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Mezzo-Soprano Sasha Cooke and Pianist Myra Huang Recital Tour
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Kit
Media Contact:
Kristen Turner/Bucklesweet
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ANNOUNCING
Of Thee I Sing
Mezzo-Soprano Sasha Cooke and Pianist Myra Huang Recital Tour
featuring a World Premiere Song Cycle by Emmy Award winning composer Jasmine Barnes
(New York, NY) August 14, 2025 – Two-time GRAMMY Award-winning mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke and pianist Myra Huang are pleased to announce their upcoming five-city recital tour, titled Of Thee I Sing. This fall, Cooke and Huang will perform in Washington, D.C. at the Kennedy Center (11/4) as part of Vocal Arts DC’s 35th Anniversary season, Baylor University in Waco, Texas (11/6), the Park Ave Armory in New York, NY (11/13 & 15), Boston at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (11/16), and in Duluth, MN (11/18) as part of the Matinee Musicale chamber series. The recital presentations will include the world premiere of American composer Jasmine Barnes’ newest song cycle titled American Lament, which draws text from the famous Langston Hughes poem “Let America be America Again.” Furthermore, the program as a whole celebrates the rich tapestry of American song while offering a nuanced exploration of the still-unrealized American dream—reflecting on how, throughout history, Americans have wrestled with a complicated past
"Putting this recital tour together with Myra Huang is something I have looked forward to for quite some time,” said Sasha Cooke. “The program itself is full of music that captures the beauty, complexity, and spirit of America. From timeless classics to powerful new works, especially Jasmine Barnes’ American Lament, I hope each song invites listeners to reflect and connect in new ways to their own American experience and what America means, then and now. Sharing this journey with Myra and our audiences feels like a celebration of where we’ve been and where we’re going”
Alongside the world premiere of Jasmine Barnes’ American Lament, each performance will feature works by iconic 20th and 21st century American composers such as: William Bolcom, George Gershwin, Samuel Barber, Jennifer Higdon, Aaron Copland, Michael Tilson Thomas, and Stephen Sondheim. The thoughtfully curated program includes works by émigré composers like Alma Mahler and Erich Wolfgang Korngold, who adopted American identities after fleeing war and exile. Through this poignant juxtaposition, the recital explores themes of identity, wandering, and renewal. From folk-rooted melodies to contemporary reflections, Cooke and Huang bring each work vividly to life, illuminating the many paths that lead toward a sense of home.
A highlight of the program is the world premiere of the new song cycle, American Lament, by composer Jasmine Barnes, whose music has been called “beautifully lyrical” (The Telegraph.) In this evocative new work, the composer brings the audience on a journey of what it means to be a “dreamer” in the America of past and present; the promises made and forgotten; the yearning for justice; and a steadfast belief in the possibility of a more free and inclusive nation.
Cooke, who just finished her third summer as Co-Director of the Lehrer Vocal Institute at the Music Academy of the West, and was featured in summer 2025 performances at Ravinia, Grand Tetons, and Saratoga Performing Arts Center, is seen as one of today’s most compelling and versatile vocalists. She has performed on the world’s leading stages, from the Metropolitan Opera to San Francisco Opera, Wigmore Hall, and Carnegie Hall—and with over eighty orchestras across the globe. A dedicated champion of American music and new voices, she has premiered dozens of works by today’s most influential composers and earned critical acclaim for her imaginative and deeply human interpretations.
Tour Dates:
November 4, 2025: The Kennedy Center — Washington, D.C. | Tickets
November 6, 2025: Baylor University — Waco, TX | Tickets
November 13 & 15, 2025: Park Ave Armory — New York, NY | Tickets
November 16, 2025: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum — Boston, MA | Tickets
November 18, 2025: Matinee Musicale — Duluth, MN | Tickets
Program
Of Thee I Sing
Sasha Cooke, mezzo-soprano
Myra Huang, piano
Aaron Copland – “At the River”
Leslie Adams – “Prayer”
John Musto – “Recuerdo”
Charles Ives – “Circus Band”
Samuel Barber – “Sure on this Shining Night”
John Kander – “Letter to Sullivan Ballou”
Jasmine Barnes – American Lament (WORLD PREMIERE)
Intermission
Sergei Rachmaninoff – “I Wait for You”
Erich Wolfgang Korngold – “Was Du mir bist”
Alma Mahler – “Laue Sommernacht”
Kurt Weill – “Youkali”
Jake Heggie – “Crossing Borders”
Jennifer Higdon – “A Summer Night”
Spiritual, arr. Moses Hogan – “Give Me Jesus”
Michael Tilson Thomas – “Grace”
Stephen Sondheim – “The Boy From…”
William Bolcom – “Blue”
George Gershwin – “Of Thee I Sing”
ABOUT SASHA COOKE
Praised by Opéra Magazine for her “agile, glamorous presence,” two-time GRAMMY Award-winning mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke has been called a “luminous standout” by the New York Times and “equal parts poise, radiance and elegant directness” by Opera News. Ms. Cooke has sung at the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, English National Opera, Seattle Opera, Opéra National de Bordeaux, and Gran Teatre del Liceu, among others, and with over ninety symphony orchestras worldwide, frequently in the works of Mahler. In 2022, she became Co-Director of the Lehrer Vocal Institute at the Music Academy of the West. Her album how do I find you earned a 2022 GRAMMY nomination for Best Vocal Solo.
The 2025/26 season sees Ms. Cooke’s role debut in the title role of Carmen at Seattle Opera and a return to Houston Grand Opera for Hansel in Hansel and Gretel. On the concert stage, she reprises much of her celebrated repertoire joining orchestras such as Boston Symphony, Wiener Symphoniker, San Francisco Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Detroit Symphony and the Philadelphia Orchestra. She makes debuts with Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra in Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde, Sydney Symphony in Elgar’s Sea Pictures, Théâtre des Champs Elysées for Pergolesi's Stabat Mater with the Orchestra Les Ambassadeurs, Music of the Baroque in Messiah, Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia in Valencia, singing Das Lied von der Erde and Orquesta Sinfonica de Bilbao in Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder.
ABOUT MYRA HUANG
Acclaimed by Opera News as being “one of the top accompanists of her generation” and "...a colouristic tour de force" by The New York Times, GRAMMY Award-nominated pianist Myra Huang has established herself as one of the leading recitalists and opera educators in the U.S. Huang is invited regularly to perform around the world, with tours including regular appearances at Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, The Walt Disney Concert Hall, The Kennedy Center, The 92nd Street Y, Spivey Hall, and the Park Avenue Armory. Huang was chosen as the recipient of The Samuel Sanders Collaborative Artist Award for 2019 by The Classical Recording Foundation for her consummate artistry. She was regularly invited to perform in recital for the Supreme Court Justices by the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Huang was the pianist for the Operalia international competition directed by tenor Placido Domingo from 2005-2019, performing in opera houses around the world, including the Royal Opera House in London, Teatro alla Scala in Milan, and Teatro Real in Madrid. Her performance at Carnegie Hall with tenor Lawrence Brownlee was chosen by WQXR (NY’s classical radio station) as one of the performances of the year in 2018. Regular collaborations include recitals with Fleur Barron, J’Nai Bridges, Lawrence Brownlee, Sasha Cooke, Ying Fang, Renée Fleming, Joshua Hopkins, Will Liverman, Ana-María Martinez, Angela Meade, Latonia Moore, Nicholas Phan, Susanna Phillips, Roderick Williams, and clarinetist Anthony McGill. Huang received two GRAMMY nominations for her album Gods and Monsters (2018) and Clairières (2020) with tenor Nicholas Phan with the Avie record label.
Huang is the Head of Music for the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at The Metropolitan Opera, The Director of Musical Administration and Head Coach at The Aspen Music Festival, and faculty of the Collaborative Piano Department at The Manhattan School of Music, where she mentors and trains young opera singers and pianists of the next generation. She has been on the music staff of Washington National Opera, Palau de les Arts (Spain), New York City Opera, Houston Grand Opera, and The Metropolitan Opera. She regularly adjudicates national and international competitions including the Laffont Competition at The Metropolitan Opera, as well as administers masterclasses at institutions across the country.
Huang is a Steinway artist.
ABOUT JASMINE BARNES
Emmy award winning composer, Jasmine Arielle Barnes, is a Baltimore native, Michigan based composer. As a “composer to watch” (Chicago Tribune) her music has been described as “refreshing…engaging...exciting” by San Francisco Classical Voice, "Beautifully lyrical" by The Telegraph (UK), and “the best possible blend of Billie Holiday and Claude Debussy” by the Boston Globe. The twice over graduate from Morgan State University and current DMA student at University of Michigan-Ann Arbor is a recent recipient of Opera America’s Discovery Opera Grant for women composers among two other grants from Opera America for her new opera She Who Dared that premiered at Chicago Opera Theater in June 2025, commissioned by American Lyric Theater with Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton, librettist. The opera received rave reviews from the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Musical America, and many others remarking her score as “inventive and full of color” (Musical America) with noting “the composer is obviously quite comfortable in the form, skillfully weaving elements…” (Chicago Sun-Times). Barnes has been commissioned by numerous organizations such as NY Philharmonic , American Composers Forum, Juilliard Pre College, San Francisco Symphony, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Carnegie Hall, National Orchestra Institute Festival, Washington National Opera and the Kennedy Center, Nashville Symphony Orchestra, Aspen Music Festival and School, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Apollo Chamber Players, and Baltimore Choral Arts, among others. Aside from commissions, Barnes’ work has been performed in prestigious halls and festivals around the world, including LA Opera, Metropolitan Opera Museum, BBC Proms, Wigmore Hall, Fresno Philharmonic Orchestra, Portland Opera, Tulsa Opera, Elbphilharmonie, The Kimmel Center, Dallas Opera, Concertgebouw, Abu Dhabi Festival, Arizona Opera, and Ravinia Steans Music Institute, among many others. Barnes is featured on several recording projects including Rising by Lawrence Brownlee and Kevin J. Miller, Show Me the Way by Will Liverman and Jonathan King, A Miracle in Legacy by Joshua Conyers, Amplify Vol.1 by Navona Records and All Classical Portland, Dreamer by Baltimore Choral Arts, and will be featured on an upcoming album titled Gaïa by Gautier Capuçon. Barnes looks forward to making more music and takes great pride in bringing art into the world.
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