Sparks & Wiry Cries Presents 2022 SongSLAM Festival

Sparks & Wiry Cries (Sparks), led by Co-Founders and Directors Martha Guth and Erika Switzer, presents its 2022 songSLAM Festival featuring virtual and live performances from January 13 to 15, 2022 at the Blue Building (222 E 46th St) in New York City, including four live world premieres, a hybrid version of the popular songSLAM competition, and an all-virtual recital.

The Festival kicks off on Thursday, January 13, 2022 at 7pm EST with Songs of Identity, a virtual recital. The program features four singer and pianist duos in works that reflect the fullness and complexities of their diverse identities and lived experiences. Featured performers include tenor Bo Shimmin and pianist Natalie Sherer, soprano Shana Oshiro and pianist Brian Bartoldus, mezzo-soprano Hailey McAvoy and pianist Bethany Pietroniro, and soprano Paulina Swierczek and pianist Ania Vu. The recital will be available on the Sparks & Wiry Cries website.

The following evening, Friday, January 14, 2022 at 7pm EST at the Blue Building, Sparks presents At the Crossroads, a concert featuring four commissioned works that focus on stories advancing the critical dialogues around the issues of our time. The program includes the live premiere of Ciudad perdida (The Lost City) by Reinaldo Moya, commissioned for the 2021 songSLAM Festival, which will be performed by soprano Maria Brea and pianist Howard Watkins; the live premiere of Ramadan 20 vs COVID 19 by Andrew Staniland, also a 2021 songSLAM Festival commission, performed by soprano LaToya Lain, poet Jessica Care Moore, and pianist Erika Switzer; two world premieres commissioned for the 2022 songSLAM Festival, After Him by John Glover, performed by baritone and poet Michael Kelly and pianist Howard Watkins, and From the Woolworth Tower by 2021 songSLAM Commission Prize winner Rachel DeVore Fogarty, to be performed by sopranos Maria Brea, Martha Guth, and LaToya Lain, with pianist Myra Huang. Glover and Fogarty's works will be simultaneously released on the Sparks & Wiry Cries website as two new music videos.

The songSLAM Festival concludes on Saturday, January 15, 2022 at 7pm EST at the Blue Building with the NYC songSLAM, a unique community event for composer/performer teams to premiere new art songs and compete for cash prizes, determined by audience voting. songSLAM prizes include First Place ($1,000), Second Place ($600), and Third Place ($400). Additionally, one team will be selected by Sparks & Wiry Cries for a paid commission in a future season.

Building on the incredible response and broad audience reach of the virtual songSLAM in January 2021, Sparks & Wiry Cries will incorporate both recorded and live elements into the 2022 NYC songSLAM competition. For this hybrid format, all participating teams recorded their entry professionally in November 2021; recordings will be shared virtually on Sparks & Wiry Cries' website and YouTube channel between January 7 to 15, 2022. This final live performance concludes the voting period.

Teams will compete via a text-to-vote function through Give Lively and audiences can vote for as little as $1 starting January 7, 2022 through the Sparks & Wiry Cries website. Teams that raise the most funds will win songSLAM awards. Funds raised during the event are reinvested into larger commissions, future competitions, and new art song initiatives.

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Festival Information

Songs of Identity
Thursday, January 13, 2022 at 7pm EST
Tickets: Free
Link: http://www.sparksandwirycries.org/songslam22

Program to be announced

Brian Bartoldus, pianist
Hailey McAvoy, mezzo-soprano
Shana Oshiro, soprano
Bethany Pietroniro, pianist
Natalie Sherer, pianist
Bo Shimmin, tenor
Paulina Swierczek, soprano
Ania Vu, pianist

At the Crossroads
Friday, January 14, 2022 at 7pm EST
Blue Building | 222 E 46th St | New York, NY 10017
Tickets: $25 General admission, $15 Student/Senior (with ID)
Link: http://www.sparksandwirycries.org/songslam22

REINALDA MOYA: Ciudad perdida [Live Premiere]
Maria Brea, Howard Watkins
ANDREW STANILAND: Ramadan 20 vs COVID 19 [Live Premiere]
LaToya Lain, Jessica Care Moore, Erika Switzer
John Glover: After Him [World Premiere]
Michael Kelly, Howard Watkins
RACHEL DEVORE FOGARTY: From the Woolworth Tower [World Premiere]
Maria Brea, LaToya Lain, Martha Guth, Myra Huang

Maria Brea, soprano
Martha Guth, soprano
Myra Huang, pianist
Michael Kelly, baritone
LaToya Lain, soprano
Jessica Care Moore, poet
Erika Switzer, pianist
Howard Watkins, pianist

6th Annual NYC songSLAM
Saturday, January 15, 2022 at 7pm EST
Blue Building | 222 E 46th St | New York, NY 10017
Info: http://www.sparksandwirycries.org/songslam22

Program and artists to be announced