keri Lee Pierson - soprano

Keri Lee Pierson is a classically trained soprano and contemporary musician, currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at BGSU where she collaborates regularly with her colleagues, instructors and The MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music. Previously, Keri Lee lived and performed in the beautiful Saint Augustine, Florida, and was an Adjunct Instructor at Flagler College. She also has been a K-6 music teacher, a staff musician at Memorial Presbyterian Church, served as the Assistant Director of the St. Augustine Youth Chorus, and taught lessons to all ages and skill levels. Keri Lee holds a Master’s in Vocal Performance from the University of South Carolina, and a Bachelor’s in Vocal performance from the University of Central Florida.

Planning interesting and audience involved events, with a lean towards contemporary chamber music is Keri Lee‘s primary focus. For 2021-22, she was awarded two grants from the Florida Department of State for her voice and guitar duo, Deux Saisons, to tour in St. Johns County Public Libraries and schools. Keri Lee has presented events and concerts throughout the United States and in Europe. She has performed at Nief-Norf, the International Conference on Music and Minimalism, the New Music Festival, FreshInc. Festival, the Romanza Festivale, Groupmuse, the Cortona Sessions for New Music, Yo Me Quedo en Casa, Wired Music, the Brookfield Community Partnership in VT, the At Home Artists Project, and at various concerts & events she has curated.

Find more at https://kerileesoprano.com

Concert Dates

  • June 16, 2023 - 3:00 PM EDT (UTC-4) Livestream from MNN studios in NYC
  • June 17, 2023 - 7:30 PM EDT (UTC-4) Metropolitan Playhouse, NYC

15 one-minute selections for Keri Lee Pierson

  • Books & Bronze

    Avery Britt

    Books & Bronze aurally animates Still Life, a painting by Sébastien Stoskopff, through the extended technique of the soprano voice. Though the artwork is concrete in nature, Books & Bronze derives from the words “books", “bronze”, and everything in between to create an abstract interpretation of the historic image.

    Avery Britt is a composer, conductor, vocalist, instrumentalist, and music instructor in the Atlanta area. Her work is a mix of instrumental and vocal music in contemporary and musical theatre styles and has been made popular in her community through performance in concerts, cabarets, showcases, and more.

  • A Drinking Song

    Jim Dalton

    What better way to accompany a drinking song than with tuned wine glasses? These glasses are not tuned to the tempered scale. I believe Yeats would approve. After all, he, himself, experimented in his plays with intoned poetry, unconventional accompaniments, and microtones.

    Jim Dalton is an American composer and professor of music theory at Boston Conservatory at Berklee. In addition to composing solo and ensemble instrumental music, he has written choral and vocal works including individual songs and song cycles for his wife, soprano Maggi Smith-Dalton.

  • あ, とバた: い — きゃ!

    etg

  • Morning Song

    Aidan Fischer

    Morning Song(2023)uses a repeated rhythmic idea and simple melody to evoke the tone of children’s nursery rhymes. The lyrics depict the sensation of oscillating between waking and dreaming, and the tension and dread that accompanies this struggle.It concludes with awakening in a place of comfort and safety. 

    Aidan Fischer (1996 – they/them) is a multi-instrumentalist and composer residing in Rochester NY. They received their Master’s in Jazz Composition and Arranging from UMass Amherst and their Bachelor’s in Jazz Performance from SUNY New Paltz. Aidan’s compositions use formal and instrumental simplicity to explore complex harmony and themes.

  • Never give up...

    Kirsten Johnson

    This text is from Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel, Old Town Folks (1869). The stress of someone trying to hold on is depicted using diminished fifths and a vocal slide from high Bb. Whole tones patterns and singing bowls add a dimension of comfort and spiritual rest.

    Kirsten Johnson is a composer, pianist and recording artist. Her works have been played around the world, including in London, by the London Contemporary Chamber Orchestra, by Festival Osmose in Brussels; by Vent Nouveau in New York; and by the Boston New Music Initiative.

    See www.kirstenjohnsonpiano.com/compositions for further information.

  • The Vowel Song

    Michael Todd Kovell

    The Vowel Song is a process piece that explores combinations of the five vowels and 5 different pitches.ays, where we often find ourselves running late and have to deal with deadlines “in a minute”.

    Michael Todd Kovell is an american composer of who strives to connect with audiences while exploring the language of music. He has a BMus. from the Oberlin Conservatory, an MMus. from the Pacific Northwest Film Scoring Program, and studied compostion at the Schoenberg House (Vienna).

  • WATCH THAT BASKET

    Ralph Lewis

    WATCH THAT BASKET is inspired by Keri Lee Pierson’s call, especially by this phrase it contained: “a handful of small tambourines and egg shakers.” I read this and the old Mark Twain quote about putting all of your eggs in one basket and watching that basket immediately came to mind.

    Dr. Ralph Lewis is a composer whose works seek meeting points between sonorous music and arresting noise, alternative tunings and timbre, and the roles of performer and audience. Find out more about him at www.ralphlewismusic.com.

  • Cheerful alone among cheerless objects

    Maria E Ljungdahl

    ”I had often watched the sun set in summer; but its rich melancholy in the winter, and in the country, was a scene new to me”, wrote Harriet Preble in January 1820 to her sister Anica Barlow, and added the quote ’Cheerful alone among cheerless objects’.

    Maria E Ljungdahl (b. 1959) is a Swedish composer and writer. She publishes sheet music and digital music recording under the artist and publisher name Maritune Art & Music.

  • Remember Where

    Ben David Richmond

    The fig tree grows Among the pines A touch of frost And leafless vines Remember where The fig tree grows And meet me there When 'er it snows

    Ben David Richmond is a conductor, composer and audio engineer in Maine. He is the Instrumental Music Teacher at John Bapst Memorial High School, Music Director of the Maine Youth Orchestra, Wind Ensemble Director of the Bangor Symphony Youth Orchestras, and cover conductor for the Portland Symphony Orchestra.

  • Fall, leaves, fall

    Marina Romani

    The text is taken from the homonymous poem by Emily Brönte. The sung words alternate with onomatopoeic sounds and spoken sounds to express the life of a leaf and its figurative meaning. I wanted to shed light on the brief feeling that accompanies the short journey of a falling leaf.

    Marina Romani studied Piano and Composition at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome. Her compositions have been performed in Italy, in Belgium, in the U.K., the USA, Mexico, Argentina, and Croatia. She lives in Italy and she currently teaches Music Theory in Secondary School.

  • menacing birb

    Ryne Siesky

    The text for menacing birb is a fusion of a human-made poem and fragments from ChatGPT, an online proprietary AI that attempts to mimic human responses to simple questions and statements. The statement given to ChatGPT was simple: "write a short poem about my favorite birb, Magpies."

    | Ryne “Todroki” Siesky (b. 1996) is a Filipino-American composer, educator, and EID advocate whose music has been described as “beautifully haunting” (Robert Avalon Competition) and “patiently evocative” (George Lewis). Siesky serves as Assistant Professor of Music Technology at Johnson University and Director of EID for the Millennium Composers Initiative.

  • Duality

    Chris Tilley

    The text of these two songs constitute a simple statement of the dual nature of human existence, that is, the seeming contradiction of being both a physical and spiritual being. The music, rhythmic and accented then slower and sustained, reflects that duality.

    Chris Tilley (b.1970) studied composition with Luigi Zaninelli at the University of Southern Mississippi. Chris writes chamber music, solo piano music, music for dance, and many art songs, as well as original plays and musicals. His work has been performed around the US, and in several other countries.

  • I'm waking up!

    David Unger

    This is a short song about having a nightmare of waking up and stressing out about being late, just to find out that it was all just a bad dream. I found it interesting to create a small scene for such a short piece and quite enjoyed the process.dral's magnificent high vaulted ceiling.(For S.V. and his Petosa Cathedral Bayan.)

    Swedish composer David Unger is a music teacher, teaching classical singing, music theory and composition to church cantor students at Oskarshamns Folkhögskola. He has had his music performed in Sweden, Germany, Austria, England and Canada and had a string quartet published in USA by Gusthold Music Publisher.

  • Listen!

    William Vollinger

    "Listen" explores in music and in text the gradations between ordinary speech, inspired speech, singing and even Something beyond that! In keeping with the message of the text the five words "you", "saying", "something", "even" and "singing" are sung, while all the remaining words are spoken.

    William Vollinger’s music has been described as “3D: different, direct and deep.” He seeks new ways to combine words and music. He has been declared an “honored artist” by the American Prize, including first prize for “The Child in the Hole” and several other judge’s citations.

  • Shiny Things

    Blair Whittington

    The title Shiny Things refers to the metallic sounding percussion accompaniment. I wanted to write a vocalise and hear the interaction with the instruments without words. I was also interested in the toy piano, with it's wonky intonation, interacting with the handbells and voice.

    Blair Whittington is a Los Angeles native and composer. His music has been performed across the United States and Europe.