Donna Stoering as a Collaborative Artist
Donna says "I love people, and I love sharing powerful music that communicates with all people in an audience - but I especially love the experience of sharing this music together with other musicians, so I feel extremely fortunate to be able to have that opportunity, performing with artists worldwide, and in so many varied ways!"
While a teenager, Ms Stoering composed and conducted musical theater productions, sang in small choral ensembles on television, played piano in a jazz-rock band, worked as a professional coach/accompanist in a major opera studio, and founded a piano trio that performed 78 concerts per year on tour. She was also invited to "step in" last minute for cancelled accompanists at the major concert halls of the SF Bay Area, sometimes being introduced to the soloists backstage as they walked on, and she received rave reviews for her "sensitive playing and uncanny ensemble" even while sight-reading the scores live on the stage.
All of this early experience came to the fore when she moved to Europe - between her solo recitals and concerto appearances with major orchestras/festivals, Donna was asked to coach opera stars of La Scala, Royal Opera, Munich Opera, the Bolshoi and the Met, and to be their collaborative pianist in recital appearances, recordings and festivals. She also began performing on tour with renowned string quartets, woodwind and chamber ensembles, and famed instrumental soloists. Then two other forms of collaborative music-making appeared: she began receiving invites to perform as mezzo/contralto soloist with choral ensembles and orchestras, and while touring as an Artistic Ambassador for the UK and USA to countries worldwide, she met master musicians of countless other cultures who had never performed together with a Western classical pianist but wanted very much to do so. Donna soon found herself producing uniquely collaborative cross-cultural concerts on music festivals and television networks.
She continues to relish doing all of these activities to this day, from her new base in the USA, and has also had the opportunity of booking soloists or ensembles to perform with her on the many music festivals, concert series, and video or television programs that she is invited to host and produce around the globe.
While a teenager, Ms Stoering composed and conducted musical theater productions, sang in small choral ensembles on television, played piano in a jazz-rock band, worked as a professional coach/accompanist in a major opera studio, and founded a piano trio that performed 78 concerts per year on tour. She was also invited to "step in" last minute for cancelled accompanists at the major concert halls of the SF Bay Area, sometimes being introduced to the soloists backstage as they walked on, and she received rave reviews for her "sensitive playing and uncanny ensemble" even while sight-reading the scores live on the stage.
All of this early experience came to the fore when she moved to Europe - between her solo recitals and concerto appearances with major orchestras/festivals, Donna was asked to coach opera stars of La Scala, Royal Opera, Munich Opera, the Bolshoi and the Met, and to be their collaborative pianist in recital appearances, recordings and festivals. She also began performing on tour with renowned string quartets, woodwind and chamber ensembles, and famed instrumental soloists. Then two other forms of collaborative music-making appeared: she began receiving invites to perform as mezzo/contralto soloist with choral ensembles and orchestras, and while touring as an Artistic Ambassador for the UK and USA to countries worldwide, she met master musicians of countless other cultures who had never performed together with a Western classical pianist but wanted very much to do so. Donna soon found herself producing uniquely collaborative cross-cultural concerts on music festivals and television networks.
She continues to relish doing all of these activities to this day, from her new base in the USA, and has also had the opportunity of booking soloists or ensembles to perform with her on the many music festivals, concert series, and video or television programs that she is invited to host and produce around the globe.
COLLABORATIVE ARTIST REPERTOIRE (examples only):
- Donna cherishes every opportunity to perform favorite duo-sonatas, piano trios, quartets and quintets by Rachmaninov, Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Schumann and Dvorak, among others. She has recorded piano quartets and quintets in Germany, UK and USA with renowned ensembles, and in recent years has also loved performing a variety of chamber music works with the award-winning San Jose Chamber Orchestra under Maestra Barbara Day Turner.
- She has loved doing Yiddish, Hebrew and Jewish folk and song cycles with soprano Ronit Widmann-Levy, tenor Stephen Guggenheim, Klezmer clarinetist Asaf Ophir, and other renowned artists on various tours
- She has created unique piano-guzheng duo-recital pieces with Chinese guzheng artist Winnie Wong.
- She has toured internationally with two different flute soloists, Wissam Boustany of Lebanon and Angela Reus-Jones in Italy.
- Of the recordings she has done to date, one of her personal faves is a collection of "stunningly beautiful" Rachmaninov Romances with award-winning Russian counter-tenor Andrey Nemzer.
- She is excited about an upcoming recording project with baritone Igor Vieira, performing unknown Brazilian art songs.
- One of her favorite duo-recital partners is international violist Erin Nolan, with whom she has performed worldwide and recorded two albums of piano-string improvisations on beloved classical and spiritual/hymn melodies.
- And for several years now she has been honored to be a recital partner (and friend) of opera legend Frederica von Stade (Flicka), so she cherishes the photo of the two of them, below, taken (live) in an overflowing venue when Flicka decided to surprise Donna by joining her on the piano bench mid-performance to turn the pages. For upcoming collaborative performances, recordings, video projects and production plans, see Donna's BLOG page on this site.
Gallery
Media
Video clips below:
Cross-cultural duo recital with guzheng artist Winnie Wong in Los Angeles; track from an upcoming album of Rachmaninov Romances with Russian counter-tenor Andrey Nemzer; performing as contralto soloist in vocal quartet with orchestra at International Russian Music Festival in Boston; collaborative pianist with violin and clarinet soloists on a new concert series in USA.
Cross-cultural duo recital with guzheng artist Winnie Wong in Los Angeles; track from an upcoming album of Rachmaninov Romances with Russian counter-tenor Andrey Nemzer; performing as contralto soloist in vocal quartet with orchestra at International Russian Music Festival in Boston; collaborative pianist with violin and clarinet soloists on a new concert series in USA.
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