Catalog

This recording of hybrid vocal selections highlights the works of seven prominent 21st century composers who blur the lines between opera, classical art song, and other musical genres. This is music that is as appropriate to major concert halls as it is to nontraditional spaces. Sequina DuBose is a stunning performer most noted for her engaging stage presence — whether performing operatic roles, or as soprano soloist in Wynton Marsalis' work, All Rise. She has toured internationally as a soloist with The American Spiritual Ensemble and with Damien Sneed and Chorale Le Chateau. Dr. DuBose is on the faculty at UNC Charlotte. She is joined by pianist Gregory Thompson, known for his work as a solo and collaborative artist in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.

Composer James Adler calls this recording a celebration — a celebration of his love for composing musical theater and art songs. Performed by a stellar group of singers from both the musical theater and classical art song world, the songs underscore Adler's affinity for putting the spoken word to music. Known as a renowned pianist as well as a composer, Adler has performed across the U.S. as well as internationally. Sung by cabaret singer Shana Farr, Broadway stars Michael Buchanan, Kennedy Kanagawa, and Perry Sook, Metropolitan Opera star Victoria Livengood, and classically trained Elizaveta Ulakhovich, this stellar group brings these songs to life.

A magical new recital featuring the world-première recording of Britten’s only Russian-language cycle The Poet’s Echo in the English-language translation that Peter Pears crafted during the period of the cycle’s composition in Yerevan, Armenia (1965). Tenor Justin Vickers and pianist John Orfe essay important performances of Britten’s Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo alongside Britten’s mysterious Goethe setting, “Um Mitternacht” (1960). This rich recital release introduces two additional world-première song cycles composed for Vickers. In the Six Chinese Songs (2019-2020) composed by Colin Matthews in memory of the tenor’s father John E. Vickers (1942–2017), we hear Matthews’s reflections on his own musical father, Britten, for whom Matthews served as the last musical assistant. In John David Earnest’s Songs of Hadrian (2014), we enter the world of second-century Roman Emperor Hadrian and his love and ultimate grief and madness over his eromenos Antinous. The disc concludes with a work Vickers uncovered in the Britten–Pears Library in its world-première recording: the “Epilogue” (1945) to The Holy Sonnets of John Donne, which Britten cut from the cycle. This is a recording that is a must-have for Britten devotees and finds American tenor Justin Vickers at the top of his craft, accompanied by one of America’s most accomplished pianists in John Orfe (of the acclaimed ensemble Alarm Will Sound).

Rendezvous in the Salon invites you to experience a collection of performances that explore the rich and vibrant world of American art song. The recording includes world premiere performances of three cycles by Steve Danyew, Roger C. Vogel, and David Leisner as well as a cycle by Ned Rorem. Soprano Natalie Mann is an active recitalist, concert soloist, and opera singer. She received a Metropolitan Opera Encouragement Award and was the winner of the Audience Favorite Award in the David W. Scott Memorial Competition and the Hawaii Public Radio International Art Song Competition. She is a graduate of Butler University, the University of Wollongong, and Indiana University. She is joined on this recording by pianists Tali Tadmor, Catherine Miller, and bassoonist Bruce Magnum.

British born composer Clara Kathleen Rogers spent most of her compositional life in Boston where she contributed to the role the Second New England School played in the development of American classical music. She trained as an opera singer and studied piano with Ignaz Moscheles and Hans von Bülow. This recording provides a survey of 24 art songs showcasing Rogers' range of musical styles and influences. Admired by Opera News as "a superb singing actor with a clear, ringing instrument and peerless diction," tenor Bryon Grohman has received international recognition for performances of opera, oratorio, and ensemble repertoire. He studied at Indiana University as well as the New England Conservatory of Music and is currently on the faculty at Wake Forest University. Pianist Peter Kairoff has performed throughout the US, Europe, South America, and Asia and has seven recordings in his discography. He is also on the faculty at Wake Forest University.

Saloons, Salons, and Salutations is a musical journey through the American West and the salons of Europe, weaving together the diversity of female voices across different eras and styles. These eclectic — sometimes irreverent — compositions, brought to life by soprano Serena Hill LaRoche and pianist Catherine Garner, pay homage to the creativity and innovation of women in the world of classical music. Serena Hill LaRoche has earned praise for her "power, virtuosity and elegance" with "a thrilling instrument at the top of its range." An active concert artist she has performed as a recitalist, opera singer, and soloist with orchestras. She was a 2003 finalist in the Southeast Regional Metropolitan Opera Auditions and the 2006 Artist of the Year with FBN Productions, Inc. LaRoche studied at the University of South Carolina and the University of North Alabama. She is on the faulty of the University of South Carolina. Her collaborator, pianist Catherine Garner is on the faculty at Appalachian State University. She is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music, Florida State University, and Louisiana State University.

In this contemporary reimagining of Wilhelm Müller’s poetry cycle Winterreise — most famously set by Schubert — an everyman at the end of his rope confronts his inner demons in an emotionally charged vocal tour de force. Composer Douglas J. Cuomo is known for his concert, operatic, theatrical, television, and film compositions. His music is influenced by jazz, world music, classical and popular sources, as well as his spiritual practice as a Buddhist. Along with the operas Doubt, and Arjuna’s Dilemma, he has written for the London Philharmonic, Fort Worth Symphony, Romero Guitar Quartet, Joe Lovano, Denyce Graves, Christine Brewer, Nels Cline, Maya Beiser and others. He composed the theme for Sex & the City and scored over 20 feature films.

Composer Cecil Price Walden says that Hours “is a journey through a dark night of the soul,” with inspiration taken from the Book of Hours — an exact guide for how and when to pray. Born in 1991, Walden draws on the rich musical, literary, and culinary legacies of the South to create work that is both familiar and new. Mezzo-soprano Alice Anne Light is known for her expressive, limpid singing and sound technique across a broad variety of repertoire. She is a frequent performer on the opera stage, in musical theater, and in recital. She is on the faculty of Texas Tech University.