In 1988 renowned pianist and Juilliard faculty member Steven Blier and pianist/conductor Michael Barrett created the New York Festival of Song after Blier realized that traditional song recitals were not as appealing to the public as they could be.
“I thought that if we made song recitals more user friendly and interesting, people would enjoy them more and be less put off by songs in foreign languages or ones they don’t know,” he said.
At monthly concerts given at venues all over the country, Blier guides listeners, speaking from the stage and providing the audience with translations for songs in foreign languages, helping them experience them on a higher level.
“A concert should use music to get you close to something in an emotional and intellectual way,” he says.
Later this month and for the fifth year in a row, Blier will kick off the New York Festival of Song at Orient’s Poquatuck Hall with a concert entitled “Red, White & Blues: An Afternoon of French and American Song.” He has invited three young singers to perform: soprano Mikaela Bennett, tenor Sam Grosby and baritone Robert Mellon.
Blier, a part-time Orient resident for the past 15 years, donates his time and provides the singers for the wildly popular concerts, which always sell out quickly.
Soprano Mikaela Bennett, whose talent, Blier says, “takes my breath away” is his student at Juilliard; Grosby and Mellon are two singers he discovered outside the school.
“I try and find younger singers who I think are really gifted,” he says. “The audience in Orient is very spoiled because they’ve heard some fantastically good singing. The bar has been set very high.”
The singers, accompanied by Blier on piano, will rehearse for a week prior to the August 27 concert, he said.
“The French part of this year’s concert has some of my favorite composers and songs,” he said. “There are also some unpublished pieces by George Gershwin ”
Blier chooses a broad theme for concerts, then after he knows what singers will be performing, he chooses music for them based on what they’re good at.
Priscilla Bull of Orient, who is on the committee that is coordinating the concert, speaks highly of Blier.
“It is incredibly generous of him to donate his time and bring these young singers out here,” she says. “He takes time from his schedule to do this for us, rehearsing for a week and then present this amazing concert.”
Part of the concert’s proceeds will benefit Oysterponds Community Activities, which maintains Poquatuck Hall. The event takes place at 5 p.m on August 27; tickets may be purchased online. For more information about the festival, visit the New York Festival of Song website.
