About this Event
December Light with Clara Luz Iranzo and Victoria Schwartzman
Saturday, December 19
7:30pm - 9:30pm
$20.00
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Clara Luz Iranzo, Soprano
Praised for her “enviable top notes” (OperaWire) and “highly nuanced and sensitive dramatic portrayals” (Forum Opéra), Puerto Rican soprano Clara Luz Iranzo captivates audiences across Europe, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the United States. In 2025, she received the Performance Engagement Prize at the Sicily Music Festival Competition. Her recent highlights include role debuts as Pamina in The Magic Flute with Cali Opera and Micaëla in Carmen with Regina Opera, as well as a second-year full scholarship with Bridges Vocal Arts and selection for the 2026 Castleton Festival. An avid advocate for art song and Latin American repertoire, she was also invited to embark on a recital tour across Italy.
Iranzo has performed at Salle Cortot and Salle Rossini in Paris and at Kaufman Music Center alongside international mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges. Her repertoire includes Ilia (Idomeneo), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Diana (La Calisto), Laetitia (The Old Maid and the Thief), Blanche de la Force (Dialogues des Carmélites), Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi), and Prima Maschera (Giulietta e Romeo). She has also workshopped Theresa Alvarez in Missy Mazzoli’s The Listeners, commissioned by the Norwegian National Opera, Opera Philadelphia, and Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Her honors include the Mildred Ellor May Emerging Artist Award, Graduate Excellence in Opera Award, multiple Cali School of Music Concerto Competition awards, and recognition from The American Prize, Opera Grand Rapids VanderLaan Prize, Schmidt Vocal Arts, and the Zarzuela, Voz y Olé Competition. She has participated in Houston Grand Opera’s Young Artists’ Vocal Academy and trained with Mannes Opera, Camerata Bardi Vocal Academy, International Vocal Arts Institute, Savannah Voice Festival, and Campamento de Canto Lírico de Puerto Rico. In 2021, she performed works by Carlos Guastavino for the United Nations.
Iranzo holds a Bachelor’s degree from Mannes School of Music and a Master’s degree and Artist Diploma from Montclair State University, where she was a full-scholarship recipient and studied with Beth Roberts and Maya Lahyani, with coaching from Victoria Schwartzman, Bryan Wagorn, Mary Pinto, and Peiwen Chen.
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Victoria Schwartzman, Piano
Artist Director of Kaleidoscope Arts
Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, Victoria Schwartzman performs regularly as a soloist, chamber musician, and collaborative pianist. She has appeared with the Bavarian Radio Orchestra Chamber Players and at the Bard Music Festival, Music Mountain Festival, Bargemusic, Summit Music Festival, the New York Philharmonic Ensembles series at Merkin Hall, the Gessner-Schocken Concert Series in Cambridge, WMP Concert Hall, and the Nicholas Roerich Museum Concert Series in New York City.
As a member of the Yanvar Trio, Victoria was a prizewinner at the Val Tidone International Chamber Music Competition and a finalist at the Zinotti International Chamber Music Competition, both in Italy. As a soloist with orchestra, she has performed with the Jerusalem Chamber Orchestra, the Longy School of Music Chamber Orchestra, the Riverside Orchestra, and the New Westchester Symphony Orchestra. She has also appeared at the Quartet Program in Pennsylvania and participated in the Tel-Hai International Piano Festival in Israel and the Lyrica Chamber Music Festival in New Jersey.
After graduating from the Jerusalem Conservatory, Victoria continued her studies at the Longy School of Music and the New England Conservatory. While pursuing graduate degrees in piano and chamber music performance, she was selected to perform in masterclasses with Dmitri Bashkirov, Menahem Pressler, Richard Goode, and other distinguished artists. Her principal teachers include Irina Kivaiko, Issak Kossov, Victor Rosenbaum, Sally Pinkas, Eda Shlyam, and Eteri Andjaparidze.
Equally at home in opera and art song, Victoria has served as a vocal coach and collaborative pianist at the Boston Lyric Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, the Bard Music Festival, the Brevard Music Center, the Queens Summer Vocal Institute, and the American Institute of Musical Studies (AIMS) in Graz, Austria. She joined the AIMS faculty in 2024.
Deeply committed to education, Victoria has presented masterclasses for pianists and singers, including sessions devoted to Russian vocal repertoire. She is a member of the coaching faculty at Montclair State University and the piano faculty of the Bard College Preparatory Division. In addition, she maintains an active private piano studio in Northern New Jersey and Manhattan.
Victoria served as Co-founder and Artistic Director of the Newburgh Music Festival, a ten-day Young Artist Program devoted to the study and performance of solo repertoire, chamber music, and art song.
Victoria is Co-creator and Artistic Director of Kaleidoscope Arts, a newly established organization dedicated to making world-class classical music accessible to audiences of all ages by bringing exceptional performances to communities across the country.
Event venue & nearby stays
Newton Highlands Congregational, 54 Lincoln Street, Newton, United States
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