Adam Rothenberg in Recital.
Pianist, conductor, and music director Adam Rothenberg brings a deeply personal and genre-crossing evening to Emberlight in a recital where music, poetry, and storytelling meet.
In Poets & Arborists, Rothenberg shapes an immersive program inspired by poetry, nature, memory, and reflection. Solo piano works and original compositions unfold alongside spoken texts heard throughout the performance, weaving recorded poetry into the musical landscape while Rothenberg himself guides the audience through the evening from the stage. Moving fluidly between performance and conversation, the recital embraces the intimacy of a cabaret alongside the depth of the concert hall.
Known for his work across Broadway, opera, and the international concert stage, Rothenberg brings a uniquely modern voice to the recital tradition — one that blurs boundaries between genres and invites audiences into a shared artistic experience. Thoughtful, intimate, and quietly adventurous, Poets & Arborists offers an evening of music-making that feels immediate, personal, and alive.
Adam Rothenberg
Pianist, conductor, and music director Adam Rothenberg is an internationally active collaborative artist whose work spans Broadway, opera, chamber music, and recital performance. He conducted the acclaimed Broadway revivals of Sunset Boulevard, Sweeney Todd, and Company, and has served as pianist and music director for artists including Patti LuPone, Josh Groban, Bernadette Peters, Annaleigh Ashford, and Ruthie Anne Miles.
As an orchestral musician, Rothenberg has performed with the New York Philharmonic, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and American Ballet Theatre Orchestra, alongside recital appearances at Alice Tully Hall, Tanglewood, and Caramoor. A graduate of Northwestern University and The Juilliard School — where he was awarded a prestigious Kovner Fellowship — Rothenberg is recognized for creating performances that bridge musical traditions and invite audiences into new ways of listening.
MORE ART TO DISCOVER
Over the final two weeks of the festival, Emberlight comes fully to life across the Gogebic Range. Spend the afternoon strolling through Art in the Park and Emberlight Photographers, then gather in the evening for international cinema, unforgettable performances, and lively conversation with artists and friends over a pint. And of course, it all unfolds during the most beautiful weeks of the year in the Northwoods.
This summer, the Emberlight International Film Festival (EIFF) expands to five nights at The Ember Club on August 14, 16, 19, 20, and 21. On August 15, pianist Adam Rothenberg presents Poets & Arborists in recital at the Hurley Auditorium. And on August 22, Emberlight returns to the historic Ironwood Theatre for Something Wonderful, a special closing concert with Miles Mykkanen, Adam Rothenberg, and The Broadway Strings.
Plan your trip to Emberlight now and experience some of the most inspiring nights of the Northwoods summer.
