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I was honoured to recently take part in a master class with soprano Jane Marsh, hosted by the Metropolitan Opera Guild, exploring three different types of tenor voices. The term ‘tenor’ was created in relation to classical and operatic voices, where classification is not only based on a singer’s vocal range, but also vocal weight and colour.
This master class will be presented online on 2 May 2021 at 3pm EST. For more information or to register for the class, click here.
I am thrilled to announce that my collaboration with slow drip DMT on the single ‘Message From The Pleiadians’ is now available on all digital platforms. Inspired by the Pleiades (also known as the Seven Sisters and Messier 45), this epic soundscape gives voice to the shimmering star cluster that has most fascinated and inspired people throughout the world since antiquity.
Stream ‘Message From The Pleiadians’ on Apple Music, Spotify or YouTube today. Happy listening!
‘Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?’ — Job 38:31
On Sunday, 6 December at 12pm EST, I’ll be joining a host of talented musicians for a concert in honor of St Nicholas Day, livestreamed from St Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral in Brooklyn, New York. In addition to singing the 15th century English carol ‘There Is No Rose Of Such Virtue’, I’ll be joining the choir for some Byzantine chant in honour of St Nicholas and the Nativity of Christ, as well as a selection of Ukrainian and traditional western Christmas carols.
To tune in, just click here. The concert is free and open to all. Donations are welcome.
On Friday, 20 November at 8pm EST, I’ll be giving a virtual concert with David Charles Tay (tenor) and Riko Higuma (harpsichord). Whimsically entitled Bach In Business, this performance marks my return to the concert stage after several months away, and will feature works by composers including Bach, Handel and Purcell.
We’ve partnered with Musae to livestream the concert from St John's In The Village in New York City, which will allow our audience members to feel like they are right there with us onstage from the comfort of their own homes. There is even an option to order a VR headset for a 3D experience for those who purchase a ticket at a higher price point.
Ticket prices start at just $5, and the proceeds go directly to us, the performers. The concert will also be available to view after the livestream for those who purchase tickets, so never fear if 8 PM EST doesn’t work well for your particular time zone.
To purchase tickets, click here. We look forward to sharing this virtual performance experience with you!
I was recently approached by the editor of Australian classical and new music magazine CutCommon to write a piece about my experience of pursuing a career as a countertenor, and how the world around me has reacted. I’d never written anything nearly so personally on this subject, but I decided to give it a go. My heartfelt thanks to Stephanie Eslake and everyone at CutCommon for allowing my voice to be heard in a different way.
Click here to read the article.
On 29 February, pianist Irena Portenko and I will present an evening of chamber music to usher in the imminent spring at the Ukrainian Museum and Library in Stamford, Connecticut (161 Glenbrook Road). Tickets are $25 and may be purchased at the door. The performance begins at 6pm.
On the heels of our Carnegie Hall performance, pianist Irena Portenko and I will be taking our show on the road to Ukraine and Austria this February.
1 February: Odessa (Urban Hall)
I will join pianists Irena Portenko and Sergei Kvitko, along with a local string quartet, to perform an all-Schubert program at 5:30pm in Urban Hall, Rishelievska Street 33, Odessa, Ukraine.
2 February: Kyiv (St Catherine’s Church)
Irena and I will bring our Carnegie Hall concert program to Kyiv with a 7pm performance at St Catherine’s Church, Liuteranska Street 22, Kyiv, Ukraine.
4 February: Bad Gastein (Grand Hotel De l’Europe Gastein)
Irena and I will present our concert program at 7pm in the Wienersaal of the Grand Hotel De l’Europe Gastein in Bad Gastein, Austria.
Additionally, I’ll have the opportunity to work with students at the Ukrainian National Academy of Music in Kyiv on 30 January, as well as take part in other Music In The Alps performances in Bad Gastein during the first week of February.
These performances are open to all. To purchase tickets for our 2 February Kyiv concert in advance, click here.
I am over the moon to announce that on Wednesday, 8 January, I will be making my Carnegie Hall debut with pianist Irena Portenko in the Weill Recital Hall. This eclectic program features a selection of arias and art songs by such composers as Handel, Debussy and Schubert, as well as new settings of traditional Irish and Icelandic melodies, an original a cappella arrangement of a piece by Huang Ruo, and the New York premiere of a solo piano work by 17-year-old composer Benjamin Araujo.
Click here to purchase tickets. A student and senior discount is also available at the box office.
I will be joining the choir of Brooklyn’s St Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral to sing in a concert of Orthodox Christmas music at St Mark Syriac Orthodox Cathedral in Paramus, New Jersey on Sunday, 8 December. The evening will showcase beautiful, sacred hymns of the Christmas season as presented by professional choirs of the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches. All proceeds will go to aid the plight of Christians in Syria.
To purchase tickets, click here.
On Sunday, 10 November, pianist Irena Portenko and I will bring our acclaimed program of music performed at the Music In The Alps Festival in Austria this summer to the ‘Sundays at Three Concert Series’ at St John’s In The Village in New York City. Featuring selections from Austria’s own Franz Schubert, this eclectic program also includes music by Handel, Debussy, Schumann, Sondheim, and new arrangements of traditional folk songs.
To purchase tickets, visit the concert’s Eventbrite page by clicking here.
A review of my recent album Beauty 美 with pianist Riko Higuma, written by Chicago-based music critic Henry Fogel, will be published in the November/December issue of Fanfare Magazine. Be sure to check it out, and read a few snippets from the review below.
“This is a delightful recital disc of songs and piano pieces.
“Jeffrey Palmer is an American countertenor based in Brooklyn with a particularly attractive timbre. There is more warmth to the tone than I often find with countertenors, and he sings with great imagination and deep feeling for the words. Although countertenors typically cover the range of a contralto or mezzo-soprano, Palmer is a sopranist, with a particularly high, ethereal range … Palmer is as comfortable in Handel and Purcell as he is in Debussy and Schumann. He demonstrates stunning virtuosity in the unaccompanied scene from Huang Ruo’s Paradise Interrupted … He is also adept in the lighter repertoire represented by two folksongs and Joseph Kosma’s ever-popular Autumn Leaves.
“Pianist Riko Higuma is the accomplished collaborative pianist who works very sensitively with Palmer. This is readily apparent from the delicate shading she employs in the first song, Debussy’s Beau Soir, where Higuma and Palmer breathe as one … Andrew List’s “Amon-Re,” a movement of his piano cycle The Temple of Dendera, is quite gripping in its quiet intensity.
“The recorded sound is very well balanced—neither the singer nor the piano is too far forward or too much in the background—and there is a pleasant sense of space around the performers. This CD will provide you with great listening pleasure and perhaps the joy that comes from discovering a new vocal talent.”
—Henry Fogel
I’ll be accompanying writer Jacquelyn Gallo during From the Sound Of It, an evening of music and literature at The Red Room (85 East 4th Street) in New York City on Wednesday, 11 September at 9pm. This unique event will feature former and current Columbia University graduate students who will be reading their own music-inspired work, accompanied by live musicians.
This August, I am thrilled to return to Austria to sing for the first time since 2001, and participate in the Music In The Alps Festival in Bad Gastein and Salzburg. While there will be many performances during my week’s stay at the festival, there are two very special concerts I wanted to let you know about.
10 August: Bad Gastein (Hotel De l’Europe Gastein)
Held in the Wienersaal of the stately belle epoque Hotel De l’Europe Gastein, overlooking the town’s famous waterfall, this program will contain several selections from my recent album, along with a few Schubert songs and other musical surprises. Pianist and festival director Irena Portenko will accompany me on the hall’s Imperial Bösendorfer. The recital begins at 7:30pm.
12 August: Salzburg (Schloss Mirabell)
The Music in the Alps Group Concert, featuring performances from the festival’s faculty and participants, will be held in the famed Marmorsaal of Schloss Mirabell, site of the famous Salzburg Palace Concerts, including performances by Mozart himself. The concert begins at 5:30pm.
For those of you in Austria, I hope to see you there! And if you’re unable to be with me in person, many of the festival’s concerts will be livestreamed, so I encourage you to follow the Music in the Alps Facebook Page.
I will be joining pianist Irena Portenko and several other talented musicians in concert at St Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church in White Plains, New York on 9 June at 2pm. All proceeds from this concert will go towards the Music in the Alps Festival, taking place later this summer in Austria. I’ll be singing a few classical pieces, accompanied by Irena, as well a couple of standards with a jazz quartet.
Riko and I were thrilled to be recently interviewed for Australian music magazine CutCommon about our new album together, Beauty 美. Thank you to the magazine’s editor Stephanie Eslake for speaking with us, and allowing us to share a few stories about how the album came to be and the inspiration behind the project. And a big shout out to to the whole CutCommon team down in Tasmania! Thanks for listening.
To read the interview, click here.
We are very happy to announce that Beauty 美 by Jeffrey Palmer and Riko Higuma is now available digitally on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Amazon, and all other major digital platforms. Thank you for your support, and happy downloading!
If you would still like to purchase a physical CD, contact me directly at jeffrey@jeffreypalmer.net.
Thank you to everyone who came down to the West Village for the New York City Launch of Beauty 美. It was lovely to see so many of you there, and Riko and I had the most wonderful time sharing some of the music live with you.
Looking forward to seeing more of you in Maida Vale for our London launch on Wednesday, 20 March, as well as at our concerts in Calstock and Bath. For more information on the UK Beauty 美 Tour, click here.
The day has arrived! Beauty 美, my debut album in collaboration with pianist Riko Higuma, is available now through Blue Griffin Records. Including works by Debussy, Schumann, Purcell, and modern composers Huang Ruo and Andrew List, this album is a selection of musical works that each provide their own unique reflection on the idea of beauty, and that have personally touched the two of us in profound ways.
To purchase the album, visit the Blue Griffin Shop, or e-mail me directly for a signed copy. The album will also be available for digital download in the very near future.
Thanks to all of you who helped bring this project to fruition. May the beauty of these pieces pleasurably exalt your mind and spirit as much as they have ours.
I will be joining pianist Irena Portenko and a host of other talented musicians to present a concert of music by Austrian composer Franz Schubert on 3 March in New Rochelle, New York at 3pm. I’ll be singing three beautiful songs by Schubert, with the program also including his Fantasy in F Minor and “Trout” Quintet. If you’re in the area, please come out and enjoy this treat of a concert.
UPDATE: I have subsequently been asked to continue writing for CutCommon, and will continue to share these articles focusing on new classical music in the Words section of this website. Thank you for reading!
I was honoured to have recently been asked to write an article for Australian new music magazine CutCommon about my friend, composer Michael Grebla. I wrote it shortly after hearing the world premier of his new piece Sympathy, performed by soprano Amber Evans and cellist Issei Herr at a concert of all new music by Australian composers given in New York City on 26 January (Australia Day).
To read the article, click here.