News Archive

    March 29, 2016 Am I Blue? The winner of our song competition, Isabella Nicole Ness, set a beautiful letter of Vincent Van Gogh, written to his brother Theo. Theo adored his older brother. He believed in him, supported him financially, and unfailingly encouraged him. Theo understood Vincent. Any who have stood before a Van […]

    March 21, 2016 The spectacle of life on the spectrum How’s this for an opener? “Dear Future Roommate, Don’t worry about us getting along. I’ve lived with crazy people all my life. My father is a poet, and his artsy friends—eccentric writers, boisterous musicians and neurotic painters— could populate a whole season of […]

    March 12, 2016 I am moaning over here. Alas! What ever happened to letter-writing?? Not that there isn’t something elegantly haiku-ish about the perfect tweet. But I don’t know, isn’t that more like grabbing some tasty fast food on a 5 minute lunch break compared with the slow deliciousness of an unhurried meal […]

    JOHANNES BRAHMS – Biography in Music (Rescheduled) CONCERT TONIGHT AT AVA, 7pm January 25, 2016 – Brahms-Humor (No, this is not a misnomer.) Don’t let this face fool you.       He could be funny. Okay, yes, he had a tendency to brood. (He once wrote “I have to confess …that I am […]

Lyric Fest’s Brahms Biography in Music performance for today is CANCELED. A performance will be held tomorrow, Monday, January 25 at The Academy of Vocal Arts at 7 pm, and a second performance will be held in Chestnut Hill at the Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill at 7:30 pm on Friday, January 29. Stay warm […]

      January 21, 2016 – Brahms and Clara “I can do nothing but think of you and gaze constantly at your dear letter and portrait. What have you done to me? Can’t you remove the spell you have cast over me?” (21 year old Brahms to 34 year old Clara) The beginning of […]

Michael Caruso has a very nice and informative preview of our Brahms concert in the Chestnut Hill Local.

      3. The Sexy Brahms Today’s song is Unbewegte laue Luft. But before I go any further, I have to warn you –Brahms and sex… It’s complicated. A little biographical back-drop might be in order: Picture the wharfs of Hamburg: sailors, prostitutes, rats. Now picture a pre-pubescent Johannes Brahms sent there by his father, into a brothel […]

    “I have qualms about beginning this letter. So let us speak of something else.” –Johannes Brahms I wrote a Brahms Letters Programs years ago. PLF, as I like to call it. (When Lyric Fest was just a twinkle in our eye.) There was a newish book of his letters out by Styra Avins. (Highly recommended.) […]

  Here is little dose of Sibelius to make your day. Not one, but two videos of Flickan kom ifrån sin älsklings möte. Okay. I know it’s hard to pronounce, but just say “Flickan” and everyone will know. The story is this… The girl comes back from a tryst with her lover and her mother says, Why are […]

    We are offering a different kind of concert experience with our upcoming Sibelius program on Tuesday, December 8 at 6pm. It’s a happy hour-birthday party that features Nordic delicacies, warming Finnish vodka, cooling wine, and about 45 minutes of incredibly beautiful songs by Jean Sibelius. Sibelius said this:  “Whereas most other modern composers are engaged in […]

      Alas. We’ve had no luck finding a Jean Sibelius Action Figure, and here it is, less than a month away from his 150th Birthday. We will have to find other ways to acquaint you with dear Jean, the Swedish Finn, or the Finnish Swede. I never can remember. Anyway, news flash. Sibelius is one […]

I think I’ve put my finger on it. Living in Poe’s word-world has felt to me like being in a dream. Wait. Let me try again. It is more accurate to say it has begun to feel less and less like a world that could have ever really existed…for anyone but for him. Poe said […]

    THE RAVEN – A Poe Fest Saturday, November 7, 2015, 8:00pm at Dumbarton Concerts, Washington, DC Sunday, November 8, 2015, 3:00pm at The Academy of Vocal Arts (Reception following) Tonight we meet in Washington – a cast of 12. We will finally all be in the same room to begin to pull this concert […]

I try not to gossip, but really, sometimes it’s hard. Poe and these women! For a dour guy with a short and troubled lifespan, he certainly had a lot of romantic intrigue. Case in point: one poem “Thou wouldst be loved” gets recycled four times, for four different women. Let’s just jump to the end, when he was truly struggling […]

      So, it was about 200 hundred years ago that EAP lived in Philadelphia –  1837 to 1844. Here is the only house he lived in that is still standing. You can visit it yourself – it’s in the Spring Garden District. Just to state, perhaps, the obvious, Poe was not a happy guy. […]

  Time for another action-filled video with Edgar Allan Poe (The Action Figure). Tune in while we try to reconcile Poe, the father of the American horror story with Poe, the erudite poet of heart stoppingly tender, romantic verse… THE RAVEN – A Poe Fest Saturday, November 7, 2015, 8:00pm at Dumbarton Concerts, Washington, DC […]

      Edgar Allan Poe Fun Fact Du Jour: Did you know the Baltimore Ravens were named for EAP’s famous poem “The Raven”? Just like our concert. THE RAVEN – A Poe Fest Saturday, November 7, 2015, 8:00pm at Dumbarton Concerts, Washington, DC Sunday, November 8, 2015, 3:00pm at The Academy of Vocal Arts

    It’s Things I do not have in common with Edgar Allan Poe – Day. I did not publish a book of poetry by age 18. I do not keep an exhaustive scrapbook of nearly all the far-flung bits of knowledge I have acquired. I never dropped out of college, or been kicked out of […]

  Poe Fest Alert! We are two weeks out. Mark your calendars for November 8th at 3pm at The Academy of Vocal Arts. You will not want to miss what will be a very special concert for Lyric Fest. Five singers (one, a counter-tenor, a first for LF) and Laura Ward at the piano will be joined by […]

    Poe Fun Fact Du Jour: Did you know that the 19th Century French loved Edgar Allan Poe? Just loved him –practically claimed him as their own. I have it on good authority (from a Poe-aficionado-Parisian-dweller-French-lit-major-budding-author-friend-of-mine, Rachel Kesselman) that this is indeed the case. That the poet Charles Pierre Baudelaire was obsessed with Poe, for example. He […]

LA DOLCE VITA Celebrating the Sweet Things in Life with Italian Song Laura and I are Italy-enthusiasts. We can’t help it. We spend a part of each summer on the staff of Umbrian Serenades (http://www.umbrianserenades.com/) in Spoleto, basking in the ancient splendor of Umbria and offering in return, concerts of solo, small ensemble and choral […]

This weekend Lyric Fest opens its 13th Anniversary Season with: LA DOLCE VITA Celebrating the Sweet Things in Life with Italian Song Mediterranean breezes, an evening “Passegiata”, Venetian sunsets, and the effervescence of Prosecco. This and more we bring to you in song, all inspired by Italy. Here is a little known Italian gem to […]

Our notice here about the concert on Sunday, September 27, in Pittsburgh, contained an error about the starting time for this concert. This error has now been corrected. Sunday’s concert starts at 3 pm.

Our gorgeous brochure for the new season is ready and will be mailed out soon. You can see it right here: LyricFest Brochure 15-16

LYRIC FEST is holding an art song competition for emerging composers under the age of 30. We are asking for songs that set letters to music for our upcoming concert, Sincerely Yours.   Check out this link for more information about this exciting opportunity!  

Lyric Fest’s 2015/16 Season Waxing Poetic – “In This Blue Room” by Kile Smith Sunday, September 27, 2015 at 4pm in PITTSBURGH “Lyric Fest West” in Pittsburgh to open the new “Music and the Arts Series” at Shadyside Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh. With Suzanne DuPlantis, mezzo soprano, Daniel Teadt, Laura Ward, piano. La Dolce Vita Friday, […]

Our Lyric Fest cocktail celebrating our Waxing Poetic – In the Blue Room concert comes from the Waldorf-Astoria Wax Poetic cocktail. But just as our concert comes from the inspiration of many arts, our Waxing Poetic Cocktail takes some colorful inspiration from batik as well as a poetic whiff of absinthe. Cocktail 2.25 ounces vodka […]

Laura Pritchard is the wonderful batik artist whose work sparked the poetry and music for our Waxing Poetic — In This Blue Room concert/art event this past weekend, with a brand new song cycle by our composer in residence Kile Smith on lyrics from poems inspired by Pritchard’s art. It also happens to be Laura […]

Unfortunately, conditions in Philadelphia have become very difficult with the snow and we are forced to reschedule tonight’s Cabaret after all, despite our earlier announcement. The new date for Cabaret 2015 is tomorrow, Sunday, February 22. The new time for doors to open is 6:30 pm and the show will begin at 7 pm. The […]

Meet Laura Pritchard, inspiration for our next concert, Waxing Poetic! Watch and see how she creates!

I’ll Take Romance – Cabaret and Auction Our Candlelit Cabaret Fundraiser is coming up next month. Join Suzanne DuPlantis, Barbara Shirvis, Harold Evans, piano and Ron Kerber, sax for a special night of Jazz Standards from the Great American Songbook. Candlelight, Wine, Desserts, Jazz — SUPPORT LYRIC FEST! Saturday, February 21, 2015, 7:30 pm – 10 pm […]

Click below to see the program for our upcoming Shakespeare concert: Much Ado Shakespeare Program

After our October 5 concert of Vienna – City of Song, we had a reception with many tasty treats created by students of the Restaurant School. Penn’s food magazine, Pennappetit.com, has a very nice write-up.

Lyric Fest’s first ever composer in residence, Kile Smith, was also the narrator for our Vienna program, which was performed Sunday and Monday. You can find his impressions from this experience in his latest blog post.

Tomorrow is our season opener – Vienna – City of Song. We had a great rehearsal yesterday! So much gorgeous music. So much variety, lush harmony, wistful lyrics, strange beauty …and humor! See full PROGRAM here. Here is a foretaste of the music to come: Strauss’s Ständchen with Erica Miller, soprano and Laura Ward, piano in rehearsal. Schubert’s Im […]

This is Lyric Fest’s first program dedicated exclusively to German Lied… and it feels like coming home.  We chose Vienna to narrow the field a bit, for the field was stretching out in all directions. Vienna, birth place to Schubert and Webern, home to Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Strauss, Mahler, Wolf, Schoenberg, supplies no want of songs, […]

Here is an ever-so-lovely song for today, one to be featured on next week’s program. And if I post quickly enough, you’ll hear it before the sun sets… Feldeinsamkeit of Johannes Brahms. (Solitude in a field) I rest quietly in the tall green grass And for a long time send my gaze aloft, Surrounded by the unceasing whirr […]

1. The Alpha and Omega of Franz Schubert, September 25, 2014 “Gretchen am Spinnrade” and “Die Taubenpost” In 1815 Schubert was 18 years old. In this year alone he composed 140 songs, nine church works and a symphony. But the piece considered to be his first song-masterpiece, the Alpha of Franz Schubert the unsurpassed Lieder […]

Today I start a blog post series on the commissions composed for Lyric Fest’s DEAR MARCH – COME IN! –  American Female Poets in Song. I’ll do one song per post. LF gave a third performance of this concert in July and we have some video to share, so please enjoy…. American Female Poets Songbook […]

Our beautiful brochure for the coming season is ready and will be mailed out soon. Here’s your advanced preview (PDF): Lyric Fest Brochure 2014

Lyric Fest announces its 2014/15 Season of Concerts. Check out this exciting season and order tickets now. Early Bird Specials available; more information on this coming soon. Here’s to you, here’s to song! Vienna, City of Songs Much Ado about Shakespeare Waxing Poetic I’ll make me a World In addition, we have two other performances: […]

Lyric Fest is presenting “Dear March–Come In–American Women Poets in Song” in Princeton, New Jersey. The performance is Tuesday, July 15, 7:30 PM, in the Bristol Chapel on Westminster College’s campus (this campus map shows it as building number 6; there are also directions to the campus). This concert is presented as part of the […]

Inquirer staff writer John Timpane has an article on philly.com today that celebrates poetry, in the context of April (poetry month) and Philly Poetry Day (April 12). In the article, Timpane gives a good taste of our Dear March — Come In program. The first performance of this program was last night at Bryn Mawr […]

Tonight’s concert is in The Music Room at Bryn Mawr College, starting at 7:30 pm. Here are helpful directions for you. Directions to The Music Room at Bryn Mawr College: http://www.brynmawr.edu/campus/visiting.shtml From Philadelphia traveling on Montgomery Avenue – at the traffic light at Morris, Turn RIGHT, (this is at the Baldwin School turning away from the Train […]

Benjamin C. S. Boyle  set a poem by Edith Wharton. Boyle’s commission is supported by a gift from Dr. Christina Stasiuk and George Farion. Patience                      by Edith Wharton (1862 – 1937) PATIENCE and I have traveled hand in hand So many days that I have […]

LF: Kiera Duffy, when did you first fall in love with opera and know this was your passion? KD: Well, my passion has always been for music, in general, but I guess the way in which I have expressed that passion has shifted over the years. The piano was my first love—I studied it for […]

David Patrick Stearns in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer, in a long piece entitled Audiences Growing for Song Recitals, talks about the story of Lyric Fest and our Dear March – Come In program to be presented Friday and Sunday. A short excerpt: Especially at Lyric Fest, which rejects traditional European formats by building programs around a […]

When asked what she wanted most from Poetry, Sharon Olds, winner of the Pulitzer for Poetry in 2013 said “I want a poem to be useful.” I love that. And really, I think anyone who has journeyed through the vicissitudes of life, leaning on poetry all the way, recognizes this simple, kind truth. Probably I’ve […]

Penn appétit, “Penn’s premiere food magazine”, has a delicious post about our reception after the Love with a Twist concert at AVA on February 16. Did you know that we have a marvelous reception with great food and drink after almost every one of our concerts?

Lyric Fest presented Love with a Twist: For those lucky at cards, unlucky in love—a program of great song and opera featuring the daydreams, denials, and disasters of love. To highlight our performance and Valentine’s Day celebrated mixologist Katie Loeb created an original Love with a Twist cocktail for us. And, just like romance, it shows […]

We hope you are warm and cozy in this storm. We have a little gift for you: the program of Love with a Twist as a PDF file: Love Twist Program. See you at one of the performances this weekend?

Two of our guest artists for Love with A Twist are Barbara Shirvis and Stephen Powell. While they have independent vocal careers, they happen to be married and we are happy to have the opportunity to have them both perform in our program about the many facets of love. Lyric Fest spoke with Stephen in San Diego, […]

I thought it might be nice if we put the denials and disasters on hold for a day, and dream. Besides, I am beginning to worry that you are expecting all dismal, tragic love when next we meet for Love with a Twist. Not so! I, for one, will be offering two of my dreamiest […]

And now if I may, I present our wonderful baritone for Love with a Twist, Stephen Powell (heard here in a delight from Brigadoon.) Stephen will open our exposé on love and all its foibles with the Prologue from I Pagliacci (heard here by the late, great Leonard Warren.) May I? Will you allow me? Ladies! Gentlemen! Excuse me if […]

In opera, anyway, the love interest in most librettos usually involves the TENOR and the SOPRANO. (Note, I am a mezzo, but in the words of the great German poet Heine, truly, Ich grolle nicht*) (Heard here with Eberhard Wächter) Now, rest assured The Tenor is often charming, persuasive, tenacious and irresistible.  And jealous, unfaithful, murderous, […]

Well, as I sit to begin blogging for our upcoming concert “Love with a Twist,” it’s another snow-day here is Philadelphia. Thinking about all this fiery passion while staring out the snowy window can’t help but bring Robert Frost’s Fire and Ice to mind. What is it about love that freezes and burns? This is the kind […]

West Chester’s own Stephen Powell is scheduled to sing in our upcoming Love with a Twist program. You can hear him tonight on a live broadcast from KPBS San Diego of Ruggero Leoncavallo’s opera I Pagliacci presented by the San Diego Opera. How can you listen to this on the web, you ask? Visit the KPBS website […]

We are extending the deadline to January 6, 2014. Here is the updated press release with the new deadline. We are looking forward to your song submission! PRESS RELEASE LYRIC FEST ANNOUNCES YOUNG SONG COMPOSERS COMPETITION For Immediate Release September 20, 2013 Lyric Fest announces its first song competion. The winner will receive both a cash […]

On Monday evening, October 28, Denyce Graves and Laura Ward performed at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC to help commemorate the unveiling of the portrait of the four women Supreme Court Justices, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and Justice Elena Kagan, painted by Nelson Shanks.

As Lyric Fest looks forward to celebrating Benjamin Britten’s Centennial, we chat with one of our guest artists, William Ferguson, who will be portraying Benjamin Britten through songs and letters. Q: You became interested in the vocal arts at a young age. Who nurtured you? Growing up in Richmond, Virginia, I played piano and was […]

LYRIC FEST ANNOUNCES YOUNG SONG COMPOSERS COMPETITION Lyric Fest announces its first song competion. The winner will receive both a cash prize of $600 and a Lyric Fest debut. The winning song will be presented on Lyric Fest’s upcoming concert in March of 2014. Composers up to age 30, as of January 1, 2014 are […]

Lyric Fest performs this weekend at Steel River Playhouse! Broadway Cabaret ~ Maggie Heffner Riker, Suzanne DuPlantis,Randi Marrazzo with Harold Evans and Emilio Gravagno Tickets here: http://www.steelriver.org/

This just in: our brochure for the upcoming season is ready to be printed. You can view it right here. Enjoy! We are very much looking forward to seeing you in our 2013-14 concerts.

Co-founding artistic director Laura Ward has upcoming activities with CoOPERAtive next week. The first activity is a master class on Tuesday, July 16, 2013, at 7:15 pm, with a live stream available online. Details here. The second activity is a recital on Friday, July 19, 2013, at 7:30 pm, at the Presbyterian Church of Chestnut […]

Only connect. I had to look up who said that after it began flitting round my head recently, nosing its way into all my affairs: Writing a long overdue email… Only connect. Reluctantly picking up a ringing phone… Only connect. And then there is singing — the great connector of them all! A week ago […]

Tenor Bryan Hymel, who sang in three Lyric Fest concerts between 2006 and 2008 (see our Archives) received today the Metropolitan Opera’s prestigious Beverly Sills award. This award is given once a year to a vocalist between 25 and 40 years of age who has appeared in a featured role on the Metropolitan Opera stage. […]

Q – Kevin, you recorded Dave Brubeck’s The Gates of Justice with Brubeck himself. We will be including the powerful movement “Lord, Lord, what will tomorrow bring?” on Lyric Fest’s Journey Toward Freedom concert this weekend. Can you tell us something about the experience of meeting and working with the late, great Dave Brubeck? A […]

Q: When you received the Marian Anderson Award, it is our understanding that it was presented by Miss Anderson herself. Describe how you felt at that moment. A: Meeting the great Marian Anderson was a surreal experience. I felt as if I’d stepped inside the history books. I kept saying to myself, “Wow, I first […]

Now, turning the leaf on the Winterreise project, we are setting our sights on the history of the Civil Rights Movement with our upcoming program “Journey Toward Freedom”. This program is inspired by the heroic efforts of so many who sought to create a better, truer America. Since learning the poem, The Cloths of Heaven […]

Composer Kile Smith has a wonderful reaction to yesterday’s concert. Read what he had to say to find out what made him shudder! (In a good way.)

Co-founding artistic director Suzanne DuPlantis created an excellent series of posts on the songs of Die Winterreise by Schubert, starting at the end of 2012 and ending right before our concert of Die Winterreise. We have collected all these posts into one page in our site, which you can find here. Having done so, we have removed […]

Andrea Clearfield was commissioned by Lyric Fest to compose a work for Lyric Fest’s 10th Anniversary Season. We thank John and Sandi so much for their generous support in making this possible. Andrea had a packed day at Yaddo Artist Residency where she was composing and also rehearsing for Lyric Fest via Skype(!) with Laura, […]

As our Winterreise concert double-feature comes closer, and amid our stream of daily posts about the individual songs of Winterreise, we are delighted to share this English translation of the songs of the songs, appearing in a great web site about music history, by Barry Mitchell. This page also starts with a useful synopsis of […]

We had an opportunity to catch up with Daron Hagen who has composed a new song cycle for Lyric Fest’s New Journey into Song concert on January 27, at 3pm at The Academy of Vocal Arts. The new work entitled “After Words” was commissioned in celebration of Lyric Fest’s 10th Anniversary season. Q: No spoilers here, but […]

Lyric Fest had a chance to catch up with our guest artists, Carla Dirlikov, Diego Silva and Luis Ledesma to talk a bit about Spanish song… How does it feel to bring Spanish music to non-Spanish communities and what appeals to you in the repertoire? Diego: I have found that Spanish and Mexican music is […]

Composer Kile Smith, whose song was on Sunday’s program, has some very nice things to say about that concert. For a taste, here’s his last paragraph: Kelly was one of the delicious singers on the program, along with mezzo Suzanne DuPlantis, soprano Randi Marrazzo (both co-founders of Lyric Fest, along with the redoubtable accompanist Laura […]

Allen Krantz, a graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory and Stanford University, has received acclaim as a composer, solo guitarist, and chamber musician.  His performances throughout the United States have included appearances at Carnegie Hall, Saratoga Performing Arts Center and the Phillips Collection in Washington, with his diverse programs often featuring original compositions.  What part […]

We are happy to share with you our 2012-13 10th Anniversary Season brochure (link leads to a PDF file). Isn’t it beautiful? Design by GHI Design.

A quick little update for you: our Cabaret was a great success! We have two photos taken by Bill Marrazzo on the Cabaret page.

Lyric Fest joins forces with the CoOPERAtive program at Rider University to present a recital of American song on July 20.

Here is an album with photos from Once Upon a Time. It is as much fun as the photos suggest! If you missed it, catch it Sunday, 5/6, at 3 pm in Trinity Presbyterian Church, 499 Route 70 East, Cherry Hill, NJ 08034, http://www.trinpres.org/ — no ticket required; free-will offering at door.

TUNE IN to WRTI tomorrow, Saturday, March 24 at 11 am! The Creatively Speaking host Jim Cotter talks about soprano Meagan Miller as she debuts in Philadelphia with our “Happy Birthday 1912” program!

Phillyburbs.com was (justifiably) very excited about our upcoming concert this next weekend (articles by Naila Francis): Lyric Fest explores the art of song Zach Borichevsky sings as a vehicle for truth What can we say? Better not miss the concert!

We just can’t have enough news about soprano Meagan Miller. We just wrote about her rave review in the New York Times. Now, here is the link to a preview, written by Zachary Lewis for the Plain Dealer, of her performances of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in Cleveland, under Christoph von Dohnanyi. And before the month […]

Soprano Meagan Miller, who will take part in our A Very Good Year ~ Happy Birthday to 1912 program on March 23 and 25, received a rave review in the New York Times, written by Vivien Schweitzer, for a recital she gave with tenor Marcello Giordani in New York on Sunday, March 4. The very […]

Meet Soprano Meagan Miller! Meagan Miller, a rapidly rising opera star from West Chester, PA, has been making celebrated debuts on important stages all over the world, interpreting the leading ladies of Mozart, Strauss, Verdi and Wagner. Her current season took her to a series of role and house debuts, the most recent – in […]

Baritone Randall Scarlata, who has sang in many of our programs and will sing in our March 23 and 25 program “A Very Good Year – Happy Birthday to 1912”, has two performances in New York, tomorrow, February 6 and Friday, February 10. While we have updated our Upcoming Events with our Guest Artists page […]

Buying tickets online is the most convenient way to get them — and now we have made it cheaper! Our new online price for a regular ticket is $20 and we have dropped the processing fee from any online ticket purchase transaction. Enjoy our new online prices and see you at the next concert! Find […]

Directions to Ravenhill Chapel for today’s concert (November 12, 2011): A view of the chapel and a map of the area: http://www.panoramio.com/photo/5871556 The Ravenhill Chapel is on the campus of Philadelphia University Campus between Henry Avenue and the Schuylkill River. From either Kelly Drive, from City Line Ave or from I-76, follow signs to “Lincoln Drive”. […]

Joe Barron has a nicely informative preview of To Kiss the Earth in Montgomery News.

William Stone is well known for his international reputation as an opera singer, concert artist and recitalist, whose career has spanned the last 35 years. But, little known is the fact that he is also an accomplished potter with strong ties to the creative process of working with clay. Through his association and study with […]

Lyric Fest presents To Kiss The Earth, November 12-13, 2011 Interview with Maurice Wright, the composer of the title piece To Kiss The Earth for low voice and string quartet LF:  What were the most interesting and unusual aspects that you faced while working on “To Kiss The Earth”? MW: I think that many composers who were […]

Let us share some exciting news. Soprano Elizabeth Racheva has been working both behind the scenes and on stage with us for about a year ~ we figure it’s time to make a proper introduction! Beginning in October, Elizabeth will take over the important task of working with the Lyric Fest audiences. She will be […]

Lyric Fest was created because of First Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia. Nine years ago the church acquired a 9-foot Steinway Grand, which the congregation beautifully restored, thereby making a serious commitment to music. With this instrument as an impetus, Lyric Fest was founded as a year-round festival of song.  First Presbyterian, with its decades-long love and appreciation […]

Montgomerynews.com has a great article by Joe Barron about our upcoming Bawdy Bard concerts. Excerpt: Since its founding in 2003, Lyric Fest has established a tradition of entertaining and offbeat programming supplementing music with poetry and theater. Singing remains the focus, but overarching themes and spoken narration provide a helpful context, plugging listeners in to […]

LYRIC FEST – THE BAWDY BARD, September 2011. Interview with Matthew Glandorf, Artistic Director of Choral Arts Philadelphia and The Philadelphia Bach Festival. LF: What was your immediate reaction when Lyric Fest invited you and Choral Arts Philadelphia to collaborate on The Bawdy Bard? MG: I was really excited about doing a song program of […]

Isn’t it gorgeous?

You can now order tickets and subscriptions online, as well as make a donation to Lyric Fest. Just visit one of these links: Get a Subscription Buy Tickets Donate

We have two new concerts by our artists in our Upcoming page. They are The Three Contraltos and Women of Valor Suite. Check them out, but don’t wait too long as they are scheduled for September!

We have started a page that lists upcoming events by our guest artists that are not Lyric Fest concerts. You will find it here. You can also visit that page by hovering over the Artists link in the top navigation bar of our website. The first entry is a benefit concert for The First Presbyterian […]

Soprano Meagan Miller, slated to appear in our “A Very Good Year – Happy Birthday to 1912” concert, is to be a lead in the performance of Richard Strauss’s Die Liebe der Danae at Bard in a few days. The New York Times ran an interesting article about this today. A quote from the article: […]

We are very excited to tell you about our 2011-2012 season! We will update our front page with links to detailed descriptions of the concerts in the next several days. The Bawdy Bard Friday, September 23, 2011 at 8 pm in Widener Hall at The Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill Sunday, September 25, 2011 at […]

If you are coming to Stranger Things tomorrow, don’t miss the reception after the end of the concert! Come to the back of the church after the concert and enjoy good food, drink, and conversation with the artists and all of us involved in Lyric Fest.

Check out the front page and page 7 of the City Suburban News. A very nice preview!