Soprano Annie Gill, together with pianist Andrew Stewart, perform a program of Czech and Slovak folk songs, art songs, and opera arias.  These works explore the human condition through the many ways we express our love for each other.  The artists have previously performed this repertoire in recitals throughout the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. area, and most recently for The Woman's Club of Roland Park in Baltimore city.  

The mission of this project is to preserve and promote Czech and Slovak music.  This repertoire reaches beyond the span of standard classical music and is not widely performed.  Through this program, the artists aspire to celebrate Czech and Slovak culture and preserve, but also introduce, unique repertoire that is not performed often.

They submitted the program to the Orpheus Classical record label for recording consideration in April, 2020.
The Orpheus Classical artistic commission in Europe and America unanimously accepted the recording project based on the artists’ outstanding talent and distinctive artistic personalities.  The commission granted a sponsorship proposal consisting of 75% of the production costs related to recording the repertoire for an album.  The album has a tentative release date in August, 2021.

This album will showcase the work of Baltimore artists in every facet:  musicians Annie Gill and Andrew Stewart live and work in Baltimore, as do project recording engineer David Sexton, master recording engineer Ed Tetrault, and project photography by Roy Cox.  Through the digital release of this project, the work of Baltimore artists will reach an international audience.

Ms. Gill is an avid performer of Czech and Slovak repertoire, having roots in the Slovak culture through her mother’s family, the Karaffas.  Originally from the village of Livov (in the Prešov Region of north-east Slovakia), the Karaffas immigrated to the United States in the early 1900s.  Although she grew up with many Slovak traditions during her childhood, Ms. Gill began a more intensive study of Czech and Slovak repertoire when she incorporated the songs of Dvořák into her Winner’s Recital performance as the top Prize Winner in the 2012 Art Song Festival of Toledo, OH.  Ms. Gill was then invited by festival faculty member Dr. Timothy Cheek, a prominent Czech-language vocal coach and author of Singing in Czech:  A Guide to Czech Lyric Diction and Vocal Repertoire, for further study in the Czech Republic.  In 2013, Ms. Gill attended the Moravian Masterclass in Brno, where she worked with Dr. Cheek and Mirka Zemanová (a Czech language coach and musicologist).

Pianist Andrew Stewart grew up in California and has been based in Baltimore since 2000.  Much in demand as a soloist and collaborative artist, he has worked with countless singers and instrumentalists; premiered works by composers including Garth Baxter, Hollis Thoms, and John Belkot; and performed with a great many organizations, among them the Bach Society of Baltimore, OperaBelle, the Atlantic Guitar Quartet, Assisi Performing Arts in Italy, and most recently the Choirs of Goucher College and the Annapolis Choral.  He is featured on the album Katherine Keem Sings Songs and Arias by Garth Baxter, released in 2014 on Centaur Records, as well as Ask the Moon, released in early 2018.  Mr. Stewart has been associated with the Lyric Opera of Baltimore for well over a decade, giving upwards of seventy performances a year as part of its education component and teaching on the faculty of the Lyric Opera Camp.  He is also the creator of several shows including “Opera Games,” a much-requested interactive program about the basics of opera, and has appeared on Maryland Public Television in the short film “Opera Magica” which he produced with educator Evon Hewitt, Jr.  Additionally he maintains a busy schedule as a theatrical musical director, having led more than forty productions since 2006.  Mr. Stewart studied with Charles Asche at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and with Marian Hahn at the Peabody Conservatory.  Other teachers include Marie Brown Curea, and Sharon Mann.  

Experience the power of the human voice.  Baltimore's finest singers present art songs, arias, and vocal chamber music in an intimate and relaxed setting.

A Musicale:  a social entertainment with music as the leading feature.  A musical gathering or concert, typically small and informal.

Ms. Gill has been involved in the Baltimore Musicales organization since its beginning performances in the Spring of 2014.  Since that time, the organization has produced over seventy concerts, consisting of mainstage performances, outreach conerts for both school-aged children and senior living communities, and specialty concerts in some of the most unique venues the city of Baltimore has to offer.  Breaking the traditional boundaries between concert-goers and performers, the artists of the Musicales share interesting biographical information about the composers and poets, and provide historical and literary contexts.  This allows the listeners in the audience to form deeper and more personal connections to the music and to the artists.

The Baltimore Musicales produced a one-of-a-kind concert event in 2018 in collaboration with the George Peabody Library and the Peabody Friedheim Library celebrating the life and career of legendary soprano (and Baltimore resident) Rosa Ponselle.  The Musicales continued with their mainstage season, as well as many outreach collaborations in the Baltimore city and county communities, until the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. 

Although in-person performances have been temporarily suspended, the Musicales have continued to connect with its audience members through virtual performances.  Since March, 2020, the Musicales have premiered eight virtual performances on its YouTube channel, in addition to creating and introducing the series "In the Living Room with...", an informal virtual discussion with artists and composers.  The Musicales will continue its virtual presentations, and greatly looks forward to returning to the concert stage and outreach venues when it is safe to perform again in-person.

For more information, visit the Baltimore Musicales website at http://www.baltimoremusicales.org/

Composer Garth Baxter made his PARMA record label debut with a collection of  exquisite works for voice and piano entitled ASK THE MOON.   This album is about the human condition and the pursuit of light in darkness.
The project was released on January 12th, 2018.  Ms. Gill recorded several songs for this album in May, 2017 at the Haebler Memorial Chapel at Goucher College in Baltimore, MD.  Ms. Gill can be heard on the songs "April Twilight", featuring flutist Melissa Wertheimer, as well as the cycle Two Last Songs - "1932" and "When I am Dead, My Dearest", accompanied by pianist Andrew Stewart throughout the album.  

Ms. Gill also performed these selections, as well as additional selections from the album (Three Madgrials, Is This The Cost?, Grandmother, Think Not I Forget, Skywriting, and Three Poems from Edna St. Vincent Millay) at the album's release concert, held on May 12th, 2018 (also at the Haebler Memorial Chapel).

Baxter wrote Two Last Songs for Ms. Gill, and these songs were originally premiered by Ms. Gill and Andrew Stewart, pianist on August 31st, 2017 at the Edenwald Retirement Community concert series in Towson, MD.

Ms. Gill received excellent reviews for her performances on the album:

---Ask The Moon – Album Review (Recorded May 17th, 2017)

1. Source Publication:  Ihr Opernratgeber (Your Opera Advisor Online)

Source Name:  Sven Godenrath
Date of review:  May 27th, 2018
Review online link: 
https://svensopernparadies.wordpress.com/2018/05/27/garth-baxter-ask-the-moon-navona-records/
 
Album Review – Garth Baxter – Ask The Moon
 
“Erleichtert aufatmen kann man dann kurz vor Schluß noch einmal bei Annie Gill, einer frischen jugendlichen Sopranstimme, die mit sehr viel Charme Two last songs und „April Twilight“ besingt.
 
<translation from the German by Nadja Werner>
“You can breathe with relief once again towards the end with Annie Gill, a fresh youthful soprano voice, who performs “Two last songs” and “April Twilight” with a lot of charm.”

1. Source Publication:  Gramophone – Sounds of America

Source Name:  Laurence Vittes
Date of review:  May Issue, 2018
Review online link:  https://reader.exacteditions.com/issues/62641/page/3?term=master
 
Album Review – Garth Baxter – Ask The Moon
“There is also clear, bright singing from Annie Gill in two songs set to poems by Linda Pastan and Christina Rossetti.”

With a flexible voice than can transition between the agile singing of Handel and Mozart, and the more dramatic demands of Verdi's works, Ms. Gill has an ever-expanding list of scared music credits.  Performance highlights include Soprano Soloist in Verdi's Requiem with the Defiant Requiem Foundation;  multiple performances as Soprano Soloist in Handel's Messiah  with the Landon Symphonette; and Second Soprano Soloist in Beethoven's Choral Fantasty with the Cathedral Choral Society.

Since 2006 when she began her Graduate Performance Diploma studies at the Peabody Conservatory, Ms. Gill has been a frequent soloist in many churches throughout Baltimore City and surrounding counties in Maryland.  Ms. Gill held the position of Resident Soprano Soloist and Section Leader at the Church of the Advent in Federal Hill from 2006-2011.  Ms. Gill has sung as a guest soloist for many other churches including the Chapel at the US Navel Academy (Annapolis, MD),  Ascension Catholic Church (Bowie, MD), Our Lady of the Fields (Millersville, MD), New Hope Presbyterian Church (Derwood, MD), and Church of the Navity (Lutherville - Timonium, MD).  In Baltimore city, Ms. Gill has frequently appeared as a guest soloist for St. Mark's Lutheran Church, Epiphany Lutheran Church, the Cathedral of Mary, Our Queen, Loyola University Alumni Chapel, Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, First English Lutheran Church, and St. Leo the Great Roman Catholic Church.  Ms. Gill is currently the Soprano Soloist at the First Church of Christ, Scientist in Baltimore city - a position which she has held since July, 2019.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ms. Gill has sung as a soprano section leader for the Bel Cantanti Virtual Choir's weekly hymns.  The choir has also virtually recorded many other sacred works, all of which can be found on Ms. Gill's YouTube channel.

The Baltimore Composers Forum (BCF) was founded in 1993. The BCF mission is to support local composers by presenting concerts of their original works, promoting and facilitating interaction by local composers with other artists, performers and arts organizations and educating the community about new music. Since its inception, the BCF has presented over one thousand original works by Baltimore area composers. BCF’s public concerts have been organized around various themes ranging from traditional solo and ensemble pieces to interactive computer and multi-media works. 

A champion of new music and contemporary composers, Ms. Gill has appeared as the featured Soprano Soloist for three Baltimore Composers Forum concerts:  in November 2016, April 2018, and most recently, November 2018.  Ms. Gill has performed the works of composers Anna Rubin, Keith Kramer, Garth Baxter, Harriet Katz, Hillary Kruh, and Janice Macaulay. 

After performing composer Keith Kramer's set of three art songs, Jasmine, at the November, 2016 Baltimore Composers Forum concert, Mr. Kramer commissioned Ms. Gill to record the song cycle with pianist Tim McReynolds in August, 2017.  Mr. Kramer then invited Ms. Gill to perform the song cycle at the College Music Society (Mid-Atlantic Conference) in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on March 31st, 2018.

In addition to her classical singing career, Ms. Gill frequently performs in musical theater, is a voice over artist, and acts in commercials, television, and film.  Born and raised in Cincinnati, OH, Ms. Gill first appeared on the professional theater stage (and in her first opera) as a featured school child in Menotti’s Help, Help, the Globolinks! with the Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati.  Ms. Gill made her debut at Cincinnati’s Playhouse in the Park at the age of 12 as Fan in the celebrated and long-running production of A Christmas Carol; she also portrayed the role of Martha Cratchit the following year at the Playhouse in the Park.  Ms. Gill returned to A Christmas Carol in various roles (understudying the Ghost of Christmas Past) at the North Shore Music Theatre for two seasons while pursuing her Master of Music degree at Boston University.

Commended for a voice that is warm, inviting, and knowledgeable, Ms. Gill’s voice over credits include Christmas commercials for the Maryland Food Bank (522 Productions) and Talbot County (W Films), a Children’s National 5 K commercial (522 Productions), and online program introductions for Chesapeake College (Chesapeake.edu – W Films).  Television, film, and commercial credits include principal roles on What Really Happened and Who the Bleep Did I Marry?!, principal roles for industrial films for Pepperdine University and WILL Interactive, commercials for MASN, the Department of Transportation, Walden University, Long Roofing, Capital One – Second Look (Martini Media Solutions), and online demos/Virtual Tour Guide for WebbMason Marketing.   Most notably, Ms. Gill appeared as the “Opera Singer” in the Season 2 Finale of House of Cards (Netflix – Media Rights Capital).

Soprano Annie Gill is a professional singer, actress, and voice over actor who continues to gain recognition as a distinctive and versatile artist.  Ms. Gill now adds the new role of “Presenter” to her multi-faceted career.

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, musicians’ lives and performance careers were changed overnight.  To adapt to these new challenges, Ms. Gill created a presentation entitled "On-Camera Techniques for Musicians".  This virtual presentation guides fellow musicians through the new virtual process as they continue to perform, teach, and live online. The presentation combines her skills and training as an on-camera actor and voice over artist with the needs of musicians in the digital age.
 
Topics discussed include everything from home studio set-up and recording equipment; to hair, makeup, and what to wear on camera; and how to perform for the camera without compromising technique.  Since the summer of 2020, Ms. Gill has presented for several colleges throughout the entire United States, including Morgan State University, Towson University, Georgia College, and Peabody Preparatory Vocal program.  Additionally, Ms. Gill presented for one-on-one coachings, and for independent musicians and private studios.  Upcoming presentations include sessions for Duquesne University, Florida State University, the Hartt School, and the Rio Grande division of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS). 
 
Ms. Gill also created a second presentation entitled “From the Stage to the Office:  Vocal Health Tips and Tricks for the Professional.”  This presentation focuses on vocal health for all professions, and specifically tackles the difficulties of significant vocal use while working in online platforms.  Ms. Gill has presented for several private practices in the medical profession, as they transitioned in-person patient visits to virtual medical appointments.

Ms. Gill strongly believes in community engagement for all ages through accessible concert performances of music with high artistic merit, and which establish personal connections between the performers and the audience.

Throughout her time in Baltimore, she has frequently performed at many senior living facilities, both as a soloist in recital with pianist Andrew Stewart, and as a roster member of the Baltimore Musicales.  It can be difficult for many senior citizens to travel to musical performances in and around Baltimore, and they often rely on the in-house entertainment provided by their living facilities.  Through dedicated invovlement in these often overlooked communities, the artist presents programs of the highest level to senior audiences throughout Baltimore city and the surrounding counties.
 
Artistic collaborators since 2016, soprano Annie Gill and pianist Andrew Stewart have presented many unique recital programs at senior living facilities:  an All-American program entitled An American Musical Journey, their celebrated program of Czech and Slovak music entitled Písně Lásky a Naděje (Songs of Love and Hope), and several recitals featuring favorite operatic arias, art songs, and musical theater selections.  These programs feature over one hour of carefully selected musical repertoire, and include spoken introductions to each set of songs, as well as an artist question and answer session following the concert.
 
Previous performance venues include Edenwald Retirement Community, Springwell Senior Living Community, Blakehurst Senior Living, and Brightview Senior Living.  With over 22 senior living facilities in the Baltimore city area, Ms. Gill intends to schedule more performances of these recital programs at a variety of locations when it is safe to return to in-person concerts.

By bringing these recitals to senior audiences, we can provide enriching musical experiences to those in our community who may not otherwise have access to these artistic opportunities.  Ms. Gill believes it remains vital to present  programs that will positively impact our senior communities.