Listening at the Keyhole, Pt. 0

Did you ever wonder what might happen if an artist had the opportunity to talk to a composer about their compositions before they go into performance?

In this series that leads up to our "Women's Voices" show, Juliana Hall will share her thoughts on composition as she corresponds with our singers who will be performing her songs.  You'll hear questions from Sarah Reynolds, Stephanie Ann Ball, Kristen Smith and Hallie Spoor as they chat with Juliana.

Don't forget to buy your tickets to our Women's Voices Show on Thursday, March 9 at 6 p.m. at Syntax Physic Opera.

See you tomorrow!

Meet Juliana Hall:

American art song composer Juliana Hall has composed over 50 song cycles and works of vocal chamber music, which have been described as “brilliant” (Joseph McLellan, The Washington Post) and “the most genuinely moving music of the afternoon” (Richard Dyer, The Boston Globe), and her songs have been regarded as “legitimate modern heirs to the great tradition of German lieder” (Philip Greene, New Haven Register).

A review of several of Hall’s song cycles in the January 2017 issue of the Journal of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) notes that in her work,

“The tonal language is adventurous, and Hall’s text setting is spot on and exquisite, even when she elevates the text to the vocal stratosphere” and notes, further, that they are “artful and adroit expressions of superb poetic and musical choices.”

Hall’s music has been heard in 26 countries on six continents, in venues including the 92nd Street Y, Bruno Walter Auditorium, Morgan Library & Museum, National Opera Center, Spectrum, Trinity Church Wall Street, and Weill Recital Hall (Carnegie Hall) in New York; Ambassador Auditorium in Los Angeles; Herbst Theatre in San Francisco; the French Library and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston; the Kemper Art Museum in Saint Louis; the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford; Strathmore Hall Arts Center in Bethesda; the Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst; the Museum of Art in San Diego; the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Library of Congress, and Singapore Embassy in Washington, DC; the McKnight and Ordway Theaters in St. Paul; Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris; and St. Paul’s Cathedral, Wigmore Hall, and The Warehouse (Waterloo) in London.

Hall’s songs have also been presented at music festivals and intensive art song training programs, including the Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar, London Festival of American Music, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Ojai Music Festival, Schubert Club Song Festival, Song Collaborators Consortium Art Song Festival, SongFest, and Tanglewood Music Center.

Radio broadcasts of Hall’s works have been heard on the BBC and NPR radio networks, stations in Canada, England, France, Indonesia, the Netherlands, and South Africa, and many throughout the U.S. as well, including Boston’s WGBH and New York’s WQXR.

In addition to concert performances and radio broadcasts, Hall’s vocal compositions have been recorded on the Albany and Vienna Modern Masters record labels. Her newest CD, “Love’s Signature” (MSR Classics, MS1603), was made possible by a Recording Grant from the Sorel Organization in 2015; “Love’s Signature” was issued in 2017, and presents three complete song cycles — her countertenor cycle O Mistress Mine (countertenor Darryl Taylor with Hall at the piano), and two soprano cycles, Syllables of Velvet, Sentences of Plush and Propriety (Grammy-winning soprano Susan Narucki and pianist Donald Berman).

Hall has received a number of commissions, and has composed song cycles and vocal chamber music for singers and organizations including baritone David Malis, countertenor Brian Asawa, sopranos Gwen Coleman Detwiler, Steffi Fischer, Martha Guth, Amy Petrongelli, Pamela Jordan Schiffer, and Dawn Upshaw; tenor Joel Burcham; Feminine Musique (the vocal duo of soprano Korliss Uecker and mezzo soprano Tammy Hensrud); Los Angeles’ SongFest; New York’s Mirror Visions Ensemble; Philadelphia’s Lyric Fest; and Baltimore’s Women Composers Orchestra.

Ensembles programming Hall’s work include groups such as the 016 New Music Ensemble, ANA Trio, Calliope’s Call, CHAI Collaborative Ensemble, Ensemble for These Times, Fourth Coast Ensemble, Lynx Project, Mallarmé Chamber Players, Voices of Change, and Zenith Ensemble.

Presenters of Hall’s music include organizations such as Capital Fringe, Casement Fund Song Series, Cincinnati Song Initiative, Contemporary Undercurrent of Song Project, Denver Art Song Project, Joy in Singing, Project 142, Song in the City, and Sparks & Wiry Cries.

Special performances include selections from Hall’s song cycle Night Dances on Dawn Upshaw’s First Songs project at the Morgan Library & Museum in New York in 2013 and a performance of her tenor song cycle The Holy Sonnets of John Donne at a Holy Week meditation service in St. Paul’s Cathedral in London in 2015.

Special projects include a commission by the Lynx Project for its 2017 Autism Advocacy Project, for which she composed the song cycle Great Camelot to the words of Sameer Dahar, a gifted teenager with autism.





Highlights of the 2016-2017 season include a number of world premiere performances:

O Mistress Mine (12 songs for countertenor and piano on texts from plays of William Shakespeare) on August 5, 2016 at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, by countertenor Darryl Taylor with Hall at the piano

Upon This Summer’s Day (8 songs for soprano and piano on poems by Emily Dickinson) on November 10, 2016 at the London Festival of American Music, by soprano Nadine Benjamin and pianist Susanna Stranders

A World Turned Upside Down (7 songs on entries from “The Diary of a Young Girl” by Anne Frank) on March 10, 2017 at the Song Collaborators Consortium Art Song Festival, by soprano Kathleen Roland Silverstein (pianist tba)

The Bells (song setting for soprano and piano of the poem by Edgar Allan Poe) on March 25, 2017 on the Contemporary Undercurrent of Song Project’s “Juliana Hall Composer Portrait” concert, by soprano Alexandra Porter and pianist Brent Funderburk

Christina’s World (5 songs for soprano and piano on poems by Christina Rossetti) on April 8, 2017 at the Cincinnati Song Initiative, by soprano Gwen Coleman Detwiler and pianist Marie-France Lefebvre

When the South Wind Sings (7 songs for soprano and piano on poems by Carl Sandburg) in June, 2017 (date TBA) at SongFest, by a professional fellow soprano and pianist (TBA).

Other recent highlights include:

Propriety (5 songs for soprano and piano on poems by Marianne Moore), Music like a Curve of Gold (2 songs for soprano, mezzo soprano and piano on poems by Sara Teasdale), and Dreams in War Time (7 songs for mezzo soprano and piano on poems by Amy Lowell) on the Casement Fund Song Series/Sparks & Wiry Cries concert entitled “Celestial Refrains: Songs of Juliana Hall” at the National Opera Center in New York, by soprano Lucy Fitz Gibbon, mezzo soprano Hai-Ting Chinn, and pianist Ryan MacEvoy McCullough

Night Dances (6 songs for soprano and piano on poems by Elizabeth Bishop, Emily Brontë, Emily Dickinson, and Edna St. Vincent Millay) at the Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar, by soprano Amy Petrongelli and pianist Bridget Hough

Letters from Edna (8 songs for mezzo soprano and piano on letters of Edna St. Vincent Millay) on the Joy in Singing’s annual “Edward T. Cone Foundation Composers Concert” in Bruno Walter Auditorium at Lincoln Center, by mezzo soprano Abigail Levis and pianist Miriam Leskis

Julie-Jane (5 songs for baritone and piano on poems by Thomas Hardy) on the Zenith Ensemble series in Melbourne, Australia, by baritone Michael Lampard and pianist Rhodri Clarke

Night Dances (6 songs for soprano and piano on poems by Elizabeth Bishop, Emily Brontë, Emily Dickinson, and Edna St. Vincent Millay) and I sing to use the Waiting (song for soprano and piano from the cycle “Paradise“) on the Calliope’s Call art song series in Boston, by soprano Maggie Finnegan, soprano Sonja Tengblad, and pianist Clare Longendyke

Syllables of Velvet, Sentences of Plush (7 songs for soprano and piano on letters of Emily Dickinson) at the Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst, MA, by soprano Molly Fillmore and pianist Elvia Puccinelli





Hall’s songs have been taught in song repertoire classes and student composer seminars at numerous academic institutions, some of which include the Bard College Conservatory of Music, the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, the Hartt School of Music, and the Juilliard School, in addition to the Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar, SongFest, and the Tanglewood Music Center summer programs.

Hall’s compositions have been studied academically by a number of university students and college professors who have made presentations about her work and a few who have written their Masters theses or Doctoral dissertations on them (both in the U.S. and the U.K.) Conference presentations about Hall’s songs have been made at the Athena Festival in Kentucky, the Women Composers Festival of Hartford, meetings of the College Music Society, and the “Conference in Music Performance Studies” in Portugal.

Interviews of Hall and articles about her work have appeared in the Journal of Singing (National Association of Teachers of Singing), the Journal of the IAWM (International Alliance for Women in Music), and the online journals Art Song Magazine (Sparks & Wiry Cries) and Musica Kaleidoskopea.

Juliana Hall began her musical career as a pianist, studying with Boris Berman, Jeanne Kirstein, Seymour Lipkin, and Lee Luvisi. She became a composition major at the Yale School of Music, where she earned her Master’s degree in Composition studying with Martin Bresnick, Leon Kirchner, and Frederic Rzewski, and she completed her formal composition studies with composer Dominick Argento in Minneapolis. In 1989 she received a Guggenheim Fellowship in Music Composition.

#artsongsforeveryone No. 1- Jen Davis

Welcome to a new feature here on Tenor Eleven Miles Away!  Art Songs for Everyone is my way to introduce you to people from all walks of life that have discovered art songs and found fulfillment.  It is my hope that you will enjoy their work as I do.

A few weeks ago, I posted a request for people to share their YouTube and SoundCloud recordings.  I've received some submissions already from students.  I'd love to get some from amateurs and professionals as well, so please pass them along along with your a photo, a brief bio, your website and Facebook links and perhaps a bit about why the song is so special to you!  You can send them to Denverartsongproject@gmail.com

Meet our first Art Song Singer!

Name: Jen Davis

Bio: Jennifer is completing her studies as a doctoral student in the voice department at the University of Northern Colorado. She is a frequent recitalist and concert soloist. In August 2016 Jennifer returned from two months in the Czech Republic where she studied and gave performances at the Janáček Academy of Music (JAMU) in Brno, and has been invited by Zdeněk Šmukař to return for the 2017-2018 academic year. Jennifer’s research includes Czech vocal music and she has been invited to give a concert in Prague of the music of Zdeněk Trnka in November 2017. Recent performances have featured a concert as part of a series at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Denver, and New Year’s Eve appearance with the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra (GPO) with Maestro Glen Cortese as conductor, as well as her final Doctoral Recital. Her roles have included Micaela, Pamina, Susanna, Despina with Rome Festival in Rome, Italy, Marie in La Fille du regiment with Opera Theatre of the Rockies, and Alice in Verdi’s Falstaff with the GPO.  Jennifer is the proud sole recipient of the 2015 Dante Alighieri Music Scholarship, which has been "established to enable students to advance their studies in operatic and classical music."  

Links:
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The Year of 2015... A retrospective

I'm going back and I realize that I missed my "Best of" lists for 2015 and 16.  Can you believe it?  I'm going to fix that starting now..

As always, Kitty and I collaborate on a "Best of" list to end each year.  It is always fun for us to think about the experiences, restaurants and products that have defined our year.  As always, this list is in no precise order and there is no relation between the different items.

10.) The immersion blender
Smoothies for the kids for breakfast, creamy soups without the mess of a blender and an easy way to chop onions.  This was our product of the year.  If you like to cook, this is a great tool that probably would not anger Alton Brown.

9.) Home Depot (as relates to # 1)
I spend at least a little time each week at the Home Depot.  I take the Spud, LHB and Baby Maraca to their Saturday workshops to build some sort of project and they always enjoy the satisfaction of working on a project.  More importantly, I am inspired to try my hand at building small craft projects like bookshelves and a gaming table for myself.

8.) The Best Bahn Mi in Denver (finding happiness in a new City)

When we moved to Denver a little over a year ago, I was worried that I would lose touch with the great ethnic food that defined my time in New York City.  I was afraid of not getting to take my children on "Food Adventures" that would expand their palate.  Thanks to the internet, I was able to find New Saigon Bakery, which makes a delicious Bahn Mi sandwich.  I look forward to discovering many more food adventures.

7.) Denver Activities

Moving to a new city requires exploration and an openness to appreciate the differences from home.  Early on in 2015, Kitty recommended I try going to a weekly "Adventurer's League" at Enchanted Grounds.   When I'm not gigging, I go every Wednesday night to play Dungeons and Dragons (5th Edition!) and socialize.  I've made some wonderful friends and shared in many exploits in the world of D&D.

6.) Home School

This year we decided that the Spud would be homeschooled.  We had experimented with homeschooling for half a year in New York City for kindergarten.  Kitty has spent an enormous amount of time and energy giving a rich education to our oldest child.  There are many wonderful resources in Colorado to support our decision and it has brought our entire family closer together.

5.) Renewal and Collaboration (Opera Colorado)
Years ago, I began my professional career outside of New York State by heading to Opera Colorado to be an Outreach singer.  During my tenure at Opera Colorado, I was introduced to a variety of top tier professionals and was inspired to go to New York and transition my career from being a character tenor to a lyric (leading) tenor.  It was an unconventional path to take when I had a good career ahead of me and the challenge and rewards have been deeply satisfying.

This year I returned to Opera Colorado to step in as the Second Priest in Mozart's The Magic Flute.  We had an stellar cast, crew and direction team and I was thrilled to reconnect with my former colleagues after so many years.

4.) The Royal Carriage
We bought a mini-van.  We drive it everywhere.  'nuff said.

3.) Connection and Collaboration (Denver Art Song Project, Boulder Opera, old friends at the show)
Likewise, I started off 2015 making new musical friends.  Opera on Tap, Boulder Opera, the Messiah Chorus of Grand Junction and founding the Denver Art Song Project filled my year with many musical treats and surprises.  Coupled with trips to New York for singing, I made the most of another year as a professional musician.

2.) Encompass New Opera Theatre's comedic gold.  I continued my long term series of collaborations with my good friends at Encompass, joining them in Richard Pearson Thomas' "A Wake or a Wedding".  It was an opportunity to play in a true comedy and push my comedic skills as far as I could.  And go topless.  And grow a slick mustache.

1.) The new house
After many years in NYC, we relocated to Denver and this year we took the huge step of putting down roots and buying our first house.  It is an exciting new beginning for our family.  After the five of us shared a one-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn, we are almost overwhelmed with the space!

And so... there it is.  2 years late!  Watch out for 2016 coming soon!

Non-Profit Startup 1.5- Man, I am Board!

The Mission Statement is live.  The vision is starting to clarify for what we are and what we believe.  And now, we need a board.

I have a joke in my show, "The Denver Art Song Project combines two of my favorite things, singing and PowerPoint."  It is funny because it is true.  Unfortunately, I don't get to sing when I take my pitch slide deck out to meet with potential board members.

I've been working on a 3-year plan for about 4 months and yesterday I took it out to my first potential board member.

When I started this process in January, I spoke with the founders other performance groups.  They had the nerve and chutzpah to go out and fulfill their dreams to create art.  They inspired business leaders and their community to support their vision.

Considering the amount of rejection that an opera singer can receive over the course of their life, one would think that I'd be ready for whatever lies ahead.  I think that the difference is that in the past, I would go out and audition and there were a million variables of what I sounded like, what the audience panel was looking for and the color of the sky.  In this case, I've got a very clear vision of the future of Denver Art Song Project and the vision is entirely my own without any audition panel coming with their own needs and desires.

It shouldn't surprised you that I rehearsed this a great deal with Kitty and my parents-in-law.  We worked out a great number of kinks.

In the end, I realize there is a potential for really making a difference in the artistic community of Denver through a performance group dedicated to art songs.

Oh, and he said yes!

And this afternoon I'm off to meet with potential board member #2.  We need three to incorporate.

Non-Profit Startup 1.4- Mission Control

On Saturday night, the Denver Art Song Project performed their first "experimental" show at Syntax Physic Opera.

The show included supertitles, songs paired with famous (or infamous) works of art and narration.  We featured songs with piano, songs with oboe and unaccompanied songs.

Looking to the future, to make the Denver Art Song Project a reality and a viable group to last for years, I have been reading that a "Mission Statement" is essential.  Our mission statement should encapsulate quickly and easily all the aspects of what we hope to accomplish.  It should be easy to use in an elevator pitch with donors, potential board members and concert attendees.

Probably the most important purpose of our mission statement is that every recital, project and action our group takes should accomplish some (or all) of the principles.

Without further ado, here is my first draft.

• To educate and extend the appreciation of the Art Song genre by creating both traditional and experimental performances
• Traditional: concerts of art songs in a traditional concert hall environment
• Experimental: art song performance with video elements, staging or in collaboration with artists of other mediums
• To create a library of classic and newly commissioned art song recordings by artists living and working in Colorado
• To provide paid artistic opportunities for local musicians
• To create a musical legacy for the organization and the artists
• To develop educational curriculums for young listeners to learn about music through the Art Song Genre both in person and online

Our recital on Saturday has lived up to these standards and with our work preparing our second album, I think the mission has already begun.

A Skier's Guide to Opera Singing 5. My Left Foot.

I will keep this one brief.

I was thinking back to my first day of ski season.  It had been years since I had put on skis.  After a couple of glides around the bunny hill, I thought that I had rediscovered some semblance of skiing form.  Keeping in mind that I only skied about 4 times in my life before this.

That first run down, I started off feeling confident.  As I started my first turn, my left foot entirely failed me.  I started to snowplow and I had no strength to coordinate my legs.  For the remainder of the day, I wondered what on earth could be the matter that I could not move my left foot and leg with the same skill and precision of my right leg.

In a way, I was taken back to being a young opera singer.  There were so many things wrong that I had to manage and figure out.  I'm a notoriously slow learner about some things and it took awhile for me to get some equilibrium about performing and learn the skills so that they were reflexive.

So my advice as a skier to an opera singer? Keep track of all the left feet you have.  Deal with them.  It will make the subsequent trips down much more fun.  And then don't forget to repeat again and again... that will help to fix it.

A Skiers Guide to Opera Singing 4. Insanity.

If you are on social media, you may see this meme around:



First off, it is very likely that Einstein did not say it.  Let's put that aside for now.

As a new skiier, I would say that repetition has been my greatest friend.  I started out barely creeping down the green slopes and with more and more runs under my belt, I found that making the leap to more challenging slopes was not nearly as scary.

And besides, the first time I looked down from the top of the mountain I was petrified.  I thought I could see for far too many miles than was humanely safe and the bottom was completely out of sight.  That first run was a blur and it was only with repeating the runs down that I could take in more of the scenery.

Does this sound at all like singing to you?  There is a reason that I spent a month in NYC for rehearsals of my last show.  We were performing a new work that had never been staged and, in addition to giving the music the attention it deserved, my colleagues and I had to spend time figuring out how our characters would interact and what our stories were when we were not on stage.  By the end of rehearsals we were running the show twice per night.

Repetition leads to strength.  Repetition leads to the ability to recover from mistakes.  Repetition leads to confidence.  Repetition gives you the opportunity to look with a wider field of vision and appreciate different nuances.

And soon I began to realize that with repetition, the adventure was in the journey and not the destination.