New York Festival Of Song to Present SOUTH AMERICA, NORTH AMERICA: A Love Story
The concert will feature Joseph Parrish and Shelén Hughes.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Oct. 21, 2025
New York Festival of Song, led by Artistic Director Steven Blier, will present the first concert as part of its Mainstage Series South America, North America: A Love Story on Thursday, November 20, 2025 at 8:00 p.m. at Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center.
"North America/South America: A Love Story brings together some of the things-and people-I cherish most in my life," said NYFOS Artistic Director, Steven Blier. "South American music has held a special place in my heart ever since NYFOS's first season, and so does the music of my own country. They form my artistic home base. Cherished, too, are the artists with whom I am sharing the stage: Bolivian soprano Shelén Hughes, Baltimore-bred baritone Joseph Parrish, and Persian-American pianist Amir Farid, three irreplaceable colleagues and friends. The music ranges freely from folklore to blues, Bernstein to Ginastera-a feast for the ears to open our 38th season."
Created for American baritone Joseph Parrish and Bolivian soprano Shelén Hughes (partners on- and off-stage) and accompanied by pianists Steven Blier and Amir Farid, this program explores the music of North and South America through the milongas, tangos, blues, and art songs that span the two continents. Audience members are invited to meet the artists at a post-concert reception in the lobby.
NYFOS's Mainstage season continues on Thursday, February 12, 2026 at 8:00 p.m. with Fugitives, featuring baritone Justin Austin and a guest co-star to be announced later in the season; Steven Blier and Bénédicte Jourdois will be at the piano. A revival of an acclaimed program last heard in 2008, the playlist includes songs from the concert stage, the movies, Broadway, and Berlin's cabarets, tracing the varied fates of the composers who faced destruction during Hitler's rise to power-some to begin new lives and brilliant careers abroad, others to meet with darker ends. The concert features works by Kurt Weill, Franz Schreker, Alexander Zemlinsky, Friedrich Hollaender, Kurt Tucholsky, Erich Korngold, Hanns Eisler, and many others.
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