Helian Hits the Road

Jonathan Hays and Jeremy Gill in recital across the Northeast

On a sunny afternoon at the Delaware County Community College on Sunday, April 15, Mr. Hays and Jeremy Gill performed the first of several recitals on their Helian mini-tour. The program included An die ferne Geliebte by Ludwig van Beethoven and Opus 70 (four songs) by Johannes Brahms, and Helian by Jeremy Gill. They will repeat the recital in Harrisburg, PA on May 11 at 7:30pm, and will perform Helian alone for Music with a View at the Flea Theater in New York City on May 24 at 7:00pm.

Hays and Gill's recording of Helian (Albany Records) will be available for purchase at their recital performances.

Big Win in the Big Easy

Hays and Moniz Swinley Take Home Statues from the Big Easy Foundation Awards

Hays was unable to attend the Big Easy Foundation Awards in New Orleans, but was thrilled to hear that he and soprano JeAnne Moniz Swinley took home the 2011 award for Best Performance of New Classical Music. The award-winning performance featured song cycles of Robert Pound, Jake Heggie, Libby Larsen, and Lowell Lieberman. Hays would like to extend special thanks to Robert Pound for allowing him and Ms. Moniz Swinley to premier his clever and amusing song, today -- the "lieto fine" to his song cycle, Unquiet Spirit.

Hays and Moniz Swinley have been invited to program another recital for the Montage Series at Loyola University for the 2012-2013 season.

For Auld Lang Syne, My Dear

Hays and Moniz Swinley Greet the New Year with an Award Nomination from the Big Easy Foundation

In October, Jonathan Hays and soprano JeAnne Moniz Swinley performed a recital program entitled An Unquiet Spirit: Madams, Madmen, and Other Unsavory Characters to an audience of eager contemporary music fans at Loyola University's Roussel Hall. On January 9, 2012, the performance was recognized as one of three nominees for "Best Performance of New Classical Music". The performance maked the first collaboration between Moniz Swinley and Mr. Hays since the early 1990's. Hays had this to say of their collaboration in the program notes of the performance:

"In 1993, when JeAnne and I were both Juniors at the Hartt School of Music (as it was called in those days), we were both engaged by a production company called Company One Theater Company based in the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, CT to perform a brand new opera by composer James Sellars entitled, “The World Is Round”, after the children's novel by Gertrude Stein. This production marked both of our professional debuts, and it cemented what even in our early 20's was a strong musical and personal friendship.

"Our careers went in different directions after college, and we have not sung together since. When I was in New Orleans visiting JeAnne and her husband Charles last autumn, she and I hatched a plan to perform “something” together in the next calendar year. With no thought to a themed program, I mentioned to JeAnne that I knew of a two-person song cycle by Robert Pound that was written for high and low voice and would she be interested in singing something contemporary. She countered immediately with a great admiration of the works of Jake Heggie and Libby Larsen and, voilà, we found ourselves returning to our roots in newly composed works."

Hays and Moniz Swinley have been invited to return to the Montage series for another program and are currently planning a recital for the 2012-2013 concert season. More information on the Big Easy Foundation's annual tribute to the arts can be found here.

Hays Is Tops in Philadelphia

Helian CD Listed as #4 on Philadelphia City Paper's Top Classical Albums of 2011

Peter Burwasser, a reviewer for the Philadelphia City Paper, placed Hays's June release fourth on his list of "Top Classical Albums of 2011". Burwasser favorably reviewed the disc in Fanfare Magazine in November/December, saying of Hays:

"Jonathan Hays conveys the words, not just the music, with intelligence and careful diction, not to mention a splendidly lush baritone."

Click here to view the full list on the Philadelphia City Paper website. The cd is available on Amazon, Archivmusic, and iTunes.

Hays Is Bustin' Out All Over

Albany Records Welcomes June with a New CD Featuring Jonathan Hays

Jonathan Hays can now be heard on a new compact disc featuring Jeremy Gill's 35 minute German song cycle for Baritone, Helian. Click here to purchase. Visit iTunes to download immediately.