ALIKE – My Mother’s Dream is soprano Allison Charney’s attempt to respond to the lessons her mother taught her to focus on what makes us alike as human beings rather than focusing on what separates us. The album features 4 tracks of classical music composed in our times and three reimagined pieces from the Romantic era of classical music. 4 of the pieces are “country pairs” composed by musicians whose roots are from countries traditionally (and currently) at great odds with one another (Russia/Ukraine; Iran/Israel) and 3 are the “anchor pieces” of orchestral majesty that help tell Allison’s story of unity.

Soprano Allison Charney began her career at the New York City Opera and has since performed leading roles with opera companies nationwide, acclaimed for her vocal agility and dramatic depth. Her concert highlights include debuts at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, and internationally with the Lviv National Philharmonic and North Bohemian Opera Orchestra. Charney's GRAMMY®-nominated solo album, ALIKE - My Mother’s Dream, was named one of Spotify Editors' Best Classical Music Releases in 2025. She co-created the WQXR mini-series Her/Music; Her/Story, is artistic director of PREFORMANCES™, and adapted Verdi’s Otello for her virtual OPERAS IN SHORT series. She has a bachelors degree from Harvard University and two graduate degrees in music from the Peabody Conservatory.

Benjamin Loeb is a GRAMMY®-nominated conductor and pianist. He has soloed with the Boston Pops Orchestra with Alan Gilbert and has also collaborated with JoAnn Falletta, Carl St. Clair, and Yo-Yo Ma. Last season, he conducted the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in a sold-out performance of Murry Sidlin’s Defiant Requiem: Verdi at Terezin, as well as performances and recordings throughout Eastern Europe with the Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestra of the City of Ústí nad Labem, and the Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic. 

Loeb toured Argentina and Uruguay as US State Department Artistic Ambassador and founded and runs the International Conducting Workshop and Festival, one of the most successful training seminars for orchestra conductors. He holds degrees from Harvard University, the Curtis Institute of Music, The Juilliard School, and the Peabody Institute.

"It must be noted that (Allison Charney) is in expectedly magnificent, elegantly transcendent voice throughout"

Jonathan Widran, JWVibe

“A bold and timely contribution to the classical music canon, poised to to be a vital addition to the evolving landscape of classical music” 

Chloe Rabinowitz, Broadway World