Music & Words

“An ambassador for classical and gospel music… His talent stretches across traditional divisions. In the realest sense, he uses his artistry to make our world a better place.” —Wynton Marsalis on Damien Sneed

Music & Words is the first performance of Catskill Jazz Factory’s three-concert winter series, Classical, Jazz, and Soul: A Musical Offering. Tracing the American vocal tradition from 1860 to today, the series is led by prodigious multi-genre pianist, conductor, composer, producer, arranger, and educator Damien Sneed.

Music & Words takes audiences on a journey from the spirituals, art songs and poems of Harry T. Burleigh and Laurence Hope, to the melodic chords of Samuel Barber, and the well-known hit songs of George & Ira Gershwin. Leading this musical reflection on the relationship between composer and librettist, Sneed will be joined by Metropolitan Opera soprano Brandie Sutton, actor/writer Karen Chilton, baritone Justin Michael Austin, Cellist Sterling Elliott, and Edward Hardy on violin for this debut exploration of the music of 1860 to the 1930s for strings, piano and voice.

The Classical, Jazz and Soul series is commissioned by Catskill Jazz Factory.

Special guests subject to change.