Birnbaum on Ivory

This exciting program will be an exploration of pieces from the Eduard Birnbaum Collection, featuring liturgical compositions from the 19th and 20th centuries performed as solo piano works. Selections will include side-by-side comparisons of settings of the same text by various composers as well as incidental and special occasion music composed for the synagogue. Compositions from the Birnbaum collection exist in varied instrumentations including solo piano/organ, a capella choir, choir with instrumental or orchestral accompaniment, and soloist/cantor with instrumental or orchestral accompaniment. All of these works have been adapted and transcribed for solo piano by the performer, Marissa Kerbel.

Marissa Kerbel is a pianist and pedagogue based in Chicago, IL. She holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in piano performance as well as a Master’s degree in music theory from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music. Marissa is active as both a soloist and collaborator and regularly performs with regional orchestras throughout the Midwest as well as the chamber music ensemble, OLEA, of which she is a founding member. Marissa’s debut album, In 24 Years: The Instrumental Music of Lili Boulanger, is scheduled to be released in the Summer of 2023.