The Phoenix Quartet
Meet the Singer: Erica Row
The Phoenix Quartet is dedicated to
...performing music composed or arranged for vocal quartet
...commissioning new music for vocal quartet
...conducting educational outreach.
For repertoire and booking information, please contact Debra Poulter, Artistic Director
Phoenix Quartet
(212) 222-2064 or click here
Vocal music is an especially powerful form of communication that can encourage a better understanding of the struggles and achievements that define people and can develop values that sustain people in life’s experiences. It has a unique power to create community. Throughout its rich cultural history and directly because of its melding of poetry and music, vocal music has had a place in all celebrations of life - to herald new life, mourn the passing of life, mark holidays, and to explore the human condition.
The Phoenix Quartet is a 501(c)(3), not-for-profit corporation and donations are tax-deductible as determined by law.
The Phoenix Quartet is proud to be a member of
Chamber Music America
I have been singing as long as I can remember. As you can see, even as a small child I was hamming it up!
I am the product of a military
family and as such had the
opportunity to travel all over the
country and experience life in
different regions. As an Army nurse,
as the saying goes, my mother really
did wear combat boots!
The performing bug really hit me when I was about 10 years old. That was when I did my first stint in community theatre as one of the Indians in Peter Pan at the Roxy Theatre in Clarksville, TN. It was my luck that the little boy who played Michael didn't have much of a singing voice, so I stood backstage and sang his songs for him while he mouthed the words. That was the beginning of a long community theatre career that lasted through high school.
This past spring I had the great pleasure to sing with the Christopher Caines Dance Co. Christopher is an innovative choreographer and almost always uses live music. We gave six performances at the Clark Studio Theater in the Rose Building at Lincoln Center. The music was all Mozart, first the Kegelstatt Trio (piano, clarinet and violin) followed by canons, trios, quartets and solo songs in Italian and German. It was so gratifying as a performer to accompany the dancers. To see them responding immediately to my performance was a truly amazing experience.
Well, intrepid reader, here ends my story. I hope you’ve found it entertaining and will take a moment to explore the rest of our website before you log off!
DavidBefore Intermission
After Intermission
My biggest role at the Roxy was definitely Annie. I was probably the oldest Annie on record at
13 years old! I do remember it being great fun and I learned a lot about professionalism at that theater.
I attended high school in Honolulu, Hawaii and was lucky enough to become a regular player at the Fort Shafter Army Community Theatre. I was featured in four productions there as Chava in Fiddler on the Roof, Ursula in Bye Bye Birdie, Jean in Brigadoon and Cinderella in Cinderella.
In college I decided to focus more on classical vocal training and opera. Most of my time in undergrad and grad school was spent on a combination of standard soubrette roles mixed in with contemporary pieces. One of the highlights of my time at Mannes was performing the part of the speaker in Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire.
Since joining the Phoenix Quartet in December 2005, I’ve experienced the special joy of becoming a mother. Eleanor Velda Row made her grand entrance on 7/7/7 and has been a happy, healthy and lucky baby since day one. She is without a doubt my best project to date!
My earliest recollection of performing is when I was about 6 years old and played Red Riding Hood in a school play. I had a natural voice and loved to use it, especially to sing Disney songs in the bathtub, or yell in tunnels or echoing corners just to hear myself make noise.
