Bowerbird is pleased to present vocal ensemble Variant 6 performing an acapella program that explores the timeless theme of the natural world and its influence on the human condition. In a stunning presentation of music spanning over 1,000 years – from Medieval composers like Hildegard Von Bingen and Claude le Jeune all the way through music of today by Edie Hill, Edith Canat de Chizy, and Pelle Gudmunsen-Holmgreen – this program will showcase the wide range of composer’s reflections of the world we inhabit.

PROGRAM

O Viridissima Virga
Hildegard Von Bingen (1098-1179)

Green (to the greenwood we must go, alas)
Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen (1932-2016)

Le Chant des Oiseaux
Clément Janequin (1485-1558)

Sweet Suffolk Owl
Thomas Vautor (1592 – 1619)

Il Bianco e Dolce Cigno
Jacques Arcadelt (1505 – 1568):

Il Mio Più Vago Sole
Sulpitia Cesis (1577 – 1619)

O Radiant Dawn
James MacMillan (1959-)

Alma Beata et Bella
Edie Hill (1962-)

Solhyme – Movements II & III
Vagn Holmboe (1909 – 1996)

Octonaires de la Vanité et Inconstance du Monde (excerpts)
Quand la terre au Printemps
La glace est luisante et belle
Lors que la fueille va mourant
Vois tu l’Hyver accroupi
Ce luy qui pense pourvoir
Ce Monde est un pelerinage
Revecy Venir du Printemps
Claude Le Jeune (1528 -1600)

TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS

VARIANT 6

Rebecca Myers – soprano
Jessica Beebe – soprano
Tim Parsons – counter-tenor
Nick Karageorgiou – tenor
Steven Eddy – baritone
Dan Schwartz – bass

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Lauded as having a “honey-colored tone” and “the most radiant solo singing” (Opera News), soprano Jessica Beebe is an affecting interpreter of repertoire from the Renaissance and Baroque to contemporary American opera. As a sought-after concert soloist, Ms. Beebe has performed as a soloist with several major orchestras and ensembles across the world including The New York Chamber Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, The English Concert at the Barbican Theatre and Carnegie Hall, The Los Angeles Philharmonic, The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, The Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra, The Folger Consort, Utah Symphony, Omaha Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Lancaster Symphony, The Washington Bach Consort, Piffaro, Gamut Bach Ensemble, Bach Choir of Bethlehem, Philadelphia Bach Collegium, Lyric Fest and more. Some of Beebe’s solo operatic highlights include premiering multiple operas by Jennifer Higdon, Lembit Beecher and David Hertzberg with Opera Philadelphia, Bergen National Opera in Norway, and a Los Angeles Philharmonic debut in Meredith Monk’s opera, Atlas. Ms. Beebe is a member of Variant 6, The Crossing, Seraphic Fire, Clarion, Lorelei, Trio Eos, The Thirteen, and is on several GRAMMY-nominated albums with The Crossing and Clarion Ensemble. Most recently, Ms. Beebe was placed as a finalist in the New York Oratorio Society competition. Ms. Beebe is a graduate of The University of Delaware and Indiana University. Ms. Beebe has been a voice faculty member at Franklin and Marshall College since 2015. 

An accomplished concert artist and Baroque music specialist, baritone Steven Eddy has garnered praise as a soloist and professional choral singer with such ensembles as The New York Philharmonic, The Oratorio Society of New York, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Seraphic Fire, True Concord Voices and Orchestra, Spire Chamber Ensemble, Clarion Music Society, American Classical Orchestra, Sacred Music in a Sacred Space, Choral Arts Philadelphia, Handel Choir of Baltimore, and Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity.

Upcoming projects in the 2023-2024 season include Considering Matthew Shepard with Spire Chamber Ensemble, the premiere of Benjamin Perry Wenzelberg’s Any of Those Decembers in conjunction with LyricFest, Bach’s Mass in B Minor with American Classical Orchestra and The Thirteen, and concert projects with Seraphic Fire, Variant 6, and Choral Arts Philadelphia.

Tenor Nick Karageorgiou has established himself as a formidable chamber musician and soloist. A resident of Brooklyn, Nick is a member of the Trinity Wall Street Chorus, performing a wide array of choral repertoire, from baroque gems, to new commissions. Last fall, Nick sang the reimagined role of Narrator in Craig Hella Johnson’s Considering Matthew Shepard.

He can also be heard singing in ensembles like Seraphic Fire, TENET, and Clarion Music Society. Previous engagements have also included ensembles such as Pegasus Early Music Society, True Concord, The Crossing, Spire, The Thirteen, and The Rose Ensemble.

Outside of a busy performance season, Nick is frequently seen with needles and yarn, biking through the park, or going on a hike. Nick is excited to join Variant Six for their ‘23-‘24 season!

Philadelphia based artist Rebecca Myers is a soloist, vocal chamber singer, collaborator, recording artist, and creator in high demand. Rebecca has gained a reputation for her “timbral clarity and flawless pitch”, “nimble coloratura” and “vulnerability and grace”. She has appeared on three GRAMMY winning albums, most notably as a soloist on The Crossing’s Born, winner of the 2023 GRAMMY for Best Choral performance. Last season she made her New World Symphony Debut under the baton of Patrick Dupre Quigley in 2023 as soprano soloist in Carmina Burana. This past summer she performed at the esteemed Institute de France in Paris for the European premiere of Philip Lasser’s A Mask in the Mirror with Verità Baroque.

Her 2023/2024 season includes the world premiere of David T. Little’s SIN-EATER with The Crossing, the world premiere of Benjamin Perry Wenzelberg’s Any of Those Decembers with Lyric Fest, the role of Vagaus in Vivaldi’s Juditha Triumphans with Tempesta di Mare, several solo and ensemble engagements with Seraphic Fire, and an appearance as the the soprano solo in J.S. Bach’s St. John Passion at the annual CalPoly Bach week. Rebecca is thrilled to be taking on this new role as Artistic Director of Variant 6.

Timothy Parsons is an acclaimed and GRAMMY®-nominated countertenor & choral conductor.

He has traveled and performed extensively – as an ensemble & consort singer, and as soloist – in such venues as New York’s Carnegie Hall, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Alice Tully Hall, London’s St John’s Smith Square, Montreal’s Salle Bourgie, and Utrecht’s Tivoli Vredenburg. Timothy has performed with many of North America’s top early music ensembles, including TENET Vocal Artists (for whom he has also served as programming consultant) and Apollo’s Fire, and has twice toured with the English Concert performing Handel oratorios. He has had the great privilege of premiering two Pulitzer-prize winning operas, Ellen Reid’s p r i s m, for LA Opera and the Prototype Festival, and Du Yun’s Angel’s Bone, for the Prototype Festival. He is a former Lay Clerk of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, and a longtime member of two GRAMMY®-nominated New York ensembles, the Choir of Trinity Wall Street and the Clarion Choir. Timothy can be heard on numerous recordings, including the Liturgy of St John Chrysostom and the GRAMMY®-nominated Vespers by Benedict Sheehan, recordings of p r i s m and Angel’s Bone, and numerous recordings with the Clarion Choir and the Choir of Trinity Wall Street. Highlights of the ’23/’24 season include a marathon concert of Ockeghem at the Metropolitan Museum’s Cloisters, festival appearances in Norway and Germany with Ekmeles, and debut appearances with Blue Heron and Variant Six. He is an avid hiker, meditator, and vegan. He is the co-artistic director of Ampersand, a vocal chamber music ensemble and resides in Vermont.

A Philadelphia native, Daniel Schwartz received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music from Temple University where he studied voice with retired Metropolitan Opera baritone Daivid Arnold.  Upon his graduation in 2011, Daniel was honored with the Elaine Brown Award for musicianship, dedication to excellence, and humanitarianism.

After graduating, Daniel won the position of Artistic Director of the Philadelphia Voices of Pride, Philadelphia’s LGBT mixed voice chorus. From 2014-2017 Daniel sang with the Opera Philadelphia chorus where he performed a number of roles such as The Foreman in the east coast premiere of Oscar.  Daniel also sings with The Crossing and has performed on three of their Grammy winning albums.  In 2014 he traveled to California to perform Louis Andriessen’s De Materie with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and seven other singers from The Crossing, who also made their Carnegie Hall debut that year.  In 2018 he made his debut as a soloist with The Philadelphia Orchestra for Pat Metheny and the American Beat.  Most recently, he has performed with The Crossing alongside the New York Philharmonic. Daniel also teaches voice at Haverford College.

Variant 6 explores the expressive potential of the human voice through vocal chamber music that is at once virtuosic, poignant, and approachable. Composed of artists with a diverse set of skills and a wide range of expertise, we seek out repertoire that embodies this potential. We collaborate with artists of many disciplines, creating refreshing interpretations of music of the past and innovative premieres of new works. Our concerts are unique and intimate musical experiences that foster deep conversation between artists and audience.

Variant 6 shares our unique take on vocal chamber music with people all over the city of Philadelphia. Our approachable and collaborative projects create an environment where audiences of different backgrounds will feel inspired to attend our events, respond to our music, and get to know us as individuals. 

Variant 6’s artists have performed with internationally recognized ensembles and orchestras including The Crossing, Lorelei, Seraphic Fire, Roomful of Teeth, The Santa Fe Desert Chorale, Apollo’s Fire, Chicago Bach Project, Piffaro, Tempesta di Mare, TENET Vocal Artists, the Philadelphia Orchestra, Opera Philadelphia, The New World Symphony, The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, The Aspen Festival Orchestra, Opera Philadelphia, American Bach Soloists, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Lyric Fest, and more.