Baritone John Brancy And Pianist Peter Dugan Join Forces For A WORLD WAR I MEMORIAL IN SONG

September 28 through to November 12, 2018, Baritone John Brancy will continue his collaboration with pianist Peter Dugan in an extensive 'A WWI Memorial in Song' tour in partnership with the WWI Centennial Commission. The pair have been redefining the art song recital since making their critically acclaimed debut of 'A Silent Night' at the Kennedy Center in 2014. Hailed by The Washington Post as "so refreshingly, marvelously different," the program pays homage to the centennial of World War I through the music of composers who lived through, fought in, and died in the Great War. Naperville's Wentz Hall (Cantigny Park, IL) is the first stop on the tour at a special concert event for the First Division Museum on September 28, 2018.

The tour continues at Samford University (October 4, Homewood, AL), Stanford University (October 14, Stanford, CA), Mise-en-scène Studios (October 22, NYC), Boston Conservatory at Berklee (October 30, Boston, MA *livestream), the U.S. Naval Academy (November 2, Annapolis, MD), the Artist Series Sarasota (November 4, Sarasota, FL), UC Irvine (November 7, Irvine, CA), the Smithsonian Institute (November 10, Washington, DC) and Vocal Arts DC at the Kennedy Center (November 12, Washington, DC). More livestream dates to be announced soon.

As official commemorative partners of the WWI Centennial Commission, the tour (for select dates to be announced soon) will be accompanied by the Maquette (miniature sculpture) of the new WWI Memorial being built in DC's Pershing Park, a 100 year old journey to recognize our veterans in our Capital City. Brancy and Dugan hope to play a small part in promoting this important memorial through their premiere interpretation of WWI in song. Daniel Dayton, Executive Director of the WWI Centennial Commission says of Brancy and Dugan's project: it's "a one-of-a-kind experience that transports audiences in a manner unlike any museum exhibition or concert program I have seen." For more details on this tour, visit memorialinsong.com AND you can follow their journey by following them on social media platforms and the hashtag #MemorialinSong

John Brancy's intense musicality and communicative power places him in the front ranks of baritones of his generation. Hailed by the New York Times as "a vibrant, resonant presence," Brancy won First Prize in the Art Song Division of the 2018 Concours Musical International de Montreal, a win that recognizes him as a premiere interpreter of Art Song repertoire in our time. The New Jersey native also won First Prize in the 2018 Lotte Lenya Competition in New York, Second Prize at the 2017 Wigmore Hall Competition in London and prior to that won the media prize in the 2017 Belvedere International Singing Competition in Moscow and First Prize in the Jensen Foundation Vocal Competition in 2015. He is also a past winner of the Marilyn Horne Song Competition and the Sullivan Foundation Grand Prize. johnbrancy.com

Pianist Peter Dugan's 2017 debut solo performances with Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony were described by the Los Angeles Times as "stunning" and by the SF Chronicle as "fearlessly athletic." He has appeared as a soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician across North America and abroad. peterduganpiano.com

Brancy and Dugan met as students at the Juilliard School. As collaborative partners, they are committed to reenergizing and reinventing the approach to art song. Their repertoire ranges from the classic song cycles of the 19th century to original arrangements of the American Songbook and modern popular tunes.
Brancy and Dugan are co-creators of OPERAtion Superpower, a superhero opera that encourages children to use their talents - their real-life superpowers - to do good in the world. As official commemorative partners of The United States World War I Centennial Commission and the Mission du Centenaire, Brancy and Dugan continue to perform 'A Silent Night: A WWI Memorial in Song' for audiences around the world. They made their Alice Tully Hall debut in April, 2018 with 'Armistice: The Journey Home'.