Musica Viva NY Presents SONGS OF LOVE Benefit Concert

Musica Viva NY kicks off its 2018-19 season with Songs of Love, an evening of lieder by Johannes Brahms, Robert Schumann, and P.D.Q. Bach, on Sunday, September 23 at 5:00 p.m. at All Souls Church. The concert features soprano Devony Smith, mezzo-soprano Michèle Eaton, tenor Nathan Siler, and baritone Brian Mextorf, accompanied by Artistic Director Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez and Trent Johnson.

There will be a pre-concert talk at 4pm at All Souls Church, open to all, given by Professor Peter Schickele.

Admission is free, with a suggested donation at the door to support Musica Viva NY's artistic programming.

Founded in 1977, Musica Viva NY shares the transcendent power of choral and instrumental music with audiences in New York City and beyond, through its annual four-concert series. The Musica Viva NY choir of thirty professionals and highly skilled volunteers performs broad repertoire, including new compositions and classic masterworks, emphasizing artistic excellence and transformative interpretations.

Additional concerts in Musica Viva NY's 2018-19 season include End of the War to End All Wars on Sunday, November 11, 2018 at All Souls Church, commemorating the end of World War I; Musica Viva NY Presents the Aeolus Quartet on Sunday, January 27, 2019 at Bohemian National Hall; Bernstein at 100 on Sunday, March 10, 2019 celebrating Bernstein's centennial; and Homage on Sunday, May 19, 2019 spotlighting composers paying tribute to the past masters who inspired them.

Program Information
SONGS OF LOVE
Sunday, September 23, 2018 at 5:00 p.m.
All Souls Church
1157 Lexington Avenue (at 80th Street)
New York, NY 10075

Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Spanisches Liederspiel, Op. 74 (selections)

JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833-1897)
Liebeslieder Walzer, Op. 52

P. D. Q. BACH (1807-1742?)
Liebeslieder Polkas, S. 2/4 (selections)
Lovingly Edited by Professor Peter Schickele (b. 1935)

Featuring:
Devony Smith, soprano
Michèle Eaton, mezzo-soprano
Nathan Siler, tenor
Brian Mextorf, baritone
Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez, piano
Trent Johnson, piano

Esteemed conductor, pianist, and composer Dr. Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez was named Artistic Director of Musica Viva NY and Director of Music of the historic Unitarian Church of All Souls in Manhattan in 2015. He is also Co-Founder of the New Orchestra of Washington and Artistic Director of the Victoria Bach Festival. He has earned accolades from The Washington Post as a conductor "with the incisive clarity of someone born to the idiom," as well as praise from The New York Times for leading "a stirring performance" of Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem. He is featured in El mundo en las manos/Creadores mexicanos en el extranjero (The World in Their Hands/Creative Mexicans Abroad), a book by the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs honoring Mexican nationals who are leading figures in diverse artistic fields. He is the recipient of a 2016 Shenandoah Conservatory Alumni of Excellence Award for his exemplary contribution to his profession, national level of prominence, and exceptional integrity. He resides in New York City and Washington, D.C.

Trent Johnson is an organist, composer, pianist and conductor. He is the Organist and Assistant Director of Music of the Unitarian Church of All Souls in New York City and is the Music Director of the Oratorio Singers of Westfield, New Jersey. An active organ recitalist, Mr. Johnson has performed recitals in many of the major churches, concert halls, and cathedrals in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Some notable recital venues in New York have included the Riverside Church, St. Thomas' Church 5th Avenue, St. Patrick's Cathedral, the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, and the Brick Presbyterian Church. He is an organist at Radio City Music Hall, where he plays the "Mighty Wurlitzer" organ for the Christmas Spectacular Show. Mr. Johnson is a graduate of the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University and The Juilliard School.

Baritone Brian Mextorf's 2018-19 season features a role debut singing Raphael in Creation, a return to the Brooklyn Art Song Society singing Barber's Despite and Still, Op. 41, and a return to the bass solos in Mozart's Requiem. His 2017-18 season featured solo debuts at Carnegie Hall (Schubert's Mass No. 2), Lincoln Center (La Traviata), National Sawdust (AIDS Quilt Songbook), Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem, recitals with pianists Seymour Bernstein and Brent Funderburk, and performances with the Brooklyn Art Song Society, New York Philharmonic, Choir of Trinity Wall Street, St. John the Divine, and New York City Ballet. A native of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, Brian is an alumnus of The Oberlin Conservatory of Music (B.M. 2012) and Westminster Choir College (M.M. 2014).

Devony Smith is a versatile soprano excelling in both contemporary and traditional repertoire with her "sensuous" and "strong" voice (The New York Times). With Musica Viva NY, Devony recently performed the soprano solos for Vivaldi's Gloria, Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem, and Carmina Burana. This year, Devony was the recipient of the Lyndon Woodside award in the Lyndon Woodside Oratorio-Solo Competition at Carnegie Hall. Also at Carnegie Hall, she participated in the prestigious The Song Continues workshop with Marilyn Horne. Past engagements include Kate Soper's Here Be Sirens at National Sawdust, Carmen (Micaëla) at the Axelrod Performing Arts Center, La Traviata (Violetta) at the Narnia Festival, Le Nozze di Figaro (Susanna) with Bronx Opera and OperaRox Productions, and the title role in Cendrillon with Utopia Opera. In 2019, she will present a recital in a partnership with Carnegie Hall's Citywide Concerts.

Mezzo-soprano Michèle Eaton has earned praise for her pure voice and sensitive interpretations, best known for her performances of Baroque and contemporary style. She sang the roles of Child Grendel and Shaper's Apprentice in the New York premiere of the opera Grendel. On the Sacred Music in a Sacred Space series at St. Ignatius Loyola Church in New York City, she has performed Handel's Solomon and Saul, Bach's Mass in B Minor, Tavener's Lament of the Mother of God, Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610, and Couperin's Leçons de Tenebres. Additionally, she frequently tours and records with the acclaimed Renaissance vocal group Pomerium. Previous engagements include Sponus with the Ensemble for Early Music, performances with the Carmel Bach Festival, and countless solo oratorio performances ranging from Handel to Schubert. She can be heard on the soundtrack for the film Dead Man Walking, Bobby McFerrin's Vocabularies, and projects with labels such as Deutsche Grammophon, Angel, Dorian, Sony Classics, Nonesuch, Arabesque, Glissando, and Delos. Currently, Ms. Eaton is touring internationally with the Philip Glass Ensemble in performances of Einstein on the Beach. She lives in New Rochelle, New York with her husband, Mark Burns.

Nathan Siler is a Bronx-based performer and composer. He frequently sings at Carnegie Hall with the Bard Festival Chorale and at Lincoln Center with NY Concert Chorale. He has been a featured soloist and comprimario at Bard Summerscape for the last six years. Favorite roles include: Fury (Oresteia), Rudolph (Euryanthe), and Tatar in this year's production of Demon. He also keeps a packed schedule of composition and orchestration projects. Siler's notable works include: Featured Orchestration for BAM (Jules Verne: From the Earth to the Moon); original podcast theme song (Reverence Road); film scores (The Widowers; We Are Mary); full orchestral suite for Grammy Award winning children's rock band Sugar-Free Allstars (performed by Winston-Salem Philharmonic and Oklahoma City Philharmonic); and Music Director for ORYANS BELLT TV (Licorice Loft and Evan's World). Recently, he returned from a workshop at Middlebury College in Vermont to develop his original score for a new devised theater piece Rise/Fall. Nathan is also the chief architect for New York City guitar-pop/art rock band Portraiture.