Grammy award-winning composer Libby Larsen will premiere her new work, The Birth Song Cycle, at SongFest 2015 this summer! Sopranos Gwen Coleman Detwiler and Audrey Luna, for whom the work was commissioned, will collaborate with internationally-known pianist Lydia Brown in performing this cutting edge composition, giving fresh and current perspective on this powerful subject.

SongFest is thrilled to announce two WORLD PREMIERES for the summer of 2015 to be presented by festival participants chosen through national auditions.

Anne LeBaron has been chosen to write the 2015 Sorel Organization American Song Commission: a duet for female and male voice with piano. More details about the piece to come soon!

Additionally, SongFest is thrilled to present the world premiere of “Shadow Memory” a work for soprano and piano by James Primosch (http://jamesprimosch.com/) with text by best selling L.A. author Susan Orlean (http://www.susanorlean.com).

7 reasons why the X Factor remains elusive

If we’re going to create a step-by-step guide to acquire something, first we have to define what that thing is, but before we can do that, we need to establish why this is so important and why it hasn’t been done before. i.e. if this “X Factor” is so important, why is it not a serious part of most curriculums or taught in any structured course? A few reasons: ....

A renowned American tenor, John Aler is one of the most acclaimed and admired singers on the international stage.  A consummate artist, he has been a frequent performer with such orchestras as the New York Philharmonic, the Cleveland and Philadelphia Orchestras, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the symphony orchestras of Boston, Chicago and San Francisco.  He has sung in Europe with the Berlin Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Orchestre Nationale de France, and the BBC Symphony, among many others, appearing with the world’s most respected conductors, including James Conlon, Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez, Kurt Masur, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Simon Rattle, Michael Tilson Thomas, Herbert Blomstedt, and Leonard Slatkin, to name a few.  He has performed at the major opera houses of the world, including the Royal Opera Covent Garden, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Vienna, Munich, Salzburg, Hamburg, Geneva, Madrid, and Brussels, as well as the New York City Opera, the Washington Opera, and Santa Fe.  He is a regular performer at the major American summer festivals, including Ravinia, Aspen, Chautauqua, Newport, and Grant Park.

Rediscovering Vocal Gems of the Early Twentieth Century

SongFest announces a collaboration with The OREL Foundation to present SongFest fellows in a recital dedicated to composers whose music was suppressed during the Nazi Regime. The program will be developed in consultation with James Conlon and The Ziering-Conlon Initiative at The Colburn School. This music holds a special significance for Los Angeles as many of these composers, such as Hanns Eisler, Erich Korngold, Ernst Toch and Erich Zeisl, emigrated to the area and profoundly influenced Southern California's musical culture.

For more information, please visit The OREL Foundation [orelfoundation.org], the most resourceful website about these composers and their music in the English language.

Young Artist Program Director Matthew Morris' "One method to learn a song from brand new to riveting performance"

Much of the best in life and art seems to happen spontaneously, but often if we look underneath the apparent magic happenstance, we find structure, hard work, determination, and diligence staring back at us. Here is one method of many possible methods to learn a song from cracking open the score to a complete dynamic and engaging performance. The point isn't that this has to be the way for anyone to learn a song, but rather that it should spark a conversation with you and your teachers and colleagues about how you can create a structure of learning that works best for you. Give yourself a chance to have one of those spontaneous magical moments in your performance that can only happen if you've done "the work" ahead of time. A kite has to be tethered to fly.

Congratulations to SongFest Stern Fellow ('12 & '13) and staff pianist ('14) Dimitri Dover for his selection as a member of The Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Young Artist Development Program!

SongFest is proud to welcome composer Libby Larsen to our 2015 Faculty! Masterclass topics and dates coming soon.

This summer 2015, SongFest is proud to welcome world-renowned mezzo-soprano Ann Murray to the faculty for the first time. Equally exciting, she will be presenting a special recital with longtime musical partner and SongFest faculty member pianist Graham Johnson. More information regarding her teaching schedule and masterclass topics will be coming soon!

This summer 2015, SongFest is proud to welcome soprano Dawn Upshaw to our faculty for the first time.

Congratulations to SongFest pianist alumnus Landon Baumgard for being hired by LA Opera!

Congratulations to longtime faculty member Graham Johnson for the publication of his extraordinary work on Schubert and his songs. Available soon!

Congratulations to SongFest alumna Sarah Davis on winning 1st place in The American Prize in Vocal Performance: Friedrich & Virginia Schorr Memorial Award
PROFESSIONAL ART SONG/ORATORIO DIVISION! http://theamericanprize.blogspot.com/

New score release: SongFest faculty and extraordinary composer William Bolcom's complete concert songs to-date are now available in two volumes each for high and low voices. With first editions (incl. SongFest 2012 commission "Gettysburg"!) and first-time transpositions. A wonderful addition to any singer's and pianist's library! http://www.halleonard.com/product/viewproduct.do?itemid=117086&seriesfeature&menuid=4183&subsiteid=27

Congratulations to the Met team, the wonderful cast of "Nozze di Figaro", and in particular SongFest faculty Susanne Mentzer (Marcellina) for an exceptional review and a fantastic opening! http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/09/24/arts/music/metropolitan-opera-opens-with-le-nozze-di-figaro.html?smid=fb-share&_r=0&referrer