Friday, August 21, 2026
Mireille Asselin, soprano
Jesse Blumberg, baritone
Richard Pearson Thomas, piano
Will's Shed, 5:30 PM
Program
AMERICAN SONGBOOK
Songs by Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Marc Blitzstein, Kurt Weill, and more.
Mireille Asselin, soprano
Deemed “a treasure” by The Toronto Star, soprano Mireille Asselin enjoys a diverse international career that spans concert, opera, and recital work. As a member of the Metropolitan Opera’s roster for five years, she performed Adele in Die Fledermaus and Poussette in Manon, in addition to covering many other lead roles. This season she had her London West End debut, starring in Handel’s Giustino at the Royal Opera House. She is a respected interpreter of contemporary and early music and performs regularly with leading orchestras and period ensembles in North America and Europe.
In recent seasons Asselin has sung with the Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Garsington Opera, and the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris and at Carnegie Hall. Up next, she looks forward to performing the lead role of Nellie in 10 Days in a Madhouse, with Tapestry Opera and the Luminato Festival, and releasing a new album of works that were written for her by composer Tom Cipullo. Asselin is a graduate of the Canadian Opera Company Studio, Yale University, and the Royal Conservatory of Music. She has recorded for the Marquis Classics, Centrediscs, and CORO labels.
Jesse Blumberg, baritone
The American baritone Jesse Blumberg enjoys a busy schedule of operas, concerts, and recitals, performing repertoire from the Renaissance era to the 21st centuries. He has performed featured roles at Minnesota Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Atlanta Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Boston Early Music Festival, Opera Atelier, Château de Versailles Spectacles, and Royal Festival Hall. He has sung major concert works with Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, American Bach Soloists, Boston Baroque, Carmel Bach Festival, Apollo’s Fire, Oratorio Society of New York, and The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, as well as on Lincoln Center’s American Songbook series. Recent recital highlights include appearances with the New York Festival of Song, Marilyn Horne Foundation, and University Musical Society in Ann Arbor.
In addition to teaching and performing residencies at song festivals, Blumberg has participated in the world premieres of several acclaimed American operas and song cycles. As a member of the Mirror Visions Ensemble, he works closely with many renowned composers. Among his many recordings are Grammy-winning and Grammy-nominated performances of Charpentier chamber operas with Boston Early Music Festival. He received undergraduate degrees in history and music from the University of Michigan and a Master of Music degree from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music before completing young artist programs at Santa Fe Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, the Ravinia Festival, and Chicago Opera Theater.
Richard Pearson Thomas, piano
The composer and pianist Richard Pearson Thomas has had works performed by the Boston Pops, Covent Garden Festival, Sydney Opera House, Houston Grand Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, Banff Centre, Portland Opera, Skylight Opera, and Encompass Opera. His songs have been sung in Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Merkin Concert Hall, Wigmore Hall, and Joe’s Pub, as well as before the U.S. Congress.
Thomas has received commissions from the Mirror Visions Ensemble, American Composers’ Forum, Great Falls Symphony Orchestra, Empire State Youth Orchestra, Lebanon Valley College Orchestra, United States Air Force Band of the Golden West, Cal State Fullerton Opera, Westchester Philharmonic Orchestra, and Riverside Philharmonic Orchestra. His work Race for the Sky, a commemoration of the events of 9/11, has been performed in recitals nationwide and abroad.
Thomas's chamber music has been performed by Five Boroughs Music Festival, Duo Terlano, Trillium Ensemble, and South Country Concerts and recorded by Music of the Spheres Society for broadcast on NPR.
As a pianist, Thomas has concertized with singers and chamber musicians worldwide.
Thomas is on faculty at Columbia University Teachers College. He has taught at Yale and the University of Central Florida. A native of Montana, he is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and the University of Southern California.
Songs by Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Marc Blitzstein, Kurt Weill, and more.
Mireille Asselin, soprano
Deemed “a treasure” by The Toronto Star, soprano Mireille Asselin enjoys a diverse international career that spans concert, opera, and recital work. As a member of the Metropolitan Opera’s roster for five years, she performed Adele in Die Fledermaus and Poussette in Manon, in addition to covering many other lead roles. This season she had her London West End debut, starring in Handel’s Giustino at the Royal Opera House. She is a respected interpreter of contemporary and early music and performs regularly with leading orchestras and period ensembles in North America and Europe.
In recent seasons Asselin has sung with the Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Garsington Opera, and the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris and at Carnegie Hall. Up next, she looks forward to performing the lead role of Nellie in 10 Days in a Madhouse, with Tapestry Opera and the Luminato Festival, and releasing a new album of works that were written for her by composer Tom Cipullo. Asselin is a graduate of the Canadian Opera Company Studio, Yale University, and the Royal Conservatory of Music. She has recorded for the Marquis Classics, Centrediscs, and CORO labels.
Jesse Blumberg, baritone
The American baritone Jesse Blumberg enjoys a busy schedule of operas, concerts, and recitals, performing repertoire from the Renaissance era to the 21st centuries. He has performed featured roles at Minnesota Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Atlanta Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Boston Early Music Festival, Opera Atelier, Château de Versailles Spectacles, and Royal Festival Hall. He has sung major concert works with Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, American Bach Soloists, Boston Baroque, Carmel Bach Festival, Apollo’s Fire, Oratorio Society of New York, and The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, as well as on Lincoln Center’s American Songbook series. Recent recital highlights include appearances with the New York Festival of Song, Marilyn Horne Foundation, and University Musical Society in Ann Arbor.
In addition to teaching and performing residencies at song festivals, Blumberg has participated in the world premieres of several acclaimed American operas and song cycles. As a member of the Mirror Visions Ensemble, he works closely with many renowned composers. Among his many recordings are Grammy-winning and Grammy-nominated performances of Charpentier chamber operas with Boston Early Music Festival. He received undergraduate degrees in history and music from the University of Michigan and a Master of Music degree from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music before completing young artist programs at Santa Fe Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, the Ravinia Festival, and Chicago Opera Theater.
Richard Pearson Thomas, piano
The composer and pianist Richard Pearson Thomas has had works performed by the Boston Pops, Covent Garden Festival, Sydney Opera House, Houston Grand Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, Banff Centre, Portland Opera, Skylight Opera, and Encompass Opera. His songs have been sung in Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Merkin Concert Hall, Wigmore Hall, and Joe’s Pub, as well as before the U.S. Congress.
Thomas has received commissions from the Mirror Visions Ensemble, American Composers’ Forum, Great Falls Symphony Orchestra, Empire State Youth Orchestra, Lebanon Valley College Orchestra, United States Air Force Band of the Golden West, Cal State Fullerton Opera, Westchester Philharmonic Orchestra, and Riverside Philharmonic Orchestra. His work Race for the Sky, a commemoration of the events of 9/11, has been performed in recitals nationwide and abroad.
Thomas's chamber music has been performed by Five Boroughs Music Festival, Duo Terlano, Trillium Ensemble, and South Country Concerts and recorded by Music of the Spheres Society for broadcast on NPR.
As a pianist, Thomas has concertized with singers and chamber musicians worldwide.
Thomas is on faculty at Columbia University Teachers College. He has taught at Yale and the University of Central Florida. A native of Montana, he is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and the University of Southern California.