Lauren premieres the role of Vesta in William Menefield’s opera Fierce

WORLD PREMIERE!
JULY 6 & 10, 2022 | 7:30 P.M.
JULY 9, 2022 | 3:00 P.M.
SCPA’S CORBETT THEATER

Music by William Menefield
Libretto by Sheila Williams

from Cincinnati Opera: “Four teenage girls gather for a workshop on writing an effective college essay. The teacher asks, “Tell me who you are,” prompting each young woman to share her story. One mourns the loss of a special friend, while another hides behind her popularity. The third feels constrained by her parents’ expectations, and the last faces a troubled homelife. Despite the chorus of trolls that taunts them, the girls unite, embarking on a transformative journey toward empowerment and self-assurance. With authenticity and sensitivity, Northern Kentucky-based novelist Sheila Williams interviewed local teens to inspire the opera’s libretto, while Cincinnati native William Menefield employs jazz, modern, and classical music styles in its high-energy score.

Fierce is presented in collaboration with community partners WordPlay Cincy, The Music Resource Center—Cincinnati, and i.imagine.”

For more information, go to https://www.cincinnatiopera.org/fierce

Lauren and Al, the dynamic duo Avimimus, travel to North Carolina to record Evocations by Steve Landis!

from Avimimus: “Evocations, a song cycle of site-specific nocturnes for unaccompanied vocal duo, is an ongoing collaboration with Steve Landis. We premiered the cycle on April 31st, 2021.”

For more info on Steve Landis, go to https://slandismusic.com/

Lauren joins Conspirare to premiere Earth Ritual by Robert Kyr.

For more information, go to https://www.conspirare.org/earth-ritual-event/

Lauren performs as the alto soloist and ensemble member with Heri et Hodie in collaboration with University of Cincinnati and Highland High School

from Heri et Hodie:

“Heri et Hodie, Highland High School Bel Canto Chorus, and University of Cincinnati's Alta Petit Treble Chorus come together for a program featuring the world premiere of Melissa Dunphy's "Mel et lac," along with music and texts by Hildegard von Bingen, Ellen Harrison, Abbie Betinis, Jessica French, and others.”

Lauren returns to VAE Cincinnati as soloist and ensemble member to premiere Moira Smiley’s The Song Among Us.

CRAIG HELLA JOHNSON conductor

Program:
ROBERT LOWRY: How Can I Keep From Singing?
HEINRICH SCHÜTZ: Selig sind die Toten
HEINRICH SCHÜTZ: Jauchzet dem Herren, alle Welt (Psalm 100)
CRAIG HELLA JOHNSON: Song from the Road
JOHN CLEMENTS: Flower of Beauty
ALYSIA LEE: Say Her Name
CAROLINE SHAW: And the Swallow
SHAWN KIRCHNER: Sweet Rivers
MOIRA SMILEY: The Song Among Us [World Premiere & VAE Commission]

Lauren joins Conspirare to premiere Benedict Sheehan’s Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom

from Conspirare:

“Benedict Sheehan’s Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom grows out of the tradition of the great Russian liturgy settings by Rachmaninoff, Gretchaninov, and Tchaikovsky. Conspirare presents the southwest premiere, including the world premiere of new Credo movement with text of W. E. B. Du Bois, commissioned for this concert. Performed in English. “

For more information, go to https://www.conspirare.org/liturgy-of-st-john-chrysostom/

Lauren joins Conspirare to perform works by Margaret Bonds, including her Credo, settings of Langston Hughes, and settings of W.E.B. Du Bois.

For more information, go to https://www.conspirare.org/margaret-bonds-credo/

from Heri et Hodie:

“Join us at Music Live at Lunch: Christ Church Cathedral as we turn our musical curiosity about early music towards the Nordic lands and songs that contain “Echoes of the Vikings”. Jackie Stevens, Vidita Kanniks, Krista Cornish Scott, Lauren McAllister are joined by special guests Kenna Scott, vocalist, and Jeøff the Talharpa, made by Lauren in her woodworking studio specially for this concert! We’ll be singing arrangements of the oldest known Old Norse musical fragment, Drømde mik en drøm, a spooky Icelandic ghost song Móðir mín í kví, kví, other ancient Nordic folk songs, and more typical Heri et Hodie fare like a Latin Hymn to St. Magnus of Orkney with harmonies that hint at Nordic folk influence. Don’t miss this unique musical offering that will be in-person only!”

Lauren performs as alto soloist in Bach’s Christmas Oratorio.

Sunday, December 12,  2021 | 3:00 p.m.

Program
▫ J. S. Bach | Christmas Oratorio, Cantatas 1 & 3
▫ Gruber | Silent Night
     A Musica Sacra Tradition

Conducted by
Dr. Earl Rivers, Guest Conductor
Harry Mathurin-Cecil, Apprentice Conductor

St. Catharine of Siena Church
Siena Concert Series
2848 Fischer Pl
Cincinnati, OH 45211

from Conspirare:

“Conspirare Christmas reinvents the traditional holiday concert with songs of hope, courage, and love. Conspirare is excited to collaborate with Isaac Cates & Ordained, the dynamic Kansas City based-Gospel choir known for their blend of sacred and secular choral sounds with modern Gospel and other musical genres. Cates and Conspirare’s Craig Hella Johnson will perform and lead 42 singers in a genre-bending night of rhythm, reflection and rejoicing.”

Lauren performs as soloist and ensemble member in Conspirare’s performance of Path of Miracles by Joby Talbot.

For more information, visit https://www.conspirare.org/path-of-miracles/

Lauren performs as alto soloist in Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass and Nunes Garcia’s Laudate Pueri

Conducted by
L. Brett Scott, Music Director
Harry Mathurin-Cecil, Apprentice Conductor

St. Mary’s Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption
Cathedral Concert Series, 45th Season
1140 Madison Avenue
Covington, Kentucky 41011

Lauren joins Musica Sacra Cincinnati as alto soloist in Durufle’s Requiem

Lauren performs as alto soloist in Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle

for full performance video, go to https://operawire.com/opera-project-columbus-releases-filmed-production-of-rossinis-petite-messe-solennelle/

Lauren joins Conspirare to present Quarantine Madrigals, a virtual project in collaboration with composer Reena Esmail and poet Amy Fogerson. Lauren’s selections are:

III. The mirror reflects, low voice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcKYCnhe5gY&list=PLXpR7PymzpF_lQJSjjCyU7mnQeCuIeLLO&index=3

VII. Hello, mixed voices: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnbdsDUkt-o&list=PLXpR7PymzpF-hDXO7bjyNgCbpEW03gaE4&index=6

for more information, visit https://www.conspirare.org/quarantine-madrigals-project/

Lauren appears as the alto soloist in François Couperin's Tenebrae lessons with Collegium Cincinnati.

Wind, breath, and snow-themed art songs and commissioned duets, paired with video footage of the 2020-2021 Wisconsin winter

For more information, visit https://www.avimimusduo.com/work/winters-breath

Lauren performs Mussorgsky’s cycle, The Nursery, with pianist Michael Delfin.

Lauren performs as alto soloist in Bluffton University’s virtual performance of Handel’s Messiah, under the baton of Bo Young Kang.

from Avimimus:

A Blue Moon is the second full moon of the month. Once every 19 years, a Blue Moon occurs on Halloween. How could we not celebrate such an event? Avimimus is thrilled to release a miniature program of miniatures to mark the occasion - that is to say, 2-minute duets for the second full moon! We collaborated on this program virtually, and the release was complemented by a livestream of the moon rising over Lake Michigan and a spooky short story.

For full program information, visit https://www.avimimusduo.com/work/madison-lenoix-pyfsh

from Avimimus:

“In September 2020, Avimimus performed and recorded a selection of unaccompanied works for a micro-residency with the Wave Pool Gallery in Cincinnati. Our program, which included works by David T. Little, Hildegard von Bingen, Daniel Pinkham, and Paul Ayres, celebrated the human experience of nature. We waded into the bushes, sunk our feet into the mud, and welcomed the sounds of the birds that chorused with us.”

Lauren and pianists Kathryn Woodard and Emily Hooker record the following selections for the Christman Opera Company’s Voices Raising Voices virtual event:

O Maria, by Trevor Weston

Thinking of Water, by Lisa. S. Robinson

Cards and Kisses, by Clara Fiedler

Lauren and baritone Ben Flanders appear in recital to perform Kile Smith’s cycle, In This Blue Room.

From Slavic Voices: “In This Blue Room is a 17-song, 45-minute song cycle by Kile Smith on poems of Julia Blumenreich, Susan Fleshman, Siobhan Lyons, and Donna Wolf-Palacio, which are based on the
batik artwork of Laura Madeleine.”

from Salon 21:

“Reality or Fantasy? Salon 21 invites audiences to experience a musical meditation on the nature of dreams, both abandoned and actualized with mezzo-soprano Lauren McAllister and pianist Stephen Variames. The program will feature pieces by Robert Schumann, Jake Heggie, and a premiere by Variames himself. Schumann’s setting of Queen Mary Stuart’s heartfelt words speaks to the dreams she held for her homeland, her family, and her soul. Variames offers an exploration of texts by Edgar Allen Poe. The night will close with Heggie’s Into the Fire, which offers a glimpse into the life of brilliant sculptor Camille Claudel and her tumultuous relationship with her lover and fellow sculptor, Auguste Rodin.”

Lauren travels to Lubbock, TX to perform selections by David T. Little and Jennifer Jolley for Lubbock Symphony’s Sound Series Chamber Concert

Lauren performs the role of Queen of the Virtues in Hildegard von Bingen’s dramatic work, Ordo Virtutum.

Lauren performs as alto soloist in Vivaldi’s Gloria in collaboration with Vocal Arts Ensemble Cincinnati and Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra.

ECKART PREU conductor

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis
arr. by Hans-Peter Preu
VIVALDI: Gloria
FAURÉ: Requiem

Lauren sings the alto solos in Vivaldi’s Gloria in Collegium Cincinnati’s SummerSing