Online Events
Content & event descriptions can be accessed by clicking on each event title.
Mikayla Sager, soprano; Ruby Dibble, mezzo-soprano; Daniel Kringer, tenor; Chris Katinas, baritone
Not pictured: Mark Trawka, conductor
©Jeanine Hill Photography
+ Week 1 (May 26-29)
May 26
- Welcome & Opening Lecture: On Books & The Songmakers' Almanac - Graham Johnson & SongFest Artistic Director Rosemary Ritter
- Movement: Mindful Yoga for Musicians - Katherine Jolly
May 27
- Presentation: Mit Schwung! - Elements of Style in the Songs of Richard Strauss - Alan Louis Smith
- Conversation: According to John - Composers John Harbison and John Musto with Robert Kirzinger, moderator
May 28
- Song of the Day: Gretchen am Spinnrade (Schubert/Goethe) - Graham Johnson for SongFest 2020 participants Alexa Constantine, Sydney Dardis, Gal Kohav, & Bronwyn Schuman
- Lecture: Northern Lights - Song of the Nordic Countries - Javier Arrebola
May 29
- Song of the Day: Ganymed (Schubert/Goethe) - Graham Johnson for SongFest 2020 participants Logan Tanner & Alexa Sowers
- Conversation: An Insider's Take on Young Artist Programs - Lydia Brown, Kevin Murphy, Michele Patzakis, & Mark Trawka
+ Week 2 (June 1-5)
June 1
- Song of the Day: Prometheus (Schubert/Goethe) - Graham Johnson for SongFest 2020 participant Alex Smith
- Audio Lecture: The Other Side of Beethoven - Graham Johnson, graciously allowed by Jon Tolansky & the Hampsong Foundation [Available only June 1-3]
June 2
- Song of the Day: Ellens Gesang I (Schubert/Scott) - Graham Johnson for SongFest alumna Lucy Fitz Gibbon & Colburn alumnus Ryan MacEvoy McCullough
- Conversation: A Pianist's Perspective on the Song Cycles of Gustav Mahler - Lydia Brown & Roger Vignoles
June 3
- Song of the Day: Suleika I (Schubert/Willemer) - Graham Johnson for SongFest alumna Lucy Fitz Gibbon & Colburn alumnus Ryan MacEvoy McCullough
- Lecture: First Came the Words : Exploring song texts apart from their musical settings - Victoria Browers
June 4
- Song of the Day: Dass sie hier gewesen (Schubert/Rückert) - Graham Johnson for SongFest 2020 participants Sophie Thompson & Alexa Sowers
- Conversation: Follow the Fire - Dead Man Walking, The Deepest Desire, & The Breaking Waves - Joyce DiDonato, Jake Heggie, & Sr. Helen Prejean CSJ
June 5
- Song of the Day: Geh' Geliebter, geh' jetzt! (Wolf/Anon., trans. by Geibel) - Graham Johnson for SongFest 2020 participants Jackie Matava & Grace Francis
- Conversation: Hugo Wolf & Eduard Mörike - Graham Johnson & Susan Youens
+ Week 3 (June 8-12)
June 8
- Song of the Day: Bleuet (Poulenc/Apollinaire) - Graham Johnson for SongFest 2020 participant Yinghui He
- Audio Lecture: Francis Poulenc - The Life in the Songs - Graham Johnson, graciously allowed by Jon Tolansky & the Hampsong Foundation [Available only June 8-10]
June 9
- Song of the Day: C'est l'extase langoureuse (Debussy/Verlaine) - Graham Johnson for SongFest 2020 participant Talar Arslanian
- Lecture: Love After 1950 - Victoria Browers talks with poet Rita Dove, composer Libby Larsen, and mezzo-soprano Susanne Mentzer
June 10
- Song of the Day: So lasst mich scheinen (Schubert/Goethe) - Graham Johnson for SongFest 2020 participant Sarah Marze
- Lecture & Presentation: Recovered Voices - Liza Stepanova, featuring interviews with special guests Dr. Michael Beckerman, Maestro James Conlon, Dr. Michael Haas, and Simon Wynberg. Produced in consultation with the Ziering-Conlon Initiative for Recovered Voices at The Colburn School, James Conlon, Artistic Advisor, with special thanks to Robert Elias, President of the OREL Foundation. The Recovered Voices name is used by the permission of LA Opera.
June 11
- Song of the Day: So lasst mich scheinen (Wolf/Goethe) - Graham Johnson for SongFest 2020 participant Temple Hammen
- Lecture: ¡España! - 500 Years of Spanish Song - Javier Arrebola
June 12
- Song of the Day: The Sigh (Finzi/Hardy) - Graham Johnson for SongFest 2020 participant Nolan Kehler
- Conversation: Britten's 'Winter Words' & his writing for the tenor voice - Graham Johnson with tenor Daniel McGrew
+ Week 4 (June 15-20)
June 15
- Conversation: If Trees Could Talk - Composer Sheila Silver & filmmaker John Feldman on the SongFest 2020 Sorel Organization Commission
- Lecture: How Fair This Spot - Resources for Studying & Performing Russian Romances - Liza Stepanova
June 16
- Conversation: Am I, Too, Allowed? - A Pianist’s Contribution to the Song Recital - Graham Johnson & Kevin Murphy
- Lecture: The United State of American Song - Martha Guth
June 17
- Lecture: Surfing the Thin Places - text painting and the portrayal of very personal emotions - Composer Alan Louis Smith
- Conversation: The Voice of the Spirit - The Negro Spiritual: An American Genre for All - Dr. Ollie Watts Davis, Dr. Katherine Jolly, Florence Quivar, & George Shirley
- Conversation: A Tale of the Oyster - Amy Burton & John Musto
June 18
- Conversation: Graham Johnson & John Musto in Conversation
- Conversation: Simple Daylight - Composer John Harbison, pianist Lydia Brown, mezzo-soprano Devony Smith, & Robert Kirzinger
June 19
- Conversation: Double Date! - Joan Morris & William Bolcom with Amy Burton & John Musto
- Final Thoughts on SongFest 2020: Closing Reflections - Graham Johnson