Thursday, Sep 24, 2015
Elem Eley recorded 'Lenoriana' with pianist and professor J.J. Penna
Elem Eley, a professor of voice at Westminster Choir College of Rider University, has recorded a new CD, Lenoriana (Affetto Records), with J.J. Penna that will be released on Sept. 25, 2015. Penna is an associate professor of piano and director of Westminster's program in piano accompanying and coaching.
The album, which is the product of Eley’s 2014 summer fellowship, is a new recording of 21st-century American art song for voice and piano. It includes premiere recordings of music composed by Benjamin C.S. Boyle, adjunct associate professor of music theory and composition, Laurie Altman, Daron Aric Hagen and Martin Hennessy.
The Altman works were composed for Eley and Penna, and the final Hennessy song (“I Taste a Liquor Never Brewed”) was written for Eley, who performed it in recital with the composer at the piano.
Eley and Penna have previously recorded Drifts and Shadows: American Song for the New Millennium (Albany Records) and Der Geist spricht/The Spirit Speaks (Centaur Records).