Featuring three world premiere song cycles and the premiere of three scenes from the opera Two Soldiers.

The Diversions label is thrilled to announce a showcase of the vocal music of Chicago-based composer Doug Lofstrom with baritone Ryan De Ryke, soprano Kim Jones, tenor Ryan Townsend Strand, and pianist Daniel Schlosberg for release on12 September 2025.

Composer Doug Lofstrom first met Ryan De Ryke and Daniel Schlosberg in 2014 when they gave a lecture about setting words to music for his composition class at Columbia College Chicago. After their presentation, Lofstrom immediately suggested they work together, resulting in these recordings of the song cycles, Three Sandburg Songs, All Must End, and finally the ambitious cycle Myths and Accidents. 

It was after the completion of the recordings of these song cycles that Lofstrom decided he had was ready for the first recordings of scenes from his opera, Two Soldiers. Two Soldiers began in 1989 as a collaboration with librettist Al Day and was supported by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Illinois Arts Council, and premiered in 1990 by the Free Street Theater at the University of Illinois, Chicago. In 2020, COVID provided Lofstrom with a window for a full-scale revision with a new vocal score, full orchestra, and all-new video technology. These recordings serve as a launch point for the next step in the life of this new work.

Set against a backdrop of world conflagration in the 1940s, Two Soldiers explores the themes of destiny and choice, of survival and enlightenment. It follows two very different soldiers, one Russian and one German, through their wartime experiences. Throughout, Two Soldiers employs sweeping historical perspective in a grand opera style. The full opera features a large cast, chorus, and orchestra, and projections of WWII documentary film. In this recording, we are treated to the voices of Ryan de Ryke, soprano Kim Jones, and tenor Ryan Townsend Strand along with the pianist Daniel Schlosberg and a session chamber orchestra.

Track List:

Myths and Accidents (Alan Robert Day, librettist)
All Must End
Three Sandburg Songs
Three Scenes from the opera Two Soldiers
1. Act I, Scene V: Dark Clouds Above
2. Act II, Scene I: Duo Soliloquy
3. Act III, Scene VII: Dream Sequence

About Doug Lofstrom

Bassist and composer Doug Lofstrom has been performing and composing since the 1970’s, and his diverse scores and recordings reflect his ongoing involvement in jazz, folk, theater, dance and symphonic music. In the 1990’s, he was composer-in-residence for the Metropolis Symphony Orchestra and during the 80’s, musical director of Chicago’s Free Street Theatre. His works have been performed by the St. Louis, Atlanta and Oregon Symphony Orchestras, and the Present Music and CUBE chamber ensembles. 

Highlights of his work include scores for the Pittsburgh Ballet, Midwest Ballet and Natya Dance Theatres.  Commissions include three concertinos for the New Philharmonic Orchestra and three works for the Evansville, IN “musictelling” group Tales and Scales.  In 2001, Lofstrom formed The New Quartet, a versatile chamber ensemble which performs his original music and arrangements of modern classics, jazz and world music. He has been on the music faculty of Columbia College Chicago since 1986, and founded and directed their New Music Ensemble from 2000 until 2016. 

Many of his more recent works involve voices – either as soloists or chorus – including the music represented on this album. Other music has been composed or arranged for specific ensembles: Columbia’s New Music Ensemble, Doug Lofstrom and the New Quartet, and most recently the jazz/spoken word group The Last Word.  Lofstrom feels keenly the need for his music to be performed and has spent much of his career creating opportunities for that to happen. 

No matter its origins, genre or presentation, Lofstrom’s music strives for clarity, rhythmic vitality and directness of expression.  His music – whether performed live or recorded – exists to create a bridge between himself and his audience, where communication can flourish on many levels. 

About Ryan de Ryke

Ryan de Ryke (baritone) is an artist whose versatility and unique musical presence have endeared him to audiences in the worlds of song, musical theater, early music, oratorio, and concert music. He has performed at many of the leading international music festivals including the Aldeburgh and Edinburgh Festivals in the UK and the summer festival at Aix-en-Provence in France, garnering significant acclaim as both a recitalist and singing actor. Ryan studied at the Peabody Conservatory with John Shirley Quirk, the Royal Academy of Music in London with Ian Partridge, and at the National Conservatory of Luxembourg with Georges Backes. He is also an alumnus of the Britten-Pears Institute in the UK and the Schubert Institute in Austria where he worked with great artists of the song world such as Elly Ameling, Wolfgang Holzmair, Julius Drake, Rudolf Jansen, and Helmut Deutsch. 

Although Ryan’s first love is song, he is also known for his work in the Early Music community. His performances with Haymarket Opera have been heralded by the Chicago Tribune among their top 5 list, and his interpretations of oratorio are enthusiastically received. Ryan is also an accomplished recording artist who rose to attention with his first CD, “A Wanderer’s Guitar,” on which he collaborates with guitarist Brandon Acker to present Schubert songs. He also appears on the CD “Final Fantasy, Distant Worlds,” conducted by Arnie Roth of Mannheim Steamroller. 

During the pandemic, Ryan starred as the eponymous role in a film of Handel’s “Apollo and Dafne” which was streamed by The Metropolitan Opera and The Royal Opera House Covent Garden. Ryan is particularly proud of his latest CD released by Naxos with pianist Eva Mengelkoch of songs by Albrecht Mendelssohn. The American Record Guide hails his “warm and expressive” singing on this album while Fanfare declares that the songs from “Des Knaben Wunderhorn,” “fit the baritone like a glove.”

About Daniel Schlosberg

Pianist Daniel Schlosberg leads a kaleidoscopic musical life. He has appeared with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in numerous chamber music and new music concerts, and also as featured soloist in subscription performances of Messiaen’s “Trois Petites Liturgies.” He has a passion for contemporary music, was a founding member of Yarn/Wire, and has given the world premiere of Augusta Read Thomas’s “Starlight Ribbons” for solo piano and the US premiere of Kaija Saariaho’s Calices with violinist Austin Wulliman. He has recorded for the Albany, Bridge, Bright Shiny Things, Centaur, Navona, New World, Nimbus, Jacaranda and Permelia labels. 

In the art song realm, he was on staff at Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute and was the founder of the Baltimore Lieder Weekend. His release with soprano Laura Strickling, 40@40, reached #1 on the Billboard charts and garnered the duo a GRAMMY® nomination. Other recent projects include Mahler/Zemlinsky: Symphony No 6 (arr. 4-hands) at the National Gallery of Art and Ravinia, and multiple appearances at Bargemusic in Brooklyn. His most recent release is “Mere Mortals” with violinist Caitlin Edwards. 

Based in Chicago, he is on faculty at the University of Notre Dame, where he is also advisor to the student Table Tennis Club.   danielschlosberg.com

Ophelia is the first BRIT School alum to release a commercially recorded classical album

Divine Art is delighted to announce the forthcoming release of ‘Between the Lines’, a dazzling collection of solo piano music by Ukrainian composer Nikolai Kapustin, featuring the label debut of the exciting young pianist and musical polymath Ophelia Gordon.  The album will be released in November 2025.

Technically demanding yet life-affirming and addictive, Kapustin’s music intricately weaves classical forms with the dynamic vitality of jazz, giving the impression of improvisation but is carefully notated by the composer. Ophelia has chosen pieces that are most jazz influenced as an ‘introduction’ to Kapustin, for those listening to his music for the first time and also audiences that enjoy traditional jazz. 

The album includes well-known piano cycles – the Eight Concert Etudes, Op.40 and 8of the 24 Preludes in Jazz Style, Op.53 as well as four individual pieces. Big Band Sounds Op.46 was originally written for big band and piano before Kapustin created the solo piano version Ophelia performs here. The energetic fast tempo samba piece Paraphrase on ‘Aquarela do Brasil’ for Piano, Op.118 is followed by the showstopping Paraphrase on Dizzy Gillespie’s Manteca for 2 Pianos, Op.129, in which Ophelia plays both parts, which is rarely done and never before with a Kapustin piece. To contrast there is a slower, more reflective piece on the album showing a different side to the composer: Contemplation, Op.47.

Ophelia was drawn to the music of Kapustin as it reflects her own background and versatility. Her repertoire extends from classical to jazz and beyond, a fusion of diverse musical influences.  Alongside her classical studies she grew up surrounded with jazz performance, played bass with jazz bands, and contemporary pop and jazz at the BRIT School. She is now taking a Masters in classical piano with second study jazz piano at the Trinity Laban conservatoire.

“In a musical landscape often shaped by tradition and polish, I was drawn to something less predictable—something that allowed space for risk, friction, and truth. This isn’t just classical meets jazz: its structure meets spontaneity, tradition meets rebellion. In approaching Kapustin’s music, I found a space where formal discipline could coexist with rhythmic freedom and raw expression. His works gave me permission to challenge aesthetic boundaries and offer something more personal and more alive.

The pieces I chose resonated with me on a subconscious level—particularly those with groovier beats, strong use of jazz harmony, and traditional jazz progressions. I’ve also included a few lesser-known gems that show Kapustin’s remarkable stylistic range. The syncopation, groove, and harmonic language create the sense of an entire jazz ensemble: bass, drums, brass, and piano—all conjured from a single performer”Ophelia Gordon

The BRIT School is a renowned performing arts school which has produced successful alumni in various fields. Some of the most notable include Adele, Amy Winehouse, Jessie J, Leona Lewis, and Tom Holland.

Track List:

Eight Concert Etudes, Op.40
Big Band Sounds, Op.46
24 Preludes in Jazz Style, Op.53:
No.4 in E minor | No.5 in D Major | No.11 in B Major | No. 16 in B flat Minor | No.17 in A-flat Major | No.18 in F Minor |No.19 in E-flat Major | No.23 in F Major
Paraphrase on ‘Aquarela do Brasil,’ for Piano, Op.118
Paraphrase on Dizzy Gillespie’s Manteca for 2 Pianos, Op.129
Contemplation, Op.47

Ophelia Gordon is a British pianist known for her dynamic performances and unique artistic background. In November 2025, she will release her debut album, ‘Kapustin: Between the Lines’, under Divine Art Recordings, making her the first female British pianist to record a full album of Nikolai Kapustin’s works. Additionally, she will be the first BRIT School alum to release a classical album, marking a historic moment in both her career and the institution’s legacy.

Her career spans teaching, performing, and collaborative piano, and she is currently on the faculty at Alleyn’s School, one of London’s leading schools for music and the arts. She won 1st place at the ARS Nova International Competition in 2021 and served as the Resident Pianist for the Art Song Preservation Society at the Manhattan School of Music in New York in 2024.

A versatile musician, Ophelia began her journey at the BRIT School, where she studied classical guitar, piano, and double bass. She earned her Bachelor’s of Music at Durham University and City University London, where she specialised in classical guitar and double bass. Ophelia is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in piano performance at Trinity Laban Conservatoire, where she was awarded both the Trinity College London Scholarship and the Cutlers’ Scholarship. She studies under Ji Liu, the Head of Keyboard at Trinity Laban and with renowned jazz pianist Liam Noble.

Ophelia continues to develop a distinctive artistic voice that bridges genres and challenges conventional boundaries.

Athene announces Zaytoun, an intertwining of Arabic and Baroque music, the debut solo album from tenor Haitham Haidar

Featuring Baroque and Arabic songs, poetry and improvisations

Athene is delighted to announce the release of Zaytoun (meaning ‘Olive’ in Arabic), the debut solo album from tenor Haitham Haidar. It’s a captivating collection of beautiful Baroque and Arabic songs, interlaced with poetry and musical improvisations, an exploration of the intersection between Baroque and Arabic music. Whether through instrumentation, ornamentation, or vocal production, Zaytoun highlights the natural connections between what we generally view as separate worlds. The album will be released on August 22^nd, 2025, with its first single released on May 30, 2025

Haidar pairs Baroque arias and songs by composers including Monteverdi, Purcell, and Bach with Arabic songs which were his first introduction to music, some traditional and others by the Egyptian composer Sayed Darwish, one of the biggest influences on Arabic music. Haidar has added Arabic instrumentation to some of the Baroque standards, and even translated an aria from Bach’s Matthew Passion into Arabic, incorporating Arabic style into the Baroque structure. The album also includes Li Beirut, by the Lebanese poet Joseph Harb, set to the Adagio from Joaquín Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez. 

Haidar is joined on the album by oud player Abdul-Wahab Kayyali and Sylvain Bergeron (archlute), Amanda Keesmaat (baroque cello), Tanya LaPerrière (baroque violin) with Abraham Ross on harpsichord. And in a rarity for classical recordings, Haidar implements multi-tracking in order to harmonize with himself in Monteverdi’s Lamento della Nina, SV 163 aria and the traditional Palestinian song Ya Taleen.

Alongside the music are three poetry tracks (from Gibran Khalil Gibran’s The Prophet) read over beautifully performed oud improvisation by Abdul-Wahab Kayyali. These tracks (prelude, intermezzo, and postlude) help present the music to follow and shape Haidar’s narrative of his own immigrant story in the unique intertwining of Arabic and Baroque music. 

“As an Arab immigrant, life continues to be a journey of exploration of home, of belonging and this musical project encompasses all parts of my identity, allowing them to live and shine within one sphere rather than compartmentalized sections of myself.” Haitham Haidar

Track List:

Prelude: On Love (The Prophet)
Gibran Khalil Gibran
Vespro della Beat Vergine, SV 206: No. 3, Nigra Sum
Claudio Monteverdi, Song of Solomon 1:4-5; 2:10b-12a
El Helwa Di
Sayed Darwish
Zourouni
Sayed Darwish
Lamento della Nina, SV 163: No. 2, Amor
Claudio Monteverdi, Ottavio Rinuccini
Oedipus, Z. 583 Act III: No. 2, Music for a While
Henry Purcell, John Dryden
Wa Habibi
Anon. Traditional Arabic
Intermezzo: On Joy and Sorrow (The Prophet)
Gibran Khalil Gibran
Matthäus-passion, BWV 244: No. 39, Erbarme dich, mein Gott (Ruhmaka ya Allah)
J.S. Bach, Picander (translated by Haitham Haidar)
Grief, Keep Within
John Danyel, Samuel Danyel
Li Beirut
Joaquín Rodrigo, Joseph Harb
Le doux silence de nos bois
Honoré d’Ambruis
Ya Taleen
Traditional Palestinian arr. Shireen Abu Khader, Nareg Abajian
Postlude: On Death (The Prophet)
Gibran Khalil Gibran

Artists:
Haitham Haidar (tenor)
Sylvain Bergeron (archlute)
Abdul-Wahab Kayyali (oud)
Amanda Keesmaat (baroque cello)
Tanya LaPerrière (baroque violin)
Abraham Ross (harpsichord)

About Haitham Haidar

Haitham Haidar is a Lebanese-Palestinian Canadian tenor highly sought out for his musicality, “standout presence”, and sensitive storytelling. He is a proud graduate of Yale’s Institute of Sacred Music, McGill’s Schulich School of Music, and the University of British Columbia and currently resides in Montreal, Quebec. Haitham is praised for his ‘musical and linguistic versatility’ and his ‘bright’ and ‘innately lyrical voice’ and enjoys performing oratorio, opera, and chamber music across North America, Europe, and Asia. 

He has recently been seen as a tenor soloist with Early Music Vancouver, Belgian ensemble Zefiro Torna (at the Morgenland Festival in Osnabrück) and in the lead role as the Evangelist in Bach’s St. John Passion at the Winnipeg Baroque Festival. He has also been a recent soloist with TENET Vocal Artists in New York City, with Orchestre Arion in Montreal, as well as played the role of Evangelist in Schütz’s Weinachtshistorie with Folger Consort in Washington DC. He has also performed as a soloist and ensemble member with groups like Seraphic Fire in Miami and Skylark Ensemble in Massachusetts. Haitham has been recorded as a soloist and ensemble member on a few albums namely Distance with the choir of St Andrew and St Paul in Montreal, Schutz Christmas Story with Yale Schola Cantorum in New Haven, and L’Heure Mauve by Pierre LaPointe in Montreal. Haitham is also a featured soloist on Austin based Conspirare’s GRAMMY® nominated album House of Belonging. You may also find Haitham’s voice in one of the temples in the game Assassins Creed: Origins. Haitham is a proud member of Kaleidoscope Vocal Ensemble, a group that unites music excellence and diversity while offering highly educational and practical experiences to students from middle school to graduate school. Haitham’s debut solo album Zaytoun has been a dream come true. Producing and artistically leading an album with such an amazing team is a true gift.

Featuring rarely heard performing editions blending historical and modern approaches to interpretation

In his Divine Art label debut, pianist Tom Hicks was praised for his “formidable technique” (Musical Opinion) and “highly stimulating” (American Record Guide) program of Liszt and Ireland Sonatas. Divine Art is thrilled to announce his second release of an insightful new recording of the Complete Chopin Nocturnes coming 8 August 2025.

Tom Hicks’ research into the history of Chopin’s development of the Nocturnes explores how Chopin’s practice of sending manuscripts to publishers in multiple countries while continuing to edit led to multiple authentic first editions. In this recording, Hicks has compiled these multiple first editions into a version of the Nocturnes which feels wholly new, featuring variations rarely heard in performance and even less in recordings. 

Alongside revelations of Chopin’s embellishments and variants, Hicks blends Chopin’s approach to interpretative considerations (such as phrasing, tempo, rubato and pedalling) with modern performance practices to create a sonically new performance of these works. As liner note author Dr. Kim Sauberlich says, “The lesser-known historical perspectives… encourage listeners to think critically about contemporary perspectives on the singular and authentic musical work, ultimately honoring Chopin’s creative musical labors and unique approach to publication and improvisation.”

Track List:

Disc 1

1. Nocturne No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 9 No. 1 5:41
2. Nocturne No. 2 in E flat major, Op. 9 No. 2 4:24
3. Nocturne No. 3 in B major, Op. 9 No. 3 6:25
4. Nocturne No. 4 in F major, Op. 15 No. 1 4:03
5. Nocturne No. 5 in F sharp major, Op. 15 No. 2 3:20
6. Nocturne No. 6 in G minor, Op. 15 No. 3 5:25
7. Nocturne No. 7 in C sharp minor, Op. 27 No. 1 5:08
8. Nocturne No. 8 in D flat major, Op. 27 no. 2 5:43
9. Nocturne No. 9 in B major, Op. 32 No. 1 5:08
10. Nocturne No. 10 in A flat major, Op. 32 No. 2 4:43
11. Nocturne No. 11 in G minor, Op. 37 No. 1 7:48
12. Nocturne No. 12 in G major, Op. 37 No. 2 5:52

Disc 2

1. Nocturne No. 13 in C minor, Op. 48 No. 1 5:54
2. Nocturne No. 14 in F sharp minor, Op. 48 No. 2 7:43
3. Nocturne No. 15 in F minor, Op. 55 No. 1 4:34
4. Nocturne No. 16 in E flat major, Op. 55 No. 2 4:54
5. Nocturne No. 17 in B major, Op. 62 No.1 7:43
6. Nocturne No. 18 in E major, Op. 62 No. 2 6:29
7. Nocturne No. 19 in E minor, Op. posth. 3:53
8. Nocturne No. 20 in C sharp minor, Op. posth. 3:52
9. Nocturne No. 21 in C minor, Op. posth. 3:04

About Tom Hicks

Hailed as an artist of ‘magnificent pianism’ with an ‘engaging personality’, Guernsey-born pianist Tom Hicks has been praised for his ‘brilliantly evocative’ (International Piano) and ‘gorgeously creative playing’ (Fanfare). Hicks has an expansive repertoire and has appeared as recitalist in venues such as The Wigmore Hall in London, The Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, and in many other venues throughout Europe and the United States. He has appeared as concerto soloist on more than 60 occasions, including complete cycles of the Rachmaninoff and Brahms Piano Concerti. Hicks is a gold medallist in competitions including the Wales International Piano Competition, the EPTA UK Piano Competition, and the Croydon Piano Concerto Competition.

In 2019, Hicks released a recording of John Ireland and Tchaikovsky, supported by the John Ireland Charitable Trust. The CD has been celebrated by critics writing for magazines including International Piano, Fanfare, Piano Journal, and Classical Music Daily. Two further recordings were released in 2022. The first, for Divine Art, Liszt and Ireland Piano Sonatas, features those monumental sonatas alongside music by Charles Stanford, Samuel Coleridge Taylor, and Rebecca Clarke. Hicks’ playing of ‘consistent excellence’ and the ‘commanding performance, balancing the dramatic with the intimate’ on this disc have been praised by Robert Matthew-Walker and John France in Musical Opinion and MusicWeb International. This disc was also selected in the America Record Guide Best of 2022 Critics Choice. The second 2022 release for Métier, Blue Sounds, follows premières of Camden Reeves’ Tangle-Beat Blues in 2014, Nine Preludes in 2016, and Blue Sounds in 2019. Hicks has been recognised on this recording for his ‘playing distinguished by fluidity, authority, and musicality’ (Textura). Hicks also appears on Augusta Read Thomas’ latest GRAMMY®-nominated album for Nimbus Records and will release a recording of the complete Chopin Nocturnes in 2025 with Divine Art.

Tom Hicks is a recipient of the Gold Medal Award and Peter Frankl Piano Prize from the Royal Northern College of Music, and the Faculty of Humanities Outstanding Academic Achievement Award, the Keith Elcombe Prize for Best Overall Performance, and three Proctor-Gregg Performance Prizes from the University of Manchester, having graduated with the highest degree mark ever awarded from the Department of Music. He was also awarded a Charles R. Miller Scholarship and Frances G. Wickes Fellowship at Yale University and an Eckstein Scholarship and Fellowship at Northwestern University. He has enjoyed chamber music coaching from Boris Berman, Hung-Kuan Chen, Leonard Elschenbroich, Mark Steinberg and Ralph Kirshbaum.

As a teacher, Hicks has taught piano at Yale University, Northwestern University, and Whitman College. He is currently Assistant Professor of Piano, Director of the Piano Area, and Artistic Director of the International Piano Series at the College of Charleston. He is a Yamaha Artist.

For more information, please visit www.tomhickspianist.com or follow on instagram (@tomhickspianist) or facebook (/tomhickspianist).