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Baritone Jesse Blumberg & Pianist Martin Katz: Storytelling in Song
March 29 @ 7:30 pm
Baritone, Jesse Blumberg & Pianist, Martin Katz
Storytelling in Song
Wednesday, March 29th at 7:30 pm
What do you get when you combine two artists dubbed by The New York Times as “…a golden-toned baritone” and “…the gold standard of accompanists”? Another extraordinary collaboration between baritone Jesse Blumberg and pianist Martin Katz! Kerrytown Concert House is honored and delighted to welcome back these artists after far too long – this time, with a recital that explores themes of songwriting, singing, and music itself.
The recital will include works by Ivor Gurney, Gabriel Fauré, Florence Price, Hugo Wolf, Ben Moore, and Francis Poulenc, with two new works by contemporary composers Whitney George and Tom Cipullo – commissioned by the artists for this program.
Art Song in the intimate setting of Kerrytown Concert House is a special experience that is reminiscent of the 19th century style salon concert – a tradition which would have been entirely familiar to some of the composers you will hear in this concert. KCH’s Classical Salon Series offers a special opportunity to hear world-class artists such as these in a living room setting.
Please join us for what we know will be a compelling evening of music with two equally compelling world-class artists in KCH’s intimate and distinctive space!
KCH’s Classical Salon presentations are generously supported in part by Genre Underwriters, Maurice & Linda Binkow.
Martin Katz has been dubbed “the gold standard of accompanists” by The New York Times. His 45-year career has taken him to 5 continents, collaborating with the world’s most celebrated singers in recital and recording. Marilyn Horne, Frederica von Stade, Kathleen Battle, David Daniels, Karita Mattila, and Jose Carreras are among his regular partners, and he has recorded for RCA, CBS, BMG, EMI and Decca labels.
Katz is also active as a conductor and editor. He has led opera productions for San Francisco’s Merola program, the BBC, Tokyo’s NHK, as well as innumerable performances in Ann Arbor. His editions of baroque and bel canto operas have been performed in Houston, Ottawa, and at the Metropolitan Opera. At U-M for more than 3 decades, he has chaired the program in collaborative piano and coached vocal repertoire for singers and pianists alike. His students are working all over the world.
Now an author too, Mr. Katz’s first opus, The Complete Collaborator, has been published by Oxford University Press.
Baritone Jesse Blumberg enjoys a busy schedule of opera, concerts, and recitals, performing repertoire from the Renaissance and Baroque to the 20th and 21st centuries. His performances have included the world premiere of The Grapes of Wrath at Minnesota Opera, Bernstein’s MASS at London’s Royal Festival Hall, various productions with Boston Early Music Festival, and featured roles with Atlanta Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Opera Atelier, and Boston Lyric Opera. Jesse has made concert appearances with American Bach Soloists, Boston Baroque, Apollo’s Fire, Oratorio Society of New York, Montréal Baroque Festival, Arion Baroque, Early Music Vancouver, Pacific MusicWorks, and on Lincoln Center’s American Songbook series. His recital highlights include appearances with the Marilyn Horne Foundation and New York Festival of Song, and performances of Die schöne Müllerin and Winterreise with pianist Martin Katz. Jesse has given the world premieres of Ricky Ian Gordon’s Green Sneakers, Lisa Bielawa’s The Lay of the Love and Death, Conrad Cummings’ Positions 1956, and Tom Cipullo’s Excelsior, and works closely with several other renowned composers as a member of the Mirror Visions Ensemble.
Last season Jesse returned to American Bach Soloists, Opera Atelier, and Oratorio Society of New York, and debuted with The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. In 2019-2020 Jesse returns to American Bach Soloists, Apollo’s Fire, Portland Baroque Orchestra, Voices of Music, and Boston Early Music Festival, and debuts with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and the Nova Scotia Symphony. He will make his role debut as Hawkins Fuller in Fellow Travelers at Boston Lyric Opera, and will perform recitals in Minnesota, Michigan, Connecticut, Toronto, and New York.
Jesse has been featured on over twenty commercial recordings, including the 2015 Grammy-winning Charpentier Chamber Operas with Boston Early Music Festival. His recent releases include Bach cantatas with Montréal Baroque, Winterreise with pianist Martin Katz, Rosenmüller cantatas with ACRONYM, and St. John Passion with Apollo’s Fire. He has been recognized in several competitions, and was awarded Third Prize at the 2008 International Robert Schumann Competition in Zwickau, becoming its first American prizewinner in over thirty years. Jesse received a Master of Music degree from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and received undergraduate degrees in History and Music from the University of Michigan. Jesse is also the founding artistic director of Five Boroughs Music Festival, which brings chamber music of many genres to every corner of New York City.
