art song. opera. cabaret.

VOX 3 Collective, Inc. NFP | 4618 N Racine Ave, Chicago, IL 60640 | 773.784.0425 | www.vox3.org

Karen Ann BARON

Amanda COMPTON

Katy COMPTON

Megan COOK

Magaly CORDERO

KimberlyGUNDERSON

MeganGUSE

Ashlee HARDGRAVE

Carla JANZEN

Ashley JOHNSON

LauraPERKETT

JulietPETRUS

Laura PINTO

Rebecca PRESCOTT

Malia ROPP

ElizabethRUDOLPH

JennySCHULER

ElizabethSHUMAN

AlisonWAHL

AprilSALERNO

Magdalena GOLECKA

CatieHUGGINS

JenniferTHOMPSON

Gretchen ADAMS

KathrynWILLS

BrianHOFFMAN

NicholasPULIKOWSKI

Matthew BENTSEN

OliverCAMACHO

BeenaDAVID

LeslieHILL

JoachimLUIS

Stephen TANKSLEY

Zachary VANDERBURG

GabrielDI GENNARO

Zachary ELMASSIAN

IanHOSACK

MichaelORLINSKY

PeterRUGER

SeanSTANTON

BrianVON RUEDEN

JamesMOREHEAD

ABOUT VOX

VOX is the Latin word for Voice. !We celebrate the unique power of the human voice to tell stories and unlock emotions, in performances from many times and traditions. The numeral 3 stands for the three main types of music we present: !Art Song. Opera. Cabaret.

Our mission is simple: VOX 3 Collective educates both performers and audience through varied presentations of vocal music. !We present world premiere works; we pair rare repertoire with undisputed masterpieces. We showcase this material with an engaging, intimate twist. !We build bridges between art, culture, history, and literature in our concerts, informing as we entertain. !We appear in a variety of venues to connect our audience members to interesting spaces throughout Chicagoland. !We invite you to join us for one of our upcoming events, to feast your eyes, ears, and mind on the bounty of vocal music.

“night/music” “bon voyage”

Ashlee Hardgrave

Nicholas Pulikowski

Catie Huggins

“A wonderful, very daring chamber music collective… The best of Chicago and the best of serious independent artists” —Andrew Patner, 98.7 WFMT

PRESS | REVIEWS

MOZART | REQUIEM, K. 626 (April 2014) “Strong and dramatic…The chorus sang with passion and impressive refinement, delivering the quiet spiritual moments sensitively and bringing daunting impact to Mozart’s big dramatic moments.” —Lawrence A. Johnson, Chicago Classical Review !NIELSEN | MASKARADE (January 2014) “A rare, tasty treat. A delightful surprise awaits opera buffs in an ambitious, full-length staging of Carl Nielsen’s comic opera Maskarade, produced by VOX 3 Collective…Impressive…Remarkable.” —Lawrence B. Johnson, Chicago On the Aisle !VARIOUS | NEW SONG (August 2013) “[The] musicians beautifully meld their complex moving passages together. New Song: Songs & Cycles from Chicago is a grand collection of new vocal music performed by an array of fresh talent who find muses in their hometown and in historical culture as well.” —Kelly O’Neil, ReviewYou

“VOX 3 creates art out of music” —Steve Christensen, Inside Loyola !“The fine young Chicago vocal ensemble” —John von Rhein, Chicago Tribune !“The gifted artists of the intimate VOX 3 vocal ensemble…perform treacherously challenging selections” —Jonathan Abarbanel, Windy City Times !“Arias and scenes from popular operas receive…sage treatment from the ambitious vocal ensemble” —Time Out Chicago !“A highly talented and precocious group” —Evan Kuchar, ChicagoCritic.com !

BIOGRAPHIES

VOX 3 Collective’s mission is to educate both performers and audience through varied presentations of vocal music. The company celebrates the unique power of the human voice to tell stories and unlock emotions, in performances from many times and traditions. The numeral 3 stands for the three main types of music the ensemble presents: Art Song, Opera, and Cabaret.

Formed in 2007, the group quickly instituted one of Chicago’s only regular art song recital series. Its members are graduates of some of the country’s finest conservatory programs, and have appeared with major opera companies and orchestras throughout the world.

Pairing standard and obscure repertoire — whether Renaissance motet, Baroque opera, Romantic lieder, or contemporary art song — VOX 3 concerts and recitals feature thoughtful programming and provide intimate interaction between singer, accompanist, and audience.

Featured on WLUW, WBEZ, and WFMT radio, WOCH television, and recommended by critics and publications throughout Chicago, VOX 3 concerts are entertaining and educational. Beyond musical performance, VOX 3 builds connections between branches of art, culture, and history, with its educational efforts. Past programs have featured female composers, traced German history, celebrated Filipino, Greek, or Latin American culture, highlighted the drama of works by Shakespeare and Strindberg, and delved into the folklore of diverse peoples.

VOX 3’s discography includes New Song and Spirit Within, two albums of premiere art song written for company members, available on CDBaby and iTunes.

To learn more, visit www.vox3.org.

VOX 3 Collective Artistic Director Brian von Rueden has programmed over 60 and sung on more than 35 recitals with the company to date, each with a different cultural or thematic focus. As a singer, Von Rueden most recently appeared on the opera stage as Master of the Masquerade in Nielsen’s Maskarade and in the title role of Krása’s Brundibár.

Other favorite roles include Count Almaviva in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, Melibeo in the U.S. premiere of Cimarosa’s L’infedeltà fedele, and Tarquinius in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia, all with Millennium Chamber Players. Von Rueden was a young artist with Opera Santa Barbara. Other productions include The Love for Three Oranges, The Mikado, The Impresario, The Scarf, and The Face on the Barroom Floor.

A fluent German speaker, von Rueden has given recitals in venues throughout Germany, including the Kulturrathaus Dresden and Schloss Siebeichen in Meissen, and has sung in the chorus of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden. Von Rueden has also often appeared in concert repertoire, having sung the title role in Mendelssohn’s Elijah, bass solos in Handel’s Messiah, Saint-Saëns’ Christmas Oratorio, and several cantatas and masses of J.S. Bach, most notably with Ars Musica Chicago and the Chicago Bach Ensemble. Von Rueden can be heard on VOX 3 Collective’s recordings New Song and Spirit Within, singing Eric Reda’s Iconic Waltzes and Frank Ferko’s Merton Songs. He is also active as a director and designer for operas, musicals, and classical theater.

Von Rueden earned his Master of Business Administration from National Louis University, his Master of Music from Roosevelt University, and his Bachelor of Music from Valparaiso University.

BIOGRAPHIES

VOX 3 Collective General Manager Myron Silberstein began his career as a concert pianist, accompanist, teacher, and composer at the age of seventeen, when he won first prize at the Giornate Musicali International Piano Competition in Sperlonga, Italy in 1991. Silberstein's full-length European debut followed in 1992. His 1993 recital at Weill Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall attracted the attention of Connoisseur Society Records, for which he recorded works by Franck, Bloch, and Giannini in 1994. This recording was named to Fanfare Magazine's "Want List" and was cited by critic Peter J. Rabinowitz as the best debut recording of the year.

As a collaborative pianist, Myron Silberstein has worked with world-renowned vocalists such as Damon Ploumis and Kevin Pruner. Silberstein has served as staff accompanist for the annual Classical Singer Magazine Convention since 2009, was resident music director of Chicago Opera Vanguard from 2009 to 2011, and was nominated for a Jeff Award in Music Direction in 2011. He currently accompanies the University Choir at North Park University.

Silberstein’s compositions have been premiered by eminent soloists such as Patricia Morehead (oboe) and Susan Nigro (contrabassoon), and performed by groups such as ensemble controverse throughout the United States and Europe. His musical theatre works have been produced by Piccolo Theatre and Storycatchers Theatre.

A lifelong advocate of underrepresented repertoire, Silberstein has recently recorded the complete solo piano works of Peter Mennin and Norman Lloyd, released on Naxos’s American Classics series in May 2014. He is currently editing unpublished manuscripts by Vittorio Giannini. Silberstein regularly accompanies members of VOX 3 Collective in recitals of German, French, Scandinavian, Greek, and Italian repertoire.

James Morehead is music director for VOX 3 Collective, choir master & organist at St. Helena's Episcopal Church in Burr Ridge, and Assistant Conductor for the Chicago Gay Men's Chorus. He primarily works as a coach, accompanist and music director for the Theater Conservatory of Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, where he has also served as Adjunct Professor of Music Theory/History and German Diction.

Morehead received his MM in Piano Performance and Music Theory from Roosevelt University and his BM from Duquesne University. He has twice been nominated for a Jeff Award in Music Direction, for his work on bare and Passing Strange. Other music direction credits include Jerry Springer: the Opera, See What I Wanna See with Steppenwolf's Garage Series, AIDA, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Trouble in Tahiti, The Mikado, The Barber of Seville, The Old Maid and the Thief, Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Bear, Reagan's Children, Cupid and Psyche, Promises, Promises, and a number of cabarets and revues.

James has conducted choral & orchestral works by Respighi, Fauré, Poulenc, and Saint-Saëns. He also led the world premiere of Chicago composer Amos Gillespie’s Honor Requiem. Morehead has performed at the Auditorium Theater, Harris Theater, Chicago Cultural Center, Navy Pier, Shedd Aquarium, Rockefeller Chapel, and Harold Washington Theater among many others. He has collaborated and performed with the Juliani Ensemble, Grande Prairie Choral Arts Singers, Anaphora, Lyric Opera Kids, After School Matters, and ChiARTS high school. He has also been heard multiple times on 98.7 WFMT. He has also appeared as a featured pianist at the Green Mill, Mary's Attic, the Tavern, Gentry on Halsted, Spin Nightclub, Davenport's, 410 Club, and the Casino.

REPERTOIRE

2007 - 2008 SEASON !ABENDMUSIK | May 2007 Sacred Baroque cantatas Buxtehude !NORTH AND SOUTH | May 2007 Contemporary American art song Argento, Hoiby, Barber, Harbison !BLITHE AND BONNY | June 2007 A celebration of Shakespeare in music Thomson, Fauré, Finzi, Shearing, Chausson, Strauss !THE GREAT OUTDOORS | July 2007 Summer outdoor opera showcase Handel, Mozart, Gershwin, Délibes, Humperdinck, Smetana !CLASSICAL CABARET | August 2007 Lighter works by classical composers Schoenberg, Bolcom, Britten, Poulenc, Satie !EAST VS. WEST | October 2007 Compositions from a divided Germany Hindemith, Weill, Dessau, Eisler, Orff, Rihm !HERE I STAND | November 2007 Reformation cantatas and chorales Praetorius, Schütz, Bach, Hassler, Senfl !MYTHS AND FAIRYTALES | November 2007 Fantastical works from diverse lands Ravel, Purcell, Rorem, Debussy, Schubert, Hoiby !FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE | January 2008 Passionate music for voice and piano Mussorgsky, Rachmaninov, Medtner, Tchaikovsky !CHANSON D’AMOUR | February 2008 Songs of love, lust, sex, and seduction Quilter, Poulenc, Schumann, Rodrigo, Lauridsen !2008 - 2009 SEASON !VOX FEMINA | May 2009 Vocal works by female composers Chaminade, Strozzi, Mendelssohn Hensel, Walker, Viardot !VOX PECCATI | March 2009 Songs of sins from gluttony to sloth Bach, Heggie, Sondheim, Holmes, Moore, Mozart, Sippola !VOX GERMANICA | February/ March 2009 A romantic Liederabend Zelter, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Wolf, Berg !VOX CAELESTIS | December 2008 Sacred and spiritual songs for the season Carter, Silberstein, Holst, Handel, Bloch, Dvořák !VOX NOCTURNA | October 2008 Music that goes bump in the night Saint-Saëns, Wildhorn, Poulenc, Duparc, Schwartz, Schumann !VOX RHYTHMUS | September 2008 Spanish and Latin American Songs Obradors, Piazzolla, Ginastera, Montsalvatge, Rodrigo, Villa-Lobos !FORTUNE & FOOLERY | August 2008 Outdoor Baroque opera scenes Rameau, Cavalli, Bach, Monteverdi, Handel, Charpentier

2009 - 2010 SEASON !FOLK/ART | September 2009 Diverse arrangements of cultural music Beethoven, Brahms, Holst, Griffes, Copland, Bissell, Garcìa Lorca !MAJOR/MEDICAL | October 2009 A crazy cabaret of maladies and medicine LeJeune, Seibel, Eisler, Diamond, Schumann, Cyrus !NIGHT/MUSIC | November 2009 An original staged song cycle for darker hours Ives, Lauridsen, Marx, Britten, Fauré, Strauss, Spohr, Sibelius !PRAISE/HYMN | January 2010 Sacred solos and ensembles of veneration di Lasso, Monteverdi, Legrenzi, Strozzi, Howells, Poulenc, Duruflé !HOOK/BREAKUP | February 2010 A passionate cabaret of lust and loathing Morley, Joel, Larson, Coleman, Brown, Krauss !CHILD/PLAY | March 2010 Interactive art music for the young Brahms, Bernstein, Mozart, Fine, Rossini, Adam !NATIONAL/PRIDE | June 2010 A musical legacy of gay Americans Tilson Thomas, deBlasio, Heggie, Strayhorn, Barber !2010 - 2011 SEASON !GLORIOUS FOOD | September 2010 A cornucopia of fine musical fare King, Bart, Menken, Rossini, Bernstein, Waller !CLIMATE CHANGE | November 2010 A celebration of the four seasons in music Roussel, Boismortier, Argento, Barber, Schubert, Zemlinsky !NORDIC WIND | December 2010 | February 2011 Survey of Scandinavian song Gade, Kjerulf, Grieg, Sibelius, Stenhammar, Larsson, Alfvén !NEW SONG | January 2011 World premiere song cycles by Chicago composers Gillespie, Gustafson, Moore, Reda, West, Lawton !ISLAND MAGIC | February 2011 Vocal traditions of the Philippines Sunico, Santiago, Suarez, Abelardo, Kasilag !THE GLAMOROUS LIFE | April 2011 A cabaret covering fame, fortune, and celebrity Purcell, Duke, Parton, Berlin, Styne, John !OPPOSITE DAY | May 2011 A cabaret to set expectations topsy-turvy Bernstein, Delibes, Sondheim, Hassler, Arlen, Hamlisch !NO PIANOS ALLOWED | June 2011 Vocal chamber music from various cultures Kauder, Rubbra, Valls, Bornhardt, Roussel, Ferrante

REPERTOIRE

2011 - 2012 SEASON !VIVA ITALIA! | September 2011 A collection of Italian song Respighi, Rossini, Arditi, Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi, Caccini !AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 MINUTES | October 2011 A cabaret of people and places Ulvaeus, Toch, Onovwerosuoke, Verdi, Guastavino, Fine, Saliers !AMERICAN NOUVEAU | October 2011 Modern melodies by American composers Ferko, Cooman, Wheeler, Gordon, Silberstein, Larsen !GLORIA IN EXCELSIS | December 2011 Musical meditations on the nativity Saint-Saëns, Respighi, Friesen-Carper !TIN PAN ALLEY TO TEREZIN | January 2012 Music of the 1920s and 1930s Gershwin, Berlin, Petersburski, Arlen, Porter, Ullman !WILD THINGS | February 2012 Maurice Sendak stories in operas for children Knussen, Krása, King !ERIN GO BERLIN! | March 2012 Irish music with German, French, and British Influences Beethoven, Berlioz, Brüll, Britten, Clarke, Schumann !5 O’CLOCK WORLD | April 2012 A cabaret that works hard for the money Wahl, Parton, Summer, Wolf, Mozart, Gustafson, Eisler, Taylor !VEILED FACES | May 2012 Representations of Biblical women in song Hindemith, Fauré, Handel, Beeson, Moore, Gillespie, West !2012 - 2013 SEASON !SCHMALTZ & SHENANIGANS | September 2012 An operetta extravaganza Messager, Offenbach, Strauss, Kalman, Sullivan, Romberg !SLEEPWALKING NIGHTS | October 2012 Strindberg works in opera and song Rangström, Peterson-Berger, Rudolph, Weisgall, Webern !THE PURPLE SHOW | October/November 2012 The highs and lows of American politics Copland, Foster, Berlin, Lehrer, Gershwin, Newman, Lerner !FROM WEBER TO WAGNER | January 2013 German opera in the 1830s Lortzing, Spohr, Marschner, Kreutzer, Weber, Nicolai !AN DIE MUSIK | February 2013 Gender-bending songs for women | Men’s ensembles of night Schubert !GREEK TO ME | February 2013 A collection of vocal music from Greece Theodorakis, Riadis, Petridis, Evangelatos, Zes, Samaras !IN PARADISUM | March 2013 Two choral requiems Fauré, Gillespie !SPRING AWAKENING | April 2013 A tribute to the teenage years Gounod, Lightfoot, Strauss, Morley !COMEDY TONIGHT | May 2013 Clowns and Commedia dell’arte in music Vecchi, Strauss, Leoncavallo, Debussy, Stravinsky, Coward

2013 - 2014 SEASON !BON VOYAGE | July 2013 Musical postcards from exotic locales Argento, Krenek, Ravel, Hoiby, Holst, Gordon, Montsalvatge !OPERA ALFRESCO | August 2013 Scenes from great operas in the open air Offenbach, Berlioz, Mozart, Strauss, Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi !PUEBLITO, MI PUEBLO | September 2013 A collection of Latin American song Ponce, Luzuriaga, Guastavino, Lecuona, Figueroa, Leon, Chavez !BROADWAY, BALLADS & BARBERSHOP | October 2013 The sounds of Tin Pan Alley Berlin, Gershwin, Porter, Arlen, Cohan, Von Tilzer, Warren !FISH OUT OF WATER | November 2013 A cabaret of deviation from the norm Trask, Orzabal, Menken, Weber, Gounod !HALF-SPENT WAS THE NIGHT | December 2013 Stories of Christmas and Winter Scarlatti, Orlinsky, Kodaly, Sibelius, Cornelius, Gjeilo, Hill !CANTATE DOMINO | January 2014 17th-century cantatas from Northern Europe Bruhns, Buxtehude, Pedersen, Telemann, Krieger !MASKARADE | January 2014 Chicago premiere of Denmark’s national opera Nielsen !THE SILVERED HEAVENS | January 2014 Gems of Scandinavian song Bechgaard, de Frumerie, Kjerulf, Grieg, Backer-Groendahl, Weyse !FAIRYTALES & FUN | February 2014 Hans Christian Anderson tales in music Gade, Schumann, Prokofiev, Loesser !GOING TO THE CHAPEL | February 2014 Songs of Love, Betrothal, & Marriage Schubert !SHADOW INTO LIGHT | March 2014 A lecture recital exploring Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande Debussy !REQUIEM | April 2014 Sacred Viennese works for chorus and orchestra Mozart, Bruckner, M Haydn, Schubert !FELLOW CITIZENS | May 2014 Premiere compositions of social engagement Mathews, Malmquist, West, Gustafson !BEFORE I DIE | June 2014 A cabaret of last words from opera singers Rossini, Dylan, Tyler, Mercury, Puccini, Clapton

RECORDINGS

SPIRIT WITHIN

Using a range of styles, this collection of new art songs and choral pieces explores the spectrum of modern belief, setting texts from Eastern and Western traditions, depicting the sacred feminine, and reflecting on the search for meaning in life. !

Spirit Within shows the intellectual curiosity inherent in all VOX 3 projects. This album features the premiere recording of Frank Ferko’s Merton Songs (2009), along with new music by several Chicago composers. Randall West and Amos Gillespie present their dramatic depictions of the Apocryphal heroine Judith. Myron Silberstein’s darkly despairing “Psalm 13″ burns with a radiant intensity. Sarah J. Ritch’s Zen Koans for tenor, violin, alto flute, and piano alternate between ravishing melody and spare sonorities. Selections from Brian von Rueden’s Nameless duet cycle portray women of the Old and New Testament. The final two pieces of Seth Boustead’s Songs of Love and Transience layer longing vocal lines over finely spun piano phrases. Adam Gustafson’s charming song cycle on five Rumi texts meditates on the power of nature, music…and wine. The project is bookended by new choral compositions by James Morehead.

IN PARADISUM

Gabriel Fauré's comforting choral masterpiece is paired with the world-premiere recording of Amos Gillespie's Honor Requiem, a modern, tonal work for choir, organ, and orchestra celebrating a life well lived. !

Featuring a 28-voice chorus and chamber orchestra, this recording was taken from a live performance in March 2013 at Chicago Temple, with James Morehead conducting, Alexander Kirillov at the organ, and choral preparation by Christopher S. Owen.

NEW SONG

A collection of newly composed art song using texts new and old, from Shakespeare to Sandburg, paying homage to art, life, and the city of Chicago in a variety of musical styles. !

The VOX 3 members who perform on New Song have strong Chicago ties, having lived and worked in the city for many years. Several of the pieces reflect the city itself: Morning Commute by Adam Gustafson sketches the colored lines of the Chicago Transit Authority train system. Chicago Songs by Eric Malmquist sets Carl Sandburg’s famous poems about the city. Circle Dance Music by Amos Gillespie takes the audience into three paintings at Chicago’s Art Institute. Eric Reda’s Iconic Waltzes depicts a range of female gay icons from Karen Carpenter to Dolly Parton through the voice of a classical baritone. Further cycles use familiar poets like William Shakespeare and Emily Dickinson as their basis for new music. Other composers featured include Randall Moore, Matthew Lawton, and Alison Wahl.

VOX 3 Collective recordings are available for purchase as a CD or digital download on CDBaby, iTunes, and Amazon.

REQUIEM

This live album features 36 singers from VOX 3 Collective in conjunction with Lakeview Orchestra in sacred Viennese masterpieces for chorus and orchestra, conducted by Gregory Hughes. !

This April 2014 live performance at Chicago Temple features Mozart’s Requiem, Schubert’s Stabat Mater, and motets by Bruckner, with choral preparation by Christopher S. Owen.

art song. opera. cabaret.

VOX 3 Collective, Inc. NFP | 4618 N Racine Ave, Chicago, IL 60640 | 773.784.0425 | www.vox3.org