The Phoenix Quartet is dedicated to
...performing music composed or arranged for vocal quartet
...commissioning new music for vocal quartet
...conducting educational outreach.
Latest News from The Phoenix Quartet
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.
For repertoire and booking information, please contact Debra Poulter, Artistic Director
Phoenix Quartet
(212) 222-2064 or click here
The Phoenix Quartet is proud to be a member of
Chamber Music America
The Phoenix Quartet is a 501(c)(3), not-for-profit corporation and donations are tax-deductible as determined by law.
This page was last updated: 26 February, 2012
What's Next for My Last Duchess
After an exciting and wonderfully received duo of workshop performances of My Last Duchess last February, we are now looking very earnestly for the perfect venue for its full-fledged premiere. MLD, composed by Theodore Wiprud with libretto and stage direction by Tom Dulack, was conceived as a companion piece to our Richard Pearson Thomas’s work, Ascension, commissioned by Phoenix and premiered in 2004, and to Samuel Barber’s Hand of Bridge. These three chamber operas express, in their unique ways, the greatly varied journeys traveled while under the power of love. We are eager to present them as a trilogy and are investigating a number of venues. All suggestions welcome;please contact Debra Poulter at poulterdl@yahoo.com
Spring, 2010
We began rehearsing our “Songs of War and Peace” program in preparation for a concert at the Methodist Home for the Aged in Riverdale. Phoenix Board Member, Lynn Tucker is also on the Board there and arranged for us to present a Sunday afternoon concert on June 13th. The audience was very receptive and we look forward to regaling them with our holiday program this coming December.
February, 2010
After spending January in exciting musical and staging rehearsals, in February, we presented two enthusiastically received workshop performances of My Last Duchess to potential funders, presenters and friends. Composer Theodore Wiprud and Librettist Tom Dulack are now putting some finishing touches on MLD in preparation for its premiere.
Fall, 2009 – Winter 2010
Over the summer, Ted and Tom continued to re-work and fine-tune My Last Duchess and in the fall we began rehearsing the second incarnation. We also had a number of Holiday parties, including our wonderful tradition of performing for the Society of Information Managers. This time we entertained them at the Forbes Gallery on Fifth Avenue and 12th St. We also continued our tradition of performing at the Rootchi Boutique – always a receptive crowd and fun time.
Spring, 2009
We enjoyed another collaboration with the Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design and Culture, this time premiering a new program, Madrigals Then and Now, performed in conjunction with their wonderful exhibition, ‘Twixt Art and Nature: English Embroidery 1575-1700, Selections from The Metropolitan Museum of Art. We started the evening performing a few unaccompanied madrigals while standing in the midst of the glorious embroidery, and then moved to The DOROT Concert Hall to finish the program.
In late spring, we received the first draft of Composer Theodore Wiprud and Librettist/Stage Director Tom Dulack’s one-act Chamber Opera, My Last Duchess. Ted and Tom collaborated on this beautiful and haunting chamber opera entirely constructed out of the poetry of Robert Browning, set in Renaissance Ferrara, and composed using the 16th century Italian madrigal style as a starting point. The Prologue “Be a God” is modeled, in particular, on the madrigals of Cipriano De Rore, court composer to the Duke of Ferrara (husband of the title character). The music gradually morphs into a more contemporary musical language, but never leaving behind the fluid and lyrical line of the Italian madrigal. Before we broke for the summer, we had a read-through with the entire creative team! What an exciting process we are embarking upon!
