Daron Hagen News

Lyric Fest—the only performing arts organization in the Mid-Atlantic region with a primary focus on song in all its varied expression—concludes its 2021-22 season with a program entitled My Favorite Things featuring soprano Jennifer Aylmer together with pianist Laura Ward on Saturday, June 11, 2022 at 7:00pm at the Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA).

​​​​​​​Lyric Fest presents a larger-than-life musical biography of iconic American composer Cole Porter: Anything Goes: Cole Porter - Uncensored will take place on Tuesday, May 17, 2022 at 7:00pm at the Moorestown Community Center in Moorestown, NJ and Wednesday, May 18, 2022 at 7:00pm at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, PA. Featured in this all-Cole Porter program are baritone Randall Scarlata, mezzo-soprano Suzanne DuPlantis, and pianist Laura Ward.

LA Opera will present the world premiere of In Our Daughter's Eyes, by composer Du Yun and librettist Michael Joseph McQuilken, from April 13 through 17, 2022, at REDCAT. The monodrama was created for and with baritone Nathan Gunn, who portrays a father-to-be striving to become a man his daughter would be proud of.

Lyric Fest presents two performances of My Letter to the World, a special concert centered on the life and writings of Emily Dickinson, on Saturday, December 11, 2021 at 3:00pm at the Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill and Sunday, December 12, 2021 at 3:00pm at the Academy of Vocal Arts.

Lyric Fest will present two performances of My Letter to the World, a special concert centered on the life and writings of Emily Dickinson, on Saturday, December 11, 2021 at 3:00pm at the Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill and Sunday, December 12, 2021 at 3:00pm at the Academy of Vocal Arts.

GRAMMY-winning violinist Keiko Tokunaga created INTERWOVEN in reaction to the change in social climate that occurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic. An individual of the Asian heritage, Tokunaga was saddened by the news of racial injustice towards the AAPI community— but what was even more shocking to her was the lack of response from the other racial groups, and hesitation to speak up amongst her fellows.

Grammy-winning conductor Michael Christie will lead the Welsh National Opera Orchestra to accompany finalists in the 2021 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World main prize competition. Staged without an audience in strict compliance with the latest health and safety government guidelines related to COVID-19, the competition takes place from June 12 – June 19, 2021 at St. David's Hall in Cardiff.

Whether he’s writing about soldiers in World War I (SILENT NIGHT with Kevin Puts) or immigrants landing on Ellis Island (A NATION OF OTHERS with Paul Moravec), setting a ‘penny dreadful’-inspired story (ELIZABETH CREE with Puts) or looking inside a mad genius of technology [THE (R)EVOLUTION OF STEVE JOBS with Mason Bates], Mark Campbell brings his unique vision of the world to whatever he does. He gave us an inkling of the depth and breadth of his skills in the concert for the New York Festival of Song (NYFOS)—heard first the other night on YouTube and available through May 15.

The commissioned composers include: H. Leslie Adams, Clarice Assad, Eugenia Cheng, Tom Cipullo, Andrea Clearfield, Nell Shaw Cohen, Emily Doolittle, Melissa Dunphy, Emerson Eads, Marti Epstein, Kurt Erickson, Evan Fein, Daniel Felsenfeld, Julian Gargiulo, Jodi Goble, Stanley Grill, Daron Hagen, Juliana Hall, Ted Hearne, Felix Jarrar, Jennifer Jolly, Joseph Jones, James Kallembach, Lori Laitman, Libby Larsen, Cecilia Livingston, Gilda Lyons, James Matheson, Bess McCrary, Reinaldo Moya, Eric Pazdziora, Kala Pierson, James Primosch, Matthew Recio, Jessica Rudman, Kamala Sankaram, Myron Silberstein, Lauren Spavelko, Gylchris Sprauve, Dennis Tobenski, Jennifer Wang, Scott Wheeler, Philip Wharton, Ed Windels, and Lorna Young Wright.

A new first. In its decade-long history, New York Festival of Song's NYFOS Next series has never devoted an entire program to the work of one lyricist. On April 14, 2021 at 7:00 PM EDT, NYFOS will break that tradition in a virtual concert celebrating the work of renowned Pulitzer Prize and Grammy Award-winning lyricist/librettist Mark Campbell.

In partnership with the Steven R. Gerber Trust, The English Symphony Orchestra, Kenneth Woods, conductor, will present a special Composer Portrait concert celebrating the music of the late Steven Gerber on Friday, February 26 @ 7:30PM GMT, originating from Wyastone Concert Hall in Monmouth, England.

Sarasota Youth Opera's annual Summer Camp will be held online this year, and plans are under way for a variety of programming to engage young people in the magic of opera.

KYO-SHIN-AN ARTS continues its 11th season of chamber concerts combining Japanese and Western instruments with WINTER LIGHT featuring Duo Yumeno (Yoko Reikano Kimura, koto and Hikaru Tamaki, cello) plus David Yang, viola and James Nyoraku Schlefer, shakuhachi. Duos, trios and quartets with KSA commissions by Debra Kaye and Salina Fisher.

On Friday, November, 1st, Brooklyn Art Song Society presents the second installment of its series Home with a rare complete performance of Joseph Canteloube's magnum opus, Chant's d'Auvergne. Canteloube collected the folk melodies of the Auvergne region and imbued these whimsical, earthy tunes with emotional depth and a rich Straussian harmonic palette. The work will be performed in the original piano version and sung in the French dialect Occitan. Soprano Maria Valdes and mezzo soprano Devony Smith make their BASS debuts, joined by sopranos Marnie Breckenridge and Laura Stricking. Art Historian Patricia Mainardi (CUNY) gives a pre- concert lecture at 7:00PM.

Sarasota Youth Opera's annual Summer Camp engages young people in the magic of opera with sessions in singing, acting, props, wigs, make-up, and costumes, all led by professional singers, artists, directors, musicians, and technicians. Summer Camp sessions will take place from 10am to 4:00pm, Monday through Friday, between June 10-28, with an option of one, two, or three week sessions, at the Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple, Sarasota, FL 34236. Tuition is based on age and session, with options for pre and post care available. Tuition assistance is also available.

The Massapequa Philharmonic, under the direction of its music director David Bernard, continues its 2018-2019 season with a selection of dramatic works, including Beethoven's Overture to King Stefan, Schumann's Symphony No. 2 and Lalo's Cello Concerto featuring noted cellist Adrian Daurov.

From groundbreaking to mainstream, over the last decade KSA has built and promoted a wide body of new classical repertoire combining Japanese and Western instruments.

On November 3rd and 4th, Sarasota Youth Opera will present a revival of their acclaimed production of Benjamin Britten's charming opera The Little Sweep, last seen in 2013. The Opera will be preceded by a prologue created especially for Sarasota Youth Opera by conductor and Youth Opera Music Director Jesse Martins and stage director Martha Collins (Rootabaga Country, The Secret World of Og).

Kyo-Shin-An Arts continues its 10th anniversary season with a concert titled Crimson Leaves on Sunday, October 28, 2018 at 4pm at Tenri Cultural Institute (43A West 13th Street, NYC), which features the Boston-based, inspiring young piano trio Neave Piano Trio and KSA Artistic Director,Shakuhachi Grand Master James Nyoraku Schlefer in music for piano trio and shakuhachi. This intimate performance of chamber music blurs the lines of world culture, encompassing fiery rhythms of Iran, the sensuous passion of Argentina, the sudden drama of Hong Kong, and the austere calm of Japan. Violin, cello, piano and shakuhachi come together in music by Amir Eslami (Seasons for shakuhachi and piano trio), Astor Piazzolla (The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires for piano trio), Adrian Hon Chung Lam (Separated... at the Human Labyrinth of Asakusa Temple for shakuhachi and piano trio) and the famous traditional Shika no Tone (Cry of the Distant Deer) for two shakuhachi, with special guest Brian Tairaku Ritchi (bassist in The Violent Femmes).

A concert celebrating the 95th birthday of Pulitzer Prize-winning and Grammy Award-winning composer Ned Rorem (b. Oct. 23, 1923). The concert features the world premiere of the clarinet, violin and piano version of 'Pas de Trois' and a performance of 'Four Colors', composed for clarinetist Thomas Piercy, a long-time champion of Rorem's music. The concert also features three pieces composed for Thomas Piercy as Rorem birthday celebration music by former students of Rorem: Daron Hagen, Jennifer Higdon, and Troy Peters. Joining Piercy in the concert are violinist Eiko Kano and composer/pianist Chen Yihan.