A group of students from the Bard College Conservatory Graduate Vocal Arts Program have come together to present a virtual recital experience, titled “Wherever the Road May Lead.”

Inspired by Poet’s Walk Park and other locations in the Hudson Valley region, this recital is intended for listeners to enjoy through headphones as they walk through nature. The program is comprised of selections from composers such as Florence Price, Charles Ives, Undine Smith Moore, Libby Larsen, and local composer Joshua Groffman. The recital will also include poetry readings and mindfulness exercises to add to the immersive experience and soothe the mind.

The artists and co-creators of “Wherever the Road May Lead” are soprano Jardena Gertler-Jaffe, tenor Maximillian Jansen, baritone Louis Tiemann, and pianist Diana Borshcheva. They will also perform a number of live, pop-up recitals at local parks in Dutchess County to promote the event.

“Knowing the challenges that many of us are experiencing in the COVID-era, we were really intent upon creating an experience that would take our listeners away from their computers and into the world on an adventure,” writes Gertler-Jaffe.

This virtual recital, launching November 25, 2020, will benefit Scenic Hudson, the organization which preserves parks and farms along the Hudson River. Listeners are also encouraged to take pictures on their walk and share them to social media, with the hashtag #walkingrecital, so that they may be later shared on the event’s website as a form of community art project, providing another layer of engagement for audiences to share with one another.