The DiMenna Center is set to feature the Sparks & Wiry Cries Second Annual songSLAM Festival, dedicated to art song on Jan. 17-18, 2020.

The festival kicks off with the fourth annual NYC songSLAM on Jan. 17. This event is a unique competition for emerging composer and performer teams to premiere to art song. Composer Tom Cipullo will host the event with audience members allowed to vote on their favorite performances. There will also be $2,000 in cash prizes to be awarded.

The next day, audiences will get a chance to see a recital starring famed mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe alongside pianist Kayo Iwama. Also performing on the concert will be soprano Lucy Fitz Gibbon and pianist Ryan MacEvoy McCullough. The event will include the world premiere of Alan Louis Smith’s new song cycle “Surfing the Thin Places.” There will also be music of Adela Maddison, James Legg, and Sheila Silver.