THIS LAND—An American Song Recital
THIS LAND, AN AMERICAN SONG RECITAL
presented by The Flow Chart Foundation in collaboration with the Columbia Land Conservancy
America’s relationship to land is complex and provides a rich topic for poets and composers to investigate. Historically, humanity explores, connects with, and exploits land. Property ownership is a sensitive and controversial topic as land has been stolen and lost, yet loved by so many. What is our responsibility to the land we call home and how can we care for the land that has always cared for us?
With music that examines both the destructive and loving relationships Americans have to land, four Bard Conservatory vocalists—Joseph Breslau, Nisha Caiozzi, Megan Maloney, and Sam Warshauer, together with pianist Gabrielė Žemaitytė—will delve deep into the context of each piece, poet, and composer, aiming to paint a picture of the past so we can find a better way forward. The program features art songs by quintessential American composers, such as Aaron Copland and Charles Ives, contemporary composers such as Jerod Tate and Lori Laitman, and musicians from the American folk music revival, such as Joni Mitchell and Pete Seeger. A special guest from the Columbia Land Conservancy will also be a part of the program.
Don’t miss this very special evening of poetry and song!
[left to right: Joseph Breslau, Megan Maloney, Sam Warshauer, Nisha Caiozzi, Gabriela Žemaitytė]
Joseph Breslau—Baritone
Joseph Breslau is a baritone equally passionate about opera, new music, and German Lieder performance. Joseph has sung the roles of Papageno from Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Aeneas from Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Duncan from Ernest Bloch’s Macbeth, Sid from Britten’s Albert Herring, and Jupiter from Offenbach’s Orphée aux enfers. Joseph performed as a soloist with the Case Western Reserve University Baroque Ensemble as well as the Bard Conservatory Baroque Ensemble in performances of music by Purcell, A. Gabrieli, L. de Sayve, and J. S. Bach. Joseph has premiered a multitude of new pieces by composers from the Cleveland Institute of Music and Bard College, including Arseny Gusev’s 5 Sunset Songs and Micro-Opera The Blind, Yoav Sadeh’s Loneliness: A monodrama for soloist and ensemble, and Noah Hertzman’s song Birches. https://www.josephbreslaubaritone.com/
Megan Maloney—soprano
Originally from Bettendorf, Iowa, soprano Megan Maloney is a versatile vocal artist, who utilizes Art Song, Operatic, and Musical Theater repertoire to present deep and exciting performances. Ms. Maloney has appeared onstage as Pamina in Mozart’s The Magic Flute “SuperFlute” with Opera MODO and Noémie in Massenet’s Cendrillon with University of Michigan Opera. On the concert stage she recently performed as a part of the Bard Kurtág Festival and with the Bard Baroque Ensemble led by Renee Louprette. In Fall 2024 Ms. Maloney will perform as a featured soloist with The Orchestra Now (TÕN) led by James Bagwell. Megan is currently pursuing her Master of Music at Bard Conservatory as a member of the Graduate Vocal Arts Program, where she studies under Lucy Fitz Gibbon. megan-maloney.com
Nisha Caiozzi—soprano
Nisha Patel Caiozzi is a singer, improviser, teacher, and multimedia artist pursuing her Master of Vocal Arts from Bard conservatory. Recent performances include Bard’s production of Orphée aux enfers (Cupidon), the 2024 songSLAM competition where she performed an art song of her own composition and poetry in collaboration with Michael Yang-Wierenga, and the operetta Shir Hashirim (Lily) at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research. Recent awards include the Ruth Cogan Memorial Scholarship from Oberlin in Voice Performance in 2023 and the Colburn Foundation Fellowship at Songfest in 2022. Nisha received her BM in Voice Performance with a minor in Ethnomusicology and a concentration in Pedagogy, Advocacy and Community Engagement from Oberlin Conservatory in 2023.
Sam Warshauer—tenor
Sam Warshauer, is a Vietnamese-American tenor who aspires to bring people together through music. Recent performances include the chorus of Berkshire Opera Festival’s Faust; Endymion in Bach’s, Was mir behagt, ist nur die muntre, Jagd BWV 208; John Styx in Offenbach’s, Orphée aux enfers; and Hymie in Joseph Rumshinsky’s, Shir Hashirim. Previous roles include Hansel in, Hansel and Gretel; Dido in, Dido and Aeneas; La Maestra delle Novizie, Suor Angelica; and the chorus of La Traviata. Sam holds a Bachelor of Arts from Eastern Connecticut State University and is pursuing a Masters of Music at Bard College Conservatory. Sam is a student of Richard Cox.
Gabrielė Žemaitytė—pianist
Gabriele Žemaitytė was born in Vilnius, Lithuania. She started playing piano at the age of six, when she began her studies at the National M. K. Ciurlionis Art School in Vilnius. Laureate of numerous national and international piano competitions, she has taken part in master classes with such renowned performers and teachers as Dmitry Bashkirov, Stefan Vladar, Armen Babakhanian, David Breitman, Nina Seriogina, Johannes Meissl, Stephan Picard, Michel Strauss, Philippe Graffin and David Dolan among others. In 2019, Gabriele completed her Master degree at Koninklijk Conservatorium, The Hague in the class of professor Naum Grubert. Gabriele Zemaityte has performed in various festivals throughout The Netherlands including Kammermuziekfestival in The Hague, Gergiev Festival, and various venues such as De Doelen, Het Concertgebouw, Muziekgebouw Amsterdam. In 2019 Gabriele toured in China where with a chamber orchestra she performed in more than twenty different theatres all over the country. In 2021 together with American baritone Rolfe Dauz she won the 2nd prize in the Copenhagen Lied-Duo Competition. Since 2017 Gabriele was privileged to have an opportunity to practice on a Bechstein grand piano kindly loaned to her by Nationaal Muziekinstrumenten Fonds. In 2020 and 2023 she was awarded Lithuanian Council for Culture grants for commissioning and performing contemporary vocal and instrumental music. Gabriele is currently a Collaborative Piano Fellow at Bard College Conservatory of Music.
