Philipse Manor Hall

Philipse Manor Hall
Philipse Manor Hall State Historic Site
29 Warburton Avenue, Yonkers
914-965-4027

MUSIC SHE WROTE

In honor of Women’s History Month, sopranos Brooke Bryant and Yolanda F. Johnson will join forces to perform “Music She Wrote,” a concert of music by female composers. Bryant and Johnson will be accompanied by Michael Eisenberg on harpsichord and piano.   Concertgoers will also enjoy an Afternoon Tea along with the performance. 

The program will feature works by the most celebrated female composers throughout history, from the Middle Ages, with chant by the prolific composer, abbess and mystic Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179), to the present day, with works by living composers, including Lena McLin and NYC resident Lucy Coolidge. Coolidge has created a special arrangement of her song, “Dream Come True,” for Johnson to perform. Other composers will include Barbara Strozzi (1619-1677), African-American composers Margaret Bonds (1913-1972) and Florence Price (1887-1953), and the beloved Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel (1805-1847), sister of acclaimed composer Felix Mendelssohn.

Soprano Brooke Bryant received her PhD in Musicology from the CUNY Graduate Center. She has performed with esteemed ensembles such as Musica Nuova, Sendebar, Ensemble Chanterelle, Musique de la Reine, the Clarion Music Society, and CUNY’s Contemporary Ensemble. Brooke is the founder and Artistic Director of the early music trio Charites, called “a captivating triad” by Show Business Weekly. Charites has performed at institutions such as Columbia University, Galapagos Art Space, The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Juilliard, Boston Early Music Festival (Fringe Concert Series), the University of Utah, the CUNY Graduate School and University Center, and Manhattan College. The ensemble has collaborated with the Baroque dance/theater troupe Company XIV, performing Brooke’s original compositions and arrangements of pop and classical music in productions including “Le Cirque Féerique” and “Snow White.”

Yolanda F. Johnson, lyric soprano, completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Voice at the University of Tulsa and studied at the graduate level at the University of Akron. She has performed nationally and internationally in musical venues including opera, concert, oratorio and sacred music. She is an active recitalist/lecturer on many musical subjects, specifically, African-American spirituals. Yolanda made her NYC debut as Zerlina in Mozart’s Don Giovanni and has also performed the roles of Anita Hill in Ben Yarmolinsky’s Clarence and Anita, Noemie in Massenet’s Cendrillon and Millie in Harriet Tubman: When I Crossed that Line to Freedom, by Nkeiru Okoye. Yolanda is a member of the SAI International Women’s Music Fraternity, a leader in the music ministry at her church, and has been a featured presenter at the Performing the World International Performing Arts Conference. 2014 saw the premiere of her musical compositions and she is currently completing a children’s opera. Yolanda currently serves on the voice and piano faculty of the Mozartina Music Conservatory in Tarrytown, N.Y.

Michael Eisenberg has garnered acclaim for his interpretations of repertoire ranging from the sixteenth century to works by living composers. For six years, Michael Eisenberg was presented in ongoing recitals by Carnegie Hall as a featured artist in the Carnegie NYC Neighborhood Concert Series. As a member of the Metropolitan Opera Guild roster, he was selected to perform for the Placido Domingo Met Gala celebration. He has performed throughout Europe, the Americas, Asia, and the Middle East and for National Public Radio, the BBC, CBC, and HBO. His recording credits include two-time finalist prizes with recording contracts in the EMA/Dorian international recording competition. He is the founding artistic director of chamber ensembles Le Nuove Musiche and Ensemble for the Seicento. He holds master’s degrees in harpsichord and piano from the Mannes College of Music as a Sylvia Marlowe Fellow and a Ph.D. from the City University of New York. He is a National Endowment for the Humanities 2013 summer fellow at the American Academy in Rome and currently serves on the Columbia University Music Humanities faculty. 



Tickets $20
available in advance through paypal or at the door on the day of the concert
SEATS ARE LIMITED

Purchase Tickets Here for Concert and Afternoon Tea

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