Virtual Concert Series

Songs of Water and the Spring

Wednesday, March 17, 2021; 12:00pm

Lisa Daehlin, soprano & Tor Morten Kjøsnes, pianist

 

Program

Et Håb

from Fem Digte (1876), op.26, no.1

lyrics: John Paulsen, music: Edvard Grieg

 

Jeg reiste en deilig sommerkvæld

from Fem Digte (1876), op.26, no.2

lyrics: John Paulsen, music: Edvard Grieg

 

The Saddest (2020)

words: Emily Dickinson, music: Stefania de Kenessey

 

sweet spring is your time (1995)

poetry: e.e. cummings, music: Ellen Mandel

 

Willow Song (2014)

words: William Shakespeare, music: Ellen Mandel

 

Blue Fool (1949)

words & music: Alec Wilder & Bernie Hanighen

 

It May Be (2020)

words: Wendell Berry, music: Stefania de Kenessey

 

Ved Gjaetle-Bekken

from Haugtussa (1898), op.67, no.8

lyrics: Arne Garborg, music: Edvard Grieg

 

Tale of the Oyster

cut from Fifty Million Frenchmen (1929)

words & music: Cole Porter

 

Shall We Gather at the River

traditional hymn

 

About

Soprano LISA DAEHLIN has performed numerous operatic roles including Amelia (Un Ballo in Maschera), Fiordiligi (Cosi Fan Tutte), Tatiana (Eugene Onegin), Angelica (Suor Angelica), Madame Lidoine (Dialogues of the Carmelites), First Lady (Magic Flute) and the High Priestess (Aida). Maestro Richard Woitach cast her to sing the role of Wellgunde (Das Rhinegold), and as his soprano in the concert Woitach and Friends 3-1/2.

In New York City, Lisa performs frequently at St. Paul’s Chapel, Cornelia Street Café, and The Players Club. European concerts in Italy, Germany, and in Scandinavia as an invited singer for the International Edvard Grieg Society in Bergen, Norway. Recent programs include Raining of the Heart, December Songs, All About Eve, Songs of Renewal and the Spring, Move Into the Light, and Transcending Exotic: Embracing Familiar. Her concert repertoire focuses extensively on Norwegian, French and American Chanson, Cabaret and Art Song.

Though known for her rendition of “I’m a Stranger Here Myself,” Lisa is no stranger to the cabaret stage, having performed incarnations of her show From Classical to Cabaret: The songs of Poulenc, Porter, Satie, and Weill in venues as varied as the underground club to the concert hall. She has sung Dorothy Parker songs in the Algonquin’s Oak Room. She has performed the music of Stefania de Kenessey at City Center and with the Annabella Gonzalez Dance Theater at Lincoln Center. The recording project for that company is now used in the performance repertoire. Lisa produced and directed OperaKnit Cabaret at Performance Space 122 (PS122, NYC), and her one-woman show Twisted Stitch: Songs of Love and Knitting was featured in the Classical to Jazz Festival at Cornelia Street Café (NYC), weaving together songs of Edvard Grieg, Franz Schubert, Maury Yeston and a world premier cycle of songs by Stefania de Kenessey.

Recently awarded a Masters Degree in Music and Music Education from the Teachers College of Columbia University, Lisa operates a private voice studio in New York City. www.lisadaehlin.com

 

Norwegian pianist TOR MORTEN KJØSNES is an active contributor to the New York music scene as an accompanist, soloist, and chamber musician. He accompanies up-and-coming as well as established ensembles, singers, and instrumentalists. Recent collaborations include legendary Swedish singer Sven-Bertil Taube, Norwegian violinist Arve Tellefsen, trombonist William Lang, and violinist Christian Svarfvar.

Kjøsnes graduated from Manhattan School of Music in 2010, where he studied with Nina Svetlanova. His studies in the U.S. were generously supported by the American Scandinavian Foundation. Earning his undergraduate degree studying with Tori Stødle at the Tromsø Music Conservatory in Norway, he graduated with honors in 2007, one of only a handful pianists to be awarded the top grade in the national censorship. He also held a full-time position as accompanist at the same institution, 2007–08. Additionally, he studied at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hamburg, Germany, with Ralf Nattkemper.  Kjøsnes has participated in masterclasses with artists such as Hans Leygraf, Martino Tirimo, Sigurd Slåttebrekk, and Volker Banfield.