Texts by Ben Jonson
I. A Toast
II. Slow, Slow, Fresh Fount
III. Patrico's Song
Soprano Amy Petrongelli revels in performing music of all different periods and styles. Lauded in the New York Times for her “admirable fluidity,” her diverse solo performance career encompasses music from Haydn’s Creation in Carnegie Hall to Berio’s Sequenza III at the Radio Nacional Córdoba in Argentina. An advocate for contemporary music, Amy has premiered new works for organizations such as the Houston Grand Opera, New American Voices, and AEPEX Contemporary Performance; recent premiers include works by Christopher Cerrone, Laura Kaminsky, Shawn Crouch, and Julianna Hall. Amy is also a founding member of the Khemia Ensemble, a chamber ensemble focused on championing contemporary music through multimedia performances. Amy’s commitment to musical collaboration has led her to fellowships at summer programs such as the Tanglewood Music Center, Eighth Blackbird Creative Lab, and Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar. She has also been a featured performer for organizations such as Five Boroughs Music Festival, the Casement Fund Recital Series, the Contemporary Undercurrent of Song Project, and the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival. A passionate educator, Amy has taught at Eastern Michigan University, University of Akron, and Pennsylvania State University. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Voice at Baylor University in Waco, TX.
Canadian collaborative pianist Blair Salter is a versatile performer and music director who has worked at prestigious opera companies and young artist programs throughout the United States and Canada. She has worked on staff at Houston Grand Opera, Opera Colorado, Michigan Opera Theatre, and the CoOPERAtive Program. Blair is an advocate of art song and contemporary music; she has worked on several operatic world premieres, performed with the Khemia Ensemble and AEPEX Contemporary Performance, and together with soprano Dorothy Gal, she commissioned the set of songs Sheltered Garden by Jamie Leidwinger. She completed her Doctorate of Musical Arts in Collaborative Piano at the University of Michigan, where she studied with Martin Katz. A graduate of the Houston Grand Opera Studio, San Francisco Opera’s Merola Young Artist Program, Wolf Trap Opera, and the Glimmerglass Festival, Blair is currently based in Houston and is a member of the music staff at Santa Fe Opera.
Hall Franklin Overton was born in Bangor, Michigan, on February 23, 1920 and grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan. As a youngster in this small mid-western town, he found that his few piano lessons didn't satisfy his longing for that elusive "something" he was seeking in music, and went on to study at The Chicago Musical College. It was there that he studied theory and composition from 1940 to 1942. The latter year marked his entry into the armed services, and from 1942 until 1945 he served in overseas combat duty with the U.S. 3rd Armored Division. It was during that time that he learned to play jazz.
Upon his discharge from the army he pursued his musical studies at The Juilliard School of Music, studying composition with Vincent Persichetti. He graduated in 1951 with an M.S. degree, and then became a member of the faculty there. In later years he also taught at The Yale School of Music and The New School of Social Research. His New York City loft at 821 Sixth Avenue, sublet from David X. Young in 1954, provided the perfect setting for jazz musicians to jam into the wee hours. While he was writing his classical compositions, he was also deeply immersed in jazz. He recorded with such notables as Stan Getz, Duke Jordan, Jimmy Raney and Teddy Charles.
Three Elizabethan Songs - Hall Overton
Recorded at home in Houston and Waco, TX, June 2020
Amy Petrongelli, voice
Blair Salter, piano
Mastered by Robert Scott Thompson, Aucourant Records.
Property of Shelter Recording Project, American Composers Alliance
