On Wednesday, February 25, 2026 at 12:00 PM, the distinguished soprano Susan Narucki presents a recital together with coloratura soprano Kirsten Ashley Wiest in Riverside, United States. The program features works by Marti Epstein, Kaija Saariaho, and Rozalie Hirs. The lunchtime concert is free and open to the public.
Rozalie Hirs composed come sempre (2025), based on her own poetry, commissioned by Narucki as part of the ongoing project Two Voices. For this work, Hirs set the first poem of her poetry collection ecologica (Uitgeverij Vleugels, 2023), translated into Italian by Patrizia Filia. Hirs received the Jan Campert Prize 2023 for this collection.
About Susan Narucki
American soprano Susan Narucki is internationally acclaimed for her radiant voice and her profound commitment to contemporary music. A passionate advocate for new opera, she creates leading roles in groundbreaking works such as Writing to Vermeer by Louis Andriessen and Peter Greenaway, Rêves d’un Marco Polo by Claude Vivier, and What Next? by Elliott Carter at Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam. As a soloist, she performs with the Cleveland Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Dutch National Opera, and appears regularly at Carnegie Hall.
Her extensive discography includes many award-winning recordings on leading labels. She can be heard on George Crumb’s Star-Child, which received the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition, and on The Edge of Silence: Vocal Music of Kurtág (AVIE), which was nominated for Best Classical Vocal Recording. In recognition of her artistic achievements and her teaching, Narucki received the Chancellor’s Associates Faculty Excellence Award (2014) from the University of California, San Diego, where she currently serves as Distinguished Professor of Music.
Narucki and Hirs previously collaborated on Hirs’ orchestral song cycle arbre généalogique (2011), featured on the composer’s portrait album Rosehart (2025).
Date: February 25, 2026
Doors open: 12:00 PM
Location: University of California Riverside, Arts Building 157, Riverside, California 92507, United States
Performers: Susan Narucki (soprano), Kirsten Ashley Wiest (coloratura soprano)