Kay S. Raplenovich

s i n g e r
Kay and Chris

Kay is a storyteller who sings the songs of human experience. Her concert performances encompass a wide range of musical styles from opera to Broadway to jazz to folk. Her use of narrative and story telling allows the recital in the classical style to be very accessible to all audiences. Most of the recitals can be adapted for young and family audiences or personalized for the community sponsoring the performance. Hear how the power of Kay's voice and her stage personality have enchanted countless audiences over the years. Kay performs with pianist Christina Mathews.

r e c i t a l s

Album is a whisper from the past, a response to a family photo album buried for years in a trunk in Grandma's attic. Album explores the interconnectedness of generations, and the discovery of self in the faded photographs. Available with gallery exhibit of collage pieces created by Susan Daugherty Shafer. Album is performed in tandem with "Knoxville Summer of 1915" by Samuel Barber, or stories and songs from "Growing Up There Was Music in My Mother's House." The Album CD is available for purchase.

American Cycle - a collection of Song Cycles by American Composers in Jazz, Folk, Gospel and Classical styles, with poetry by Langston Hughes, Tennessee Williams, Walt Whitman, Robert Frost, Edgar Allan Poe and traditional jump-rope rhymes.

Growing Up There Was Music in My Mother's House - a growing-up story that takes the audience on a journey to grandmother's attic, the small Pennsylvania town where she lives, trips to the county fair, and the sound of rain on the front porch. Art songs, traditional children's songs, Broadway tunes and familiar songs weave this story of childhood.

Romanze - the hills and valleys of love told through beautiful love songs of Italian, French, German, Russian and American cultures. Poetic readings of the translations accompany each piece for a romantic, intimate evening.

What's the Screaming About? - a light look at a too-serious art form. Using a twist of humor, the arias are sung in the moment of falling in love, or the moment of going a little crazy - and of course, the moment just before dying - to shed a little light on the mystery of loud singing [better known as screaming].

Century Songs - intimate programs from the turn of the twentieth century, when friends gathered in the parlor to share their favorite songs, the great classics and comic pieces of the time:

Here in the Valley - researched for the sponsoring community, the songs and narrative are woven into a program that could have been presented in a historic home in your town.
In a Woman's Parlor - a typical parlor program of the turn of the twentieth century that includes songs of the time and dramatic readings in the style of Delsarte from the "Universal Standard Speaker" published by Francis P. Hoyle in 1915.
A Woman's Voice - celebrating the creative talents of the women of the turn of the twentieth century through their poetry and music. The women's issues of the time, equality, education, temperance and love are alive in the genius of these women whose artistry was seldom appreciated by the men who dominated their lives.

images

these are partial thumbnails - click for the deluxe version

recital in Lomonosov, Russia with
Barbara & Gerhardt Suhrstedt

with the Suhrstedts

following a concert in
St. Petersburg, Russia

with the "Sounds of Sousa"