Sparks & Wiry Cries To Present SPARKSLIVE SONG Festival In February

Sparks & Wiry Cries, led by Co-Founders and Directors Martha Guth and Erika Switzer, will present sparksLIVE 2026 – an annual captivating series of live events showcasing exceptional art song performances, world premiere commissions, and programming that addresses socially-relevant issues – from Thursday, February 19, 2026, to Saturday, February 21, 2026, at the Thalia Theatre at Symphony Space.

The three-day event features vocalist Stephanie Blythe in recital with pianist and arranger Ryan MacEvoy McCullough for The Invisible Man; the inaugural songCIRCLE project with the world premiere performance of a work created and performed by Rebecca Hass; and the tenth annual songSLAM competition.

sparksLIVE 2026 kicks off with The Invisible Man on Thursday, February 19, 2026, at 7:30 p.m. Featuring world-renowned American vocalist Stephanie Blythe, together with pianist Ryan MacEvoy McCullough, The Invisible Man presents world premiere arrangements by McCullough in celebration of the life and work of songwriter Harry Warren. With compositions spanning over six decades, beginning in 1918, the program showcases a selection of Warren's works from the American Songbook, highlighting his collaborations with many of the great lyricists of the day, including Al Dubin, Mack Gordon, and Johnny Mercer. 

The following evening, on Friday, February 20, 2026, at 7:30 p.m., sparksLIVE features the world premiere of The Song Blanket, commissioned by Sparks & Wiry Cries. Georgian Bay Métis artist and Citizen of the Métis Nation of Ontario, Rebecca Hass (Nitaawe Giizhigok – Singing Sky Woman), carries the legacy of her grandmother's quilts. In The Song Blanket, Rebecca gives voice to an old woman searching for what has been forgotten, using traditional teachings and cultural wisdom carried in the legacy of her grandmother's storytelling, and embodied in her quilts. The performance also features vocalists Lucy Shelton, Kamala Sankaram, Kate Morton, and pianist Erika Switzer.

The series concludes on Saturday, February 21, 2026, at 7:30 p.m. with a special tenth anniversary edition of the songSLAM – Sparks & Wiry Cries's flagship event that continues to expand its global reach. The songSLAM event features 15 teams made up of composers, singers, and pianists premiering songs for a voting audience, concluding with a performance by the 2025 songSLAM Commission Prizewinner, Joshua Bornfield.

Fashioned after traditional poetry slams and storytelling events like The Moth, Sparks & Wiry Cries's songSLAMs give teams of composers and performers a chance to present world premieres of art songs and compete for audience-awarded cash prizes totalling up to $2,000. With the success of the last five years' added virtual component, Sparks & Wiry Cries will once again incorporate both recorded and live elements into the 2026 NYC songSLAM event, where all 15 songSLAM teams will perform. 

Every year, Sparks & Wiry Cries awards a songSLAM commission prize to one of the composers from the previous NYC songSLAM. This year's winning commission, to be performed on February 21 at Symphony Space, will be the world premiere of Trial by composer Joshua Bornfield, poet Tom Haviv, soprano Marie Herrington, and pianist Timothy Krippner.

First premiered in NYC in 2015, the songSLAM has now been or will be co-presented with regional partners in four countries and 10 different cities around the globe: NYC, Toronto, Vancouver, London, Ljubljana, Ann Arbor, Cincinnati, Chicago, Minneapolis, and Waco, with even more growth on the horizon.

Event Information:

The Invisible Man

Thursday, February 19, 2026 at 7:30 p.m. 
Thalia Theatre at Symphony Space | 2537 Broadway at 95th St. | New York, NY 10025-6990
Tickets: Advance $41; Senior/Student (with valid I.D) $41; Member $38; Child $22
Link: https://www.symphonyspace.org/events/vp-sparks-and-wiry-cries-the-invisible-man 

Program:
Celebrating the music of composer Harry Warren

Artists:
Stephanie Blythe, vocalist
Ryan MacEvoy McCullough, pianist
_______________________________________

The Song Blanket

Friday, February 20, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.
Thalia Theatre at Symphony Space | 2537 Broadway at 95th St. | New York, NY 10025-6990
Tickets: Advance $27; Senior/Student (with valid I.D) $27; Member $25; Child $15
Link: https://www.symphonyspace.org/events/vp-sparks-and-wiry-cries-the-song-blanket 

Program:
Rebecca Hass - The Song Blanket (2025) *World Premiere
Ian Cusson - What Binds Us (texts by Rebecca Hass and Michelle Poirier Brown)

Artists:
Rebecca Hass, vocalist and storyteller
Lucy Shelton, vocalist 
Kamala Sankaram, vocalist
Kate Morton, vocalist
Erika Switzer, pianist
_______________________________________

Tenth Annual NYC songSLAM

Saturday, February 21, 2026 at 7:30 p.m. 
Thalia Theatre at Symphony Space | 2537 Broadway at 95th St. | New York, NY 10025-6990
Tickets: Advance $24; Senior/Student (with valid I.D) $24; Member $23; Child $13
Link: https://www.symphonyspace.org/events/vp-sparks-and-wiry-cries-10th-annual-songslam-competition  

Program:
songSLAM compositions
Joshua Bornfield - Trial (2025) *World Premiere

Artists:
Tom Haviv, poet
Marie Herrington, soprano
Timothy Krippner, piano

2026 NYC songSLAM Teams:

• Team 1: 
  To an Elephant ● Text by Emily Dickinson
  Team Members: Aneesha Singh, soprano; Viona Sanjaya, pianist; Jack Frederick, composer

• Team 2:
  Red, Red Sky ● Text by Mary Maclane
  Team Members: Melaina Mills, soprano; Giulia Magarelli, pianist; Sophie Kastner, composer

• Team 3:
  a cloud, a rose ● Text by John Secunde
  Team Members: Gina Marie Falk, soprano; Jacob Hiser, pianist; John Secund, composer & poet

• Team 4:
  that's all i remember ● Text by Susan Bywaters
  Team Members: Erin Reppenhagen, mezzo soprano; Austin Philemon, pianist; Thomas Palmer, composer; Susan Bywaters, poet

• Team 5:
  Mary's Monster ● Text by Mary Shelly, from Frankenstein
  Team Members: Christina Kay, soprano; Melody Fader, pianist; Hai-Ting Chinn, composer

• Team 6:
  Approaching Gemini ● Text by Anika Venkatesh
  Team Members: Anika Venkatesh, mezzo soprano & poet; Nicholas Wanstall, pianist; Francesca Hauser, composer

• Team 7:
  Firefly ● Text by Devondra Banks
  Team Members: Erin Ridge, soprano; Travis Bloom, pianist; Raphael Fusco, composer

• Team 8:
  I Long to Learn ● Text by Rachel Scott
  Team Members: Carson Cook, tenor; Chris Cooley, composer & pianist

• Team 9:
  Winter Stars ● Text by Sara Teasdale
  Team Members: Michelle Trovato, soprano; Clint Borzoni, composer & pianist

• Team 10:
  The Wilds of Suburbia ● Text by Elena Montero Mulligan
  Team Members: Elena Montero Mulligan, soprano, composer & poet; Tim Fitch, pianist

• Team 11:
  Dark ● Text by Ida Vitale (translation by Sarah Pollack)
  Team Members: Teryn Kuzma, soprano; Olga Radović, composer & pianist

• Team 12:
  Space ● Text by Lucas Zuehl
  Team Members: Lucas Zuehl, bass baritone, composer & poet; Michele Wong, pianist

• Team 13:
  Romance ● Text by Claude McKay
  Team Members: Margaret Tigue, soprano; Jarod Yap, pianist; Steven Ward, composer

• Team 14:
  July 4th ● Text by Martha Sullivan
  Team Members: Jamilyn Manning, soprano; Christopher Zander, pianist; Martha Sullivan, composer & poet

• Team 15:
  En el Bosque de los Sueños ● Text by Adolfo Montaño Vivas
  Team Members: Sasha Gutierrez, soprano; Natasha Gwirceman, pianist; Santiago Gutierrez, composer

• Team 16:
  Puppy's First Time on the Moon ● Text by Caroline Cao
  Team Members: Chantal Freeman, soprano; Dina Pruzhansky, composer & pianist

• Team 17:
  About the Size of It ● Text attr. Geoffrey Chaucer, translated & adapted by Phillip Wharton
  Team Members: Samantha Nahra, soprano; Mitchell Cirker, pianist,; Phillip Wharton, composer