FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Linda McAlister, Executive Director
Phone: 310.384.3706
Pepperdine Onsite Office: 310.506.7511
Linda.SongFest@gmail.com
www.SongFest.us

SONGFEST CELEBRATES ITS SIXTEENTH ANNUAL SONG FESTIVAL

The sixteenth annual SongFest, entitled "Breaking the Song Barrier," continues a tradition as one of the premier festival programs of art song in the United States. It will be held from June 1 to June 27, 2011, on the campus of Pepperdine University, which is located at 24255 Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, California.

SongFest is a summer festival for singers and collaborative pianists that covers all aspects of the art of song: musical interpretation, literary interpretation, historical perspective, and effective public presentation. Master classes are taught to a limited number of selected singers and pianists by distinguished artists of national and international stature. Each master class focuses thematically on specific vocal repertoire, presenting and studying it in new and challenging contexts.

This year's internationally respected faculty of professional performers, directors, composers, and master teachers includes pianists Margo Garrett, Graham Johnson, Martin Katz, and Roger Vignoles; composers Jake Heggie, Libby Larsen, and John Musto; and singers Amy Burton, Lisa Saffer, and William Sharp, among others.

The 2011 summer song festival will include a series of six public recitals, all of which will be performed in Raitt Recital Hall at Pepperdine. The performances will showcase singers and pianists participating in the SongFest program and will feature imaginative programming of the art song repertoire. The format of the recitals is varied and meant to stimulate and involve the public so as to convey a deeper understanding of the vast repertoire of art song and its contributions to our cultural enrichment and everyday lives.

SongFest strives to promote American composers and their music by inviting living American composers to work as "composers-in-residence" as well as commissioning new works of music. SongFest has commissioned its 2011 composer-in-residence, Libby Larsen, to write three new works to be premiered on June 19, 2011. Larsen is the 2010 recipient of the George Peabody Medal (along with James Levine) for outstanding contributions to music in America. David McFerrin, baritone, and Liza Stepanova, pianist, will premiere a cycle of three songs set to love poems of Pablo Neruda. The second work will be an ensemble setting of the popular children's book Stone Soup, which is dedicated to longtime SongFest supporters Janet Loranger and the author of Stone Soup, Marcia Brown. Lastly, 2011 distinguished SongFest alumna Anne Jennifer Nash will premiere Donal Oge, an aria for soprano, with pianist Justin Adam Snyder.

Following is the SongFest 2011 concert schedule. All concerts are free and open to the public. Seating is limited.

The Splendour of the Baroque
Saturday, June 11, 2011, at 7 p.m.

New Voices in American Music: Jake Heggie and John Musto
Sunday, June 12, 2011, at 3 p.m.

New Voices in American Music: Libby Larsen and John Musto
Sunday, June 19, 2011, at 7 p.m.
SongFest has commissioned Libby Larsen to write three commissions for the 2011 Program.
WORLD PREMIERE: Three Poems of Pablo Neruda by Libby Larsen
           David McFerrin, baritone
            Liza Stepanova, piano
WORLD PREMIERE: Stone Soup by Libby Larsen
           Victoria Browers, soprano
            Hannah Goldshlack, soprano
            Marie Marquis, soprano            
            Brent Funderburk, piano
WORLD PREMIERE: Donal Oge by Libby Larsen
           Anne Jennifer Nash, soprano
            Justin Adam Snyder, piano

Lieder and Melodie
Featuring the Marc and Eva Stern Fellows, directed by Martin Katz
Wednesday, June 22, 2011, at 7 p.m.

The Bard in Song and Opera
Songs and Arias with Texts by William Shakespeare
Directed by Theodore Huffman and Martin Katz
Saturday, June 25, 2011, at 7 p.m.

Lieder and Melodie
SongFest fellows in recital, directed by Roger Vignoles
Sunday, June 26, 2011, at 3 p.m.

SongFest will also present one concert at the Colburn School:

SongFest Faculty and Students in LA!
The American SongBook, John Musto, piano
Faculty William Sharp, Amy Burton, and Lisa Saffer
The Marc and Eva Stern Fellows
Friday, June 17, 2011, at 7:30 p.m.
Zipper Hall, the Colburn School, Los Angeles



ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

The full list of this year's faculty coaches is available, including professional resumes and photographs, should you wish to publish any feature articles about individuals involved in this special training program.

The history of SongFest is available at: www.SongFest.us

SongFest wishes to thank the organizations and donors that make this program possible. Organizations that fund SongFest include: Pepperdine University, the Copland Fund for Music, Inc., the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, the Sorel Foundation, and the Marc and Eva Stern Foundation.

###