Summer 2023

Musica Solis Records has announced the upcoming release of a new recording, Turning into Song, devoted to songs derived from the poetry of Lucy Miller Murray, set to music by a dazzling array of American composers. All 15 tracks on the album represent world premiere recordings. Turning into Song features the music of Jake Heggie, Paul Moravec, Jeremy Gill, Eugene Drucker, Michael Stephen Brown and Richard Wilson. Musica Solis label director Seunghee Lee says "For the recording, we were delighted to work with a stellar group of composers and artists who were able to transform Lucy’s poems into beautiful songs." Featured on the album are newcomer Susannah Woodruff (mezzo-soprano); David Shifrin (clarinet); Yevgeny Yontov (piano); Eugene Drucker (violin and composer); David Finckel (cello); Mischa Bouvier (baritone) and Seunghee Lee (clarinet). Turning into Song is produced, engineered and mastered by Adam Abeshouse.

Ms. Lee continues, "This album is the product of a commissioning project initiated by Lucy Miller Murray beginning in 2010, and David Shifrin's suggestion to record the songs, eleven years later. The idea was to set her poems to music and she has certainly chosen some of the best American composers for these particular songs. It has been a long and winding road but we feel that Turning into Song is a fascinating exploration of Murray's poetry from the 1960s to the present, and we are thrilled with the result."

Renaissance woman Lucy Miller Murray has been a mover and shaker in the classical music world for decades. Much of this time has been devoted to engagement with chamber music, notably with Harrisburg PA's essential Market Square Concerts, which she founded in 1982 and served as director for 27 years. She served on the boards of the Bard Music Festival, Associated Chamber Music Players (ACMP), and Concert Artists Guild, and as vice president and board member of Chamber Music America, the national service organization for chamber music. She is an accomplished writer not only of poetry but of fiction and non-fiction. In addition to her many contributions as program and liner notes writer for years' worth of concerts and CDs, her novel Faces was published in 2020 by Dorrance Publishing and in 2015, her Chamber Music: An Extensive Guide for Listeners was published by Rowman & Littlefield. H

Mezzo-soprano Susannah Woodruff, currently based in Dallas, Texas, is a versatile performer, at home in a wide range of repertoire from Baroque to contemporary music. Susannah has been heard in chamber music concerts presented by Jazz and Classics for Change, Music at Bunker Hill, Market Square Concerts, and the Susquehanna Art Museum performing with, among others, members of the Emerson String Quartet, and is often featured soloist with Lumedia Musicworks and the Verdigris Ensemble. She was presented in Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen with the Berkshire Symphony, and on the operatic stage, Susannah's roles include the Mother in Hansel and Gretel, Ottone (L’incoronazione di Poppea), Anna (The Prodigal Child, U.S. premiere), Bradamante (Alcina), Dorabella (Così fan tutte), and Giulietta (Les contes d’Hoffmann). She made her international debut in 2013 as Barbarina in Le nozze di Figaro at the Amalfi Coast Music and Arts Festival. Before embarking on her singing career, she completed degrees at Florida State University and University of North Texas.