Kindra Scharich - To My Distant Beloved - Beethoven: An die Ferne Geliebte; Schumann: Frauenleben und Leben, Fantasie in C Major (2020)

Mezzo-Soprano Kindra Scharich has performed more than 200 art songs in 13 languages, and enjoys the full complement of recital, concert and opera engagements. As a dedicated recitalist, she has sung at the the American Composer's Forum, La Jolla Athenaeum, The Wagner Society, Lieder Alive and the acclaimed Sala Cecília Meireles in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In 2018, Scharich sang the United States premiere of new songs by German composer Anno Schreier as a co-collaboration between Deutsche Oper Berlin and Lieder Alive. She also continued her partnership with Brazilian pianist Ricardo Ballestero in performing and recording the non-Portuguese repertoire of the great Brazilian composer Alberto Nepomuceno, to be released in 2020, the centennial year of his death. She has collaborated extensively with the Alexander String Quartet, and in 2018 recorded In meinem Himmel: The Complete Mahler Song Cycles, a set of new transcriptions by Zakarias Grafilo (Foghorn Classics.) Enthusiastic about working with living composers, she is featured in Everyone Sang: Vocal Music of David Conte, and has premiered works by Elinor Armer, Kurt Erickson, Janis Mattox, Laurence Rosenthal and Anno Schreier. In the world of opera, Scharich has sung more than 30 roles from operas by composers ranging from Monteverdi to Philip Glass, including premiere performances of David Carlson's Anna Karenina, Laura Kaminsky's Today It Rains and Missy Mazzoli's Breaking the Waves.

Jeffrey LaDeur is known for his for his rare blend of insight, spontaneity and approachable stage presence. Having inherited a rich tradition of communicative pianism and interpretation from Annie Sherter, a student of Vlado Perlemuter and Alfred Cortot, LaDeur has established himself as a compelling exponent of a diverse repertoire of canonical and alternative masterpieces. Also well-versed in the music of the French masters, he has a special affinity for Debussy, and in March 2018 made his solo recital debut at Carnegie Hall on the centennial of the composer's death. LaDeur, who appears regularly with orchestra and maintains a repertoire of more than 40 concertos, is the founder and artistic director of the San Francisco International Piano Festival. A chamber musician of distinction, his acclaimed collaboration with mezzo-soprano Kindra Scharich has led to engagements with Lieder Alive! in San Francisco, Mendocino Music Festival and En Blanc et Noir Festival in Lagrasse, France. He has collaborated with numerous distinguished artists and ensembles, including Robert Mann, Bonnie Hampton, Ian Swensen, Axel Strauss, Geoff Nuttall and the Alexander String Quartet. An active educator, Jeffrey offers master classes frequently as guest artist in universities throughout the United States and coaches gifted pre-college piano and string ensembles at Young Chamber Musicians in Burlingame, California. LaDeur holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music and San Francisco Conservatory of Music in piano performance and chamber music, respectively. Jeffrey counts among his teachers Mark Edwards, Douglas Humpherys, Yoshikazu Nagai and Robert McDonald.