Ivy Walz
Photo by Devon Cass

On Sunday, May 21st at 3 p.m., Mezzo-soprano Ivy Walz, DMA, will be accompanied by Pianist Pej Reitz and Cellist Zachary Sweet to play songs by Moses Hogan, Margaret Bonds, Uzee Brown, Jr., Leonard Bernstein, Eric Whitacre, and Darius Milhaud in the Songs for Humanity concert at the Phelps Mansion Museum at 191 Court Street in Binghamton.

Walz states that, “The theme is inspired by celebrating what brings us together from different backgrounds; music…The songs involve music and texts by African Americans and people of Jewish background. I was inspired to put these songs together in a program that explores these very rich heritages and celebrates the power of art to learn acceptance and love for fellow humans.”

Walz is a mezzo-soprano, and is a performer of dramatic intrigue and musical sophistication. She performs a wide variety of vocal and musical styles, and is a proponent of art song and modern recital programming. Walz has worked with internationally known composers such as Jake Heggie, John Musto, and Dana Wilson.

This year, Walz performed a world premiere by composer Stephen Dankner called The Merit of Light. She has been invited to perform recitals with the Cincinnati Art Song Initiative and Denver Art Song Project. She was a semi-finalist in the Joy in Singing Competition for Art Song in 2012 and 2013, as well as a regional finalist for the NATS Artist Award in 2008 and 2010.

Walz has performed on the opera stage with nationally acclaimed companies such as Cincinnati Opera, Syracuse Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, the Spoleto Festival, and Tri-Cities Opera. She most recently returned to the professional opera stage as Madame Larina in Syracuse Opera’s production of Eugene Onegin. As a concert soloist, she has worked extensively; recent highlights include Handel’s Messiah with Symphoria Syracuse and the Binghamton Downtown Singers, Mozart’s Mass in C minor with Cayuga Chamber Orchestra and the mezzo role in Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky with the Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes.

Walz is a dedicated teaching artist, and is on the voice faculty at Ithaca College, School of Music. She holds the DMA from the College Conservatory of Music and MM and BM in vocal performance and education from Ithaca College. For more information, visit IvyWalz.com.

ADMISSION

Admission for this concert is $15 for the public, $10 for members, and $5 for students. Call (607) 722-4873 for more information.

This program is made possible in part by a grant from the United Cultural Fund, a program of the Broome County Arts Council, and with public funds from the Chenango Art’s Council’s Decentralization Program, a re-grant program of the NYS Council on the Arts, with support from Governor Cuomo and the NYS Legislature. Additional support for Broome County provided by the Stewart W. & Willma C. Hoyt Foundation.

PROGRAM

“Songs for Humanity”

Ivy Walz, mezzo soprano

Hakan Hromek, cello

Pej Reitz, piano

Moses Hogan

Selections from Dream Portraits by Margaret Bonds

Bonds is a female African American composer, texts by Langston Hughes

Dream with Me by Leonard Bernstein

One song for voice, piano, cello

I Dream a World

One Song by African American composer Uzee Brown Jr.

Five Hebrew Songs by Eric Whitacre

For voice piano and violin, with Hakan transcribing the violin part for cello.

Chants Populaire Hebraique by Darius Milhaud

Voice and piano