A Classical Chrismukkah!

Celebrate the holidays with an unforgettable night of opera at Salon 58! The incredible Kofi Hayford, Mary Beth (Nelson) Zaros, and Daniel Beliavsky will fill the air with beautiful music, performing seasonal favorites and holiday classics.

Come warm your spirits with organic hot chocolate, vanilla, and special liqueur from the Caribbean Martinique as we revel in the magic of the season together. All guests will be given a small goodie bag stuffed with surprises.

Join us on Saturday, December 28 2025 at 7:00pm in Midtown (exact address will be sent by email to ticket-holders a day before the event).

Grab your tickets now!

Agenda:
7:00 - 7:30 PM - Welcome Drinks & Snacks
7:30 - 8:30 PM - Music Program
8:30 - 10:00 PM - Post-Concert Mingle & Jam

ARTIST BIOS

KOFI HAYFORD is a prize-winning Ghanaian-American bass, described as possessing an “impressive” “sonorous”, and “stentorian bass voice” also produces a distinct sound – easily identified for its unique timbre. He has over 40 operatic roles under his belt and has performed roles and concerts with The Metropolitan Opera Guild, Fort Worth Opera, Indianapolis Opera, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, and more. Kofi was recently a double laureate of the 2024 Grand Voix Lyrique d'Afrique International Competition and also had his mainstage Carnegie Hall debut in May. Kofi’s performing career has found enthusiastic audiences ranging from the Arctic Circle down to the Caribbean and across the Atlantic Ocean in Europe and Africa. He received his Bachelor’s from SUNY Buffalo, co-founded the DictionBuddy mobile app, and is Chairman of the Board for the Groupmuse Foundation.

MARY BETH (NELSON) ZAROS is an American mezzo-soprano, lauded by Opera News for her “ardent, focused, von-Stadean mezzo.” She recently made her Carnegie Hall solo debut with the Oratorio Society of New York, closing their 150th season as Micah in Handel’s Samson. This spring, she will join Musica Sacra New York as the alto soloist in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.
Ms. Zaros earned her Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School as a Kovner Fellow. She has appeared with the Metropolitan Opera in a workshop of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, set to premiere at the Met in the 2025–26 season. Her other performances include appearances with Wolf Trap Opera, The Glimmerglass Festival, Utah Opera, Opera Delaware, Florida Grand Opera, Opera Las Vegas, Opera Baltimore, and Houston Grand Opera. This summer, she will join the Santa Fe Opera as an Apprentice Artist, performing in Rigoletto under the baton of Carlo Montanaro and Le Nozze di Figaro conducted by Harry Bicket.

DANIEL BELIAVSKY, Ph.D., is an educator, concert pianist, music theorist, composer, and filmmaker. He has performed in Europe and throughout the United States with both orchestra and in recital— notable engagements include concerto performances with the Milwaukee and New Jersey Symphony Orchestras and the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra. His discography includes the world-premiere recording of composer Lukas Foss’s complete piano works, as well as music by J.S. Bach, Domenico Scarlatti, Franz Schubert, Frederic Chopin, and Modest Mussorgsky.
Daniel produces music documentaries through his production company, Opus1films, which in 2011 released Sonata (1957), a film about the distinguished American composer Donald Harris’s opus one, the Sonata for piano, and about Harris’s early career in Paris. That film was shown at Lincoln Center in New York City and was broadcast on public television. More recently, Daniel completed Secret Music and Gay Body of Music, a feature and short film, respectively, about Pulitzer Prize winning composer David Del Tredici and the contemporary social and cultural impact of his music. These films have won multiple accolades, and have been screened at film and music festivals, including the Wisconsin Film Festival, the Mostly Modern Music Festival, the American Music Festival, QFest Houston, the Lonely Seal International Film Festival, the Toronto LGBTQ+ Film Festival, the San Diego International Film Festival, Berlin Shorts, the Rotterdam Independent Film Festival, and the San Francisco Arthouse Short Festival.

Now Chair of the Fine Art and Music Department at Yeshiva University in New York City, Daniel has been a visiting professor of music theory, piano performance, aesthetics, writing about music, and history at several universities, including the City College of New York, the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Stern College, Montclair State University, the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, Mannes College, and New York University.

What's the music?

Kofi Hayford Voice Bass

Daniel Beliavsky Piano

Mary Beth Nelson Voice Mezzo

Where does this music come from?

Attendees

Joanna D.

+1

Francesco C. Groupmuse Superhost

+1

Kurt H.

Laszlo Z.

David P.

Giulia F.

Christos V.

+1

Claire T.

Nevena R.

Michele D B.

+2

Karina L.

Academy F.