Ms. Shrut is a faculty member in the College for the following department(s) and division(s): Voice — Related Studies (College) Telephone  (212) 749-2802  x7737 E-mail  arshrut@aol.com

ARLENE SHRUT Founder and Artistic Director New Triad for Collaborative Arts A faculty member of The Juilliard School and Manhattan School of Music, Arlene is an admired keyboard performer, hailed as a “strong and sensitive pianist” by the New York Times. She was honored in 2003 as the inaugural “Coach of the Year” in Classical Singer Magazine. Arlene has collaborated with such vocal artists as Renée Fleming and Thomas Hampson and has recorded on the Dorian, Centaur, Orion, Summit, and Albany Records labels. Among her credits is Songs of Hugo Wolf (with Daniel Lichti on Dorian CDs), which received a Canadian Grammy nomination. Arlene often serves as official pianist for many of New York’s top vocal events and has performed in such venues as Weill (Carnegie) Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the National Gallery, the Phillips Collection, and the Kennedy Center. She has toured extensively in Europe and across North America. Arlene created New Triad in an effort to promote a new approach to enhancing collaboration in intimate performing-arts forms. In terms of revitalizing the song recital, Arlene is dedicated to unlocking the universal messages in poems set to music, creating dramatically synthesized programs and forging fully collaborative musical partnerships to yield ultimate expression of the art and deeper connection between performers and audience. Over the last twenty years she has been involved with coproducing innovative programs. Among them are New Triad’s “Coming Home” Song Salon, which premiered in December 2003. Others include “Lieder across the Sundial,” “Women’s Words: An American Songbook,” “Forever: Enduring Poems in American Song,” “Days of a Man,” “Cubism/Synchronism in Song,” and “A Musical Banquet: from Hors d’Oeuvres to Espresso.” In addition to New Triad, Arlene founded the National Association of Accompanists and Coaches, cofounded the Seal Bay Festival in Maine, and personally authored an entire series of multimedia scripts under the name Classical Concepts. She formerly served on the faculties of Syracuse University, Mannes College of Music, and the Aspen Music School. Arlene Shrut earned two solo piano degrees from the Eastman School of Music and a doctorate in accompanying from the University of Southern California. In 1981, she received a Fulbright grant to Germany in vocal coaching, and has been mentored by the most distinguished teachers of her time. She makes her home on the Upper West Side of New York City. CRITICAL ACCLAIM Ms. Shrut and the members of the New Triad Institute faculty and artistic staff have been working in collaborative ways for many years and the effects have not been lost on the critics. Praise for Ms. Shrut has been uniformly glowing: “Arlene Shrut is an extraordinarily sensitive accompanist. With an intuition for refined nuances and a wonderfully dynamic range of expression she has developed into a ‘Stimmbildner’ and that can be heard in her perfect symbiosis with the singer.” Privilege (Holland) About her recording Songs of Hugo Wolf with Daniel Lichti, baritone: “This thoughtfully constructed programme…of itself recommends the disc for serious consideration. The fine performances confirm it…About Arlene Shrut’s playing…there is an intensity of feeling and a willingness to take risks.” Gramophone, Performance: 5 stars. Sound: 5 stars Critic’s Choice, October, 1992 About her NY debut with The Yoav Chamber Ensemble “…a strong and sensitive pianist.” New York Times “With superlative teamwork between singer and pianist and an evident sympathy with these deeply moving songs, the result was a truly memorable evening.” University of Waterloo Gazette “…baritone Daniel Lichti and pianist Arlene Shrut collaborated in a powerful realization of Die Winterreise… They created an atmosphere of rapt involvement that seemed to transcend all measures of time and emotional involvement… Both sustained a memorable exchange of phrasing, nuance, and articulation that did Die Winterreise eloquent justice.” Kitchener-Waterloo Record “Both performers charged the air with their enthusiasm and technical ability…the piano and the violin sounded almost like one instrument.” The Washington Times “The degree of ensemble between Lichti and Shrut was almost uncanny, yet one felt the unanimity of their expressive effects and dynamic changes arose… from a common understanding of the composer’s intentions.” The Observer, Sarnia, Ontario “The artistry of singer and accompanist will not soon be forgotten for both portrayed a mastery of individual skills and these came together so marvelously to blend music and poetry into a magnificently rich and warm color portrait. The music lines moved with vibrancy and warmth throughout the evening, each artist supporting and enhancing the skills of the other. The writer was particularly impressed with the coming together of music and poetry so that a vivid beauty emerged.” Mennonite Mirror

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