New Voices II, 8 PM April 21, will again be at the Leonard Nimoy Thalia at Peter Norton Symphony Space on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
The second concert presents up-and-coming young composers alongside more established songwriters who are branching out in new directions. The four composers — David Friedman, Jennifer Giering, Paul Loesel, and Steve Marzullo — come from highly diverse musical backgrounds, and, consequently, their songs display a wide range of styles, series curator Joel Fram told Playbill On-Line.
The evening will feature music by theatre-career composers influenced by both pop and country music, the American art song tradition and popular composers who crossed over into a more classical style.
Friedman, a well-known songwriter and musician whose anthemic songs were sung by the late cabaret singer Nancy LaMott, will present art songs rather than his popular cabaret tunes.
Loesel, a respected pit keyboardist and Jonathan Larson Award-winner, will offer cabaret songs (and he's writing a new song for the concert, with Larson-winning lyricist Scott Burkell, his collaborator on the dawning musical, Six of One). Marzullo is the Broadway musical director-pianist (Once On This Island) whose composition work has been sung by Audra McDonald; expect art songs with cello sweetener.
Giering is a singer, pianist and composer (she's also a Jonathan Larson winner for The Mistress Cycle). Her theatre songs will be heard in the concert.
As a special exercise, all four composers are setting Edna St. Vincent Millay's "I Know I Am But Summer to Your Heart."
The concert will feature singers Rebecca Luker, George Dvorsky, Kate Baldwin, Daniel Reichard and Jill Geddes (who were all on hand for the first concert). Grant Wenaus will again be at the piano, with special appearances by Ed Matthew on clarinet and Peter Sachon on cello.
Tickets ($22-$25) for New Voices II are currently on sale. For information, call (212) 864-5400 or visit www.symphonyspace.org. Symphony Space is located at 2537 Broadway at 95th Street.
