American Voices: An Afternoon of Contemporary Song

Join mezzo-soprano Joanna Dionis Ross and pianist Donna Balson for a unique classical vocal recital spanning the 20th and 21st century American song canon, from Ned Rorem and Ernst Bacon to William Bolcom and Thomas Lehrer. The program includes the Australian premiere of Peter Lieberson's Rilke Songs (2001), written for his wife, the luminous mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson. A wine reception will follow the concert at the beautiful new Master Music Studio in Glebe. $25 early-bird tickets now available until 15 October. General admission $30 via Humanitix or cash only at the door. About the artists Joanna Dionis Ross is quickly gaining recognition as a dramatic mezzo-soprano. U.S. engagements include Baba the Turk (The Rake’s Progress) at the Princeton Festival, Composer (Ariadne auf Naxos) at the Johanna Meier Opera Theater Institute, Mrs. Nolan (The Medium) with Taconic Opera, and Mrs. Sedley (Peter Grimes) and Cornelia (Giulio Cesare) with One World Symphony. Joanna debuted the role of Aunt Nicey in Stefan Weisman’s new opera The Scarlet Ibis with American Opera Projects in New York. Joanna has been a young artist at the Phoenicia Festival of the Voice, singing Ortrud in excerpts from Lohengrin with acclaimed Wagnerian baritone Alfred Walker. She is an American Prize Chicago Oratorio Award Finalist, and the recipient of a Wagner Society of New York grant. Joanna earned a professional studies diploma in voice performance from Mannes College the New School for Music. She made her Australian operatic debut as the Secretary in Menotti's The Consul with The Cooperative in 2020, and returned to sing the title role in Sāvitrī in 2021 and Miss Jessel in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw in 2023. In 2024, she sang Mme. de Croissy in Gente Gente's inaugural production of Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites. She has recently been the featured soloist in Elgar's Sea Pictures with the Beecroft Orchestra, conducted by Joanna Drimatis.