Chamber Series:
Our Neighbors North and South
Note from Chamber Series Director Allison Voth:
In the spring of 2020 A Prairie Boy’s Life was programmed for the final Chamber Series concert as part of that year’s theme of nature and the seasons. The performance was cancelled due to the pandemic. The next year, although we were coming out of the woods re: the pandemic, I still felt I had to program only solo songs for the safety of all, and therefore programming John Greer’s A Prairie Boy’s Life had to be shelved.
This year, with ensemble singing back in full swing, I hoped to program John Greer’s A Prairie Boy’s Life, but due to various obstacles, I was thwarted once again. I decided that if I couldn’t program A Prairie Boy’s Life, I knew I still wanted to feature John Greer, one of Canada’s most delightful composers for voice, but what would I program along with Greer’s songs? Would there be a theme, or would the program feature all Canadian composers? I pondered the possibilities for some time and then it came to me: How about a concert featuring composers to America’s North and South?
Of course, I had a sense of what Canadian composers I might program along with Greer, but what about the Mexican composers? In truth, I knew only two Mexican composers, so I set out to research the artsong composers of Mexico. Much to my delight, I discovered many Mexican composers, and not surprisingly, many very good ones!
This program starts in the south and works its way north. Among the eleven Mexican songs, you will hear some of great beauty that will make you smile and sigh, and others, full of edgy and quirky accompaniments and text, that will make you sit up and pay attention.
As we move north, you will cross the border hearing one of Canada’s beloved folk songs, Un Canadien errant, a folksong of exile written in 1842 by Antoine Gérin-Lajoie and arranged by Greer, then four songs from Greer’s A Sarah Binks Songbook, inspired by Canada’s famous comic novel, about the fictitious “Sweet Songstress of Saskatchewan.” You will hear another delightful Greer arrangement of the well-known rowdy Les Raftsmen, a Québecois folksong and then nine other songs by eight varied and gifted Canadian composers. They will make you laugh, sigh and perhaps even cry.
So, with our North American artsong tour planned, fasten your seatbelts and enjoy a tour through Mexican and Canadian artsong that I hope you never forget!
About the Program
Meet the Chamber Series Director
Allison Voth, piano
Allison Voth is an associate professor of music at Boston University’s School of Music, and principal coach at Boston University’s Opera Institute. She widely concertized with Lucine Amara of the Metropolitan Opera. She is widely known as a diction coach in Boston and throughout the U.S. She has worked as diction coach and/or répétiteur with such companies as Opera Boston, Boston Lyric Opera, Emmanuel Music, Chautauqua Opera, Providence Opera, Granite State Opera, the Verismo Opera of New Jersey and Opera North. Festivals include Opera Unlimited, The Florence Vocal Seminar and the Athens Music Festival. Ms. Voth is well recognized for her supertitles, which have been used in both national and international opera productions including Washington Opera, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Barbicon Festival in London, Opera Boston, Palm Beach Opera among many others. For several years she had a unique, ongoing collaboration with John Conklin as supertitle co-writer and designer for Boston Lyric Opera. Since 2023, Ms. Voth has been the pre-performance lecturer for Boston Lyric Opera. As a champion of new music, she has performed and assisted in many premieres with ALEA III, Collage New Music, The New Music Consort, The Group for Contemporary Players and The National Orchestra Association New Music Project. She is a specialist in the music of Paul Bowles and was on the cutting edge of the Paul Bowles revival movement in the 1990’s when she produced and performed in a multi-media production of music and readings entitled Paul Bowles: One Man, Two Minds at Merkin Hall in New York. The EOS Ensemble consequently invited her to participate in its Paul Bowles Festival in New York where she premiered a set of piano preludes. In 2011 as part of the Boston University Fringe Festival, she co-produced and music directed a Paul and Jane Bowles centennial celebration which included a multi-media performance entitled Two Stars in the Desert (also performed at BU’s yearly Incite Festival in New York), as well as a fully staged Boston premiere of his theatre work Yerma. Ms. Voth, recognized for her innovative programming, is the Chamber Series Music Director for the well-known Cantata Singers in Boston. She can be heard on CRI recordings.
Meet the Singers
Heming Cao, tenor
Heming Cao is a chorus director, tenor and composer based in Boston area. As a conductor, Heming has served as director of Student Choir of Nankai University, Tianjin Symphony Orchestra Affiliated Youth Choir and Tianjin Philharmonic Chamber Choir. He participated in and directed "Alexander Nevsky Cantata", "The Yellow River Cantata", "The Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese Literature Concert", "The Springtime of Bo Sea" and music recording works for the movie "108". As a music educator, he founded Jungle Children Voice and Alma Female Choir in Tianjin. He recently began tenure as Music Director of The New Moon Choirs in Boston area. As a tenor, Heming's voice is warm and bright. He has played the role of Nemorino from L'elisir D'amore, Ferando from Così fan tutte. He has also sung solo roles in much of the standard oratorio and concert repertoire, like "Messiah" by Handel, "Weihnachts-Oratorium", "Mass in B minor", "St. Matthew Passion" by Bach, etc. Recently he sang as a tenor soloist in Monteverdi's Vespers with Cantata Singers in Boston Choral Festival. Heming holds the M.M. degree from Longy School of Music of Bard College, and B.S degree from Nankai University.
Adrian Cho, bass
Adrian Cho is a Boston-based baritone, choir director, and organist. He has appeared as a soloist and an ensemble member with groups such as the Nightingale Vocal Ensemble, the Choir of the Church of the Advent, and the Choir of Trinity Church Boston, and has most recently played the role of Pontius Pilate in the production of St. Matthew Passion by Cantata Singers. He is passionate about contemporary sacred choral music as well as early music and has a special love for the works of J. S. Bach. Cho completed his PhD in Speech and Hearing Science at Harvard University in 2023 and holds degrees in physics and biomedical engineering.
Ben Cole, bass-baritone
Benjamin Cole, Bass-baritone, has appeared as a soloist with Opera Boston, The Cantata Singers, New Bedford Symphony, and The AUROS Group for new music. He has performed the roles of Balthazar in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Escamillo in Carmen, and title role in The Marriage of Figaro with Raylynmor Opera. As a regular performer with the Longwood Opera Benjamin has appeared in the roles of Marcello, Masseto, Superintendent Budd, Morales, and Marcello in La Boheme. Mr Cole’s other New England appearances include Gasparo in Rita, Uberto in La Serva Padron. and Pish-Tush in The Mikado. A constant supporter of contemporary music Benjamin performed the role of Enemy Sentry in Comedy of the Bridge with the Aspen Opera Theater Center and created the role of Milos in the world premier of Robert Ceely's Automobile Graveyard.
Kamil Ekinci, bass-baritone
Kamil Ekinci is a bass-baritone, who has recently sung with the Boston Lyric Opera Chorus, Tanglewood Festival Chorus and Cantata Singers. He is currently studying in the College of Fine Arts at Boston University. Kamil is also a Professor in the College of Engineering at Boston University. He completed his undergraduate degrees in Physics and Electrical Engineering in Turkey, and subsequently obtained a Ph.D. in Physics from Brown University
Angelica Grau, mezzo-soprano
Angelica (Angie) Grau is a multifaceted vocalist that explores many different genres while specializing in classical music. She has fully self-produced two song recital programs: "Afterglow: Music of Lust and Love" explored the many facets of romance, while "MILESTONE: 30" celebrated her development as an artist upon turning 30. She has also performed with Mixtape Recital Series, the Cantata Singers Chamber Series, Boston Singers’ Resource, the St. Ignatius Concert Series and Calliope. Angie is a member of both Cantata Singers and Nightingale Vocal Ensemble, with solo credits alongside both ensembles and debuted as an assistant director in early 2023.
As an operatic singer, Angie has performed with Cambridge Chamber Ensemble in the role of Dorella in Richard Wagner’s Das Liebesverbot and Spirit in Gustav Holst’s Savitri. She has also appeared in scenes programs with Calliope, New England Opera Intensive, North Shore Summer Concerts, and Opera Theatres at the Longy School of Music and West Chester University of Pennsylvania.
Angie works full time at Northeastern University as the Administrative Officer of the Communication Studies Department, and runs a small private lesson studio out of her home. In her free time she loves powerlifting, playing video games, and traveling with her fiance, Chris and their dog, Oliver.
Lisa Lynch, soprano
Soprano Lisa Lynch is known for her exceptional interpretations of contemporary music as well as traditional repertoire. She has been a member of Cantata Singers since 2004, and has performed numerous times as a soloist with the group, in works including Bach’s St. Matthew Passion and Magnificat, Zelenka’s Te Deum, Monteverdi’s Vespers, and in the role of Nora in Vaughan Williams’ Riders to the Sea.
Lisa has presented multiple world premieres, including the soprano solo in John Harbison’s The Supper at Emmaus with Cantata Singers, and Jason Sabol’s microtonal work for soprano and string quartet, Cantico delle creature. Lisa also co-founded the Libella Quartet, with whom she has appeared at WGBH. She has performed in recital throughout New England, and has sung with ensembles including Alea III, Boston Microtonal Society, Harvard Early Music Society, and Cappella Clausura. Additionally, she has appeared as a soloist at the Quito Cathedral in Ecuador with the University of Connecticut’s Collegium Musicum.
Lisa holds a DMA from the University of Connecticut, an MM from New England Conservatory, and a BM from the Eastman School of Music. She is on the faculty of the Corwin-Russell School, where she teaches English and music to neurodiverse students. She also has taught at Clark University, Eastern Connecticut State University, and the Brookline Music School.
Danielle Pribyl, soprano
Danielle Pribyl is a young, up-and-coming soprano from San Clemente, California. Currently based in Boston, she completed her Masters Degree under the tutelage of Dr. Lynn Eustis at Boston University. Danielle made her international debut as Zerlina in the Stavoské Divadlo in Prague in July of 2022. Since her time at BU, Danielle has performed in the greater Boston area with Harvard’s Music and Theatre program, West End Lyric, Boston Opera Collaborative, Somerville Family Opera, White Snake Opera, Boston Ballet, Olde Towne Carolers, Ted and Togo Productions and joined Cantata Singers this fall. She is the main call cantor and sole soprano section leader for St.Paul’s Parish in Harvard Square. Outside of music she has performed in plays and historical interpretation in the greater Boston area and has been featured dancing with Boston Ballet. In 2022-2023, Danielle was a Studio Artist with Mystic Side Opera in Malden. See her website www.daniellepribyl.com to see what she is up to this season!
Felicity Salmon, soprano
Felicity Salmon has been praised for her “brightly focused” sound, and for performing with “just enough passion and innocence to walk the line between humanity and divinity” (Boston Musical Intelligencer). Felicity has performed with Cantata Singers since 2013 and has appeared as a soloist with the ensemble in both the Concert and Chamber Series.
In addition to performing, Felicity taught privately from 2004-2012 and was a teaching artist for almost a decade with the Classroom Cantatas educational outreach program, which gives Boston Public School children the experience of composing and performing their own songs.
Originally from British Columbia, Canada, Felicity completed her studies at the Royal Conservatory of Music and moved to Hawaii for undergraduate work in music and theater. While there she toured as a soloist and actress with multiple performing groups traveling extensively through China, Taiwan, Australia, Samoa, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
Felicity studied under William Cotten at the Boston Conservatory, completing a Master of Music in Voice Performance. Her graduate studies took her to Urbania, Italy, and the Dante Alighieri Scuola di Lingua for language study for an intensive music and language program through the Manhattan School of Music, where she studied voice with Dr. Joyce Farwell.
Felicity currently serves as the Chorus Manager for Cantata Singers, has served as president of the Cantata Singers chorus, volunteers in the Newton Public Schools Creative Arts and Sciences Committee, and holds the position of Music Program and Concert Manager in the Music Department at Wellesley College. She resides in Newtonville with her filmmaker partner and their three children.
About the Composers
Daniel Catán (1949–2011)
Catán, both a composer and writer of music and the arts was born in Mexico City and was of Sephardic Jewish descent. He studied philosophy at the University of Sussex and music at the University of Southampton and ultimately received his Ph.D. from Princeton University studying with Milton Babbit and James K. Randall. He is best known for his operas which were lush in color and lyrical line–a continuation of the Puccini and Debussy traditions. His opera, Rappacini’s Daughter, was the first opera ever premiered in the United States by a Mexican composer. Other operas are Florencia en El Amazonas and Il Postino. Catán also wrote songs, chamber and film music. He died suddenly while writing Meet John Doe, commissioned by the Sarah and Ernest butler School of Music at the University of Texas at Austin.
Ga Silvestre Revueltas
(1899–1940)
Revueltas was born in Durango, Mexico. He was one of several artistically talented siblings: two painters, one writer, and one actor/dancer. He studied at the National Conservatory, in Mexico City, St. Edward’s University in Austin, TX and the Chicago College of Music. He was a violinist, pianist, composer and conductor. For several years he was mentored by Mexican composer-conductor, Carlos Chávez. Together they promoted Mexican contemporary music. They eventually had a falling out when Chávez lost a commission to Revueltas for political reasons. At the age of 38 he travelled to Spain to tour as a violinist and to support the Spanish Civil War. While there, he did a great deal of composing. His time in Spain also led him to the writing of Federico Garcia Lorca and the surrealist works of Spanish painter, Salvador Dalí. He apparently has a close relationship with the latter. Two years after returning to Mexico he died of pneumonia and complications of alcoholism. The song cycle Cinco canciones de niños, written in 1938, is a cycle of children’s song set to Garcia Lorca poetry. The poetry and music have surrealist elements which reveal both Lorca and Revueltas’ passion for surrealism.
Manuel Ponce (1882–1948)
Born in Zacatecas, Mexico Ponce was a revered scholar, educator and composer. He was responsible for introducing the world to Mexican popular song and folk music. His passion for Mexican popular song and folk music led him to be named the Creator of the Modern Mexican Song. By the time he entered the National Conservatory of Music in Mexico City he was already a recognized pianist and composer. He travelled widely studying with Giovanni Battista Martini in Bologna and Martin Krause in Berlin and spent two years in Cuba between 1915 and 1917. Ponce taught piano and music history at the National Conservatory of Music between 1909-1915 and 1917-1922. He wrote for piano, chamber ensemble, and orchestra, but is best known for his works for guitar, extraordinary folksong arrangements and original song. His song Estrellita (1912) for which he also wrote the text, has been played and sung by orchestras and singers all over the world. In 1957 he received the national Science and Arts Prize.
Blas Galindo (1910–1993)
Galindo was a composer, pianist, dedicated teacher of advanced music theory and conductor. He studied on and off at the National Conservatory in Mexico City, studying composition with Carols Chávez, Candelario Huizar, and piano with Manuel Rodriguez Vizcarra. In 1934 he formed a group of composers called Grupo de los cuatro (Daniel Ayala, Salvador Contreras and José Pablo Moncayo) which sought to incorporate indigenous Mexican musical elements into art works. In 1941 and 1942, Galindo attended the Tanglewood Music Festival where he studied with Aaron Copland. Shortly after that, he
joined the composition faculty at the National Institute of Fine Arts. In 1947 Galindo was appointed to two positions: director of the Conservatory and director of the music department of the National Institute of Fina Arts. From 1960-1965, he was music director of the Symphony of the Mexican Institute of Social Security. From 1960 on her was able to devote more of his time to composition after being awarded the fellowship from the Secretary of Public Education and on retiring, he composed full-time.
His approximately 150 works were written in a variety of styles and for various ensembles.
The song Arullo is from Dos canciones.
Salvador Moreno (1916–1999)
Moreno was born in Veracruz. He was a composer, artist and art historian. As a young composer, he moved to Spain to study with David Segovia and Cristòfor Taltabull. As an art historian, he specialized in Catalan artists who lived in Mexico including romantic painters Pelegrí Clavé, Antonio Fabrés and sculptor Manel Vilar. In 1983, Moreno became a member of the Royal Catalan Academy of Fine Arts of San Jorge, Barcelona. Moreno composed many songs which were often sung by Victoria de los Ángeles and María Bonilla in recital. His opera Severino (1961) was debuted at the Liceu Theater in Barcelona starring Placido Domingo.
John Greer
(b. 1951)
Greer is a beloved composer, vocal coach, collaborator and conductor in Canada whose works have been performed by some of Canada’s finest singers: Greta Kraus, Rosemarie Landry, Kevin McMillian, and Monica Whicher. Although he has worked at the Canadian Opera Company, the Hamilton Opera Company, Victoria’s Opera Piccola, Ottawa’s Opera Lyra, The Banff School of Fine Arts and the University of Toronto, much of his career was spend in the US as Music Director of Eastman’s Opera Theater, the University of Mayland’s Opera Studio and as Chair of Opera Studies at the New England Conservatory and Head of Music Staff for the Janiec Opera Workshop at the Brevard Music Centre. As a collaborative pianist, Greer has played for such American artists Carmen Pelton, Ashley Putnam, William Sharp, Carol Webber and Delores Ziegler. Greer has composed orchestral, chamber and solo works, but the majority of his works are vocal works, including the very popular children’s opera, The Snow Queen based on the Hans Christian Andersen tale. He now resides in Toronto where he continues to compose, as well as teach at the Glen Gould School at the Royal Conservatory of Toronto and Gratz in the summer.
Matthew Emery (b. 1991)
Dr. Matthew Emery is an actively sought-after Canadian composer whose works have been performed throughout the world in Australia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macao, New Zealand and throughout Europe and the United States. He is a composer described as one who “writes with an honesty which enchants” (Vancouver Sun), and whose music is “profoundly beautiful and moving” (CBC Music). He has been commissioned by major Canadian organizations including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Elmer Eseler Singers, National Youth Orchestra of Canada, European Union Youth Orchestra, the Bach Music Festival of Canada Orchestra among many others. Dr. Emery is currently an Assistant Professor at Wilfrid Laurier University and he is a member of the Canadian
League of Composers. “Sweet, Bide with Me,” is from Emery’s song cycle Three Songs written.
Gary Kulesha
(b. 1954)
Kulesha is best known in Canada as a composer, but he is equally active as a conductor and pianist. He has a long-standing relationship with the Canadian brass as both a composer and arranger. In 1987 he became the Artistic Director of The Composer’s Orchestra, a position he held until 2004. Kulesha was Composer-in-Residence in Canada through the Canada Council’s newly created programme, for the Kitchener Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, and the Canadian Opera Company. In 1995 Kulesha became the Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s composer Advisor, a position he still holds. He is responsible for instituting orchestral reads for new music by the Toronto Symphony which are open to the public. Kulesha is the inspiration behind the Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s New Creations Festival and the Massey Hall New Music Festival. He is also the master-mind behind the Young Composers’ Workshop at the Festival of the Sound in Parry Sound. In 2000 Kulesha joined the full time faculty at the University of Toronto. In 2002 he created and ran the first ever National Arts Center Orchestra Young Composer’s Progamme and has remained heavily involved in the program. He has two Juno nominations and he received Composer of the Year by PRO Canada in 1986. He is a member of the League of Composers and has mentored many young Canadian composers now with established careers. “Aspects of Winter” is from Kulesha’s song cycle Three Love Songs.
Peter Tiefenbach
(b. 1981)
Peter Tiefenbach is a composer, performer and broadcaster. He is often heard on CBC Radio and television. He has performed with such artists as baritone, Russell Braun, sopranos Donna Brown and Valdine Anderson and mezzo-soprano Kimberley Barber. Aside from radio, Tiefenbach has music directed at Calgary Opera , Indian River Festival, Niagara International Chamber Music Festival and Festival Vancouver. He has been commissioned by many Canadian artists and organizations such as pianist Jean Marchand, the Elora Festival Singers, trumpeter Stuart Laughton, and the Toronto Children’s Chorus. He can be heard on CBC recordings. “There was a little girl” and “Theophilus Thistledown” are from Tiefenbach’s Seven Nursery Rhymes.
Srul Irving-Glick (1934–2002)
Irving-Glick is a highly recognized and prolific Canadian composer of Jewish decent. He composed a broad selection of works for chamber, oratorio, orchestral, vocal and choral ensembles. He received his training at The Royal Conservatory of Music and the University of Toronto. He studied composition at the Aspen Summer Music Festival for two years where he studied with Darius Milhaud. He later continued his studies with Louis Saguer and Max Deutsch. He was a member of the theory and composition faculty at the Royal Conservatory of Music from 1963-1969. Glick won numerous awards including the highly recognized Yuvel Award, the Ateret Kavod Award, the Solomon Schechter Award and the J.I. Segal award. The latter was for “his lifelong dedication to the music of the synagogue, to cantorial chant and to cantors.” Glick also served as producer of classical music at the
CBC for 24 years which earned him seven Grand Prix du Disque awards and one Juno award. He is also a recipient of the prestigious Governor General medal in honor of Canada’s 125th anniversary of Confederation “for his contribution to Canadian culture.” He was also appointed a Member of the Order of Canada for his “outstanding achievement, service to Canada and to humanity at large.” Glick’s music continues to be heard in Canada, the US and abroad. His music combines contemporary classical style with Hebraic lyricism with a decided dramatic bent. King Solomon’s Wedding Song is from Glick’s Seven Tableaux from the Song of Songs.
Lionel Daunai (1901–1982)
Lionel Daunais was a prominent singer, composer, lyricist, stage director and artistic director in Québec’s lyric arts scene for over fifty years. He formed the Trio Lyrique in 1930 along with contralto Anna Malenfant and tenor Ludovic Huot and pianist Allan McIver. They gave hundreds of concerts and they presented over 250 radio programs well into the 1960’s. They performed popular tunes, Canadian folksongs and humorous songs in popular style written by Daunais. They also collaborated with the National Film Board on a handful of animated shorts. Daunais was also frequently heard in opera productions and in 1936 he cofounded the Variétés Lyriques which gave a total of 1084 concerts. Daunais directed productions for Radio-Canada and Place des Arts. As a composer, he composed 250 songs for voice and piano, 25 songs for youth, 19 arrangements of songs for Anna Malenfant, 67 secular works for choir, 10 sacred works for solo voice or choir and 84 folksong arrangements for choir. Daunais is the recipient of several prominent awards: the Bene Merenti de Patria Medal, Colixa Lavallé Award, Officer of the Order of Canada, and the Denis Pelletier Award. He was inducted into the Canadian Opera Hall fo Fame (1991) and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Walter McNutt (1910–1996)
Walter McNutt was born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. He studied at the Toronto Conservatory of Music where he studied with Reginal Godden (piano) and Healey Willan (organ and composition). While there he won the TCM’s Vogt Memorial and Marion Ferguson scholarships and won a national competition in1931. He was a highly skilled organist and was organist-choirmaster at several prominent churches in Winnipeg, Windsor, and Toronto, Ontario. As conductor, he recorded several performances of the Windsor Singers for CBC Radio.
Jeff Smallman (b. 1965)
Jeff Smallman was born in Brantford, Ontario. He is a prolific and versatile Canadian composer who has received close to 100 commissions. He has written for a wide variety of ensembles including solo instruments, voice and full orchestra. He’s been described as “a composer who is able to connect our soul’s yearnings with the human experience.
James Gordon
(b. 1955)
James Gordon is a long-time Canadian singer-songwriter, particularly known for his trio Tamarack which has recorder 40 albums and toured around the world. He’s written for symphony orchestra, music theater and dance works, scored films, and for over 10 years, was heard on CBC radio as songwriter-in-residence for the “Basic Black” and “Ontario Morning.” Gordon’s songs are often about social justice, heritage, and environmental issues. One of his most famous song compositions is Frobisher Bay which has been recorded by more than 100 different ensembles, is popular with choirs throughout the world and is in ‘Rise Again,’ the sequel to the ‘Rise Up Singing’ songbook.
