Containing songs from composers in five countries around the Pacific Rim – Australia, New Zealand, Colombia, USA and Japan – this program of new art song explores settings of poetry and letters written over several centuries. The concert will feature songs for tenor and piano with selections from composers American Gwyneth Walker; Australians Diana Blom and Alex Turley; New Zealanders Anthony Ritchie, Chris Adams and Clare Maclean; Colombian-based Moisès Bertran Ventejo; and Japan’s Közaburo Hirai and Hattori Tadashi. Also in the program is a set of four songs for soprano and piano, Southern Songs, by Diana Blom, songs for baritone and piano by composer Diana Blom, plus a setting of excerpts from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales for three voices (soprano, tenor and baritone) and piano.

This is not the first time Kevin Hanrahan (tenor) from Lincoln, Nebraska, and Diana Blom (pianist) from Sydney, Australia have collaborated. For performances in Australia (2011 and 2013) and Nebraska, USA and Brazil (2013 and 2016) of songs by Australian and American composers, they were joined by soprano Jamie Reimer from Nebraska and baritone Jeff Jones. New Art Song of the Pacific Rim arose from an interest in, and connections with, music by composers in this region. The songs for tenor and piano have been performed in Dunedin, New Zealand, Sydney and Perth, Australia in 2018 and a CD has been recorded, with release by Wirripang Pty. Ltd. due later in 2018.

Tenor Kevin Hanrahan has performed nationally and internationally in opera, oratorio, and recital performances. Dr. Hanrahan has performed as a soloist with the Opera Theatre of Pittsburgh, the Lyric Opera Theater at Arizona State University, the Catalina Chamber Orchestra, the Arizona State University Chamber Orchestra, the Phoenix Bach Choir, the AIMS Festival Orchestra in Graz, Austria, The Poona Music Society in India, Abendmusik in Lincoln, the McKeesport Symphony, the Lincoln Symphony, City of Prague Orchestra, the Chattanooga Symphony, the Plovdiv Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Denver Philharmonic Orchestra. Through his collaboration with composer Diana Blom, Dr. Hanrahan has performed and recorded her songs on the album Songs of Diana Blom for Wirripang, and is available for streaming on the Naxos Music Library. As a researcher and teacher, Dr. Hanrahan has presented at national and international conferences. Dr. Hanrahan is also published in the Journal of Singing published by the National Association of Teachers of Singing, and is a frequent reviewer for the Metropolitan Opera’s Opera News. Dr. Hanrahan currently holds the position of Associate Professor of Voice and Voice. He is the Voice Area Head and Coordinator of the Ph.D. Pegagogy – Voice Pedagogy program at UNL.

Diana Blom, composer and pianist, has written several works for voice, often setting texts by Australian and New Zealand writers. Recent works include The Ballad of the Canterbury Pilgrims (three voices and piano), Triptych (war letters) (three voices and three instruments), Southern Songs (soprano and piano), and Portrait of America (tenor and piano). Diana has co-curated several composition/performance/CD projects inviting new compositions from Australian and overseas composers including - Antarctica – new music for piano and/or toy piano, and Multiple Keyboards – new music for pianos, toy pianos and harpsichord. She is co-author of Music Composition Toolbox, a composition textbook published by Science Press and her music is published and released (scores and CDs) through Wirripang Pty. Ltd., Orpheus Music and Wai-te-Ata Press. Diana is Associate Professor in Music at Western Sydney University.

Free and open to the public

This performance will also be live webcast.

Program: https://unl.box.com/s/x4rzmhprv2cunrz54rblcrkxjwoe3ema