Summer Concert Series: Songs of Longing

As a part of their summer concert series, Bird in Hand hosts Alyson Kanne, Harp, and Leah Wenger, Soprano, for a coffee house concert featuring songs that invoke longing, nostalgia, and images of beauty. Doors open at 5:45 for a 6:00 start. The concert takes place during our Happy Hour, where you can enjoy a dollar off our summer cocktail menu. Stop by just for a drink or stay the whole time!

This concert is free to attend, but a cash donation basket will be available at the door to directly support the artists.

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Alyson Kanne is a versatile musician who believes the harp belongs in all genres and performance spaces. In 2018, Kanne performed solo works by Pescetti and Parish-Alvars in a recital at the J. Elsner School of Music in Warsaw. As an orchestral musician, Kanne has performed at such venues as the Chicago Theatre, the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, and the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.

A passionate advocate for contemporary music, Kanne collaborates frequently with composers, often resulting in the premiering and recording of new works. As an undergraduate, Kanne served as the principal harpist of Indiana University’s renowned New Music Ensemble for over two years. In 2019, Kanne was the first harpist ever admitted to the Manhattan School of Music’s Contemporary Performance Program.

Kanne holds degrees from the Manhattan School of Music (MM, ‘21) and Indiana University (BM, ‘19). Kanne currently studies with Dr. June Han at the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University in pursuit of her Doctorate of Musical Arts.

Leah Wenger is a performer and musicologist based in Baltimore, Maryland. She is a versatile solo and ensemble performer with a vocal repertoire that spans from the Medieval Era to the 21st century, and has premiered new works in the United States, England, Scotland, Indonesia, and Swizerland. Leah is a founding member of the early music group Basso Celestia with whom she has completed two full seasons performing across the east coast. She has appeared locally as a soloist with Bach in Baltimore, Peabody Vocal Ensembles and the Peabody Renaissance Ensemble, and has worked professionally with church choirs including Grace and Saint Peters, Saint Alphonsus National Shrine, Emmanuel Episcopal, and the National Cathedral. Leah was a member of the 2023-2024 cohort for TENET Trailblazers based in NYC, appearing as a workshop soloist in Bach’s St. John’s Passion with Juilliard 415.

Leah enjoys rigorous musicological research alongside her performance pursuits, and has presented research as a featured guest lecturer at the university level, and has presented papers at the North American British Music Studies Association, the Global Arts and Psychology Seminar, and the American Society for Eighteenth Century Studies. Outside of music, she is an avid writer, nature enthusiast, and tea drinker. Leah holds bachelors degrees in Psychology and Vocal Performance from Eastern Mennonite University, and Masters Degrees in Musicology and Historical Performance Voice from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University.

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