MAY YOU HEAL The New Album From Judith Clurman and Essential Voices USA Out Now

Judith Clurman, the twice Emmy-nominated conductor and music director of Essential Voices USA and award-winning label Acis announce the release of MAY YOU HEAL, a series of five choral works commissioned by Judith Clurman's Essential Voices USA during the time of COVID-19.

The album offers music of comfort, peace, renewal and self-awareness, and includes the words of Dr. Anthony Fauci, amongst others.

TRACK 1, MAY YOU HEAL, expresses what the world is feeling today, as we learn to live with Covid-19. The heart-felt music of Canadian composer Mark Sirett, sets poignant lyrics by Bruce L. Ruben: "May You heal, May you be well again, May you lean on friends and family, May you return to health and wholeness."

TRACK 2, DONA NOBIS PACEM, is an A Cappella work by Welsh composer Katie Jenkins, that expresses a yearning for peace and is dedicated to the memory of those we have lost.

TRACK 3, David Chase's WHEN SCIENCE TRIUMPHS, sets the words of three individuals dedicated to fighting diseases that have plagued our world in modern times: Physician and immunologist Dr. Anthony Fauci (1940-) serves as director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and is the chief medical advisor to the President of the United States; Dr. Mathilde Krim (1926-2018), a research scientist and educator, and the founding chairman of amfAR, American Foundation for AIDS Research; and Dr. Jonas Salk (1914-1995), a virologist renowned for developing the first polio vaccine.

TRACK 4, RESPONSIBILITY, a setting by Mark Sirett, offers lyrics by Hillel the Elder, a famous Jewish leader and scholar of ancient Babylon (1st century BCE). In this aphorism, Hillel captures the tension between the need for healthy narcissism (self-care) and the importance of caring for others: "Im einani li, mi li? . . . If I am not for myself, Who will be for me? But if I am only for myself. What am I? And if not now, when?"

TRACK 5, I CELEBRATE MYSELF, is a setting of the opening line of Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself "(1892) by Boston-based composer Bill Cutter. The piece celebrates our connection to one another: "I celebrate myself, and sing myself...For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you..."

The singers of Essential Voices USA are joined by pianists James Cunningham and Lee Musiker and cellist Raman Ramakrishnan. The published scores are available as "The May You Heal Cycle" through Hal Leonard. The album is available as a high-resolution studio quality master download on acisproductions.com, and on all streaming platforms.

The MAY YOU HEAL Project is made possible with funding by the Billy Rose Foundation, the Maury Newburger

Foundation and individual contributions. Recording sessions were held at the DiMenna Space for Classical Music in NYC and the Samurai Recording Studio in Astoria, NY. The recordings were produced and engineered by Silas Brown, assisted by Jeremy Kinney and David Stoller.

"Whether you are listening to or singing this music in a chorus, it is my hope that this music brings you comfort and fulfillment."-Judith Clurman, conductor, Essential Voices USA

"Now more than ever, our students and our singers of all ages need a place to go and a place where they can find safety and healing. After more than two years of quarantine, those of us who love and need the safety and community of a music organization yearn to return. The 'May You Heal' cycle from the Judith Clurman Choral Series allows and encourages us find this in the music."-Scott Foss, Concert and Classical Choral Editor, Hal Leonard

"May You Heal" Tracklist

1. May You Heal (3:44) Essential Voices USA, Judith Clurman, conductor, James Cunningham, piano

Raman Ramakrishnan, cello

2. Dona Nobia Pacem (3:11) Essential Voices USA, Judith Clurman, conductor

3. When Science Triumphs (3:19) Essential Voices USA, Judith Clurman, conductor, Lee Musiker, piano

4. Responsibility (2:07) Essential Voices USA, Judith Clurman, conductor, James Cunningham, piano

5. I Celebrate Myself (1:07) Essential Voices USA, Judith Clurman, conductor, Lee Musiker, piano

Judith Clurman's Essential Voices USA (EVUSA) is one of New York's preeminent choral ensembles. EVUSA comprises a talented roster of seasoned professionals and auditioned volunteers, dynamically fitted to the unique needs of each project. Their releases on Acis include America at Heart, Appalachian Stories, Cradle Hymn, Rejoice! Honoring the Jewish Spirit and Winter Harmonies, and Words Matter.

Conductor Judith Clurman conducts Essential Voices USA, and the Singing Tree Float in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. She has commissioned over sixty works by major American composers, she has collaborated with the major orchestras of the world, and she has received two Emmy nominations. She was Director of Choral Activities at The Juilliard School for 18 years and a faculty member for the National Endowment for the Arts/Columbia University Institute in Classical Music and Opera. Judith teaches at the Manhattan School of Music. Her music and arrangements are published by G. Schirmer, Schott, and Hal Leonard, and have been performed by the Detroit, Houston, National, Toronto, and San Francisco Symphonies. Acis is named after Handel's opera, Acis and Galatea, and is a critically acclaimed boutique label with a roster that boasts both emerging and GRAMMY-winning classical artists. Acis was founded by the record producer and conductor Geoffrey Silver.

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