News & Events Calendar
December 15 & 16, 2017 |
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Photo: Megan Hilty at 2nd Annual Elsie Festival in NY, 2016. |
Fall, 2017 |
Testimony by Stephen Schwartz
Photo © Richard Termine-used with permission. |
June 2, 2017 |
Eastern European Synagogue Music
Synagogue in Ukraine. |
Thursday, May 11 at 7:30 PM |
David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center
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Friday, December 16 & 17, 2016 |
Make the Season Bright With: Steven Reineke, Music Director and Conductor Essential Voices USA, Judith Clurman, Music Director and Conductor Ann Hampton and Liz Callaway, Anthony and Will Nunziata Carnegie Hall, Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage @ 8:00PM Buy Tickets!
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November 18, 2016 |
Season of Light: Songs of Thanksgiving, Christmas, Chanukah and New Years Buy Now $8.99 at Amazon Sono Luminus (SLW-70006) with: Judith Clurman, conductor Essential Voices USA Lee Musiker, piano
Judith Clurman conducts her chorus, Essential Voices USA, in HOLIDAY SEASON OF LIGHT: Songs of Thanksgiving, Christmas, Chanukah and New Years the ensemble’s fourth recording for Sono Luminous. The holiday disc includes a new piece called Season of Light by Jacob Narverud and music for Thanksgiving (Grateful by John Bucchino, arr. by Ryan Nowlin), Christmas (God Rest You Merry Gentlemen, arranged by David Chase; Carol of the Bells arranged by Peter Wilhousky; Ave Maria by Jean Mouton); Chanukah (The Chanukah Song - We are Lights by Stephen Schwartz and Steve Young, arr. by Ryan Nowlin) and New Years (New Year Carol by Benjamin Britten; Auld Lang Syne arranged by Tedd Firth). |
November 4, 2016 |
A Palace Upon the Ruins, including PEACE by Howard Shore/Text by Eleanor Roosevelt Buy $11.99 U.S. MP3, $16 CD at Amazon Howe Records with: Judith Clurman, conductor Ben Hutto, organ Charles Bowers, Music Assistant Essential Voices USA Youth Workshop
The world premiere of PEACE was on November 16, 2007 at the Washington National Cathedral conducted by Judith Clurman. Heard on this recording are select students from St. Albans and the National Cathedral Schools, and workshop participants. This piece was recorded at the National Cathedral, Washington D.C.
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Friday, October 14, 2016 |
The Musical World of Lerner and Loewe with: Steven Reineke, Music Director and Conductor Colin Donnell, Nathan Gunn and Laura Osnes, Guest Artists Essential Voices USA, Judith Clurman, Music Director and Conductor Carnegie Hall, Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage @ 8:00PM
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Summer, 2016 |
Judith joins the faculty (private voice and ensemble voice) of the Manhattan School of Music. http://www.msmnyc.edu/Musical-Theatre-Brochure
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May 2, 2016 |
The New York Pops 33rd Birthday GalaCarnegie Hall, Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage @ 7:00pm Alain Boublil, Music HonoreeClaude-Michel Schönberg, Music HonoreeSteven Reinecke, Conductor Essential Voices USA, Judith Clurman, Music Director and Conductor
Rehearsing my Essential Voices USA with Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg. Picture © Dan Rosenbaum |
Saturday, April 16, 2016 |
Wall to Wall Stephen Schwartz Symphony Space Broadway/95th Street, New York City
Photo © Stephen Sorokoff, used with permission. |
March 30, 2016 |
The Composer Speaks Austrian émigrés:Schoenberg, Von Trapp and the Power of Musicat the DiMenna Space for Classical Music @ 7:30PM
Essential Voices USA This program will explore the stories of two Austrian émigrés whose experiences have been captured in important musical compositions. In 1947, with the sights and sounds of war ringing in his ears, Arnold Schoenberg composed “Survivor from Warsaw” as a tribute to the victims of the Holocaust. Twelve years later the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein recreated the experience of the Von Trapp family in the iconic musical “The Sound of Music.” Music from both these works will be performed and discussed at the Composer Speaks, along with Schoenberg’s Cabaret Songs and folk song settings for chorus.
Judith Clurman at the DiMenna Space © Richard Termine |
February, 2016 |
Judith Clurman, Guest Conductor at University of Cambridge, United Kingdom Choral music seminar, master classes, conduct evensong.
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December 20, 2015 |
Carnegie Hall Family Concert: A Charlie Brown Christmas Essential Voices USA sings with The New York Pops @ Carnegie Hall
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December 18 & 19, 2015 |
It’s Christmas Time in the City Steven Reineke, Music Director and Conductor
Photo © Richard Termine |
December 3, 2015 |
Sing Christmas! at Feinstein's 54 Below @ 9:30 PM Judith conducts Essential Voices US is a sing-along of traditional carols, Broadway’s Christmas songs (Amy Justman, Joseph Beutel, and Nick Sotack, soloists and highlights from the EVUSA new CD release Holiday Harmonies: Song of Christmas.
Photo © Richard Termine |
November 10, 2015 |
Curtis Institute of Music
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November 6 & 7, 2015 |
Dvořák: Stabat Mater
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October 30, 2015 |
HOLIDAYS HARMONIES: SONGS OF CHRISTMAS
Judith Clurman conducts her acclaimed chorus, Essential Voices USA, in HOLIDAY HARMONIES: SONGS OF CHRISTMAS (SLE- 70003), the ensemble’s third recording for Sono Luminous. The holiday disc includes premiere recordings of new vibrant arrangements of seasonal favorites and new works that were written for the disc by America’s finest composers. Traditional repertoire includes: Angels We Have Heard on High (arr. David Chase), O Holy Night (arr. Ryan Nowlin), Silent Night (arr. Tedd Firth and Judith Clurman), The Virgin’s Slumber Song (Max Reger), and We Wish You a Merry Christmas (adaptation Judith Clurman). New works include: Whispered and Revealed (Nico Muhly), Love Came Down (Jennifer Higdon) and Merry Christmas Wishing Well (Gene and Lorraine Gilroy, arr. Michael Gilbertson). |
October 9, 2015 |
With Sierra Boggess and Julian Ovendon:
Photo © Richard Termine. Used with permission. |
June 22-27, 2015, Mozarteum, Salzburg, Austria |
Music Celebrations presents
Featuring music from the movie and the Rodgers and Hammerstein collection. Click here for more information: soundofmusictest.businesscatalyst.com/index.html |
April 29, 2015 |
Our Biblical Heritage:featuring selections from Haydn’s Creation and orchestral and choral works by Emanuel Kirschner, Darius Milhaud, Bruce Ruben and Paul Schoenfield
Omaha Symphony OrchestraCreighton University Chorus Judith Clurman, conductor Temple Israel, Omaha, Nebraska
Photo above: Judith Clurman and the Omaha Symphony Orchestra, with Creighton University Chorus.
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April 8, 2015 |
Beyond Broadway: Composers Go Choralat the DiMenna Center, NYC
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April 14, 2015 |
PRINCETON UNIVERSITYMASTER CLASS AND INTERVIEW WITH JUDITH CLURMAN Lewis Center for the Arts 1:30PM, Room 219 @ 185 Nassau Street Free and open to the public
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December 21, 2014 |
Carnegie Hall Family Holiday Concert: Rudolph the Red-Nosed ReindeerEssential Voices USA sings withThe New York Pops @ Carnegie Hall
Steven Reineke, Music Director and Conductor Essential Voices USA, Judith Clurman, Music Director and Conductor Carnegie Hall, Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage @ 3:00PM |
December 19 & 20, 2014 |
with Kelli O’Hara & Matthew Morrison: Home for the Holidays New York Pops @ Carnegie Hall Steven Reineke, Music Director and Conductor Essential Voices USA, Judith Clurman, Music Director and Conductor Carnegie Hall, Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage @ 8:00PM Program will also include SONGS OF FREEDOM: A CELEBRATION OF CHANUKAH Judith will conduct the New York Pops and her Essential Voices USA in performances with Arlo Hill, Baritone
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November 14, 2014 |
with By Special Request: An Evening with the Orchestra New York Pops @ Carnegie Hall
Featuring Essential Voices USA singing works by Aaron Copland, Carl Orff & Steven Reinecke Carnegie Hall, Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage @ 8:00PM |
November 7 & 8, 2014 |
Mahler: Symphony #2 (Resurrection)
Omaha Symphony Orchestra
Judith Clurman, Chorus Master
Omaha Symphonic Choir, Creighton University Chamber Choirs, University of Nebraska
Above: Omaha Symphony Chorus. |
October 28, 2014 |
Recording (Sono Luminus)Cherished Moments: Songs of the Jewish Spirit
CHERISHED MOMENTS: SONGS OF THE JEWISH SPIRIT, a new CD on Sono Luminus (DSL-92182), will be released on October 28, 2014 with Essential Voices USA, conducted by Judith Clurman with soloists Ron Raines, Bruce Ruben and Michael Slattery. This new CD combines the expertise born of Judith Clurman’s thirty years as a prominent conductor with memories of her own childhood in synagogue and an intimate knowledge of this poignant repertoire to create the unique recording Cherished Moments: Songs of the Jewish Spirit. The recording introduces exciting arrangements of traditional songs that represent the Jewish holidays and life cycle events from the centerpiece Songs of Freedom: A Celebration of Chanukah, a cycle for chorus, soloists and orchestra that premiered at Carnegie Hall, to the 19th-century lyrical classicism of Louis Lewandowski and Emanuel Kirschner, to works by folk artist Debbie Friedman, cantor-composer Bruce Ruben, and Canadian composer Ben Steinberg. The recording also features important new works, among them a minimalist setting of Set Me as a Seal by Nico Muhly, Larry Hochman’s Shomeir Yisrael, and Paul Schoenfield’s Al Hanisim, all written for Ms. Clurman. The recording features the singers of Essential Voices USA and renowned guest instrumentalists, including composers Larry Hochman and Paul Schoenfield accompanying their own works. For more information, click here 
Photo © Richard Termine. Used with permission. |
September 15, 2014 |
7pm Book Launch @ Barnes and Noble, East 86th St. & Lexington Ave.Bernstein Meets Broadway:Collaborative Art in a Time of War (Oxford University Press) by Carol J. Oja Carol J. Oja’s book, Bernstein Meets Broadway: Collaborative Art in a Time of War @ Barnes and Noble, 9/15/14. With Billie Allen, Jamie Bernstein, Adam Green, EVUSA, Kurt Crowley @ the piano, conducted by Judith Clurman.
Pictured are Baritone Arlo Hill, Essential Voices USA, panel members Jamie Bernstein, Adam Green, Billie Allen & author Carol J. Oja. Photo © Stephen Sorokoff, used with permission. Download a PDF Press Release here. |
July 30, 2014 |
Verdi Requiem
New York Choral Society Summer Sing
Judith Clurman, Conductor |
July 4, 2014 |
Macy's 4th of July Fireworks 2014 
Hear EVUSA sing Macy’s Fireworks Spectacular 2014: mediaite.com/tv/watch-the-macys-fourth-of-july-nyc-fireworks-here/p> Reviews “I love getting in the studio with Judy Clurman. We have a great love and respect for each other. This arrangement of the Star Spangled Banner is truly beautiful. We had a great time doing it.“ - Idina Menzel in the Huffington Post Article in Huffington Post (PDF) Article in Broadway World (PDF) |
May 14, 2014 |
Choral Singing with iPad: forScore and Essential Voices USA 
Photos © Kevin Winebold. Used with permission. Apple Store, NYC 5/14/14 Sing Out Mr.President: A Theodore Roosevelt Round by Thomas Cabaniss |
Friday, April 4, 2014 |
Lights, Camera, Action: A Night in Hollywood Carnegie Hall: Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage Friday, April 4, 2014 @ 8PM http://www.carnegiehall.org/Calendar/2014/4/4/0800/PM/The-New-York-Pops/ |
Sunday, March 16, 2014 |
Omaha Symphony Chamber Orchestra (The Vespers Concert) Presbyterian Church of the Cross, Omaha, Nebraska Sunday, March 16, 2014 @ 3PM
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December 19-21, 2013 |
Under the Mistletoe
Above photo: Ashley Brown, Santa Claus, Judith Clurman & Steven Reinecke. Photo © Kevin Weinbold. Used with permission.
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December 10, 2013 |
THE COMPOSER SPEAKS Press Release: Download a PDF of the Press Release here.
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November 22-23, 2013 |
Omaha Symphony Orchestra Judith Clurman, Chorus Master Holland Performing Arts Center, Omaha, Nebraska
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October 8, 2013 |
Jewish Identity on Broadway Brown-Lupton University Union Ballroom, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, Texas |
June 12, 2013 |
Rappaccini’s Daughter at Pearl Studios in NYC. Press Release: Click here for PDF
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April 12, 2013 |
Testimony by Stephen Schwartz
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February 18, 2013 |
Happy President's Day!
And read more here: |
February 17, 2013 |
Sing Along to Sing Out Mr. President
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January 21, 2013 |
Celebrating The American Spirit with NPR! Judith Clurman's Essential Voices USA CD was on NPR's Deceptive Cadence, January 19th, 2013, and profiled on Inauguration Day, Jan 21st, on the main page.
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January, 2013 |
David Ludwig's The New Colossus Performance for President Obama and Vice President Biden Judith commissioned David Ludwig to write The New Colossus and premiered it at the Todi Music Festival in 2002. Upon hearing the EVUSA recording, Ben Hutto, Director of Music Ministry and Organist at St. John's Church ("Church of the Presidents") in Washington DC, programmed the work for the Inaugural Prayer Service. Listen to a sample MP3 (0.6MB)
Order your copy at Hal Leonard today! |
December, 2012 |
Grammy Nomination for Inura! Released last fall on the Albany Records CD, the Grammy nominated Inura is performed by Son Sonora Voices, directed by Judith Cluman, with the on Sonora Ensemble and Dance Brazil Percussion. Composer Tania Leon conducts the CD. The piece was also nominated for the Latin Grammy Best Classical Contemporary Composition. |
Holidays, 2012 |
Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting 2012 Essential Voices USA’s recording of Joy to the World was heard on the 2012 Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting. |
December, 2012 |
Sing Out Mr. President! The music for Sing Out Mr. President has been published by G. Schirmer (Hal Leonard distribution). Listen to a sample MP3! (5.6MB)
Settings of words of our Presidents by Samuel Adler, Milton Babbitt, Robert Beaser, Irving Berlin, Jason Robert Brown, Thomas Cabaniss, Jake Heggie, Larry Hochman, Laurie Hochman, Michael Gilbertson, Sheldon Harnick, Jennifer Higdon, Nora Kroll-Rosenbaum, Andrew Lippa, David Ludwig, Paul Moravec, Nico Muhly, Stephen Paulus, Marc Shaiman, John Philip Sousa, Georgia Stitt, Zachary Wadsworth, Jesse Wiener. Order your copy at Hal Leonard today! |
Nov. 8, 2012 |
Marvin Makes Music
More information available on EVUSA's CDs & Books page, here. |
October 23, 2012 |
CELEBRATING THE AMERICAN SPIRIT with Judith Clurman interviewed about Celebrating the American Spirit!
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2012—2013 NY Pops |
The New York Pops: Some Enchanted Evening Friday, October 12, 2012 at 8:00pm A very grand night of singing was presented… three glorious voices (Aaron Lazar, Kelli O'Hara and Paulo Szot), blending beautifully, backed up by the extraordinary Essential Voices USA… Praise to EVUSA’s Judith Clurman… The songs never sounded better..
Judith with Paolo Szot and members of EVUSA, standing in front of the SOLD OUT sign, at Carnegie Hall. Used with permission.
Judith with soloist Aaron Lazar and EVUSA member Chad Lazar. Photo © 2012 by Michael Yeshion. Used with permission. The Wizard and I: The Musical Journey of Stephen Schwartz
Friday, April 12, 2013 at 8:00pm Essential Voices USA are honored to help celebrate Stephen Schwartz 65th birthday and the 10th anniversary of his hit musical Wicked, along with Norm Lewis, Julia Murney, and Jennifer Laura Thompson. |
June, 2012 |
The Conductor’s Craft 2012 Sponsored by Hal Leonard Judith led various workshops. Check out Hal Leonard.com. |
May 21, 2012 |
Actor's Fund Benefit Essential Voices USA performed at the Actors Benefit honoring Harry Belafonte. |
May, 2012 |
Essential Voices USA Developed by EVUSA's conductor Judith Clurman, The Composer Speaks format will present composers in concert and workshop format. In addition, the audience will be taught a melody by the composer and then be invited to sing along during the performance. They will also have an opportunity to ask questions of the composer. Join us for an exciting evening of New York and World Premieres! • • • The Composer Speaks Joshua Schmidt, May 31:Download a press release of extended program and bio information as Word file.
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The Composer Speaks HUC, May 10: |
April 30, 2012 |
The New York Pops 29th Birthday Gala |
April 20-21, 2012 |
Gabriel Fauré: Requiem Chorus Master for the Omaha Symphony with Thomas Wilkins, conducting. April 20-21, 2012 
This is a scan of a page of a musical manuscript from the 1880's by Gabriel Fauré. In paradisum, Ms. 413, Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris. |
April 14, 2012 |
Essential Voices USA Saturday, April 14, 2012 at Carnegie Hall, Stern Auditorium 
Photo © 2011 The Jim Henson Company, © 2011 The Muppets Studio. Photography Courtesy The Jim Henson Legacy, John E. Barrett, Photographer. |
April 13, 2012 |
Essential Voices USA Friday, April 13, 2012 -- 8pm |
Valentine's Day, 2012 |
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January, 2012 |
Judith and her husband Bruce visited Germany, taught at the Abraham Geiger Kolleg, Berlin (Universitat di Potsdam) and visited Leipzig, Munich, and Dresden as well. At the Shabbat service in Munich, they premiered Larry Hochman’s setting of Sh’ma. Listen to a clip of Sh'ma (Hear O Israel) by Larry Hochman with Essential Voices USA. Flash/Javascript required. Flash Required 
Photo of Dresden Synagogue. |
December 16 and 17, 2011 |
Essential Voices USA With John Pizzarelli and Jessica Molaskey & The New York Pops at Carnegie Hall, Stern Auditorium, 8pm. |
Nov. 29, 2011 |
Essential Voices USA, conducted by Judith, at the 2011 Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting Click here to watch a clip of the performance on YouTube. 
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November 20, 2011 |
A Musical Salute! Celebrating the Music of Marvin Hamlisch Judith will conduct Anatomy of Peace, with Richard Pittsinger, Treble and Beth Ertz at the piano. The event takes place at the National Arts Club, 15 Gramercy Park South and is sponsored by the Encompass New Opera Theater |
The Sondheim Review |
The Sondheim Review "If the nuanced, introspective and brainy aspects of Sondheim's work were layered beneath the surface, they often came brilliantly to light, as in a wonderful rendition of "A Weekend in the Country," with Clurman's disciplined ensemble adding their voices at one of the delicious modulations."
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Marvin Hamlisch! |
Judith interviews Composer Marvin Hamlisch for Harvardwood
Judith Clurman and Marvin Hamlisch. Photo by Bruce Ruben. All rights reserved. |
April, 2011 |
Curtis Institute of Music |
Mr. President on NPR! |
From NPR, Feb 7, 2011: "Judith Clurman commissioned 16 contemporary composers to write short choral pieces based on the words of 16 American presidents, for a series called Mr. President. In celebration of President’s Day, NPR Music is premiering the entire collection at its classical blog Deceptive Cadence, beginning today http://www.npr.org. "For Mr. President, Clurman challenged today’s most notable composers – including Jake Heggie, Samuel Adler, Nora Kroll-Rosenbaum and Nico Muhly – to create short songs inspired by famous presidential quotes. Among the repertoire: “The ballot is stronger than the bullet,” (Abraham Lincoln); “A leader has to lead, or otherwise he has no business in politics,” (Harry Truman); “Above all, we must realize that no arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women,” (Ronald Reagan); and “With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. ...Yes we can,” (Barack Obama)."(npr.org)
Flash Required Download a 30 sec MP3 of America, conducted by Judith Clurman and sung by Essential Voices USA for NPR's Mr. President series. |
Mr. President on WQXR! |
We are so excited for our conductor, Judith Clurman, to be placed on a list of “Top Five Works About American Presidents” on the WQXR website! From Amanda Angel, WQXR, Feb 17, 2011: “4. The fruits of Judith Clurman’s Mr. President project are being unveiled at this moment. Clurman, a conductor and teacher, commissioned 16 composers to each write a 90‐second song for the commander‐in‐chief of his or her choice. The pieces vary from Samuel Adler's take on FDR to Milton Babbitt’s dedication to James Madison.” |
March 13, 2011 |
The Composer Speaks: Shulamit Ran Hebrew Union College, 1 West Fourth Street, New York City Repertoire included:
Shulamit Ran, Photo by Edward Chick. All rights reserved. |
December 11, 2010 |
Carnegie Hall Holiday Celebration |
December 11, 2010 |
Carnegie Hall Family Concert: How the Grinch Stole Christmas |
December 10, 2010 |
Carnegie Hall Holiday Celebration |
November 19, 2010 |
Stephen Sondheim 80th Birthday Celebration |
October 22, 2010 |
Leonard Bernstein: A Celebration at Symphony Space |
October 15, 2010 |
National Endowment for the Arts |
