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With You, It's CozySaturday, February 13, 2027, 3:00 pm
Pre-concert introduction to the music at 2:40 pm by Soprano Susan McBerry Michelle's Pianos | 600 SE Stark Street | Portland, OR $30 General Admission
$15 Seniors, Students, Artists, Veterans $5 Arts for All - For holders of Oregon Trail Card, Washington State Quest Card, or receivers of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Performers:
Dr. Lisa Neher, Mezzo-Soprano Stephanie Thompson, Piano Casey Bozell, Viola Stacey Murdock, Baritone |
Pacific Art Song warms you up this winter with German art songs at With You, It's Cozy, performed by mezzo-soprano Lisa Neher and pianist Stephanie Thompson. Inspired by Alma Mahler's song Bei dir ist es traut (With you, it's cozy), this program celebrates intimacy and love, be that romantic in the case of Clara Schumann's Liebst du um schönheit (If you love for beauty) or maternal in Brahms's Geistliches Wiegenlied (A Sacred Cradle-Song), as the Virgin Mary implores the wind to hush so as not to wake the infant Jesus. The program features a world premiere by Lisa Neher.
Program
Clara Schumann: Drei Lieder (Three Songs), Op. 12
Poetry by Friedrich Rückert
1. Er ist gekommen in sturm (He came in storm and rain)
2. Liebst du um schönheit (If you love for beauty)
3. Warum willst du and're fragen (Why enquire of others)
Johannes Brahms: Zwei Gesänge (Two Songs), Op. 91
1. Gestillte Sehnsucht (Assuaged Longing) - Poetry by Friedrich Rückert
2. Geistliches Wiegenlied (A Sacred Cradle-Song) - Poetry by Lope de Vega von Emanuel Geibel
Alma Mahler: Fünf Lieder (Five Songs), 1910
1. Die stille Stadt (The silent town ) - poetry by Richard Dehmel
2. In meines vaters Garten (In my father's garden) - Poetry by Otto Erich Hartleben
3. Laue Sommernacht (Mild summer night) - Poetry by Otto Julius Bierbaum
4. Bei dir ist es traut (With you, it's cozy) - Poetry by Otto Julius Bierbaum
5. Ich wandle unter Blumen (I wander among flowers) - Poetry by Heinrich Heine
Lisa Neher: World Premiere, TBA
Johannes Brahms: Vier Duette (Four Duets), Op. 28
1. Die Nonne und der Ritter (The Nun and the Knight) - Poetry by Josef Karl Benedikt von Eichendorff
2. Vor der Tür (At the Door) - Poetry by Altdeutsch (Old German)
3. Es rauschet das Wasser (The Water Rushes) - Poetry by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
4. Der Jäger und sein Liebchen (The Hunter and His Sweetheart) - Poetry by August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben
Poetry by Friedrich Rückert
1. Er ist gekommen in sturm (He came in storm and rain)
2. Liebst du um schönheit (If you love for beauty)
3. Warum willst du and're fragen (Why enquire of others)
Johannes Brahms: Zwei Gesänge (Two Songs), Op. 91
1. Gestillte Sehnsucht (Assuaged Longing) - Poetry by Friedrich Rückert
2. Geistliches Wiegenlied (A Sacred Cradle-Song) - Poetry by Lope de Vega von Emanuel Geibel
Alma Mahler: Fünf Lieder (Five Songs), 1910
1. Die stille Stadt (The silent town ) - poetry by Richard Dehmel
2. In meines vaters Garten (In my father's garden) - Poetry by Otto Erich Hartleben
3. Laue Sommernacht (Mild summer night) - Poetry by Otto Julius Bierbaum
4. Bei dir ist es traut (With you, it's cozy) - Poetry by Otto Julius Bierbaum
5. Ich wandle unter Blumen (I wander among flowers) - Poetry by Heinrich Heine
Lisa Neher: World Premiere, TBA
Johannes Brahms: Vier Duette (Four Duets), Op. 28
1. Die Nonne und der Ritter (The Nun and the Knight) - Poetry by Josef Karl Benedikt von Eichendorff
2. Vor der Tür (At the Door) - Poetry by Altdeutsch (Old German)
3. Es rauschet das Wasser (The Water Rushes) - Poetry by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
4. Der Jäger und sein Liebchen (The Hunter and His Sweetheart) - Poetry by August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben
Performers
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Lisa Neher, Mezzo-SopranoMulti-talented mezzo-soprano, composer, and actor Lisa Neher delivers “intensity, power, and vocal prowess” (Oregon ArtsWatch), captivating audiences with richly attuned musical fluency and heartfelt performance. “A supremely talented artist,” (Willamette Week), Neher channels a signature combination of high intelligence, deep passion, fierce tenacity, and an ever-youthful spirit, offering a rare degree of excellence and versatility alongside the ability to “sincerely convey… joy and wonder” (Oregon ArtsWatch).
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Her wide-ranging experience across genres informs gutsy character portrayals integrated with vivid storytelling through musical performance, making her a magnetic presence onstage known for a voice that is “especially alive… full and rich” (Oregon ArtsWatch). Alongside her flourishing vocal career, Neher is an award-winning composer whose music has earned recognition from the Oregon Music Teachers Association (Composer of the Year 2025), the Flute New Music Consortium, ICDA/ICF, Mirror Visions Ensemble, and the Celebris Ensemble. Commissioning ensembles and organizations include the National Association of Teachers of Singing, American Harp Society, Cincinnati Song Initiative, and Opera Santa Barbara. Her interdisciplinary training and Doctor of Musical Arts degree inform not only her compositional craft but also her interpretive depth as a performer, giving her singing an uncommon level of clarity, intention, and emotional resonance. A visionary creator and leader, Neher is the Founder and President of New Wave Opera, a company that shares fresh, relatable stories by living composers through the medium of opera. Through all facets of her work, Neher champions contemporary storytelling that embraces both the wildness of the natural world and the intimate complexities of human experience.
--Biography by Aligned Artistry
--Biography by Aligned Artistry
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Stephanie Thompson, PianistSTEPHANIE THOMPSON, pianist, takes delight in exploring textures and tone colors in solo and collaborative repertoire. A passionate advocate of art song, she is committed to text analysis and expressing poetic nuance in music. A frequent collaborative performer, Thompson is also the staff accompanist and teaches classical piano and piano accompaniment at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon, where she performs with all three choral ensembles. She is the pianist at St. Gabriel Episcopal Church in Beaverton, Oregon. Her teachers include Jean-David Coen, Antoinette Perry, and Daniel Pollack.
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