January 24th ZALON Program

HuDost

The music of HuDost weaves a seamless tapestry of Folk, World and Rock that renders tears and laughter in listeners cultivating the nameless longing that abides somewhere in all our hearts and invoking total celebration. HuDost’s recent album 'of Water + Mercy' received rave reviews and as an independent release reached #24 in the BILLBOARD SALES CHARTS for Folk/Americana. It just won The Independent Music Award for Social Action Song. All members from the GRAMMY Award-winning band Jars of Clay play on the album. Highlight performances include Bonnaroo, FloydFest, Blissfest, The ARK, the Salvador Dali Museum, The Levitt Pavilions, WoodSongs at the Kentucky Theater (on PBS), Nashville’s Bluebird Café, Music City Roots, Tim Robbins’ WTF?! Fest, The Montreal Folk Festival, Hillside Festival, Stan Rogers Folk Fest and many more. Highlight collaborations and opening slots for other artists include Ani DiFranco, Philip Glass, Jon Anderson (YES), Joan Osborne, Steve Kilbey (The Church), Neko Case, Jim Lauderdale and many more. It is through music that the losses and gains, pains and triumphs and excruciating beauty of life can be given a voice of empathy to the synonymous lives of all people. HuDost are also committed advocates for ONE (non-profit organization).

You can donate and purchase recordings, original artworks, shirts, and more at: www.hudost.com

Follow them on social media here: 

www.facebook.com/hudost

https://www.instagram.com/_hudost/ 

https://twitter.com/hudost

Benjamin P. Wenzelberg

An alumnus of Juilliard Pre-College and a former child soloist and chorister with the Metropolitan Opera, Benjamin P. Wenzelberg is a conductor, composer, countertenor, pianist, US Presidential Scholar in the Arts, and Senior at Harvard University. He conducted the Boston Pops at Symphony Hall after winning their Bernstein Centenary Conducting Competition, and was just named a Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions District Winner of the Boston District this Fall, moving on to the New England Regionals in February 2021. He received an ASCAP Award for his libretto and music of The Sleeping Beauty – an opera for family audiences, and his orchestral work, Heroic Dreamscape Fantasy – inspired by a theme of L. van Beethoven, was performed at the Vienna Musikverein and premiered in Japan in February 2020 during Beethoven 250th Birthday Celebration concerts. He performed as the countertenor soloist in the world premiere of a commissioned composition of his, Ultrathing, with Orchestra 2001 (Philadelphia) in Summer 2019, and was commissioned to compose a piano work for a video project by a Steinway Artist about climate change. Most recently, Benjy performed new compositional work at the inaugural Harvard Composers Festival (virtual), as well as singing in a virtual masterclass with tenor Lawrence Brownlee. He is the Music Director of Harvard College Opera and the Mozart Society Orchestra, sings with the Harvard University Choir, and serves as the Assistant Music Director of Lowell House Opera, for whom he is currently writing a commissioned opera. He conducted the world premiere of his composition for period instruments with the Harvard Baroque Chamber Orchestra, who commissioned the work and with whom he has also performed as a vocal soloist. 

Website: www.benjaminwenzelberg.com ; YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/benjysworld

Maria Dell’Orefice and composer Adam Wernick 

Born and raised in Strafford, Pennsylvania, Maria Dell’Orefice began her musical studies at a young age. With the influence and support of her jazz pianist father, James Dell’Orefice, she began piano lessons at age 5 and violin lessons at age 7. While piano eventually became her primary instrument, Maria has been an active orchestral violinist since the age of 8 in ensembles such as the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra, in which she became principal second violinist, and the Waco Symphony Orchestra. Maria is the pianist of Ensō New Music, a chamber ensemble made up of Baylor students and alum that plays music composed by living composers. She has also performed at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall five times as a result of winning various competitions. Maria holds a B.M. in Piano Performance from Baylor University and is completing her M.M. in Piano Performance and M.M. in Collaborative Piano at Temple University with Dr. Charles Abramovic and Lambert Orkis.

-Links: mariadellorefice.com, ensonewmusic.com, personal YouTube account https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClPzW8LXXu8BBiHAKL-fxRQ, Ensō YouTube account https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjFEdBJGWxxGSNrTNwqJ4Ww, Venmo @Maria-DellOrefice, PayPal paypal.me/mariadellorefice

Adam Wernick is a composer and writer, primarily working in theater. Over the past thirty years he has created original music and sound for many theater companies, including The Guthrie Theater, The Shakespeare Theatre Company, The Royal Shakespeare Company, The Kennedy Center, The Old Globe, Classic Stage Company, The Wilma Theater, and many others. Concert works include chamber music, solo works for piano, songs for piano and voice, and an oboe concerto for former Philadelphia Orchestra principal oboist Richard Woodhams.

Website: adamwernick.com

FALU

Falu is a GRAMMY nominated, internationally recognized artist known for her rare ability to seamlessly blend a signature modern inventive style with a formidable Indian classically-shaped vocal talent. In her early years in Bombay, Falu (aka Falguni Shah) was trained rigorously in the Jaipur musical tradition and in the Benares style of Thumrie under the legendary Kaumudi Munshi and semi classical music from Uday Mazumdar. She also studied under the late sarangi/vocal master Ustad Sultan Khan, and with the legendary Smt. Kishori Amonkar (Jaipur style). Originally from Bombay, Falu moved to the States in 2000 and was appointed as a visiting lecturer at Tufts University.  Falu’s career has included collaborations with Yo-Yo Ma, Wyclef Jean, Philip Glass, Ricky Martin, Blues Traveler and A. R. Rahman amongst others. She was appointed Carnegie Hall’s ambassador of Indian Music in 2006, where her shows at Zankel Hall have sold out. Falu has performed for President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama at the White House and was also the featured performer at the Time-100 gala in 2009. Her songs have appeared on numerous compilations and soundtracks. She was described by The New York Times as “East and West, ancient and modern” and by Billboard as “Ethereal and Transcendent”. Her first album “Falu” was featured in Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History’s “Beyond Bollywood” exhibit.  In 2015, Falu was named one of the 20 most influential global Indian women by the Economic Times of India. In 2018, she won the Women Icons of India award in Mumbai. Falu was an integral part of Givenchy's September 11th fashion show (Ricardo Tisci collection under the art direction of Marina Abramović) in NYC. Falu continues to pursue her commitment to introducing children to the wonders of the world through her recently released, GRAMMY nominated debut kids project, "Falu’s Bazaar", which takes families on a musical journey through South Asia, as well as through her artist-in-residence position at Carnegie Hall. She sits on the NY Chapter Board of Governors for the Recording Academy.

Links: www.falumusic.com, www.instagram.com/falumusic, www.facebook.com/falumusic 

Isaí Jess Muñoz and Oksana Glouchko

Tenor Isaí Jess Muñoz has collaborated with some of the world’s leading ensembles. Highlights have included performing with the Israel Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, American Symphony Orchestra, Mostly Mozart Festival (Lincoln Center), Voices of Ascension (New York), Verbier Festival (Switzerland), Bard Music Festival, New York City Opera, and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre on Broadway. A champion of contemporary and underrepresented works, Muñoz is featured on 14 audio recordings including the 2009 Grammy-Nominated Album "Song of the Stars" with Voices of Ascension. His latest solo album titled "Visca L'Amor: Catalan Art Songs of the XX and XXI Centuries," releases this January on Bridge Records and is distributed worldwide by Naxos. Isaí Jess Muñoz currently serves as professor of voice and opera at the University of Delaware. Of Mexican-Puerto Rican descent, Mr. Muñoz is married to pianist Oksana Glouchko of Tel Aviv.

Website: www.JessMunoz.com 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/isaijessmunoz 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/isaijessmunoz/ 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/IsaiJessMunoz 

Pianist Oksana Glouchko has brought a singular voice to the great classics of the piano literature—from Bach and Mozart to Rachmaninov and Ravel. Her virtuosity, scholarship, and stage presence inform her performances, whether as soloist, collaborative artist, chamber player, or teacher. A Russian- born Israeli, Ms. Glouchko is the winner of numerous competitions, including the Claudio Arrau International Competition in Chile, The National Competition of Russian Composers, and the Glinka National Piano Competition in Smolensk. Ms. Glouchko has served as instructor in piano performance at SUNY Stony Brook and Bard College-Conservatory of Music. In great demand as a collaborator with singers, she held positions on the piano and vocal coaching staffs of Israeli Opera, Opera Delaware, Indianapolis Opera, the IVAI International Festival for Opera Singers, Musiktheater Bavaria (Germany), Rollins College, and as an official pianist for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Ms. Glouchko serves as faculty collaborative pianist and coach at the University of Delaware.

Website: www.OksanaGlouchko.com 
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/OksanaGlouchko

Celeste Johnson

Celeste Johnson is Associate Professor of Oboe at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory.  As a performer, she has appeared with the Kansas City Symphony, Tulsa Symphony Orchestra, Oklahoma City Philharmonic, and Sarasota Opera.  She has won prizes in both the Gillet/Fox and Barbirolli International Oboe Competitions.  Celeste regularly performs at the International Double Reed Society conferences, and has presented clinics at both the Texas and Oklahoma Music Educators Association conferences. Her recording, KaleidosCoping, was released on the Equilibrium label in 2019 and features 21stcentury works for flute, oboe and piano.  She is currently working on her second album, Wider Than the Sky, set to be released in summer 2021. Celeste holds degrees from the University of Illinois and Eastman School of Music.

Links:

Recording: https://www.equilibri.com/album/EQ148/?sort=&asc_desc=ASC&resultpage=

YouTube channel: Celeste Johnson, oboist

Valentina Sounds

Valentina Sounds is an Italian born/Philadelphia based singer-songwriter. Valentina’s music is a fusion of catchy melodies and pop tunes perfectly blended with a background in jazz vocals and a love for composition. She delivers her lyric-driven songs with energy, humor and feeling; she will draw you in with her powerful vocals, a compelling stage presence and hypnotic harmonies. Her debut album “Bring on the Fire” was featured in local and national publications including American Songwriter Magazine, Americana Highways and Magnet Magazine, and is available on all online platforms. 

www.valentinasounds.com for merch/social media links. 

Music available everywhere you get your music online

To donate: Paypal.me/valentinasounds or @ValentinaSounds on Venmo

Dave Hartl

Multi-instrumentalist Dave Hartl has been playing music in a wide variety of styles for decades in the Philadelphia/ South Jersey area. Currently working as a solo pianist and as a member of four groups (Musical Collusion, Ronstadt Revue, The Divine Hand Ensemble, and the Paula Johns Quartet), he composes, arranges, and plays piano, synths, accordion, guitar, Chapman Stick, and a few other odds and ends. Past experiences include over 60 musical productions, over 20 years on the faculty of the University of the Arts, and international performances with various artists such as Smokey Robinson, Aretha Franklin, Andrea Bocelli, Joni Mitchell, The Three Degrees, LaToya Jackson, and Mary Wilson & the Supremes.

His music is available for purchase at Bandcamp (https://davehartl.bandcamp.com/)

YouTube channel at  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn9z8o6MfKflBHhkii02ezA? 

Website Pandemic Page for what he’s been creating since March at http://www.davehartl.com/pandemic.html 

Sienna Craig and Andrea Clearfield

Sienna R. Craig is a writer and an anthropologist whose work is centered on experiences of health and illness, cultures of medicine (including Tibetan medicine), and the dynamics of global migration. She is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at Dartmouth College. Her relationships with people from Nepal, Tibet, and the greater Himalayan region span a quarter century and circle between Asia and North America. Craig finds joy in writing across genres, from poetry and fiction to creative nonfiction, children’s literature, and scholarly works. Her creative and critical practice rests on a deep attentiveness to narrative as well as ethnographic sensibility that hinges on a capacity to listen, to pay close attention. She speaks Nepali and Tibetan, and language is central to her work as a scholar and artist. Several of her recent projects are focused on questions of home and belonging, in the midst of movement and social change. This includes several collaborations with composer Andrea Clearfield and her newest book, The Ends of Kinship: Connecting Himalayan Lives between Nepal and New York.

Links:

https://siennacraig.com/

https://www.gf.org/fellows/all-fellows/sienna-r-craig/

https://anthropology.dartmouth.edu/people/sienna-radha-craig

Andrea Clearfield is an award-winning composer who has written more than 160 works for orchestra, opera, chorus, chamber ensemble, dance and multimedia collaborations. Clearfield creates deep, emotive musical languages that build cultural and artistic bridges. She has composed 13 large scale cantatas including one for The Philadelphia Orchestra. Recent works are inspired by Tibetan music fieldwork that she conducted in the Nepalese Himalaya. She was appointed the Steven R. Gerber Composer in Residence with the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia for their 2018-19 season and is 2020-2022 Composer-in-residence with National Concerts at Carnegie Hall. Her opera, MILA, Great Sorcerer, with librettists Jean-Claude van Itallie and Lois Walden was presented at the acclaimed NYC Prototype Festival in 2019. She was awarded a 2021 Pew Residency Award, a 2016 Pew Fellowship in the Arts, two Independence Foundation Fellowship awards and fellowships at the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center, American Academy in Rome, Yaddo and the MacDowell Colony among others. She received a D.M.A. in Composition from Temple University where she was awarded the prestigious Presidential Fellowship. She served on the composition faculty at The University of the Arts from 1986 – 2011. As a performer, she played keyboards with the Relâche Ensemble for 25 years and had the great honor of performing with the Court of the Dalai Lama. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Recording Academy/Grammy’s Philadelphia Chapter and sits on the board of the Young Womens Composers Camp. A strong advocate for building community around the arts, she is founder and host of the renowned SALON featuring contemporary, classical, jazz, electronic, dance and world music since 1986 and host, founder and curator of the online ZALON since Spring, 2020. 

www.andreaclearfield.com