Ever the impassioned pedagogue, Lydia Brown, long time SongFest faculty implores us to stay connected to our individual beliefs and find ways to create meaningful partnerships. SongFest is proud to present the words of Juilliard professor Lydia Brown here today and is deeply grateful for her many contributions to art song along with her exquisite playing.

What will the Legacy of the 21st Century be for Art Song?

Pianist Lydia Brown, named collaborative piano chair at the Juilliard School  in 2018, has achieved a wide-ranging career in opera, recital, and chamber music. She holds a DMA from Juilliard and earned piano degrees from Eastman School of Music and Yale University. A graduate of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, she has served regularly as an assistant conductor at the Metropolitan Opera since 2005 and at San Francisco Opera since 2011. Brown has also enjoyed long relationships with Spoleto Festival USA and Gotham Chamber Opera and has overseen the vocal program at the Marlboro Music Festival and School since 2006. Her recital appearances include the Salle Cortot, Grace Rainey Rogers auditorium at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Alice Tully Hall, the 92nd Street Y, the Phillips Gallery, and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Her previous faculty positions include Yale and the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

Hear Lydia play John Harbison’s Mottetti di Montale at SongFest 2017.

Listen to three lectures featured in our May 2020, program Auf den Airwaves zu singen:

• An Insider’s Take on Young Artist Programs

• A Pianist’s Perspective on the Songs of Gustav Mahler

• Simple Daylight - Lydia Brown, John Harbison, Devony Smith, interviewed by Robert Kirzinger