The Federation of Art Song: FAS Fellows Concert
Kerrigan Bigelow and Amber Scherer. Courtesy of FAS.
Hope is not a constant, rather it is tested and changed by the difficult realities of life. Just as courage cannot exist in the absence of fear, hope does not exist without despair. This program depicts various expressions of hopefulness, often rooted in love, as well as challenges encountered in that pursuit of hope. We have selected songs of hope which are often paired with songs of questioning or doubt.
Notably in the Poulenc cycle, the songs relay various attempts to find hope. The unrelenting search for hope – energized by the “coping mechanisms” embodied in these songs – is a significant part of the human experience, as we seek to overcome despair on the path to fruitful and fulfilling lives.
The program seeks not to answer questions, but to pose them. The art of these poets and composers encourages us to empathize with each other’s experiences.
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We are pleased to present Kerrigan Bigelow and Amber Scherer in concert at the Zimmerli Art Museum. This will be their first concert as FAS Fellows, and the public is invited to attend free of charge.
Program Schedule
2 p.m. - 3 p.m. / Concert in Lower Dodge gallery
3 p.m. - 4 p.m. / Reception in Museum Lobby
Concerts are free and open to the public, but seating is limited. Please RVSP via FAS. Check back soon for parking information.
About the Performers
Kerrigan Bigelow, from North Andover, Massachusetts, is currently a fast-rising young soprano on the New York concert and opera scene.
In fall 2024 she began her Masters degree in voice performance at The Juilliard School, where she recently completed the degree Bachelor of Music. There she studies with Amy Burton.
During 2024, she debuted as Mariuccia in I Due Timidi, covered Aldimira in Erismena, sang Sarriaho’s Aria from The Grammar of Dreams as part of Juilliard’s The New Series: The Mad King and Carnegie Hall’s Fall of the Weimar Republic: Dancing on Precipice. Notably, Kerrigan was the winner of the Vocal Arts Honors Recital at Juilliard, and made her Alice Tully Hall debut.
Kerrigan has also performed with the New York Festival of Song on three occasions, and is the honored recipient of a Kovner Fellowship at The Juilliard School.
Amber Ginmi Scherer is a Brooklyn-based pianist and educator. She holds Bachelor’s degrees in Piano Performance and Psychology from Oberlin, as well as a Master’s in Collaborative Piano from The Juilliard School. Amber’s artistic passion is rooted in collaboration and dedication to the underrepresented demographics of the classical canon. During her second year at Juilliard, Amber performed works by H.T. Burleigh and Christopher Armstrong (Juilliard ‘25) on a program in celebration of Black History Month. One month later, she performed a recital at Merkin Hall with soprano Kerrigan Bigelow, in addition to a recital through City Lyric Opera with soprano Amanda Simms, both of vocal works on femininity and disenfranchisement.
As part of her education, Amber has attended various programs on fellowship, including the Tanglewood Music Festival, Caramoor Residency, and Art of the Piano Festival. Amber is deeply committed to broadening accessibility to the arts. She spent 2022-23 as an Americorps Resident Teaching Artist in Queens, NY, and was subsequently a recipient of the U.S. Department of Education’s Segal Education Award. Currently, she is on faculty at the Brooklyn Music School at BAM, on staff at PROTESTRA, and serves as an opera pianist at The Juilliard School.
About FAS
Believing strongly in the value of songs of all genres sung in classical style, the Federation of the Art Song (FAS) helps deserving singers and collaborative pianists to develop their artistic abilities and identities. Their goal is to educate the public on the expanding catalogue of song repertoire from a multitude of sources and communities, thus benefitting audiences and artists alike. For more information, visit www.fasong.org/.