Tenor Brian Giebler and pianist Steven McGhee have been musical collaborators since meeting at the University of Michigan in 2010. Their solo album a lad's love was released on Bridge Records in 2020 to extraordinary acclaim. Garnering praise from such publications as Gramophone, Opera News (Critics Choice), and San Francisco Classical Voice, the album debuted on the Billboard charts, and earned them a GRAMMY® Award nomination for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album (63rd Annual GRAMMY® Awards). The album features works composed primarily within a twenty-year time period at the beginning of the 20th century, all by male, English composers and poets including Gurney, Benjamin Britten, A.E. Housman, W.H. Auden, and John Ireland. A theme emerged that took them beyond Housman, and beyond Gurney’s experiences during the Great War, and allowed them to connect more deeply to these pieces. From Quilter’s pleading setting of Shelley to Britten’s settings of W.H. Auden which are bolder, more self-assured statements of desire, they found an array of songs that tell stories of repressed or unrequited love with such variety, and yet such consistent emotional intensity. All the works on this program are unified by the depth of feeling expressed by the lover, not by the gender of the object of his affection, which is conspicuously not specified in any of the texts.
Upcoming Second Album
Their second album will focus on Brian's emotional journey towards parenthood reflected in song. It features songs by Strauss, Wolf, Poulenc, Humperdinck, Finzi, Michael Head, Barber, Sondheim, and a new song cycle commissioned from Clarice Assad, with texts collected from LGBTQ+ parents reflecting their personal journeys towards parenthood and the joys and struggles they faced. They have collaborated with 9 world-class string players, and a multi GRAMMY® Award winning recording engineer/producer!
How Your Donation Helps
A project of this magnitude requires a significant amount of money. Outside of the musicians, their team includes a multi GRAMMY® Award winning recording engineer/producer, a publicist, designers, and a record label to help promote and release their projects.
Perks by Donation Level
All donations above $100 will get a signed copy of the disc.
Learn More: https://www.briangiebler.com/