Cincinnati Song Initiative Announces New Season of Song Cycle Podcast
CINCINNATI, OH – Cincinnati Song Initiative (CSI) announces the third season of its original podcast, Song Cycle, with its new host Samuel Martin. The podcast interviews leading forces in the song world to provide unique insights and inspiration on what a fulfilling life in song can mean.
“More than ever, we’re looking for inspiration on how song can reach communities throughout the world relevant to current events, culturally significant moments, and social trends,” says host and CSI’s Founding Artistic Director Samuel Martin. “With Song Cycle’s interview format, we’re able to meet and learn from song leaders all around the world, whether they be performers, entrepreneurs and administrators, composers, or anyone else with a great story to tell.”
Season 3 of the podcast launches January 26, 2023, beginning with Sam’s first guest, the internationally celebrated English pianist Julius Drake. Scheduled upcoming guests for the new season include soprano Laura Strickling, pianist and coach Myra Huang, composer Shawn Okpebholo, and others to be announced.
All past episodes of Song Cycle are available to stream for free on Apple, Google, and Spotify now, with new episodes dropping on the fourth Thursday of each month. Learn more at www.cincinnatisonginitiative.org/podcasts/song-cycle.
About Samuel Martin
Pianist Samuel Martin is a dynamic artist in demand as a partner for recital, chamber, choral, orchestral, opera, and musical theater performances. A Presser Scholar, and the recipient of numerous other musical honors, his stylistic versatility has resulted in concert appearances both nationally and internationally. As an entrepreneur and administrator, he is the Founding Artistic Director of the Cincinnati Song Initiative, an award-winning nonprofit concert series dedicated to the promotion and innovation of art song.
Recent performances have taken Martin to Germany, México, and throughout the United States. He has served on the musical coaching staffs of Rice University, Houston Grand Opera’s HGOco, Opera in the Heights (Houston), Cincinnati Chamber Opera, the International Performing Arts Institute (Bavaria, Germany), the Opera Company of Middlebury, and the CCM Summer Opera Studio (Cincinnati).
A native of New York, Martin holds degrees from the University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music and Ithaca College. His training was enhanced as a Fellow of the 2019 Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar, a program devoted to the intense study and performance of contemporary American art song, led by luminaries Stephanie Blythe and Alan Louis Smith.
About Cincinnati Song Initiative
Since its founding in 2016, Cincinnati Song Initiative has connected thousands of people through the unique and intimate power of classical song, and is a recipient of Ovation TV’s Stand for the Arts award based on how well an organization empowers the community, builds strategic partnerships, drives engagement through volunteerism, and delivers creative programming.
Smaller in scale than opera, choral music, or other theatrical genres, the performance of song most commonly features one singer and one pianist in a visceral musical experience. Cincinnati Song Initiative creates these experiences with a pioneering spirit to engage communities in thoughtful and innovative ways. Deriving its texts from a variety of sources such as poetry, prose, speeches, or plays, song portrays the immediate and deep personal experiences we encounter throughout everyday life.
Each concert features singers and pianists of national renown, providing an unparalleled level of artistry within an intimate and accessible atmosphere. Audiences enjoy close interaction with the artists, hearing them discuss the relevance of the music in relation to today’s cultural and societal context, and enjoy engaging with them - and each other - during post-performance receptions. Concerts take place at different venues throughout the Queen City in order to connect with its many vibrant communities and explore all it has to offer.
Cincinnati Song Initiative remains devoted to the innovation of twenty-first century song by commissioning and premiering new works. CSI aims to connect with today's audiences and lead the way in original digital content among arts organizations, continually adding to its rich suite of resources with educational webinars, live interviews with artists and composers, and innovative performance projects imagined for the virtual realm.
For more information regarding upcoming concerts, artists, and CSI’s thematic projects, please visit www.cincinnatisonginitiative.org.