Long Beach, CA-Martin Matthews (Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, New York City Opera, Seattle Opera, Sante Fe Opera) will be performing The Serious Songs by J. Brahms with additional repertoire including Schubert lied and Charles Bukowski poems set to music by composer Persis Vehar. Saturday, September 1st, 7:00pm at CSULB Daniel Recital Hall, Long Beach Mr. Matthews will be accompanied by pianist Iris Malkin. The concerts will feature The Serious Songs, first performed in 1898, a monumental work for both piano and low voice demanding exceptional musical technique. The first three songs are taken from the Old Testament and deal with death, the transience of life and oppression. The text of the fourth song is taken from the New Testament and focuses on faith, hope and charity. Additional repertoire includes Schubert lied, Death and the Maiden and excerpts from “The Original Hard Luck Story of the Universe”, a 20 song cycle of the poetry of Charles Bukowski set to music by composer, Persis Vehar. After running a successful opera company now in its 10th year in upstate New York, Mr. Matthews has relocated to Southern California and looking forward to contributing to the areas rich musical traditions. “The Brahms' Serious Songs is a major work in the bass repertoire and is rarely performed. Singing these songs is a rite of passage and more fully expressed when one is more mature. The themes discussed in the biblical extracts are as controversial and important today as they were 120 years ago. The songs were vilified and shunned when they first premiered because of the idea that all life has a soul, not just man. Somewhat related are the poems of Charles Bukowski which contain a certain darkness and gloom with a touch of humor. I’m a great admirer of Bukowski’s writings and wanted to take the edgy rhythm of his poems and have them set to music. Persis created a beautiful song cycle that compliments his poetry extremely well especially with the song 'Spring Swan' which is also about transcendence.” …….Martin Matthews MARTIN MATTHEWS Martin Matthews is a graduate of the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia and SUNY-Buffalo, NY. A true coloratura basso cantante, he has performed with many of the great opera companies in the US and abroad including The Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, Dallas Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Seattle Opera, Miami Opera, Minnesota Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, Opera Ireland, Opera de Montreal, Opera de Monte Carlo, Birmingham Opera, Hawaii Opera Theatre, Opera de Quebec, Vancouver Opera, The Canadian Opera Company, The Green Mountain Festival (VT) and Festival de Belle-ile en Mer (Fr). He can be heard on the Naxos label release of 'Night at the Opera' with other singers who have debuted at the Metropolitan Opera as well as numerous songs on the Victor Herbert Collection on New World Records. Mr. Matthews is the recipient of many prestigious grants and awards including the Lincoln Center Martin Segal Award, Richard Tucker Grant, William Mattheus Sullivan Foundation Grant, Gerda Lissner Foundation Grant, the 2000 MacAllister Award, winner of the NJ Verismo Competition, the NYSTA Coloratura Competition and the Marcella Sembrich Vocal Competition sponsored by the Koscziuszko Foundation in New York, NY. IRIS MALKIN Israeli born Mezzo-Soprano, Pianist and Vocal Coach Iris Malkin is a graduate of the Jerusalem Academy of Music with a Master’s Degree in Vocal Performance and Artist Diploma in Piano with a Vocal Coaching emphasis. She has performed in concerts and festivals in Israel, Europe and the United States with many performances broadcast worldwide. Iris has worked as a vocal coach and accompanist for the Chamber Opera of USC, LA Opera, Orange County High School of the Arts Opera Conservatory and the VOICExperience Foundation Summer Program in Orlando among others. She has also served on the Faculty of Assisi Performing Arts in Italy as a vocal coach. In addition to the mainstream operatic repertoire, Iris has distinguished herself in the world of Hebrew and Jewish works as well as the highly nuanced Spanish song repertoire. In January 2012 she released her CD Cadencia with songs from England, Spain and Puerto Rico with award winning guitarist Edward Trybek and is the featured soloist on Stig Jonas Pettersson’s album The Dracula Letters released in 2015. Iris has performed under the baton of Pierre Boulez at the 2006 Lucerne Festival and guest soloist in 2011 with the Chamber Orchestra of the South Bay performing songs from Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn and De Falla’s El Amor Brujo. An in-demand vocalist in recordings for films, video games and movie trailers, she is a featured soloist on the soundtrack of the film Kill Zone, nominated for Best Original Score at the Hollywood Music in Media Awards in 2009. Iris is currently on the faculty of Glendale Community College and UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music.