In Her Words: Art Song

In Her Words: Art Song Inspired by American Women Poets with Ann Moss

Tuesday, April 23 at 11 AM

OR

Thursday, April 25, at 11 AM

Art Song is a genre of Western classical chamber music that fuses poetry and music, typically composed for the performing duo of voice and piano. Although the genre reached its zenith in 19th century Europe, it has continued to flourish in the United States during the 20th and 21st centuries, with many fine examples from famous and lesser-known American composers. In this hour-long, interactive seminar, Soprano and Teaching Artist Ann Moss briefly familiarizes participants with the Art Song genre before delving into the poetry of three American women – Emily Dickinson, Edna St. Vincent Millay and local poet Lisa DeSiro – whose imagery and insights have inspired composers past and present to set their words to music.

About Ann Moss

Soprano Ann Moss is an acclaimed recording artist and champion of contemporary vocal music who performs and collaborates with a dynamic array of living composers. Described as a “fearless performer” of some of the most challenging music of our time, her high, flexible voice has been singled out by Opera News for “beautifully pure floated high notes” and by San Francisco Classical Voice for “powerful expression” with “clear, silvery tones and passionate sweetness.” Mike Telin of Cleveland Classical writes, her “long fluid lines are exquisite.” In addition to working closely with well-known composers such as Jake Heggie, John Harbison, Kaija Saariaho, Aaron Jay Kernis and David Conte, Ann seeks out and performs works by new and emerging voices at forums, festivals and concert series across the USA. She has released two portrait albums: Currents (Angels Share Records 2013) and Love Life (ASR 2016), both produced and recorded by multi-GRAMMY® award winner Leslie Ann Jones at Skywalker Sound. She can also be heard on releases from labels including Albany, Arsis Audio, Jaded Ibis Productions, Naxos, Navona Records, PARMA, and Ravello Records.

Moss recently made her solo debut with the San Francisco Symphony singing the music of Mozart, Gershwin and Rogers under conductor Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser. Highlights of the 2022-23 season include performances of Samuel Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, Gérard Grisey’s Quatre chants pour franchir le seuil with After Everything Ensemble, and a concert tour in support of her newly released album Lifeline, which features re-imagined chants by Medieval composer Hildegard von Bingen recorded remotely with instrumental collaborators around the United States.