March 8, 2026 3:00PM

Schwab Vocal Rising Stars

To The Sea
Tickets from $34

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ConcertsRosen House Concert SeriesMusic RoomVocal

Overview

Artistic Director Steven Blier selects four promising singers and a pianist for a week-long Caramoor residency that includes daily coaching, rehearsals, and workshops, culminating in this concert in the Music Room. Assisted by Bénédicte Jourdois and developed in conjunction with the New York Festival of Song, this year’s program, To The Sea, is a hymn to the lure (and the menace) of the ocean, including works by Brahms, Hahn, Rachmaninoff, Schubert, Tchaikovsky, and Pauline Viardot.

As part of our mission, we are delighted to offer free tickets for ages 18 & under for Schwab Vocal Rising Stars. Please use discretion when bringing children to Caramoor events. Adults must accompany children at all times.

Presented in collaboration with New York Festival of Song.

Artists

Shiyu Zhuo, soprano
Anna Maria Vacca, mezzo-soprano
Nathan Romportl, tenor
Will Kim, baritone
Luis Villarreal, piano

Steven Blier, Artistic Director, piano & arranger
Bénédicte Jourdois, Associate Director & piano

Program

TO THE SEA

WILHEM STENHAMMER: Det far ett skepp
GUSTAV NODQVIST: Till Havs
SERGEI TANEYEV: Venice at Night, a Barcarolle
SERGEI RACHMANINOFF: The Storm
PIOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY: In the Garden, Near the Ford
FRANZ SCHUBERT: Auf dem See
JOHANNES BRAHMS: Die Meere
FRANZ SCHUBERT: Der Zwerg
JESUS GÚRIDI: Mañanita de San Juan
JOAQUÍN TURINA: Olas gigantes
REYNALDO HAHN: La barcheta
XAVIER MONTSALVATGE: Cançó d’amor
EDUARD TOLDRÁ: Cançó de Grumet
PAULINE VIARDOT: Havanaise
GIOACHINO ROSSINI: Marinaro, in guardia sta
GIOACHINO ROSSINI: Le regata veneziana
GIOACHINO ROSSINI: La passegiata

About the Artists

Shiyu Zhuo, soprano

Anna Maria Vacca, mezzo-soprano

Nathan Romportl, tenor

Will Kim, baritone

Luis Villarreal, piano

Luis Villarreal is one of the most relevant Mexican pianists of his generation. Born in Monterrey, he graduated cum laude from the Escuela Superior de Música y Danza de Monterrey in 2020, and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Collaborative Piano at The Juilliard School in New York City.

He has been invited as a Collaborative Artist in a wide range of concert programs and festivals, including Italian Opera 200 (Juilliard–Columbia University, 2025), The New Series: Pride Songbook, Vol. 2 (Juilliard, 2025), The New Series: Schoenberg and Beyond (Juilliard, 2024), Sonatenabend Series (Juilliard, 2024–25), Liederabend Series (Juilliard, 2024–25), Festival Internacional de Flauta La Superior (Monterrey, Mexico, 2022), Festival Internacional de Violonchelo de León (Leon, Mexico, 2022), Monterrey Summer Opera Academy (2022), and Axixic Haus der Musik Festival (Jalisco, Mexico, 2023), among others, performing with world-class musicians. As a solo pianist, he has performed with several orchestras, including works by Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, and Gershwin, under the baton of conductors such as Felipe Tristán and Roberto Hernández.

Villarreal has won awards from important competitions including the Angélica Morales Piano Competition (Mexico City, 2019), Parnassós Piano Competition (Monterrey, Mexico, 2018), and Claudio Herrera Piano Competition (Durango, Mexico, 2018). In 2016, he took part in the International Summer School of the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory. In 2023, he received a full scholarship to attend the intensive Conducting Workshop by the Vincerò Academy under the guidance of maestro Enrique Diemecke.

From 2022 to 2024, he was the Assistant Music Director, Rehearsal Pianist, and Arranger in the musical theater company of the ITESM (Tecnológico de Monterrey), known for casting and producing some of the highest-level musical theater in the north of Mexico. He was in charge of several musicals, playing and sometimes conducting in every stage of the production. He has performed with several orchestras and was Principal Pianist of La Súper Orquesta Filarmónica de la Escuela Superior de Música y Danza de Monterrey from its foundation until 2024. He also performed as the orchestra pianist with The Juilliard Orchestra in the 2025 season. Additionally, he holds a degree in Civil Engineering from Tecnológico de Monterrey, and holds the National Excellence Award by CENEVAL, which carefully evaluates and awards only a few engineers from all over Mexico.

Steven Blier, Artistic Director / Pianist / Arranger

Bénédicte Jourdois, Associate Director / Pianist

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Schwab Vocal Rising Stars

Overview

Artists

Program

About the Artists

Shiyu Zhuo, soprano

Anna Maria Vacca, mezzo-soprano

Nathan Romportl, tenor

Will Kim, baritone

Luis Villarreal, piano

Steven Blier, Artistic Director / Pianist / Arranger

Bénédicte Jourdois, Associate Director / Pianist

Visit Us

Make a Gift

About the Artists

Shiyu Zhuo, soprano

Anna Maria Vacca, mezzo-soprano

Nathan Romportl, tenor

Will Kim, baritone

Luis Villarreal, piano

Steven Blier, Artistic Director / Pianist / Arranger

Bénédicte Jourdois, Associate Director / Pianist

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