Sing For Hope

Profiles in Artists Activism

December 2009

www.singforhope.org

Connection. It’s a word that comes up over and over again in conversation with soprano Amy Buckley and mezzo-soprano Kirsten Allegri, who are passionate about finding new ways to connect—with other artists, with audiences, with communities. The two met at the Aspen Music Festival where, Kirsten says, “From our first rehearsal, we really hit it off, both as friends and as musicians.”

Their experience in Aspen led Amy and Kirsten to found the Canzone Duo. “We want to take what we do—performing classical repertoire—and add a twist that makes it more accessible,” says Kirsten. “We’re venturing into new ground, seeing how far we can push the recital format.” One program, a collaboration with pianist Carol Wong, featured piano and vocal music of composers from Argentina, Russia, France and Italy. Another, called “The Girls of Summer,” was presented in an informal cabaret style, allowing Amy and Kirsten to intersperse personal stories with songs over the course of the evening.

The duo’s next performance, on January 23 in Carnegie Hall, is entitled Music on Canvas, 57X7.  The duo will collaborate with pianist and visual artist Stef-Albert Bothma, who has produced art inspired by music of Bernstein, Gershwin, Korngold, Rachmaninoff and Weill. Images will be projected as Kirsten and Amy perform. “This is our first experience with a visual artist,” says Amy. “I think it makes sense—when we listen to music we are often feeling and seeing in color.”

Last October, Kirsten and Amy joined their talents with those of virtuosi of a different sort—all-star female basketball players. Through connections forged by Sing for Hope and with the support of SFH and several local hospital organizations, they traveled to Ashland, KS to participate in Hoops for Hope, an event to increase awareness about women’s health issues and raise money for free mammograms.  “When we heard about it, we said, this is us,” says Amy. “It was an amazing experience to be able to share music with a community that would not otherwise have exposure to this kind of singing.”

“It was pretty emotional to be a part of it, to see the community come together and hear the stories,” says Kirsten. “I think all of us know someone who has been touched by cancer. We were so grateful to be able to be part of this movement of bringing awareness and better healthcare to small communities. When we went out there, I was shocked by how rural, how sparsely populated it was. Not only is there no Starbucks in sight, it is a two-and-a-half hour drive to the nearest mammogram machine.”

“Most of the women in these rural areas are so busy managing their households and taking care of everyone else, they are the last ones to seek healthcare,” adds Amy. She was particularly glad to lend her voice to Hoops for Hope because, she says, “It was about strong women coming together. We just naturally latched on. We knew it was where we were supposed to be. As the artist as citizen, this is part of what we do.”

Amy also serves on the board of Choral Chameleon, which she describes as “ similar to Canzone in that we are interested in appealing to younger audiences. It is a 20-person ensemble that sings everything from Palestrina to Tori Amos. We want to get as many students as we can to listen to live music, not just their iPods.” She also works with the Greenwich Music Festival, which last season focused on music written during the Holocaust. “It was eye-opening—all of this music that was lost, all of these works that are still being uncovered.”

Even as they work to bring new, younger audiences to venues like Carnegie Hall, Amy and Kirsten take their artistry to places where an opera singer is a rare sighting. Over Christmas, Amy reconnected with a family she met during the Aspen Music Festival: “While I was there, I lived with a wonderful family who had lost a son to cancer. They kind of adopted me, and this is the third year I’ve gone with them to deliver food to homeless folks and sing carols in nursing homes on Christmas Day.” Kirsten hails from the small town of Gresham, Oregon, and makes a point of scheduling a community concert in her hometown whenever she can: “I’ll take any chance I have to bring classical music to new audiences.”

Despite their busy schedules, Amy and Kirsten continue to brainstorm about new ways the Canzone Duo can connect with audiences.  “De we look at working with energy efficient designers?  Do we do more online?  Do we pair music with different interactive experiences?  There is a lot of territory we want to explore.”  And while this exploration is also part of their solo work, Kirsten says,  “There is something very empowering and exciting about singing with another person. We have such a strong personal connection.”

Thank you, Amy and Kirsten, for lifting your voices in such positive ways!

This article is the second in a series written for Sing for Hope by donor artist Kelley Rourke (Dramaturg, Glimmerglass Opera; Editor, OPERA America Magazine).