman, voice, and Felix Jarrar, piano
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A Journey Through Existence, by Timothy Arliss OBrien
Performed by Allison Gish, voice, and Candace Chien, piano
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Tucked beneath, by Angela Slater
Performed by Daniel Klein, voice, and Felix Jarrar, piano
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Sunday, August 22, 2021, 4:00pm
Drift, by Emilie LeBel
Performed by Allison Gish, voice, and Candace Chien, piano
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A Sleep of Prisoners, by Jonathan Posthuma
Performed by Andrew Wannigman, voice, and Felix Jarrar, piano
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The Harsh White & a wisp without wind, by Nick Main
Performed by Stephanie Feigenbaum, voice, and Candace Chien
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Scenes from a Memory, by Simer Singh
Performed by Katie Lipow, voice, and Markus Kaitila, piano
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l'Arbre Secq, by Elizabeth Rudolph
Performed by Daniel Klein, voice, and Felix Jarrar, piano
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Special thanks to the Pleiades Project and Elizabeth Van Os for their help editing
For composers of all ages, nationalities, education levels, races, genders, and backgrounds. We invite you to apply to participate in the virtual Fresh Squeezed Vocal Lab. This lab will give composers an opportunity to work with the renowned vocalists of Fresh Squeezed Opera to develop a new or workshop an old piece for voice. Masterclasses and demonstrations from FSO members will help composers expand their knowledge of vocal writing.
Hosted by Fresh Squeezed Opera:
“New York is rich in tiny upstart companies working to find ways to make opera engaging for new audiences. Fresh-Squeezed Opera stands out among these for its impressive commitment to championing new works.” (New York Classical Review) Supported by a strong community of composers and performers, FSO presents genre-pushing new works of the highest caliber that explore the depths of operatic music. We believe that collaboration across disciplines, fields, and media pushes the genre of opera forward. Founded in 2013, Fresh Squeezed Opera dedicates itself to providing composers with a platform to present their new music, specifically focusing on vocal works and fully-staged opera. In our seven years of operation, we’ve proudly presented over 35 composers’ works, with consistently sold-out houses as a testament to the power of new music, including works by Huang Ruo, Kate Soper, Whitney George, Constantin Basic, Jillian Flexner, Nina Young, and Alex Burtzos. For more info visit www.freshsqueezedopera.com.
This virtual lab will be held over two weekends: Friday July 9 - Sunday 11 and Friday July 23 - Sunday July 25.
Included in the workshop:
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Audio and Video Recording of composers’ pieces performed by members of the Fresh Squeezed Opera Company (with 45 minute zoom rehearsals with the performers)
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Virtual performance of composers’ pieces by members of the Fresh Squeezed Opera Company
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Vocal master classes/demonstrations with Daniel Klein (baritone) and Devony Smith (mezzo soprano)
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Engraving workshop with composer/conductor Whitney George
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Participation in composer presentations
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Ongoing access as part of the Fresh Squeezed Opera Community to our network of artists and resources
To apply, please submit via this online application https://forms.gle/T4uSE8LX3gEXWGZXA:
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400 word bio
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1-2 samples of scores with recordings (midis are acceptable), preferably including voice
If selected, composers may choose to write a new piece for vocalist solo, or vocalist and piano, or submit an already written or premiered piece to workshop. Due to Covid, FSO will not accept pieces written for more than 1 vocalist and 1 pianist.
Fee to apply: None!
Fee to participate: $700
Deadline to Apply February 5, 2021
Participants notified March - April 2021
Payment deadline: May 1, 2021
Deadline to submit work: May 21, 2021
Workshop: July 9 - 11 and July 23 - 25, 2021
Please direct any questions to Jillian Flexner, jflexner@freshsqueezedopera.com
Daniel Klein: Imaginative, adventurous, and occasionally downright terrifying, audiences have
found in Bass-Baritone, Daniel Klein an exciting example of versatility. This is his third engagement with Fresh Squeezed Opera, previously appearing as the Judge in Bound by Huang Ruo and originating the role of the Judge in Scopes by Spencer Snyder. He also has sung the role of Spencer Coyle in the New York Premiere of Benjamin Britten’s Owen Wingrave with the Little Opera Theater of New York. Recent appearances include Don 'Donnie’ Pizarro in Heartbeat Opera's acclaimed Black Lives Matter Fidelio which he reprised this past November; Marcello in La Boheme and Baron Gondremark in La vie Parisienne with Long Island Opera; Fra Melitone in La Forza del Destino with New Amsterdam Opera; Hyde in the New York Premier of Carlisle Floyd’s The Prince of Players with the Little Opera Theater of New York; Olin Blitch in Susannah with Lighthouse Opera, and The Pirate King in Pirates of Penzance with the Sharon Playhouse. Other credits include the title role Frank London’s new opera Hatuey: A Memory of Fire at the Sundance Theater Lab, Don Bartolo in Il Barbiere di Siviglia of which the New York Times said he was ‘an unusually dark and steely Bartolo.’ He joined the Altamura/Roundtop Festival as Geronimo in Il Matrimonio Segreto, and returned to Opera Company of Middlebury as Ping in Turandot where he has performed Marcello in La bohème, Rambaldo in La rondine and Mustafà in The Italian Girl in Algiers (L’Italiana in Algeri), Monterone in Annapolis Opera's Rigoletto, Tonio in Opera Providence's Pagliacci, and as the Recluse in Frank London’s Talmudic-Klezmer Oratorio A night in the Old Marketplace in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Devony Smith: Devony Smith, mezzo-soprano, hails from Watsonville, California and is currently based in Vienna, Austria. The 19-20 season contained a variety of debuts for Devony. In the Fall of 2019, she appeared with Brooklyn Art Song Society, performing Canteloube’s Chants d’Auvergne. Shortly after, she was a soloist in Mahler’s Symphony no.4 with the Colburn Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Yehuda Gilad. In the Winter of 2019, Devony was a featured recitalist with the Caramoor Center for Music and Arts. Her appearances in the early 2020 season included a fully staged production of Dichterliebe with the New Orchestra of Washington. In the 20-21 season, Devony will create the role of the Lover in Kate Soper’s new opera The Romance of the Rose and have her debut as Maddalena with Boheme Jersey Opera in Verdi’s Rigoletto. In addition, she will be featured in a program of Schubert Lieder with the Brooklyn Art Song Society. Devony’s recent stage credits include Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly with Midatlantic Opera Company, the title role in Massenet’s Cendrillon with Utopia Opera, and a long relationship with Kate Soper’s work Here Be Sirens, which she has taken on tour in three different seasons, including an appearance at National Sawdust, with Fresh Squeezed Opera. A champion of concert work, she made her Lincoln Center recital debut as the Grand Prize Winner of the MIMF Art Song competition. Devony was a finalist in the Lyndon Woodside Oratorio Competition, where she received the Lyndon Woodside Award. At Carnegie Hall, she participated in the prestigious Song Continues Workshop with Marilyn Horne, Renée Fleming, and Graham Johnson. In 2019, she was featured as a recitalist by Carnegie Hall’s Citywide Concerts through the Marilyn Horne Legacy at Carnegie Hall. Devony was chosen as a Schwab Vocal Rising Star with a collaboration between the Caramoor Center and New York Festival of Song, with whom she made a debut at the Merkin Concert Hall. As a Sorel Fellow at Songfest, she performed John Harbison’s Simple Daylight for Harbison’s 80th birthday celebration. As a 2017 fellow at Ravinia Steans Music Institute, she collaborated with William Bolcom in a presentation of his Cabaret Songs. As a Marc and Eva Stern Fellow at Songfest, she performed the world premiere of Ben Moore’s John and Abigail and the west coast premiere of John Musto’s Six Scottish Songs.
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Whitney George: Whitney George’s music traverses the affective terrain between tragedy and ecstasy, fragility and strength, bringing together romantically delicate intimacy and the spectacular darkness of the macabre. Her operas, staged multimedia works, and chamber music have had both international and domestic premieres. Most recently, George was commissioned by dell'Arte Opera to write Princess Maleine, an adaptation of a Grim fairytale. She received the 2017 Elebash Award for her orchestration of Miriam Gideon’s opera Fortunato, which premiered under George’s baton in May 2019. George is the artistic director and conductor of The Curiosity Cabinet, a chamber orchestra formed in 2009. She holds an undergraduate degree from the California Institute of the Arts, a master’s degree from Brooklyn College, and is currently a PhD candidate at the CUNY Graduate Center. In addition to her composing and conducting, George teaches at the Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music, works at the Hitchcock Institute of American Studies, and is on the composition faculty for Face the Music.