Open Rehearsal: A Song by Mahler
Watch Jennifer Johnson Cano (mezzo-soprano), Kelly Markgraf (baritone), David Shifrin (clarinet), the FLUX Quartet, and director Doug Fitch rehearse for the world premiere of Marc Neikrug’s new chamber opera A Song by Mahler.
Patrons are invited to go behind the scenes and observe CMNW’s world-class musicians working together to put the finishing touches on music for upcoming performances. An informal Q&A follows the rehearsal.
Advance Reservations are no longer required for Open Rehearsals, however masks and social distancing are required.
Reed College, Kaul Auditorium
Monday, 7/5 • 1:00 pm
2021 Summer Festival Program Book
Artists
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Jennifer Johnson Cano
Mezzo-soprano
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Jennifer Johnson Cano’s portrayal of Michele in the recent premiere of The Righteous at Santa Fe Opera earned her accolades from The New York Times, which noted how she “voluptuously captured” the pain and strength of her character; Opera Today called Ms. Cano’s arias in The Righteous “flawless combinations of radiant, poised, attractive singing invested with heartfelt delivery.”
After creating the role of Michele in the world premiere of Gregory Spears’s The Righteous with Santa Fe Opera in summer 2024, she was invited back to sing the role of Mrs. Grose in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw as well as Schwertleite in Wagner’s Die Walküre in summer of 2025. Her 2025-2026 season includes engagements with the Chicago, San Francisco, Colorado, and Seattle Symphonies and The Apollo Orchestra. The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society presents Ms. Cano in recital with pianist Christopher Cano and violist Beth Guterman Chu. Tours include a project with Simone Dinnerstein and her ensemble Baroklyn as well as a week with the National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan. Ms. Cano returns to the MET Opera in her role debut as Suzuki in Madama Butterfly. She premieres a new song cycle by Gregory Spears at the Tucson Desert Song Festival.Ms. Cano joined the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at The Metropolitan Opera after winning the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Among her honors are Winner of the Young Concert Artist International Auditions, a Sara Tucker Study Grant, a Richard Tucker Career Grant, and a George London Award.
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David Shifrin
Clarinet & Artistic Director Emeritus 1981–2020
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David Shifrin began performing with Chamber Music Northwest in 1978 and served as its Artistic Director from 1981 to 2020. He has performed with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center since 1982 and served as its Artistic Director from 1992 to 2004.
Shifrin received Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Career Grant and the Avery Fisher Prize, as well as numerous awards and prizes competitions and organizations worldwide.
David Shifrin is the Samuel S. Sanford Professor in the Practice of Clarinet at the Yale School of Music where he teaches a studio of graduate-level clarinetists and coaches chamber music ensembles. He is also the Artistic Director of Yale’s Oneppo Chamber Music Society and the Yale in New York concert series. Previously, Shifrin served on the faculties of the Juilliard School, the University of Southern California, the University of Michigan, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and the University of Hawaii. He has appeared with many of the major orchestras in the United States and abroad and has served as principal clarinetist with the Cleveland Orchestra, American Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and the Symphony Orchestras of New Haven, Honolulu, and Dallas. Shifrin also continues to broaden the clarinet repertoire by commissioning and championing more than 100 works of 20th and 21st-century American composers. Shifrin’s recordings have consistently garnered praise and awards including three Grammy nominations and “Record of the Year” from Stereo Review.
Shifrin is represented by CM Artists in New York and performs on Backun clarinets and Légère reeds.
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