|
By now, most people
familiar with the arts
know what a poetry slam
is: an original poetry
performance contest
where the audience
determines the winner.
Since 2015, soprano
Martha Guth and pianist
Erika Switzer have been
producing similar
competitive events for
composers and
performers of art
songs, called songSLAMs. The sponsoring organization, Sparks
& Wiry Cries,began
in 2009 as a podcast
and online magazine
focused on the
promotion of
performers,
creators, recordings,
and programs involved
with the art song. The songSLAMs
that the group produces
provide an important
forum for airing new
works.
On April 11, 2026, in
Washington, DC, Vocal
Arts DC which
co-partnered with Sparks & Wiry Cries to make DC the 14th city after NYC, Toronto, Vancouver, Bloomington, Tallahassee, Rochester, London, Ljubljana (Slovenia), Ann Arbor, Cincinnati, Chicago, Minneapolis, and Waco to produce a songSLAM.
The guest host for the
DC program was song and
opera composer Lori
Laitman.
Like the poetry slam, a songSLAM
provides an opportunity
for a creator to
present new work while
competing for a prize.
The rules are provided
by Sparks & Wiry Cries with some enhancements by the partner group. The signup form is on the Sparks website, and there is a $20 registration fee. Vocal Arts DC provided two perks not usually given to contestants. They refunded the registration fee for those who secured a slot in the competition, and they also recorded each performance.
Highlights of the rules are:
—Contestants are
determined on a
“first come,
first served”
basis. Usually, the
cutoff is after the
first ten teams, but
several alternate slots
are filled in the event
of cancellations.
Registration fees are
refunded for those
teams not making at
least alternate status
or if that not-selected
team wishes to withdraw.
—Original
compositions are
required for voice and
piano. Featured text
must be in the public
domain or have written
and signed permission
from the author or
trust with this
permission available by
the date of the
performance. The text
can be in any language.
Songs must be 5 minutes
or less and must be
receiving their world
premieres at the
performance date.
—Only one song is
allowed from each
composer. Composers
must be present during
the live performance.
Teams must be complete
at registration and
include at least two
performers. There is no
age limit. Rights will
remain with the
creative team.
— Prize money for
the live event is as
follows: $1,000 for
first place, $600 for
second place, and $400
for third place. These
prizes are decided by
the live audience vote.
The public is invited
to the performance and
performers are
encouraged to bring
friends and family.
To rate the
performances, the
audience was given a
form that listed the
competing teams in the
order of their
performance and allowed
to vote for only one
team.
The winners of the Vocal Arts DC songSLAM were:
First Prize: Composer
Ashi Day, mezzo-soprano
Farah Kidwai, and
pianist Dana Nichole
Scott based on the poem
“Sea
Burial” by Edna
St. Vincent Millay.
Second Prize: Composer
& poet David
Fisher, soprano Christa
Lisette Beveridge, and
pianist Cory Shim based
on the original poem
“Treating a
Blister.”
Third Prize: Composer
Peter Dayton, baritone
Michael Manganiello,
and pianist Hui-Chuan
Chen based on
“Love is not all:
it is not meat nor
drink” by Edna
St. Vincent Millay.
The music and words for
“Sea
Burial” by
composer Ashi
Day and poet Edna
St. Vincent Millay
reminded this reviewer
of Bertolt
Brecht’s The Threepenny Opera because of its sassiness and accessibility. Mezzo-soprano Farah Kidwai’s performance stood out among the superb line up of talented singers as she charmed the audience with her sultry voice and compelling stage presence.
“Treating a
Blister” used a
repeated note pattern
throughout the piano
part, giving some tonal
grounding to an
otherwise dissonant
setting.
Peter Dayton’s
music for
“Love is not
all…”
which was
moderately dissonant,
received a magnificent
performance by baritone
Michael Manganiello.
Vocal Arts DC provided
the resources to put on
a well-run and well
attended program. In an
email, Director of
Operations Erin Feng
had this to say when
asked about the
specific resources,
“We pay for
venue, piano tuning,
posters, other
marketing, hosting fee,
prizes, team
application fee, and
licensing fee for
Sparks. We also wanted
to be able to provide
every team with a
recording of their
piece, so we paid for a
recording engineer.
In addition to
songSLAM, we present 5
mainstage recitals per
year, so things like
ticketing are already
set up for that. We
also hired a stage and
house manager to help
keep things moving
along.” Later in
a telephone follow up,
we talked about the
benefits of such a
program. Feng said,
there were
approximately 100
audience members and 30
participating artists.
Sixty percent of the
audience were first
time attendees.
Vocal Arts DC, like
many other performing
arts groups, left the
Kennedy Center for the
Performing Arts in
January 2026.
Establishing a new
venue and gathering new
audience is vitally
important at this time.
The next program for
Vocal Arts DC, on May
10, 2026 at “10th
& G” 945 G
Street NW, Washington,
DC, features the
2024 Operalia First
Prize winner, Chinese
bass-baritone Le Bu
with pianist Artyom Pak.
Photo Credit: Isabel Randall
Names of songSLAM winners & host (photographed from L-R):
3rd place:
Hui-Chuan Chen (piano),
Michael Manganiello
(baritone), Peter
Dayton (composer),
2nd place: Christa
Lisette Beveridge
(soprano), Cory Shim
(piano), David Fisher
(- composer),
1st place: Farah
Kidwai (mezzo-soprano),
Ashi Day (composer),
Dana Nichole Scott
(piano), Host
: Lori Laitman
|
Writings
