Baritone Will Liverman & Pianist Jonathan King to Release New Album WHITHER MUST I WANDER

On Friday, January 10, 2020, baritone Will Liverman and pianist Jonathan King release their debut album Whither Must I Wander on Odradek Records. Whither Must I Wander is an exquisite recital of songs on the theme of travel by composers by Ralph Vaughan Williams, J. Frederick Keel, Herbert Howells, Aaron Copland, Steven Mark Kohn, Nikolai Medtner, and Robert Schumann.

The artists explain, "Whither Must I Wander is born out of our own adventures, each song curated to tell a story inspired by our experiences. As lifelong friends and musical colleagues, we hope always to wander; towards new destinations, new discoveries, new relationships, and always home to share our story. The CD takes its name from one of the Songs of Travel by Ralph Vaughan Williams, a song cycle that is at the heart of this release. From the trudging 'Vagabond' to the more playful 'Roadside Fire' and the radiance of 'Youth and Love,' Vaughan Williams explores every bittersweet nuance of journeying."

The album also features Frederick Keel's exhilarating Three Salt-Water Ballads and Herbert Howells' magnificent King David. The program then crosses the Atlantic to America for Aaron Copland's serene At the River and contemporary composer Steve Mark Kohn's Ten Thousand Miles Away, which uses traditional folk song to navigate the emotional strains of missing a loved-one far away. Liverman and King end the recital disc with the Goethe-inspired Night Song of the Wanderer by Russian composer Nikolai Medtner and the beautiful Mondnacht by Robert Schumann.

Liverman, an ambassador for diversity in the arts, grew up surrounded by gospel music in the Pentecostal Churches of Norfolk, Virginia. His musical education in piano and vocal studies enabled him to visit the

Metropolitan Opera at age 15, a transformative moment that inspired Liverman to pursue singing as a career, with such success that he made his own Metropolitan Opera debut in recent years.

Liverman outlines this remarkable journey in his artist biography, included in the album booklet: "Being an artist of color in a Eurocentric art form was an uphill battle, but each rejection served as motivation. Eventually, I won a few major competitions, received some grants, and started making significant operatic debuts. Life came full circle when I made my Metropolitan Opera debut, having been that 15-year-old kid watching opera for the first time."

About Baritone Will Liverman Called "one of the most versatile singing artists performing today" (Bachtrack), Will Liverman is quickly gaining a reputation for his compelling performances, while making significant debuts at opera houses across the world.

Engagements this season include his return to the Metropolitan Opera as Papageno in its holiday production of The Magic Flute, in addition to Philip Glass' Akhnaten (Horemhab). He also appears as Pantalone in The Love of Three Oranges at Opera Philadelphia, as Marcello in La bohème at Seattle Opera, and as Silvio in Pagliacci at Opera Colorado and Portland Opera.

Liverman has performed the leading role of Figaro in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia with Seattle Opera, Virginia Opera, Kentucky Opera, Madison Opera and Utah Opera. He originated the role of Dizzy Gillespie in Charlie Parker's Yardbird with Opera Philadelphia, in addition to performing the role with English National Opera, at the Apollo Theater, and with Lyric Opera of Chicago and Madison Opera. Other recent highlights include The Magic Flute (Papageno) with Florentine Opera and Central City Opera; Fellow Travelers with Lyric Opera of Chicago (Tommy McIntyre); La bohème ( Marcello) with Portland Opera; Le Comte Ory (Raimbaud) with Seattle Opera; The Rape of Lucretia (Tarquinius) and The Ghosts of Versailles (Beaumarchais) with Wolf Trap Opera; The Manchurian Candidate (Andrew Hanley) with Minnesota Opera; Les mamelles de Tirésias (the Husband) with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago; Menotti's The Last Savage (Protestant Minister) with Santa Fe Opera; Mr. Noye in Noye's Fludde a s a guest artist at Wheaton College; and soloist engagements with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Seattle Symphony, Virginia Symphony, Las Vegas Philharmonic, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, South Dakota Symphony, the University of Chicago, and the New York Festival of Song.

Liverman is a recent recipient of a 3Arts Award and a George London Award, a winner of the Stella Maris International Vocal Competition, and a recipient of a Gerda Lissner Charitable Fund Award, in addition to being a Luminarts fellow in the classical division, and a grand finalist in the 2012 Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions. Previously, he was a member of the Ryan Opera Center at the Lyric Opera of Chicago and a Young Artist at the Glimmerglass Festival. He holds his Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School, and a Bachelor of Music degree from Wheaton College. Visit www.willliverman.com for more information.

About Pianist Jonathan King Jonathan King, an active pianist and conductor based in Baltimore, MD, currently serves as Associate Music Director at Church of the Resurrection in Lutherville, MD and Choral Activities Graduate Assistant at the University of Maryland, where he has directed the University Chorale and served as Chorus Master and Assistant Conductor with Maryland Opera Studio. He has previously served as an assistant conductor to the UMS Choral Union, a Grammy® Award-winning ensemble that regularly collaborates with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and has prepared choirs for eminent conductors including Leonard Slatkin, Marin Alsop, and Gianandrea Noseda. King has also worked closely with American conductor John Nelson, assisting in several performances with the Chicago Bach Project, Orchestre de chambre de Paris, and the MasterWorks

Festival in Winona Lake, IN. King has served as a répétiteur with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and at the Oregon Bach Festival, where he has also served as assistant conductor during their 2018 and 2019 seasons.

As a collaborative pianist, King has worked with celebrated singers including J'nai Bridges, Nicole Cabell, and baritone Will Liverman, with whom he was a semi-finalist in the 2015 and 2017 Wigmore Hall/Kohn Foundation International Song Competition in London. King and Liverman have recorded with Skillman Music, Odradek Records, and Deutsche Grammophon, and maintain an active recital schedule. Mr. King is currently completing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Choral Conducting at the University of Maryland, where he studies with Edward Maclary. He completed two Master of Music degrees-in piano chamber music and choral conducting-at the University of Michigan, where he was the recipient of the Edward P. Frolich and Brehm Fellowship awards. His mentors include Martin Katz, Julius Drake, Daniel Paul Horn, and Jerry Blackstone. Visit music.umd.edu/jonathan_king for more information.

Whither Must I Wander Track List Vaughan Williams - Songs of Travel

1. The Vagabond

2. Let Beauty Awake

3. Roadside Fire

4. Youth and Love

5. In Dreams

6. The Infinite Shining Heavens

7. Whither I Must Wander

8. Bright is the Ring of Words

9. I have Trod the Upward and the Downward Slope

Frederick Keel - Three Salt-Water Ballads

10. I. Port of Many Ships

11. II. Trade Winds

12. III. Mother Carey

13. Herbert Howells - King David

14. Aaron Copland - At the River

15. Steven Mark Kohn - Ten Thousand Miles Away

16. Nikolai Medtner - Wanderer's Night Song

17. Robert Schumann - Mondnacht

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