ESSENTIAL VOICES USA
Judith Clurman, Music Director and Conductor
presents
May 12,2012
For immediate release
Contact: EVUSA @ essentialvoicesusa@gmail.com
THE COMPOSER SPEAKS
A workshop performance
of
Joshua Schmidt’s
Grass Roots American Melancholy
with
Essential Voices USA
Judith Clurman Conductor
Elisa Singer Soprano
Silvie Jensen Mezzo Misa Ann Iwama Alto
John Tiranno Tenor Jorell Williams Bass
Kathryn Andersen & Brendan Speltz Violins Angela Pickett Viola
Nicholas Finch Cello Taylor Hollyer Bass
Thursday, May 31, 2012 at 7pm
the DiMenna Space
(450 West 37th Street, NYC)
Celebrate the birthday of Walt Whitman on May 31, 2012 at 7pm at the DiMenna Space in New York City with
classical and Broadway composer Joshua Schmidt (Adding Machine, A Minister's Wife). He will be joined by
Essential Voices USA; soloists Elisa Singer, Silvie Jensen, Misa Ann Iwama, John Tiranno, and Jorell Williams; and
Kathryn Andersen & Brendan Speltz, violins, Angela Pickett, viola, Nicholas Finch, cello, & Taylor Hollyer, bass.
Grass Roots American Melancholy, a 20-minute work scored for SATB chorus, five vocal soloists, and string
quintet, is based on 3 lesser-known but fascinating excerpts from Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass: “To a Certain
Cantatrice,” “Sometimes with one I love,” and “To the East and to the West.”
About his choice of texts, Schmidt has written: “Walt Whitman never lost sight of his love for America, of being
American, of his love of humanity. Never once did he let go of the hope that despite the bitter divisions and
atrocity of war that fractured his beloved nation and its people, everyone would be reunited one day through the
universal power of love and respect. Never once did this man lose his longing to share with others what he had to
offer - a deeply rooted sense of self, of nature, of spirit - and his belief that who he was and what he offered
mattered despite catastrophic times, despite the non-conforming aspects of his being. Walt Whitman intrinsically
understood how difference makes us stronger, and how the act of bridging the deep chasm of our differences
moves us forward as individuals, as communities, as a country. In our current polarized socio-political climate, the
music of Grass Roots American Melancholy connects the listener to the love, to the light, to the hope that the
American people and their character have the power to overcome any divisive obstacle and rise again into
something great and noble.”
The Composer Speaks is a series of concerts in workshop format presented by Essential Voices USA. At each
concert, musical selections are first presented and performed in different formats, and each composer then
discusses musical choices and compositional techniques with conductor Judith Clurman. Audience members are
encouraged to ask questions and become part of the dialogue. In 2011, EVUSA presented works in this format by
Shulamit Ran. In May 2012 they are presenting works by Larry Hochman, Bruce L. Ruben, Paul Schoenfield, and
Joshua Schmidt.
Tickets are $20.00 available online, at www.essentialvoices.com, or can be purchased at the door (cash only).
The DiMenna Space is located at 450 West 37th Street, NYC (between 9th & 10th Avenues).
Artists and Repertoire subject to change.
GRASS ROOTS AMERICAN MELANCHOLY
Music by Joshua Schmidt
Poetry by Walt Whitman
To a Certain Cantatrice
Here, take this gift,
I was reserving it for some hero, speaker, or general,
One who should serve the good old cause, the great idea,
the progress and freedom of the race,
Some brave confronter of despots, some daring rebel;
But I see that what I was reserving belongs to you just as
much as to any.
Sometimes with one I love
Sometimes with one I love, I fill myself with rage, for fear I
effuse unreturn’d love;
But now I think there is no unreturn’d love, the pay is
certain, one way or another,
(I loved a certain person ardently, and my love was not
return’d,
Yet out of that, I have written these songs.)
To the East and to the West
To the East and to the West,
To the man of the Seaside State and of Pennsylvania,
To the Kanadian of the north, to the Southerner I love,
These with perfect trust to depict you as myself, the germs
are in all men,
I believe the main purport of these States is to found a
superb friendship, exalté, previously unknown,
Because I perceive it waits, and has been always waiting,
latent in all men.
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Joshua Schmidt is a NYC+Milwaukee/Chicago+LA- based composer/sound designer. His musical ADD1NG
MACH1N3 finished its Off-Broadway run at the Minetta Lane Theatre on July 20th, 2008, where it won 4 Lortel
Awards (6 nominations) including Best Musical, 2 Outer Critics Circle Awards (4 nominations) including Best
Musical Off-Broadway and Score, 4 Obies, 9 Drama Desk Nominations (including Best Musical, Score, Book and
Lyrics), and a Drama League Nomination for Best Musical. The score has been recorded and released through PS
Classics, and the show is available for license via Samuel French. His second work A MINISTER’S WIFE (with book by
Austin Pendleton, Lyrics by Jan Tranen, Direction by Michael Halberstam) premiered at Writers’ Theatre in Glencoe
(IL) in May of 2009, closing its initial run in August. It received six Joseph Jefferson Award nominations and two
awards: Best New Work - Musical, and Best Supporting Actress (Liz Baltes). A MINISTER’S WIFE received its NYC
premiere May 8th, 2011 at Lincoln Center Theater in the Mitzi Newhouse Theater. The score has also been
recorded and released through PS Classics, and the show is available for license via Rodgers and Hammerstein. In
April of 2010 he premiered his third work, WHIDA PERU (libretto by David Simpatico), a one-act monologue in
music that served as the second act of INNER VOICES: 2010. The production featured Judith Blazer as Whida, with
direction by Jonathan Butterell and musical direction by Andy Boroson (who served as pianist) and J. Oconor
Navarro (vocal coach and music supervision). GIFT OF THE MAGI, his fourth musical, had its world premiere in
November of 2010 at American Players Theatre. The book was written by James Devita, with lyrics by both Devita
and Schmidt. MAGI was directed by Devita and starred Tracy Michelle Arnold, Marcus Truschinski, and Brian
Robert Mani. Nick Ehlinger provided musical direction, and played viola along with Eric Miller on cello. This work
was subsequently revised, expanded and reproduced the following year with the same cast and design staff. His
composition/sound design work has been featured throughout the USA at venues including Steppenwolf Theatre
Company, Writers Theatre In Glencoe, Next Theatre, Northlight Theatre, and Seanachai Theatre Company
(Chicago); Alley Theatre (Houston); Seattle Repertory Theatre; Kansas City Rep; Cleveland Playhouse; Kennedy
Center, Ford’s Theatre, and Studio Theatre (Washington DC); Philadelphia Theatre Company; Broadway, Lincoln
Center, MCC, Minetta Lane Theatre, Public Theatre (associate design), Builders Association (associate design), Jean
Cocteau Rep, and Genesius Theatre Guild (NYC); Bard College (NY); Arizona Theater Company; South Coast
Repertory (CA); American Players Theatre (Spring Green, WI); Stratford Festival (Ontario, Canada); Madison Rep
and UW-Madison (Madison, WI); Milwaukee Rep, Milwaukee Ballet, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Milwaukee
Shakespeare, Renaissance Theaterworks, Bialystock and Bloom, Next Act Theatre, Theatre X, In Tandem, Wild
Space Dance Company, and UW-Milwaukee Theatre and Dance (Milwaukee, WI). As a recitalist of new music, he
has performed at the Barrow Street Theatre and Guggenheim Museum in NYC, Kunstverein Genthiner 11 and
Rumänisches Kulturinstitut in Berlin, Germany, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of MississippiOxford, and throughout his home state of Wisconsin. He is a recipient of the 2003-2005 NEA/TCG Career
Development Program Award and was named one of nine emerging designers in Entertainment/Design Magazine
in 2004. He has received 6 Joseph Jefferson Award nominations and 3 Awards for his composition/sound design
work in Chicago. In February 2012, he will be in residence at Sundance's Theatre Lab at UCross, Wyoming. In
addition, his work was part of the sound design exhibition at the 2007 Prague Quadrennial.
(http://web.mac.com/josh_schmidt/Josh_Schmidt/Home.html)
Conductor Judith Clurman is renowned for her vision, artistry, and versatility. She has conducted and collaborated with
world-renowned orchestras, dance companies, and music festivals, including the New York Philharmonic, Orchestra of St.
Luke’s, the Boston Symphony, New York City Ballet, Mostly Mozart Festival, Lincoln Center’s Great Performers series, Jazz at
Lincoln Center, the American Songbook Series, and the New York Pops on their Carnegie Hall subscription series. She served
as Director of Choral Activities at the Juilliard School from 1989-2007, as Co-Director for Harvard University’s Leonard
Bernstein: Boston to Broadway Festival, as a faculty member and vocal specialist for the National Endowment for the
Arts/Columbia University Institute of Classical Music, and a Visiting Artist/Conductor at Cambridge University, the Curtis
Institute of Music, the Zimriya in Israel, and the Janacek Academy in the Czech Republic. She created and for nine years
served as the music director and conductor of the Lincoln Center Tree Lighting and commissioned and premiered over fifty
works by America’s most revered composers. As Associate Music Director of Sesame Street, her work with the Muppets, cast
members, and guest artists earned her a 2009 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and
Composition. Judith served as founding conductor of the New York Concert Singers and Project Youth Chorus and music
director of Prism Concerts and the 92nd Street Y’s Music of the Spirit program. Judith currently conducts Essential Voices
USA and maintains an active vocal studio in New York City. Judith attended Oberlin College and The Juilliard School.
(http://www.judithclurman.com)
Essential Voices USA (EVUSA) promotes the love of music and the art of ensemble singing. The group is best
known for its musical excellence, its innovative programming, its emphasis on education, and its director,
acclaimed conductor Judith Clurman. The group has a flexible roster of professional singers, auditioned volunteers,
and high school students who perform a wide range of musical genres and styles. The size of the group varies
according to the musical needs of each project. EVUSA is currently in residence with the New York Pops at
Carnegie Hall, and produces its own classical concerts, workshops, and recordings. During their 2010-2011 season,
EVUSA participated in the Bernstein celebration at Symphony Space, sang world premieres in the Shulamit Ran
“The Composer Speaks” series at Hebrew Union College, and performed as part of the 80th Birthday Carnegie Hall
concert honoring Stephen Sondheim. In addition, they recorded Sing Out Mr. President, a choral cycle featured on
National Public Radio, with music ranging from Milton Babbitt to musical theater composer Jason Robert Brown.
The 2011-2012 season features three appearances with the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall: John Pizzarelli and
Jessica Molaskey’s Wish You A Swingin’ Christmas (Dec. 16 & 17), Hollywood Award Winners (April 13), and A
Tribute to Jim Henson’s Musical World (April 14), and a pair of "The Composer Speaks" workshops: vocal and
choral works by Larry Hochman, Bruce L. Ruben, and Paul Schoenfield at Hebrew Union College (May 10), and
“Grass Roots American Melancholy,” a birthday tribute to Walt Whitman with music by Joshua Schmidt (May 31).
In addition, EVUSA was featured on NBC Television at the 2011 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting.
(www.essentialvoicesusa.com)
Silvie Jensen (mezzo soprano) enjoys a wide-ranging career that includes early and contemporary music, opera
and musical theater, and ethnic, improvised, and experimental music. She has performed at London’s Barbican
Centre with Ornette Coleman, Teatro Comunale Ferarra with Meredith Monk, Carnegie Hall with Philip Glass, and
Brooklyn Academy of Music . Ms. Jensen has also appeared at Lyric Opera of Chicago, Ash Lawn Opera, Stonington
Opera House, Riverside Opera, American Chamber Opera, One World Symphony, Miller Theater, Sacred Music in a
Sacred Space, Voices of Ascension, Bang on a Can Marathon, Clarion Society, in Handel’s Messiah at Trinity Wall
Street, and with the Broadway Bach Ensemble singing Mahler’s 4th symphony and Canteloube’s Songs of the
Auvergne. Her performance in Hildegard von Bingen's chant opera Ordo Virtutum, as well many of her
performances as a vocal soloist with the Christopher Caines Dance Company, have been critically acclaimed by the
New York Times. She has commissioned and premiered works created for her, and has presented solo recitals at
Weill Hall, Steinway Hall, Symphony Space, Americas Society, Liederkranz Club, the Stone, Bonhams, Nicholas
Roerich Museum, and the Cell Theater. She has recorded for ECM, London, Koch, Helicon, MSR Classics, and
Soundbrush Records labels.
Misa Ann Iwama (alto) sings a varied repertoire ranging from contemporary to folk music. She has performed on
opera and concert stages throughout the United States and appeared on Broadway in The King & I. Her
symphonic engagements include the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood, the New Jersey Symphony
Orchestra, the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, the Louisville Orchestra, and the New Haven Symphony Orchestra.
She is an avid performer of contemporary music and sang Pierrot Lunaire with the Omni Ensemble of New
York. She also performed with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project in the opera Griffelkin (Lukas Foss) which
was recorded for the Chandos Records label. Her operatic credits include the New York City Opera National
Company, Opera Carolina, and Glimmerglass Opera in roles such as Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro, Zerlina in Don
Giovanni, and Stephano in Roméo et Juliette.
Soprano Elisa Singer enjoys a versatile career, ranging from opera to contemporary, early and sacred music. She
has sung with the Opera Company of Middlebury, Opera Cleveland, New York Lyric Opera, Lyric Opera of Los
Angeles, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the New York Philharmonic. Elisa made her New York debut as soloist for
the world premiere of Jorge Martin’s Out of the cradle, endlessly rocking, with Cantori New York. She has also
appeared as soprano soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the Monmouth Civic Chorus. Roles of note include Susanna
in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, La Fee in Massenet’s Cendrillon, Adele in Strauss’ Die Fledermaus, Fire in Ravel’s
L’Enfant et les Sortilèges, title role in Stravinsky’s Le Rossignol, Poppea in Handel’s Agrippina, title role in
Donizetti’s Rita, and Queen of the Night in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. Elisa is also an active collaborative artist,
working with ensembles such as Musica Sacra, Orpheon Chorale, and Little Orchestra Society. She has appeared
with Essential Voices USA The Composer Speaks series.
American tenor John Tiranno recently made his Italian debut in Rome at the Festival Internazionale di Musica e
Arte Sacra singing the Saint-Saëns Requiem. The New York Times has called his singing “ardent and mellifluous”
and in two additional reviews said he “sang pleasing” and was “a fine soloist”. Other recent performances include
the U.S. premiere of Juraj Filas’ Oratio Spei – Requiem (Sacred Music in a Sacred Space), Elder Hayes in Carlisle
Floyd’s Susannah (Florentine Opera), Bach’s St. John Passion and César Franck’s Mass in A (Saint Andrew Music
Society), Rachmaninoff’s Vespers (Musica Sacra), Bach’s St. John Passion in Burlington, VT (Oriana Singers), and
Mozart’s Coronation Mass as part of the Make Music New York Festival. Additional credits include creating the
role of Trouble in Gisle Kverndokk’s Max and Moritz (New York Opera Society), Hoffmann in Les Contes
d’Hoffmann (Hillman Opera - SUNY Fredonia), Belmonte in Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Concert Opera
of Philadelphia), Alfredo in Verdi’s La Traviata (Granite State Opera), Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 in Hamilton,
Ontario (National Academy Orchestra of Canada), Lord Tolloller in Iolanthe (Nashville Opera), and the world
premiere of Gregory Walker’s The Passion According to St. Toscanini (Boulder Philharmonic).
Praised by the New York Times as “magnificent”, American Baritone Jorell Williams is pursuing a versatile
performing career. Highlights of Jorell’s work include his Off-Broadway debut as The Villager with the New York
City Center Encores! production of Kurt Weill's Lost in the Stars, Captain Corcoran in Gilbert & Sullivan’s HMS
Pinafore (2011) and Fiesque in Donizetti’s Maria di Rohan (2010) with the Caramoor International Music Festival,
Adolphus Hailstork’s Joshua’s Boots with Opera Theater of St. Louis, The Muir with the Mark Morris Dance Group,
Maximilian in Bernstein’s Candide with CóOpera, recording “Mr. President” with Essential Voices USA for NPR, and
performing as a guest artist with the Copland House Center of American Music for the 42nd Annual ASCAP awards.
Jorell recently took part as a Vocal Fellow at the Steans Music Institute with the Ravinia Festival, and performed
with the Chorale Le Chateau of New York in “A CELEBRATION OF AMERICA” in the Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower
Theater on the occasion of the Presidential Inauguration of Barack Obama. In addition to being a Lys Symonette
Award Winner from the 2011 Kurt Weill Lotte Lenya Competition, he was a finalist in the Liederkranz/Lieder
Division (2011/2012) and Giulio Gari (2010) vocal competitions, and is a recipient of awards from the Schuyler
Foundation for Career Bridges, Sergei Koussevitzky Foundation, Gerda Lissner International Competition, David
Adams art song competition, Civic Morning Musicals Foundation, and the Charles A. Lynam Competition.
Upcoming engagements include the role of the Lawyer in the world premiere of Anthony Davis' opera Lear on the
second floor with the Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton University, Joshua’s Boots with Amarillo Opera (HD
Broadcast for PBS), and concerts with the Copland House Center of American Music and Career Bridges Schuyler
Foundation. He is currently an artist in residence in the Composers & Voice series with the American Opera
Projects.
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