Having
worked in voice studios from my freshman year in college, I have always been
immersed in the world of accompanying. My
love for poetry set to music and the partnership of working with a singer has fostered
some of the most rewarding work of my career.
During three years as a free-lance pianist in Rochester, New York, and
specifically at the Eastman School, I had the opportunity to work regularly in
the studios of soprano Helen Boatwright, best known for her early recordings of
Charles Ives’ songs, and mezzo Jan de Gaetani, also a champion of American art
song from Ives to the works of George Crumb and his contemporaries. Collaborative pianist Robert Spillman was a
major influence and mentor during that time.
Following a series of 80 “informance” recitals with soprano Gwendolyn Bradley from the Metropolitan Opera under the auspices of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, I accompanied Gwen on several Midwest and Southern tours in subsequent years.
In the early 1980s, I performed at the Kennedy Center for the Arts’ Terrace Theater with George Mason University’s Gloriana Singers. In a review of the concert, the Fairfax Journal noted that my “mastery of the piano was spellbinding throughout the evening.” Following a performance with tenor Gene Tucker in a program of English, French, German, and American art song, the Washington Post cited a “beautifully atmospheric Phidylé [Duparc]” and “a very dramatic performance of I Hear an Army [Barber],” also observed that the pianist, “…given a variety of material as broad as the singer’s, performed with distinction.”
Since then I have worked happily with professional, semi-professional, and student singers, always with the goal of being the best partner I can be and, particularly with the younger singers, fostering a love for the setting of the poetry and for the art of musical partnership so critical to the genre of art song.
I have collaborated with African American soprano Denise Myers on a wonderful program called The Black Woman’s Experience in America, presented in Wisconsin, Massachusetts, South Carolina, and Alabama.
Among recent performances in the greater Boston area have been recitals with soprano Teresa Winner Blume, celebrating her 2010 win as National Semi-Finalist at the National Association of Teachers of Singing Artist Awards, and with soprano Jennifer Sgroe at the Salem Arts Festival in 2010 and 2011.
A memorable performance with New England Light Opera was the company’s 10th anniversary celebration featuring a full performance of Die Fledermaus with solo piano serving as the orchestra.
Most recently as artistic director of the Boston Singers Resource, I have worked with BSR singers in performances of Songs of the Sea, a program featuring many New England composers; A Tribute to John Duke, which highlighted the art song output of this important Massachusetts composer; and A Musical Portrait of Emily Dickinson, presented as a musical essay with narration about the life of “Miss Emily” woven in among songs set to her poetry.
Upcoming is A Tribute to Leonard Bernstein, in which art songs, theatre music, and operatic arias are interwoven into a portrait of the charismatic, controversial musician who, to date, holds claim of being Massachusetts’ most celebrated composer.
Following a series of 80 “informance” recitals with soprano Gwendolyn Bradley from the Metropolitan Opera under the auspices of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, I accompanied Gwen on several Midwest and Southern tours in subsequent years.
In the early 1980s, I performed at the Kennedy Center for the Arts’ Terrace Theater with George Mason University’s Gloriana Singers. In a review of the concert, the Fairfax Journal noted that my “mastery of the piano was spellbinding throughout the evening.” Following a performance with tenor Gene Tucker in a program of English, French, German, and American art song, the Washington Post cited a “beautifully atmospheric Phidylé [Duparc]” and “a very dramatic performance of I Hear an Army [Barber],” also observed that the pianist, “…given a variety of material as broad as the singer’s, performed with distinction.”
Since then I have worked happily with professional, semi-professional, and student singers, always with the goal of being the best partner I can be and, particularly with the younger singers, fostering a love for the setting of the poetry and for the art of musical partnership so critical to the genre of art song.
I have collaborated with African American soprano Denise Myers on a wonderful program called The Black Woman’s Experience in America, presented in Wisconsin, Massachusetts, South Carolina, and Alabama.
Among recent performances in the greater Boston area have been recitals with soprano Teresa Winner Blume, celebrating her 2010 win as National Semi-Finalist at the National Association of Teachers of Singing Artist Awards, and with soprano Jennifer Sgroe at the Salem Arts Festival in 2010 and 2011.
A memorable performance with New England Light Opera was the company’s 10th anniversary celebration featuring a full performance of Die Fledermaus with solo piano serving as the orchestra.
Most recently as artistic director of the Boston Singers Resource, I have worked with BSR singers in performances of Songs of the Sea, a program featuring many New England composers; A Tribute to John Duke, which highlighted the art song output of this important Massachusetts composer; and A Musical Portrait of Emily Dickinson, presented as a musical essay with narration about the life of “Miss Emily” woven in among songs set to her poetry.
Upcoming is A Tribute to Leonard Bernstein, in which art songs, theatre music, and operatic arias are interwoven into a portrait of the charismatic, controversial musician who, to date, holds claim of being Massachusetts’ most celebrated composer.