• Catalog #: TROY0720

    Release Date: December 1, 2004
    Vocal

    The Mirror Visions Ensemble has had the pleasure of working with many living composers during the past eleven years. This CD continues the tradition, offering first (or second) hearings of new works by five American composers. The ensemble's mission is two-fold: comparing multiple settings - or mirrors - of texts, and also encouraging new visions of texts. The focus here is on visions rather than mirrors. The poetry was chosen by the ensemble from the works of poets who are friends or friends of friends (and now new friends). The five composers are old friends who have written for the ensemble on numerous occasions. What does one hope will result from this process of handing texts to composers who then interpret them with their own musical voices? The match of poet to composer is delicate: the composer needs to feel not only inspired by but at one with the poetry, and the poet needs to be willing to be shocked by the stretching, contorting, coloring and layering that the words might undergo. The results are dynamic, unpredictable, and unique, and - one hopes - of immense interest to those who care about sung words. This program consists of : solo songs with piano for soprano, tenor and baritone, as well as vocal duets and trios with piano. The fifteen-movement work by Tom Cipullo to texts of Linda Pastan is one of the few such pieces for multiple voices with piano. This is a genre not easily defined - part song cycle, part cantata, and part theater work without staging (the music powerfully provides the setting, backdrop, lighting, and action). A new, distinctively American art form can be detected here.

  • Catalog #: TROY0345

    Release Date: October 1, 1999
    Vocal

    David Patterson, Ph.D. Harvard University, names as his teachers Leon Kirchner, Nadia Boulanger and Olivier Messiaen at the Paris Conservatory. He served as chairman of the Music Department for fifteen years at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Poet TenBroeck Davison, great granddaughter of Richard W. Sears, founder of the first mail-order firm, Sears Company, lived and studied on both sides of the Texas border. Having lived in Corpus Christi, her poems evoke images of her adolescent years spent absorbing the flavor of two cultures converging in that southernmost point of the continental United States. Poet James Merrill (1926-1995), the son of Charles Merrill, who was a founder of the stock brokerage firm, Merrill Lynch, published fifteen books of poetry. Last Words was commissioned for "An Evening of Words and Music" at Washington University with James Merrill, who was then poet-in-residence.

  • Catalog #: TROY1974

    Release Date: April 15, 2024
    Vocal

    In this contemporary reimagining of Wilhelm Müller’s poetry cycle Winterreise — most famously set by Schubert — an everyman at the end of his rope confronts his inner demons in an emotionally charged vocal tour de force. Composer Douglas J. Cuomo is known for his concert, operatic, theatrical, television, and film compositions. His music is influenced by jazz, world music, classical and popular sources, as well as his spiritual practice as a Buddhist. Along with the operas Doubt, and Arjuna’s Dilemma, he has written for the London Philharmonic, Fort Worth Symphony, Romero Guitar Quartet, Joe Lovano, Denyce Graves, Christine Brewer, Nels Cline, Maya Beiser and others. He composed the theme for Sex & the City and scored over 20 feature films.

  • Catalog #: TROY1802

    Release Date: December 1, 2019
    Vocal

    As African Americans commemorate 400 years of Afrcans in America, the presence of the Negro Spritual remains a strong symbol and a significant tool through which Africans made their voices heard throughout these years of struggle. This CD is a compilation of many of these Spirituals, releases previously on Albany Records, which still stand strong even in today's world where in many instances it seems as if time has stood stil and the need for these precious gems still toll the bells of freedom. Bass-baritone Oral Moses performs regularly throughout the United States and Europe singing oratorio and recitals with special emphasis on a wide variety of Negro Spirituals and art song repertoire by African-American composers.

  • Catalog #: TROY1963

    Release Date: December 31, 2023
    Vocal

    Saloons, Salons, and Salutations is a musical journey through the American West and the salons of Europe, weaving together the diversity of female voices across different eras and styles. These eclectic — sometimes irreverent — compositions, brought to life by soprano Serena Hill LaRoche and pianist Catherine Garner, pay homage to the creativity and innovation of women in the world of classical music. Serena Hill LaRoche has earned praise for her "power, virtuosity and elegance" with "a thrilling instrument at the top of its range." An active concert artist she has performed as a recitalist, opera singer, and soloist with orchestras. She was a 2003 finalist in the Southeast Regional Metropolitan Opera Auditions and the 2006 Artist of the Year with FBN Productions, Inc. LaRoche studied at the University of South Carolina and the University of North Alabama. She is on the faulty of the University of South Carolina. Her collaborator, pianist Catherine Garner is on the faculty at Appalachian State University. She is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music, Florida State University, and Louisiana State University.

  • Catalog #: TROY1728

    Release Date: June 1, 2018
    Vocal

    This recording features largely unknown sacred art songs from the late 19th to the late 20th century, including works by American composers Leo Sowerby and Daniel Pinkham as well as their stylistic predecessors Gabriel Fauré, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Max Reger, Louis Vierne, and Gaston Litaize. These composers' common musical vocabulary of chromatic harmony, realized through the expansive timbral palettes of the organ and voice, creates vivid musical settings of sacred poetry. Baritone Stephen Lancaster was winner of the Nico Castel International Master Singer Competition and of The American Prize for men in art song and oratorio. He has been featured in venues around the world as a recitalist, and soloist. He holds degrees from the University of Note Dame and the University of Michigan and is currently on the faculty at Notre Dame. Organist Kevin Vaughn is director of music and organist at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in South Bend, Indiana and on the faculty at Goshen College. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame.

  • Catalog #: TROY1773

    Release Date: May 1, 2019
    Vocal

    Daron Hagen is an award-winning composer, librettist, stage director, conductor, collaborative pianist, and essayist. He is the recipient of the 2015 American Academy of Arts and Letters’ Academy Award for “the artist who has achieved his singular voice.” His music is performed worldwide by the most prestigious orchestras, ensembles, and soloists. This recording features three of his song cycles performed by mezzo-soprano Stephanie Weiss and pianist Christina Wright-Ivanova. Ms. Weiss, a regular guest at Deutsche Opera Berlin has performed roles ranging from Komponist (Ariadne auf Naxos) to Suzuki (Madama Butterfly). Currently on the faculty at Arizona State University, Ms. Weiss studied at the New England Conservatory, Tufts University, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Mannes College of Music, and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Ms. Wright-Ivanova is on the faculty at Keene State College and has performed throughout the US, Australia, the UK, Europe, Canada, China, and South America. She is a vocal coach at UMass Amherst and serves on the faculty at New England Conservatory's Summer Institute for Contemporary Performance Practice.

  • Catalog #: TROY0530

    Release Date: August 1, 2002
    Vocal

    Rossini cherished a lifelong fondness for Venice, the scene of his first operatic triumphs. During long years of "retirement" (he composed his last opera, Guillaume Tell in 1829 at the age of 37), he led a restless existence, leaving Paris in 1836 for Milan, Bologna, and Florence, until finally embracing Paris for good in 1855. Only there, it seems, could his muse express herself through the intimate genres of the solo song and the small piano piece. Except for a certain feline aria - which is exceptional in every way - all the works on this program come from two Parisian collections: the 1835 Soirees musicales with its eight solo songs and four duets, and the Peches de vieillesse ("Sins of old age"), with its thirteen volumes of songs, vocal ensembles and piano pieces composed after 1856. So here we have the superb American soprano Julianne Baird and some of her friends, accompanied by the fortepianist Andrew Willis, performing a delightful program of Venetian barcarolles, love duets, ensembles and gondolier songs, all by Rossini.

  • Catalog #: TROY0072

    Release Date: November 1, 1992
    Vocal

    The selections on this recording were chosen from the rich treasury of Russian art songs, or romances, as they are called in Russian. What has been attempted with this recording is to give the listener a sampler of nineteenth century Russian romances. There are songs by composers who are better-known for their larger orchestral or operatic forms, namely Borodin, Mussorgsky, Glinka, Rimsky-Korsakov and Tchaikovsky, along with the less well-known composers, Dargomyzhsky, Arensky, Gliere, and Cui, who shaped the music of their own culture by writing large numbers of romances. The above-mentioned composers can well represent the nineteenth-century Russian romance from its earliest beginnings into the twentieth century. A native of Indiana, mezzo-soprano Linn Maxwell enjoys a rich and varied career that takes her to the stages of major orchestras, opera companies and recital halls all across the United States. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland and holds a Master of Music degree from Catholic University in Washington, D.C. She has served on the faculty of Michigan State University, the University of Maryland and the Bay View Music Festival and has recorded for the RCA Red Seal, New World, Centaur and Albany Records labels.

  • Catalog #: TROY1824

    Release Date: July 1, 2020
    Vocal

    Composer and conductor Robert Pound's numerous compositions include orchestral works for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Columbus Symphony Orchestra and chamber works for ensembles including the Corigliano Quartet and Deviant Septet. A graduate of the University of North Texas and The Juilliard School, Pound was music director of the West Shore Symphony Orchestra. He is on the faculty at Dickinson College where he teaches composition and conducts the orchestra. This recording features three of his song cycles, which were commissioned in coordination with the awarding of The Stellfox Prize to the poets Maxin Kumin, Seamus Heaney, and Paul Muldoon, whose texts Pound set. Performed by tenor William Ferguson and baritone Jonathan Hays with pianist Craig Ketter, these song cycles pay magnify, reinforce and elaborate the affect of the poetry and its meaning.

  • Catalog #: TROY1591

    Release Date: October 1, 2015
    Vocal

    Composer Richard Felciano's music has always embraced the challenge of new possibilities -- new technology, but also an embracing of the function of sound in architecture and in the physical world. His attempts in his music to express humane sentiments while coping overtly with the problems inherent in the physical nature of the materials are a singular characteristic of this work. This compilation of his vocal music includes a work for sopranos and flutes; one for baritone voice, percussion, organ and electronic sounds; a work for voice and interactive electronics; one that is an environment for four performers that combines performer choice with live digital spatial processing; a work for women's voices, five harps and bell percussion; and a set of four unaccompanied choral songs.

  • Catalog #: TROY1956

    Release Date: December 15, 2023
    Vocal

    Rendezvous in the Salon invites you to experience a collection of performances that explore the rich and vibrant world of American art song. The recording includes world premiere performances of three cycles by Steve Danyew, Roger C. Vogel, and David Leisner as well as a cycle by Ned Rorem. Soprano Natalie Mann is an active recitalist, concert soloist, and opera singer. She received a Metropolitan Opera Encouragement Award and was the winner of the Audience Favorite Award in the David W. Scott Memorial Competition and the Hawaii Public Radio International Art Song Competition. She is a graduate of Butler University, the University of Wollongong, and Indiana University. She is joined on this recording by pianists Tali Tadmor, Catherine Miller, and bassoonist Bruce Magnum.

  • Catalog #: TROY1291

    Release Date: June 8, 2011
    Vocal

    Written in commemoration of September 11, Reflections upon a September morn sets two poems by Walt Whitman. Performed by Kate Maroney, mezzo-soprano, Virginia Brewer, English horn and oboe, and James Adler, piano, this is a poignant tribute to our national tragedy. Available only as a digital download through our online digital store.

  • Catalog #: TROY0336

    Release Date: July 1, 1999
    Vocal

    Gardner Read writes: "As a longtime, committed composer of art songs and of choral music, I have always been drawn to poetry that is rich in vivid imagery - "where sheep lie down to wait for morning's dew," for instance, or "when moonlight falls on the water," or "while envious fireflies spoil the twinkling dew," and "eager people, banners dreaming, marble gleaming"- all evoke positive musical response to the poem's compelling imagery. On the other hand, poetry that is heavily philosophical in tone, is basically narrative-oriented, or is motivated by social protest, for example, seldom stirs the creative juices for me. Stylistically, my vocal music here recorded ranges from overt romanticism, to various degrees of impressionism, to an almost folklike simplicity, even naiveté. These different vocal styles, however, are not the result of calculated choice but are determined only by the perceived musical potentialities of the poetic text. A clearly defined melodic line and a varied and apt accompanimental support are the twin basic criteria that have always shaped my vocal writing."

  • Catalog #: TROY0869

    Release Date: November 1, 2006
    Vocal

    Born in New York, David Chaitkin followed his early experience as a jazz musician with studies at Pomona College and the University of California, Berkeley, where he received its Prix de Paris. His teachers included Luigi Dallapiccola, Seymour Shifrin, Max Deutsch, Andrew Imbrie and Karl Kohn. He has taught at Reed College, New York University and Brooklyn College. Noted for his lyrical and harmonically adventurous music, Chaitkin has composed symphonic as well as a variety of chamber and vocal works. His music has been performed by the BBC Philharmonic, the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, the DaCapo Chamber Players and St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble. Recent commissions include a Concerto for Soprano Saxophone and Orchestra, Trio for Violin, Cello and Piano, and a new work for the U.S. Marine Band. As he writes about this release, "The works on this disc share a harmonic language, one which can refresh a long line, allow for the possibility of setting a melody in a number of different contexts, and to extend the possibilities for progression and contrast, balance and rhyme. All of the music reflects my natural desire for clarity of line, harmonic recognition and a sense of phrase."

  • Catalog #: TROY1725

    Release Date: June 1, 2018
    Vocal

    Composer/singer Linda Lister began her compositional career at age 15 writing a new musical version of The Little Match Girl for the University of Utah's Young People's Theatre. Since that time she has found her own tonal, neo-Romantic voice. Her vocal writing reveals a fondness for coloratura, an element not often found in contemporary art song. Her goal is to imbue her compositions with the pathos or humor befitting the text. She enjoys the creative synergy of singing her own music and sharing it with the world. A graduate of Vassar, Eastman and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, she has performed as a soloist with orchestras, with opera theatres across the country and her recordings appear on Albany and Centaur Records. She is on the faculty of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Her collaborator, Canadian pianist Amanda Johnston is on the faculty at the University of Mississippi, Musiktheater Bavaria; and the Druid City Opera Workshop.

  • Catalog #: TROY0406

    Release Date: September 1, 2000
    Vocal

    Lieder, so prominent in German and Austrian culture at the end of the 18th century, did not figure prominently in the output of Franz Joseph Haydn. To most of today's musical public, they are of somewhat secondary importance, and not well known. Only in recent years, such internationally acclaimed vocalists as Elly Ameling, Arleen Auger, Anne Sofie von Otter, and now the great American mezzo Victoria Livengood, have begun to include them in their recitals. Haydn wrote his first songbook in 1781, with a second in 1784. These two sets of English canzonettas were created during his stay in London in 1794-95, where he met the English poetess Anne Hunter. Later, two more English songs were added. The canzonettas are marked by a rhapsodic and elegiac flavor, influenced by Herder's emphasis on the folk song.

  • Catalog #: TROY1548

    Release Date: March 1, 2015
    Vocal

    Peteris Plakidis is one of the Latvian composers who from his very first compositions successfully created lyrical vocal works based on the intellectual poetry of the day. His compositions for voice and piano or other instruments do not seem to warrant the description of solo songs in the traditional meaning of the word. They could more accurately be described as "musical poems" and certainly deserve this title. Now a professor at the Latvian State Conservatory, Plakidis' music is performed extensively in Latvia and to some extent in Europe and the U.S. Plakidis was a visiting professor at Southern Illinois University in the early 1990s, founding a chamber ensemble called The Transatlantic Trio that combined musicians from both sides of the Atlantic. The soloist on this recording, Maija Krigena, who is married to Plakidis, appears with the Latvian State Opera.

  • Catalog #: TROY0118

    Release Date: August 1, 1994
    Vocal

    The centerpiece of this song collection, Dominick Argento's cycle From the Diary of Virginia Woolf, was awarded the 1974 Pulitzer Prize. A setting of eight excerpts from Woolf's journal, this ambitious and complex work offers in each song a glimpse into the writer's voyage of self-discovery as she observes her literary, emotional, social, and creative life. Beginning with the opening entry from 1919, the songs traverse a variety of experiences past her prescient 1940 thought, "I can't conceive that there will be a 27th June 1941," to the final entry, just before her suicide in March of 1941. In the composer's words, "I think I write music as a way of learning who I am, what I really think, what I truly believe. My own career has been an exercise in self-discovery. The strong concentration that these texts focus on self-knowledge may have prompted me to write my most moving music. Not a week goes by that I do not receive a letter from a singer or a listener saying how moved they were by a performance of the Virginia Woolf Diary." A singer who loves song literature, mezzo-soprano Mary Ann Hart has delighted audiences and critics alike with her performances. Out of sight (but still in earshot) Miss Hart did voice characterizations for the Disney animated film Beauty and the Beast and has recorded for the Arabesque, Chandos, Nonesuch and Albany Records labels.

  • Catalog #: TROY0043

    Release Date: May 1, 1991
    Vocal

    "Since I first started going to song recitals, I wondered why I heard so few American songs," says Paul Sperry in the booklet notes. "Was it that there weren't many good ones? I doubted it, and I have subsequently learned that I was right. While researching little known American songs for three Bicentennial celebration recitals, I discovered that songwriting has always attracted American composers and that they have given us a large and fascinating repertory encompassing every conceivable style. The only difficulty I face as a performer is to choose which ones to sing, or, in this case, to record. I have chosen these five composers because they are all "Romantics:" they favor tonal harmonies, attractive melodies, and a close relationship between words and music; they seek to convey the emotional content of the poetry in musical terms. But more specifically, I chose them because I love their songs."

  • Catalog #: TROY0058

    Release Date: May 1, 1992
    Vocal

    "As a song recitalist one of my favorite pastimes is putting programs together. I love to figure out how to juxtapose songs so as to show them off to greatest advantage. When I program cycles or sets, the composer have done some of my work for me. They have decided how they want their songs to interrelate, and then it becomes my job, as it is with this recording to see which cycles and sets go well together. I think of a cycle as something which doesn't excerpt effectively; each song is dependent on its neighbors to make its full effect. A set excerpts easily but also functions well as a complete group, usually using works of a single poet. In this recording, I think of the Beaser, Talma and Gruenberg as cycles, and the Smith, Wilson and Berg as sets. They appear together on this recording because they are all works I love and have performed frequently, and I think they make an intriguing totality. They are also pieces that are accessible to the general public but which could only have been compose in the twentieth century." (Paul Sperry)

  • Catalog #: TROY1504

    Release Date: July 1, 2014
    Vocal

    Paul Creston (1906-1985) was one of America's most important and influential composers of the mid-20th century. He earned ample attention for his orchestral compositions, but his songs — many of which are unpublished — remain little known. This recording offers a wide introduction to Creston's vocal music, bringing to light pieces for solo voice that have languished in obscurity. Soprano Rebecca Sherburn is an active chamber musician, having been featured by the Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group and the New York New Music Group. Her scholarly work has been published by the NATS Journal of Singing and the ACDA Choral Journal. A graduate of the University of Southern California, Ms. Sherburn is on the faculty at Chapman University. Prior to this appointment she was at the University of Missouri Kansas City where she received an excellence in teaching award.

  • Catalog #: TROY0901

    Release Date: December 1, 2006
    Vocal

    Thomas Pasatieri has proven over the past 30 years, starting while he was still a Juilliard student, to be one of America's most significant opera composers. Among the many works to his credit are The Seagull, available on TROY579/80, and a collection entitled Divas of a Certain Age on TROY841. By 1984 he had had many operatic triumphs in this country. "But I was weary of the enormous effort it took to create a new stage work only to have it premiered and then not performed again," he writes. Around that time he left for the West Coast, working as an orchestrator for film scores, with many fascinating stories to tell of his experiences. Just the same, Pasatieri has made it clear that his true calling has been as an opera composer. With such an interest in writing for the voice, he has composed lieder and song cycles such as the ones on this disc. The cycles span some thirty years, and we both performed and dedicated to important singers for whom he has written his operas, and who recognized his superb gifts. Three Poems of James Agee "are dark and both poetry and music reflect the fearful prospects the innocent faced in the oppressive Cold War epoch. Yet the works are passionate, somehow romantic. The Oscar Wilde Poems were chosen by Pasatieri for their introspective atmosphere. A Rustling of Angels "displays innocence, optimism and simplicity, and perhaps a suggestion of divine inspiration." Six other solo songs, including the popular comic piece I Just Love My Voice, close out the program, performed by a group of singers with whom the composer has long worked. These are all works in which the composer reveals his soul, his inspirations and his love.

  • Catalog #: TROY1621

    Release Date: March 1, 2016
    Vocal

    Composer Pamela Decker writes that "Haven: Songs of Mystery and of Memory for mezzo-soprano and piano, is a cycle of 16 songs for which all music and texts are original compositions. The cycle draws inspiration and influences from a variety of styles: Impressionism, Argentine tango; flamenco modes, South American rhythms, classical art song, jazz, pop, cabaret, and blues." Pamela Decker is Professor of Organ/Music Theory at the University of Arizona in Tucson. As both organ recitalist and composer, Decker has been active in the United States, Europe, the Baltic Region, and Canada. She has been a featured recitalist at many conventions and festivals and her compositions have been performed in 19 countries. Her discography includes recordings on the Albany Records, Loft, Gothic, ReZound, Arkay, and Arktos labels. She holds a D.M.A. degree from Stanford and studied both organ and composition as a Fulbright Scholar in Germany.

  • Catalog #: TROY1522

    Release Date: November 1, 2014
    Vocal

    Soprano Tanya Kruse Ruck and her colleague, pianist Elena Abend present a program of songs by three women composers: Elsa Respighi, Modesta Bor, and Lori Laitman. Else Respighi, who died in 1996, was musically precocious, studied with Ottorino Respighi, her future husband, who submitted her songs to the publisher Ricordi. All but two of her songs were written before her marriage, after which she turned her attention to her career as a singer. Modesta Bor, who died in 1998 was a well-known Venezuelan composer, musicologist and choral conductor. Lori Laitman, born in 1955 is one of America's most prolific and widely performed composers of vocal music. Tanya Ruck maintains a career singing oratorio, art song, and opera and serves on the faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

  • Catalog #: TROY0330

    Release Date: April 1, 1999
    Vocal

    William Moylan was born in Virginia, Minnesota. His early musical experiences were centered on the violin and guitar, and later on the double bass. He graduated from Ball State University and the Peabody Conservatory. Today he is Chairperson of the Department of Music, and Professor of Music and Sound Recording Technology, at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. About this recording Moylan writes: "Origins is about returning to beginnings. In many ways Origins represents the closing of a circle that brings me back to the beginnings of my musical career and my first compositions. I remember discovering that writing music could emerge from the center of one's core, early in my career. During the process of maturing, learning one's craft, and engaging the conscious mind's desire to forge a unique musical voice, the tendency to look inward and engage one's innate musicality can easily be lost. I have returned to a way of writing that flows comfortably and naturally, and speaks from a voice deep within. It now contains styles and languages enhanced by so many experiences along my career, with something familiar to my earliest works. The compositions also speak to beginnings: to the first sunrise and the beginning of the new day; to childhood and human innocence, and to ancient beliefs and spiritual origins; to the origins of life in the sea, nature and the Earth, and to the original human connection to nature. All three of the compositions on this disc were written for the home listening environment. They are Chamber music for today's Chamber, written to exploit the intimacy and immediacy of the living room, and the unique sound qualities and sound relationships available through recording playback, especially the spatial relationships of stereo."

  • Catalog #: TROY1011

    Release Date: May 1, 2008
    Vocal

    This recording is, in many respects, a unique and creatively conceived kaleidoscope of American culture presented through the expressions and influences of African Americans. Moses and Floyd offer exceptionally convincing interpretations of each song, with clear understanding of the nature and unique message contained in each. The diverse genres, art songs by African American composers and artful settings of spirituals, also include works written by other Americans who use idiomatically African American musical resources, and whose creative energies have been powerfully influenced by African American folk life. This is a delightful tapestry of works that comprise a cross section of musical personalities and compelling lyrical content.

  • Catalog #: TROY1431

    Release Date: September 1, 2013
    Vocal

    Award-winning soprano Marcía Porter offers a program of songs by contemporary American composers. An active recitalist, Ms. Porter made her Weill Recital Hall (Carnegie Hall) debut in 2005. She has performed in venues throughout the United States, Italy, Brazil and the Czech Republic. Porter has appeared at international festivals including the Prague Proms, the Ravinia Festival and Piccolo Spoleto Festival and sung with orchestras such as the Czech National Symphony and the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Porter was a 2011-12 Fulbright Scholar based in Brazil where she was a visiting artist and professor at the Universidade de Sâo Paulo. On the faculty at The Florida State University College of Music, she is a graduate of Northwestern University and the University of Michigan. Collaborating with Ms. Porter is acclaimed pianist and fellow faculty member Valerie M. Trujillo, whose experience in song literature and opera make her a much sought after accompanist, coach and teacher of masterclasses.

  • Catalog #: TROY0409

    Release Date: October 1, 2000
    Vocal

    "This CD is a crossover adventure - a musical cocktail of classic jazz standards with a dash of continental, a Latin twist and a splash of the blues. This eclectic atmosphere has always been my home. My father, a contemporary classical composer (Leon Kirchner, Pulitzer Prize 1967), conductor and pianist, took me to see Ray Charles, played and analyzed Duke Ellington songs with me and pointed out the brilliance of a young guitarist named Jimmy Hendrix as we discussed Mozart, Bach, and Schoenberg. My mother was a coloratura soprano who had performed classical lieder and show tunes in New York supper clubs. I myself have moved from classical, folk and pop music to musical theater and ultimately to jazz." Thus writes Lisa Kirchner as she describes this new album.

  • Catalog #: TROY0177

    Release Date: November 1, 1995
    Vocal

    Bucknell University, rated one of the 30 best liberal arts colleges in America in the 1995 edition of U.S. World and News Report's college guide, offers a professional music program within an outstanding liberal arts environment. The Bucknell Music Department has an internationally recognized faculty whose members have gained recognition as performers, conductors, composers, authors and lecturers. The Rooke Chapel Choir, under the direction of William Payn, has gained international recognition in performances of some of the most significant works in the twentieth century American sacred repertoire. Its select members represent every major field of study at Bucknell, including the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, business administration, education and engineering. The Rooke Chapel Ringers were formed in 1983. They consist of 12 players who are selected by audition. Mezzo-soprano D'Anna Fortunato graduated from Bucknell in 1967. She has charmed critics and audiences alike with her recital, symphony orchestra and opera appearances in the United States and abroad.

  • Catalog #: TROY1532

    Release Date: January 1, 2015
    Vocal

    This recording explores societal attitudes and misconceptions about life in Eastern cultures through Western classical and popular music of the 19th and 20th centuries. Fascinated by the East, Western composers of opera, operetta, musical theater, art song and popular dance-inspired tunes were influenced by a trend now known as Orientalism; the construction of a mythic Eastern stereotype through music, visual art, poetry, and other cultural texts. Soprano Carole FitzPatrick, baritone Robert Barefield and pianist Russell Ryan have collaborated in discovering, performing and now recording these songs that reflect Western society's fascination, ambivalence and misconceptions of the East.

  • Catalog #: TROY1813

    Release Date: April 1, 2020
    Vocal

    French composer Charles-Marie Widor is best known for his works for organ, but he also wrote operas, a sizable body of ballet music, and various other vocal and orchestral works. This recording highlights some of his forgotten songs, performed by soprano Rebecca Wascoe Hays, bass Allen Saunders, soprano Nicole Leupp Hanig, and pianist Susan McDaniel. Ms. Hays, who champions American composers in her performances, is on the faculty at Texas Tech University and is artistic director of Music in the Marche, an opera training program for young singers located in Mondavio, Italy. Saunders, in addition to his active performance schedule, is on the faculty at Northern Arizona University School of Music. Ms. Hanig has performed in the U.S., as well as Europe and Japan, and now is artistic director of Opera on the Bluff and on the faculty at the University of Portland. McDaniel, also on the faculty at the University of Portland, has appeared widely as a solo and collaborative pianist.