Rishin Singh
An interview with Stacey Fraser and her new album with Jack Van Zandt
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25 MARCH 2025 BEHIND THE SCENES: AN INTERVIEW WITH STACEY FRASER CE NEWS
Behind the Scenes: an Interview with Stacey Fraser
Following Stacey Fraser’s release of Jack Van Zandt’s A Chaos of Light and Motion, we spoke with the California-based soprano about the LA New Music community, working with Van Zandt, and their chance meeting via Peter Maxwell Davies.
A Chaos of Light and Motion, which features Stacey Fraser singing a variety of Van Zandt’s vocal music, was released last month by Neuma Records.
Rishin Singh: Congratulations on the new release! There’s a great diversity of Jack’s vocal music on the recording, from voice with electronics and synthesiser to ensemble works to Jazz Opera. From a singer’s point of view, what do you think unites these disparate strands in his work?
Stacey Fraser: Many thanks Rishin! We are really excited about the release! Yes, there is a lot of diversity on this album, I do my best to honor my technique no matter what the genre, each piece has its own challenges. I am trained in the bel canto method of singing, dating back to my conservatory days at the University of Toronto and Manhattan School of Music. I also spent a significant amount of time training as a young artist at various companies and summer programs including San Diego Opera, Tanglewood and the Banff Centre. I have, however, always had a curiosity for expanding my technique to incorporate various vocal aesthetics, as there is even more opportunity to create dramatic effects. This interest is what led me to attend UC Diego for a DMA in Contemporary Music Performance. I was moonlighting at SD Opera throughout the degree, so I had to balance performing standard repertoire whilst studying music that goes beyond the conventions of traditional operatic singing. All three works on this recording require a solid technical foundation, and the songs from The New Frontier are no exception. I would say I have the opportunity to be a bit more playful in the song “The New Frontier,” but I am still thinking as a technician whilst telling the story. In addition to the technical side, I do my best to communicate text, especially with Jill’s [Freeman] clever lyrics in The New Frontier.
RS: You and Jack have collaborated often over the past six or seven years. How did you meet, and what sustains your ongoing collaboration?
SF: Jack and I met when I was preparing the title role in Peter Maxwell Davies’ Miss Donnithorne’s Maggot, a 30-40 minute atonal monodrama that required every ounce of engagement from my body, mind and soul! Our friend Aron Kallay, Grammy-nominated pianist and Artistic Director of the Brightwork ensemble with whom I was collaborating on the work, made the introduction as he knew that Jack had studied with Davies and thought I might like to chat with someone who had worked with the composer. Jack and I met for coffee in Claremont and the rest is history! We have been collaborating ever since, I have performed and recorded much of Jack’s music in various venues. We are always coming up with new ideas and want to keep going as long as we are able!
RS: What is the process with Jack like? Does he simply present you the final version of a piece, or is there a lot of workshopping together involved?
SF: Jack is a great colleague and very open to what works best for my voice. Yes, usually the pieces are finished but he certainly welcomes feedback. I think I might be a bit of a strange phenomenon to composers. I am certainly a soprano, but I am on the lyric side, yet, my training is such that the middle voice is well-developed. I am also able to dip down into the chest resonance (all in moderation!!!). I have always had the flexibility for coloratura passages, yet I am not a high coloratura soprano – I guess you could say I am a classic soubrette with lyric tendencies. In the end, I am pretty frank about what my voice can and cannot do, and we modify if needed.
"Conjuring fantastical worlds in his imaginative settings of Percy Bysshe Shelley, Rabindranath Tagore, and Jill Freeman, composer Jack Van Zandt caresses words and shapes instrumental colors like an alchemist, all brought vividly to life by the superb Stacey Fraser."
–Anne LeBaron
RS: Are the other musicians on the recording your regular collaborators? Of course I associate yourself, Nadia Shpachenko, and Alison Bjorkedal with Jack’s music, but can you provide a glimpse into the wider community of contemporary music making in which you’re involved?
SF: My connection to Nadia is definitely through Jack and it’s been super fun getting to know her! What a phenomenal artist! Alison and I have collaborated a few times, most recently on Crumb’s Madrigals and on a new chamber work by our friend Tom Flaherty entitled The Frogs who wanted a King with text by Aesop, what a kick! I am also a new core member of the Brightwork new music ensemble. I have had some nice opportunities here in the Los Angeles area to work with fantastic composers and musicians. I feel very fortunate. It’s a vibrant community that is close-knit and supportive.
RS: What challenges and rewards are inherent in singing contemporary music?
SF: I am drawn to new music because I am not confined to a box! I am glad I studied standard rep for so long and spent my 10,000 hours learning to sing as it has allowed me the facility to go explore all kinds of music. I still do my best not to overreach, I want to be able to sing forever so vocal health is paramount. I love being able to make nutty sounds and vocal gestures; it’s a wonderful way to communicate and be free! I am a singer-actor who loves to tell stories and new music allows me to experiment and play. It’s the ultimate challenge, especially in difficult works where you have to count like a madman and tell the story whilst honoring your technique. And when it all comes together, it’s an amazing feeling.
RS: What sort of qualities do you look for in a composer-collaborator?
SF: I think friendship and respect for each other’s craft are so important, flexibility and a willingness to learn from each other. Also, the logistics of actually making things happen! Producing concerts and putting albums together take a lot of work, administrative work! It’s not all fun and games!
RS: Thanks for your time, Stacey! In what other projects are you involved at the moment? Anything exciting that you can share?
SF: Thank you for this opportunity Rishin and for your support of our album! Yes, I always have things cooking, I am in the midst of directing and producing an original staged adaptation of the AIDS Quilt Songbook and I am getting ready to release an album on Microfest Records with Brightwork featuring the music of Ben Johnson, Bill Alves and Helmut Oehring. I am also set to record a suite of pieces from Pamela Madsen’s Why Women Went West. I am hoping to record and perform some unpublished songs by Jack’s mentor Alexander Goehr in the coming year. And knowing Jack, I know he has more music up his sleeve that we will want to share!
Tags: A chaos of Light and Motion, Alastair Edmonstone, Alexander goehr, Alison Bjorkedal, Aron Kallay, Beyond Opera Collective Ensemble, Brightwork ensemble, Cory Hills, Cynthia Fogg, jack van zandt, Jane Rigler, Jill Freeman, John Kennedy, Nadia Shpachenko, Neuma Records, opera, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Rabindranath Tagore, Ruth Charloff, Sara Andon, song, song cycle, soprano and chamber ensemble, Stacey Fraser, Two Character Songs from The New Frontier, Yuri Inoo
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