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A Summer of Song
If the walls of Raitt Recital Hall at Pepperdine University could talk at all, then this summer they would be singing instead, as the annual summer SongFest program returns to the University this month. The five-week program runs until Saturday, July 4, in the Recital Hall on the Malibu campus, training gifted singers and pianists to the highest artistic level through a series of coaching classes and public performances.
Former SongFest pianist Graham Johnson considers classical song an "embattled art form" which must be defended by "all those who care about song." In the 2009 SongFest program notes he asks, "Where would we be without song and what it represents in terms of education, inspiration, team work, broadening horizons and ongoing challenges to the soul of the working singer and pianist?"
This year's program unites top quality vocal artists, coaches, and former Songfest alumni for a period devoted to classical music and song. Highlights of the public performances will include a concert of works by composer-in-residence Tom Cipullo, a musical portrait of poet Emily Dickinson, and a faculty concert in which Pepperdine professor of music Melanie Emelio will perform.
SongFest was founded in 1995 by soprano Rosemary Hyler Ritter, and it has made its home at Pepperdine since 2003. "SongFest provides gifted young singers and pianists the opportunity to immerse themselves in an intensive performing experience on the beautiful Pepperdine campus," says Ritter. "The faculty includes the most distinguished in their field."
In 2003, SongFest faculty John Harbison and the late Craig Smith formed the Bach Cantata Institute, to celebrate the works of acclaimed composer J.S. Bach (1685-1750). The six-day intensive training program will culminate in a performance of Bach's Sacred Cantatas on Saturday, June 27. Additionally, there will be a performance of Bach's works on Tuesday, June 23; "The Splendour of the Baroque" will feature the soprano Sarah Shafer, the 2009 recipient of the Craig Smith Fellowship.
In addition, a number of Songfest Distinguished Alumni return to perform each year. This year, SongFest will welcome back mezzo-soprano Jazimina MacNeil and soprano Katie Van Kooten, who helped open the 2009 season with a performance in the SongFest Alumni Concert on Tuesday, June 9. MacNeil's vocals have been praised by James R. Oestrich of the New York Times for their "richness, maturity, and genuine distinction in the mezzo-soprano sound." She will sing in "The Splendour of the Baroque," and join the 2009 SongFest Stern Fellows' performance on Tuesday, June 16.
"An endangered species certainly," says Johnson of the treasured art form of classical singing. "But one that is not being allowed to die in Southern California because of the tenacity and quality of SongFest and the people who run it."
For additional information, visit the SongFest Web site, or call the SongFest office at (310) 506-7511.
Summer SongFest Performances 2009
Stern Fellows
Tuesday, June 16, 8 p.m.
With SongFest Distinguished Alumna Jazimina MacNeil, mezzo-soprano
This, and My Heart Beside
A Portrait of Emily Dickinson and Her Worlds Through Text and Song
Wednesday, June 17, 8 p.m.
Anne Marie Ketchum, soprano; Victoria Kirsch, piano
American Song is Alive and Well
Thursday, June 18, 7:30 p.m.
A concert of American songs presented by the SongFest Apprentice singers.
The American Songbook
Saturday, June 20, 8 p.m.
SongFest Fellows with John Musto, piano
Faculty Concert
Monday, June 22, 7:30 p.m.
With faculty Sheryl Cohen, Melanie Emelio, D'Anna Fortunato, Jennifer Tung, Hisako Hiratsuka. Vocal Chamber Music with flute
The Splendour Of the Baroque
Tuesday, June 23, 7:30 p.m.
With sopranos Frances Young Bennett and Kendra Colton; mezzo-sopranos Adelaide Sinclair and Christin-Marie Hill, baritone William Sharp and tenor Ryan Turner; flutist Randolph Bowman and oboist Peggy Pearson.
Featuring Sarah Shafer, soprano, recipient of the SongFest 2009 Craig Smith Fellowship and Jazimina MacNeil, mezzo-soprano, Songfest Distinguished Alumna
American Song is Alive and Well
Wednesday, June 24, 7:30 p.m.
The songs of composers-in-residence, Tom Cipullo, John Musto and Jake Heggie, with the SongFest singers and pianists featuring "A Visit with Emily"
I Hear America Singing Cipullo!
Thursday, June 25, 7:30 p.m.
Featuring the works of composer-in-residence Tom Cipullo. Program to include Insomnia, world premiere co-commissioned by SongFest at Pepperdine and Cantori New York in the premiere performance by SongFest Stern Fellows
Evening at the Opera
Friday, June 26 and Sunday, June 28, 7:30 p.m.
A program of staged opera scenes presented by the SongFest Apprentices
The Sacred Cantatas of J.S. Bach
Saturday, June 27, 7:30 p.m.
With flutist Randolph Bowman, violinist Mary Beth Woodruff and oboist Peggy Pearson. Performed with the SongFest singers and pianists
Chamber Music with Flute
Wednesday, July 1, 7:30 p.m.
Final Concert
Saturday, July 4, 2 p.m.
