About us
Voices in the Heights is a concert series dedicated to creating community among musicians and listeners.
We love music, especially music that comes from the heart, promotes social justice, and reminds us of the diversity and traditions of our community. While we emphasize presenting singer-songwriters in the acoustic tradition, you can expect to hear an eclectic mix of music in the series.
We also love great food. Our desserts are all home-made and memorable, including chocolate cheesecake and a vegan dark chocolate torte that is beyond description. If you love telling your friends about your latest culinary discovery, our desserts will give you something to talk about.
If you are coming to hear a specific musician, we hope you stay to hear everyone. Great music in a concert setting is an interaction between an engaging artist and a receptive audience. A full house calls a performer to new heights and we are, after all, "Voices in the Heights"!
History
Voices in the Heights grew out of the Greenwich Village Showcase, a bi-weekly concert series hosted at Café Vivaldi in New York City by Jeremy Aaron. The series featured extraordinary emerging artists who were on the cusp of being recognized by larger audiences and venues. It was an incubator for acoustic singer-songwriters, featuring an eclectic mix of artists from a wide range of traditions from folk to bluegrass to jazz. When Café Vivaldi closed in June of 2018, one of the last musical communities that was a true listening venue in NYC disappeared.
Voices in the Heights presented our first concert in the historic McKinney Chapel of the First Unitarian Congregational Society in Brooklyn Heights in the fall of 2018, determined to continue the mission of presenting live music to NYC audiences featuring extraordinary singer-songwriters performing in a setting designed for attentive audiences. A community of artists quickly developed an affinity for performing at Voices in the Heights, giving the series access to a wide pool of talented performers, including many emerging artists from the historically marginalized LGBTQ and BIPOC communities.
Board of Directors
(All officer terms are 1 year)
President
Jeremy Aaron: Beginning fifth year on the board
Jeremy is a software engineer for Kickstarter. He is a musician and sound engineer who was one of the youngest performers at the Philadelphia Folk Festival and the founder of the Greenwich Village Showcase, a highly successful concert series in NYC that was the predecessor and inspiration for Voices in the Heights.
Secretary
Loraine Machlin: Beginning fifth year on the board
Loraine is the senior graphic designer for the national JCCA. Working collaboratively with others, accomplishing goals in a demanding timeframe, and responding quickly to changes are stringent requirements for her job.
Treasurer
Dan Gottfried: Beginning fifth year on the board
Dan is our founder and serves as the treasurer of four non-profit boards, The Ashokan Center, Folk Americana Roots Sound (FAR), Penn South Social Services, and Voices in the Heights. He was the Executive Director of Unirondack, a Camp and Conference Center in upstate New York, for 17 years.
Board Member
Lloyd Blasen: Beginning third year on the board
Lloyd has been a live entertainment professional for over 35 years. From promoting ice shows, motorsports and circuses to producing hundreds of live music events in clubs and venues of all sizes, Lloyd has extensive experience in all facets of presenting shows and concerts.
Board Member
Stanford Kay: Beginning first year on the board
Stanford is a musician, painter, and graphic designer whose info-graphics have been highly sought after by corporations and non-profits to express complex ideas in graphic form. His experience in marketing and the arts has been an invaluable addition to our board.