New York Festival of Song Announces 2017-18 30th Anniversary Season

Thirty years ago, Steven Blier and Michael Barrett embarked on a mission to redefine the song recital, mixing elements of theater, scholarship, fun, and great voices.

Now The New York Festival of Song is legend-both for the unforgettable concerts and the legion of brilliant young vocalists who have been mentored by Steven and Michael.

NYFOS continues to spread the gospel through its hallmark thematic concerts, emerging artist residencies, mini-series devoted to composers and new song, late night cabarets, touring, and commissioning.

HIGHLIGHTS THIS SEASON INCLUDE:

Take Care of This House: A Bernstein Celebration

11/7/17 at Merkin Concert Hall Leonard Bernstein was NYFOS' Founding Advisor and guiding spirit,
and this salute is part of the worldwide "Bernstein at 100" celebrations.
The maestro's Bicentennial work Songfest will be presented in the rarely heard
two piano and percussion arrangement by composer John Musto.

Protest

2/27/18 at Merkin Concert Hall
Jack Viertel of the Encores! Series describes Protest as "good as anything Steve Blier and NYFOS have ever done, and that's a crazily high bar to reach. Righteously
angry and seductively beautiful, simply presented yet profoundly impactful." Songs by Marc Blitzstein, Joni Mitchell, Randy Newman, Mohammed Fairouz & more.

A 30th Anniversary Celebration

4/24/18 at Merkin Concert Hall An outrageously talented cast of NYFOS alums including Julia Bullock,
Paul Appleby, Antonina Chehovska, Lauren Worsham, Ben Bliss,
and John Brancy sing one song from each of NYFOS's past 29 seasons.

Emerging Artists

The core of NYFOS is its work with today's finest young singers,
through numerous song-filled residences including Juilliard (culminating in a 1/11/18 concert that celebrates Bolcom and Corigliano's 80th birthdays)
and Caramoor (culminating in a 3/11/18 concert featuring songs
of the British Isles, from lute songs to the Beatles).

Next

The NYFOS Next series is devoted to contemporary composers and new song.
Bernstein protégé Michael Barrett hosts a Bernstein Marathon with a NYFOS Next segment that features composers who studied with or were influenced by the maestro (12/2/17 at Elebash Recital Hall, CUNY Graduate Center); Brazilian composer/singer/pianist Clarice Assad hosts and curates a show in May 2018 that includes her works and those of other Latin American composers of today.

On Tour

NYFOS brings its "inimitably ebullient" (The New Yorker) performances
across the country, including Kansas City, MO; Washington, DC;
Tucson, AZ; Vienna, VA; Katonah, NY; Hudson, NY

After Hours

NYFOS's cabaret series offfers late night shows with food/drink
at HENRY's Restaurant, Broadway & 105th
The wildly popular holiday classic A Goyishe Christmas To You returns with great singers performing Yuletide favorites written by Jewish songwriters (12/11/17). Steven Blier and Michael Barrett talk about the new season: "When we started The New York Festival of Song three decades ago, neither of us had any idea our fly-by-night experiment would turn into an enduring New York institution. As we celebrate our 30th Anniversary, we look back with pride. Our musical feast begins with a tribute to NYFOS's Founding Advisor, Leonard Bernstein, on the occasion of his centenary. In February, we'll offer a show we're simply calling Protest, a rousing response to the current political environment. We'll close out our season with a celebration of our Pearl Anniversary, spotlighting a song from each of our previous 29 seasons." "A NYFOS concert is always a revelation."
- OPERA NEWS

"No group in the city presents a more scintillating program of songs."
- The New YorkER

"Insightful and imaginative, touching and funny."
- The New York TIMES

T H E ' 1 7 / 18 S E A S O N

(Click to view the Season-at-a-Glance)

NYFOS MAINSTAGE

Four concerts co-presented by Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center
and New York Festival of Song Merkin Concert Hall, 129 West 67th Street Complimentary wine receptions with the artists to follow each program.

$140-$200 Subscriptions for Entire Series
$20-$55 for Single Tickets; $10 for Student Tickets
$20 for Real Deal Tickets: Advance Purchase, Limited Availability and Seating
Purchase tickets online at www.kaufmanmusiccenter.org or by calling (212) 501 3330

Take Care of This House:
A Bernstein Celebration

Tuesday, November 7, 2017, 8:00 p.m.
Chelsea Shephard, soprano; Lucia Bradford and Annie Rosen, mezzo-sopranos
Miles Mykkanen, tenor; Justin Austin, baritone; Adrian Rosas, bass-baritone
Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, pianists; Barry Centanni, percussion

Annie Rosen, Miles Mykkanen, and Justin Austin As part of the worldwide "Bernstein at 100" celebration, NYFOS offers a Leonard Bernstein musical extravaganza featuring a rare performance of the maestro's Bicentennial ensemble work, Songfest. Originally scored for orchestra, this concert presents the two piano and percussion arrangement by composer John Musto. Setting to music an eclectic array of poems by several great American writers including Langston Hughes and Walt Whitman, Songfest captures the composer at the dazzling peak of his powers: a kaleidoscopic view of the American experience told through the passionate voices of insiders, outsiders, artists, ex-patriates, married couples, and kids. The program also surveys Bernstein's most beloved works written for Broadway and the concert hall.
Preview Performance: November 5, 2017, Vocal Arts DC, Washington, DC
www.vocalartsdc.org

Protest

Tuesday, February 27, 2018, 8:00 p.m.
Mikaela Bennett and Christine Taylor Price, sopranos; Rihab Chaieb, mezzo-soprano
Joshua Blue, tenor; Dimitri Katotakis and Jacob Scharfman, baritones
Andrew Munn, bass; Jack Gulielmetti, guitar; Steven Blier and Chris Reynolds, pianists

Joshua Blue, Rihab Chaieb, Dimitri Katotakis Music has long been a source of comfort and courage for oppressed communities. This program's songs-defiant, passionate, ironic-touch on some of the hot-button issues in today's news: the rights of Latinos, Latinas, Muslims, Jews, and the gay community; the plights of exiles and refugees; and the survival of the earth itself. A panorama of composers, from Marc Blitzstein and Joni Mitchell to Randy Newman and Mohammed Fairouz, take an eloquent stand for equality, peace, and rationality.

"PROTEST is as good as anything Steve Blier and NYFOS have ever done, and that's a crazily high bar to reach. Righteously angry and seductively beautiful, simply presented, yet profoundly impactful, it is ecumenical in a way that is constantly surprising and fulfilling to the human spirit in a dark time. It stiffens the spine as it fill the air with beautiful music." - Jack Viertel, author of The Secret Life of the American Musical;
Artistic Director of the Encores! Series at New York's City Center

From Lute Songs to the Beatles:
Songs of the British Isles

Tuesday, March 13, 2018, 8:00 p.m.
Featuring Caramoor's 2018 Schwab Vocal Rising Stars

This concert offers four centuries of wit and sentiment, expressed with the deep refinement unique to the British Isles. The wide-ranging program has it all: a bawdy lute song from the Renaissance, an aria by an English student of Mozart, a quintessential bit of topsy-turvy from Gilbert and Sullivan, songs by England's iconic musicians including Britten and Quilter, a look at Britain's twenty-first century composers, and dessert courses by Noël Coward and the Beatles.
Preview Performance: Sunday, March 11, 2018, Caramoor Center, Katonah, NY
www.caramoor.org

A 30th Anniversary Celebration

Tuesday, April 24, 2018, 8:00 p.m.
Julia Bullock, Antonina Chehovska, and Lauren Worsham, sopranos
Paul Appleby and Ben Bliss, tenors; John Brancy, baritone; and many others.

Julia Bullock, Ben Bliss, Antonina Chehovska NYFOS celebrates the end of its 30th season with a special evening that recalls its long history and looks ahead to the future. Joining Blier and Barrett on stage will be NYFOS alums, sharing their memories and entertaining the audience with song.