What audiences are saying about Lyric Fest
“It’s much more than just a concert. It’s the feeling of being alive.”
Raehann Bryce- Davis, Photo: Donato Valentino
“You are at the center of the world where music, poetry, and thought come together. You are inches away from the art, and there’s no other group that is giving you that kind of emotional immediacy.”
Lyric Fest is a place to experience the unique power of the human voice in song. We bring together great singers, composers, history, biography, and humor. Here we tell our stories in song.
Have a look at our
2025-2026 Season
January
A Winter Feasting
A Celebration of Word and Song
25
April
L'Invitation Au Voyage
Songs of the Sea
June
Come with a whoop...
Come with a Call!
September
October
Spiders and Witches and Goblins... oh my!
Children's Concert
31
January
White Nights and Northern Lights
Songs of Russia and Scandinavia
30
September
November
Simple Gifts
Songs of Joy and Thanksgiving
19 & 20
January
29 & 12
April
Biography in Music – BENJAMIN BRITTEN
Benjamin Britten
30
October
November
Biography in Music – MOZART
Mozart
12
February
10 & 11
March
May
Once Upon A Time...
Children's Concert
19 & 20
September
Biography in Music – SHAKESPEARE
Shakespeare
16 & 23
November
January
27 & 3
April
Old City - New Song
Philadelphia Composers
12 & 13
September
MAHLER Resurrected
Biography in Music
27 & 28
November
February
March
April
Komm, Liebe Zither
The Art of the Serenade
25 & 26
October
October
Moving Heaven and Earth
World Spirituality in Song
30 & 1
February
TCHAIKOVSKY - Biography in Music
Tchaikovsky
27 & 28
May
Unplug!
Children's Concert
22 & 23
October
Biography in Music – SAMUEL BARBER
Samuel Barber
23 & 24
November
Night and Day
The Harmony of Yin Yang
21
January
I've Got Rhythm
Family Concert
28 & 29
April
Stranger Things
Paris in the early 20th Century
10
September
23 & 25
November
To Kiss The Earth
potter, poet and guide
12 & 13
March
A Very Good Year - Happy Birthday to 1912
Happy Birthday to 1912
23 & 25
April
29 & 1
October
November
January
New Journey Into Song
A Winter's Journey
25 & 27
May
October
November
Biography in Music - BENJAMIN BRITTEN CENTENNIAL
Benjamin Britten
24
February
Love with a Twist
A program for those lucky at cards (unlucky at love)
15 & 16
March
Dear March - Come In
American Women Poets in Song
28 & 30
October
November
16 & 21
March
13 & 15
April
October
2 & 4
November
The Raven
A Poe Fest
7 & 8
December
January
JOHANNES BRAHMS
Biography in Music
25 & 29
April
Sincerely yours…
Letters set to music
2 & 3
October
November
A Neighborhood of Friends
A World of Song
13 & 14
December
Letters to Santa
Happy Hour and Mini Concert - 5:30 Reception, 6PM Music
January
Music in the White House
A Collaboration between Lyric Fest and Singing City
28 & 29
March
It’s Elementary
Songs of Earth, Wind, Fire and Water
31 & 2
May
Happy Birthday Irving Berlin
Happy Hour and Mini Concert, 5:30 Reception, 6PM Music
11 & 17
September
Pedals, Page-turns and Postludes
– A view from the bench
21, 22 & 24
October
Dominick Argento Turns 90
Happy Hour and Mini Concert
27
December
Art Songs of Benjamin C.S. Boyle
Lyric Fest’s Composer-in-Residence
February
Claude Debussy BIOGRAPHY IN MUSIC
Songs, Life and Letters of Debussy
10 & 11
March
CABARET FUNDRAISER
Join us for a spectacular evening that supports Lyric Fest!
24
April
Humming and Strumming – Guitar Songs with Allen Krantz
Happy Hour and Weekday Mini Concert
3 & 4
June
Happy Birthday Irving Berlin
Songs, Life, and Times of Irving Berlin
13
September
October
LEONARD BERNSTEIN
Biography in Music
19 & 21
November
November
January
12 & 13
April
September
FASCINATING RHYTHM
Songs of Gershwin
29
October
THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED
In collaboration with Singing City
5 & 6
November
THE ART OF SONG
Daron Hagen, world premiere
December
TUTTI FIOR
Happy Hour/Mini Concert with Art Show
10 & 11
February
THE ENCHANTED FLUTE
SONGS FOR FLUTE AND VOICE
29 & 1
October
EDGAR ALLAN POE IN SONG
excerpts from “Lenoriana” Benjamin C.S. Boyle
17 & 25
January
#SAYTHEIRNAMES
Women of the Movement
9 & 17
March
THE NIGHTINGALE
Nordic Song
6 & 14
May
SPEAK LOW
Biography in Music of Kurt Weill
29, 5, 12 & 19
October
THE FUNNY BONE
A Time to Laugh
2 & 3
October
The Funny Bone
A Time to Laugh
2 & 3
November
A Time to Mourn
Songs and Poems for the Victims of Covid-19
13 & 14
December
My Letter to the World
Emily Dickinson - Biography in Music
11 & 12
March
Yiddishe Nightingale
A Short History of the American Yiddish Theater
1, 2 & 3
April
The Song Catcher
The Folk Song Re-imagined
9 & 10
May
Anything Goes
Cole Porter - Uncensored
17 & 18
June
The Art of Song
By Daron Hagen, Brooklyn Premiere
June
My Favorite Things
Jennifer Aylmer and Laura Ward sharing favorites
11
September
Elysian Fields
Dawns, Dreams & Visions
18 & 20
November
A Singer's Singer
Biography in Music of Winnaretta Singer - An American Patroness in Paris
12 & 13
February
COTTON
New multi-media work Inspired by the cotton photography of Philadelphia artist John Dowell
25 & 28
March
Ode to the Lost Song Arne Dørumsgaard
Arrangements of Arne Dørumsgaard
28 & 29
April
Metamorphosis of Plants
A Lieder celebration for Earth Day at Longwood Gardens
22 & 23
May
Bewitched
The Bothered, Bewildered Songs of Rodgers & Hart
23 & 24
October
La Serenata
Songs and Serenades from Italy for Guitar & Voice
7, 8 & 10
October
Evidence of Things Not Seen
Happy Birthday to Ned Rorem
23
December
Any of Those Decembers
A Winter Cantata commissioned by Lyric Fest for four voices, string quartet, flute, and piano by Benjamin Perry Wenzelberg, composer, setting the poetry of Jeanne Minahan.
16 & 17
February
L-O-V-E
Songs for Valentine’s Day
14 & 18
April
COTTON
COTTON presented at the 92nd Street Y
18
May
¡ CANCIÓN !
Mexican Classical and Ranchera Songs with piano and Mariachi
17, 18 & 19
September
Play a Simple Melody
The Historic Songs of Tin Pan Alley
28 & 29
November
Nevertheless, She Sang
Women Composers, Women Poets
16 & 17
February
The Soul of the City
Urban living in the best and worst of times
22 & 23
April
Everything Old is New Again
Antique songs in modern garb
5 & 6
October
WINNARETTA SINGER
a surprising American princess
4 & 5
December
FASCINATING RHYTHM
George Gershwin ~ as he played it
6 & 7
March
DREAM KEEPER
The life, letters, and lyrics of Langston Hughes
14 & 15
April
September
Written in the Stars
American and British Composers and Poets
26 & 27
November
An die Nacht
Songs of the Night - German Lieder
7 & 8
February
The Andreé Expedition
Song Cycle by Dominick Argento
6 & 7
April
Love Signs
World Premiere of Lyric Fest’s New Commission by Damien Geter and Jessica Murphy Moo
3 & 4
Here’s What’s Happening Right Now
American and British Composers and Poets
Written in the Stars
American and British poets and composers probe all that the stars have meant for humankind:
perspective,
wonder,
inspiration,
guidance,
metaphor.
Songs of Ralph Vaughn Williams, Samuel Barber, Kile Smith, James Primosch, Lee Hoiby, Daron Hagen, Abbie Betinis, John Duke, Florence Price, Charles Ives, Benjamin Britten, Hariette Davison...
And a world premiere: "All is Change" by composer Rene Orth and Jeanne Minahan, poet, commissioned by Lyric Fest in memory of Rebecca Carr.
With Kelly Ann Bixby, Christine Lyons, and Maren Montalbano, Laura Ward, piano, Suzanne DuPlantis, reader.
Where
When
Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church - Sanctuary
September 26, 2026 @ 3:00 pm
The Academy of Vocal Arts
September 27, 2026 @ 3:00 pm