On March 21st the critically acclaimed American soprano Paulina Swierczek will be joined by internationally recognized pianist Erika Switzer in the next program on CITV’s spring series of concerts. Featured will be two of the most demanding and expressive sets of songs to be found in the vocal literature: Les nuits d’été by Hector Berlioz and the Wesendonck Lieder by Richard Wagner. The program will conclude with emotionally charged 20th c. works by the American composers Amy Beach, Charles Griffes and Samuel Barber.

A 2023 prize winner of the Opera Birmingham Competition, Paulina Swierczek has twice been a Tanglewood Vocal Fellow and in 2024 a Des Moines Metro Opera Apprentice Artist. She has appeared with the Alabama Symphony under Kevin Fitzgerald, the Boston Symphony under Andris Nelsons, and the Albany Symphony under David Alan Miller. Previous CITV appearances have included Mozart’s Requiem and oratorio Davide penitente, Szymanowski’s Stabat Mater, and A 19th Century German Song Book for chamber ensemble. Her recent performances in New York City have included the Ninth Symphony of Beethoven.

Swierczek’s operatic roles are many and include Senta (Wagner’s Der fliegende Hollander), Brunnhilde (Die Walküre and Siegfried), Chocholka (Janacek’s Cunning Little Vixen), Fiordiligi (Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte), Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni) and The New Prioress (Messiaen’s Les dialogues des Carmelites). Praised by the Boston Globe for “a rich voice that could go in a blink from speaking to soaring,” soprano Paulina Swierczek combines exceptional technical facility with a consuming passion to communicate.

Erika Switzer is an accomplished collaborative pianist performing regularly in major concert settings around the world, including New York’s Carnegie Hall, Geffen Hall, Frick Collection and Symphony Space; the Spoleto Festival in South Carolina, the Holywell Music Room (Oxford, England), and major venues throughout Canada. Her performances have been called “precise and lucid” by the New York Times, and Renaud Machart of Le Monde described her as “one of the best collaborative pianists I have ever heard; her sound is deep, her interpretation intelligent, refined, and captivating.”

From 2000-2007, Switzer performed and studied in Germany. She has long been a leader in envisioning and promoting the future of art song performance. A frequent collaborator is baritone Tyler Duncan, with whom she has performed throughout the world. She is also an active teacher, serving on the music faculty at Bard College and Conservatory of Music. Switzer holds a doctorate from The Juilliard School and lives in the Hudson Valley.

CITV Artistic Director David Smith is “very excited, in fact honored to have Paulina and Erika with us. Having performed with others for many years, I feel qualified to say that these artists truly define what it is to collaborate when making music!”

Van Buren Hall, 6 Chatham Street, Kinderhook NY 12106. Lift available.
Suggested contribution $ 25, with students and children free.
For reservations and further information: www.concertsinthevillage.org