Wagner Society 10th Anniversary Celebration!
-   Fall 2008; (plans are tentative)

Saul Lilienstein, "Wagner Nights"
-   six Wednesday evenings, January - June, 2008; at the Smithsonian Institution
Popular lecturer on music and Wagner Society Awardee, Saul Lilienstein, will be giving an Opera Discussion Series with the Smithsonian Resident Associate Program, called Wagner Nights. During each of six monthly sessions, Mr. Lilienstein will examine the musical and dramatic structure of works by Richard Wagner. Saul will present a second lecture series, "Celebrating Brahms", Tuesdays, January 22 - March 11, at noon. Order on line (search by topic "music"), or call The Smithsonian Associates for information, 202-633-3030.

The Wagner Journal, a new journal (2007), published in London, edited by Barry Millington, is distributed in North America by the Wagner Society of Washington DC, which also sponsors the Journal's Web site. "The Wagner Journal is a new periodical that seeks to examine Wagner and his works from a variety of perspectives -- musicological, historical, literary, philosophical and political -- and to illuminate the unique appeal of this endlessly fascinating composer. The journal aims to bring the questions surrounding the theory and practice of staging and performing Wagner to a wider audience, in that way furthering our understanding of his operas as theatre."

The Evelyn Lear and Thomas Stewart Emerging Singers Program (ESP), a partnership with the Wagner Society of Washington DC, gives aspiring Wagner singers invaluable opportunities to perform in public and develop singing careers. This partnership supports young American singers with potential for careers singing the operas of Richard Wagner. Since 2000, more than 30 singers have been selected and have sung at Emerging Singers concerts.
The 14th Concert was just presented, with the University of Maryland Symphony Orchestra. Earlier concerts have been performed at different venues, including the German Embassy and Schlesinger Concert Hall. The Program has given singer support through the auditioning, coaching, and rehearsing for these concerts, and follow-up assistance is provided to some singers. With the help of the ESP, singers have gone on to sing with major opera companies in, among others, San Francisco, Washington, Houston, Chicago, Norfolk, Hamburg, Spoleto, Genoa, and Bayreuth.

To contribute, you can use our on-line contribution form. If you are a singer and want to apply, complete and mail our application form. To learn more about this Emerging Singers Program, see the Emerging Singers section on this Web site.

See our latest issue, November 2007: The Wagner Singer, Vol.IV No.1