James S. Marcus News

A Pulitzer Prize finalist, Guggenheim fellow, and Radcliffe alum, Kate Soper's music has been described as 'exquisitely quirky' (The New York Times) and 'epic' (WQXR). As a performer, she has been praised as a 'dazzling vocalist' (The New Yorker) and likened to 'Lucille Ball reinterpreted by Linda Blair' (Pitchfork). 

An outspoken political activist and singer-songwriter, Holly Near's music and life story illustrate how song can have the power to send a clarion call and influence the course of social justice a?" from the lesbian and women's movements to anti-war efforts and the fight to give South American women a voice. American Masters a?" Holly Near: Singing for Our Lives explores how the activist-artist provided an inspiring soundtrack to nearly a half-century of global and local struggles for equality and change. Directed by four-time Emmy Award-winner Jim Brown (American Masters a?" The Highwaymen: Friends Til The End, American Masters a?" Pete Seeger: The Power of Song), the documentary premieres nationwide Friday, March 1 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings) in honor of Women's History Month and will be available to stream the following day via pbs.org/americanmasters and PBS apps.

Opera Columbus and ProMusica Chamber Orchestra are partnering to co-produce and co-commission a new chamber opera titled The Flood - a story of loss, human tragedy and redemption set in Columbus. The work represents the first collaboration between the two arts organizations, as well as ProMusica's 67th commissioned work and Opera Columbus' first commission of a new mainstage opera in nearly 20 years.

An outspoken political activist and singer-songwriter, Holly Near's music and life story illustrate how song can have the power to send a clarion call and influence the course of social justice - from the lesbian and women's movements to anti-war efforts and the fight to give South American women a voice. American Masters - Holly Near: Singing for Our Lives explores how the activist-artist provided an inspiring soundtrack to nearly a half-century of global and local struggles for equality and change. Directed by four-time Emmy Award-winner Jim Brown (American Masters - The Highwaymen: Friends Til The End, American Masters - Pete Seeger: The Power of Song), the documentary premieres nationwide Friday, March 1 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings) in honor of Women's History Month and will be available to stream the following day via pbs.org/americanmasters and PBS apps.

Juilliard's Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts, under the leadership of Artistic Director Brian Zeger, continues its opera season with Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, with additional selections by Purcell. The performances will be directed by Mary Birnbaum and choreographed by Claudia Schreier, and will feature Juilliard singers and period-instrument ensemble Juilliard415 conducted by Avi Stein. They will take place on Wednesday, February 20, and Friday, February 22, 2019, at 7:30pm, and Sunday, February 24, 2019, at 2pm in Juilliard's Rosemary and Meredith Willson Theater.

This January, NYC-ARTS will highlight trailblazing women in the arts, all of whom are celebrated for taking risks and bringing their respective crafts to new heights. 

Juilliard's Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts and New York Festival of Song (NYFOS) present "Kurt Weill's Berlin" on Thursday, January 17, 2019, at 7:30pm in Juilliard's Peter Jay Sharp Theater. Pianist and arranger Steven Blier, a Vocal Arts faculty member and the artistic director of NYFOS, performs with singers from Juilliard's Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts.

Iconic singer-songwriter k.d. lang performs a 25th anniversary concert celebrating her critically acclaimed 1992 album 'Ingenue' from the Majestic Theater in San Antonio, Texas, in k.d. lang - Landmarks Live in Concert - A Great Performances Special, premiering nationwide Friday, December 14 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings).

Tony Award-winning director and producer Harold Prince discusses his creative process in a clip from Great Performances - Harold Prince: The Director's Life. Watch below!

A major highlight of MasterVoices' 77th season will take place on Wednesday, November 28 at 8 pm in Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium when the ensemble's Artistic Director Ted Sperling leads the New York premiere of a multi-media version of Israel in Egypt, Handel's timely oratorio of exile and displacement, reflecting the biblical account of the heroic flight of Israelites enslaved in Pharaonic Egypt and their crossing the Red Sea. In collaboration with The Juilliard School, MasterVoices will feature soloists who are current students or alumni from the Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts, including sopranos Mikaela Bennett and Jessica Niles, countertenor John Holiday, baritone Gregory Feldmann and bass-baritone Erik Van Heyningen, as well as rising star tenor Andrew Stenson.

John Leguizamo's Road to Broadway follows the always provocative Leguizamo as he prepares for his most challenging theatrical quest yet - cramming 3,000 years of Latino history into 90 minutes of stage time for his one man show. With extraordinary access to his creative process, the film traces the evolution of his latest success, Tony-nominated play Latin History for Morons, from its challenging premise through its triumphant debut. A special co-presentation of Great Performances and Latino Public Broadcasting's VOCES, John Leguizamo's Road to Broadway, directed by Ben DeJesus, premieres nationwide Friday, November 16 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings). The film will be available for streaming on November 17 at pbs.org/gperf and on PBS apps.

A major highlight of MasterVoices' 77th season will take place on Wednesday, November 28 at 8 pm in Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium when the ensemble's Artistic Director Ted Sperling leads the New York premiere of a multi-media version of Israel in Egypt, Handel's timely oratorio of exile and displacement, reflecting the biblical account of the heroic flight of Israelites enslaved in Pharaonic Egypt and their crossing the Red Sea. 

John Leguizamo's Road to Broadway follows the always provocative Leguizamo as he prepares for his most challenging theatrical quest yet - cramming 3,000 years of Latino history into 90 minutes of stage time for his one man show. With extraordinary access to his creative process, the film traces the evolution of his latest success, Tony-nominated play Latin History for Morons, from its challenging premise through its triumphant debut. A special co-presentation of Great Performances and Latino Public Broadcasting's VOCES, John Leguizamo's Road to Broadway, directed by Ben DeJesus, premieres nationwide Friday, November 16 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings). The film will be available for streaming on November 17 at pbs.org/gperf and on PBS apps.

Juilliard's Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts, under the leadership of Artistic Director Brian Zeger, opens its opera season with Britten's The Turn of the Screw, featuring Juilliard singers and the Juilliard Orchestra, conducted by Steven Osgood and directed by John Giampietro, on Wednesday, November 14 and Friday, November 16, 2018, at 7:30pm, and Sunday, November 18, 2018, at 2pm in Juilliard's Peter Jay Sharp Theater.

Great Performances presents more of the Great White Way's brightest stars with a new "Broadway's Best" lineup premiering Fridays, November 2-23 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings). Returning for a second year, this fall's lineup includes the beloved musicals "An American in Paris The Musical" and Rodgers & Hammerstein's "The Sound of Music," as well as documentaries about the making of John Leguizamo's Tony-nominated play "Latin History for Morons" and 21-time Tony-winning director and producer Harold Prince. All programs will be available to stream the following day via pbs.org/gperf and PBS apps.

In collaboration with the Recording Academy, Great Performances presents GRAMMY Salute To Music Legends 2018®, the third annual all-star concert offering a primetime spotlight for the Recording Academy's 2018 Special Merit Awards recipients. The celebration and tribute concert feature rare performances by honorees and never-before-seen renditions of their classic songs by those they've inspired. Recorded in July at Los Angeles' Dolby Theatre, the event premieres nationwideFriday, October 5 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings) and will be available to stream the following day via pbs.org/gperf and PBS apps.

In collaboration with PBS' 'Great Performances' series, the Recording Academy presents 'GRAMMY Salute To Music Legends®', the third annual all-star concert offering a primetime spotlight for the Academy's 2018 Special Merit Awards recipients. The celebration and tribute concert feature rare performances by honorees and never-before-seen renditions of their classic songs by those they've inspired. Recorded in July at Los Angeles' Dolby Theatre, the event premieres nationwide Friday, October 5 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings) and will be available to stream the following day via pbs.org/gperf and PBS apps.

Ted Sperling, Artistic Director of MasterVoices, announced details of the acclaimed ensemble's 77th season, celebrating the power of the human voice to unite, inspire and connect since 1941. The upcoming season will be framed by two major musical events, the New York premiere of a multi-media version of Handel's oratorioIsrael in Egypt performed at Carnegie Hall, and a new adaptation of the Kurt Weill-Ira Gershwin-Moss Hart avant-garde musical, Lady in the Dark, starring Victoria Clark at New York City Center. Lady in the Dark has not been seen in New York since it was presented at New York City Center in 1994 as part of the inaugural Encores! season.

From Schubert to Strauss, Bach to Brahms, Mozart to…Billy Joel, Itzhak Perlman's violin playing transcends mere performance to evoke the celebrations and struggles of real life. Director Alison Chernick's (The Jeff Koons Show, Matthew Barney: No Restraint) new documentary provides an intimate, cinéma vérité look at the remarkable life and career of this musician, widely considered the world's greatest violinist. American Masters: Itzhak premieres nationwide Sunday, October 14 at 10 p.m. on PBS (check local listings) and will be available to stream the following day via pbs.org/americanmasters and PBS apps.

A star-studded array of vocal talent with deep ties to Chicago gathers on stage at Lyric Opera to pay tribute to the city's wide-reaching influence across blues, jazz, rock, folk, hip-hop, gospel, opera and classical music in Great Performances: Chicago Voices, premiering nationwide Friday, August 10 at 10 p.m. on PBS (check local listings) and streaming the following day on pbs.org/gperf and PBS apps. Hosted by four-time Grammy-winning soprano Renée Fleming, the multi-genre concert special features performances by Fleming, Tony-winner Jessie Mueller (Waitress, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical), Grammy-winning rapper Lupe Fiasco, three-time Grammy-winning folk legend John Prine, Grammy-winning pop and gospel singer Michelle Williams (Destiny's Child), Grammy-winning jazz singer Kurt Elling and many more in a celebration of Chicago's rich and diverse vocal music legacy.