Highlighting the talents of Caramoor’s 2025 Schwab Vocal Rising Stars program, Beginner’s Luck features a wide-ranging playlist from German Lieder to Bob Dylan, exploring the chaotic decade between adolescence and adulthood, filled with seemingly endless possibility and endless peril. A cast of five brilliant young artists, all in their 20s, will join co-directors Bénédicte Jourdois and Steven Blier in this intriguing musical journey.
Steven Blier, Artistic Director & piano
Bénédicte Jourdois, Associate Director & piano
Beginner’s Luck: The Artist’s Journey
PROLOGUE
NED ROREM: A Journey
FIRST SONGS
GABRIEL FAURÉ: Mai
FERRUCCIO BUSONI: Wer hat das erste Lied erdacht?
FRANZ SCHUBERT: Geheimnis
FIRST LOVE
JOHANNES BRAHMS: Mädchenlied
ROBERT SCHUMANN: Der Nussbaum
EDVARD GRIEG: Die verschwiegene Nachtigall
HUGO WOLF: Begegnung
ALBAN BERG: Die Nachtigall
GOING TO THE BIG CITY
BERG: I’m Going to New York
STEPHEN SONDHEIM: “Take Me to the World,” from Evening Primrose
BOYZ 2 MEN
CHARLES IVES: Memorie
a. Very pleasant
b. Rather sad
PAUL MORAVEC: “My Heart Leaps Up,” from Vita brevis
WILLIAM BOLCOM: “I Knew a Woman,” from Open House
MARC BLITZSTEIN: “In the Clear,” from No for an Answer
BOLCOM: “The Right Thing,” from Open House
BEGINNER’S LUCK
GEORGE GERSHWIN: “(I’ve Got) Beginner’s Luck,” from Shall We Dance
JASON ROBERT BROWN: Audition sequence: “When I Come Home to You,” from The Last Five Years
THAD JONES: A Child is Born
BOB DYLAN: Forever Young
Chea Kang, soprano
Kate Morton, mezzo-soprano
Reed Gnepper, tenor
Jamal Al Titi, baritone
Zoey Zhou, piano
Chea Kang is a Korean soprano known for her distinctive voice and innovative approach to performance, always seeking creativity and originality in her art. Her recent engagements include covering the role of Papagena in The Magic Flute at the San Francisco Opera in 2024. This follows her stage debut as Sister Catherine in Dialogues of the Carmelites in 2022. Kang’s talent has been recognized with notable awards, including second prize in the 2024 Handel Aria Competition and a semifinalist position in the 2024 Concert Artists Guild competition. In 2023, she was a young artist at the Georg Solti Accademia. Additionally, Kang has performed worldwide as a soloist in Lee Mingwei’s Sonic Blossom exhibition, showcasing her ability to engage deeply with audiences in unique venues such as museums. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from The Juilliard School and a Master’s degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she is currently pursuing an Artist Diploma under César Ulloa. Looking ahead, Kang will take on the role of Henrietta Wong in Harvey Milk Reimagined with Opera Parallèle in 2025, further expanding her repertoire and artistic presence.
Kate Morton, mezzo-soprano, is a Cherokee Nation citizen from Tahlequah, Oklahoma and a Master of Music in Vocal Arts student at The Juilliard School. In Juilliard’s 2024-25 season she performed as a soloist with New York Festival of Song, L’enfant et les Sortilèges (La Chatte/L’Ecureuil), and Dialogues des Carmelites (Sœur Mathilde). Morton has performed with Opera Saratoga, Opera Montana, National Sawdust, the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, and Canterbury Voices. She will be a 2025 Festival Artist with Opera Saratoga in their productions of She Loves Me (Ilona Ritter) and La Vie Parisienne (Madame de Folle-Verdure). She recently premiered the role of Loksi’ in Jerod Tate’s Loksi’ Shaali’ with the OKC Philharmonic. Morton has been a guest artist with the Seagle Festival, Alexandria Summer Nights, and the Castleton Festival. Morton’s other credits include Clerio in Erismena, Stéphano in Roméo et Juliette, Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, and Sor Andrea in With Blood With Ink. The recipient of the 2021 Timothy Long Award and the Cherokee Nation Trail of Tears Award for Excellence, Morton holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Oklahoma City University in both Music Theatre and Vocal Performance.
Tenor Reed Gnepper is a second-year Master of Music candidate at The University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music (CCM), where he has performed the roles of Komar (Mosquito) and Pásek (the Innkeeper) in The Cunning Little Vixen and Count Belfiore in La finta giardiniera. During the summer of 2024, he participated in Wolf Trap Opera covering the roles of Ferrando in Così fan tutte and Johnathan Dale in Silent Night. Last Spring, he sang the stratospheric tenor solo in Carmina Burana with the CCM Concert Orchestra. Gnepper also performed the role of Archibald Craven in The Secret Garden with The Chautauqua Institute in 2022, and he sang with the chorus of Cincinnati Opera in 2023. A native of Toledo, Ohio, he moved to Cincinnati to attend the School for Creative and Performing Arts, acquiring valuable performing experience and earning recognition in many competitions, including those of the Matinee Musicale and Overture Awards. Gnepper is a graduate of The Juilliard School, where his many performances included Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and L’amante in Menotti’s Amelia al Ballo.
Jamal Al Titi is a Belorussian-Canadian whose passion for music spans early works to opera. In 2023, he made a notable impression by becoming the District Winner for Western Canada at the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. He was also honored to be among the winners of the Rumbold Vocal Prize and Toronto Mozart Vocal Competition. His talent was further recognized with the Stingray All-Star Award at the Opera de Montréal Gala Talent. Al Titi’s career continues to ascend as he joins the Opéra de Montréal’s Atelier lyrique program for the 2024–2025 season. During the 2023–2024 season, he was a Rebanks Fellow in the prestigious Rebanks Family Fellowship Program. His enthusiasm for opera has led him to perform a variety of roles, including the title role in Don Giovanni and Tom in Adoration at the Banff Centre’s 2023 Opera in the 21st Century, as well as Belcore in L’elisir d’amore at the Highlands Opera. In addition, Al Titi was invited to appear in a variety of roles at the Brott Opera Festival; he has sung Masetto in Don Giovanni, Schaunard in La Bohème, and Cascada in The Merry Widow. Al Titi holds a Bachelor’s degree in music from the University of Toronto, where he was awarded the Jim and Charlotte Norcop Prize in Song and received the faculty’s top honor award in 2023. He continues his musical journey with a steadfast dedication to his craft.
Zoey Xinyue Zhou is known for her versatile repertoire spanning vocal, instrumental, and orchestral music. Her performances grace prestigious venues across North America, Europe, and Asia, including stages as Carnegie Hall, Zankel Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Michael Klein Music Tent, Ingram Hall, and Duke’s Hall. Currently, she works as a staff pianist at The Juilliard School’s extension, pre-college, and college divisions and serves for distinguished pedagogues, including Timothy Cobb, Harold Robinson, Robert Langevin, and Cynthia Hoffmann. In the 2024 season, she worked as a rehearsal pianist for Long Island Concert Orchestra featuring conductor Enrico Fagone, violinist Frank Huang and bassist Timothy Cobb. She frequently performs in recitals with members of the San Francisco Symphony, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony, and Bamberger Symphoniker. She has worked in masterclasses with renowned artists such as Renée Fleming, Lawrence Brownlee, Sébastian Jacot and Dominik Wagner. A graduate of The Juilliard School, she studied with Lydia Brown, Jonathan Feldman, and Diane Richardson. She also holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Royal Academy of Music in London. In the past, she participated in prestigious programs such as the Schubert Institut, SongFest, and the Aspen Music Festival and School.
Steven Blier is the Artistic Director of the New York Festival of Song (NYFOS), which he co-founded in 1988 with Michael Barrett. Since the Festival’s inception, he has produced more than 150 vocal recitals with repertoire spanning five centuries of art song and popular song, including commissioned works by Ned Rorem, William Bolcom, and many others. New York Magazine gave NYFOS its award for Best Classical Programming, while Opera News proclaimed Blier “the coolest dude in town.”
Blier’s recital partners have included Renée Fleming, Cecilia Bartoli, Samuel Ramey, Susan Graham, Jessye Norman, Julia Bullock, and Paul Appleby, in venues ranging from Carnegie Hall to La Scala. He is currently on the faculty of The Juilliard School, and has been a guest teacher at the Wolf Trap Opera Company, Santa Fe Opera, Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute, and the San Francisco Opera Center.
Among Blier’s wide-ranging recordings are the premiere of Leonard Bernstein’s Arias and Barcarolles (Koch International), which won a Grammy Award; and Spanish Love Songs (Bridge Records) with Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Joseph Kaiser, and Michael Barrett. His latest releases are on NYFOS Records, which released its first album (From Rags to Riches, with Stephanie Blythe and William Burden) in January of 2022.
A native New Yorker, Blier received a Bachelor’s Degree with Honors in English Literature at Yale University, where he studied piano with Alexander Farkas.
A graduate of the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at The Metropolitan Opera, Bénédicte Jourdois is currently on music staff at the Metropolitan Opera and on faculty at The Juilliard School.
Jourdois has performed in numerous venues in Europe and in the United States, including Alice Tully Hall and Carnegie Hall in New York and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
As a coach and pianist, she has worked with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Opera, Chicago Lyric Ryan Opera Center, Pittsburgh Opera, Washington National Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Opera Saratoga, Rice University, the Chautauqua Institution voice program, the Castleton Festival, Spoleto Festival USA, and Carnegie Hall’s SongStudio. She was a faculty member at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia from 2013 to 2016 and at the Manhattan School of Music from 2011 to 2018.
Born in Paris, Jourdois holds degrees from the Conservatoire National de Region de Saint-Maur, the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique de Lyon, Mannes College, and The Juilliard School.
Inaugurated in the spring of 2009, Vocal Rising Stars is Caramoor’s mentoring program focusing on vocal chamber music and the art of song in recital. Singers at the advanced student and beginning professional level are invited to Caramoor to participate in an intensive week-long residency for daily coaching, rehearsals, and workshops with mentor Steven Blier and guest teaching artists.
At Caramoor, we believe that the work leading up to a performance is of equal if not of greater importance than the concert itself and will have a lasting impact on the growth and development of young artists. Vocal Rising Stars provides singers with an opportunity to form collaborative partnerships with one another, the Caramoor staff, and the coaches who also participate in the residency.
The program also includes a young pianist, who also gains experience and training in the art of vocal accompaniment, while expanding their knowledge of the repertoire. Since its inception, the program has received funding from the Terrance W. Schwab Endowment Fund for Young Vocal Artists. Created in memory of long-standing Caramoor trustee Terrance W. Schwab by his family, this endowment fund is designed to nurture and support the artistic development and careers of young vocalists outside of the operatic repertoire.
In 2012, the program was renamed the Terrance W. Schwab Vocal Rising Stars, to honor his memory and the Schwab family’s ongoing commitment to this important program. To make a contribution to the Schwab Vocal Rising Stars mentoring program or to the Terrance W. Schwab Endowment Fund for Young Vocal Artists, please call 914.232.3681 or donate online at caramoor.org/support.
As part of our mission, we are delighted to offer free tickets for ages 18 & under for Schwab Vocal Rising Stars. Please use discretion when bringing children to Caramoor events. Adults must accompany children at all times.
Presented in collaboration with New York Festival of Song / Steven Blier, Artistic Director
Caramoor’s Terrance W. Schwab Vocal Rising Stars program is made possible by generous support from the Terrance W. Schwab Endowment Fund for Young Vocal Artists.